Meng Qi noticed Song Chengze's slightly worried expression, gave him a reassuring smile, and then watched Princess Jing's performance with great interest.
"Oh, what did the fourth son's wife do? Why did she put the wine jar on the table? Could it be that you were lazy and made a jar of rice wine?" Concubine Xiang covered her mouth and said with a smile, but her eyes glanced at the emperor.
The emperor also looked at the wine jar with a puzzled expression. He leaned forward with interest, pointed at the wine jar, and joked with King Jing, which was rare. "Fourth brother, if your wife uses this jar of wine to deal with me, I will not tolerate it."
Upon hearing this, Prince Jing came out and stood with Princess Jing. He bowed to the Emperor and said, "Father, today I am presenting you with a new dish for your birthday. It's called 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall'."
After hearing her prince's name, Princess Jing turned to look at Meng Qi. Meng Qi looked surprised. Song Chengze wanted to stand up but sat down again, frowning tightly.
Prince Duan looked at all this and suddenly understood something. He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking like he was enjoying the show.
Prince Cheng took a sip of his tea, thinking back to how the Crown Prince had recently been severely reprimanded by the Emperor for the disaster relief grain issue, and how he had even lost his inkstone, nearly disfiguring the Crown Prince. Humph, the Fourth Prince was quite resourceful. He'd completely wiped out his own faults, preventing the Emperor from blaming him at all. And then, in the end, he'd pushed that idiot Song Chengze into aiding the Crown Prince in his investigation.
Humph, Song Chengze is truly a good dog to the prince. He clearly knew it was the fourth brother who was behind this, but he didn't know how to avoid it and instead diligently investigated. Looking at today, I'm afraid the fourth brother and his wife are using this "Buddha Jumps Over the Wall" dish to criticize the sixth brother.
"'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall'? Where does this name come from and what is its meaning?" asked the emperor.
Princess Jing bowed and whispered, "This dish has over twenty ingredients. It uses a broth made from old duck, hen, pigeon, lamb knuckle, pork tripe, and pig's trotter tips, all simmered for a day and a night. Then, add dried scallops, winter bamboo shoots, sea cucumber, ham, abalone, and fish lips, and simmer over low heat for two hours. Finally, it's poured into a special rice wine jar, covered with a lotus leaf, capped with a silver bowl, and simmered for another hour. Because the ingredients are so exquisite and fresh, the aroma is so fragrant that even the Buddha would jump over the wall to taste it, hence the name."
When the emperor heard this, he laughed heartily, and everyone stared at the wine jar in surprise. The virtuous concubine looked very proud. She had just brought this dish to the palace and had tasted it before. It was truly delicious. She had never eaten such a delicious dish before.
She had originally worried that the food would lose its flavor over time, but after seeing the two jars her daughter-in-law had prepared, the one she had presented to the Emperor sealed tightly, she felt relieved. Furthermore, given Princess Jing's explanation, even if it wasn't as delicious as freshly made food, she could use this opportunity to recreate it for the Emperor, whether she or her daughter-in-law. This would surely please the Emperor and lessen the importance of the truth behind Song Chengze's recent investigation into the disaster relief grain.
The emperor nodded repeatedly after hearing this and said, "It's really hard for you to sit down and prepare such a laborious dish."
Princess Jing smiled slightly, "As long as I can get my father's mouth to eat it, even if it's just one bite, it will be worth it for my daughter-in-law to endure for several days and nights."
As he spoke, he stepped forward, gently removed the small bowl that was covering the wine jar, and then uncovered the lotus leaf. Suddenly, a fresh fragrance filled the entire hall.
Princess Jing took out a small silver spoon from the side and looked at Meng Qi with squinted eyes. At this time, Meng Qi had already stood up with a look of disbelief on her face.
Princess Cheng looked at Meng Qi's performance and felt that something was wrong. She wanted to say something but didn't dare to speak. She only heard Fang Hua say, "Sixth sister-in-law, are you anxious? No matter how anxious you are, you should wait until the emperor has used it before giving it to you."
This sentence made everyone cover their mouths and laugh. Concubine Lian narrowed her eyes and looked over fiercely. Seeing Concubine Lian's unhappy face, Meng Qi sat back angrily, reached out to pick up the cup on the table and held it tightly, looking unconvinced.
Princess Jing was extremely proud. She calmed herself down and said, "This 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall' is best eaten while it's hot. Your Majesty, please try it first. If you like it, please allow your daughter-in-law to have it made for you in the palace."
Lu Chengbao stepped forward, took the small white porcelain bowl and brought it to the emperor. The emperor picked up the silver spoon, stirred it, and took a sip.
Everyone looked at the emperor with anticipation. The hall was very quiet, with only the sound of spoons hitting bowls being heard.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
