Several brave scholars at the martial arts banquet came directly to the tent to ask for food. Fortunately, Su Wan did a lot, so everyone left satisfied.
Noodles with tomato sauce and egg noodles, how can you not like this kind of food.
People in later generations who eat this food will express their praise.
No wonder some people say that after the Qionglin Banquet and the Huiwu Banquet, the reputation of ketchup egg noodles will definitely be very famous.
This is not a joke, it's true.
In fact, the news about ketchup noodles had already spread before the banquet was over.
There were a few nosy tea bearers living near the royal gardens. They would pass on any interesting news they got to the teahouse. Those tea bearers with novel news would always get more rewards.
Large banquets like the Qionglin Banquet and the Huiwu Banquet often appear in operas and novels, so in the eyes of many people, there is naturally a lot of gossip.
So the news about the tomato sauce noodles and eggs spread quickly.
Everyone knows the name but not the method of making it, and the ketchup?
Is it a green eggplant or a purple eggplant? Or a small earthy eggplant?
How do you make this into juice?
The name is still misleading, what green eggplant and purple eggplant, they are tomatoes!
Unfortunately, people outside can only hear a little bit of it. They only know that the food is praised by many people, but they don’t know what it is, which makes them feel very anxious.
Fortunately, after the great scholars left the Qionglin Banquet, the security there was more relaxed, and then they realized that it was what everyone commonly calls red fruit. But the juice is so sour, how can it be made particularly delicious?
Everyone was puzzled, but they also knew that the great scholars had brought back red fruit and egg toppings, and they were extremely envious.
It’s worthy of being called the Qionglin Banquet, there are always lots of fresh food.
Inside the Qionglin Banquet, the chef had already begun preparing dinner. The food was similar to that for lunch, except that the portions were larger. Once it was ready, it would be placed on the table for people to enjoy.
So the evening is relatively simple for the chef, and basically there is nothing else to do after cooking.
After tonight, the Qionglin Banquet will be over.
The closer it got to the end, the more strict the officials of the Guanglu Temple urged.
But I didn't expect that I would still have a problem. The main reason was that the tomato and egg noodles at noon were too good. As soon as the banquet started in the evening, the noodles were almost eaten up. Fortunately, there were refills later.
If this was the only problem, it would have been fine. At the banquet in the evening, since there were no great scholars present and no rewards were given out, the newly-appointed scholars were just having fun among themselves, so they were more relaxed and drank more wine.
This is how the Qionglin Banquet was held.
People at the martial arts banquet were even holding jars of wine, celebrating both the good things in life and the uncertain future.
After all, after working so hard for so many years, I finally passed the imperial examination and was about to become an official, but I didn’t know what to do.
When students get together, they can't help but discuss political affairs. It's okay when they are sober, but once they drink too much, even the second place in the imperial examination can't help but comment on the three princes of the time.
When talking about this, a dozen people nearby couldn't help but whisper.
Anyway, everyone has their own opinions, and the Guanglu Temple can't manage it all. There are 300 Jinshi in the civil category and 100 Jinshi in the military category, but the noise from those 100 people is enough to make up for the 300 people.
A total of 560 people gathered together to discuss political affairs, and when the truth came out, the Minister of Rites was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.
These people are too bold!
Su Wan was the first to notice something was wrong at the junction of the Qionglin Banquet and the Huiwu Banquet.
Because the two banquets are connected, people can walk around on both sides, and if they drink too much, they will naturally walk back and forth.
But the words out of his mouth made people break out in a cold sweat.
What are they all.
"Which general doesn't hate the saint?"
"It's embarrassing to talk about what a saint does."
"Which prince can compare to His Majesty the Third Prince?"
"That's right, but why are the other princes called princes, and this one is His Royal Highness?"
"The only legitimate child, and his mother's Ding family is so noble."
"Speaking of the Ding family, we have to say how miserable the generals are. If this continues, I'm afraid the border will be unstable."
"Of course. Which military family dares to really work hard now? The Ding family is the best example. The whole family is gone, and the only grandson is still ostracized."
This is what the group of people at the martial arts banquet said.
What was said at the Qionglin Banquet was more obscure, but the content was equally outrageous.
