Chapter 6: The Dark Emperor vs. the Delicate Palace Maid
"What! Serving the Emperor! Mammy, is it okay for a mere palace maid to do this?"
"Mom, is this okay?!"
Aunt Rong was annoyed by her loud talking.
"What are you arguing about? I asked you to serve the emperor so that you can learn more. Just follow me and don't make any mistakes. Serving the emperor is a great blessing."
"Okay! Thank you, Mammy!"
Chu Li calculated the time and found that the Emperor had just come down from his morning court session.
The nanny was also shocked at her learning ability. The maids who came from this palace were either unable to endure hardships or only wanted to climb onto the dragon bed.
But Chu Li only wanted to serve her master.
Madam Rong brought her to the Emperor's Yangxin Palace, where the Empress Dowager was waiting for breakfast with the Emperor.
Chu Li lowered her head and followed the nanny in. She only heard her say to the emperor: "Your Majesty, breakfast is ready."
The emperor waved his hand, signaling for the dishes to be served.
At the nanny's command, the servants came in in an orderly manner, each carrying a large dish and placing them on the table one by one.
After placing all the dishes, the Queen Mother placed one of them in front of the Emperor and said, "Emperor, this is the bird's nest porridge with rock sugar that you loved most when you were a child. Please try it."
The emperor chuckled, took the bowl of porridge and tasted it carefully: "It tastes the same as when I was a child, only the emperor's forehead is
Mother still remembers what I like to eat."
The Empress Dowager had a relatively young face, without a single wrinkle, her skin was white, and her clothes were luxurious. She was the biological mother of the Emperor, and in this world she became the Empress Dowager at the age of only 35. She lived out her life in the Cining Palace.
The Queen Mother loved this son very much.
But she didn't often come to the emperor's place on weekdays, and she came today because she had something to say.
"Emperor, the harem has not shown any signs of pregnancy. I don't know if I can see the heir in this lifetime. I have been begging in the temple again and again, praying to the Bodhisattva to let me see my grandson as soon as possible. Although I am not old yet, I have seen that your younger brothers have already given birth to children, and their children are all in the study room. I am really jealous."
The emperor suddenly felt that the porridge in his mouth was not fragrant anymore. He was about to take a spoonful of porridge with the spoon but stopped midway.
Shen Yan knew that if the Empress Dowager didn't mention this matter for a day, she would feel itchy. A few days ago, he refused to meet the Empress Dowager on the pretext of being busy with state affairs, but he didn't expect that he couldn't stop her in the end.
Shen Yan looked around, trying to change the subject.
Until his eyes fell on the palace maid beside Madam Rong.
Why is she here?
Suddenly, a plan came to my mind.
"My Queen Mother, there is no rush for the issue of having an heir. Let's prepare the delicious food on the table first. It won't be too late to discuss this with me later! This is the braised shark's fin that I specially ordered the kitchen to make. It is soft and smooth, and tastes very fresh.
You, pick a piece for the Queen Mother."
Shen Yan supported his head with his hands, a playful smile on his face, and stared at Chu Li.
Rong Mama noticed the emperor's look and immediately stepped back and whispered to Chu Li: "Go and get some food for the queen mother. This is a rare opportunity."
Hatsuari: Great! It's my chance to shine!
Chuli walked over, carefully picked up the chopsticks beside her and picked up a piece of fish for the empress dowager, and then filled a bowl of soup for her.
At the same time, the Queen Mother also sighed: "Alas, talking to the Emperor is just..."
But when I picked up the second piece, an embarrassing scene occurred.
The fish was too soft and mushy to be caught with my hands, so it fell completely onto the table.
Hatsuri was stunned and stood there in a daze, unable to move.
Madam Rong was so frightened when she saw this that her face turned pale.
All I heard was the Queen Mother angrily saying, "How come you can't even pick up food properly? You are clumsy in doing things. Is it because you haven't learned the rules of the palace?"
Chu Li immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, it is my fault. I didn't expect the fish to be so rotten. It was so hard to pick it up. I should have used a spoon."
"So, it's the dish's fault?"
On the surface, this statement meant that the emperor made a mistake in choosing this dish, but it was undoubtedly intended to lead Hatsuri to blame the emperor for letting her eat this dish.
No matter how I explain it, it won't work.
Chu Li looked at Shen Yan, only to see his smile deepen, as if he already knew about this situation.
It turned out to be intentional!
This dog emperor deliberately asked me to pick up the food just to shut the empress dowager's mouth.
He must have seen that I was new here and knew that I didn't know how to prepare this dish, so he designed this to embarrass myself.
There is no way to answer this question right now.
She gritted her teeth, thought for a few seconds, and then answered: "Empress Dowager, this dish was originally a tribute dish. The fish meat is wrapped in soup, which is delicious and has no fishy smell. Of course, it cannot be picked up with chopsticks. Why don't you teach you how to eat it?"
The Queen Mother felt it was new and asked curiously, "Oh? This is the first time someone has taught me how to eat. I want to see what method you can use!"
Hatsuri directly took the small bowl, scooped out all the soup and shark fins, and then blended the pastries on the side into the soup, and the color suddenly turned light pink.
Like a bowl of sticky rice dumpling.
Then he placed it in front of the Queen Mother and said, "Queen Mother, you can have a taste."
The palace maids and servants were talking about it, and the eunuch beside them also became anxious.
"You ignorant maid, if you are poisoned, even ten lives will not be enough to save you. Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager should think twice and never eat it!"
"Your Majesty, please be careful!"
The Queen Mother looked at Chu Li and asked, "Aren't you afraid that something might happen to me if I eat this?"
Chuli immediately replied: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, I will never harm you in public."
The Queen Mother sneered, but she thought the palace maid's words were really interesting, so she joked: "Okay, then I will believe you this time."
Shen Yan seemed to be watching the excitement and had a strong interest in this strange operation. His eyes had never left Chu Li since he started picking up the food.
On the contrary, Madam Rong, who was standing by, was eager to protect her.
But seeing how seriously Fang Chuli was struggling, he began to trust her again.
The eunuchs wanted to stop her, but the Queen Mother persuaded them: "It's okay. I see how careful she is. We can't let her down. Her beauty also attracts me."
Shen Yan then spoke up: "Are you sure the Queen wants to eat?"
He knows the Queen Mother's taste very well.
The Queen Mother nodded, looked at the people trying to stop her, and then looked at the Emperor: "Emperor, you and I will taste this together."
Shen Yan smiled. He was curious about what this combination meant and asked, "That's fine."
The Queen Mother gave a spoonful to Shen Yan.
The two of them took a sip under the panicked gazes of the crowd.
Instantly, the empress dowager's face fused.
The servants all held their breath, and even Hatsuri became nervous because of the atmosphere.
It’s over. It’s really not delicious?
Then I heard the Queen Mother say: "It's so delicious!"
The Queen Mother took one bite after another and finished everything in the bowl in a few seconds.
"Please make it for me again. I haven't eaten something this delicious in a long time. The way you cooked it today really opened my eyes."
Shen Yan was a little surprised by this. It turned out that the Queen Mother did not like this kind of mixed food. She liked to eat each dish separately and never put other side dishes in one dish. They were all famous dishes made by the kitchen every day and needed her approval before they could be served.
Today I finally opened my third eye.
The Queen Mother actually loves to eat it.
It was made by a palace maid.