When Xie Pei arrived at the Qinzheng Hall, his face was frighteningly gloomy.
It was as if there were countless evil spirits haunting him.
Everyone in the Qinzheng Hall was shocked.
What happened?
Only the guard Zang Dongxin who knew the inside story wanted to laugh.
The Third Prince has planned everything out, so why did he get so confused on this matter? Young people are just impulsive.
Xie Pei's expression made the argument seem even more terrifying, as if someone might die if they were not careful.
That's true.
Because of this day, more than one life has been lost.
This is also the reason why the Grand Secretary of Zhongji Palace wants to do his best to stop it.
Instead of arguing endlessly, it is better to make a decision directly. After this year, I believe most people have some understanding of what kind of person Xie Pei is and what kind of personality he has.
He is indeed suitable to be the crown prince.
However, there was extremely great resistance for Xie Pei to become the crown prince.
After all, there is a saint above. The saint hates Xie Pei, so how could he agree?
There is also Concubine Jiang and Concubine Chu, neither of them is easy to mess with.
I only heard Concubine Jiang's brother crying, "My sister, Concubine Jiang, was originally the Saint's legal wife. She accompanied the Saint in the palace for many years. Her becoming the Queen is just a return to her original position. This should have been his."
The Chu family listened with deep resentment, this point was indeed undeniable.
"Although Imperial Concubine Jiang is good, she cannot be the queen with your relatives and friends. Since Imperial Concubine took control of the harem, how many private interests have you gained? If she becomes the queen in the future, then won't the harem be your family's treasury?"
"Saint, this is evidence of Concubine Jiang's corruption during her years in power. Please examine it carefully."
The officials watching couldn't help but look sideways.
For the position of queen, they gave it their all and didn't give any face at all.
This evidence of corruption must have been prepared for a long time, waiting to give Concubine Jiang a fatal blow.
"When the late Queen was here, she only managed the affairs of the West Courtyard and hated these mundane affairs the most. Everyone knows why. It's because the Queen thought that Concubine Jiang was the legal wife and didn't want to compete with you for actual power. But what about you, Concubine Jiang? You are a powerful noble, but you embezzle money. You can subsidize your family with 100,000 taels of silver a year, and you have countless important positions and lucrative jobs, all in the hands of Concubine Jiang."
"I made things so difficult for the Imperial Kitchen back then, and even now I still have a grudge against them. I just wanted to take advantage of the lucrative positions there, but unfortunately they ignored me, so I have a grudge against them."
"All the accounts are here, please see for yourself, sages and adults."
The second prince also said: "Father, my mother only cares about you, please understand."
Concubine Chu looked at the accounts presented by her family. Although she had been in power in the harem for a short time, it was not completely useless. She could always find differences.
Moreover, because Concubine Jiang was involved in so many types of accounts, even if we had tried our best to cover up when giving things to her, they could still be discovered.
During that time, she was trying to keep the palace running smoothly, and she was actually looking for these loopholes. Today, she finally found them.
The reason is simple. Even if you are a royal concubine, you can be so greedy. Your family can also be so greedy.
What about becoming a queen?
The ministers must know what will happen in the future.
So later on, the ministers were asked to watch it together.
So what if you were the legal wife before? Once you enter the palace, your legal wife will be the former queen.
The two sides were fighting back and forth, seemingly competing for the position of queen, but in fact they were competing for the position of legitimate son. Whoever became emperor would have his son as the legitimate son.
Concubine Jiang did not expect that the Chu family would come up with such accounts.
Just as she was racking her brains to defend herself, she heard the Grand Secretary of the Dongge say, "I would like to say that anyone can be the empress, but the most important thing is to decide on the succession."
"The matter of appointing a crown prince is a certainty, but these messy family affairs should be decided by the saint."
To put it bluntly, who wants to watch this old uncle's show? What you are talking about is just nonsense.
It’s better to decide on something that is not confusing.
After hearing this, the sage spoke up: "Establishing a crown prince is a big deal. It cannot be done overnight. Let's wait a little longer."
"I still need to think carefully."
That is to say, he had to wait a little longer and was not in a hurry, and his eyes were already on Concubine Chu.
