Sudden Mishap: Xiangbei Suffers Scalding from Hot Oil
"Who? Who wants to be slashed a thousand times?" Master Yang's words were cut off by someone. Cheng Mo walked in quickly, went straight to Xiangbei, and asked with a cheeky face, "Who wants to be slashed a thousand times?"
"You." Xiangbei gave him an unfriendly glance and turned back to make her hot and sour water-cooked fish at the stove.
Covering with a food box, she took out peppercorns, wood ear mushrooms, sour mustard greens, chopped a clove of garlic, ginger pieces, and cut five or six red chili peppers. She put them into the iron pot and stir-fried them with lard and a spoon of clear oil over low heat. She added the previously simmered fish head white broth. The strong and spicy fragrance of pepper and the pungent sourness filled the air.
Blocking Cheng Mo's curious chopsticks from reaching into the soup, Xiangbei pulled a serious face and said, "Cheng Gongzi, can you stop messing around here? There is hot oil and open flames everywhere; be careful not to get hurt." She then asked Master Yang to bring a whole cut grass carp over. In just a few minutes, Qiao Er brought a large plate of grass carp. Xiangbei smiled and took it, placing it next to the large oil pot, "Zi Qiu Ge, why did you come to serve? I can eat it after I put these fish slices into the soup. I guarantee you've never had this before," Xiangbei thought about what Subei would look like if he knew this was made from his poisonous bonsai fruit. She couldn't help but feel excited, smiling at Qiao Er in a very eerie way, "By the way, where's Brother Chen? Why hasn't he come over?"
"Humph, Zi Qiu Ge, Brother Chen, it's just me, Cheng Gongzi. I won't eat it!" Cheng Mo, in a fit of anger, threw down the chopsticks and left. "Ah!" Before he could lift his foot, Xiangbei heard a scream, turned around, and saw hot oil splattering in the big pot. Without hesitation, Xiangbei covered her face with her hands, rushed forward, and hugged her away from the stove. Qiao Ziqiu scooped a ladle of cold water and rushed over, pulling down her wrist and immersing it in the water. Master Cheng walked a few steps quickly, took a large lid to cover the boiling oil, and Master Yang took over the fish slices to continue completing this irresistible water-cooked fish. In an instant, the entire kitchen was in chaos, with feathers scattered all over the floor.
Seeing the wrists getting redder in the water, Cheng Mo couldn't bear it any longer. He picked up Xiangbei and ran outside, "I'll take you to apply medicine." Taking a deep breath, he quickly went to the third floor, took out a small jar of green ointment from the bedside, generously applied it on Xiangbei's swollen wrists. By now, the places splashed with oil had shiny blisters. The ointment touched them, causing a piercing pain. Tears streamed down immediately, but biting her teeth and waiting, Xiangbei felt relief when this young master wrapped several large circles of thin cotton cloth around her hands like making zongzi. After finishing the bandaging, Cheng Mo lifted his head only to find tears all over Xiangbei's face. He hugged her and comforted her in a soothing tone, "Don't cry, don't cry, Xiaobei, it will stop hurting soon. I used the jade cream brought by Father, even severe burns can be healed."
Xiangbei couldn't hear what he was saying at all. Her head was pressed into the wide and warm embrace, making it hard to breathe. In her ears, there was a low hum from the other person's chest like a cello. Her hands were too painful to pat him, so she reluctantly struggled to lift her nose and exchange some air, not to be suffocated. She only snapped out of it when she heard a knocking on the door.
A waiter brought hot water, and two maids came to reply, "Master, Uncle Zhong said Miss Tong is in trouble, so we came to serve her with grooming."
"Feathers Scattered Everywhere" - This expression is often used metaphorically in Chinese culture to describe a chaotic or messy situation.