Concubine Jiang had never felt so unhappy before.

wrong.

That woman had even more misfortunes when she married into the palace, and her recent period of misfortunes can be ranked after this.

First, the Imperial Food Department was so disobedient, and then the Imperial Household Department even dared to deduct the money she spent on buying ice to store food, and she was even caught red-handed burying rotten food.

Therefore, the right to manage the six palaces was lost, and the mother's family was also reprimanded.

She could tolerate all these, but she had to bear the blame for the assassination of that woman.

Although nothing was found out later and it was shown that Yan Pei's injury had nothing to do with her, her reputation was still bad after all. Now the power in the harem has been returned to that bitch Chu Jieyu.

What right does she have? Her family background is not as good as mine. Even her son, the Second Prince, dared to come out, saying that the prince is sixteen years old and can take charge of government.

The eldest son of the royal family will rule the country at the age of 14, and the other sons will rule the country at the age of 16.

In theory, it is possible.

But does she deserve it?

His family background is not even as good as mine, and he is not qualified to be in charge of government.

But none of this made Concubine Jiang more angry than the people from the Imperial Food Department who were asking for rewards.

What do you mean the three-month agreement has passed? What about the money that the imperial concubine mentioned as a subsidy for the western kitchen?

It started in July and now it is September.

Is this about money? It's clearly about one's own face.

Concubine Jiang suppressed her anger, tried hard to appear kind and generous, and even praised him a few times.

He directly gave out the entire year's subsidy, from July to December, a total of five hundred taels of silver.

It hurts her flesh.

At that time, the saint was not favored and had no possibility of succeeding to the throne, so a girl like me, a girl from a minor official family, could become his wife.

Her family was not wealthy, and a few hundred or a few thousand taels of silver were nothing to those princesses and princesses, but she still felt the pain.

Whether I keep the money myself or give it to my parents' home, it is better than giving it to the western kitchen.

The west dining room is the food department.

That means I can’t touch you now.

When her son becomes emperor, he will take care of you.

Imperial Concubine Jiang called the cook Jiang Hongye over again and said, "You used to be a member of the Imperial Food Department. Go find a few capable people and have them secretly gather information."

As he said this, he gave another sum of money as expenses for his spies.

Sooner or later, we will have to ask for double the money from Shangshisi.

Knowing that Concubine Jiang was angry in Zhongcui Palace, Concubine Chu of Yonghe Palace had a calm expression.

She didn't think she had won, so she was careful at every step. After all, that woman was a noble concubine, and she was just a concubine. Even if she was in charge of the harem, she was still a concubine.

It would be great if I could take over the Shangshi Division for my own use.

But when she came into contact with the chief of the Imperial Food Department in the palace, that female official was not easy to deal with. She was dealt with with just a few words and had absolutely no intention of surrendering.

In that case, just let it go for now.

She didn't want to be as stupid as Concubine Jiang, who was determined to take on a tough task.

While the fighting inside the inner room continued, people in the west kitchen were celebrating. They had an extra 500 taels of money for food this year, so they must be very happy!

They can have more food!

Before the meal was served, another piece of news came.

This extra meal has another meaning, which is to celebrate the promotion of Zuo Zhizhang, the head of the West Kitchen.

As mentioned before, there are four more positions in the Shangshenjian Office of the Shangshisi, and a few people will definitely be transferred there.

The Western Kitchen has made rapid progress recently and made many contributions, so someone will definitely emerge from there.

But why is the left in charge?

Everyone knows that there will be a female official from the West Kitchen who will go to the Shangshenjian, but why isn't she the Right Supervisor?

It's not that the left-hand person is bad, but in terms of seniority, age, and temperament, the right-hand person should be in charge.

Not to mention others, even Aunt Yonglan, the left-hand man, was stunned and immediately looked at the right-hand man.

She knew in her heart that it shouldn't be her. Although she had been envious before, she also knew who was the most suitable between the two.

Everyone was surprised, and the right hand master smiled and said, "Since you are going, you must do something good for our western kitchen."