He knew that the queen was corrupt, but he didn't care. However, he didn't expect that she was corrupt to such an extent. Moreover, with the current power of the Jiang family, it would be difficult to control her.
On the contrary, it is not as good as the Chu family, which has an even worse family background.
And the second prince is smarter than the eldest prince.
Watching them arguing, the second prince was able to speak to the point, while the eldest prince could only listen to the Jiang family and nod on the side.
Xie Pei, who had been silent for a long time and did not participate in the debate, suddenly said: "You haven't thought about the issue of the crown prince, but the emperor's grandfather has already thought about it."
What?!
Except for a few people, everyone present had confusion in their eyes.
Even the Grand Secretary of Dongge, who had long supported Xie Pei, was the same.
When the previous emperor passed away, he hadn’t even decided on a crown prince. How could he choose a crown prince?
The confusion of the crowd is visible to the naked eye.
Xie Pei did not speak, but asked someone to open the door of the Qinzheng Hall, and an elderly eunuch walked out. His hair and eyebrows were gray, and he looked very old. He had to be carried in.
However, even though he was so old, several officials here recognized him, including the Grand Secretary of Zhongji Hall.
"You, aren't you the eunuch who followed the late emperor?"
"It is you, old servant." The eunuch was about to come down to pay his respects, but Xie Pei said, "Just sit down and answer the question."
The saint's expression changed several times, but he didn't say anything.
But people around him have already started asking: "Did the late emperor leave any will?"
"What do you think?"
"How could the late emperor have predicted what would happen so long in the future?"
The old eunuch did not say much, but listened quietly to everyone's words, then he explained his purpose: "It is not actually a will."
"It's a secret letter."
Secret message?
Isn’t it a will?
This sounds strange no matter how you listen to it.
What exactly was left behind by the late emperor?
In fact, it is a very distant thing.
This elderly eunuch has been living in the old eunuch's place, which is where Master Wei Jun almost died. The palace maids will have a day to go home.
But eunuchs basically have to stay in the palace for their entire lives, and when they get old they will be moved there. In fact, the official name is Zhongguantun. Eunuchs will be moved to this place due to illness or old age.
However, if they are loved by their masters, they will find a house in the capital to live in. Or if they save money and have help from relatives and friends, they will also live outside.
Those who stayed in Zhongguantun were basically old and homeless, with nothing on them.
But this eunuch was obviously not the case. His family was in the countryside of Sichuan. He fled here to escape famine and entered the palace. He kept in touch with his family after finding them. When he left the palace, his family wrote to him several times, asking him when he would return home, but this eunuch named Sang Cai said that he would not return and even sent them money to reassure them.
That’s why Sang Cai doesn’t belong to the group of old people who are left without support.
Naturally, they were not penniless. When the previous emperor was in power, he treated the palace maids very well. To give the simplest example, the palace maids only ate two meals a day, and meat was rarely seen.
Starting from the previous emperor, the monthly allowance was increased, and there were meals for all seasons, summer drinks to cool down the body, and small cotton-padded clothes in winter.
Meals have become three meals a day today.
So eunuch Sang Cai must have money, otherwise why would he send money home?
Then there must be a reason why he stayed.
Some people said that he was used to living in the capital and was unwilling to leave. In fact, he had a secret letter from the saint in his hand.
This secret letter was written by the saint when he was fighting with General Ding. He threw it to the young eunuch who was accompanying him and asked him to keep it well.
At that time, General Ding was shot in the chest while trying to save the late emperor, but he still managed to help the late emperor break out of the siege despite the injury.
The late emperor wrote this secret letter when General Ding was in a coma.
The general idea is that a hundred years after he passes away, all the children of the Ding family will be raised in the palace. If the daughter of the Ding family becomes the queen, then her daughter will be the Princess Zhenguo, and her son will be the crown prince.
Although it was written in excitement, General Ding's injury had improved, and Eunuch Sang Cai showed the secret letter to the late emperor.
The late emperor only corrected a few mistakes and allowed him to save it again.
It is not difficult to guess why the daughter of the Ding family would become the queen. At the time, Ding Yingwan was also very famous in Kyoto. The late emperor and General Ding could guess about 70% of it in their minds and basically acquiesced to this matter.
