Golden Rice Crust

There was one question that perplexed me for a long time. Why did Gu Quan stay at your house when he returned to Baizao nearly a decade later?

It was not until I saw that girl at your house did all the puzzle pieces fall into place.

He narrowly escaped with his life, yet he still returned to Baizao, not only to find the truth of what happened, but also to search for the daughter he left behind.

It seems he did not tell you much.

Yes. Most of what follows will be mere speculation. If I'm wrong, feel free to laugh in my face.

I heard that after the Grand Preceptor's suicide following accusations of treason, the entire nation was in uproar and mandarins distanced themselves from her. Yet, one Academy student dared to honor her in public.

It was thus that he stumbled onto the Grand Preceptor's home as the belongings within were being confiscated. In his hurry, all he could take away was a baby girl, just born into the family. As it so happened, his own daughter was recently born as well.

At his wit's end, he tried to flee Baizao with his wife and the two babies. As a scholar with no background, he didn't get far before an Imperial Guard captured him.

Perhaps out of compassion and wanting to keep the Grand Preceptor's bloodline going, the Imperial Guard spared the scholar and the Grand Preceptor's child, instead taking the scholar's daughter.

I do not know what Gu Quan was thinking at the time, but it was most likely he had no other choice.

This child fell into the hands of the Minister of Justice, her bloodline obvious with a modicum of research. But as it turned out, how to handle this child of an outsider was a delicate conundrum indeed.

It was around this time that you, Mr. Ning, long dissatisfied with the Minister's extreme methods, decided to take the ultimate risk: assassination.

The Grand Preceptor's case implicated many, and it seemed fitting that the bloodstained Minister of Justice met his end through retribution. With the court's turmoil resolved, the True Lung allowed the bloodstained curtain to finally fall in this fashion.

The only unresolved question left is that child. Based on how things are now, she was taken into your care. What this entailed is not hard to guess. But as for the why of it...

If I recall correctly, Mr. Ning, you enjoyed the tutelage of the Grand Preceptor as well, correct?

O Yu Cheng, had you not been absorbed in Judicial work or confined to this cell, I shudder to think what that meticulous mind of yours might have accomplished.

It's terrifying, truly terrifying.

You flatter me. I'm nothing more than a fool compared to Gu Quan. It is simply because I have met far too many people in my capacity as Deputy Minister of the Judicial Review Office. The more one sees, the more one learns.

Now that I think about it, the dish Gu Quan offered to the True Lung at the Feast of a Hundred Delicacies wasn't merely an act of suicide—it was him reconciling with the truth.

Before he passed, he did not tell me the truth, but he did divulge the whereabouts of the Grand Preceptor's orphan. He must have hoped that once I found the truth for myself, I would also choose reconciliation.

Yet I could not.

All I could do was use my methods to find the people still left, the ones you care for, and force you to spit out the truth.

All things considered, Mr. Ning, you are no villain, perhaps just a coward...

Hate me all you want.

...

To see that child once more has always been a wish of mine...

I will go and seek an audience with His Majesty.

You... You know everything?

I only just found out...

I still want to ask you—

How are you... so calm about all this...?

It was a suspicion I hid away in my heart for many, many years... One I have finally found proof for.

Like a thorn stuck in your palm. It may bleed a bit when you pluck it out, but you'll feel much better afterward.

Why...

Why won't you say something?

I don't know how it came to all this...

Should I feel sad or angry right now...?

I don't know... All I know is that my mind's a mess and my heart feels like it's being stabbed... Who the hell am I supposed to set ablaze with this fire crawling up my throat?!

Well, I have a question for you.

Blaze... Can you tell me about Gu Quan? My... my father. What sort of man was he?

He... He was an idiot, a nerd, and a liar!

I hate lies! I've seen too damn many of them! Greedy lies, cowardly lies, sneaky lies...

But never one that demanded a lifetime of commitment, one that cost him his own daughter and himself, all to protect someone who had nothing to do with him.

How... How could he be so stupid?

It reminds me of a story I once read...

There once was a guard who watched over a rest station by the river. One day, he saw a flood coming from upstream. He wanted to run upstream and tell the people there to close the sluice gates.

But he had only run halfway when he saw the river was rising too quickly. It was too late to close the gates. So he immediately decided to turn and warn the villagers downstream to flee.

Back and forth he ran, until finally he was consumed and swept away by the flood. He didn't manage to do anything or save anyone.

Get to the point already...

Would you... Would you say this man's deeds sound familiar?

Fine, I get it! Well, I don't really get all the details of your windy-ass story, but you're talking shit about him, aren't you?

He wasn't a bad guy, okay?! He was just... Urgh!

I know you've got good reasons to blame him, duh, but if he was the one who threw you away, why would he spend so much time coming back to look for you—

I thought I would be the one consoling you, not the other way around...

Blaze... You're infected, right?

Wait, when did you figure that out—

Man, you're too... you're too damn clever by half!

Sorry, I didn't mean anything untoward... I was just thinking that it really should have been my fate to be...

The hell are you even talking about?!

What? You think you've done something wrong and deserve a worse fate?

Please, my life is awesome. I've got lots of buddies, and I've found a dream of mine...

