Minister Liu was in a daze for a moment, then sighed, “I understand, but things don’t always happen just because I want them to. My son is gone now, and I only have one daughter, Consort Hua. Of course, I also want to have a grandson.”
However, Consort Hua had been in the palace for three years, and her belly remained empty. He had mentioned this to his daughter many times.
"It's good that you know. Look... Regardless of whether the child is His Majesty's, His Majesty loves children. It's always right to have your daughter give birth to one as soon as possible."
Minister Liu nodded in agreement.
The competition became increasingly difficult, and Xi Xizhi's small face was tightly furrowed, her two delicate eyebrows squeezed together. She repeatedly picked up food and put it in her mouth, savoring it carefully.
...
An Honghan and Dongfang Youyu spent increasingly longer periods of time tasting the food.
Everyone approved of the first few dishes served. But as the competition progressed, fewer and fewer people remained. Gradually, apart from Xi Xizhi and her two companions, only two or three other contestants were left.
Until this dish.
The dish was full of minced meat. You couldn't tell anything about it just by looking at it. The taste was excellent. The first bite was a little spicy, but as you savored it, you could taste a hint of sweetness.
The flavors of the auxiliary ingredients are almost completely masked by these two flavors.
Xi Xizhi tried the food several times but still couldn't draw a conclusion.
Blinking, Xi Xizhi looked at the other three people, who were also frowning, seemingly unable to reach a conclusion, trying hard to figure out what the dish was made of and how it was cooked. Her bright eyes were filled with doubt.
"Paper, ink, brush, and inkstone." An Honghan, after pondering for a long time, was the first to break the silence.
Xi Xizhi blinked in surprise. An Honghan was too fast! He had reached a conclusion in such a short time.
The previous winner, Xu You, wasn't much better than Xi Xizhi. He tried countless times with his chopsticks, but still couldn't figure it out.
Dongfang Youyu maintained a gentle demeanor throughout, showing no sign of panic except for a slight furrow in his brow.
After a long while, Dongfang Youyu walked back to his table and chair, picked up his pen and began to write, "I've finally figured it out. Fengxianju really went to great lengths for this tasting competition."
Xi Xizhi panicked a little, thinking to herself, "How come you two are so amazing? Why is God so kind to them, not only giving them the highest status and inexhaustible wealth, but also making them so knowledgeable about food?"
Xi Xizhi's white teeth were tightly gripping the chopsticks, and her fluffy ears under the black cloth twitched repeatedly.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Xi Xizhi, who quickly seized the moment and called the host over to help her write the materials.
With her rosy little mouth opening and closing, Xi Xizhi whispered in her older sister's ear, slowly listing out the various ingredients.
Seeing that the other three had figured it out while he was still clueless, Xu You panicked completely. Without thinking twice, he picked up his pen and started writing, leaving the accuracy of his writing to chance.
The time it takes for an incense stick to burn slowly passes by.
The crowd below watched this scene with great excitement. Many people placed bets, but of course they wouldn't bet their money on a child. Seeing that An Honghan answered the questions the fastest each time, many people placed heavy bets on An Honghan to win.
Xi Xizhi gritted her teeth, her small fists clenched tightly in her sleeves.
Thirty thousand taels! We absolutely cannot lose.
After the female host checked the answers again, she said, "After several rounds of tasting, the difficulty has become increasingly greater. Unfortunately, another contestant will be leaving the competition."
As soon as the female host finished speaking, many people started talking at the top of their lungs.
"It must be that kid... I knew a kid couldn't possibly have that much ability."
"It's definitely a child, only seven or eight years old. How much could they possibly understand?"
In their eyes, it was already quite an achievement for Xi Xizhi to have overcome so many challenges. The remaining contestants were all formidable individuals, and this child's journey in the competition had likely come to an end.
However, the female host smiled and shook her head, looking disappointed. "The person who will be leaving this time is... Xu You. This dish used a total of twenty-eight ingredients. Xu You not only wrote down five more ingredients, but three of the ingredients he wrote down were also wrong."
She originally had high expectations for Xu You because he had participated in many culinary competitions and often won.
This time, however, he was no match for these three.
One of them was a child who was seven or eight years old.
The entire audience erupted in uproar, staring in disbelief.
"How could that be! Isn't Mr. Xu known for his silver tongue?"
"Yes! Yes! Mr. Xu was the ultimate winner last year."
This child has succeeded again! What does this mean? This child is far more capable than Xu You.
Xu You was in shock and dared not come to his senses. His face was pale and he was a little unsteady on his feet. He staggered off the platform.
Despite the incredulous voices around him, only he knew that since last year, his sense of taste had begun to decline with age. But he was arrogant, always believing that even with this decline, his ability to appreciate fine food was still superior to everyone else's.
Until this moment, he fully understood that he had lost.
The competition doesn't stop just because one person leaves.
The final match was between Xi Xizhi, An Honghan, and Dongfang Youyu.
Xi Xizhi turned to look at the two men, her previous confidence now reduced by half. She cursed inwardly, "You two have nothing better to do, and you're not short of money, so why are you trying to steal my money?"
"Isn't this getting more and more exciting? Which of the three contestants remaining on stage will be able to take home a thousand taels of silver?" The female host's sweet voice was very charming, and every smile and gesture was captivating.
"In this round... I hope we can reach a conclusion. Next, the chef from Fengxianju will specially prepare a soup. Let's see if the three of you can name the ingredients used in this soup and continue the competition."
Xi Xizhi, An Honghan, and Dongfang Youyu were each given a bowl of soup.
The soup was a thick, white liquid. Xi Xizhi glanced at it a few times but couldn't see a single vegetable leaf. Holding the bowl high, Xi Xizhi took a sip, and immediately a rich, refreshing fragrance filled her mouth. She felt as if she were in a mountain forest, with a cool breeze blowing towards her.
This soup definitely contains many precious ingredients.
Xi Xizhi couldn't help but hold the bowl and take another sip.
If Xi Xizhi could obtain the recipe for this soup, she would definitely have the imperial chef make it for her every day.
Lost in thought, Xi Xizhi drifted off-topic and pulled her thoughts back, quietly beginning to ponder how to make such a soup.
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