When the late emperor passed away, the letter was shown to General Ding by eunuch Sang Cai.
General Ding was silent for a long time, asked him to take the letter back, and added a sentence in the letter: if the child is promising, then he can be given away, if not, he can just be a rich and idle person.
At that time, Eunuch Sang Cai could not believe that there was anyone in the world who could withstand such temptation.
But only such a general can gain enough trust from the saint.
The two people who knew the secret letter were both loyal servants who had followed General Ding and the late emperor. After the late emperor passed away, the two men dispersed and had no intention of taking out the letter.
What’s the point of taking it out?
If the prince born by Ding Yingwan is not useful, this letter will be his death warrant.
It will make him a target of public criticism.
It would be better to just let it go. He is almost invisible in the palace anyway, so he can live like this.
But then Xie Pei suddenly attacked, which made those who knew the secret letter focus their attention on him.
Especially the eunuch Sang Cai who was holding the secret letter, he would send people to inquire about Xie Pei's news almost every day, to hear whether the Third Prince could be trusted and whether he could take on the role of this letter.
Some blessings can only be enjoyed if you are blessed.
Giving a child ten thousand taels of gold on his body is harming him, not helping him.
So Eunuch Sang Cai was observing all the time, and in the meantime he was in contact with loyal servants who knew the secret letter. Everyone was paying close attention to these things.
That’s why the secret letter was delivered today.
Everyone in Kyoto knows about the chaos in the palace, and eunuch Sang Cai is definitely unable to sit still.
He was entrusted by the saint and General Ding, so he had to get things done.
The only saint he mentioned was the late emperor, who was comparable to the current one.
When these words came out, the first person who couldn't believe it was the current saint. He almost staggered down: "How is it possible? Why could the emperor write such an edict? Does he trust the Ding family so much?"
"Anyone born to the daughter of the Ding family is born to be the prince?!"
Why!
Although the last sentence was not said, the Grand Secretary of Zhongji Palace slowly said: "It is because the Ding family is loyal and dedicated to the court."
"General Ding has devoted his entire life to the Tianxiang Kingdom and the late emperor. The two of them are as close as brothers and are a model of harmony between monarchs and ministers in the world."
So those things sound unbelievable now, but given General Ding’s character, he would not do anything so outrageous as to be treasonous.
Even though he knew about the existence of superstition, he did not immediately use it to support his daughter.
Instead, he asked eunuch Sang Cai to keep it well, and added that if his grandson was not capable of anything, he should not give it out.
At the same time, he asked the two people who knew about the situation to stay away from Kyoto to prevent them from causing any trouble.
The Ding family has never let down the saint's trust.
"No, how could this be." Imperial Concubine Jiang also looked over in disbelief. She almost wanted to snatch the secret letter away. Why did Ding Yingwan have everything when she was born? Her daughter would be a princess, and her son would immediately become the crown prince?
With the love that all the civil and military officials in the court, as well as the people of the world, have for the late emperor, and with this letter, even if someone says anything, even if they bypass the current saint, Xie Pei is still the rightful crown prince, and no conspiracy or intrigue will be of any use.
In the eyes of these people, who can compete with the late emperor?
Even saints can’t do that.
Concubine Chu clenched her palms tightly.
She was almost there, so almost there, and she was going to be the queen.
She had just seen what the saint was thinking!
How come the duck that was in hand suddenly flew away!
Chu Jieyu also said immediately: "It must be a fake! After so many years, who knows whether it is real or not?!"
This sentence immediately alerted the Saint, and he said in a deep tone: "How do we know if you forged the secret letter of the late Emperor and colluded with His Highness the Third Prince?"
That's fine too.
Several university scholars frowned at the same time. This was not impossible. Although the secret letter notes seemed to be written by the saint, they still had to be read carefully.
But the eunuch Sang Cai bowed his hands and said: "Just check it casually, it must be written by the saint himself."
I thought that was all that was left and the next step was to check the letters, but Eunuch Sang Cai said, "There are three more letters of the same type. We can tell whether they are real or fake."
Three seals? !
What else?
