Quick Transmigration: The Supporting Female Lead Stays Out of It - Chapter 38 Chef 37 (End)

Thinking of the previous era of peace and prosperity, the flourishing scenes, and then looking at the current war and broken rivers and mountains, Lin Dan found that she could no longer remain a bystander. She dug out a jar of wine buried in a mountain cave and, after several twists and turns, arrived at the front lines, wishing to meet the Marquis of Weiyuan.

“Who did you say wants to see this Marquis?” The Marquis of Weiyuan almost thought he had heard wrong.

“Replying to the Marquis, Manager Lin, Lin Dan, wishes to meet you. She has been waiting for you outside the military camp for more than twenty days. If I hadn’t seen her when I went out of the camp today, I wouldn’t have known how long she would have waited,” the head of the Marquis of Weiyuan’s guards had followed his master to the Hometown Cuisine Restaurant every day to eat, so how could he not know Manager Lin? Back then, when the Marquis’s illness worsened, he was so thin that he was unrecognizable, and it was Manager Lin’s good cooking that restored his health.

“She’s a solitary woman; she should stay at home and not be running around in the borderlands!” The Marquis of Weiyuan frowned, appearing displeased, but he still hurriedly got up and personally went to the door to greet her.

“Marquis, it’s been many years. Are you well?” Lin Dan smiled and bowed.

“Don’t stand here; come with me to the tent.” The Marquis of Weiyuan kept muttering, “Why did you come here? Did you encounter any dangers on the way? This is not a good place. Soon, there may be rivers of bl00d and corpses everywhere. You should leave quickly, and I’ll send someone to escort you.”

“Marquis, I’ve come to give you a gift,” Lin Dan placed the jar she was holding on the table.

“What kind of wine is this?” The Marquis of Weiyuan finally showed his first smile in recent days. Ever since he had gotten used to eating at the Hometown Cuisine Restaurant, he had rarely drunk alcohol because Manager Lin wouldn’t let him. He didn’t know why he was so obedient, but the facts proved that Manager Lin’s words must be heeded. His body, which had been suffering from an incurable illness and was gradually weakening, had actually gradually recovered under Manager Lin’s meticulous care; otherwise, the Marquis of Weiyuan would no longer be in this world.

“This is the Thousand-Day Wine you’ve been longing for,” Lin Dan poured the clear wine into an empty bowl.

“We haven’t been apart for three years, have we? Lin Dan, you said that brewing Thousand-Day Wine takes at least three years, so where did you get this jar of wine? You’re deliberately trying to trick me!” The Marquis of Weiyuan glared at her angrily.

“This is the wine I stored elsewhere; it has been buried for five years,” Lin Dan smiled faintly, “However, I didn’t come here today to give you this jar of wine, but what’s inside the wine. Marquis, take a look.”

The Marquis of Weiyuan took a closer look and saw that a slender, pink, fleshy worm was emerging from the clear wine. As soon as the worm appeared, the already rich and fragrant wine emitted an even more overbearing scent, which could be smelled throughout the entire camp. Not to mention how much he himself craved it, even the soldiers standing outside the tent couldn’t help but sniff and then shake their heads, as if they were drunk.

“Is this a wine worm?” The Marquis of Weiyuan couldn’t believe his eyes.

“That’s right. Only the finest wines can nurture wine worms. Put it in clear water, and in a while, this clear water can also turn into a bowl of fine wine.” Lin Dan scooped out the wine worm and placed it in a bowl of water. After a while, a strong aroma of wine emanated from the bowl.

The Marquis of Weiyuan took a deep breath and immediately burst into laughter, “Lin Dan, I like your gift!”

Lin Dan, however, lowered her gaze and slowly said, “But Marquis, do you know? Wine worms can live in fine wine, and they can also live in clear water. However, if you put it in turbid liquid, it will die immediately.” As she spoke, she scooped the wine worm into an empty bowl and poured in some brownish tea. The wine worm was seen violently writhing, and in a moment, it stiffened and then slowly turned into a bloody water.

