Chapter 468: Where is the trust between people?
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
This was a serious question.
Just as Fang Zhengzhi was thinking about it, the other candidates became increasingly excited.
They knew what the King of the Southern Region meant.
He was looking for a suitor!
The question was, would he pick someone based on intellect or combat skill?
All of the candidates looked at Princess Shan Yu, their eyes glittering. She was a beauty...
Crown Prince Lin Tianrong also knew what the King of the Southern Region was getting at. He smiled, almost as if he knew this was coming.
"Are you trying to use this event to find someone for your daughter?"
"Indeed." The King of the Southern Region nodded as he looked away from Fang Zhengzhi and back at Lin Tianrong.
"That's great! That's great indeed! How would you like to go about choosing?"
"No, no I will not be the one choosing. I want my daughter to choose for herself." The King of the Southern Region looked at Princess Shan Yu.
"Have the Princess choose for herself?" Lin Tianrong was taken aback.
Generally, royal weddings were decided by the Emperors. This made Lin Tianrong think that this would be the case here as well.
However, it would seem that...
This was not the case.
"We have our own customs, would you mind indulging us?" The King smiled.
"I would love to." Lin Tianrong replied.
"Have someone light a bonfire!" The King smiled when he saw Lin Tianrong nod.
"Yes, your highness!" A few of the servants replied before taking their leave.
Then, a few heavily armored soldiers entered and placed a pile of wood in the middle of the room.
There was a live Blue Horned Lamb on it.
All of the candidates were shocked. In their minds, they were expecting a stage.
A pile of wood and a lamb...
Were they planning to roast it?
Just as they were thinking about it, Princess Shan Yu stood up and looked at the candidates, then at Fang Zhengzhi.
She walked over to the bonfire.
Then...
Two daggers appeared in her hands.
And then...
The candidates were all stunned by what they saw.
Princess Shan Yu began slaughtering the lamb... her movements were so smooth it was as though she had been doing this her whole life.
The lamb was prepared within moments.
Princess Shan Yu placed the lamb on the bonfire and sheathed her daggers.
Every movement was smooth, clean, and animalistic.
However, all of the candidates were still confused. They had no idea what was coming.
"We have a tradition here in the Southern Region. All returning warriors can enjoy a sumptuous meal. They can choose which fire to go to, and the ladies can choose whether to let the males eat from her bonfire!" The King chuckled as he explained.
All of the candidates looked at each other when they heard this.
They understood almost instantly.
How simple was that?
This was a great representation of Southern Region culture. There were little formalities and they emphasized freedom.
The warriors showed their admiration and liking of a girl by eating at their bonfire. The ladies could choose which males they allowed to eat from their bonfire.
This was all about freedom of choice.
It was simple.
No one would be forced to do something against their will. At the same time, they were spreading the culture of their food.
In order to impress the warriors, the Southern Region ladies learnt to cook from a young age. That was how they supported the family.
When he heard this...
Fang Zhengzhi couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, "Great tradition!"
...
The lamb was placed on the fire and a few servants stood around it. At that moment, Princess Shan Yu moved.
The red cloud patterns appeared on her body.
They extended down her arms and her eyes also began to turn red, almost as if there were two balls of fire dancing in them.
All of the candidates whooped and cheered.
"All the best, your highness!"
"How beautiful! I have never seen anything so red and bright in my 20 years of life!"
"Indeed, she looks like a rising sun, her eyes are so beautiful..."
All of the candidates couldn't hold back their praises as they tried to find words to express their feelings.
Fang Zhengzhi looked at the candidates scornfully.
Pretty?
A sun?
Is that even a fitting description?
The first time he had seen Princess Shan Yu like that, he had almost mistaken her for a ghost.
That being said, he had to admit that she did give off an attractive animalistic aura.
The only question was...
What are the cloud patterns?
No one bothered to find out what Fang Zhengzhi's question was. No one planned on answering it either. They were all engrossed with what Princess Shan Yu was doing.
Princess Shan Yu was dancing.
Her slender long legs flew across the floor as she twirled, sparks dancing on her hands. As she twirled, the sparks landed on the lamb, giving off sizzling sounds.
After a few rounds of twirling, Princess Shan Yu took out a few tubes. Each tube contained a certain spice.
Grinding and spreading...
Princess Shan Yu twirled around the flame as she seasoned the meat with her spices. The fragrance wafted into the noses of everyone around.
"You can roast meats this way?" Fang Zhengzhi was slightly shocked. He had heard that you could roast meats using all kinds of herbs and spices.
However, it was a very difficult method.
Because...
The ratios had to be perfect. If you used too many herbs and spices, the natural flavor of the meat would be masked.
