32 Birthday Banquet
◎The pale yellow body is soft, the feelings are far away and only the fragrance remains.◎
Xie Wuyang coldly threw out the word "utilization", completely clearing up any relationship between him and Song Jinyi.
When he was imprisoned and unable to save himself, the first time he saw her, he had an inexplicable feeling in his heart - she could save him.
Although the process was a bit tortuous, he only used some extreme measures when she was dealing with the human traffickers. Look how scared she was.
He was alone and helpless, so he had to hide his fangs and pretend to be a little white rabbit, which really made her let down her guard.
He sneered in his heart, thinking that a stupid person like her would not survive more than a month.
like?
Xie Wuyang threw the firewood into the stove, then came back to look at Song Jinyi. Her face was covered in dough. How stupid! He didn't like her!
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Song Jinyi suddenly turn her head and look into his eyes. His heart suddenly became a little flustered. Could it be that she guessed what he was thinking?
But Song Jinyi took out a piece of plum blossom cake and said, "Try it and see how it tastes."
Xie Wuyang paused, lowered his eyes, and his long, thick, black eyelashes fluttered gently. Under the shadow of the long eyelashes, his emerald eyes became even darker.
He suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with tenderness and affection, and looked at Song Jinyi quietly, saying in a clear voice unique to young people, "Sister, thank you."
Song Jinyi got goosebumps when he looked at her. Why did he look so weird? Did he not like plum cakes?
Xie Wuyang said it was delicious.
Song Jinyi had also been with him for quite some time, so she could naturally sense that his answers were perfunctory and flattering. She looked at him silently.
Xie Wuyang had no choice but to tell the truth: "It tastes good, but it wouldn't be good for a birthday banquet."
Xie Wuyang watched her turn around and study again. He snorted in his heart. She was concentrating on thinking about the pastries as if they were some kind of treasure, but she ignored the real jewels.
Xie Wuyan felt inexplicably irritated. He was aware of his handsomeness. Just now, he deliberately imitated the manners of the courtesan in the Chu Palace to seduce Song Jinyi. If it were an ordinary person, he would have been fascinated by her.
Only she was like a piece of hard-hearted wood, and no matter how hard he tried to set her on fire, she would not catch fire.
He snorted coldly and repeated silently in his heart that he would never like this stupid woman.
******
At the hour of Yin that day, the rooster had not yet crowed, and the sky in the distance was still pitch black. The twinkling stars dotted the deep blue canvas, and all the palace lanterns in the courtyard were lit, as if it were daytime.
The courtyard of the Gu Mansion was filled with scattered people. Song Jinyi stood at the back of the crowd, yawning silently. Her sleepy eyes were half open, and her gaze was drifting somewhere unknown.
Xie Wuyang came to her side, without saying a word, and leaned gently against her. She leaned against him, and the two of them leaned against each other, and could hear each other's breathing.
She heard the people in front of her talking about something, as if they were discussing something. The noise was as noisy as a busy morning market. Song Jinyi frowned slightly and asked without looking up, "What's wrong?"
"The housekeeper has arrived, followed by a man in blue clothes. They are all looking at him." Before Xie Wuyang could finish his description, someone in the front spoke up, "You are all invited chefs from Yunzhou. This birthday banquet is different from ordinary ones. Everything is..."
"This is the man in blue clothes speaking." Xie Wuyang said.
The man's voice was thin and sharp. Song Jinyi thought about it and felt that the voice was very familiar. She wondered where she had heard it before.
She looked up and saw that the man standing on the lower steps was wearing an indigo brocade robe, and behind him was the steward of the Gu Mansion. The steward was slightly bent over and was very respectful. It seemed that the identity of the man in blue was indeed extraordinary.
Song Jinyi secretly looked at him and found that the man was somewhat different from ordinary men. His face was waxy pale, as if covered with a thick layer of white powder, and his body was thinner than that of an ordinary man - he was a eunuch. No wonder it felt like he was pinching his throat when he spoke, which made people feel uncomfortable.
When she heard Huo Changqing talking about the empress dowager the day before, she thought it was unlikely. But now that she saw the specialty of this palace - the eunuch, she believed it a little.
