Yan Pei hasn't been in public much recently, and even the notes have been less frequent, but she didn't expect that he was still helping her deliver things to the third aunt.
Su Wan was grateful, so he would definitely have a share of the roasted lamb leg today.
Fortunately, as long as the food is placed in the Guandi Temple, it will always be taken away by Yan Pei who has time.
After sending away the Third Aunt and the maid Jing Ju, Su Wan knew that she wouldn't have to worry about the Third Aunt for a long time, and she even gave the Third Aunt one or two taels of silver.
From then on, Jing Ju would take care of the third aunt, and at the end of the month, the aunt would secretly give her one penny of silver.
Just think of him as someone hired by your aunt.
Moreover, Jing Ju is familiar with the Su family, and with her looking after them, basically nothing will go wrong.
But how can I repay Yan Pei’s favor?
I originally thought that he was too busy recently, so I didn't bother him. I didn't expect that although he didn't say anything, he was still doing what he had done before.
Su Wan was naturally grateful.
Just as Su Wan was about to go back, she saw the guard Chai Huan who helped her last time. He also greeted Su Wan, looked around Su Wan, and said, "The maid in the west kitchen, is she really not here?"
After all, it's just a verbal warning. If they really come, Commander Qi will also show leniency.
Although law enforcement must be strict, this is a matter of seeing family members. Tianxiang Country attaches great importance to filial piety, so there is no reason to stop a child from seeing his family.
"She didn't come, and she didn't have to come." Although Su Wan spoke evasively, the guard Chai Huan nodded. He noticed something unusual last time, so he spoke up and said that Yu Shu should not be allowed to come to Lingtai Division again. It seems that his good intentions did not go wrong.
Previously, when he went to the small kitchen in the west kitchen to help Commander Qi order food, he originally wanted to ask, but the palace maid was too shy and he couldn't open his mouth.
I feel relieved after learning about it today.
Su Wan smiled and bowed, then looked at the heartless guard Zhou Zhao beside guard Chai Huan. Most of these guards came from good families, but their personalities were very different. However, they were all good people.
After meeting her family, Su Wan had more winter cotton-padded clothes and a few pairs of cotton gloves in her hands. It was obvious that they had brought her winter clothes, and the clothes were all slightly larger, probably because they thought she had grown fast recently.
In the palace, if you didn’t know about the mess above, you would actually be quite happy.
These little people all have their own happiness.
After returning to the kitchen, Su Wan first went to look at the marinated lamb legs.
The lamb leg was cut into pieces, and then evenly coated with pepper oil, salt, chili, onion, ginger, etc., and Su Wan rubbed rice wine to remove the fishy smell into the tender lamb leg meat.
Put the lamb legs on the small kitchen grill and roast them on low heat for two hours. They will definitely taste delicious.
Lamb shanks are firm and low in fat, so they take longer to cook.
But this is a lamb, so the roasting time may be shorter.
Su Wan looked at the pickling process and found no problem, so she continued to pickle it.
The mutton must be free of fishy and muttony smells, only then will it taste good.
While waiting for the lamb legs to be marinated, the mutton soup can be cooked on the other side.
Although we will drink the mutton soup tomorrow morning, it is definitely a good idea to make it now. The soup will be white and tender and will definitely be very fragrant.
However, this amount of lamb was only enough for them to have a roasted lamb leg and a meal of mutton soup. Su Wan planned to make the remaining mutton offal into braised food.
Su Wan had made braised food before, and Commander Qi of Lingtai Division liked it very much.
But I just did it casually at that time, and I have never made a proper braised food.
This time, while the mutton offal and rabbit meat are being braised, they are all made at the same time. According to Su Wan's idea, since they are already braised, just make a big pot and let everyone enjoy it.
You should also braise some duck necks and duck feet, rabbit heads and rabbit meat, and pig's trotters.
Now that it is late autumn, it is time to take some supplements.
But I feel guilty saying this, since the Small Kitchen Zoo has been opened, I have never failed to make up for it!
Su Wan is now stopping everyone from sending anything here.
I made it while they delivered it.
Wow, after eating for half a month, the number of animals in the zoo actually increased!
The weather has been relatively good recently, but when winter comes in November, the animals here will probably freeze to death.
You can't really build a shack in the small yard.
And by the end of the month, she has to prepare the winter menu. Time flies, and by November, December, and January, it will officially be winter.
Didn’t you see that her third aunt brought her all the winter clothes?
Several managers gave up with regret. It was a pity as they were just about to buy some more food.
But then I thought about trying some dishes at the end of the month, so it didn’t seem like a big deal.
