So, they took the stars and headed towards the imperial kitchen.
As soon as she entered, she was instantly enveloped by the "heat wave." She saw Chef Zhuang standing nearby and went towards him. "Chef Zhuang, have all the ingredients I requested been prepared?"
Master Zhuang was directing a young eunuch as he prepared spicy chicken when he was suddenly called upon, which startled him. However, upon seeing Princess Yong'an, he couldn't say anything despite his fright. "Princess, please wait a moment, this servant will go and check on her for you."
Then, they searched for Ziwei in the imperial kitchen. Anke also went to the backyard; the imperial kitchen was unbearably hot, so it was much better to be in the backyard. Seeing a reclining chair nearby, Anke did not hesitate to lie down on it.
Just then, Yongqi, Erkang, and Ertai arrived at the imperial kitchen.
Before Master Zhuang could even look for Ziwei, another giant Buddha statue arrived, much to his dismay. What kind of luck had befallen the imperial kitchen today? How could it attract one giant Buddha statue after another to grace its humble kitchen with its presence?
Not daring to delay, he walked directly towards Yongqi. "This servant greets the Fifth Prince, may the Fifth Prince be well. Greetings to Master Fu, and Master Fu the Second. May Master Fu and Master Fu the Second be well."
"Master Zhuang, please rise!" Yongqi raised his hand, gesturing for Master Zhuang to get up.
"Fifth Prince, what brings you to the Imperial Kitchen?" Chef Zhuang asked cautiously from the side, while also observing the Fifth Prince's expression.
Before Yongqi could speak, Erkang anxiously asked, "Master Zhuang, where is Miss Ziwei from Shufangzhai?"
Master Zhuang looked at the Fifth Prince, who nodded in response. Only then did he reply to Er Kang, "This servant was just about to go look for him."
Er Kang's eyes widened. "Looking for her? Ziwei is missing?"
Seeing that Erkang had misunderstood, Master Zhuang quickly explained, not having considered any connection between them. Why was Master Fu getting involved when Ziwei, a palace maid from Shufangzhai, was missing? "Master Fu, you've misunderstood. I just asked Miss Ziwei to prepare the ingredients, and I haven't seen her yet."
"Ingredients?" Er Kang asked incredulously, then walked towards the imperial kitchen.
Seeing this, Yongqi was afraid that he would act impulsively, so he quickly followed. Ertai sighed with feigned worry behind him, wondering when his brother would change his fiery temper because of Ziwei.
As soon as Erkang stepped into the imperial kitchen, he was choked by the heat and the smell of chili peppers. Worried that his beloved Ziwei was suffering, he rushed inside to look for her.
"Ziwei, Ziwei!" Erkang called out loudly from inside.
Just then, a palace maid who was adding fuel to the fire at the stove in a corner heard Erkang's voice and immediately responded, "I'm here, Erkang, I'm here!" She even stood up, afraid Erkang wouldn't see her.
Erkang, of course, also heard Ziwei's voice and quickly moved towards her.
Seeing Ziwei's face, burned red and smeared with black ash, he immediately flew into a rage. "Ziwei, what happened? Did someone bully you?"
Ziwei was also choked a bit and couldn't stand it. After coughing twice, she said, "No one bullied me. They were just preparing some ingredients."
Ziwei still had a faint smile on her face, but Erkang's eyes were already reddening. He felt that Ziwei was putting on a brave face. "Ziwei, you're already so hot inside. And you're still making excuses for them?"
"Erkang, it's really nothing, just preparing some ingredients and boiling some water." Ziwei coughed twice more.
Erkang couldn't listen anymore. He grabbed Ziwei's hand and dragged her out of the imperial kitchen. They were going to confront Chef Zhuang about what had happened.
After the princess left, she waited for a while but didn't return. Just as Granny Gui was about to go to the imperial kitchen to see if the princess needed any help, she saw Fu Erkang pulling Ziwei's hand and preparing to go out.
"Where are you headed? Ziwei, have you finished your work?" Granny Gui hurriedly stepped forward and launched into a barrage of questions.
Seeing this, Fu Erkang could no longer tolerate it. "Did you force Ziwei to do those chores?"