The Right Hand usually doesn't like to joke, so now that he is saying this, it means he doesn't care.

This surprised the other palace servants.

He was promoted from the sixth-rank Right Manager of the Western Kitchen to the sixth-rank Chief of the Imperial Kitchen, which can be said to be a huge leap in official position.

Not to mention taking charge, even if the prime minister or deputy prime minister takes charge of the headquarters, it is actually feasible.

Such an opportunity, but she doesn't even care about it?

The right-hand woman smiled and glanced towards the Guandi Temple implicitly. She and the chief of the Imperial Food Department both felt that she could not leave yet and had to stay here to guard the place.

Moreover, under her care, Su Wan would not easily come into conflict with any party.

Little Su Wan needs to be well protected now.

The guy at Guandi Temple also needs to provide cover.

So she decided not to leave. After all, it was all the same to her no matter where she worked.

Since the real master doesn't care, the remaining palace servants can only celebrate for Aunt Yonglan, the Left Palace Master.

How could Aunt Yonglan not be excited? She originally thought that being a sixth-rank female official was already lucky. She came to the palace because her family was poor and she had no other way to make a living.

Although her cooking skills were average, she was efficient in her speech and actions. Although she was stuffed into a remote western kitchen, she always worked diligently.

Now he has been promoted.

But at this moment, Aunt Yonglan could only hold the right palm of her hand and said, "Well, as long as you say something, I will do whatever you say."

The Right Master couldn't help laughing, and Deputy Prime Minister Xi patted her on the shoulder, "Don't say such nonsense. Let's not talk about our relationship. It's better to think about what you want to eat at your promotion banquet."

By then, the big kitchen will definitely add more food and meat, while the small kitchen will only have three female officials and five palace maids for a small gathering.

They are also more familiar with these people.

Aunt Yonglan looked at Su Wan and said, "I will definitely eat whatever Su Wan cooks."

With such a good opportunity, she must eat the food prepared by Su Wan. It would probably be difficult for her to eat it again when she goes to the Shangshenjian in the future.

Su Wan readily agreed: "I can cook anything, it depends on your taste."

Everyone was having a great time here, but Aunt Yonglan was not the only one who got promoted. Once Aunt Yonglan left, the position of left supervisor of the west kitchen became vacant, and the candidate was easy to choose, so the eldest sister among the senior palace maids was chosen directly.

In order to distinguish her clearly, the palace servants always called her "big sister". In fact, her real name was Ban Hongqin. She entered the palace at the age of seventeen and has been there for five years. She is twenty-three this year. Although she is not very old, she is calm and steady in her work.

Sister Hongqin's promotion was expected, and everyone naturally cheered for her in a low voice.

The senior palace maids who came later naturally filled the position, and the former second sister became the eldest sister, which was also a job title.

But in the end, a position became vacant.

But this position was left empty and no one was assigned to it.

The head of the Imperial Food Department and the deputy prime minister simply ignored the matter and did not select anyone from other palace servants.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at Su Wan.

Is there anyone more suitable than Su Wan?

Isn't this position reserved for her?

Su Wan was surprised herself, and interrupted directly with her right hand: "Now it's more important to celebrate, Yonglan, what do you want to eat? Prepare it quickly."

Aunt Yonglan also interrupted these speculations.

There is nothing to guess.

Empty means empty.

There is always the right person.

Moreover, the position of the chief palace maid was left vacant for Su Wan. I think none of the palace maids in the west kitchen would object.

Considering Su Wan’s cooking skills, who wouldn’t admire her?

Without her, where would so many recipes come from? Even the entire western kitchen has received Su Wan's instructions. The position of a senior palace maid should indeed belong to her.

When no one was around, the Deputy Prime Minister of the West said, "You have made great contributions to the West Kitchen this time, but you are not promoted. This is really unjustified."

"So the commander said that in the name of formulating the recipe, he would give you an extra eight taels of silver per month."

etc.

The position of the chief palace maid was left vacant, and then she was given a subsidy of eight taels of silver under other names.