After Su Wan came to the West Kitchen, the joy of their daily meals was unmatched by anyone.
The mutton bone soup will be boiled first, and the remaining mutton will be added tomorrow. But when Su Wan and Yu Shu were preparing to roast the lamb legs in the afternoon, they could already smell the fragrance of the mutton bone soup. Just imagine how delicious this bowl of soup will be tomorrow.
The lamb leg on the other side has been tied up, and it is naturally roasted outside the house. As soon as the rack is set up, the flame is lit.
Rotate the two tied lamb legs at a constant speed to roast them as evenly as possible.
After a while, you can see the fat on the lamb leg slowly dripping down, you can hear the crackling sound of the flame, and you can smell the unique aroma of lamb fat.
There is mutton bone soup inside the house and roasted lamb legs outside.
The two scents make the small kitchen completely different from other places, and the smells can attract people to come in.
But roasting the lamb leg to this degree was definitely not enough. Su Wan tried her best to stretch out the lamb leg so that every part was roasted.
After roasting everything, start applying honey. The taste of honey can make the lamb leg taste sweeter and enrich its taste. When the sweetness of honey is mixed with the taste of the marinade, the lamb on the whole leg will not be fishy or dry. Any piece you tear off will be tender and juicy, with a strong aroma of gravy.
This is the feeling of eating meat with big mouthfuls. It makes me happy just thinking about it.
Several stewards regretted coming so early.
What are you doing here so early?
He was just looking at it eagerly. He was so envious that the chief steward of the Shangbao Palace even wanted to ask for a bowl of mutton bone soup to have a sip first.
But after drinking mutton bone soup, people will eat less mutton leg meat.
It's really a dilemma.
Su Wan was in charge of roasting the lamb legs and stuffed some freshly harvested sweet potatoes and corns into the charcoal fire.
The corn is stuffed into the charcoal fire with its leaves, and the sweet potatoes are also stuffed with their skins.
Roasted sweet potatoes and roasted corn!
It’s just the right way to relieve the greasiness when eating roasted lamb legs.
Su Wan simply couldn't resist the fragrant and soft roasted sweet potatoes.
Especially when the weather is cold, holding a hot sweet potato and taking a bite can dispel the cold, and the sweetness of the sweet potato can reach your heart.
They started roasting in the afternoon and continued roasting for an hour and a half. The fragrance had filled the whole yard, and seven or eight sweet potatoes had been roasted. Su Wan then said, "It's done! It should be ready to eat!"
As she spoke, everyone saw Su Wan cut off some mutton with a knife, preparing to taste whether it was cooked.
But this action attracted a crowd of onlookers.
What to do when you suddenly feel stressed!
She really just tasted it to see if it was cooked!
When Su Wan said it was cooked, everyone cheered immediately.
Finally, we can start eating!
This lamb leg is marinated for three or four hours and roasted for one or two hours. Just thinking about it makes it delicious!
Everyone gathered around the two lamb legs and enjoyed the meal very much.
But Su Wan was a little worried.
In the past, we could cut off a little bit and send it to Guandi Temple, but how can we send it now?
Besides, someone asked about it last time, and this time when I served the mutton in front of everyone, I always felt something was not right.
When everyone finished eating, only two sweet potatoes were left which could not be eaten anymore.
Su Wan had no choice but to take it since the sweet potatoes were baked well today.
She just owed Yan Pei a roasted leg of lamb, and she felt quite guilty about it. After all, he was so busy and was still taking care of her aunt's affairs.
Who would have thought that this was just the beginning.
After that, I didn't see Yan Pei for a long time. I only saw a note he left saying that he was busy recently and told Su Wan not to worry.
After November, he can take a break and we'll talk about it then.
Seeing this, Su Wan naturally didn't know what to say.
It’s just that Yan Pei’s handwriting is more powerful and it feels like he was busy with something important when he wrote these notes?
Su Wan shook her head. What was she thinking about? How could she see such a thing?
But it is true.
What Xie Pei was busy with, of course, was attending court sessions.
In less than half a month, he will be fourteen years old. If he does not take charge of government affairs now, he will have all kinds of excuses waiting for him in the future.
Although he went to the soldiers' tombs to offer sacrifices and shut up the rumors, the matter of hearing government affairs was still moving forward.
Although he couldn't stand these things, he still had to do them.
If Su Wan saw Yan Pei at this moment, she would definitely feel that Yan Pei was a little strange at the moment. With a distant and cold expression, she said, "Since he likes to spread rumors, then continue to spread them."
