Chapter 399 The Imperial Kitchen Turmoil

Huo Lin put down his teacup, making a slight clinking sound.

His face was calm and expressionless, but deep within his eyes surged a turbulent sea.

Will you receive help from a benefactor?

If he truly has a benefactor, then his benefactor must be Jiang Huan.

Since she came into his life, he has been able to eat well and sleep well, and his originally boring and cold life has become vibrant and warm.

To be honest, he wasn't someone who valued his life, and he didn't care much about the unknown calamity.

But things are different now.

He must keep his life to protect her and their child.

"Thank you for your frankness, Master."

Huo Lin pondered for a moment, then brought up another matter.

"One last question: Will the benefactor you speak of, Master, be drawn into danger because of me?"

He asked the question with extreme restraint, but the deep-seated worry in his words was almost impossible to conceal.

Upon hearing this, the abbot clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer.

“Amitabha, fate is intertwined, cause and effect are continuous, and there is a natural order to things. The matter that the Emperor is worried about is a secret of Heaven that cannot be revealed. In other words, she is the secret of Heaven.”

These words seemed ambiguous, but Huo Lin understood something from them.

He took a deep breath, stood up, and bowed solemnly to the abbot: "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I understand."

After saying this, he walked away and returned to the palace with Jiang Huan.

Only the ancient bell behind me remains, its lingering sound echoing softly.

......

Ever since she had a vegetarian meal at Huguo Temple, Jiang Huan's enthusiasm for developing vegetarian desserts has soared, and the more she thinks about it, the more she feels that it can be done.

It's mainly because she was craving snacks, hehe.

However, she is now pregnant, and her belly is so big that it pushes her far away from the stove, not to mention that her reaction speed is not as good as before.

Fortunately, she still had a kitchen full of "soldiers"!

That afternoon, Jiang Huan, in high spirits, led several trusted palace maids to the imperial kitchen.

"Your Majesty!" Upon seeing the Goddess of Cookery, Steward Gao dropped his spatula and bowed respectfully without saying a word. "It's been a long time since you last visited!"

Needless to say, the other imperial chefs immediately put down their work and bowed in unison.

"We're all old acquaintances, why be so polite?" Jiang Huan waved her hand, thinking to herself that she had become their muse for food.

He then smiled and said, "Actually, I came here today to ask for your help. I want to research some new vegetarian dishes, but I don't have the energy to do it myself. If you're willing..."

Before Steward Gao could even finish speaking, his eyes blazed like wildfire in the kitchen, and he immediately pledged his loyalty.

"We will obey Your Majesty's orders! We will go wherever Your Majesty directs us, without uttering a single complaint!"

Hearing this, Jiang Huan was almost moved to tears.

As expected of her culinary army! They're reliable!

He immediately acted swiftly, directing everyone to their positions: "Okay, let's try two kinds first. The first one is the crispy version."

She pointed to the glutinous rice flour and rice flour: "Xiao Zhao, come here. Mix these together in a ratio of seven parts glutinous rice flour to three parts rice flour, add a little salt and sugar, and knead with warm water to form a firm dough. Let it rest for 15 minutes."

"Xiao Qian, slowly roast the sesame seeds and peanuts over low heat until fragrant, then grind them. Don't grind them too finely; leaving them with a grainy texture will make them more fragrant."

"After Xiao Sun has rested the dough, remember to roll it into a thin sheet, the thinner the better. Xiao Li then pokes some small holes in the surface with a bamboo skewer."

She spoke slowly but clearly, and Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li nodded repeatedly, immediately following her instructions and moving swiftly and in perfect harmony.

"Then the second one is to make it soft and filling." Jiang Huan turned to the yam and red dates on the other side.

"Steam the yam until cooked and mash it into a paste. Remove the pits from the red dates and steam them until soft to make date paste. You can mix a little bit of glutinous rice flour into the yam paste, then wrap it around the date paste filling and shape it into small cakes... As for the remaining personnel arrangements, I'll leave that to you, Steward Gao."

Manager Gao was instantly filled with pride at being given an important position, and he shouted excitedly as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

Looking at the lively yet orderly scene, Jiang Huan mentally gave herself a huge thumbs up.

Very good, very good. Through Li Fei's experience, she has developed a set of methods for leading tours.

Let's continue on this path happily!

Chief Steward Gao arranged the imperial chefs into a task force: kneading dough, rolling out wrappers, preparing fillings, and starting fires...

Jiang Huan walked around and observed, occasionally offering reminders about the heat or other details.

"The noodles should be thinner; if they're too thick, it'll be a challenge for our teeth."

"Remember to turn off the heat after the sesame seeds have released their aroma, otherwise they will burn like an oil field."