"Among the three princes, only the Third Prince really considered the people during the Tianbei Palace incident."
"Yes, my hometown was also oppressed by the tyrannical monks, but they recently received a letter saying that they would re-investigate the land and return it to the people."
“Not only that, those temples will also be converted into salesian homes.”
"It was all the Third Prince's idea. As expected of the late Queen."
"The other two princes are still under house arrest. I heard that they are in collusion with Tianbei Palace. Although the Saint forbids us to talk about it, everyone knows it."
"Saint? If it's not him."
"There are four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties, and many pavilions are in the mist and rain."
It would be fine if others didn't understand it, but these are all newly-minted scholars, and it is so ironic to use Du Mu's poem at this time.
Many people have memorized this poem. Some people in later generations analyzed that this remark by the great poet Du Mu was satirizing the Southern Dynasty emperors who favored monks and built so many temples. The number four hundred and eighty is a figurative number, meaning a very large number.
But what’s the point of building so much? Everything will become a thing of the past in the mist and rain.
As Su Wan listened, she felt that the scholars coming and going seemed to have drunk too much. When she found several officials from the Guanglu Temple, they had obviously also received the news and their faces turned pale.
"How did you transport so much liquor here?"
"You are talking nonsense. Don't you know that the saints are watching you?"
"Take them and sober them up!"
Su Wan saw that there was no need for her to say anything more and was about to quit when she heard someone else come to report.
"The champion, the champion hugged the pillar and wrote another poem!"
Writing poetry again, are you okay?
But this poem is not about praising delicacies.
Instead, he praised the Third Prince Xie Pei, saying that only the Third Prince could be made the Crown Prince.
This man wrote poetry while holding onto a pillar, and at the end he stood on the railing and raised his arms and shouted. The drunk civil and military scholars next to him actually clapped and cheered.
If the people from Guanglu Temple had not arrived, it would probably not have been sixteen lines of poetry, but a long speech!
It's really infuriating!
Everything was going well and was about to end, but then a not-so-small mess like this happened.
Fortunately, the Guanglu Temple discovered it early, and many nonsense had not yet been said.
"Check where the liquor comes from."
This is what Su Wan heard when she left.
She said, it’s not that simple.
Xie Pei has accomplished a lot of tasks recently, but can it always be so smooth?
Now he is being roasted on the fire, and many people regard him as a thorn in their eyes and a thorn in their flesh.
The two who are under house arrest must have been gnashing their teeth in hatred for a long time.
Although Su Wan had not experienced it personally, she knew how dangerous it was.
Poor Xie Pei, he didn't even show up at the party, but the party dragged him into it.
But this has little to do with Su Wan.
Because the civil and military scholars were talking nonsense, the evening banquet ended early.
The palace maids also went back to rest early, and they would be able to return to their respective places early tomorrow morning, April 7th.
Su Wan naturally returned to the Shangshenjian.
Because of this incident, many people were afraid to speak too much at the originally lively banquet for fear of implicating themselves.
Su Wan can understand this. Everyone likes to talk about street politics, but the topic is a bit wrong.
The only thing that makes people a little unhappy is that it has to do with Xie Pei.
The top scholar was probably used as a gun. When he wakes up tomorrow morning, he will probably be scared to death by himself.
Although it is not a capital crime, his career will be ruined in the next few years.
When I woke up the next day, another scary thing happened.
Wei Jun said last time that the person who lost something due to poor supervision hanged himself. Fortunately, his roommate found him in time and rescued him, otherwise he would have been dead.
It's a miserable situation for him too. The palace maids will have the chance to leave the palace one day, but these eunuchs can only stay in the palace for their entire lives and can only leave when they reach the same age as Deputy Chief Eunuch Chai.
But he had made a big mistake and had no hope in the palace. He also didn't have family to worry about like Wei Jun did, so he was so depressed that he almost died.
Wei Jun was still frightened by what he saw and felt even more grateful to his master and Su Wan.
If they hadn't pulled me out, I would probably have been trapped in here too.
Fortunately, no one was killed, and everyone felt relieved.
However, Su Wan felt that a storm was about to come. All these things that happened did not seem to happen by chance.
Only after returning to the Shangshenjian did Su Wan's heart settle down. Her superior saw that she was a little tired, so he asked her to rest for a day and come back to work later.
