As dinner time approached, Guan Zhiyue had all six copper pots brought to the stove, and she began to prepare the hot pot broth herself.
Of course, this butter hot pot base was a gift from Xiao Tuantuan to Guan Zhiyue;
Because Guan Zhiyue's space was filled with ginseng, Xiao Tuantuan absorbed the nutrients her body needed from the ginseng;
She felt that her body had become much stronger, so she wanted to reward Guan Zhiyue and asked Guan Zhiyue what she wanted.
Without thinking, Guan Zhiyue said, "If you really want to give it to me, then give me some hot pot base."
And sure enough, Xiao Tuantuan actually got her some hot pot base;
Because that space also has the function of reproduction and regeneration, she has a lot of hot pot base ingredients.
"Is the pork bone soup ready?"
"It's ready, Your Majesty."
A young palace maid stood in a large ceramic vat beside her.
Looking at the bubbling bone broth inside, he said to Guan Zhiyue.
"Okay, a few of you go and bring me the bone broth, and the rest of you keep adding water and cooking it."
Although they didn't know what their mistress was planning to do, the palace maids all started doing as instructed.
Seeing that the bone broth had been placed on the stove, Guan Zhiyue began to show off her skills, calling out to Bilian who was still standing to the side, "Bilian, start the fire."
"Hey, here I am."
Seeing that it was almost time for dinner, Shang Yao gently reminded Li Qishang beside her, "Master, we should go to Cining Palace for dinner."
Li Qishang was watching Guan Zhiyue roll up her sleeves and start cooking with great interest when he heard Shangyao say this.
"Oh dear, I'm not going. The food here is something I've never seen before."
The food at the Empress Dowager's place is all made by the Imperial Kitchen. We've been eating like this for so many years, so I won't go tonight.
Go and tell the Queen Mother that I am tired and will go again tomorrow.
"This... Your Highness, this is probably inappropriate!"
Li Qishang ignored him and walked towards the stove, where a sizzling sound was heard.
Soon, a fragrance that no one had ever smelled before began to waft through the entire Cold Palace; the scent was strong yet pungent.
The smell immediately overwhelmed everyone nearby, causing a chorus of coughs and sneezes.
"Cough cough cough... cough cough cough..."
Guan Zhiyue herself choked, squatted down, and coughed violently a few times.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Guan Zhiyue patted her chest and shook herself, saying, "It's okay, it's okay."
After the smell passed, everyone returned to calm.
Even the two hidden guards couldn't help but raise their noses and inhale the aroma of the beef tallow hot pot broth in the air.
"This smells so good! I wonder what Your Majesty is doing now?"
"The stinky tofu I just ate makes my mouth water just thinking about it."
Now there's something so fragrant, who can resist? I'm itching to join in!
Another guard sighed, "Hey, who can argue with that?"
I used to think that bodyguards should be cold-blooded, ruthless, and should kill people.
"Right now, all I want to do is stay by the Empress's side and eat, eat, eat every day."
The two looked at each other, shook their heads, and said nothing more.
"Your Highness, shall we go?" Shang Yao called softly again.
Li Qishang said somewhat angrily, "I'm not going. You go and tell my mother that I'll be eating in the Cold Palace tonight."
Speechless, Shang Yao could only shake her head and go to find the Empress Dowager.
Guan Zhiyue poured the large bowl of pork bone soup into the pot and asked Bilian to start the fire again.
Bring the red oil at the bottom of the large pot to a boil;
Meanwhile, the person simmering the pork bone broth was working hard to increase the heat and bring the water in the pot to a boil as soon as possible so they could start cooking hot pot.
"Yue'er, what delicious food are you making?"
Guan Zhiyue looked at Li Qishang, who was still standing to the side, and said, "You haven't left yet?"
Li Qishang: "....."
Yes, you made so many delicious things;
Why should I leave? I have no idea what you're doing.
It smells amazing, almost pungent, but it must taste delicious.