Eunuch Sang Cai carefully took out the letter and asked someone beside him to show it to everyone around him.
The Ding family was not mentioned again in this secret letter.
The ones mentioned were several university secretaries, several old generals, and several old chancellors.
A few names were written in emphasis, saying that if they had not committed the heinous crime of killing nine generations of their clan, and as long as they had not intended to rebel or harm the people, they would be spared. At the very least, they would be allowed to retire to the mountains and live as rich and idle people.
The reasons are also written.
One reason was that he was afraid that if he was gone, no one would be able to control these powerful ministers. How could a capable person not have some arrogance?
Second, they have devoted themselves to the Tianxiang Kingdom. Even if they make some minor mistakes, are a little disrespectful or disobedient in the future, we should not be too harsh on them.
Third, he and these ministers get along well with each other and trust each other so much that future kings will certainly suppress them, otherwise they will not be able to hold on to power, and they will inevitably make mistakes. However, suppression is allowed, but no harm will be done to their lives.
No matter what happens, they will not rebel, so future kings can rest assured.
In fact, the handwriting of these secret letters was so illegible that they looked more like analyses written by officials in their spare time when handling government affairs. They were both analyses and pardons.
This saint did many things and achieved many great achievements during his reign, otherwise he would not be so loved.
But he also thought and wrote a lot in his spare time.
He handed all these letters to the eunuch Sang Cai, and explained that they should be used if they could be used, and burned if they were not.
If eunuch Sang Cai had left long ago, he would have been thrown directly into the bottom of the well in Zhongguantun. If he could be found, he would have been found. If he couldn’t be found, it was his fate.
But eunuch Sang Cai seemed to be particularly afraid of his life because of the late emperor's words.
At that time, many eunuchs and palace ladies volunteered to be buried with the late emperor and keep vigil. He moved quietly to Zhongguantun and watched the changes in the situation in the court.
I also saw what had happened to the great country.
How can these old people not be sad?
Xie Pei is finally here, and he must come out.
But he didn't expect that before he stood up, it was Xie Pei who found him first. Based on the clues he found in daily life and his keen sense, he discovered that his every move was being watched by an old eunuch in Zhongguantun, so he came to find him.
By the time Xie Pei came to him, eunuch Sang Cai had already made up his mind that he would make the secret letter public.
In order to prevent others from saying that the letters were forged, he brought all the secret letters with the ministers' names on them.
But Eunuch Sang Cai never expected that when this letter was taken out, the ministers present would burst into tears.
Especially the several grand secretaries whose names were mentioned in the letter. There was also an evaluation of the grand secretary of Zhongji Palace who was the leader, saying that he seemed steady and stable, but was extremely arrogant inside. I always felt that he looked down on me and only did things reluctantly. However, I didn't care, he was indeed powerful and so on.
All of them hoped that the kings below would consider their own faces, tolerate his pride and not blame him.
It was also written below that if his life was in danger, he would take out the secret letter and if his life was not in danger, he would definitely be able to escape danger.
The tone was proud, trusting, and forgiving.
The Grand Secretary of Zhongji Palace heard the familiar tone and his fingers even trembled slightly.
Are there any shortcomings of the late emperor?
That's true.
When he was there, he was always expanding, pacifying everywhere, and causing chaos everywhere.
He focused on people's livelihood, but had no long-term plans; he cared about the people, but the regulations he issued had many loopholes, so that from that time on, the treasury of Tianxiang Kingdom was not very full.
Sometimes there were only expenditures and no income, which made the ministers so angry that they almost died.
Anyway, when the late emperor passed away, there was basically no rice in the national treasury.
Moreover, the inner palace did not pay attention to it. When he left, there was no crown prince yet, and the harem was in chaos.
But a monarch who is open-minded, tolerant and generous is good for his subjects.
At least for them, it was an unprecedented and enlightened initiative.
They can pursue their ambitions as they wish.
Such a monarch actually wrote a secret letter in his spare time, which became a life-saving talisman for his people after his death.
Many of the names on the letter had already died of illness or old age, and only a few elderly people were still supporting the court.
If those old friends who have passed away due to illness knew about this letter, they would feel that they have no regrets in their lives just like they did.
