Upon arriving at the kitchen, Granny Qin had already begun sending people to ask Zhao Shu where the meal was to be served. Upon seeing her approach, she hurriedly led the people to pay their respects.
"Princess," they all called out.
"Don't worry about me, just set out the food." She waved for the cooks to get back to their tasks, while she looked around the kitchen and found that there was only noodles.
There are no more ingredients, and it's too late to make soup. We're out of time, so we can only make cold noodles.
Pointing to the little girl who carved flowers with tofu last time, he said, "First, scald the noodles with water." The little girl was as thin as a bean sprout, with timid eyes, but she was very quick and efficient; she was born to cook.
He instructed the young maid, and then instructed another cook who had already finished her work, "You roast the green peppers first."
She thought about it for a long time before making this decision. In the kitchen, there were really no other seasonings to be found. Soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce, Sichuan peppercorns, MSG, red chili oil, sesame oil, etc. were all missing.
If we had tomatoes, we could make a tomato soup to serve as broth for cold noodles, but we didn't.
She could only make the most basic version, but luckily she had chili peppers.
"Oh dear." The cook hurriedly picked out a few peppers that didn't look particularly appetizing and took them to roast, and Zhao Shu didn't mind.
She thought for a moment and said again, "Wash some green vegetables and blanch them in water."
Someone immediately went to make the arrangements. Granny Qin had already arranged all the dishes neatly and came over to ask, "Princess, where would you like to have the meal?"
"Chensongyuan, eat with Father."
As Qin Mama was about to turn and leave after receiving the order, Zhao Shu stopped her, "Mama, do you have any sauce to make?"
"There's soybean paste." Granny Qin was surprised, wondering what Zhao Shu wanted the paste for. After what happened with the fish soup last time, she no longer dared to doubt Zhao Shu's words.
Zhao Shu was overjoyed. She had only asked casually, but she didn't expect there to be such a thing. She hurriedly said, "Granny, quickly give me the sauce."
Granny Qin felt a pang of heartache, but she still took out a small jar of soybean paste from a hidden spot in the kitchen and handed it to Zhao Shu.
Xiao Guozi, with his keen sense of observation, took the jar from Granny Qin's hands and said, "Granny, go ahead and do your work. We'll take care of things here."
Granny Qin glanced at Zhao Shu, and only after Zhao Shu nodded did she leave.
"Quickly open it, let me smell it." After Granny Qin left, Zhao Shu hurriedly told Xiao Guozi to open the jar.
As soon as the jar was opened, a rich aroma wafted out, instantly invigorating anyone who smelled it and making their mouths water.
Granny Qin's cooking skills were indeed excellent. Zhao Shu glanced happily at the unused pot and ordered someone to stir-fry a small amount of soybean paste.
It disinfects and adds fragrance.
After giving the orders, the noodles and vegetables were cooked in no time, and then they were placed in water to cool down.
The fermented soybean paste was stir-fried in a pot, and the aroma instantly filled the entire kitchen, whetting everyone's appetite. It smelled even better after Zhao Shu had it scooped out.
By this time, the green peppers were cooked through. "Chop the green peppers into small pieces."
With all the materials complete, she instructed people to pack them up and send them to Chensong Courtyard.
Upon arriving at Shensong Temple, Eien was already waiting there, playing with his Great General King.
At this moment, Prince Yong was dejected, and his eyes were cloudy. Only when he saw Zhao Shu did they brighten and he seemed a little more energetic. This was a world of difference from his appearance at the Marquis of Yiguang's residence.
Zhao Shu wanted to ask why, but in the end she didn't ask. Clearly, Prince Yong was unwilling to say anything more.
She believed that given enough time, she would surely find some clues.
"Father, A-Jun has made you cold noodles." She instructed someone to place the food in front of Prince Yong on the dining table.
Prince Yong put away the goosegrass and instructed Uncle Fu to take good care of his Great General. Then, looking at the things on the table that could clearly not be called food but only ingredients, he asked suspiciously, "Is this cold noodles?"
Zhao Shu nodded, her eyes shining. She took a small bowl herself, put some cold noodles in it, then scooped half a spoonful of bean paste onto the noodles, sprinkled on salt and a few pieces of cooked and shredded chili peppers, and stirred with chopsticks. After the noodles were completely coated with bean paste, she added a few green vegetables on top of the noodles.
"Father, try it."
Prince Yong took two bites with some skepticism, and said, "It tastes good."
"If Father finds the bean paste too strong, he can eat some green vegetables to balance it out."
Prince Yong picked up a piece of green vegetable with his chopsticks. The green vegetable was simply blanched in water, without salt or oil. It was the first time Prince Yong had eaten such green vegetable. After taking a bite, he indeed felt refreshed.
"Father, why don't you try adding some soup?" Granny Qin was a skilled cook, and the soup she made was delicious. Xiao Guo and the other servant hurriedly moved the soup from a distance to Prince Yong's front.
Prince Yong personally added soup, took a bite, and said, "Mmm, delicious, delicious. Ah Jun, eat too, don't just watch." He could be described as wolfing down his food at this point.
For Prince Yong, who was eating it for the first time, it was delicious, but for Zhao Shu, who was used to all kinds of modern cuisine, it was torture.
Seeing that her father was enjoying his meal, she didn't want to embarrass him, so she mixed a bowl of cold noodles and started eating.
After the father and daughter finished eating, Prince Yong said eagerly, "Fu Da, quickly write down the recipe and send it to the Empress Dowager."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Shu did not stop her. Although the recipe was not yet perfect, it was still a novel dish. If it could be perfected in the future, she could send the perfect recipe to the palace.
Fu Da hurriedly went to the kitchen to ask someone how the cold noodles were made, then wrote it down and sent it to the palace.
After they had eaten their fill, the sun was already hanging low in the western sky, and it could set below the horizon at any moment. Zhao Shu and Prince Yong sat on the waterside pavilion, facing each other in silence.
"Father, what's going on with Aunt Jiang Yue?" In the end, Zhao Shu broke the silence and asked a question she shouldn't have asked.
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