Xie Pei said directly: "Whatever he fears the most, that's what he will spread."
After Xie Pei mentioned this, the Dongge Grand Secretary beside him hesitated slightly: "Third Prince, do you really want to do this?"
Xie Pei sneered: "These rumors mean nothing to me."
He is not afraid of these rumors, nor will he be merciful.
The last time he went to the generals' cemetery, he did not use his grandfather as an excuse, but paid his respects sincerely.
My grandfather lost because he was soft-hearted and too loyal. He thought his loyalty would bring him many things.
But the emperor was ruthless.
But it's not just Prince Yu who is ruthless.
Most of the rumors that the emperor asked people to spread were true.
For example, before Prince Yu ascended the throne, he was already thinking about how to get rid of his maternal grandfather's family and his mother.
But Prince Yu thought so, and the current emperor also thought so.
My maternal grandfather's family thought that by replacing the prince with a seemingly weak one, they could avoid the disaster, but the current prince is a more vicious person.
If my grandparents had been tougher, stripping the emperor of his power and making him a puppet emperor in name only, he might have lived a more comfortable life.
Although this seems a bit scary for a descendant of the royal family.
But this is Yan Pei’s truest thought.
Since he could say that, how could he show mercy to the current emperor?
After Xie Pei made this decision, Su Wan soon heard gossip again.
In less than half a month, the Third Prince, the only legitimate son of the palace, will be fourteen years old, but the Saint still doesn't mention letting him take charge of government affairs. Is it because the Third Prince is not his son?
Could it be that the saint was really cuckolded?
When the news came out, Su Wan almost choked on the water she had just drunk.
What a cruel person!
This is putting a saint on a pedestal.
According to the information brought by the Vice Minister of Rites from the court meeting, people from the Censorate and the Hanlin Academy have already made reports saying roughly the same thing.
"Rumors are spreading everywhere outside. Even if it is just to silence the people, we have to let His Highness the Third Prince take charge of the government."
"If you don't allow the Third Prince to take charge of government affairs, people outside will definitely continue to be suspicious. Your reputation is more important, Saint."
"Your Highness has indeed reached the age to prepare to take charge of government affairs."
"Saint, you don't have to care about what is said outside. Those who are innocent will be innocent!"
"Saint, if the Third Prince is not your offspring, please make a decision as soon as possible and clear the royal bloodline!"
The following sentence is so blood-curdling.
How can such a thing be cleared by the innocent?
Clean? What bullshit.
Today's rumors are almost outspoken.
If the Sage does not allow the Third Prince to govern the country, it means that the Sage has something to hide. It also means that the Third Prince is not the Sage's biological son, so he should just be deposed.
Can we say that? Can we abolish it?
If it were possible, the saint would have done so long ago. It is just a rumor now. If it is really abolished, then what is he?
Wouldn't it mean that everyone in the world knows that he was cuckolded, and also let everyone in the world know how defeated he was before.
Thinking of this, the saint's eyes were filled with resentment.
Then let the Third Prince take charge of government affairs?
When he thought of this face that looked just like his mother's, standing below, even the saint's forbearance would be gone.
The daughter of a minister was more arrogant than anyone else. When she chose him, the saint felt both happy and sad.
The good thing is that with Ding Yingwan's family, he also has the capital to strive for the throne.
There is also sadness and anger, and the reason is simple.
Everyone knows about the conflict between Prince Yu and Ding Yingwan. Ding Yingwan is angry that all the tenderness and sweetness are fake, and she is disgusted that Prince Yu is thinking of crossing the river and destroying the bridge before he even gets the throne.
So no matter what, she would marry someone else.
It also needs to be someone who is easy to grasp, so I chose him.
This shows that he was the easiest to bully among all the princes. Because of this, he was ridiculed by his brothers for a long time, and even his father looked at him with a mocking look.
As long as Xie Pei stood in front of him, he could think of the scene at that time.
How could he not hate this?
Now that he has firmly established himself on the throne, the Ding family is getting in the way again.
Xie Pei, he is also a member of the Ding family, and he looks almost exactly like his invincible grandfather.
He couldn't hate at first because everyone asked him why he should hate.
It is your honor to be chosen.
For a time, the court was plunged into quarrels.
The content of the argument was naturally whether the Third Prince should attend government affairs.
Listen, the saint looked on with disgust.
If you don’t listen, the identity of the Third Prince will become a mystery again.
That night.
Xie Pei dodged the hidden arrow again. His old wound from a few days ago has not healed yet, so why is this happening again?
Xie Pei has become accustomed to dealing with hidden attacks. The closer he gets to his fourteenth birthday, the more people come to assassinate him.