I guess everyone knows about the Qionglin Banquet and the Martial Arts Banquet.
Those great scholars who left early had never expected that these Jinshi would be so bold, and that both civil and military Jinshi praised the Third Prince together. This situation was really rare.
But think about it, Xie Pei's maternal grandfather is General Ding's family, he himself did a good job in the Tianbei Palace, and he was very benevolent, he looked like a wise ruler.
Who, who claims to be a pillar of society, doesn't want to follow a wise ruler and build a career?
I don't want to be born at the right time to achieve great things.
Especially those who have just finished the imperial examinations and have achieved some fame, they naturally become more unrestrained.
It would be fine if we met a king who was in a good mood and generous.
But there is no need to say much about the saint's current situation. If he is not angry, he would not be himself.
As for Xie Pei, who had suffered an unprovoked disaster, he would definitely be implicated. When you hate someone, everything that person does is wrong. Would a saint not hate Xie Pei?
impossible.
Su Wan enjoyed watching the struggle in the court, but she knew that Xie Pei had no time to deal with it and probably had other plans.
Who would have thought that a few days later, someone in the morning court heard this to deliberately mock Xie Pei, asking him: "The new champion says that you can be the crown prince. Is that true?"
Xie Pei replied: "No."
The ministers were slightly disappointed. Why didn’t their answer match Xie Pei’s?
Without waiting for anyone to respond, Xie Pei replied, "The ancestors of Tianxiang State said that the eldest son should govern the country at the age of fourteen, and can be appointed as the crown prince at the age of fifteen. We cannot break the rules."
"Wait a few months."
Wait a few more months, until your birthday in November this year!
I heard that the saint's face suddenly turned pale.
Xie Pei knew what saying this would bring, but would it be okay if he didn't say it?
But why is this guy so crazy?
Su Wan was just listening while she was doing her work. As for those talkative new scholars, they have been as honest as quails recently and dared not say anything. However, it was obviously much later in assigning them to official positions, and no one knew when the saint would calm down.
The matter of the front hall is still a bit distant from the Shangshi Department, and the Shangshi Department is now worried about another matter.
That is, the palace maids have reached the age to be released from the palace.
Su Wan had already done the statistics before going to the Qionglin Banquet, but now there is another thing, which is how many people from various departments will leave.
From now on, each kitchen of the Shangshi Division will be responsible for the meals of a certain number of people.
This is not just the time when we were kids. Only if we knew these things could we apply for money, buy food, etc.
But the inner palace has been slow to provide the list, making it difficult for them to do their work next month.
People will be released from the palace in May. They have no idea how many people there are in the various departments and how much food they have to prepare.
This is not just food for 10 or 20 people, but food for nearly 10,000 people in the entire outer palace.
However, from what the superior said, it was not that the inner palace did not provide the list, but that the various departments did not provide the list.
In simple terms, the process is this.
Each department counts how many people they want to release, and then gives the list to the inner palace, stating how many are leaving, how many are staying, and the circumstances of those who are leaving.
If there is no problem with the review, the inner palace will allocate severance pay and the person can leave.
But now there has been no movement. The only ones who submitted the list as required by the Inner Palace were the Shangshisi, which had always been "against" Concubine Jiang, and the Baochaosi, which had changed its chief executive. Even the Yuyongjian was hesitant.
There are still a few scattered departments that have submitted their submissions, but the number of people does not match and is still being verified.
There is no roster in the inner palace, nor in the Imperial Food Department, so it is even more difficult to arrange meals for May.
It can only be said that the boss and Concubine Jiang actually stood on the same front, which was rare. The reason was simple: all the other departments were lagging behind.
On the afternoon of April 16, at the Shangshenjian side, several female officials sat together to discuss things. Su Wan and Li Rongrong, and Yu Shu, who had not been seen for a long time, came from the west kitchen.
These little palace maids were all here to listen.
There is less than half a month left until May, and there must be an explanation for this matter.
Li Rongrong had obviously been told by Deputy Prime Minister Nan and knew what was going on, but Yu Shu only had a vague understanding.
Why not provide a list? What’s the story behind this?
Su Wan didn't think it was a big deal at first, but now looking at the situation, she realized that not every government office is like the Shangshisi, with clear names and accounts.