Looking at the ministers who were crying together, the emperor, Concubine Jiang, Concubine Chu, and some newcomers in the court had never seen such a scene before.
These old ministers actually cried like this.
But think about it, if they were the ones in the letter, if they would still remember during the saint's official duties and write about it in the letter, asking future generations to spare their lives no matter what.
If a minister could do this, he would cry like this.
Xie Pei actually didn't expect the content of the letter to be like this. In fact, all these old ministers had made some guarantees.
One of Dante's family members died on the battlefield, and the other died of illness on the road, so they were not within the range of what was written in the letter and could be saved.
No wonder this person didn't dare to make any move, perhaps he was afraid of being restrained.
Regardless, it's settled.
Not to mention the letters that moved the old ministers later, just take the example of the late emperor who, in order to express his gratitude to General Ding for saving his life with his life, decided that the son of Ding's daughter would become the crown prince.
Today's debate in the Qinzheng Hall has come to an end.
It is a result that no one can even dispute.
The crown prince of Tianxiang Kingdom can only be Xie Pei, and only Xie Pei.
The eunuch Sang Cai, who was guarding the secret letter, admitted it, and was also acknowledged by General Ding’s scattered loyal servants.
There are also instructions in the secret letter.
Not to mention that the ceremony of enthroning the crown prince has not been held yet, but now no one dares to criticize calling Xie Pei the crown prince!
After the old officials finished crying, everyone realized this problem and the people on the field had different expressions.
But the general idea is the same.
The sky in Tianxiang Kingdom is about to change.
Xie Pei has reached a position where no one else can stop him.
Just now, the Jiang family of Concubine Jiang and the Chu family of Concubine Chu were fighting to the death for the position of Queen, all for the purpose of making their son the eldest son and thus having a better chance of competing for the position of Crown Prince.
But now?
They are still fighting for the first step.
And Xie Pei has already obtained the result that they all wanted.
This is also the result that the saints least want to see.
The farce temporarily ended after the saint vomited blood.
Imperial Concubine Jiang and Concubine Chu were unusually quiet, without any of the murderous expressions they had just shown.
They followed the emperor's carriage back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity in silence and served him carefully.
No one knows what will happen in the future.
Anyway, it’s definitely not what they imagined.
Xie Pei said nothing in this farce, but everyone knew that he was the only winner of this fight.
And it was a beautiful win.
If he wasn't powerful enough, these letters would have been buried deep with eunuch Sang Cai and would never appear in this occasion.
It was he who earned all this for himself despite being the weakest prince in the palace.
He even secured some protection for the old ministers.
Otherwise, considering Eunuch Sang Cai's cautious character, he would not easily take out these things.
If he wanted to take it, he would have taken it a long time ago, but he chose to take it at this time, and for the sake of the Third Prince.
wrong.
Now you should call him Your Highness the Crown Prince.
From then on, Tianxiang Kingdom finally had a prince.
The farce, which originally had no idea how it would end, came to a complete end.
This makes the youngest prince of Tianxiang Kingdom mysterious. How can he stabilize the situation from the chaos? Not to mention that the expression on his face does not look happy.
You are already the crown prince, shouldn’t I be happy?
For Xie Pei, whether he is happy or not is another matter.
After all, some words seem to be inappropriate to be said, or some performances are messed up.
For example, Su Wan has already reacted.
After Xie Pei left, Su Wan took some warm wolfberry soup and steamed crispy meatballs back to her residence to rest.
She put the candied haws on the table and ate them slowly when she couldn't sleep at night.
The next day, Su Wan obviously did not look well rested, but she still pulled herself together to wash her face. Meanwhile, news from the palace began to spread when officials from the Ministry of Rites officially started working.
Today is October 30th, the last day of this month, so the grand court meeting is still in session and it will last for quite a while.
However, after listening to the news that came in one after another, Su Wan had already sorted out the general context.
It sounds extremely dangerous to others, but Su Wan found out after sorting it out.
It is indeed dangerous, and it is dangerous for Concubine Jiang and others, and even for the saint.
From Xie Pei's perspective, what's so fierce about it!