How is this different from a promotion?

It just doesn't have that title.

Su Wan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she also felt that there was a reason why the Shangshi Bureau was so united. With such a leader who was clear about rewards and punishments, it was hard for everyone not to like this place.

But I definitely won't refuse the money.

Who would refuse money that is handed to them?

That’s eight taels of silver more per month!

Besides, she felt right about taking the money.

While the West Kitchen was immersed in the joy of promotion, people in the Imperial Food Department were also talking about it.

Now the four extra female officials at the Shangshenjian headquarters have also been arranged.

Among them, the chief chef of Shangshen is of the sixth rank, and is Aunt Yonglan, the former left chief of the sixth rank in the west kitchen.

The position of Shangshan Yuanwailang is of the fifth rank, and is held by the right director of the Northern Kitchen. This person is the female official who previously made Xiang rice noodles. She was meritorious in the last incident, so she was naturally promoted.

There are also two fifth-rank official positions, namely the Shangshen Zuo Langzhong.

The Zuo Langzhong was Song Cui, a senior palace maid serving the chief of the Ministry of Food. She had previously been by the chief's side and her rank was also the sixth rank. Although she had taken two steps up now, it was not bad.

The selection of the Right Doctor was somewhat unexpected as he should have been the head of the Southern Kitchen or the Prime Minister's deputy.

Unexpectedly, the sixth-rank Beicheng Deputy was directly appointed as the fifth-rank Shangshen Youlangzhong.

The reason is simple. Deputy Prime Minister Nan does not want to leave the Southern Kitchen. After all, it is the most important department in the entire Shangshi Division.

The left and right leaders under her are also newcomers. Jiang Hongye had served longer before, but Jiang Hongye was asked to leave the inner palace, so someone else was temporarily appointed to replace him.

So for a while, there was no suitable candidate for the South Kitchen.

This is how it was decided.

The situation at the Zaliku was different. No matter whether they were female officials or palace maids, they were all skilled people who made wine, sweets and ice. They were all skilled workers and did not work in management positions at the headquarters.

At least that’s how Su Wan understood it.

In addition to the most familiar Aunt Yonglan, the only one who was promoted to go to the headquarters this time was the ones who came to work.

The other people have also met him several times. Needless to say, Sister Song Cui is always kind and gentle, and she was the one who accompanied him during the Wumei Soup incident.

The original owner of the North Kitchen was a master at making delicious Hunan noodles, and he was also a pleasant person.

The former deputy of the Northern Prime Minister in the Northern Kitchen is even more calm and calculating. When the chief of the Imperial Food Department went to the palace, the Imperial Food Department was handed over to her to manage, and she was absolutely impeccable in her work.

Now they have been promoted based on their own abilities.

Moreover, everyone's personalities complement each other, and they can definitely support the Shangshi Bureau which was newly incorporated into the Ministry of Rites.

Just thinking about it makes me happy for Shangshisi.

Aunt Yonglan, who was about to leave, had also decided what to eat.

Eat dumplings when you go out and noodles when you get home. Since she is going out, just eat dumplings.

What’s more, after the food is cooked in the small kitchen, it can be brought to the entire western kitchen for sharing.

Their western kitchen cooks for everyone all day long, and this time they have a small meal, so dumplings are the most suitable dish and everyone can share in the festive mood.

Having said that, we must start doing it.

Aunt Yonglan even decided on the flavor of the dumplings, which must be pork and green onion filling, and the taste is absolutely delicious.

Speaking of dumplings stuffed with pork and green onions, Su Wan immediately becomes excited.

How could Su Wan not be excited when thinking of the juicy, delicious and tasty dumplings?

Since this matter has been handed over to her, she will definitely do a great job.

Soon, Su Wan took Yu Shu to the small kitchen to work, and brought a few palace maids to help. The female officials had a lot of things to do, so they didn't go with them.

Not only did they have to hand over the subsequent responsibilities, they also had to familiarize themselves with the new left manager of the West Kitchen, Sister Hongqin.