However, Song Jinyi became increasingly sleepy and had no time to think about it, so she closed her eyes again. After a moment, she suddenly opened her eyes, stood up straight, and looked around carefully.
The cook, who usually relied on his own abilities, was like a quail at this moment, with his head half lowered, not daring to look directly at the palace eunuchs, as if they had already known that this man was a eunuch in the palace and also knew for whom he was preparing the birthday banquet.
No wonder these cooks were willing to travel all the way from Yunzhou to Shengjing for a small birthday banquet, without any complaints or compensation.
Things that seemed strange before now seem reasonable here.
Two hours later, the eunuch had finished explaining what he needed to say, and the steward told everyone to go and pack up, as they would be leaving shortly.
Song Jinyi walked back dazed, but she didn't expect Chun Sanniang to appear before her again. But this time, Chun Sanniang was no longer stern, but smiling.
But some people's smiles are more creepy than their anger. Song Jinyi didn't move and just looked at her quietly.
Chun Sanniang smiled and said, "I came here to discuss something with Madam Song."
The two walked along the bamboo forest path, entering the depths of the shady trees. After walking a little further, they came to the rockery by the lake. Chun Sanniang said, "Although I don't like you and I don't accept your victory over me in Yunzhou before, I've come to you today to have a fair fight with you. Do you dare to accept the challenge?"
Chun Sanniang was afraid that she would not agree, so she added a provocative remark, "If you don't dare to compete, you have to admit in front of everyone that you are not as good as me."
"How do we compare?"
"Before, in Yunzhou, I thought I was as good as you, but you just came up with a new trick and won with your unique and ingenious skills. So today, let's make the same snack and let you judge which one is better."
Song Jinyi folded her arms and said, "First, winning is winning, no matter what method is used. Second, you want us to make the same snacks, I'm afraid that's not appropriate, right?"
Chun Sanniang had always disliked Song Jinyi, and she felt unhappy when she heard her speak so impolitely, but when she thought of her own grand plan, she could only endure it.
She forced an ugly smile and said, "Madam Song has excellent cooking skills. She can be better than others at anything she cooks. Why should she be afraid of the style of the dishes? Besides, you are from Qingjian, Yunzhou. The most distinctive snack in Qingjian is plum blossom cake, which you have been eating since you were a child.
Later, I came to Shengjing. I was homesick and only the delicious food from my hometown could comfort me. I even specially invited a master from Yunzhou to make this plum blossom cake. I paid a lot of money to find out this information. I am sincere enough, right? You and I have the key to the topic, how about we compare it?"
She was right. Huo Changqing told Song Jinyi that the Queen Mother also liked to eat "Plum Blossom Cake". If someone else had said this, Song Jinyi might have agreed, but... she stared at Chun Sanniang for a moment. Why did she change her temper today?
The deep blue sky unconsciously turned into a light blue, mixed with a hint of orange-red glow, and the originally bright palace lanterns gradually dimmed.
Xie Wuyang stood at the entrance of the bamboo forest and looked inside until he saw a hint of ginger red appear in the green. He walked over and suddenly stopped.
Song Jinyi saw him walking peacefully but suddenly stopped midway, looking towards the south. She asked curiously, "What did you see?"
Xie Wuyang said, "Just now, a young man named Li suddenly ran away in a hurry."
"Oh." Song Jinyi didn't think much of it. He probably just heard Chun Sanniang tell her the questions, so he was thinking about it quickly. It was not a big deal.
******
A convoy of carriages like strings of pearls passed through the vermilion palace gate. From a corner of the curtain, Song Jinyi peeked at the magnificent palace. The nine-story palace was majestic and grand, with tall gates standing tall and majestic, and its imposing manner piercing the sky.
Song Jinyi got off the car at a relatively remote and spacious palace road. The eunuch Zhang who brought them in waved his hand and asked the maids and eunuchs to search them separately.
"You are the birthday gifts that Prince Yu brought from Yunzhou to the Queen Mother. I'm sure someone explained the rules when you arrived, and Eunuch Li repeated them this morning. So, each of you must follow the rules. If you break the rules, you will be punished. I'm sure you all know what the consequences are without me telling you."