There must be something fishy going on in those palaces that are unwilling to provide the list.
Judging from the expressions of the female officials, they must have known about this a long time ago, which shows that this is not the first year they have been doing this.
The chief officer saw that everyone had arrived, including the chancellors of the north, south and west kitchens, the left and right chiefs, the three people in the miscellaneous storehouse, and several female officials in the Shangshenjian, as well as the young palace maids who were listening nearby. Then he said, "I have discussed with the person in charge of this matter from the Ministry of Rites. We should still use the ingredients from April for May, which is a month of leniency. By June, the list must be correct, otherwise we will have to pay for the extra ingredients ourselves."
It’s not that the Ministry of Rites is harsh.
But a palace servant’s share of food is that for one person.
The name is not clear. The Ministry of Rites is easier, but what about the Ministry of Revenue?
This will also force the various departments to make decisions earlier.
In fact, Su Wan had already felt that something was wrong.
The reason is simple. There are too many people in the outer palace. Even if there is a porcelain factory or a papermaking treasure bank, there are more than 10,000 people in total.
This number is too exaggerated.
In her time and space, there were indeed so many people in some palaces, but many eunuchs starved to death in the palace at that time.
The reason is that there is not enough food and too many people.
I am afraid that if this place continues to develop, things like this will inevitably happen.
Not to mention other things, the loss of things by the imperial supervisor Wei Jun can be said to be an isolated case. There was also a case at the Qionglin Banquet where something went missing from the warehouse of the eunuch in charge, and he almost committed suicide because of it. This can't be said to be an isolated case.
It can be seen that the management has been in chaos for a long time.
But this is not something Su Wan and the others should worry about. Now they just need to do their own work well.
However, the officer looked at Su Wan and asked, "Why do you think the various departments did not submit the roster?"
Su Wan did not speak, and the officer continued, "Speak boldly, these are all our people."
In other words, it doesn't matter what you say.
Su Wan nodded and said, "I'm afraid the rosters in the palaces are wrong, or maybe they don't want to leave the palace. It's better to stay in the palace than to leave."
These are the conventional answers.
Su Wan paused again and said, "Maybe there are officials who are just drawing salaries without doing anything."
Empty salary.
There are positions and names, but no one actually does the work, yet they are required to pay on time every month.
But this person doesn't exist at all, so who did the money go to?
Naturally, it was given into the pocket of the chief executive of the government office.
Roughly speaking, if there are ten people on the roster of a department, then salaries for ten people must be paid.
But in fact, there are only five people in this department, so the salaries of the extra five people are just empty salaries.
Those who give out money but do nothing actually suffer the most are naturally the ones who give out the money, that is, the palace.
But it is too difficult to investigate a person who does not exist at all and to ask a person who does not exist to leave the palace.
That’s why we have the current situation.
If the various departments cannot submit the roster, if nothing unexpected happens, after ten days or half a month, they will say that the palace servants are unwilling to leave and continue to stay in the palace.
If they were driven away forcefully, they could just blame the Censorate and say that the powerful people in the inner palace were mean and treated the palace maids badly.
When the eldest prince makes a mistake, Imperial Concubine Jiang will most likely compromise and not provoke the Censorate or let the other officials really hate her. She also expects the other officials to help her.
So this is a bit confusing.
The Ministry of Rites was so happy to approve the money for food in May, probably because they had already guessed what was going on.
I guess Concubine Jiang also wants to resolve this matter, it just depends on whether she has the courage.
But this kind of "old illness" is obviously not formed overnight. If she really wants to solve it completely, she should start earlier.
But in this case, what should the Shangshi Division do?
Other departments did not lay off staff, only the Shangshi Department released people as required. That would be just like what the palace maid asked Su Wan.
Their Shangshisi has fewer people, but they still have to be responsible for the meals of so many people. Isn't that a shortage of manpower?
When Su Wan first entered the palace, many of her doubts had been resolved.
Why did they say that the Shangshi Division was short of staff in every place at that time? This turned out to be the reason.
Only when they followed the proper procedures and laid off the necessary people, and sent people out of the palace.
But no matter how many of them there are, they are responsible for the increasing number of palace servants in other departments.
