Chapter 122 Chapter 122 Before the Qionglin Banquet.

"Impossible... How could this happen!" At the same time, the third sister stared at the apricot list, her fingers tightly pinched into her palms, looking like a madman.

In her previous life, her husband was clearly in the top three of the Xingbang exam, and then ranked in the top ten in the palace exam, but now Mr. Guo's name on the list is ranked 95th.

Why?

Why? Why?

Why? Why? Why?

Three words kept turning over and over in the third sister's mind. She staggered forward, staring at the red paper intently as if she wanted to pierce it.

But she had forgotten that in her previous life, she and her husband lived in the Bo Mansion, where they had a peaceful and quiet life. Mr. Guo had plenty of time to review his studies and could also seek advice from the scholars, doctors and masters who were familiar with the Bo Mansion.

But in this life, Mr. Guo could only curl up in a small inn, tortured by the noise. He couldn't even get a good night's sleep, let alone review his lessons or study. Achieving such a good score was a real achievement.

When the people around heard the third sister's cries of despair, they all looked at her with either sympathy or understanding.

In fact, there are many candidates and their families like her today with distorted faces and almost out of control. After all, only a few can make it to the list. Most people come to Bian Jing with high expectations, but end up with nothing.

"My lady looks young, and your husband must be young too. Why don't you go back and persuade him to study hard for another three years and take the exam next time." Seeing her crying pitifully, a famous idle man could not help but step forward to comfort her.

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" The third sister suddenly raised her head and said in a shrill voice, "My husband has made it on the list, unlike you bunch of useless people. I'm afraid he won't pass even if he tries ten more times!"

"How can you talk like that, woman?" The person next to her frowned and retorted, "People are trying to comfort you, but you're speaking harshly to them!"

As for the idle man who was trying to comfort her, his face flushed red and he shouted, "Since you passed the exam, why are you still acting like a mourner? You don't even know that your father and mother are dead, your whole family is gone!"

"You——" The third sister was furious and wanted to curse again, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed by someone.

It turned out that Mr. Guo had heard the commotion and pushed his way through the crowd to come over. Seeing her arguing with someone like a street shrew, he was so angry that his eyes went dark. He reached out and pulled her away, then took out two Jiaozi notes from his purse and stuffed them into the idler's hands: "I'm sorry, my wife was just too happy and lost her sense of proportion."

The idler was also quite brave. After being scolded by the third sister, he slapped Mr. Guo's hand away and spat at him: "Bah! Who wants your unlucky money!"

The people around him scattered like birds, leaving only Mr. Guo standing in the middle of the road, his face turning blue, white, red, and purple.

He felt a fishy smell swirling in his throat, and he swallowed the churning blood. After a long while, he looked at the third sister expressionlessly: "What are you dissatisfied with?"

The look in his eyes made the third sister panic. "My dear? No, I didn't mean to argue with them. I just, I just think your position is too low."

Mr. Guo had thought of other things, but not this one. He was so angry that he laughed and blurted out, "How about I divorce you and let you find a husband of a higher rank?"

Putting aside the dispute between the third sister and Mr. Guo, Song Jiaoniang originally wanted to find Chen Yan to sound out the matter, but she didn't expect that for five or six days in a row, only Manager Jiang came to deliver fruits and vegetables as usual, and there was no sign of Chen Yan at all.

Song Jiaoniang waited and waited until the tenth day. Finally, when Manager Jiang was delivering something, she couldn't help but ask, "Manager Jiang, why haven't you seen Yan'er come to the shop recently?"

Manager Jiang was stunned when he heard this. After a moment of silence, he said hesitantly, "Madam Song, my husband has been busy with some things recently. I'm afraid he won't be able to come to the shop for another half a month."

These words happened to be heard by Lin Zhi who came out from behind the curtain. She felt a little regretful. Lin Zhi naturally knew what her mother wanted to ask.

But Chen Yan's delay in coming inevitably made her a little anxious. But then Lin Zhi quickly shook her head: Now is not the time to think about these things, she is busy!

A few days ago, Linzhi was assigned by the Guanglu Temple and the Food Bureau to assist Cook You in organizing the Qionglin Banquet for the Jinshi scholars.

The last time she participated in the Lantern Festival banquet, she was just a cook working under the head of the fruit shop, responsible for the preparation of only two fruit dishes.

But this time, he suddenly became the person in charge at the same level as Chef Cui, so you can imagine the pressure he was under.

