It has to be said that Lanqin's words made Consort De believe her even more. At her age, besides herself, the people she trusted most were the monks in the temple.
Consort De was already suffering from a mental illness, and when she believed Consort Yi's words, it was partly because she was angry that she fell ill. Noble Lady Wang had consistently enjoyed Emperor Kangxi's favor over the years; otherwise, she wouldn't have given birth to two sons. She was the concubine who bore Kangxi two sons after Consort Yi. If she weren't from the Han Banner, she would likely be at least a concubine by now.
"Your Highness, dinner has been brought over," said Xiuzhu, Consort De's personal maid, from outside the room.
"Just leave it outside. I'll get up and use it. The concubine will use it with me, so please prepare an extra set of bowls and chopsticks," said Consort De.
After Consort De got up with the help of the palace servants and combed her hair again, she walked out of the palace with Lanqin's support and came to the side hall where she usually ate.
"I usually dine alone, but today you will accompany me. I heard you have dined with the Emperor before?" Consort De did not dislike Lanqin, especially since she had just dispelled some of her doubts.
Lanqin glanced at the palace meals and genuinely felt they were inferior to those prepared by Niu Baoquan. This was only at Consort De's residence; one could only imagine how much worse the food was elsewhere. She was truly fortunate to have such a good chef, to be favored by the Fourth Prince, and to have her own private kitchen.
After serving Consort De a few bites of food, the palace maid who was serving her meal stepped aside.
"What's wrong? No appetite? I heard you really enjoy eating?" Consort De asked, noticing Lanqin staring at the food but not touching her chopsticks.
Lanqin thought to herself: Having gotten used to special meals prepared by the emperor, she naturally has no interest in the palace cuisine.
"I'll wait until Mother has eaten before I eat some myself. I'm here to serve Mother, how can I eat at the same table as her?" Lanqin said modestly, a rare occurrence when it came to food.
Consort De grew increasingly fond of Lanqin, and finally a gentle smile appeared on her face as she said, "Now that you are also the fourth prince's concubine, you naturally have the right to dine with me."
Lanqin obediently picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of braised bamboo shoots, and put it in her mouth. Compared to Chef Niu's braised bamboo shoots, the Imperial Kitchen's version tasted somewhat different. As the saying goes, too many ingredients were used, which actually diminished the original flavor of the food.
Lanqin watched as Consort De ate a few bites, but it seemed she didn't have a good appetite. In addition, her throat was uncomfortable, so she certainly wouldn't enjoy it.
"Mother, let me cook a few dishes for you myself." Lanqin suddenly said this without any apparent reason.
Consort De was taken aback, but after appreciating those words, the smile in her eyes widened.
"You can cook?" Consort De could, in fact. She was just a bondservant, born into a wealthy family; washing clothes, cooking, wiping floors, cleaning tables—she'd done it all before. She wasn't like Consort Yi, born into the prestigious Guo Luo Luo clan, a pampered young lady who'd never lifted a finger. When she was with her father and mother, Consort De remembered how fragrant her mother's stir-fried bok choy and bamboo shoots were. She and her siblings always fought over them, and never got tired of them. But now, as Consort De, the wife of Emperor Kangxi, with over twenty servants around her, the food never tasted as good as it used to.
"Your Majesty, I know how. Before I entered the household, I learned a few dishes from Mother. I noticed that Mother didn't seem to enjoy them very much, and I also felt that the food wasn't to my liking. Now that Mother is unwell, I'd like to make a few simple dishes for her, just to do my best." Lanqin used to cook for her mother, and although she almost burned down the kitchen, her mother always praised her cooking.
In short, we must not neglect Fourth Master's mother. Since she is attending to someone who is ill, we should take good care of her to avoid being criticized when we return.
"Very well, there's a small kitchen right here in my palace. Xiuzhu, take the concubine there. Take all of these away; I've lost my appetite." Consort De waved her hand and said.
Lanqin followed Xiuzhu through several turns and arrived at the small kitchen of Yonghe Palace.
"Consort, there are two old women in the small kitchen. Please feel free to use them," Xiuzhu said. She thought Lanqin was just trying to curry favor with Consort De by saying she would cook a few dishes for her. Xiuzhu and her fellow servants, accustomed to being maids, thought this was a way of ingratiating themselves.
Actually, Lanqin didn't use all those dishes herself, so she made them for Consort De, and she could eat them herself.
Lanqin smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Aunt Xiuzhu. I understand. But I don't need them to do it."
Xiuzhu was taken aback, then laughed awkwardly a few times.
Without another word, she led Lanqin into the small kitchen, where two middle-aged women were sitting and talking. Upon seeing Xiuzhu, they quickly stood up, shook their aprons, rubbed their hands, and bowed to her, saying, "Aunt Xiuzhu, would the mistress like a few more dishes?"
Xiuzhu didn't even glance at them and said, "The lady is tired of what you've been cooking. Today, the concubine is coming to cook a few dishes for the lady. Just do your best to cooperate."
The two cooks quickly agreed, looking at Lanqin standing behind Xiuzhu with surprise.
After giving her instructions, Xiuzhu turned to Lanqin and said, "The concubine can sit here. This servant will go and serve Your Highness."
Lanqin nodded and naturally expressed her gratitude. One should certainly be polite to someone who serves Consort De.
After Xiuzhu left, Lanqin asked the two still-dazed cooks, "Excuse me, do you have mushrooms, bok choy, radishes, and tofu?"
The two cooks nodded quickly. They had thought that the concubine wanted to make some fancy dishes, but they didn't expect her to order such ordinary things.
"Please trouble the two of you to fetch some, and also prepare some scallions, ginger, and garlic," Lanqin said politely.
After the two cooks finished preparing the ingredients, Lanqin borrowed an apron from them, put it on, and began her first cooking experience since transmigrating.
The two cooks had been serving Consort De for over a decade, and this was the first time they had ever seen such noble people come to the kitchen.
They all stood beside Lanqin, eager to see what tricks she could pull for Consort De.
However, Lanqin didn't think like them. She just wanted to make two very simple dishes—shiitake mushrooms and bok choy, and Mapo tofu.
First, Lanqin sautéed oil with scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant, then added bok choy and stir-fried it. Next came the shiitake mushrooms. After stir-frying for a few seconds and adding a little salt, she was ready to take it off the heat.
The two cooks were utterly bewildered when they saw Lanqin prepare a dish so easily. In the past, when they made bok choy for Consort De, they used bone broth for seasoning and even added minced meat.
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