After all, the number of people in other departments has only increased, and will definitely increase.
The chief of the Imperial Food Department had a difficult job, but he managed such an office in such an orderly manner. When I was in the Western Kitchen before, I only thought that the Western Kitchen was difficult, but it turned out that there were many more difficult places than the Western Kitchen.
Today's small meeting ended and everyone had their own thoughts.
Even Li Rongrong and Yu Shu seemed to be thinking about something.
In fact, the current situation did not arise in one day. There is no point in anyone being anxious. When all the problems erupt, they can still be dealt with.
As long as the people of Tianxiang Kingdom are safe and the government is in order, this chaos in the palace, although troublesome, can be handled.
After the meeting, Su Wan packed up the things that were to be sent to the Ministry of Rites, and went to get a few books she had finished reading. She was now very familiar with walking from Dong'anli Gate to the Ministry of Rites headquarters in front.
But as soon as she arrived at the Ministry of Rites headquarters, she saw the Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple head-on. Shaoqing was the official position second only to the Minister of Temple, a formal official of the fourth rank. Seeing his sad face, Su Wan thought he was still angry about the Qionglin Banquet, but wasn't that thing in the past?
Even if they are held responsible, it is not their business.
When Shaoqing spoke, Su Wan realized that the matter had long passed.
But it is also related to the Qionglin Banquet.
"Su Wan, can you make the ketchup noodles you made last time again?"
Shaoqing came out of the Ministry of Rites just to find Su Wan, but he didn't expect to meet her at the door. The sad expression on his face must have disappeared.
"Sure, it's a small matter." Su Wan smiled, "Whenever you need it, I'll make it for you as soon as possible."
Is it so easy to agree?
No wonder people from Guanglu Temple like people from Shangshisi!
Shaoqing smiled and said, "It will be sent to the home of the Grand Secretary tonight. He is the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion. He loves food, calligraphy and painting, and landscapes. This time, he heard about the tomato sauce noodles, but he couldn't eat it, so he asked his son to go directly to the Guanglu Temple."
The son of a grand secretary?
This must be some important person. No wonder Shaoqing went over there immediately.
There are six Grand Secretaries in Tianxiang Kingdom, among which the Grand Secretary of Dongge is the last. Su Wan knows something about it. Now they are all Xie Pei's people.
Then he asked the Shangshisi to go to the Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall of the Ministry of Rites. This Grand Secretary had the most power and was the most respected by everyone. He did not speak easily in the court, and his words were the final word.
As for this Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretary, Su Wan had heard of him for the first time, but he loved food, calligraphy and painting, and landscapes, so he must be a great scholar with a wealth of knowledge. Although he was idle and didn't take care of things, he must have many children. Otherwise, he wouldn't be a Grand Secretary.
Su Wan said, "It's OK in the evening, but I have to finish my errands first, and I'll do it when I get back to the Shangshenjian."
She would definitely do whatever her superiors told her to do without delay.
The Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "I'm afraid it will be too late to go back to Shangshenjian to do it. How about doing it in the Ministry of Rites? There is a kitchen here too. It's just right for you to do it here. I'll help you."
As he spoke, Guanglu Shaoqing looked inside and said, "The son of the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion is in there. No one can control him."
It was the first time that Su Wan had heard of such an adult, but she didn't care, it would be the same wherever she did it.
"Then buy these things and come over, and I'll make them for you."
Although I don’t have any dessert ketchup on hand, the tomatoes are already quite ripe now, so you don’t need to use ketchup. You just need to simmer it for a little longer and add appropriate amount of sugar.
Su Wan wrote a list of ingredients for him, and Shaoqing immediately sent someone to get it done.
In fact, you just need to boil the tomato sauce and let people take it back.
Su Wan thought she had just done something casually, but she didn't know that it was a great help to the Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple.
You know, now everyone in Kyoto is imitating ketchup noodles, but the taste is far inferior to what Su Wan made. Yet, some people are pretending to be from Guanglu Temple and selling ketchup noodles under the name of Guanglu Temple, claiming that they are the most authentic.
I also asked someone to buy some delicious Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretary to try it, but I didn’t expect it would make my teeth sour!
It really fell!
The old man was fine, saying that he was old and it was normal for his teeth to be loose.
