Chapter 225: The Collapse
Translated by Gumihou
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com
“Yes, ma’am.” Si Ping saluted her. Then, he quickly pouring two large plates of wild vegetables, already washed and cut, into the pot of Snake Soup. Then, he hurried over with a little plate of various wild greens and seasoning over to Su Nuan Nuan’s side.
A short time later, Su Nuan Nuan happily declared, “Alright, put out the fires you two. It’s time for dinner.”
Duan Tingxuan and Si Ping immediately leapt to obey Su Nuan Nuan’s orders. The bonfire was quickly put out, and then together, they carried the whole muntjac, still dripping with grease, into the bamboo house. The pot of snake broth was heavy enough that Si Ping had difficulty carrying it in, so Duan Tingxuan ended up rushing out to help him.
Meanwhile, Su Dong Lou came over to Lu Feng Yu’s side to grin down at him, “Well? Still refuse to confess? If you don’t want to confess, you’ll go hungry again tonight. You’ve already lasted through the very delicious Chicken Stew with Wild Mushrooms, Sweet & Sour River Fish, Stir Fried Rabbit with Chestnut as well as few others. Are you sure you can resist tonight’s Roasted Deer? If you can’t bear it anymore, you can just give in. As long as you are loyal to me, I can guarantee that you will lack neither good food nor fine clothing.”
[Gumihou: Again with the villainous speech…]Lu Feng Yu really wanted to spit into this scoundrel’s face, but he was so badly starved that he could hardly lift his head, let alone muster up the strength to spit. After a long time, he said weakly, “I’m fine giving you the information, but aside from giving me food, you must also promise to withdraw your impure intentions.”
“Impossible.” Su Dong Lou did not hesitate to reject this.
“Then, I shall not confess.”
Lu Feng Yu felt angry and humiliated. However, while he had overestimated his own strength of will, Su Dong Lou could already see his crumbling will power. At this weak protest, he smirked, “Very well, then you shall come in, sit and watch while we eat.” With that, he grabbed Lu Feng Yu by the collar and proceeded to drag him over to the bamboo hut.
“Wa- wait… I, I can barely move.”
Lu Feng Yu struggled and protested, but Su Dong Lou merely turned and looked down at him mercilessly. Then, he tilted Lu Feng Yu’s face up by the chin and said, “I really like this side of you. Even in such a difficult situation you still have that odd celestial air about you. Like the painting of a fallen immortal. I think you look especially sweet and adorable like this. Well? Are you trying to incite my pity? Don’t be stupid, only women could wield this kind of charm. A big man like you isn’t suitable for this kind of act. If you can’t walk, crawl. Who’s going to pity you?”
With that, he continued to literally drag the man into the bamboo hut. Duan Tingxuan had already carved up a large plate of leg meat from the roasted deer. From this angle, they could see a ray of sunlight shining right onto the plate of meat, causing the slightly oozing meat juice to literally sparkle in an otherworldly manner.
Lu Feng Yu swallowed with an audible [gu du]. Duan Tingxuan sliced off another small piece of meat from the leg and placed it directly into his mouth. After a couple of chews, he laughed out loud, “Hurry over, Dong Lou. Your sister-in-law’s roasting skill is second to none. If I had known earlier, I’d have asked her to roast something two nights ago. It’s too delicious, ah. Aside from the slightly scorched outer part, the meat within is all tender and juicy. Come and have a taste.”
“You bastards.”
The poor foodie had already cried and drooled over three feet worth of water these past few days. Dehydrated and weakened, and yet somehow, at this very moment, he found the strength to shake off Su Dong Lou’s hold and charge over to the table. He shoved a piece of meat into his mouth and began to cry as he desperately chewed. They had really bullied him quite badly these past two days.
Su Dong Lou’s heart softened at the sight, but then the mission came to mind and he hardened his heart enough to drag Lu Feng Yu away from the table. Duan Tingxuan shouted, “This meat can’t be fed to the likes of him, dig it out of his mouth!”
“Woo… wuwuwu…” Lu Feng Yu covered his mouth in a panic. But after having been starved for two days, where would he find the strength to resist a man of Jianghu like Su Dong Lou?
After some hesitation, Su Dong Lou, pressed two fingers into Lu Feng Yu’s mouth and began to fish for the piece of meat. The panicked foodie tried to bite him, of course. However, not only did this thug remain unmoved, he even had the cheek to smile down at him. And… and just what was he biting down on? Were those really fingers? Surely those should better be described as metal rods?! If he continued to bite down, he might actually lose his teeth!