Guan Zhiyue looked at Li Qishang, thinking that he was a prince;
They'll surely be able to get more meat products from the kitchen;
She smiled and said to him, "Would you like to stay and try some?"
Li Qishang was attracted by the delicious food;
They didn't see Guan Zhiyue's calculating look at them at all;
Even if it was a scheme, I think Li Qishang would gladly accept it, since this woman was the one he had wanted since he was a child.
"Such delicious food, of course I want it."
Guan Zhiyue put one hand on her hip, lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said, "Wanting to stay for a free meal isn't impossible, but..."
"But what?"
Guan Zhiyue said with a smile: "However, you need to go to the imperial kitchen and ask for some meat. You can choose any kind, but it has to be enough for all of us to eat."
Of course, not too much is needed; just a little for each person. Saving food is something we should all do, and we should refuse to waste food.
Li Qishang thought it was something serious;
He immediately agreed, saying, "It's a small matter, leave it to me. Have a few eunuchs follow me."
Guan Zhiyue said with a smile, "Then just call a few people to go with you."
Li Qishang nodded, then left with a few eunuchs. Guan Zhiyue shook her head as she watched Li Qishang leave.
He put all those thoughts aside and focused on making his own spicy broth.
About ten minutes later, everyone sat down together, and several tables were set up in the Cold Palace.
The servants all sat at the same table as Guan Zhiyue;
Because it was made up of several tables joined together, it looked like a long dragon from the front.
Originally, Bilian and Shangyao didn't dare to go with Guan Zhiyue.
Li Qishang was also sitting at a table, but Guan Zhiyue said that eating hot pot is all about having a lot of people.
So they had everyone put the tables together, and with the palace maids and eunuchs, there were more than forty people in total, nearly fifty.
Guan Zhiyue sat at the top, picked up the tea in her cup, and said with great gusto, "Come on, we don't have any wine, so let's just pick up the tea in our hands."
We'll toast you with tea instead of wine. I, Guan Zhiyue, would like to say thank you for your hard work in clearing the land after all this time. But you still have over fifty acres to clear, so you'd better hurry up and clear them.
"Let's try to clear the wasteland before the snow falls this winter, and we'll start planting crops next year."
"Okay, cheers."
Everyone drank the tea in their bowls with great gusto, feeling warm inside; this empress is truly kind.
No master in this palace has ever treated them like this.
Guan Zhiyue sat down and used serving chopsticks to put the plate of pork belly into the bubbling red oil broth.
Everyone else stared intently at Guan Zhiyue, watching to see how she would do this.
"What are you all looking at me for? Start fighting!"
Add the spicy seasoning if you want it spicy, and add the non-spicy seasoning to the large bone broth pot if you want it non-spicy. The red one is spicy, and the white one is clear broth.
"Your Highness, what do we call this? This is the first time I've ever seen a meal like this," a palace maid asked, voicing the unspoken thoughts of everyone present.
Guan Zhiyue slapped her forehead, realizing that this was her first time cooking hot pot, so it was understandable that they didn't know.
She then stood up and said with a smile, "This is the Mandarin Duck Copper Hot Pot."
"Put the vegetables you want to eat in the blanching pot, then you can take them out and eat them."
"A hot pot with two separate broths?"
Li Qishang peeked into the pot of bubbling broth;
"I didn't see any mandarin ducks," Guan Zhiyue stared at her, puzzled.
Guan Zhiyue was angered by Li Qishang's words and slapped him, saying, "Pah! What 'Mandarin Ducks Playing in the Water'? You scoundrel..."
"I'm talking about the 'Mandarin Duck Copper Hot Pot'."
"This mandarin duck isn't a real mandarin duck, but rather a metaphor for this pot;"
It's like a pair of mandarin ducks, one side red and the other white, one spicy and the other not, just like a male and female pair.
Li Qishang nodded in understanding instantly;
Some children glanced at Guan Zhiyue with curiosity, then began scrambling for the food; the scene was quite intimidating...
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