Medicine King Valley.
Jingming Palace.
The food soon arrived.
The distinctive medicinal fragrance of the dishes mingled with their savory aromas. A glance down revealed a table of food that looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful; the smell alone made mouths water and appetites stir.
Everyone in Medicine King Valley practiced medicine and excelled at nurturing health.
They favored little salt and oil in their cooking, making the food rather light and not quite to Cao Jinxing's taste, but it was undeniably delicious.
Cao Jinxing enjoyed the meal immensely.
There were no outsiders at the banquet. In a sense, this was Huang Fangling's family home, and those present were the senior members closest to her: Wan Mizhai, Wei Yunqing, and Sun Jianbai. The other elders stayed away-with Cao Jinxing's unusual status, it was not appropriate for them to join the gathering.
Of the younger generation, only Zhou Qiluo, the senior disciple of the third generation, was present.
"The food suits you, I hope?"
Wan Mizhai had learned what had happened earlier and was very pleased that Cao Jinxing had intervened on Medicine King Valley's behalf. Looking a little kinder, he passed over a steamer of Chinese yam and poria buns.
"Uh, thank you..."
Cao Jinxing was accustomed to the old man's scowls and cold looks, so this took some getting used to.
"It's delicious."
Cao Jinxing nodded. "Especially this Angelica Chicken. It has a distinctive flavor, every bit as good as the Imperial Estates'. The Buddha's Hand Wine is excellent too."
"Take some back with you if you like it."
Wei Yunqing smiled and turned to say, "Qiluo, give Jinxing a few extra jars when he leaves. This wine soothes the liver, regulates qi, harmonizes the spleen, and warms the stomach, but you shouldn't drink too much."
"Yes," Zhou Qiluo replied.