There is still a lot of things to do, but the pork, flour and other ingredients have already been delivered to the small kitchen, and I also bought some fruit for those who are helping.

But everyone was leaving room for more, so it was more important to eat the dumplings made by Su Wan.

Since we are making dumplings, both the dough and the fillings are equally important.

Only when both are done well will the taste be good.

The dough for the dumpling skin should be a little harder than usual. After all, it is put into the pot to cook with the fillings inside. If it is too soft, the skin will be cooked easily, but the fillings will not be cooked yet.

In order to make the dough more chewy, an egg white is added, and the egg yolk is kept for later mixing into the filling.

Yu Shu followed Su Wan and her dough kneading skills improved as well. After the dough was kneaded, she would put it aside to wake up.

On the other side, start chopping the stuffing.

Many times, Su Wan feels that compared with industrialized products, handmade products are more refined, but mincing is indeed an exception.

The filling made by the machine is in a paste-like state, and Su Wan likes to use this kind of filling to make meatballs.

The hand-chopped ones are not as fine, but they have a granular texture. This granular texture makes the filling taste more flavorful and retains some juice.

But relying solely on the juice in the filling itself is definitely not enough. When stirring the filling, add pepper water, onion and garlic water to make the filling more flavorful.

These two kinds of water must be poured in several times so that the filling can be fully absorbed.

This is not enough, you also need to add vegetable oil to make the filling more oily and taste more delicious.

The oil poured in now is also Su Wan’s special spice oil for frying.

That is, spices such as star anise and peppercorns are fried in hot oil, and scallions are added last.

This kind of oil is delicious when used to mix with noodles, not to mention being poured into stuffings as a seasoning. This is also the secret to making many stuffings extra delicious.

Of course, there is another way, which is to mix in pepper water, onion and garlic water, then pour in the onion and garlic and stir as usual, and finally pour hot oil on it to stimulate the aroma.

Either method is fine, but the former is easier to operate and, most importantly, easier to stir.

The pork filling, which has been added with pepper water, onion and ginger water, and spice oil, is now so fragrant that you can't wait to take a bite.

For Su Wan, it was actually not over yet. Not only did she beat the remaining egg yolk into the filling, she also beat a few more eggs into it. As long as they didn't overshadow the main ingredient and were fully mixed into the filling, they would only stimulate the aroma of the filling.

After this operation, Yu Shu was fine, and Chunxiang, who had followed Su Wan, was also fine.

Xiaoyue and others were dumbfounded.

I know that Su Wan’s cooking is delicious and meticulous, but how could she make an ordinary filling so different?

There are so many little details in it.

That's for sure.

If you want the food to be delicious, this detail is essential.

But is this a little detail?

There are clearly so many details!

When I was making the dumpling skins just now, it was already surprising enough, and now it is even more eye-catching.

Su Wan is really good at cooking.

After the filling was ready and the dumpling skins were mixed, the female officials came over. They had been working as hard as they could and came to help.

They will definitely participate in the farewell dumplings.

But they couldn't help but be amazed by the fillings that Su Wan had carefully prepared.

Now you can imagine what these dumplings taste like.

This time, the other stewards did not come to join in the fun, as they all knew that this was the West Kitchen's own activity.

But the more I thought about it, the more worried I became. The doctor from the Ministry of Rites had even eaten such spicy grilled fish before, and it was a pity that he was not included in the special meal this time.

But they couldn't eat any of it, so Yan Pei still got a big bowl.

In the study of the Armory Bureau, General Xu was speechless.

He was too embarrassed to go to the small kitchen in the west kitchen, and was kicked out when he went there. How come the Third Prince was fine?

Su Wan didn’t know that he was the Third Prince. Everything was his and nothing was hers. This was not fair!

Yan Pei pretended not to see it, but when he bit into the dumpling, he couldn't help but take a second look at the dumpling with such thin skin and rich filling. Su Wan could make dumplings in so many different ways.

Not only Yan Pei thought so, the entire west kitchen thought so.