After dealing with this wave of assassins, Xie Pei looked at the assassins expressionlessly.
This time the assassin is even more useless.
It is self-evident who sent these people.
Who else but the Emperor?
As long as he died, his dilemma would be gone.
On October 23, the five-day winter menu submitted by Su Wan was approved, and she can start tasting the dishes tomorrow.
It’s still the same old rule, prepare five days’ worth of meals, have the various managers come over to taste them, and make sure the dishes are okay, then they can be used as the winter menu.
Time flies by so fast.
The main reason was that there were too many gossips outside. Su Wan knew just by listening to the gossip how powerful the Third Prince was in his dealings with the Saint.
Moreover, there are many people in the court who are cheering for him. He was not famous at all before, so where did all these forces come from?
Fortunately, the affairs of the front hall had nothing to do with their Shangshisi, and the Ministry of Rites had no intention of taking sides, so most people in the court were just waiting and watching.
The six university scholars seemed calm and composed, and did not comment on the matter at all.
The winter menu is different from that in autumn. In winter, the weather is cold and the food is high in oil and salt to help people conserve their strength. They also drink more soup.
But while autumn soups are for removing dryness, winter soups are for warming the stomach, allowing the whole body to stretch out its hands and feet so that one has the energy to do things in winter.
Pepper is indispensable. In the cold winter, a bowl of hot pepper soup can dispel a lot of coldness.
In this case, how can breakfast be without Hu La Tang!
If you have spicy soup, you must have fried dough sticks. The two go perfectly together.
There are not only fried cakes, but also small fried dough sticks. Different from the longer fried dough sticks on the spring menu, these fried dough sticks are particularly small, small and crispy. Soaked in the spicy soup and covered with the soup, they will directly warm your whole body.
I also try to make more meat dishes at noon. Now there is no need for summer heat-relieving soup in the afternoon, so all the money for ingredients can be moved to noon, so that everyone can eat better.
Don't forget, there is also the one hundred taels of silver subsidy from Concubine Jiang every month, which can be used just for this purpose.
In the evening, most meals are warm noodle soup. Eating warm noodles will keep you warm whether you are on duty or going back to sleep.
After finishing the meals for the five days, Su Wan found that she had made four recipes without realizing it.
I have actually made all the five-day recipes for the four seasons of the year.
Moreover, the meals are different throughout the year, and we strive to ensure that everyone can enjoy the most abundant and delicious meals.
After finishing it, Su Wan felt a little emotional and looked at the words she had written.
Not bad, there is progress.
Although I feel a little embarrassed to brag about myself.
But she still wants to praise!
Several West Outer Palace supervisors have tasted the five-day menu prepared by Su Wan, and have been thinking about it every day, it would be great if Su Wan could cook individual meals for them.
Unfortunately, it’s just something I can think about now.
As we speak, November has arrived.
When winter comes, the palace is extremely busy. There are many grand sacrifices in winter, and many of them require the personal attendance of the saint.
So preparations for sacrifices are being made everywhere, as if by looking busy they can forget about another thing.
November 6th is the birthday of the royal family’s only legitimate son.
Su Wan was ready to watch the show. Although she had never met the Third Prince before, she remembered his birthday very well.
After all, on his birthday, he has to attend court!
Isn’t this gossip big enough?
Su Wan felt like she was a VIP spectator, watching the court fight in the West Outer Palace.
On the morning of the sixth day of the New Year, Su Wan took her lunch box to Guandi Temple as usual. This was her job when she was busy in the past.
Now that she has free time, she has nothing to do but to see how everyone is doing, so naturally no one else has done this job.
The right-hand man also said that it was just an easy job, so he let Su Wan continue to do it.
But this time, when I just came in, I saw someone I hadn’t seen for nearly twenty days?
Yan Pei was wearing a dark black robe and sitting at a low table, seemingly waiting for something.
He looked up when he saw Su Wan coming in.
Yan Pei's clothes today were a little different. There were faint dark patterns on the black clothes, but it was winter now, the sun rose late, and there were not many candles in the Guandi Temple, so Su Wan couldn't see clearly.
But when Yan Pei stood up, he found that his eyes were slightly focused, as if he was staring at him.
Long time no see, why do you look like this?
Su Wan felt something was wrong and coughed lightly, "What's wrong?"
Yan Pei's eyes softened: "It's okay, come and have breakfast?"
"But there's none for you." Su Wan said, and they both laughed again.
When the two first met, there was no food for him, but Su Wan directly gave him the offerings for Lord Guandi, so this time it can be done too!