It goes without saying that Tianxiang Kingdom loved the late emperor. With his letter and Xie Pei's previous reputation, as long as the letter came out, the position of the crown prince would be very secure.
According to Su Wan, he wanted to let Concubine Jiang and Concubine Chu cause this scene just to increase his chances of winning.
Some things don't have to be compared, but they are just there, and you naturally start to compare them in your heart.
The eldest prince, the second prince, and the third prince.
If you use your brain a little, you will know who to choose.
Of course, there is another question. What if Xie Pei was not the son of a saint, but was really the son of King Yu?
Then what?
Doesn’t Prince Yu’s son mean he is not the late emperor’s grandson?
Only the current saint himself cares about this matter, the old ministers don't mind it at all.
Besides, wasn’t the late emperor honoring Ding Yingwan’s son?
No, that was to honor General Ding, an old minister who was just like them.
After all, when this secret letter was written, no one knew who Ding Yingwan would marry, let alone whether the baby would be a boy or a girl.
So this letter seems to praise the Third Prince, but in fact it is praising General Ding, an old minister like them.
This forced them to feel more grateful to Xie Pei.
It seems that when seeing Xie Pei, one can see the late emperor and see the love the late emperor had for these old ministers.
So does it matter whose son Xie Pei is?
Anyway, he is the grandson of the late emperor.
In this case, it is not unbelievable that Xie Pei can become the crown prince.
When Su Wan realized this, she suddenly felt that the candied haws she had eaten last night seemed to be sour to her teeth.
How could there be such a person?
He even gave her the property deed, which was clearly an attempt to scare her!
Su Wan prepared today's lunch with an expressionless face. Fortunately, the entire Ministry of Rites was in chaos and no one noticed that something was wrong with her.
Why is it a mess? Of course it is related to the appointment of the crown prince.
Enthroning a crown prince is not just a matter of words. Just make him the crown prince, and that’s enough.
Instead, the news of who will become the crown prince should be spread to all counties and then to the surrounding diplomatic allies. If nothing unexpected happens, the nearby diplomatic allies will congratulate before the Lantern Festival.
For those who live nearby, it is possible to come before the Spring Festival.
This is a sign of respect for the suzerain state. If that diplomatic ally does not come, it will be considered impolite. For example, if a big country like the Central Plains were to evaluate a small country around it as impolite, that would be a serious crime and would make the surrounding diplomatic allies feel extremely fearful.
Each county had to issue congratulatory messages before the New Year.
This is one aspect. On the other hand, the winter solstice is approaching. This year’s winter solstice is on November 25th. Last year, we knew that the winter solstice was a major festival, when we worship our ancestors and the heaven and earth.
It happened to be the winter solstice, so I had to write a new sacrificial text and spread the news that Tianxiang Kingdom had a prince, to comfort the ancestors and the heaven and earth. It was just in time for the enthronement ceremony to be held in the Temple of Heaven, and the golden book to be presented at the Altar of Land and Grain and the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Then the prince can officially preside over the winter sacrifice like a saint.
After the winter festival, he will be the legitimate prince and included in the royal family tree.
From then on, all regulations, from shoes and socks to carriages and horses, were replaced by the crown prince's ceremonies. Even the beads on his hair crown were to surpass those of other princes.
These rituals must be found in the documents of the Ministry of Rites.
After all, the last time a crown prince was appointed was at least thirty or forty years ago. The saint had never been a crown prince, and no one in his generation had ever been a crown prince.
These classics and documents must be sorted out immediately.
Logically speaking, it would take at least three or four months to sort it out, which is not enough time. Now we suddenly have to finish it in 25 days. We must be too busy. It is estimated that people from the Hanlin Academy and the Censorate will be transferred here. The Ministry of Rites will definitely be very busy this month.
When the saint, who had never been a prince, saw this scene, he felt that being a prince was more magnificent than he had imagined.
But he couldn't stop it while lying on his sickbed, and there was no way he could stop it.
Su Wan watched all this and wondered that it was no wonder that they said the crown prince could not be easily appointed or deposed. Otherwise, it would be too troublesome and it was not just a matter of the emperor's words.
But it is the endless rituals that follow.
