Chapter 30 Barbecue Xiaozhuang glanced at Xuanye, and the smile on her face gradually...
Xiaozhuang glanced at Xuanye, and the smile on her face gradually disappeared. She grasped Xuanye's wrist and pulled him into the tent.
Xuanye turned around to glance at Xiuyu, only to see Su Moer smiling and saying to her, "Princess, come in too. The bonfire is already lit in the tent. The Emperor boasted to our ancestors that your cooking skills are unparalleled and your sauce is the most delicious in the world. We're eager to try it."
Xiu Yu followed Su Moer, feeling somewhat hesitant. "Madam Su, I'd like to ask, but the old ancestor seemed a little unhappy just now."
Xiu Yu was the apple of Xuanye's eye, so Su Moer naturally didn't treat her as an outsider. "The ancestor had no intention of questioning the emperor about the bear hunt, but our emperor insisted and didn't even speak properly. He deserves a lesson from the ancestor."
Xiu Yu smiled and said, "So that's what happened."
Seeing Xiu Yu's charming smile, Su Moer's heart grew fonder. After all, everyone loves beauty. She simply added, "Our emperor is truly serious and meticulous when handling important matters of the previous dynasty. But sometimes, especially in front of our ancestors and me, he can be quite frivolous and irritating."
"I'm afraid it's not that I'm going to make people angry..." Xiu Yu looked at Xuanye's back, her eyelids drooping, and said, "Is it that I'm going to make people pity me?"
"Wow! This is incredible." Su Moer looked at Xiu Yu, her smile growing wider. "It would have been fine if the old ancestor had someone like the emperor who spoke 'improperly' by his side, but now there's also you. In my opinion..."
Xiu Yu asked naturally, "What do you think?"
"That's great! It's a good thing!"
Every word that Su Moer and Xiu Yu said was heard by Xiaozhuang and Xuanye.
On the surface, Xiaozhuang pretended to be serious, but deep down, like Su Moer, she also had a new fondness for Xiu Yu. Xuanye whispered, "Madam, do you think Yu'er is getting better?"
Xiaozhuang glared at Xuanye and said, "Whether she is good or bad in my heart is none of your business, a monkey. Explain the matter clearly to me. If you continue to make jokes, I will not forgive you."
"Madam, please spare my grandson." Xuanye went even further, "My grandson finally escaped from the black bear, and instead of loving him, are you planning to punish him?"
By then, Xiaozhuang, Xuanye, Su Moer, and Xiuyu had already entered the tent. Xiaozhuang sat in the middle and said, "As the emperor, I know that the safety of the world depends on you, yet you put yourself in danger. Shouldn't Mama say something to you?"
"Of course, Mama," Xuanye glanced at Su Moer, who signaled with her eyes that he shouldn't pour tea and apologize quickly. Xuanye understood, immediately picking up the teapot and pouring tea into the cup beside Xiaozhuang. Then he said, "However, the deep forests are inherently dangerous. Riding and archery are fundamental to us Manchus. Going out hunting in early spring is a warning to the Eight Banners soldiers not to forget their ancestors. I don't want to encounter that black bear either, as you clearly know."
A snort was not enough for Empress Xiaozhuang, she rolled her eyes and said, "Our emperor is really a man of few words. Admitting his mistake would only take a few words. But he insisted on saying so many things, insisting on clearing himself of all his 'faults'." She actually said this to Xiu Yu.
Xiu Yu smiled and said, "What the old ancestor said makes sense, and what the emperor said is not unreasonable. Yu'er has nothing to say..." She pursed her lips, then looked up at Xiaozhuang and said, "Don't you want to try Yu'er's barbecue skills?"
The servants had already put a leg of lamb on the grill. Xuanye said, "Madam, Yu'er is the hero who saved my grandson today! If she hadn't had a sharp ear and shot the bear with an arrow, I'm afraid I wouldn't have had time to pull out my musket. Then..."
"If that's the case..." Xiu Yu was holding a dagger and loosening the meat from the lamb leg. "I'm afraid Yu'er won't be able to come back either. So, Your Majesty and Yu'er should be considered to have saved each other. Naturally, Your Majesty's swordsmanship is more powerful."
"You, don't flatter him!" The Southern Suburbs Camp was ultimately not the Forbidden City. Even Empress Xiaozhuang, the elder ancestor, relaxed a lot in a place with fewer rules and less strict regulations. She wasn't prepared to follow the palace rules anymore. "Grandson, Yu'er saved you. What are you going to reward her with?"
There was a deep meaning in Xiaozhuang's eyes. Xuanye knew this wasn't an opportunity, but rather a test for him, and perhaps even for Xiuyu. He peeled an apple for Xiaozhuang and handed it to her, then said with a smile, "Then Mama, I'll allow you to help Yu'er roast the most delicious lamb leg in the world for you."
Xiaozhuang smiled and shook her head. She poked Xuanye's head lightly with her right index finger and said, "Go ahead! A girl roasting a whole leg of lamb naturally needs a man like you to help her."