Seeing this, Master Zhuang, fearing he might offend the Empress Dowager, quickly stepped forward to explain. "Miss Ziwei was originally brewing soybean paste in the back. But Princess Yong'an wanted to prepare a refreshing meal for the Empress Dowager. The imperial kitchen staff were all busy preparing lunch for the ladies of the various palaces and simply didn't have time to help the princess. I thought that since Miss Ziwei was also assigned to work in the imperial kitchen, I asked her to go and prepare the ingredients first."
Erkang was now furious. He wanted to confront anyone, no matter who it was. "Just because there's no one else in the Imperial Kitchen, does that mean Ziwei can be assigned here? Ziwei was sent by the Empress Dowager to instruct on making pastries. How come she's doing tasks like brewing soybean paste, preparing ingredients, and starting fires?"
"Well... there's really no one in the Imperial Kitchen, and Miss Ziwei is only doing insignificant work over there. Besides, we can't afford to delay anything that might affect the Princess's affairs," Chef Zhuang said firmly, wiping the sweat from his brow.
From the moment Ertai heard the name of Princess Yong'an, he began looking around.
Yongqi, who was standing nearby, also perked up his ears when he heard that his cousin was involved. When he learned that it was about preparing cooling meals for the Empress Dowager, he understood. Yes, his cousin loved researching food. Making her eat hot meals in this sweltering weather would be torture; she would definitely research something more palatable.
Erkang ignored everything else and lashed out at Master Zhuang. "So what if she's a princess? Aren't we equals? Besides, Ziwei is so delicate, isn't there anyone to help her start a fire? What if Ziwei gets heatstroke in the imperial kitchen in this heat?"
Having stayed in Shufangzhai for a long time, Fu Erkang was also influenced by Xiao Yanzi and Ziwei's theory of "equality between servants and masters".
Granny Gui, who was listening nearby, was absolutely furious. When did servants in the palace become equals to their masters? What about hierarchy, rules, and decorum? Moreover, this Fu Erkang was incredibly audacious, actually discussing Princess Yong'an? Even an uncle could tolerate it, but an aunt couldn't.
She launched into a tirade. "Master Fu, you have quite the nerve, daring to speak ill of Princess Yong'an. Whatever the princess orders Ziwei to do, it's all perfectly reasonable. At this hour, instead of serving the Emperor, Master Fu is standing up for the palace maids of Shufangzhai in the Imperial Kitchen. What's your relationship?" It must be said, Granny Gui was truly adept at investigating romantic relationships. She instantly grasped the crucial point that Master Zhuang had missed.
Upon hearing this, Ertai immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He was about to step forward and cover his brother's mouth, fearing that he might utter some outrageous words.
But it was too late. His brother had already started courting disaster. "The Emperor ordered us to protect the safety of Shufangzhai, which means protecting everyone in Shufangzhai. Naturally, Miss Ziwei is also within my protection. Princess Huanzhu was worried about Ziwei, so she sent me to check on her. If I hadn't checked, I wouldn't have known you were disobeying me. What did the Empress Dowager send Ziwei to the Imperial Kitchen for? And what did you ask her to do? Aren't you just making a mountain out of a molehill? Doesn't Princess Yong'an have any maids? Can't they prepare the ingredients for her? Why does Ziwei have to do this?" Erkang felt that what he said made perfect sense at this point. He even glanced at Master Zhuang with disdain, then turned and glared angrily at Granny Gui.
Master Zhuang was furious. His job was already annoying enough, and the imperial kitchen was so hot, with no high-temperature allowance whatsoever. And then he had to run into this lunatic who came here to unleash his fury. Just because I'm not roaring doesn't mean I'm innocent.
"Who dares disobey the Princess's orders?" Master Zhuang stood ramrod straight at this moment. Who in the palace didn't know that Princess Yong'an was the sole favorite of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor? Even if you bumped into Princess Yong'an in the palace, you had to make way for her. He had originally thought that if he couldn't find a suitable candidate, he would at least prioritize helping the Princess, even if it meant neglecting the concubines' lunches. But wasn't Ziwei available? And wasn't the Empress Dowager specifically asking her to help with the imperial kitchen? Since it was about helping, why couldn't he just instruct her? Besides, she hadn't objected when he told her. What was Fu Erkang up to?
Master Zhuang silently rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, "What a crazy couple!"
Fu Erkang was already rather irritable, and now, being mocked by two servants in front of his beloved, he became even more enraged. "Princess, so what if she's a princess? What about Princess Yong'an? I want to ask her why she ordered Ziwei to do these things?"