But these things are also very important. They basically distinguish the crown prince from other princes, and also give a heads-up to the surrounding diplomatic allies to let them know who our next emperor will be.
Su Wan continued to cook with an expressionless face. She was still making today's main dish.
I was originally planning to make fish fillets, but now the Ministry of Rites is busy everywhere, so naturally I have to make something simple to eat so that I can quickly finish my lunch and then work hard.
So Su Wan simply made four-happiness meatballs, mainly because the meatballs made by her aunt were very delicious, which inspired her to make meatballs.
Then write a poem to pay tribute to the ginkgo.
When the last dish was decided, Su Wan squeezed the purse full of real estate deeds.
In order to help you celebrate, we prepared the famous dishes of Confucius Mansion Banquet. That’s very considerate of us.
In fact, both of these dishes are Shandong cuisine, and both have auspicious and celebratory meanings.
Needless to say, Four-Happiness Meatballs are basically present at banquets in the north, from wedding banquets to graduation banquets, and often even serve as the finale.
Shili Ginkgo is a little special. It comes from the Confucius Mansion faction in Shandong cuisine. As we all know, there are three types of Shandong cuisine. Jinan cuisine is fragrant and mellow, Jiaodong cuisine is good at seafood, and Confucius Mansion cuisine is finely made and famous for its exquisite cooking methods.
First up is the Four-Happiness Meatballs, which are made with pork, eggs, and the rest are seasonings.
Although the ingredients are simple, this dish also requires a lot of cooking time.
Shandong cuisine requires careful attention to the cooking skills and requires extra caution when cooking.
However, the first thing to do is to prepare the filling. Cut the fresh pork belly into strips and then into cubes, then mix them together with eggs, soy sauce, salt, corn starch and minced ginger.
Stir until firm and then shape into eight even-sized balls the size of a baby's fist, just enough for eight adults.
But you should also make two backups in case of any accidents.
However, Su Wan saw how busy it was outside, so she simply made a few more. There were many people coming today, just in case someone wanted to eat some.
Put the prepared meatballs into a 50% hot oil pan and fry them until golden brown. The color is already very beautiful now. Be sure to control the oil after frying, otherwise the meatballs will taste too greasy and will be even more inappropriate for older people to eat.
Only when the oil is controlled properly will it taste good when you scoop it out.
Put the fried meatballs aside, heat oil in a pan and pour in star anise to remove the fishy smell and Sichuan peppercorns to enhance the flavor. This is the stir-frying and fire-cooking method commonly used in Shandong cuisine.
Then add large chunks of scallion and ginger slices. After they are fried until fragrant, they will have the unique mellow aroma of Shandong cuisine. After the fragrance is strong enough, you don’t need to continue frying the spices, otherwise it will become burnt and you will have to make it again. At this time, pour in fresh chicken soup as the soup base, add some soy sauce and seasoning, etc., and then put in the fried meatballs.
The fried surface is firm and not easy to cook, but the soup should be just right. Too much soup will make the meatballs not flavorful enough, and too little soup will make the meatballs undercooked.
So, although this dish looks simple, it is actually very complicated, and it is not easy to make it delicious.
When the soup is cooked, put the meatballs in the pot into a celadon plate and use the remaining soup to thicken the dish.
After thickening, pour it over the meatballs, and finally sprinkle some green chopped green onions on the round and plump meatballs.
A dish of four-happiness meatballs is ready.
The characteristics of this dish are salty, fresh, crispy and tender. It melts in your mouth at the end and has the unique flavor of Shandong cuisine.
The Four Happiness Meatballs look festive and taste delicious, and they attract attention right out of the pot.
The next dish, Shili Ginkgo, has a different flavor, which is sweeter.
The ginkgo nuts that were harvested this year are delicious, but when eating them, you should either soak them in salt water or alkaline water to remove the slight toxins in them. It sounds scary, but in fact, it is not a problem to eat them in small amounts.
And this treatment is also very safe. You just need to wash it several times with clean water after soaking to make sure there is no salty or alkaline smell.
After cleaning, blanch it in boiling water, then remove it and drain it.