At the same time, Linzhi knew that the Qionglin Banquet was a grand occasion funded by the imperial court. The sage might bring the prince with him, and the banquet would be attended by high-ranking officials such as the ministers of the six ministries and the Hanlin academicians.

If she could get this done successfully, her status in the catering industry would definitely improve, and she would have more opportunities to take over large banquets.

Lin Zhi naturally did not dare to slack off on such an opportunity.

In the past ten days, she had made four or five trips to the Guanglu Temple and the Food Store respectively, and had taken notes that filled five large pages, all of which were about her experience in organizing banquets in previous years.

At this moment, Linzhi rubbed her sore eyes and lowered her head to look through the information in her hand. Today she needed to remember all these things in her head. Tomorrow she had to follow Chef You to Guanglu Temple to meet with other responsible persons and imperial chefs, taste the dishes, and adjust the menu.

According to previous regulations, the vice-chiefs were also required to submit two dish proposals. However, Chef You offered him some comfort: "We have this requirement every year, but very few are selected. Just relax and do your best."

Having said that, Linzhi didn't dare to relax at all.

As the saying goes, when you are in a position, you should do your job, take your responsibilities, and do your best. As a deputy head elected by many colleagues, quite prestigious and a newcomer, her every move will probably attract the attention of others.

Furthermore, since she came from a foot shop and had never hosted a large banquet, this banquet was also a test for her.

If she just casually took out two dishes and tried to get away with it, not only would she lose her reputation, but she would probably never have the chance to attend a large banquet again.

"What is Chef Lin busy with?" Manager Jiang was still thinking about what Song Jiaoniang asked Chen Yan, and when he saw Lin Zhi busy with her work, he couldn't help but ask quietly.

"Her." Song Jiaoniang was very proud of it, and she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. "Sister Zhi got the job at Guanglu Temple, and she is preparing for the Qionglin Banquet!"

Hearing about the Qionglin Feast, Manager Jiang's expression became even more strange: "Oh, that's really a big deal."

"That's right! Sister Zhi came back and told me about this, and then I learned that the results of the autumn examination were announced a few days ago, and there would be a palace examination later?" Song Jiaoniang mentioned this and muttered it casually.

"Today is the Palace Examination," Steward Jiang continued. He couldn't help but ask, "Madam Song and Chef Lin, you two... haven't heard about the announcement of the Autumn Examination results?"

Song Jiaoniang and Lin Zhi were both stunned. Lin Sen, who had just come out from the backyard, said, "Oh, it's not that there are no scholars in our family. There was no Autumn Examination when we came here last year, so of course we didn't think of going there."

Manager Jiang suddenly realized that this was true. After all, the Autumn Examination was held every three years. If there was no scholar in the family, it would be easy to miss it... Bullshit!

It is no exaggeration to say that the Autumn Examination is the most important event in Bianjing, but this family actually didn't pay any attention to it.

Manager Jiang was stunned when he heard this. He opened his mouth and wanted to say a few more words, but he remembered that his husband had specifically instructed him not to say anything. He finally swallowed his words and said vaguely, "You should pay more attention next time, otherwise it would be bad if you missed the time to sell the champion cake."

Lin Sen agreed with a smile.

They chatted for a while, and then Manager Jiang hurriedly said goodbye.

Madam Yu from next door saw Manager Jiang leave, so she came out for a walk, chatted with Song Jiaoniang for a while, and then went back home.

She pulled Shopkeeper Wu and sighed, "I never thought Mr. Shen had such ability that he even won the provincial championship."

After a pause, Madam Yu sighed again: "What a pity! I originally thought that Mr. Shen and Sister Zhi could be a perfect match, but now I'm afraid that's all gone."

At this point, Madam Yu couldn't help but complain: "What's going on with the Lin family? Mr. Shen has won the provincial championship, and they don't even know about it!"

Shopkeeper Wu wiped the drinking pot while advising, "Let's not worry about other people's affairs. Maybe the Lin family is deliberately pretending not to know."

"Why are you pretending? Even Manager Jiang asked this, but Shopkeeper Lin and Jiao Niang are still so stupid. It seems like they really haven't heard anything!"

"Steward Jiang is like this, maybe Mr. Shen deliberately taught him to keep it a secret?" Shopkeeper Wu felt that Madam Yu didn't understand men's hearts. "It's really boring. How can we let their steward send gifts in various ways every day!"