It’s the same pork and green onion filling, but why is the one I make a little dry and not as delicious?

It is made by Su Wan. The filling is fresh and delicious, the skin is chewy and soft, not fishy or woody, and it is really delicious.

The entire western kitchen feasted while no one came to eat, and so many dumplings were snatched up by more than a hundred people in the western kitchen.

They finally understood why so many housekeepers came to the small kitchen to eat every day.

Because the food made by Su Wan is different.

Her control over heat and seasoning is truly amazing.

And it seems like the recipes in her mind will never run out.

That's for sure.

Thousands of years of culinary heritage, this cannot be faked.

If she works hard at it, Su Wan feels that she can do three thousand things without repeating herself, and they are all small things.

The people in the West Outer Palace were very greedy for the dumplings, but what was the use of being greedy, because this was someone else's special kitchen in the West Kitchen, not theirs.

After a lively dumplings meal, it was time to clean up.

All good things must come to an end, but from now on we will both be in the Shangshi Division and continue to work together.

No matter when, everyone will remember this delicious dumpling meal.

The changes brought about by the position changes in the Shangshi Department were not completed until the end of September, which was a fast enough processing speed.

After all, adding positions and adding things to do will always keep you busy for a while.

Aunt Yonglan told me that since the Ministry of Rites was newly incorporated, there are so many things to do that she misses the days in the West Kitchen. In comparison, the West Kitchen is really quiet.

By October, the weather was getting cooler, and Su Wan cooked more and more soups. It was October, and it was time for her to see her family once every three months.

Although Yan Pei has been very busy recently, he would often leave her notes to tell her about Third Aunt's recent situation. However, every time he bought things for Third Aunt, he would never take the money, but only take the note he left next to the purse.

By now, Su Wan had naturally discovered that Yan Pei was not an ordinary disciple.

But when you think about his character, there's naturally nothing much to say.

No matter what his identity is, as long as everyone gets along well with him.

On the third day of October, Su Wan looked at the slaughtered lamb, then looked at the stewards who were surrounding her, cleared her throat and said, "Is it confirmed? Shall we have mutton hotpot?"

As the weather gets colder, eating mutton hotpot is the most comfortable thing to do.

Everyone nodded immediately.

Just eat mutton hotpot!

They still remember the grilled fish hotpot they had last time, but it was not a proper hotpot after all. If they wanted soup, they should have the mutton hotpot.

Now the only animals left in the zoo are rabbits and goats.

I have to say that no poultry meat can survive here for long.

That time when I made pork and scallion dumplings, I didn't bring my supervisors with me, which made them resentful for a long time. Afterwards, I ate a lot of chicken and duck, and they finally felt better.

But just as the sheep was slaughtered, news suddenly came from outside, asking several stewards to return to their offices.

Even the news came out from the West Kitchen that palace servants were not allowed to move around freely, and if they were discovered by patrolling guards, they would be severely punished.

Calculating the time, it is indeed afternoon now, so the managers cannot come out at will, but it is not that strict usually, right?

Seeing that the people who spread the news were all their confidants, several supervisors understood the situation.

Looking at the lamb that had just been slaughtered, my heart was bleeding.

Although the mutton will not go bad if left out for a day or two in this weather, it still makes me feel bad.

Su Wan and Yu Shu had never experienced anything like this before.

They have been in the palace for more than half a year, and have not received such strict orders. In fact, they are not allowed to move around freely in the palaces, but the outer palace is different after all, and it is normal for everyone to visit each other when they have nothing to do.

It’s so strict, something must have gone wrong?

The old supervisor of the treasury naturally had to go back as well, but before leaving he whispered, "Something must have happened in the inner palace, so all the rules have been tightened up, and we must all follow the strictest regulations."

"You two don't need to light a fire to cook. Go back to your residence immediately and wait until it's time to cook in the small kitchen or the big kitchen."

"Put the mutton in the ice cellar first, and wait until everything is fine in the inner palace."

The old manager of the treasury is indeed an old man and knows these things very well.