But his family must be angry. The Dali Temple Chief's son was so angry that he led a team to catch the unscrupulous vendors.
Then he went to the Ministry of Rites and insisted that he must eat the most authentic ketchup noodles and he wanted to eat it now.
This Dali Temple Minister has always been filial and upright, but when he loses his temper, it is really hilarious.
But everyone also knew that although he led the team personally, he only arrested the unscrupulous vendors, gave them a small warning, and fined them a little money, which was considered a small punishment.
After all, his father said that although the vendor was pretending to be someone else, he didn’t kill anyone, so there was no need to hurt anyone for a tooth.
Su Wan listened to what the official from the Ministry of Rites told her and also found this father and son pair very interesting.
But the old man who was in charge of the library said, "Since you made noodles with ketchup, you must have some for me. I'm not going home for dinner tonight."
Su Wan smiled: "Okay, there will definitely be one for you."
The old gentleman then happily continued to check Su Wan's homework.
The first time I met Su Wan, I ate the naan pit meat that Su Wan brought. I wanted to eat it again after eating it once.
After eating cakes a few more times, it was natural for me to ask for tomato noodles this time.
It took almost no effort for Su Wan to make the dish, and she even made some extra, so that many familiar officials could taste the most authentic ketchup noodles.
I even left the recipe of ketchup noodles to the old man in the library.
The reason is simple. She has made such rapid progress and can read so many books thanks to the help of this old man.
The library is vast. Although there is a list of books from the superior, he is not as familiar with it as the old man who is in charge of the library.
The lady in charge of the Ministry of Rites Library did not expect to receive such a big gift, and Su Wan also wrote that everyone could use it at will and she did not mind.
Su Wan was just copying other people's ideas and learning from their predecessors, so she wouldn't intentionally claim them as her own.
When Su Wan returned from the Ministry of Rites, it was already dark, with a food box in her hand.
I also brought a portion of the noodles I made this time for Xie Pei, and placed it in the Guanxin Hall opposite the Chonghua Palace where he currently lives.
Although the two haven't seen each other for a while, they still keep in touch.
However, when Su Wan entered the Guanxin Hall, Xie Pei seemed to have calculated it correctly. He was handling official business in the Guanxin Hall. When he saw her coming, he didn't feel strange at all.
The two have known each other for more than a year and have already developed some tacit understanding.
Needless to say, the tomato noodles made by Su Wan were delicious. When Xie Pei had eaten, he saw that Su Wan had already flipped through half of the book and even put the purse with Sanskrit gold beads on the table, obviously afraid that he would forget it.
As for this golden bead, it has been passed back and forth between the two of them since the Chinese New Year. It was returned this time because it was really no longer needed.
The remaining members of the Tianbei Palace had been mostly cleared out, so Xie Pei's work must have yielded some results, otherwise he would not have aroused the jealousy of others to the point of deliberately creating obstacles at the Qionglin Banquet.
Su Wan wanted to ask, but felt it was not a good idea to ask, so she simply flipped through the book and waited for him to return the gold beads after he finished eating.
Unexpectedly, the guards around Xie Pei were no longer hiding. They were wearing clothes that were obviously those of a prince's guards. They carefully put away the dishes and chopsticks, and even served a plate of freshly washed peaches.
this?
What are you doing?
Not acting anymore?
Xie Pei looked at Su Wan's expression and handed the official document in his hand to her: "Many places have started to grow tomatoes. It is estimated that a large number of tomatoes will be on the market in July and August."
Su Wan was slightly surprised, but thinking about it, this food has been popular in Kyoto recently, and even the top scholar wrote a poem to praise it, the value of this tomato naturally went up.
Since the price is high, the number of people like that will definitely increase suddenly.
But what's the point of showing her this?
Su Wan didn't take the document, but just said, "I'll give this back to you, thank you very much."
"No, I should thank you." Xie Pei smiled, took out the Sanskrit gold bead and looked at it carefully, "If it weren't for it, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
Su Wan felt bad after hearing this and immediately wanted to get up and leave. Don't tell her this, she doesn't understand! She doesn't understand anything.
Unexpectedly, Xie Pei continued, "This set of Sanskrit gold beads is a relic left by my mother. When she got married, she had many such treasures. But now, these are the only ones left."
