It was almost ten o'clock when Li Xiuzhu left the manor and returned to the Li Mansion before noon.

As soon as he arrived at the mansion, Li Xiuzhu was stunned.

"My Lord, the Queen is waiting for you inside."

Why is she here?

Li Xiuzhu walked in puzzled, and when he saw the pair of top-notch beauties standing next to the queen, he suddenly realized.

This is to fulfill the 'promise' to myself.

But is the imperial palace so rich in heritage? There are beauties of this level.

"Your servant Li Xiuzhu pays respect to Her Majesty the Queen."

The queen nodded slightly when she heard this.

"Get up!"

"I thought I wouldn't be able to see the Champion Marquis today, and I was planning to go back after lunch."

"I just talked to Liuli and Biyao. I can tell they are living a happy life. I am very happy too."

"Here are the two beauties I promised you. Here is the gold, too."

Li Xiuzhu smiled upon hearing this and said, "Your Majesty is a person who keeps her word. Thank you very much, Your Majesty."

"Well, since there's nothing..."

Li Xiuzhu interrupted the queen and said, "Why don't you have dinner at home before leaving? My chef is no worse than the imperial chef. I think it will be a novelty for you."

Upon hearing this, Li Liuli quickly said, "Yes, mother, the cooks at home were all taught by Xiuzhu, and their meals are so delicious."

The queen was startled when she heard this, and looked at Li Xiuzhu in surprise and asked, "Xiuzhu can cook? Isn't it said that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen?"

Li Xiuzhu smiled and said, "That is true, but according to the situation at the time, this statement actually has an allusion."

"At that time, King Xuan of Qi asked Mencius how to be a good king. Mencius said that it was enough to protect and nurture the people, and that you could do it."

"King Xuan of Qi was puzzled at the time. He himself didn't know whether he could do it or not, so how could you know?"

"Mencius said that once King Xuan of Qi saw someone pulling an ox to offer sacrifice to the bell. He couldn't bear to see the ox trembling with fear, but he had to offer sacrifice to the bell, so he asked someone to replace it with a sheep."

At this moment, an idea came to the minds of all Li Xiuzhu's women.

This sheep is really unlucky.

Li Xiuzhu continued: "Then Mencius said that although he knew that King Xuan of Qi was moved by compassion and was benevolent, the people would only think that cattle were one level lower than sheep."

"And you feel pity for the ox because it died without any sin, but what about the sheep? Is he guilty?"

"King Xuan of Qi knew he was wrong after hearing this, but he didn't know what to do, so he asked Mencius, "What should I do?"

"Mencius said, 'A gentleman stays away from the kitchen. The difference between cattle and sheep is whether you see them or not, not the difference between cattle and sheep.'"

"Out of sight, out of mind."

"Later, Confucianism gradually deteriorated. Even now, it is not that a gentleman cannot cook, but cooking often involves blood and is tainted with hostility."

"A gentleman should be modest and modest, and should not be tainted with hostility."

However, in his opinion, this is the root cause of the country's demise. If he keeps giving in, people will only get more and more demanding.

Honest people are afraid of scoundrels, and scoundrels are afraid of those who don't care about their lives.

The queen nodded when she heard this.

"So that's how it is. I am really shallow."

Li Xiuzhu smiled and did not refute the flattery. There was no need to do so between the two of them.

"Then Queen, would you like to stay for dinner? I will cook two dishes myself."

Before the Queen even opened her mouth, Li Liuli became excited.

"Wow, my mother is so honorable. I haven't eaten my husband's cooking for a long time. This time, it's all thanks to my mother."

Li Xiuzhu rolled his eyes when he heard that.

"I don't know who stole the tail of the roast suckling pig three days ago."

Upon hearing this, the queen frowned, was surprised, and became curious.

As we all know, pork is a cheap meat.

Li Liuli was completely unaware of the dissatisfaction in her mother's eyes, and said excitedly: "Mother, you don't know how delicious the pork is, it's simply... it's..."

"OMG……"

"Really, I can't find any other words to describe it except these four. It tastes better than beef and mutton."

"It's so strange, why is pork a cheap meat?"

At this time, Fu Yuehua on the side heard this and said, "Not all pork is so delicious. These pigs are raised by our family according to the method taught by my husband."

"The pork will be fanned off before the estrus period, so there will be no fishy smell."

"Pork raised in this way has a bland taste and can better absorb the flavor of spices, which is why it tastes so good."

"In addition to the 28-day roast suckling pigs, we also raise adult pigs. Adult pigs exercise every day, so their meat is firm and is also a rare delicacy."

"Now in Yunshuang Restaurant, a roast suckling pig costs 10 taels of silver, and a serving of Dongpo pork costs 2 taels of silver."

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

Li Liuli suddenly realized that the pork they eat at home is different from ordinary pork. No wonder ordinary pork is called cheap meat.

The queen also relaxed her brows, looked at Li Xiuzhu and asked, "Are we going to eat pork today?"

"If the Queen wants to eat, I can make a portion of Dongpo pork or a pot-fried pork, but today's main dish is three-cup chicken."

Speaking of this, Li Xiuzhu suddenly thought of his three younger sisters-in-law.

"Yuehua, go and fetch my younger sisters-in-law."

"It's been a while since I made delicious food for them."

Fu Yuehua smiled and nodded when she heard this.

"Then, Madam, I will excuse myself."

"Well, go ahead and be safe."

Li Xiuzhu also said goodbye and went to prepare food.

It takes more than half an hour to make Three Cup Chicken, and if you also have Dongpo Pork and Pot-Braised Pork, one hour is the minimum.

Fortunately, two of the dishes need to be stewed, so the time can be staggered.

Half an hour later, when Li Xiuzhu's dishes were served on the table, they immediately caused cheers.

Li Xiuzhu prepared enough food for three tables in total, with his wife and sister-in-law sitting at two tables.

The Queen sat at the same table with him and his three wives.

Li Xiuzhu picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork with chopsticks and put it into the Queen's bowl.

"Your Majesty, try this. It's sour and crispy and delicious. I think it suits your taste."

At this moment, the young eunuch beside the queen hurried forward.

"My lady, try the food."

Li Xiuzhu was startled and looked at the young eunuch unhappily.

"What does this hermaphrodite mean?"

Fu Yuehua paused, the corner of her mouth twitched, and the next second she quickly pulled Li Xiuzhu's sleeve.

As if seeing the unhappiness on Li Xiuzhu's face, Li Liuli immediately became angry.

"What do you mean? Do you think my husband will harm my mother?"

"This... I don't dare."

The Queen also saw Li Xiuzhu's expression, and her heart tightened for some reason. She said, "No need to taste the dish. This was made by the Prince Consort himself, and it was never out of his sight. The Prince Consort will definitely not harm me."

The Queen had spoken, and although the young eunuch felt aggrieved, what else could he say?

Li Xiuzhu's face also looked much better. At this time, a small foot fell from under the table curtain onto his legs.

Li Xiuzhu was startled, and he moved his leg along the other person's leg and immediately realized whose foot it was.

(End of this chapter)