If you used too little, then the blend would be suboptimal and both flavor and texture may be compromised.
One could only perfect the ratios through many rounds of trial and error.
Of course, as the Princess of the Southern Region...
Fang Zhengzhi knew that Princess Shan Yu's standards would not be low. In fact, when he smelt the fragrance...
He knew that her standard was better than he had expected!
There wasn't any overpowering herb smell!
In fact, it was fresh and inviting.
How did she do it?
Could it be...
That she used the meat's fragrance to mask that of the herbs?
"Fantastic!" Fang Zhengzhi had always loved to eat. To him, eating was one of the greatest enjoyments in life.
Gulp...
Fang Zhengzhi swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
This was heard by Princess Shan Yu. Her eyes brightened when she heard it as a red glow brightened her face.
All of the other candidates were mesmerized when they smelt the aroma of the meat.
Then, Princess Shan Yu stopped.
A golden lamb sat atop the bonfire. There was no charring. The entire lamb was a decadent golden color.
All of the candidates gulped down a mouthful of saliva.
Even Lin Tianrong was tempted...
"The Princess's abilities... even I..." Crown Prince Lin Tianrong wanted to say that he wanted to taste some, but he stopped himself.
"Hahaha, I have to say that my daughter is probably the best around when it comes to roasting lamb!" The King chuckled.
He knew what the Crown Prince was saying.
As the Crown Prince of an empire, he could not request for a tasting. The King had to offer it.
However...
The King had no intention of letting the Crown Prince have a try. This was the Southern Region culture! Only someone sincere, whom the lady liked, had the right to taste it.
Anything else...
Would be an insult to their culture!
Seeing that the King of the Southern Region didn't say anything else, Lin Tianrong cleared his throat. This told the candidates that they could begin.
All of the candidates leapt at the opportunity.
"Your Highness, could I please try a bite?" A youth in green stood up first. He had a gentlemanly demeanor.
"Have you been promised to someone?" The Princess glanced at the candidate.
"Erm... yes I do, but if I could be with your highness..." The youth was stammered.
"Scram!" Princess Shan Yu ordered.
"Erm..." The youth wasn't expecting this...
The King of the Southern Region had said that they could try the food if they were attracted to the Princess...
Yet, things were not playing out that way.
He didn't want to return to his position...
However, a few heavily armored soldiers had already lowered their spears at his throat.
"Hahaha... she can be quite wilful..." The King of the Southern Region chuckled.
When the other candidates heard the words of the King, they seemed to understand...
This was the tradition of the Southern Region...
However, Shan Yu was a Princess.
She wouldn't let any random person try her food.
Her willfulness...
Was reason enough.
The youth in green decided to return to his spot, slightly depressed. However, he did not dare to say anything.
At that moment, another candidate stepped forward.
He was dressed in black.
He held a paper and pen.
"Your Highness, I have a short poem that I wrote for you. Perhaps you could take a look at it?" The candidate prepared to present his work.
"Scram!" Princess Shan Yu's voice rang out.
"Erm, your highness, I have not been promised..."
"You are too ugly!"
"..." The candidate withdrew, visibly embarrassed, tears in his eyes. His appearance was no fault of his... why couldn't she just look at his work?
After two candidates had failed...
The candidates realized that Princess Shan Yu was extremely willful. If she didn't like you, she would send you packing.
However, the candidates weren't about to give up.
So...
They tried their luck!
"Scram!"
"Scram!:
"..."
"Your Highness, I want to challenge you to a duel!"
After Princess Shan Yu had rejected a few candidates, a brave soul stood up and challenged her to a duel.
In the end...
He was defeated handily.
Fang Zhengzhi's lips twitched as he saw the pool of blood. He sighed to himself, "Not every lady succumbs to the hard way!"
"Scram!"
"Scram!"
"..."
And then, many of the candidates were sent packing. Some of them even lay on the ground, bawling their eyes out.
They could neither win her over nor defeat her!
What were they supposed to do?
Some were too short... others were too tall...
She sent another guy packing simply because his eyes were too small...
Somethings were out of their control!
The candidates' hearts were all shattered by Princess Shan Yu...
The tales were all lies...
Weren't they supposed to be able to try as long as they were sincere?
Where was the trust?
"Princess, my princess!"
All of the candidates screamed in their hearts.
However, it was to no avail.
Because...
Princess Shan Yu had no intention of letting up.
The lamb continued to sizzle on the pile of wood, the fragrance causing everyone in the room to salivate...
However, that was all they could do.
Almost every candidate had been sent back.
Except for one man...
That man was Fang Zhengzhi!