"Turn down the heat when making pancakes, have you ever heard of boiling a frog in lukewarm water?"

Just as things were getting lively, a slightly aged voice suddenly broke in at an inopportune moment.

"Nonsense! Royal pastries are meticulously prepared with hundreds of steps, and what are you doing? Such crude and simple ingredients, such a noisy and chaotic kitchen—it's an insult to the name of the Imperial Kitchen!"

Upon hearing this voice, everyone felt a chill run down their spines and stopped what they were doing, staring blankly at the stern-faced old man who was walking towards them with his hands behind his back.

His expression was as if he had been fed a mouthful of garbage; his brows were furrowed, and his face was full of disapproval.

Seeing that things were not going well, Chief Steward Gao quickly stepped forward and whispered to Jiang Huan, "Your Majesty, this is Chef Liu, an old master of the Imperial Kitchen and our mentor. He had returned to his hometown to recuperate due to illness and just came back to work today."

He then winked at Chef Liu, saying, "Chef Liu, this is the Imperial Noble Consort."

Meanwhile, Jiang Huan was racking her brains trying to figure out who this person was, and now she suddenly realized.

It turns out the old master craftsman has returned.

Adhering to the principles of civility and politeness, she smiled politely and said, "You may not know this, but this is a new type of pastry. The way it is made is naturally different from the usual court pastries."

The old imperial chef approached and gave Jiang Huan a perfunctory bow, his attitude hardly respectful.

He was an old man in the palace and was under the Empress Dowager's protection.

Most importantly, before he left the palace, all those concubines were nothing more than scallions in the Emperor's eyes.

He naturally associated Jiang Huan with that scallion, thinking she was just fooling around trying to win his favor.

So he simply stroked his beard, his gaze critically sweeping over the thin noodles being rolled on the cutting board and the roasted sesame seeds and peanuts beside it, and gave a cold snort.

"In my humble opinion, Your Highness is unaware of something."

"The most important thing about this vegetarian dessert is its purity. The flavor must be light to show its elegance. There shouldn't be too much oil or sugar. What would it look like if you added sesame seeds and peanuts in it!"

As Jiang Huan listened to his theory, the corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily.

Isn't this the same recipe that turned Huo Lin into a live volcano?

So that's where the root of the problem lies.

She really wanted to tell this stubborn old master that times have changed, but Manager Gao was a good person, and she didn't want to make things difficult for him.

So he patiently continued to reason with them.

"Master, what you say makes sense, but there's no right or wrong when it comes to food. A thousand people will have a thousand different tastes. Adding sesame seeds and peanuts is to make it more fragrant and crunchy, and to enrich the texture. Besides, His Majesty is usually very busy with state affairs..."

Before she could finish speaking, the old imperial chef interrupted her, his tone even more displeased.

"His Majesty is busy with state affairs every day, and the food and snacks he uses are all regulated. How can he pursue something as crispy as a street vendor? Your Majesty's actions are against the rules!"

"This old servant has served in the Imperial Kitchen for decades, and I know better than Your Majesty how to make these pastries!"

He turned to the busy young imperial chefs, his voice suddenly becoming stern: "Stop! Who told you to waste the ingredients like this? The noodles are rolled so thin, what kind of behavior is this? It's utterly vulgar! Take them all away! Do it the old way!"

The young imperial chefs looked at each other, their faces showing difficulty.

Their gazes darted between Jiang Huan and the old imperial chef, unsure of whose advice to take.

The old imperial chef had long held considerable power and was also their master, so they dared not disobey him.

But they dared not disobey the Imperial Noble Consort's orders.

When Jiang Huan saw that the old imperial chef not only rejected her methods but also directly interfered with her instructions, a small flame of anger ignited in her heart.

So you're determined to refuse a toast only to suffer the consequences, huh? This old-fashioned approach won't work on her!

She still had a smile on her face, but her tone was a bit more subdued.

“Master Liu, rules are rigid, but people are flexible. His Majesty has been overworked lately and has not had a good appetite. I just wanted to make some snacks that suit his taste. Is that wrong? Besides, I am now in charge of the Imperial Kitchen. I have my own ideas on how to proceed.”

The old imperial chef's face darkened when he saw that Jiang Huan dared to contradict him in public.

When he was in the palace, because of the Empress Dowager, neither Consort Jia nor Consort Li dared to give him a hard time.

This empress who appeared out of nowhere dared to speak so arrogantly in front of him!

In terms of culinary skills, everyone in the imperial kitchen is his apprentice; none of them can compare to him!

His voice rose slightly, tinged with obvious anger: "His Majesty has a poor appetite, so he needs a light diet to nourish himself, not these greasy and heavy foods. If Your Majesty insists on going your own way, don't blame this old servant for not obeying!"