It was because Yan Langqing developed the dish "Wanfu Meat" that she stood out at the emperor's birthday banquet and was summoned into the palace to be the imperial chef. However, it turned out that this so-called famous dish was the result of her stealing other people's hard work. Although Lin Dan did not have any evidence, the fact that she could use a few pieces of tofu to completely restore the color, aroma and taste of Wanfu meat, and it was even better than what Yan Langqing made, was enough to prove the truthfulness of her words.
What's more, her father's two apprentices are chefs in Yan's Restaurant, earning a considerable amount of money every month. It would not be difficult to find out the truth as long as they were brought in and interrogated.
However, the emperor didn't care about this. He was the ruler of the world. Whoever he wanted to protect could not be easily touched by others. So he took Yan Langqing away without even asking about his crime of deceiving the emperor, and the competition ended hastily. Fortunately, Lin Dan didn't care about these things. He wrapped the golden knife and recipe in red silk and walked out of Xiangyuan slowly.
Tang Jiu followed her and whispered, "No wonder you told me not to mind my business. Have you already thought of a solution?"
Before Lin Dan could answer, Weiyuan Hou strode over and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Lin, I am thirty-nine years old this year. I had a wife who died of illness. I have no children, no daughters, and no concubines. I am powerful and capable. If you don't mind, how about making a hundred-year agreement with me?"
Lin Dan looked at him in astonishment, unable to speak for a long time.
Tang Jiu frowned and scolded, "My Lord, please don't make such jokes. Be careful not to tarnish the reputation of Shopkeeper Lin!"
"When did I joke? I am serious. If I could marry a woman as intelligent and virtuous as Manager Lin, I would have earned this blessing over many lifetimes. Prince Tang, you are so anxious, don't you have any improper thoughts about Manager Lin?"
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Tang Jiu hurriedly turned to look at Lin Dan, only to see that he had been pulled aside by Prince Cheng and Prince Gong to talk, and then got on the carriage and left without any reluctance. For ordinary people, marrying into a wealthy family seems to be a blessing that cannot be obtained even if one prays for it, but for her it seems like a trouble.
Apart from studying cooking, she doesn't seem to have much interest in anything in the world. This contradictory attitude of being desireless yet extremely serious deeply attracts the people around her. Tang Jiu stared at the receding carriage with an extremely frustrated expression. Marquis Weiyuan turned the ring on his hand, his eyes full of determination to win.
At the same time, Yan Langqing was kneeling beside the emperor in fear, while the emperor slowly opened a gray water rice dumpling and ate it with relish, looking very enjoyable.
"I didn't expect that rice dumplings soaked in ash water would be so delicious. After returning, I will ask the people in the imperial kitchen to think about it and make it as it is." Yan Langqing was right beside him, but he never mentioned asking her to recreate the rice dumplings soaked in ash water. It can be seen that the competition just now and the various disputes that followed have greatly reduced his impression of Yan Langqing.
Yan Langqing's face turned pale immediately.
When the carriage passed Qingyun Lane, the emperor said slowly: "Stop the car and send a few people to seal up the Yan Family Restaurant."
Yan Langqing suddenly looked up with horror in his eyes.
The emperor then glanced at her and smiled nonchalantly: "Why, you forged the imperial edict and bullied the market, you don't think I will let you go so easily?" As he spoke, Yan Shouye's angry shouts came from the carriage behind, and he repeatedly questioned why the guards wanted to close his shop. The guard pointed at the carriage in front and said that it was the emperor's intention. His tongue seemed to have been taken away by a cat and he became speechless in an instant.
The emperor snorted coldly, frightening Yan Langqing so much that she trembled all over. She thought she had completely lost the emperor's heart, but she didn't expect the emperor to hold her hand and said in a slow tone, "You have been in the palace for seven or eight years. You can cook all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, and command famous chefs from all over the country. Whatever skills you want to learn, I will let them teach you. Logically speaking, your attainments will not be worse than Lin Dan, who came from the countryside. But look, you still lost to her today. Even your signature dishes were stolen or copied from others. There is no unique feature of your own. It can be seen that you lack a little talent in cooking after all."
Yan Langqing was so depressed by the emperor's words that he couldn't even raise his head. His pale face gradually turned red, and his heart was filled with embarrassment and shame.
The emperor changed the subject and said, "Since you don't have the talent to be a cook, you can enter the palace and become my woman. I will not treat you unfairly."
Yan Langqing suddenly looked up and looked at the emperor in astonishment. After struggling for a while, he finally nodded. She has nothing now, and has made enemies everywhere in the chef world. Even her store has been closed down by the royal family. How can she survive after leaving the palace? However, when she became a queen, everything was different. Before, she served others, but in the future, others would serve her. Why not?
The emperor touched her delicate face, his movements seemed very gentle, but his words were full of coldness, "Since you have entered the palace, you should let your family behave themselves. If you cause trouble to me, I will not show any mercy."