“I give in! I give up, just let me eat. I want meat! I want roasted meat!” Lu Feng Yu howled as tears flowed down his face. One could literally hear his heart shattering.
Su Dong Lou, “… …”
Duan Tingxuan, “… …”
Su Nuan Nuan, “… …”
Si Ping, “… …”
For a moment, silence reigned. While they all knew that this Lu Feng Yu valued good food over life, to see him collapsed after three days of starvation was still a shock. For him to give up before the might of Roasted Meat was beyond everyone’s expectations, which was why no one was able to quickly take advantage of this situation and interrogate him immediately. Lu Feng Yu immediately seized this chance to forcefully swallow the meat in his mouth
It was only after he started choking that they all finally regained their senses.
Su Dong Lou finally extracted his fingers and quickly reached for a cup of water. While his fingers were in Lu Feng Yu’s mouth, the poor thing was not able to chew the meat and had attempted to swallow his food whole like a snake. This was also the reason he nearly choked himself.
After handing the choking man a cup of water, Su Dong Lou let the fellow calm himself a little, before cutting off a large piece of thigh meat from the Roasted Beer. He looked at Lu Feng Yu gravely and said, “If you really confess, we shall let you eat your fill tonight.”
Lu Feng Yu breathed in deeply once, and exhaled slowly. Perhaps having finally accepted his fate, Lu Feng Yu had calmed down a lot. While he still looked rather miserable and depressed, he had recovered some of his former poise. Still, it was a long time before he finally raised his head. Suddenly, he began to laugh. There was a slightly hysterical tinge in his voice as he muttered, “Since you all wish to know it so much, I shall let you in on the secret. Haha… hahaha… I wonder, I wonder what you’re going to do with this information, hahaha… what a joke…”
“Stop with this nonsense, you don’t want this meat anymore?”
Su Dong Lou’s threatening remark finally cut off Lu Feng Yu’s bubbling mirth. After a glare at Su Dong Lou, he turned to smile at Duan Tingxuan, “I have heard that the lord heir has a good relationship with the princes, particularly with the fourth and second prince, is this correct?”
“So what if it is?”
Duan Tingxuan sniffed coldly, but a sense of unease had begun to stir in his heart. He cast a glance at Si Ping. This incredibly sharp servant immediately bowed and left the bamboo house.
“With the lord heir’s great intelligence and wisdom, and your ability to track down information from the minutest detail. I trust that you must have some idea of what I am about to say. The only question is, you have no idea who it was, is this right?”
Lu Feng Yu gave no answers, only questions, causing Su Dong Lou to grow impatient. “Enough with your unnecessary mystification, just what kind of situation are you in now? Speak up, otherwise I’ll throw you out and let the mosquitoes feed on you.”
“So, you could not even be bothered to move your brain even a little?” Lu Feng Yu laughed hollowly. “His Lordship had not bothered to recruit soldiers or buy horses, but has set his heart on the dragon throne. I have also mentioned that once something happened to the emperor and crown prince, it would be our great opportunity to act. Even with these two great clues to go on, is nothing clear to you at all? Have you never even considered it?”
“Tingxuan, I… I have a feeling that I… really shouldn’t be hearing this…”
Su Dong Lou was not an idiot. After having these two facts pointed out, he immediately broke out in cold sweat. Duan Tingxuan merely glared at him and said, “We’ve already reached this point, why bow out now? Enough, it’s not like you’re an outsider. Just listen to the rest, surely you have no need to fear that the crown prince will have a younger cousin like you murdered to keep a secret?”
“Younger cousin?”
This time, it was Su Nuan Nuan and Lu Feng Yu who stared at Su Dong Lou with disbelieving eyes. The man of Jianghu merely grunted and waved his hand dismissively, “It’s a long story, there’s no need to talk about it now. The important thing to do is get his confession, you know.”
Su Nuan Nuan trembled as she began to fill in the gaps with her imagination: Could it be… a dog blood, novel length drama with a handsome martial artist as the protagonists! Or, was it an imperial harem story with illicit love affairs or an abandoned child? Or, was he simply the son of the emperor’s illegitimate daughter? It’s all too exciting, ah! She must ask Duan Tingxuan for the details of this exciting gossip the first moment she gets!
Author White Pear Flower: I did say that Foodie Lu is the Ultimate Super Foodie, surely you all believe me now? Hahahaha!!
[Gumihou: Oh dear, poor Foodie Lu even cried…lol, how pitiful…]
Who could actually resist this?
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Translated by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
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