That her production is unoriginal?
Su Lijin glanced up and down at Concubine Shu. Her fingers were clean, as if she had never touched any food at all.
"This has nothing to do with you. The Queen Mother set the questions. It depends on your ability. Do whatever you want."
As he spoke, he called upon the eunuchs and palace maids to place the fire that had been lit on them on a rack that was convenient for roasting.
"A vulgar person will use vulgar methods." Seeing this, Concubine Shu pinched her nose, as if she had seen something dirty and was very disgusted.
Hearing this, Su Lijin said without even turning her head, "Some people don't even move. I don't know what they'll do when the time comes. It's better to come here and waste time than to actually do something and that's the real skill."
Shufei was immediately slapped in the face and glared at Su Lijin angrily.
But after Su Lijin finished speaking, she no longer paid any attention to her, so she could only leave in disappointment.
The rack was simple, but it did not affect its use at all. Su Lijin stood with the palace maids and eunuchs and arranged the meat skewers one by one. After a while, the aroma of meat wafted into the air.
But the smell was just meat, not particularly appetizing, and it just lingered around them.
"Add a little more firewood. The meat on the other end is not roasted."
Su Lijin ordered.
The eunuch hurriedly added firewood to the place she pointed.
"Well, the heat needs to be even so the meat isn't overcooked or raw."
She nodded, as if she was instructing the eunuchs and palace maids, or as if she was muttering to herself.
As she spoke, she turned around and fiddled with a bunch of kitchen spices and herbs, estimated the amounts by eye, and placed them in a small bowl.
"Empress, should we serve this meat directly?"
A palace maid asked.
"Of course not, we need seasoning." Putting the dishes on the grill, Su Lijin grabbed a handful and sprinkled it on.
Almost instantly, the fire roasted the seasoning, emitting an extremely tempting aroma that wafted far away.
"Hey, it smells so good!" someone exclaimed in surprise.
"I have never smelled this fragrance before. It has a special smell and it makes me hungry." The Queen Mother was also a little greedy.
"This smells so good! I feel like I can eat three bowls of rice tonight!"
There were exclamations from the crowd, and everyone sniffed the strong and tempting aroma of food in the air, swallowing their saliva involuntarily.
The envious crowd turned their eyes towards the source of the fragrance, and when they saw what Su Lijin was sprinkling, they immediately became curious.
The Queen Mother discovered that this was actually made by Su Lijin, and the surprise on her face faded a lot: "Queen, what kind of food did you make?"
Su Lijin smiled and said, "Mother, this is barbecue. Skewer the meat and roast it over the fire. You can enjoy the freshness and tenderness of the meat."
Many people stretched their necks, seeming to be very curious about this practice.
"Why does it smell so good?" Although the Queen Mother had never tasted it, she was curious about why the aroma was so tempting.
Before Su Lijin could answer, a concubine pointed at the plate in her hand and said, "I saw that the Empress sprinkled the food from that plate. The fragrance is too tempting, it's really suspicious!"
"Yeah, this smell is so delicious! It smells like a spell that makes me unable to control my appetite. It doesn't smell like something normal."
Immediately someone agreed with her.
The concubine said, "I see, there must be something similar to opium in there! Otherwise it would be impossible to make people so addicted!"
Poppy, can't stop, these words put together, suddenly exploded in the air like a pot of frying pan, and everyone's face changed.
"Poppy is something that harms people, Queen. Do you know that you are poisoning everyone?" The Queen Mother was so angry that she slammed the table and actually directly determined that there was poppy in it.
"That's right, opium is addictive. After taking it, your body will become weaker and weaker, and eventually you will die of weight loss. What a vicious mind!"
There are many different opinions, but they all point the finger at Su Lijin.
The eunuchs and palace maids standing beside Su Lijin turned pale and knelt down in unison.
"The slaves knew nothing and were wronged!"
They didn't know what Su Lijin had spread, but they obviously believed that it contained poppy and were scared to death.
They were all barbecuing together just now. If they were convicted, they might not be able to afford even ten lives!
Su Lijin calmly brought the plate in front of her: "There is no poppy in this. This is a seasoning I made myself."
"Who would believe that ordinary seasonings could have such a fragrance? This is clearly a quibble!"
But the people really didn't believe it.
The Queen Mother said with a sullen face, "Call Imperial Physician Lu over. I want to see the Imperial Physician examine me with my own eyes."
Doctor Lu?
Su Lijin's heart moved slightly, this is also a good thing.
Originally, Su Lijin was still thinking that if she called other imperial doctors, it would be more troublesome for her to deal with it if they were bribed to frame her.
But she was not worried about Imperial Physician Lu Bingqian.
Lu Bingqian is her personal physician. He is an excellent doctor and a very nice person. She doesn't have to worry that he will say anything against his will.
The concubines and the empress dowager also recognized his integrity.
Soon, Doctor Lu was brought in.
"Empress, is this the seasoning you mixed yourself?" Doctor Lu asked, taking the plate.
Su Lijin nodded: "I made it myself."
The others craned their necks, waiting for Doctor Lu to point out the presence of poppy.
Doctor Lu sprinkled the seasoning on the white cloth, separated it bit by bit, and then put it next to his nose and smelled it.
Then, suddenly, he put the seasoning into his mouth.
Everyone exclaimed, there was poppy in it, it was like eating poison!
Su Lijin raised her brows, a little surprised, but it seemed that Doctor Lu had an idea in mind.
Imperial Physician Lu bowed to the Empress Dowager and said, "Your Majesty, I have checked and tasted it, and there is no poppy in it. It can be consumed with confidence."
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