Chapter 0387
Shu Chengfeng frowned: "How is the Imperial Kitchen serving us? Don't you have a small kitchen here? Can't you serve us properly there?"
"Why blame them? My appetite always drops in the summer," Yan Nangui snorted.
"Your poor appetite is because they haven't been doing their job properly. Go and convey my message: tell the Imperial Kitchen to prepare a variety of dishes for Consort Chen. If they can't make them well, I will replace them with something they can."
Yun agreed and went.
He thought to himself that if this got out, it would scare the people in the kitchen.
When he arrived at the kitchen, the person in charge there was naturally quite frightened upon seeing him.
"What's going on with you all? Consort Chen is suffering from summer heat and isn't eating well, so she's getting a sore throat. How are you taking care of her?"
"Oh dear... Lord Yun, you've finally arrived! We were so worried..."
"What do you mean? Is there some other reason?" Yun Ji frowned.
"That's right! The ones who have always served Consort Chen's meals are Chef Hu and Chef Wan. Ever since Consort Chen started eating our food, these two have been serving her the most. Consort Chen also likes their cooking. Especially in the summer, we are extra careful because we know Consort Chen's stomach is weak. But each cook has their own skills, right? Chef Hu was suddenly replaced, and Consort Chen can't get used to the new one... This... is all my fault."
"Tsk, stop keeping me in suspense. If you served her so well, why did you change her?" Yun Ji frowned.
"Hey, wasn't it just a few days ago that Consort Jing hosted a banquet? She said the pine nut tofu dish wasn't made well. She wanted to punish the chef who made it, and it just so happened to be Chef Hu. So... he was punished with twenty strokes of the cane. She was also told he wasn't allowed to serve here anymore and was sent to serve in the imperial concubines' kitchen." Steward Liu sighed.
"Tsk, go and bring them back, quickly. I'll go report to His Majesty right away." Yun Ji frowned. Was Consort Jing doing this on purpose?
"Oh, only with your permission do I dare to go, otherwise... I'll be in trouble, won't I?" Manager Liu said with a smile.
“Serve them well. We don’t care about the infighting in your kitchen, but if you don’t serve your masters well… especially Consort Chen, you all know what kind of temper she has,” Yun Ji said.
How could Manager Liu dare to say he didn't know?
That person dares to be ruthless even to their master; if a servant does something wrong, they'll probably be beaten to death.
Back at Zhaochun Palace, Yunji simply replied, "One of the cooks who usually serves Consort Chen left. He was punished for not cooking well for Consort Jing. I've had him brought back, and I'll just tell him not to cook for Consort Jing anymore."
"Yes, I understand."
"Your own cook left, why don't you call him back? What's wrong with you then?" Shu Chengfeng mocked Yan Nangui.
"Tsk, I really didn't notice. The kitchen didn't show anything either. The people below didn't know either." Yan Nangui turned over: "It's a small matter, we can just transfer him back."
"You're so easy to talk to when you're sick," Shu Chengfeng chuckled. "Alright, I've already seen you. Enjoy your lunch. I'll come again tonight. There's still a lot of official business to attend to at Beichen Palace." Shu Chengfeng stood up.
The wild geese returning south merely waved symbolically, saying, "Seeing Your Majesty off."
Shu Chengfeng shook his head, smiled, and left.
As soon as they left Zhaochun Palace, they said, "Look at her, she's only behaving herself when she's sick."
“You wouldn’t want Consort Chen to be sick all the time, would you?” Yun Ji said.
"I'm not hoping for it, but her body, tsk tsk."
"Didn't Physician Huang say that Her Majesty is recovering very well? The reason she has a few minor illnesses every year is not a problem. Her Majesty is completely different from before. It's not like she doesn't have a chance to have an imperial heir."
"Your Highness, do you think she really doesn't want it?" Shu Chengfeng asked.
“…This servant doesn’t quite understand, but would a woman not want children? I’m afraid that Consort Chen just feels that her chances are slim, so she doesn’t want to be disappointed,” Yun Ji said.
Shu Chengfeng thought about it and felt that the explanation made sense, so he nodded and got on the imperial carriage.
Yan Nangui took a nap and then had lunch, which included a cold dish of diced lotus root.
This stimulated her appetite, and she ended up drinking two bowls of porridge and eating a pancake.
In the kitchen, Steward Liu patted Chef Hu, who was limping, and said, "You've met a benefactor."
Chef Hu smiled sheepishly: "It's all thanks to you for promoting me."
"I promoted you because you're useful. In this palace, useless people can't be promoted. From now on, don't worry about other people's meals. Just serve Consort Chen well. Before, I thought this one was in jeopardy."
"It's like the Bodhisattvas in the heavens, visible but not real. But now when I look again, tsk, if this one isn't real, then who is in the Flying Phoenix Palace? Probably even less real. In this harem, people come and go, it's really hard to say. It's better to hold onto one and not move on."
“This servant is a rough woman. I only think about how to serve well. I don’t know anything about other servants, but Consort Chen’s rewards are always real money. Just for that, it’s worth serving her well,” said Chef Hu.
Manager Liu chuckled: "Hey, you're a simpleton with good fortune, you're right."
Manager Liu left with a smile.
In fact, he had already made preparations, and was just waiting for Consort Chen to ask Chef Hu for his specialty dish so that he could bring the person back.
But before we even got to see it, this happened.
That would be wrong to just go looking for it directly.
That means the kitchen staff is openly taking sides.
How can the kitchen staff take sides?
Wouldn't that draw attention from all sides?
It's alright now, but you'll still have to serve me diligently in the future. His Majesty said that if I don't serve you well, he'll replace you.
Consort Chen's place is a warm and cozy spot.
As expected, Shu Chengfeng came again in the evening, and they ate dinner together again.
Yan Nangui drank pear soup, and her throat felt better, but she still didn't want to talk.
Shu Chengfeng seemed quite energetic and chatted with her for a while.
Sick people have little energy and go to bed very early.
Naturally, they also refused to deal with someone's persistent pestering, and would get angry if the pestering became too intense.
Shu Chengfeng was just teasing her, how could he really be such a beast?
So, I laughed for a while and then went to sleep.
Mei Xiaoyi was also asleep in Qingqiu Pavilion.
Yao Huang and Wei Zi sat and talked at the door.
"Xiaoyi is ill, and His Majesty hasn't come..."
"Yes, that's incomparable. When that person is ill, His Majesty goes to see them in the morning and again in the evening. He can't even attend to them in bed, alas..."
The two of them only dared to say that one sentence.
But to the other women in the harem, wasn't it the same for them?
If someone could lie and say that Yan Nangui was not favored, or that he was favored because of his family background, then they would be truly blind.
Yan Nangui didn't care what others thought; she felt perfectly at ease being able to sleep in late and not get up to pay her respects.
Unfortunately, His Majesty the Emperor was not so fortunate.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