Xie Pei’s mother is naturally the late queen, and also the daughter of General Ding.
The Ding family fought for the Tianxiang Kingdom for two generations, and Xie Pei is the only remaining blood relative.
No one can question this kind of loyalty.
Just by listening, Su Wan felt that what happened was thrilling.
"Now it can have some effect, all thanks to you." Xie Pei looked at Su Wan, making it difficult for her to sit or stand. She could only pretend to hear and smile.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Xie Pei didn't force her and continued, "Now I have so many spies around me, and this is the only place where I can rest for a while."
This is indeed not meant to be misery.
He is now under attack from everywhere, and everyone is waiting to find fault with him. It is really not easy.
Su Wan comforted him: "We have to go through this."
Since you are fighting for the throne, there will definitely be numerous difficulties and dangers, which is normal.
Xie Pei looked at her again and nodded slightly: "Yes, for sure."
The moonlight outside was beautiful and quiet. When Su Wan left the Guanxin Hall, she didn't know whether Xie Pei was exposed or not.
She only knew that when Xie Pei asked her about the official document, she pretended not to understand anything.
Xie Pei also said that the inner palace would be in chaos recently and it might affect the outer palace, so she should be careful.
I was supposed to be careful, but the next day I received two pieces of news.
One reason is that Su Wan has been in the palace for a full year and her position can be changed, but her monthly salary has not changed. After all, her monthly salary of fifteen taels is already very good, higher than the monthly salary of an ordinary palace maid.
Get promoted!
Any time is a good time!
Also promoted with her were Li Rongrong and Yu Shu.
However, there are also head maids in each kitchen, and the Shangshenjian's side is still a maid, but her status is naturally different. The clothes on her body are also changed from stone blue to apricot red, the same color as the head maid's clothes.
Before the Shangshenjian, there were senior palace maids and so on, but after it was transferred to the Ministry of Rites, the senior palace maids around the chief either became female officials or casual officials, which was in line with other government offices in the Ministry of Rites, and gradually became different from many of the titles in the inner palace.
Many people in the palace said that now that Su Wan had changed her clothes, as long as she worked hard, she could at least be an official in the Imperial Kitchen.
There were similar officials in the Guanglu Temple, ranking at the ninth and eighth ranks.
Although the rank is low, there is a possibility of upgrading.
And the possibilities are endless.
So among the several young palace maids who were promoted this time, the one that everyone envied the most was naturally Su Wan.
Even Li Rongrong, the most outstanding palace maid, is not as good as her.
The old Li Rongrong would probably feel uncomfortable for a while after hearing this.
Now it’s totally gone.
Everyone has his or her own path and his or her own way of living. There is no need for her to compete with Su Wan, because the Shangshi Division can accommodate many outstanding female officials.
Li Rongrong also gradually came up with an idea after going through the affairs of the inner palace. Deputy Prime Minister Nan was half relieved and half sighing.
Children will grow up, and her niece is growing up too.
Her family also wrote to Li Rongrong, praising her for her current good situation.
Su Wan also brought the news to her aunt, but Yu Shu didn't tell anyone. She had now let it go and only wanted to study cooking skills.
Apart from these three, there were some slight changes in the positions of other people, which added some joy to the Shangshisi.
After all, the chaos in the inner palace was indeed quite big.
Imperial Concubine Jiang had been so angry that she couldn't eat for several days, but layoffs were a matter of great consequence.
As the saying goes, cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. She wanted to cut staff, but faced a lot of resistance. Moreover, she herself was not a particularly determined person, so it was naturally even more difficult.
And with Concubine Chu who keeps hindering things, nothing can be done easily.
Being understandable is understanding, and being difficult to do is difficult to do. These two points are not contradictory.
Fortunately, the Shangshi Bureau can still stay out of trouble with the support of the Ministry of Rites, so we can just watch them coldly.
Because of pressure from other departments, the Baochao Division even had to take back part of the list. Anyway, it was a mess, just as Xie Pei said.
But for the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, let’s put all these distractions aside for now, as the Shangshisi will start preparing rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival!
The Dragon Boat Festival is on the fifth day of the fifth month, so it’s definitely a good idea to make rice dumplings in advance.
