PFC Chapter 352 Royal Banquet
Chapter 352 Royal Banquet
Murong Jing was walking ahead when he suddenly turned around:
"My dear son-in-law, I've prepared a banquet tonight to welcome you back. All the officials will be there, so please don't refuse."
Lin Chen smiled and said, "My father-in-law is too kind to refuse."
"That's good, that's good," Murong Jing nodded in satisfaction, then leaned closer, lowered his voice, and winked.
"Let me tell you, I even had someone bring a few spirit beasts from the mountains. We'll roast them tonight; they're incredibly nourishing!"
Lin Chen: "...Roast the spirit beast?"
"Yeah, what else would we eat it? Raw marinated?"
Lin Chen was speechless for a moment.
Murong Hong added a sentence at the end:
"Brother, isn't it a bit wasteful to roast spirit beasts?"
Murong Jing waved his hand: "No waste! My son-in-law is here, I'll roast even the most sacred beasts for him, let alone spirit beasts!"
Lin Chen: "...Father-in-law, let's keep the sacred beast."
The sacred beast is the mascot of Nanzhao, a national guardian spirit. Murong Jing dares to roast it, but he wouldn't dare to eat it.
"Okay, whatever you say!"
Murong Jing chuckled and patted Lin Chen's shoulder, making a loud slapping sound, like he was hitting a watermelon, as if he wanted to tap it a couple of times to see if it was ripe.
An old man passing by glanced at it and muttered something to his companion in the local dialect of Nanzhao.
Lin Chen understood this time.
The old man said, "This king is as happy as if he's marrying a daughter-in-law."
Lin Chen's lips twitched.
Taking a daughter-in-law?
He looked down at the sleeve that Murong Jing was holding.
This isn't like marrying a daughter-in-law; it's like finding a treasure trove!
Blue Phoenix chuckled softly beside her:
"My lord, in the king's eyes, you are probably more valuable than the entire Nanzhao Kingdom."
Lin Chen sighed: "I know."
Murong Jing shouted from the front:
"My dear son-in-law! Hurry up! The royal palace is just ahead!"
I had your yard cleaned up three times, and the blankets were all aired out in the sun. I guarantee you'll be comfortable!
Lin Chen responded and pulled Lan Fenghuang to follow.
Lingbo followed silently behind, pausing briefly as they passed the sugar-blowing stall.
She glanced at the crooked "King of Zhenbei" sugar figurine, then took out a piece of silver and placed it on the stall.
The old man looked up: "Young lady, what would you like?"
Lingbo pointed to the sugar figurine with the crooked face: "This one."
The old man was a little embarrassed: "You blew it off-center, shall I play it again for you?"
"Need not."
Lingbo picked up the sugar figurine, looked at its crooked face, smiled slightly, and turned to follow the group.
The old man watched her retreating figure, scratched his head, and muttered to himself:
"This girl is interesting."
As the palace gates drew closer, two rows of guards stood ramrod straight, their armor gleaming in the sunlight.
Murong Jing turned and glanced at Lin Chen, smiling as bright as a flower:
"My dear son-in-law, we've arrived!"
He pointed into the doorway, his voice strong and clear:
"please!"
……
The royal palace is located in the east of the city, built against the mountain.
It's not big, but it's very exquisite.
The palace walls were painted snow-white, and the roof was covered with golden glazed tiles. When the sunlight shone on them, they sparkled as if a beauty filter had been applied.
Murong Jing led Lin Chen into the palace and walked further inside.
The palace maids and eunuchs they encountered on the road all gave way, bowed their heads and refrained from making a sound.
Several young palace maids hid behind pillars to peek, but were glared at by the older nanny and shrank back, though they couldn't help but peek out again.
One of the bolder ones opened his mouth into an "O" shape and silently uttered two words.
Lin Chen understood.
"So handsome."
He looked away expressionlessly, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
Blue Phoenix chuckled softly from behind.
Upon entering the main hall, a banquet had already been prepared.