The Marquis of Weiyuan’s ecstatic mood plummeted to the bottom of the valley, and his eagle eyes glared at Lin Dan, as if he was extremely angry, but he couldn’t bear to blame her even half a word. No matter how precious the wine worm was, it was still not as important as this person in his heart.

Lin Dan looked back without flinching, and continued, “Marquis, to speak frankly, my hands can turn the ordinary into the miraculous. No matter how strange the ingredients are, they can always become delicious in my hands, but there is one thing, no matter how hard I try, I can’t turn it into a dish. Do you know what it is?”

“What is it?” The Marquis of Weiyuan patiently inquired.

“It’s clay. Along the way, what I saw the most was rivers of bl00d and corpses everywhere, people displaced, not knowing whether they would live or die. They were starving, so they ate anything, grabbing large handfuls of clay and stuffing it into their mouths, and then bursting their bellies and dying. Have you ever tasted clay? Do you know what it feels like to be homeless and on the brink of death? The people of the Great Chu state are like this wine worm struggling in turbid liquid, and one day, they will turn into bloody water. Marquis, you came to the border to fight, but what exactly are you defending?”

The Marquis of Weiyuan was about to answer, but was interrupted by Lin Dan: “You’re defending imperial power, the emperor, and his absolute rule over the Great Chu state. You pride yourself on your loyalty, but other than that, you can’t see the common people struggling under imperial power. If you really attack the combined forces of Young Master Tang and the Little Prince from the rear, the iron cavalry of the Xiongnu will directly enter the Central Plains and trample the mountains and rivers. At that time, the emperor can preserve his own throne by ceding a few cities, but who can see the people struggling to survive in these few cities? The bad nature of the Xiongnu, you’re not unaware of it. They only know how to invade, not how to govern. They will wantonly harvest the lives of the people in the city, kill everyone, burn down all the houses, and even leave no chickens or dogs. If they occupy these cities, they will become stronger and stronger, while the Great Chu state, which has lost the cities and is fragmented, will become weaker and weaker. In less than five years, another major war will break out between the two countries. This time, who can save the people, who can save the world, you?”

Lin Dan stared fixedly at the Marquis of Weiyuan and questioned him, “What exactly are you doing now, defending Great Chu and saving the people, or helping the wicked and plunging the people into misery? This battle of yours may bring a few years of peace to Great Chu, but what about after that?”

She poured out the turbid water in the bowl, and her voice became peaceful again, “Living in a chaotic world, people are like ants, and no one can escape the fate of being crushed. Living in a prosperous world, there will be fine wine and delicacies. If a wine worm dies, you can raise thousands upon thousands more wine worms. Marquis, you have a noble status; even if the country declines and the people suffer, you still have a way to get food to brew wine, but do you know that when you enjoy fine wine and delicacies, the people are eating clay, and even eating people? Marquis, retreat your troops and return peace to the world. Without this wine worm, I can still raise more wine worms for you in the future. Don’t you think so?”

The Marquis of Weiyuan’s eyes, which had been filled with a hint of anger, were now replaced by deep thought. After a long time, so long that Lin Dan almost gave up, he slowly turned the ring on his hand and said, “Lin Dan, we have made an agreement. You can’t go back on your word. In the future, however much wine I want to drink, you can’t stop me.”

Lin Dan smiled and nodded, “We agreed. No backing out.”

…

That night, Tang Jiu and the Prince of Dianqian, or rather, the Dianqian King, were sitting by the campfire drinking. Tomorrow, the Xiongnu King would launch a full-scale attack against them, and the Marquis of Weiyuan would surely take the opportunity to get involved. Being attacked from both sides, this war would most likely be lost. But they couldn’t retreat; if they retreated, the Xiongnu would advance further, and the people of the Great Chu state would be in utter devastation.

“If only we could persuade that old fool, the Marquis of Weiyuan,” the Dianqian King said in a low voice.

“We can’t. He doesn’t see anyone before the war,” Tang Jiu shook his head.

The Dianqian King sneered and gritted his teeth, “Then we’ll fight to the death.”