Before the Dragon Boat Festival, rice dumplings can be delivered to civil and military officials in the capital, and the palace staff can also enjoy the essential Dragon Boat Festival delicacies on that day.
The Dessert Department is still the main force, with assistance from the various canteens. Everyone is already familiar with this process.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, the mooncakes made by the Sweets Department were so delicious that they refreshed the entire Kyoto. This year, rice dumplings will also be distributed during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Many people are already looking forward to what kind of rice dumplings the Dessert Department of the Shangshi Department will make.
Before Zongzi started to leave, Deputy Prime Minister Li from the Dessert Department came with a smile and wanted to take Su Wan away. She liked Su Wan so much.
During the last Qionglin Banquet, we also promoted the dessert company's ketchup. As soon as the banquet was over, many dignitaries came and tried to find ways to ask for some ketchup to take back.
It was all thanks to Su Wan who mentioned their dessert department in the miscellaneous warehouse when she was in the kitchen.
So this time when making zongzi, I must bring Su Wan with me.
First, she has good skills, and second, she simply likes it.
Deputy Prime Minister Li of Zaliku particularly likes Su Wan. Is there anyone who doesn’t know this?
If her superior had not acted quickly, she would have snatched the person away long ago and would now be a senior palace maid in apricot-red clothes!
But even Deputy Prime Minister Li had to admit that there were indeed more opportunities in the Imperial Kitchen.
No matter what, before the Dragon Boat Festival, Su Wan will definitely be the dessert girl!
The superior also laughed. The festive atmosphere finally dispersed the mess in the palace. It didn't matter what happened in other places. At least the Shangshi Division was stable.
In Su Wan's opinion, both the empress in the inner palace and the emperor in the front court should be grateful that the Imperial Food Bureau was indeed stable.
Eating is the most important thing in life. If the meals had not been so stable, the inner and outer palaces would have been in chaos.
You don’t have to worry about other things, but if you don’t eat well every day, you will be in a bad mood for the whole day. If you are in a bad mood, things will be more likely to go wrong.
So Su Wan was not bragging at all!
But Shangshisi is really amazing!
Sure enough, as soon as the other departments heard that the Imperial Food Department was preparing rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival, the Imperial Household Department was also buying mugwort leaves for the Dragon Boat Festival, and the palace also started buying and selling colorful ropes and sachets.
The festive atmosphere came all of a sudden.
The sachet can ward off evil spirits and plague, and the colorful rope is exquisite and cute.
Some superstitious people even asked for talismans, but the incident at Tianbei Palace had just happened in the palace, so the use of talismans became less common.
The remaining customs are, of course, eating Zongzi and eating pickled garlic!
But this pickled garlic must be pickled in advance, the longer it is pickled, the better it tastes.
When Su Wan arrived at the storage room, the maids were opening jars. These were pickled garlic that had been pickled in May last year. Each grain looked plump and translucent, with a strong pickled garlic flavor. Each one was translucent, and it was obvious that they were pickled well.
The maids smiled and said, "You're welcome. If you want to try it, just try it."
The maids are really good at pickling sugar garlic. Once you put it in your mouth, you can taste the strong garlic aroma with a slight sweetness, which neutralizes the sharpness of the garlic. She can eat ten in one go!
Last year, when Shangshisi went through such a crisis, the maids didn't even open the jar of pickled garlic, which shows how precious it is.
But we dig them out this year because new garlic will be harvested in April, and it will be delicious to use the new garlic to pickle sugar garlic to be eaten next year.
Su Wan didn't expect that the first thing she would do when she arrived at Zaliku was not to make rice dumplings, but to help pickle sugar garlic!
Speaking of pickled garlic, legend has it that it was accidentally created by Zhang Liang, a famous general in the Western Han Dynasty. After several improvements, it has its current taste.
When Empress Lü learned about this, she summoned Zhang Liang and asked him to make it.
After Empress Lu tasted it, she found it delicious, and it even became a tribute in the palace.
This legend is so old that we don’t know whether it is true or not. However, every year when we eat pickled garlic, we always tell a few stories about it to add to the festive atmosphere.
You can pickle sugar garlic at home, but the quality of the pickling varies.
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