Today's breakfast is spicy soup and fried dough sticks.
Yan Pei ate slowly and leisurely, as if he was enjoying some delicious meal.
After dinner, the sound of the drum tower bell rang, indicating that the morning court had begun.
Su Wan couldn't help but look over and said, "I don't know if the Third Prince is attending court."
Yan Pei was quite surprised: "Third Prince?"
"Yes, you've been busy lately, don't you know about this?" Su Wan said, "I really want to see him in the court, I think he must be very smart."
"Why?" Yan Pei was not in a hurry to start the morning court, but asked slowly.
"Just a feeling? With all the gossip lately, I always feel that he is very smart."
In front of Yan Pei, Su Wan was not afraid to say these things: "He seems to be at a disadvantage, but he is able to fight evenly."
"If he were in the court, it would be fun to watch."
"But the saint will not let him take charge of government affairs." Yan Pei said this deliberately with a slight curve of his lips.
"He should be allowed to go. If the Third Prince is not allowed to go, wouldn't the rumors be unpleasant?" Su Wan looked at Yan Pei cleaning up the dishes and analyzed seriously, "But he won't be allowed to govern alone. I remember there is also the Second Prince."
"That person has reached the age, but has been suppressed and cannot go to the court."
"If nothing unexpected happens, the Saint will ask the Second Prince to attend the court session with him, so that the limelight will not just go to the Third Prince."
"Besides, when we hear the news of the government, we have to deal with government affairs. The eldest prince is useless, so we can only support the second prince to compete with the third prince."
Perhaps it was because it was still dark and the lights were dim, and the person in front of her was still Yan Pei, Su Wan expressed her analysis for the first time.
She had been thinking about this for a long time, but her roommates didn't understand. The female officials had many eyes and ears, and the same went for Wei Jun and Zhuo Hui.
Just tell Yan Pei that it’s appropriate.
Anyway, Yan Pei doesn’t talk much, so it doesn’t matter if I say something.
Su Wan didn't notice Yan Pei's slightly surprised look, and then she felt it was natural.
Su Wan is indeed smart, and she has always been so smart.
The situation in the morning court was just as she had imagined.
The Second Prince, who was suppressed by Imperial Concubine Jiang and was already sixteen years old but still unable to attend government affairs, was now standing at the morning court.
The sage supported him to govern the country, and naturally wanted to use his talent to surpass himself.
After all, the emperor is taking sides, and the second prince is not that stupid. He will always be superior to him and can also share some of the limelight in the government affairs.
Yan Pei curled his lips and took out a heater from his sleeve. It looked small and simple, but it was warm enough to hold hands without burning you and could keep you warm for a long time.
"Take this. It's cold in winter, don't catch a cold."
"Can we have roasted lamb for lunch? I didn't get to eat it last time."
Su Wan nodded subconsciously: "Okay, are you free at noon?"
"I'm definitely free." Yan Pei confirmed, "I'll go get busy first and be back soon."
It was quiet in the morning.
The saint's face turned pale, and he asked again: "Where is the third prince? He is not going to attend the meeting. It has been two quarters of an hour. Where is he?"
The eldest prince said, "Maybe you didn't get up yet? It's too early for the court session and the weather is cold."
Before he could finish his complaints, the second prince said, "Third brother is young, it is normal that he can't get up. Father, please forgive him for his kindness."
These words touch the heart of the saint.
But before he could open his mouth, the Third Prince Yan Pei, dressed in black, walked in from outside the hall. He was taller than the average teenager, with a tall and heroic figure, looking dignified, with some of the charm and style of his grandfather, or even the late emperor.
His maternal grandfather, General Ding, fought on the battlefield, and the late emperor, his great-grandfather, also rode on horseback.
Those two men had been free and aggressive in their lives, cleaning up the northwest, expelling the enemy, cleaning up corrupt officials, and sending ships south to search for rare treasures, grain and mines.
He is a wise ruler and a loyal minister in the hearts of many old officials.
Now, one can vaguely see the elegance of the two men in their past in this young man.
His appearance attracted the attention of several veteran officials in the court, with a hint of excitement in their eyes.
Although the change was only for a moment, it was enough.
Xie Pei walked slowly through the middle of the hall, and came to the front of the ministers, lords and two princes, and then bowed to the saint: "Your son is here to listen to the government."
That’s it?
Not even a word of explanation?
Xie Pei stood at the front of the ministers, and in front of the other two princes, with a calm expression and sharp eyes.
What an arrogant prince!
Your father is still sitting there! Why don't you restrain yourself?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