Just then, Zhao Liu hurriedly ran over and handed over a letter, lowering his voice, “General, this is from the Marquis of Weiyuan. Please take a look.”

Tang Jiu opened the envelope and quickly read it. His face, which had been tense for many days, showed a trace of astonishment. The Dianqian King leaned over and looked at it and was also very surprised. In the letter, the Marquis of Weiyuan not only agreed to withdraw his troops but also was willing to cooperate with them to put on a show and lure the Xiongnu King into a trap to be killed.

“Could there be a trap?” the Dianqian King said without thinking.

“Check and see who the Marquis of Weiyuan has met recently. His attitude has changed so drastically, and it’s impossible for there to be no signs. Regardless of whether there is a trap or not, this is still a glimmer of hope,” Tang Jiu analyzed calmly.

The scouts quickly inquired about the news, saying that a slender, beautiful woman carrying a jar of wine went to see the Marquis of Weiyuan. The wine was very magical, and just opening the jar, the strong aroma of wine had permeated the entire camp. The two had a private conversation in the tent for a moment, and after the woman left, the Marquis of Weiyuan changed his mind.

“Is it Manager Lin?” the Dianqian King chuckled, “Only Manager Lin can brew such fine wine. The old fool listens to Manager Lin the most; if Manager Lin tells him not to drink, he wouldn’t even dare to touch a cup. If Manager Lin tells him to eat breakfast, he would wait at the Hometown Cuisine Restaurant before dawn. I didn’t expect Manager Lin to be so knowledgeable about the greater good. Even in times of crisis, she still went to the border alone to persuade the old fool to withdraw his troops. We all owe her a life.”

Tang Jiu’s eyes flickered, as if there was both joy and sorrow, and after a long while, he said hoarsely, “Not just you and me, but everyone in the world owes her a word of thanks. Since that’s the case, I will personally meet the Marquis of Weiyuan tonight. Zhao Liu, send someone to bring Lin Dan back. The border is too dangerous; I’m worried.”

However, after that night, Lin Dan disappeared. The war ended with the Xiongnu’s great defeat. The Xiongnu King had one of his right arms cut off and barely managed to escape, from then on, he was terrified of the people of the Central Plains. The emperor’s secret letter, which colluded with the Xiongnu to sell out the city, was found by Tang Jiu, and he used it to force him to abdicate. Tang Peng was the first general to enter the capital, and he went all the way to the harem and strangled the already out-of-favor Yan Langqing to death. Her body was hung on the beams of the cold palace, only allowed to be taken down by the palace servants when it had rotted into white bones. That was also the place where Consort Tang had hanged herself.

The once-flourishing Yan Family Restaurant had long since become a ruin, and Old Lin the Second and Old Lin the Third had nowhere to make a living, living extremely miserably. One day, they passed through the Three-Way Alley, only to see that the Hometown Cuisine Restaurant was actually still open, and its business was very prosperous. Tang Jiu, who had already ascended the throne as emperor, was wearing a simple outfit and sitting in the shop, carefully looking through a stack of books, with a joyful yet wistful expression between his brows.

Those were travelogues written by Lin Dan, entrusted to someone to bring back to the capital and sent to Chef Qiu as teaching materials, and the Hometown Cuisine Restaurant was opened by Chef Qiu. She recorded the fine wines and delicacies she encountered in the form of stories, and her choice of words and phrases was very vivid and lifelike. Looking at these words, Tang Jiu could imagine how unrestrained and unfettered, free and easy she was. Every so often, she would send a jar of fine wine to the Marquis of Weiyuan, but unfortunately, it was always intercepted by Tang Jiu. He had also tried to find her, but every time, he was a step too late. She was like a wisp of wind; when you thought you could hold her in your palm, she slipped through your fingers.

Someone once asked Tang Jiu what the most delicious meal he had ever eaten in his life was. Tang Jiu closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then smiled and said, “You may not believe it when I say this, but the most delicious meal I’ve ever eaten was the execution meal…”

TL notes: Last chapter of first arc. See you in next arc!