After the body search was completed, Eunuch Zhang waved his hand and asked those people to leave, and then said: "This is a golden opportunity that comes once in a lifetime. If you make a mistake in front of the Queen Mother,
Not only will the rewards from the Queen Mother and Prince Yu ensure that you will have enough food and drink for the rest of your lives, but you will also become famous, so you must cherish this opportunity..."
Song Jinyi and others answered yes.
Eunuch Zhang led Song Jinyi and the others to the Zhaoren Hall where the banquet was held and waited there. They could vaguely hear laughter and singing inside.
Song Jinyi secretly felt regretful that such a lively scene had nothing to do with her. As a supporting role, she could only sit here blowing in the cold wind, waiting for the noble person inside to order her around at any time.
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, Eunuch Zhang, who had gone in to answer questions, finally came out. He led everyone into the main hall, and everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at him.
Only Song Jinyi was short, buried in the kitchen, with her head half lowered, looking around.
From the time of Si this morning till now, most of the day has been spent. As the sky gradually darkens, countless palace lanterns are lit in the huge palace, as well as various styles of glazed lanterns, which are dazzling.
The nobles sitting in rows inside were all wearing the most fashionable silks and brocades of the time, adorned with emerald feathers and bright pearls, looking dazzling.
The Queen Mother sat at the head of the hall, and below her were people arranged in order of status. Song Jinyi didn't dare to look up too obviously, and could only glance forward twice. The first person on the left of the Queen Mother was a young man with a handsome face. He was so good-looking that Song Jinyi risked a few more glances.
This person has thin eyebrows and thin lips. She wears a moon-white dress with wide sleeves and straight hem and a white jade hairpin. She looks like a banished immortal. Xie Wuyang follows behind her and sees her infatuated eyes.
Leaning closer, she asked, "Sister, who do you think is better looking, me or him?"
"They are both beautiful, but beautiful in different ways." Song Jinyi answered impartially.
She sorted out her thoughts. The emperor was sitting next to the empress dowager, so this person... should be the most noble man in the world besides the emperor. Could he be the prince?
Thinking of this, Song Jinyi looked at it twice more. The eunuch warned her coldly, which scared Song Jinyi so much that she quickly turned her gaze back. Suddenly, she was attracted by a pile of shiny things.
In the hall stood a round nanmu table, upon which lay a dazzling array of objects: a night-shining pearl larger than her fist, several famous paintings, and a rare orchid worth a fortune...
These things looked okay, but after a quick estimate of the price, she realized it was a huge sum of money. She opened her mouth slightly, licked her lips, and her saliva was about to flow out.
Prince Yu came forward and said a lot of birthday congratulations, saying: "Your children and grandchildren know that your royal grandmother has had a poor appetite recently, so your children and grandchildren have found the best chef in the country to prepare birthday dishes for your royal grandmother.
The children and grandchildren thought that eating alone was boring, so they thought of a way to cheer up the Empress Dowager.
Prince Yu looked at the Queen Mother and said, "The Empress Dowager always loved to guess lantern riddles during the Lantern Festival. Why not have each of the chefs ask the Empress Dowager a question about their favorite food today?
The Empress Dowager will answer them with riddles and see if their answers are to your liking."
The Queen Mother clapped her hands and said with a smile, "This banquet always has the same old tricks every year. It's rare that you have such ingenuity and come up with such an idea. I think it's great."
Song Jinyi curled her lips, she was quite good at playing tricks.
The ceremonial officer led Song Jinyi and others forward one by one to answer questions.
The questions Song Jinyi's previous chefs asked were basically the same, all about taste, taboos, and hobbies...
When it was almost Song Jinyi's turn, she hadn't thought about what to ask yet, so she had to force herself to ask. Song Jinyi didn't know she was wrong, and the more anxious she got, the harder it was to come up with an answer. The eunuch next to her urged her on, and Song Jinyi had recently been researching flower and fruit tea, with only flowers and fruits on her mind. She blurted out, "I wonder what kind of flowers the Queen Mother likes?"
Her question was rather unusual. The Queen Mother thought for a moment and said, "The body is pale and light yellow, and the nature is gentle. The feelings are distant, but the fragrance remains. [1]"
【Author’s words】
[1] "Quail Sky" - Li Qingzhao
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