Chapter 383: First-class Fresh
"girl?"
"Miss Yun?"
The voice of the young eunuch came to my ears.
Yun Ran turned around and saw a young eunuch holding a whisk looking at her with a smile.
"Young lady, are you the master of Shanhai Tower? The emperor has said so.
"Thank you, eunuch."
Yun Ran bent her knees, lifted her skirt, saluted the young eunuch, and then took Jiu Yue into the imperial palace.
Inside the hall, the dancers had already left, leaving the red carpet in the center of the hall empty.
Yun Ran and Jiu Yue stood in the center of the hall, both with their heads slightly lowered, not daring to look around.
Then a gentle and charming voice came from the women's seat on the right, saying, "Your Majesty, these two are the people from Shanhai Tower whom I invited."
"To celebrate Your Majesty, I specially asked them to prepare the imperial dish that the chef Zhu Qi was most famous for back then: Yipinxian!"
Xinpin was beaming with joy when she heard this.
She knew that the current emperor was a nostalgic and affectionate man, and was deeply in love with the late queen.
After the late queen passed away, the emperor spared no effort to get back everything she liked so that he could relive the friendship between him and the late queen.
This fresh dish was also the favorite of the late queen, and it was for this reason that Zhu Qi was given the title of "God of Cooking" by the emperor.
In order to find a chef who could make Yipinxian, she searched almost all over the capital and most of Dakang Kingdom, and unexpectedly met him in Kuizhou City.
This is truly an opportunity God has given her!
Xinpin was thinking happily and didn't notice that the emperor sitting on the dragon throne had a dark face.
"First-class fresh food? Why should I eat first-class fresh food?"
Bang!
He raised his hand and slammed it heavily on the dragon throne, frightening the ministers below into silence.
"Today is my birthday. What is Xinpin trying so hard to remind me of?!"
"Sister Xin, thank you for your hard work." The queen, who was sitting next to the emperor, gave her a teasing look.
"Today is your Majesty's birthday, a day of celebration for the whole nation. Why did you choose to poke your Majesty in the heart and make him sad and upset?"
Xin Wan'er was so frightened that her face turned pale. She fell to her knees on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly for mercy.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! Your Majesty, please forgive me! I am stupid! I... I just..."
The emperor stared at her with disgust, and then his gaze fell on Yun Ran and Jiu Yue, who were now kneeling in the center of the hall.
He stared at Yun Ran's straight back, as if he remembered something.
He frowned and said, "You are... the owner of Shanhailou in Kuizhou City? Did you make this dish?"
Hearing the question, Yun Ran raised her head slightly and looked at the emperor's embroidered dragon cloud boots: "Your Majesty, it is me. This first-class fresh dish is also made by me."
"Oh," the emperor chuckled, "you are really brave!"
"Before, I sent people to invite you many times, but you didn't come. How come you came when Xinpin invited you?"
"If I didn't know that concubines in the harem are not allowed to leave the palace without permission, I would have suspected that you two had some kind of personal relationship!"
He emphasized the word "personal relationship" so strongly that Xin Wan'er almost rolled her eyes and fainted.
She kowtowed loudly on the ground, "Your Majesty is very perceptive! I only bothered to inquire about Yipinxian because I was thinking about you so much! I didn't know this girl had been rude to Your Majesty before!"
"Your Majesty, if you are displeased with this girl, I will immediately send someone to take her out and deal with her! I will not let her be an eyesore here and ruin your good mood!"
She said this readily and shifted the blame quickly, but she didn't know how many people in the palace she offended with this statement.
Ye Jingzhen, who was sitting at the front table, stared at Xin Wan'er with a sinister look, as if he wanted to crush this woman into powder.
Yun Chenglu, who was sitting in the men's seat on the left, had a frown on his face. If he hadn't been held back by Yun Chengfu, he would have rushed out to confront Concubine Xin.
Yin Qiu's expression was extremely ugly. How dare she put the blame on her little grandson? This woman must be tired of living!
It seems that the Xin family is living a very comfortable life recently!
"Since it's you, then present it to me so I can taste it."
Amidst the turbulent undercurrent, the emperor spoke leisurely.
Eunuch An beside him immediately stepped down the stairs and took the wooden tray from Jiu Yue's hand.
Jiu Yue held it for a long time without moving, and her hands were shaking.
Yun Ran took a deep breath and held her hand calmly.
The emperor looked at the top-notch delicacy in front of him, but his expression did not improve. The fish had a slender body and long, large fins spread out on both sides like bird wings. It did not look like an ordinary carp, but rather strange. He had no idea how it tasted.
He frowned and stared at it for a long time before picking up his chopsticks.
Before picking up his chopsticks, he said with a sullen face, "If this dish doesn't satisfy me, don't blame me for closing your Shanhailou."
His voice was light, but it was particularly harsh in Yun Ran's ears.
The little girl frowned, feeling unhappy: Brother Xiaojing, this emperor father is really hard to please. He wants people to close the shop just because the food is not to his taste. This is too much!
While thinking, the emperor had already picked up a piece of fish and put it into his mouth.
At first, there is the charcoal-roasted outer layer, followed by the fresh and tender fish meat, the fresh and salty seasoning taste, mixed with a hint of sweetness and a very palatable acidity.
The emperor was a little bit surprised. He quickly picked up another piece of fish and found that the layers were still distinct.
He put another piece in his mouth and felt as if he had eaten something else.
It's not fish, it's more like... mutton.
The mutton is hidden in the belly of the fish, soaked in seasonings and soup, and neutralized by the light sweet and sour taste, losing its original fishy smell while retaining its unique mutton aroma. When eaten with fish, it is so delicious that it can make your tongue fall off.
Yes, this is the real first-class fresh food!
A first-class delicacy comparable to what Zhu Qi makes!
No, it’s even fresher, tenderer and more delicious than Zhu Qi’s!
The emperor kept eating with his chopsticks and almost finished the whole dish by himself. It was only when the eunuch An next to him coughed lightly to remind him that he came to his senses.
Putting down his chopsticks, he took the handkerchief and wiped his mouth carefully before asking, "What's your name?"
This time, Yun Ran looked him in the eye without arrogance or servility and replied, "Your Majesty, I am Yun Ran."
"Hmm," the emperor replied, "Did you use sugar or vinegar or other seasonings for this Yipinxian dish?"
"No, Your Majesty."
"That's the problem with the fish itself."
The emperor rested one hand on the table and looked at her with burning eyes: "Yun Ran, what kind of fish did you use?"
Yun Ran also looked at him and replied, "Manta Ray."
The manta ray is also a species mentioned in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas". Its meat is sweet and sour, and it can also treat epilepsy. It is a rare and precious ingredient.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