If anything, you're the one who got it bad! Growing up all by yourself in that big old mansion, alone and miserable.

It almost sounds like you're roasting me...

I'm not—

But I understand... I understand what you mean.

Oh, right... I still haven't asked you what your name actually is.

Zhuhuang... Gu Zhuhuang. It's the name Dad... he gave me.

Wow... I forget how long it's been since I last told someone my real name.

Well, that's it. That's the last of my secrets.

'A blazing candle to ward against the dark'... Zhu for a candle, Huang for a blaze, and the family name Gu to ward you. It really does sound like a name he would pick.

Blaze... Would you say I've only really gotten to know you now, after all this?

I... I guess so, yeah.

Wait, no, I've still got lots to tell you, and I need to bring you to Victoria to have a look around. My mom—err, or rather... your birth mother. You should probably go see her...

...She's still alive?

Who said she was dead?! She's still hale and hearty! She lives in a small town out in western Victoria.

Once everything's wrapped up here, I'll take you to her.

Sh-She definitely wants to see you...

A-Alright...

Why're you crying?

I-I'm not...

But you... You're the one who's about to break into tears any second now...

I'm just... happy.

I never thought I'd suddenly find myself a little sister after all these years.

Who's ever heard of sisters like us...?

And besides, we don't know yet who's the little one.

I've been through a lot today. Can't you let me have this one?

And there you were, consoling me...

Look, I just wanted to say...

From now on, you're not alone anymore, okay?

Man... Isn't that lovely?

Out of the myriad flavors in this land, the taste of reunion is the sweetest of them all.

Really, now... Dammit, what am I tearing up for...

That's the last of my worries settled.

Oh, right, that Judicial officer at the Forbidden City last night...

Leizi...

She was being held up by that Imperial Guard lady when she sent me flying out of the City.

What should we do now?

This isn't over quite yet...

I need to go and finish off what I should have done in the first place.

You... What are you planning to do?

...

Demand an explanation... for everyone's sake.

Where you off to?

Got a meal to deliver.

If you're going, then who's going to mind the restaurant?

At this hour? It's past closing time.

Gonna open tomorrow?

That depends on my mood tomorrow. Hard to say right now.

Why do I get the feeling that you want to call it quits?

Fine by me, but you still owe me six months of wages. Settle that and I'll let you go.

Tsch... You're so money-minded! How about all those staff meals I cooked for you, they must be worth a few months of debt...

Fine, fine... On the right of the stove in the kitchen, the third brick from the corner. The last of my spare cash is under that brick. Take it.

...

I've been with you for quite a few years now.

Yep, fifteen whole years. You've stuck around the longest out of all your associates, Candleholder. Means we were really fated to be, haha.

If I kept reminding myself that I was a Candleholder of the Sui Regulator, I'm afraid I wouldn't have stayed that long.

*sigh* To be honest, it's been years since I reminded myself who I really am too.

Not like I was trying to remember or not, mind you. Whether as a man or beast, I've found this life full of delightful flavors. Nothing to complain about.

Best you keep not remembering.

I fear if you do, you'll forget the tastes of man. Your palate will grow dull and numb, and your cooking skills will go to waste.

*sigh*... Yeah, I wouldn't be too happy with that either.

But if there's one thing I'll never forget, it's that my trouble-making brothers and sisters still need to eat.

Not to mention the one that's most troublesome of all... Though considering how long it's been since we last saw each other, it's hard to say what he's like now.

You know the consequences of delivering this particular meal today, right?

Uh... Yeah, more or less.

It's obvious, like not keeping cotton by the stove. The Sui Regulator's not going to be happy if we have a family reunion.

Also, if a fight breaks out at such a delicate moment, you might not be seeing me tomorrow.

...

*sigh*... I've made a lot of food and met a lot of people these past few years.

My wish was for every customer who walks through those doors to have a tasty meal and a life with fewer regrets.

The four flavors of the kitchen. The four emotions of the heart. Sorrowful partings and joyful reunions. They're not that much different.

But just as fresh fins have their bones and maluses have no scent, this land is filled with regrets.

Eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're tired... and when you miss your family, maybe it's as simple as going to them.

Are... Are you really willing to let this go...

There are a lot of things I don't want to let go of, but I can't hold onto them forever either.

Jiang... Mind looking after the shop for me while I'm gone?

You've been watching me cook for so long, you must have picked something up by now. If any customers come by, look after them for me, will you?

'Savors at Yu's', the 'House of Aftertaste'... It ended up being a fitting name.

The mortal realm really lingers on the tongue.

Captain, my report. The Patrol Battalion has dispatched all their men, and sweep searches are underway in eight districts. Still no sign of the target.

It's been an entire day...

Before day breaks, we must—

Heard you were looking for me?

Who's there?!

Out of the way.

What's this? Here to surrender?

Good, you've saved me the effort of searching the entire city for you.

I don't care if you want to take me in for what I did at the Feast or who I am... Now's not the time for it.

I've got urgent business, so best you move it.

Hah...

I've never been this pissed off before. If you really want to get in my way, then come and try me.

Hmph...

...What are you going to do?

I'm here to deliver a bowl of longevity noodles to the True Lung.