Yan Langqing shuddered violently, and nodded quickly in fear and trepidation. In her trance, she did not realize that the emperor, who used to respond to her requests and take good care of her, had completely changed his attitude. He originally thought that Yan Langqing was a simple and kind girl, the last piece of pure land in this dirty palace, but it turned out that she was no different from others. She could also scheme, plunder, and bully the weak, and her family was vulgar, ignorant, and domineering, which made him even more disgusted.
The emperor never believed in the saying "staying clean in the mud". People stuck in the mud will only become dirtier, because they need to survive, so they will do anything to survive, just like himself. So in an instant, he completely abandoned his admiration and affection for Yan Langqing, and only treated her as an ordinary hunting object, trying to tame her with the methods of taming animals. By the time he put her in his mouth, the novelty had worn off, and he would find that she was no different from those concubines who had fallen out of favor.
But Yan Langqing didn't guess the emperor's mind, and thought that she was always the most special one in his heart, so she plucked up the courage to say: "Your Majesty, can you let me stay at home for a while? My father's injury has not healed yet, I want to wait until he is fully recovered before returning to the palace."
The emperor looked at her deeply, and after a long while he nodded in agreement.
…………
On this side, Lin Dan had already returned to Sanchakou Hutong. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw several young men coming up to him with great joy: "Manager Lin, you are finally back! When are you going to open the store?"
"I won't open the store anymore. I will leave the capital soon." Lin Dan waved his hand calmly.
Several men showed expressions of grief and wanted to persuade them again, but they saw a eunuch leading a group of guards coming over and shouting: "You are Chef Lin Danlin, right? You won the competition today, and the emperor gave you a plaque, please keep it."
Only then did Lin Dan realize that the two guards standing behind him were carrying a square plaque wrapped in silk. After uncovering the silk, he saw six large, flamboyantly written characters in gold lacquer on it - Successor of the Golden Knife Imperial Chef, and it was also stamped with the emperor's private seal.
It was a pity that Lin Dan was no longer interested in these words, but she still took the plaque, sent the eunuchs and guards away with a red envelope, closed the shop door, and quietly packed up her things. The men standing outside the door were completely dumbfounded. They were stunned for a long time before they said, "Oh my goodness, Shopkeeper Lin is actually the successor of the Golden Knife Imperial Chef. This is incredible! We eat imperial meals every day!"
"Stop dreaming! Didn't you hear that Manager Lin is not planning to open a store here? He is the descendant of the Golden Sword Royal Chef, and if he wants to open a store, he will go to West City. Who will have the patience to cook noodles for us that only costs two copper coins a bowl?" The other men were full of regret. If they had known that Shopkeeper Lin was the heir of the imperial chef, they would not have been so unappreciative of her cooking skills. Now that I think about it, Shopkeeper Lin’s craftsmanship and character are both excellent. Isn’t it a blessing for the people of Nancheng that she can open a store in Nancheng? It’s a pity that they don’t know how to appreciate their blessings.
Lin Dan packed her luggage and left the capital directly. Before she reached her home, she saw Qi standing at the intersection, looking out, with a look of worry on her face. She never thought her daughter would win, she just hoped she would come back safely. So, when Lin Dan pulled open the silk cloth and showed her the recipe and the golden knife, she opened her eyes wide, covered her mouth, and was stunned for a long time.
"What, what is this?" she asked in disbelief.
Lin Dan handed over the two items and chuckled, "Mom, I won back Dad's things. Please keep them."
"Win, win? You really won?" Qi kept stroking the golden knife and the cookbook, gradually she started to laugh, and after a while she burst into tears. Over the years, her daughter has traveled all over the country, suffered too much hardship and endured too much suffering. She feels so sorry for her!
Lin Dan hugged Qi and patted her gently, her voice very calm, "Mom, now that we are done here, let's go somewhere else. The world outside is vast, and there are many delicious foods waiting for us."
Qi sobbed and nodded, with joy shining in her eyes.
…………
It's not easy to go out these days. You have to prepare a lot of supplies, plan the route, and get a pass. You can't just leave whenever you want. Lin Dan stayed in the suburbs of Beijing for more than a month. Just when everything was ready to set off, bad news came from the capital - the Yongding Marquis's mansion was confiscated for colluding with foreign enemies, and Concubine Tang was also banished to the cold palace and could not stand up, fearing that her family would be exterminated.
Seeing that the situation had changed drastically and that he might be implicated if he didn't leave, Lin Dan stayed instead, sent Qi away, and then sent a servant to the city to gather information. The situation developed very quickly. In just three days, the charges were settled. The women of the Yongding Marquis's Mansion were exiled three thousand miles away, and all the men were sentenced to beheading.
A few days later, worse news came. Sixty-eight female members of the Yongding Marquis's Mansion could not bear the humiliation and all hanged themselves on the beams, including Concubine Tang in the cold palace. The emperor was very angry about this, and he ordered the execution of Tang Jiu and others without waiting until autumn, as if he was in a hurry. On the day of beheading, Lin Dan hurried to the execution ground with a huge food box to see Tang Jiu off.
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