Finally, Xuanye and Xiuyu were sitting side by side again, and his eyes were filled with joy. Xiuyu naturally knew how to restrain herself. No matter how Xuanye hinted, she just ignored him and prepared the seasonings diligently, scooping a small spoonful of this and a small spoonful of that.
Xiaozhuang had no idea how many roasted lamb legs she had eaten in her life. She had eaten them on the Khorchin grasslands, outside the Great Wall, and even while hunting after entering the Great Wall. Of course, she had eaten them before, and she had even roasted them herself. But this was the first time she had seen Xiuyu prepare the dipping sauce for them.
Xuanye was twirling a lamb leg in a fancy way, and he continued to praise Xiuyu: "Ma, you've only tasted Yu'er's pastries. Her craftsmanship is not exaggerated. In her hands, ordinary boiled vegetables can be transformed into world-class delicacies. After trying it, I felt it was incredible."
However, Empress Xiaozhuang said, "You, there's no need to use your clever mouth to praise me anymore." She glanced at Su Moer, then at Xiu Yu, and said, "Don't the saying go, 'To tell whether it's a mule or a horse, take it out for a walk'! Today, Su Moer and I will try the cooking skills of our Princess Yu and see whether it is really you, Xuanye..." She didn't continue. Of course, it was not easy for her, the graceful Empress Dowager, to say such words as 'Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder' in front of her grandson's wife.
Su Moer immediately added, "Let's see if Yu Gege's craftsmanship is really as good as the emperor boasts!"
Xiu Yu was completely absorbed in preparing the seasoning and applying the sauce. As she did so, she said, "This leg of lamb looks good. The final taste of a meal isn't just about the sauce, but the ingredients themselves. If the meat isn't fresh and tender, the seasoning can mask the flavor, but the true flavor of the food is lost, and it's a world away from the best."
Xuanye listened to Xiu Yu's words and nodded, intoxicated by Xiu Yu's serious look.
Xiaozhuang and Su Moer, the master and servant, smiled at each other, but then shook their heads. They couldn't help but sigh in their hearts that young people really have their own way of playing.
After a while, the aroma of lamb shanks, mixed with the sauce, wafted out. Empress Xiaozhuang always thought that barbecue on the Khorchin grasslands was the best, freshly slaughtered and grilled. But even though she hadn't tasted Xiuyu's lamb shank yet, just from the smell, she felt it was something special.
She looked at Su Moer and lowered her voice and said, "It seems that Xuanye was not exaggerating. This Yu'er really has some skills."
Xiu Yu naturally didn't know what the Empress Dowager had said to Su Moer. She instructed Xuanye how to continue roasting the lamb leg, then stood up and walked to Xiaozhuang, saying, "Grandma, Yu'er wants to go out and prepare some vegetables. If we only eat the lamb leg, it's fine for Yu'er and the emperor, but you, Grandma, should eat it with the vegetables."
"You're so thoughtful." Xiaozhuang was increasingly satisfied with Xiu Yu. "Go and prepare. There's no need to rush."
"Then Yu'er will take her leave first."
After she took Xiao Tao out, Xuanye turned the lamb leg as Xiu Yu had requested and said to Xiaozhuang with a smile, "Madam, just from the aroma alone, do you think what your grandson said is true?"
"You, please restrain yourself a little." Xiaozhuang didn't want to give Xuanye this face, even though what he said was true. "Although you are in the southern suburbs camp now, those soldiers who followed you, and your sisters and cousins at home are also in the palace to serve you, right? Don't you think Yu'er is not eye-catching enough in the palace?"
Xuanye refused to comply this time. "Madam, the palace rules are very strict. In the Forbidden City, I abide by the rules, which is fine. But if I come to the Southern Suburbs Camp and still can't act according to my own wishes, don't you think my role as an emperor is too aggrieved?"
Su Moer also began to speak up for Xuanye: "Princess, the emperor is right. Throughout the year, there are only a few opportunities to come to the southern suburbs. Since you finally come once, please indulge the emperor. Besides, when we return to the palace, don't we have you, the ancestor, to support us? Princess Yu is not the kind of person who likes to stir up trouble, so there won't be any big trouble."
"Have they drugged you?" Empress Xiaozhuang glanced at Su Moer. "You've been by my side for so many years, and they think you've been bought off with just a leg of lamb?"
"This servant is so wronged," Su Moer said, laughing. "This lamb leg, I'm just like you, I haven't even tasted a single bite." As the three of them, the grandfather and grandson, the master and servant, spoke, Xiu Yu had already brought a number of dishes into the tent. The colorful dishes were beautifully displayed on the plates. After she set the tray in place, she pulled out a knife and cut into the lamb leg, testing it for doneness.
"Almost done." Xiu Yu looked at Xuanye, lowered his head slightly, and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Your Majesty."
Seeing Xiuyu slicing the lamb shank onto the tray of vegetables she had prepared, Xuanye pulled out the handkerchief tucked into his sleeve and wiped Xiuyu's face instead of himself. "Didn't you see how you looked while you were preparing the food? You're almost like a cat."
"Your Majesty!" Xiu Yu glared at Xuanye, but didn't dare look at Xiaozhuang. She lowered her voice and said, "The ancestor is still here."
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