When Madam Yu heard this, she was also stunned.

Shopkeeper Wu changed the subject: "Of course, it's hard to say. I don't know what Mr. Shen is thinking... Alas, the Lin family is a little late after all."

"If the Lin family and Mr. Shen had arranged a marriage when he was still a clerk, it would have been a stroke of luck."

But now he has become the provincial champion and a guaranteed Jinshi, and even the daughter of the prime minister can marry him. Lin Zhi's family is not well off enough.

Madam Yu understood the implication of Shopkeeper Wu's words and secretly felt sorry for the Lin family. However, it was difficult to talk about this matter. She hesitated twice but couldn't say it out loud. In the end, she swallowed it back and pretended not to know.

Ten days later, the results of the palace examination came out.

Madam Yu ran to see the list and saw Chen Yan's name on the first row.

“Number one…Number one!”

"Mr. Shen is actually... the top scholar!" She spoke incoherently, stunned.

Shopkeeper Wu who came along also took a deep breath. A man with such talent as the top scholar could even marry a princess. Would such a person really marry Lin Zhi?

Many neighbors around here also knew about this. A while ago, they envied the Lin family's wife for her success, but now they feel sorry for the Lin family. Some people even talked about this to their children, teaching them not to set their sights too high.

Lin Sen and Song Jiaoniang have been encountering such sympathetic looks whenever they go out recently, which makes them both feel a little confused.

But they didn't have time to think about it, so they hung a sign at the door of the shop to indicate that the shop was closed for a break, gave the shop assistants and servants a day off, and then took two kitchen helpers and followed their daughter to get on the carriage sent by the Guanglu Temple and went to Qionglin Garden together.

"This is the imperial garden, also known as the Western Imperial Garden by the common people. Besides hosting the Qionglin Banquet for newly minted Jinshi, royal festivals and even Five Sacred Mountains sacrifices are often held here. Most importantly, it's open to the public in early March every year, a truly unprecedented opening of the imperial garden."

As Cook You spoke, she led the group through the vermilion gate.

As soon as you enter the vermilion gate, you will be greeted by a wide corridor paved with white marble, with neatly trimmed pines and cypresses standing on both sides. As you walk further in, the view becomes even more open, with a square also paved with white marble, a small bridge with white marble railings and flowing water, extending all the way to the pavilions and towers in the distance.

"Have you ever been here in the spring?"

"Business was booming during that period. We didn't have a break for two months and had no idea that Qionglin Garden was open," Linzhi replied.

Cook You glanced back. Unlike the other kitchen helpers who began to look around as soon as they entered Qionglin Garden, Lin Zhi had a calm expression. She neither poked her head forward nor slowed down the team's progress due to curiosity. She glanced at the surrounding scenery with the corner of her eyes, and followed her steadily and unhurriedly.

The look of being neither cramped nor ostentatious made Chef You feel satisfied and secretly relieved.

She was afraid that Lin Zhi would be blinded by the recent prosperity and get carried away, causing disaster.

Seeing that Lin Zhi was still as calm and steady as ever, she relaxed and said with a smile, "We have two days free. If Chef Lin likes, we can go for a walk."

Many ingredients need to be prepared in advance. In addition, for safety reasons, the court controls all personnel participating in the Qionglin Banquet. The group enters the Qionglin Garden in advance and can only leave after the banquet is over.

The Qionglin Banquet will officially begin in two days, so they can move around a bit in the first two days.

Once the preparations begin, everyone must stay in the designated area and is prohibited from entering other places.

Then, Chef You raised her hand and pointed to the bamboo forest on the left: "Behind that bamboo forest is the kitchen. Let's go there first to check out the arrangements, and then go to the main hall to see the layout of the banquet."

Linzhi responded and told her parents and the kitchen helpers to follow the guide. She followed Cook You, walked into the path surrounded by lush bamboo forests, and headed towards the kitchen.

What's more, even in these corners, there is a new scene at every step, which makes people feel relaxed when walking in them.

But soon, Lin Zhi lost her composure. At the far end of the bamboo forest path, a familiar bald chef suddenly appeared. Seeing the two of them, he beamed with joy and called out, "Chef You, Chef Lin, you've arrived just in time! Something went wrong, but some of the tribute ingredients have already arrived early. We need to hurry over and take a look!"

You Chu's expression darkened slightly, and Lin Zhi's admiration for the scenery faded. The two exchanged glances and hurried forward.