Wuxia Tale: Hua in Bloom

Playing Defense

(WANG DAO)

My sister's dumplings almost killed me.

"It's salty!" I exclaimed loudly after spitting the bite I took a few moments ago. "And the dough is still raw," I continued complaining before coughing.

Hua looked at her dumplings worriedly while the Prince gave me a cold stare. Manchu laughed at me. The Prince also gave his guard a cold stare that got Manchu quiet.

Prince Jin picked a dumpling. "No! Don't..." Hua's weak protest died when the Prince took a bite and chew the dumpling.

"It is salty," Prince Jin nodded. "The dough is chewy. But it's not raw,"

"Lucky for you that you didn't get the raw dumpling," I sighed. "The pork is supposed to taste a bit sweet. We feed our pigs here apples and peaches that are too ripened to eat by people or to sell. Not rotten but too ripe. The pork my Father usually serve taste sweet with enough saltiness and spice to make them delicious. Hua killed the pork..."

Prince Jin frowned, "Is this pork?" He looked at his bitten dumpling critically, "I thought it's something else..." he gave my sister an apologetic look.

He is much worse than me.

I sighed and reach for the chicken soup and ladled some to my bowl. My hand stopped when something was caught in the ladle.

My eyes widened, "Is that...a feather?"

"A small feather...yes," Prince Jin nodded while gazing at the same small and light browned thing in the ladle. I put the ladle with the soup back in the pot. "Let's starve," I said. "I drank poison repellant but I don't think it's enough to repel the sickness I will get from eating that," I gestured to the chicken soup.

Hua buried her face in her palm and sob in despair. Prince Jin and Manchu gave me an incredulous look.

"Heartless jerk," Manchu said after passing a cup of water to Prince Jin who consoled my sister to drink.

"I am a worthless cook," Hua bit her lower lip again. Tears on the corners of her eyes.

"You are not a cook in the first place," Prince Jin argued. "You are our Hua. No need to feel down..."

"Will you still say that this is fine? That all is fine? We waited for four hours just so my sister can serve us raw salty dumplings and feather infested soup. This is not fine. This is dismal at best," I glowered at Prince Jin. Is his love for my sister blinding him? I wish my love for my sister will give me a numb taste bud so I can forget the saltiness of her dumplings.

"If you can do a better job of cooking than your sister then sure, lecture her. But I doubt that you and I can survive a kitchen while attempting to cook. Hua did all these with as minimal help as possible. Maybe all by herself too. And you still have a standing kitchen. If it's me, our kitchen in the Palace will explode and I won't have even a small inclination why it happened," Prince Jin is adamant to make my sister feel better for her dismal cooking.

Hua sniffed, "Truly?"

Prince Jin nodded, "I don't even know half of the spices they use in the Palace kitchen, much less cook. You are so brave to do this. Don't despair."

"But all my efforts for nothing," Hua looked down in shame again. "You can't eat it and the rice, I put the pot in the stone stove but I forgot to put fire under it."

Ah so that's what happened to the missing rice. It's still grain.

"It's fine..."

"Is it over?" We all look when Father came into the dining room. He smiled when he saw the food on the table. "Good job Hua..."