To fully demonstrate their sincerity to the emperor, Ye Jingchen even taught them how to start a fire during this training session.
They handled the entire process themselves from beginning to end.
A month later, their skills had become quite rusty, but after practicing once, they gradually regained their feel for it.
To motivate them, Ye Jingchen brought out many treasures as rewards for those who cooked noodles well.
On that day, as they became more and more proficient, they practiced a total of five times.
Most of the smart children had already guessed that Ye Jingchen must have had a deeper meaning in asking them to learn how to cook noodles.
However, apart from Ye Jingshu, who already knew Ye Jingchen's plan, and Ye Jinghe, who had already guessed it himself, no one else dared to think about the emperor's birthday.
Firstly, the imperial palace did not have the custom of eating longevity noodles on birthdays.
Secondly, noodles are not a rare delicacy, so how could they be presented as a treasure to the emperor?
The second day of the seventh lunar month is the emperor's birthday.
The Imperial Astronomical Bureau has decreed that this is an auspicious day, suitable for all activities.
On the emperor's birthday, the whole country celebrates.
On this day, Wenhua Hall also benefited from the exemption from classes.
Led by Ye Jingchen, the princes and princesses arrived at Chengqian Palace early to pay their respects to the emperor.
After paying his respects, Ye Jingchen asked to use the kitchen of Chengqian Palace, saying he wanted to send a birthday gift to the emperor.
There's no way around it; noodles are something you have to make and eat fresh, they can't be left out.
If the noodles were prepared in the small kitchen of the Eastern Palace and brought to Chengqian Palace, they would probably clump together before even reaching Chengqian Palace.
Ye Jingchen only thought of this problem at the last minute, which could only lessen the emperor's surprise and anticipation.
Previously, the emperor had never received birthday gifts from princes and princesses, since they were still too young and did not have any truly presentable gifts of their own.
Not to mention birthday gifts, that peony was the first gift the emperor received from his children.
Otherwise, the emperor wouldn't have liked that flower so much, allowing Zhang Shunde to display it in the Chongzheng Hall for so long.
When Ye Jingchen said he wanted to give him a birthday gift, the emperor naturally had no reason not to agree.
He had previously wondered why Ye Jingchen had been bringing the princes and princesses to the small kitchen in the East Palace to cook noodles for two consecutive months. He even suspected that Ye Jingchen was really interested in being a chef, and thought that if Ye Jingchen continued to bring the princes and princesses to the small kitchen next month, he would give him a good talking-to.
Now it seems that Ye Jingchen wasn't interested in being a chef; he just wanted to give him a surprise!
Remembering how Ye Jinghe had mocked him for not being able to eat the noodles cooked by Ye Jingchen, the emperor gave Ye Jinghe a particularly smug look.
Whether or not he had eaten before is not important. What is important is that Chen'er learned to cook noodles specifically for his birthday celebration!
Ye Jinghe saw the emperor's gaze and his lips twitched, but remembering that it was the emperor's birthday, he held back.
After all, my brother had been preparing for a long time to give the emperor a surprise. It would be too unfair to my brother if it were ruined by a few words from him!
The emperor was even more pleased and asked to go to the kitchen to watch.
"Father, you are the birthday star. You just need to wait here for us to present you with your birthday gift," Ye Jingchen reassured him.
Didn't you see how stiff everyone else's expressions were?
If the emperor were watching from the sidelines, Ye Jingchen was genuinely worried that they would turn into wooden statues and remain completely still.
"Brother, are we really going to cook noodles to celebrate Father's birthday?" Ye Jingming asked with a frown in the kitchen.
"Don't frown so much at such a young age, or you'll get wrinkles." Ye Jingchen reached out and smoothed his brow.
"Crown Prince, my hands are shaking, I can't do it." Although Ye Jingyu was smiling, his smile looked more like a grimace.
"What if... what if we cook the noodles... and they break?" Ye Jingyan asked, her voice trembling.
Upon hearing her words, the others became even stiffer and paler.
"So what if it broke during cooking? Would Father Emperor do anything to us just because the noodles broke?" Ye Jingyu said calmly, though her hands, tucked into her sleeves, trembled slightly.
"Third sister is right, Father won't be angry. He's really looking forward to eating the longevity noodles we've cooked for him, so you all have to behave well," Ye Jingchen encouraged with a smile.
The others all forced smiles and were not encouraged by him.
Ye Jingchen instructed the kitchen staff to fetch all the ingredients and utensils needed to cook longevity noodles, then dismissed them and closed the kitchen door.
"My elder sister and third younger sister are in charge of kneading the dough, Jinghe and Jingyu are in charge of kneading the dough, Jingming and Jingyu are in charge of tending the fire, Jingyan is in charge of boiling water, and I am in charge of rolling the noodles," Ye Jingchen quickly assigned the tasks.
Ye Jingshu knew about this a few days in advance, and the initial shock had passed. After Ye Jingchen made the arrangements, she started to get the flour and knead the dough.
The arrow is on the string, and it must be released.
Since the Emperor already knows about this, they have no choice but to cook this bowl of longevity noodles.
Seeing that her elder sister had started moving, Ye Jingyu hurriedly went to help.
After the two of them prepared the dough, Ye Jingyu and Ye Jinghe began kneading it. They took turns pressing and rubbing the dough, working together so well that they dared not cause any trouble.
The main reason is that Ye Jingyu doesn't dare to cause trouble, and Ye Jinghe alone can't make a scene.
After they finished kneading the dough and sealed it to rest, the group looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.
"If you're worried, why don't you prepare another batch while the dough is resting?" Ye Jingchen suggested.
Otherwise, the time they spent waking up would probably feel like an eternity.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