When the water content is almost enough, start frying sugar color in a pan. Fry the white sugar until it becomes a slightly reddish-brown color. Then mix in water. Finally, add ginkgo, rock sugar, honey, and osmanthus sauce.
The rock sugar here is also old rock sugar, which is characterized by a slightly yellowish color. This is due to its lack of purity, but it has a sweet flavor and is very suitable for adding to this dish.
Looking at the various sugars used in it, you can tell that this is a sweet dish. The fire should be low at this time, and you don’t need to put too many of these things. Just let the ginkgo be slightly coated with icing sugar. It looks sticky and cute, and the flavor is good too.
When arranging the dish, follow the Shili Ginkgo arrangement method, slice this precious cucumber and arrange it in a circle around the plate, with the golden ginkgo placed inside. It looks like amber in color and has a very refreshing taste.
Surrounded by green cucumber slices and with golden ginkgo in the middle, how could this dish not look good?
"No wonder it's called Shili Ginkgo, it's really beautiful."
“Yeah, this dish is so unique.”
Su Wan has become accustomed to the compliments from people around her.
Considering Xie Pei is the crown prince, should we make an auspicious dish and a sweet dish to celebrate?
Even though he can't eat it, at least my intention is there.
But someone happened to arrive at the Ministry of Rites at lunchtime. Originally, Xie Pei should have come in the morning, but there were too many procedures for enthroning the crown prince, and the Imperial Observatory would not let him go.
So it just so happens that this will happen.
Xie Pei also slept very hard yesterday, but he didn't sleep well.
Ordinary people would think that he must be worried about the appointment of a crown prince, but only he himself knows what is really going on!
But now, looking at the Four Happiness Meatballs and Shili Ginkgo, his heart seems to be at peace for a while?
The officials from the Ministry of Rites, who were about to have dinner, had no choice but to invite Crown Prince Xie Pei to have dinner with them.
I originally thought that the prince would refuse, but who knew that he actually sat down.
But there were only two plates of the four-happiness meatballs, which meant eight pieces, just enough for the eight of them.
This was made by Su Wan. It looks delicious. They have been coveting it for a long time. We worked so hard for your enthronement ceremony, but we can’t even have a bite of Su Wan’s food?
Is this appropriate?
After all, not only the crown prince is here, but also the Grand Secretary of the Dongke.
Just as the ministers were struggling, the kitchen sent in a few more plates of food, obviously as backup.
Not bad, not bad. Look at the people in the Ministry of Rites. They are so smart.
Everyone tacitly agreed to stop talking nonsense and eat first!
Nothing is more important than eating!
And everyone reached out to pick up the four-happiness meatballs more tacitly.
The aroma of meat fills your mouth. The ingredients are only pork and eggs, but the taste is better than any delicacies from land and sea.
Rich aroma, cooked just right, the fried texture blends with the soft inside, and it is filled with delicious soup.
When you take a first bite of this meatball, you can taste the fried outer skin and tender inner texture. Take another bite and you will find the tender and smooth inner texture. When you eat to the end, you will find the most tender part of the pork.
It’s delicious!
Everyone enjoyed the Four-Happiness Meatballs very much.
When it came to the Shili Ginkgo, he first praised it with a few words before starting to eat.
Having just eaten the rich and fragrant Four-Happiness Meatballs, I originally thought it would be a bit strange to eat sweet dishes.
But everyone discovered that the sweetness was not strange at all, but rather had a unique fragrance, including the aroma of osmanthus jam, the fragrance of a mixture of several kinds of sugar, and finally the taste of ginkgo itself.
If you think this dish is sweet enough to be eaten as candy, you are absolutely wrong. The taste of fresh ginkgo is definitely refreshing.
The cucumber on the side is not even for decoration, but to blend the freshness of the cucumber with the ginkgo, making this dish more poetic.
Look at the dishes prepared by the Ministry of Rites. They are not only delicious and beautiful, but also of high quality.
How nice.
Amid the crowd's praises, the guard with a sad face came over and whispered to the Crown Prince Xie Pei, "Hey, look what this is."
The guard showed what was in his sleeves.
Isn’t this yesterday’s purse!
Xie Pei slowed down his eating.
Su Wan guessed it as expected!
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