When Su Wan and the others returned to their residence, they heard that patrol troops were searching everywhere.

More news came, making everyone worried again.

That's the news.

The saint was nearly assassinated.

The saint was almost assassinated in the inner palace which was heavily guarded?

Once something like this happens, the entire palace will be under martial law, and all palace servants will not be able to move around freely.

But how could a saint be assassinated?

And what’s going on in this palace? Why are there assassins every day?

One moment, the Third Prince was assassinated, and the target was aimed at Concubine Jiang. After all, her legitimate son was dead, so wouldn't her eldest son be immediately next in line?

But who would kill a saint for no reason?

It can’t be the Third Prince, right?

He is a saint, but he is the legitimate son.

But it's impossible when you think about it.

The Third Prince is not crazy, and he is alone and weak, so how could he assassinate the Emperor?

However, there are rumors outside at this time that the Third Prince can't wait, so he wants to kill his father.

How old is the Third Prince? Is he in such a hurry to ascend the throne?

Su Wan analyzed for a while and found that she still didn't understand the situation in the palace.

The residence was very quiet at this moment. Normally everyone was talking and laughing in the yard, but now they were silent, and it was obvious that they were a little scared.

In fact, Xiaoyue wanted to say something, but when she thought about how she lost the opportunity to work with Su Wan because of her gossip, she decided not to say anything.

Chunxiang saw it from the side and said, "There are only four of us anyway, so we won't tell anyone even if you tell us."

Not to mention others, Su Wan was now curious about what Xiaoyue knew.

She does love gossip, but the gossip she comes up with is very interesting.

Seeing that everyone was curious and that they were indeed one of her own, Xiao Yue lowered her voice and said, "You have all heard of that rumor, right? That the Third Prince is not the son of a saint, but the son of the deceased Prince Yu."

This was almost known to everyone in the palace and the rumor was widely spread.

Seeing everyone nodding, even Su Wan looked at her curiously, Xiao Yue said: "And it is rumored that the late queen liked Prince Yu, right?"

"The rumor is true. The former queen was Prince Yu's fiancée. They were childhood sweethearts."

"Originally they were going to get married in January of that year, but the late queen heard what Prince Yu's subordinates said, saying that she was too domineering and not gentle at all, and that if it wasn't for the throne, he would never marry her. He also said that she was as stupid as a pig and very easy to deceive."

"Anyway, she was deceived badly. Even the late queen's father and brother supported Prince Yu because of her."

"The late queen was spoiled since she was young, and her father and brother were both meritorious officials. Even the princess had to give in to her when she saw her. In a fit of rage, she chose the current saint to marry."

"She said she was angry, but I heard that Prince Yu said something that made the late queen decide to marry someone else."

"Because Prince Yu said that if he ascended the throne, he would not tolerate the late queen's father and brother, and would have to kill them in order to secure his throne."

"Just a few months after she got married, the saint ascended the throne with the support of her father and brother."

"Prince Yu was a useless man, and was summoned by the late queen from outside the palace to the Wanshou Palace where she lived every day. He had to shout "Long live the queen" ten times a day and kowtow ten times before he could leave. Although Prince Yu was in trouble, he was ruthless and took the late queen with him to die together."

"But in this way, the rumors outside will become that the two committed suicide for love."

"So there have been constant rumors about the Third Prince from the time he was born until the late Queen passed away."

From Xiaoyue, Su Wan finally knew what happened completely.

Is this the reason why the late queen insisted on marrying someone else?

It's not arrogance, nor is it brainless.

It's because of her father and brother.

She knew that Prince Yu would kill her father and brother after he ascended the throne, so she wanted to marry an emperor who was easier to control.

So I chose the current saint, the most inconspicuous person.

No wonder, everything weird has a reason.

But in the end, her father and brother died, and she died with them.

Not only would she die, but her son would also suffer unbearable humiliation.

Su Wan subconsciously looked towards the inner palace.

Is that person who is in a high position and is called a saint by everyone really insignificant?