Yongqi frowned upon hearing these words. When had his cousin ever been insulted like this? Even if Fu Erkang was an imperial bodyguard to the Emperor, there were so many imperial bodyguards. Did he think that just because he was a favorite of the Emperor, he could disrespect An Ke? For the first time, Yongqi began to examine his recent interactions with them.
Fu Ertai now only wanted to punch Erkang, not for anything else, but for the sake of the princess, for himself, and for the Fu family. It was one thing for him to be insane, but how could he speak ill of the princess? The princess was such a gentle and kind person, and deeply favored by the emperor; how dare he say such things? Did he want to plunge the Fu family into utter ruin?
What he was thinking about now was whether he should go home and discuss it with his father. Given his brother's current state, what if one day he said something wrong before the Emperor and implicated the Fu family? That would be terrible. He hadn't even shown his face to the Princess yet! He couldn't let the Princess have a bad impression of the Fu family.
Ertai: Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch! You can throw that bad apple away. (?????)
Master Zhuang didn't even want to complain anymore. What a lunatic! He'd already made it clear to him that the Imperial Kitchen was short-staffed, which was why they asked Ziwei for help; it wasn't like the Princess had deliberately come to ask her for help.
Granny Gui, of course, couldn't allow such a servant to shout and yell outside, showing disrespect to Princess Yong'an. Just as she was about to step forward to say something more, she heard a voice from behind her.
"Oh, you're looking for me, Princess? What do you want with me?" An Ke walked out of the imperial kitchen, her face full of disdain, even raising an eyebrow at him. She had overheard most of what they had just said.
It turned out that they had just witnessed such a commotion outside. The young eunuchs who were working also stopped what they were doing, some peeking through windows, others trying to pry open doors, trying every possible way to gossip. The more they listened, the more frightened they became, fearing that they might cause some trouble.
The eunuchs huddled together, deciding it would be best to summon the princess. After all, it concerned the princess, and they also felt that Fu Erkang was being incredibly presumptuous. What kind of servant would speak ill of their master? Just because he was addressed as "Master Fu" in the palace, did that make him "Master Fu"? He wasn't much more noble than them; he was just a bondservant.
That's why Princess Yong'an overheard Fu Erkang's shameless boasting.
Erkang was so enraged that he no longer cared about hierarchy; perhaps the concepts of hierarchy had simply vanished from his mind. He felt he was the most powerful person in the world, a favorite of the Emperor. He didn't even bother to bow to Anke.
The moment Ertai saw Anke, his eyes lit up instantly. If he had a tail, he'd probably be wagging it excitedly like a puppy seeing its owner. He was afraid his brother's presence would spoil her mood. He immediately stepped forward and bowed to Anke. "Greetings, Princess Yong'an! May Princess Yong'an be blessed."
An Ke glanced at the honest and unassuming Ertai. She thought that, for now, this man was relatively reliable. Fu Lun's ability to gain the Emperor's deep trust stemmed from his knowledge of the Emperor's taboos. He couldn't allow both his sons to establish themselves in the court. But now it seemed his judgment was flawed; allowing the arrogant and conceited Erkang to support the entire Fu family was arguably his biggest mistake.
Anke didn't want to make things difficult for unrelated people, so she simply waved her hand. "Get up!"
Ziwei had been silent all along, but now that Princess Yong'an had come out, she was afraid that Erkang would say something unpleasant. She quickly tugged at Erkang's sleeve.
Erkang, feigning cleverness, assumed that Anke had instigated Ziwei to upset her. He thought Ziwei was afraid of him. The usually shrewd Erkang instantly felt superior again.
Ziwei: ?
“Anke, even if you are a princess, you can’t just order people around without reason. Besides, Ziwei was sent by the Empress Dowager to help in the Imperial Kitchen, not your maid. You have no right to order her around. Now you tell the Empress Dowager to let Ziwei go back to Shufangzhai. Then this matter will be considered settled.” Fu Erkang said smugly, thinking that Anke might plead with the Empress Dowager to release Ziwei to protect her image. That way, Ziwei wouldn’t suffer in the Imperial Kitchen.
Anke felt like his ears were about to explode. What kind of lunatic was this? So arrogant in front of him. There's no mirror at home, but surely there's always someone needing to pee. Doesn't he realize he should look at his own face before going out?
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