A long table was set up in a row, covered with a white tablecloth, and filled with all kinds of dishes.
The food is characteristic of Nanzhao, with its colorful appearance and aroma that makes it even hungrier.
Murong Jing invited Lin Chen to take a seat.
Lin Chen declined, saying, "Father-in-law, you are the host and I am the guest. It is not right for a guest to sit in the host's seat."
"You're my son-in-law, half a son!" Murong Jing shoved Lin Chen into a chair with the force of someone lifting a pig.
"Sit down! Don't be so polite with me! Being polite is disrespecting me!"
Lin Chen had barely touched the chair when Murong Jing added:
"Besides, you are the King of Da Yan Zhenbei, and in terms of rank, you are half a rank higher than me."
If you don't sit up there, who among these people will dare to sit? Are you expecting them to eat standing up?
All the officials and civil and military officials shook their heads in unison.
The scene resembled a group of elementary school students being called on by their teacher.
Lin Chen sighed and settled himself in.
Murong Jing sat down next to him with satisfaction, Murong Yun sat opposite him, Murong Hong sat next to Murong Yun, and below them were the civil and military officials of Nanzhao.
They were all more reserved than the last.
They sat upright, back straight, hands on their knees, barely daring to breathe.
Murong Jing raised his glass, his voice booming: "Come, welcome my son-in-law!"
Everyone simultaneously raised their glasses and shouted in unison:
"Welcome, Prince Zhenbei!"
The sound was so loud that a wisp of dust fell from the roof beams.
Lin Chen raised his glass, smiled, and nodded: "Thank you all for your hospitality."
After a few rounds of drinks, the atmosphere gradually warmed up.
Some people started chatting quietly, while others began to eat.
Someone else secretly glanced at Lin Chen and whispered something to the person next to them, only to be kicked by the person next to them and shut up.
Murong Jing, holding his wine glass, looked at Lin Chen with a beaming smile, his eyes shining like searchlights:
"My dear son-in-law, how is Xue'er doing in the capital?"
"It's fine," Lin Chen nodded.
"They just kept talking about the food from Nanzhao, saying that the chefs in the capital couldn't make it taste the same."
Just a few days ago, he told me he wanted to eat the sour bamboo shoot fish from the palace restaurant, and he couldn't sleep at night because of it. He tossed and turned and almost kicked me out of bed.
Murong Jing laughed heartily, his eyes narrowing into slits, revealing crow's feet as he laughed:
"This girl has been picky about food since she was little. When her mother was pregnant with her, she wanted to eat lychees."
In the dead of winter, I sent people to collect and transport the goods from Jiangnan overnight, which almost killed them.
This habit is incurable!
He wiped away the tears of laughter, his tone full of doting affection:
"I'll have the imperial chef write down the recipe later, and you can take it back to her."
Write down the names of each: pickled bamboo shoot fish, roasted milk cake, and cold rice noodles. Add some local spices, and she'll jump for joy.
"That's wonderful." Lin Chen raised his glass. "Thank you, father-in-law."
The two clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.
Murong Hong chimed in from the side, picking up a piece of roasted meat and stuffing it into his mouth, saying as he chewed:
"Your Highness, I heard you've beheaded quite a few people during your recent inspection tour? Like harvesting leeks?"
Lin Chen put down his wine glass and smiled, "What? You think you cut too much?"
Murong Hong quickly shook his head and swallowed the meat.
"No, no, I'm just curious. I just want to ask, did your hand go soft when you were chopping?"
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow: "You want to give it a try?"
"No, no, no!" Murong Hong almost threw his chopsticks away.
"I was just asking! Just asking!"
Murong Jing rolled his eyes at his younger brother and said, "Shut up and eat your meat."
Murong Hong obediently shut up and lowered his head to eat his rice.
Murong Jing turned his head, looked at Lin Chen, sighed, and his smile faded, replaced by a more serious expression.
"My dear son-in-law, to be honest, although Nanzhao is small, I have been walking on thin ice all these years, and I dare not make a single wrong step."