If anyone tells her that Eunuch Li is serious, she'll definitely get angry with them.
Who would have thought that Li Gonggong, the emperor's close attendant, who usually had a stern face, had a penchant for betting?
"I don't care, there are still ingredients left, I'm going to make it again, you can keep eating!"
Xinyi wailed:
"You can't bully me just because I have a bigger appetite than you!"
"Who bullied our Xinyi? We'll teach them a lesson."
Li Dequan happened to pass by the small kitchen and heard Xinyi wailing, so he went in to take a look.
"Your servants pay their respects to Eunuch Li!"
Li Dequan waved his hand, signaling the two men to stand up, and pointed to the messy stove, asking:
"Can someone explain what's going on?"
"Your Excellency, I am currently trying to make some new desserts with Xinyi."
Li Dequan smiled:
"It seems you haven't been very successful."
Clearly, Li Dequan had also thought of the bet from a few days ago.
Recently, the Imperial Household Department has been sending fresh dairy products to the Imperial Kitchen every day. In order to dampen Geng Youran's arrogance, Li Dequan deliberately used reverse psychology to make a bet with her.
The bet was whether Geng Youran could make new desserts using dairy products.
The betting money is the monthly allowance for both parties.
Sure enough, Geng Youran has failed many times in a row.
"Alright, we have important things to take care of at home, you guys continue."
After saying that, Li Dequan left first, while Geng Youran turned around and grabbed Xinyi by the back of her collar, who was trying to escape.
"Where do you think you're going? Stay here!"
Seeing that she couldn't escape, Xinyi resigned herself to staying on the sidelines and waiting to be a guinea pig.
Geng Youran, on the other hand, reorganized the materials and made one last attempt.
The main ingredients for making buttered snails are fresh milk, honey, and cane sugar.
Fresh milk needs to be poured into a prepared container in advance for fermentation.
Geng Youran took out the pre-fermented milk from the vat, poured it into a pot, heated it to a boil, and then boiled it to further concentrate it into milk curds.
Then, pick up a wooden stick and vigorously stir the cheese curds. During the stirring process, the cheese curds will gradually separate into cream.
After the cream is successfully separated, add an appropriate amount of honey and cane sugar to it.
Because the last batch was a bit too sweet, Geng Youran deliberately reduced the amount of both ingredients this time.
Afterward, once the seasoned cream has naturally solidified into a semi-solid state, squeeze the solidified cream onto a plate, rotating it as you squeeze to form a shape that is round at the bottom, pointed at the top, and spiraled in circles.
Because of its resemblance to abalone, it is also known as butter abalone.
Xinyi stared at the plate pushed in front of her, picked it up, closed her eyes, and took a bite. After tasting it, she looked at Geng Youran in surprise:
"Delicious! This time it's really delicious! You did it, Youran!"
Geng Youran was overjoyed to have successfully made even tastier food.
After all, in this dull palace, good food had become a part of her life.
After noting down the amount of ingredients needed, Geng Youran and Xinyi began preparing Kangxi's late-night snack.
To develop such a vast country, Emperor Kangxi would often review memorials until very late.
The next day, Emperor Kangxi summoned all his sons to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, a rare occurrence for him.
Besides discussing state affairs, Kangxi also tested the academic performance of several of his sons.
When it was time to rest, Emperor Kangxi asked Li Dequan to have the small kitchen prepare some snacks, including the ghee-fried snails that Geng Youran had successfully made.
As everyone was eating, the Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, suddenly stood up and pleaded with Emperor Kangxi.
"My concubine is pregnant and has been unable to eat. I humbly request that Your Majesty lend me the chef who makes this dessert."
Emperor Kangxi always valued his sons' offspring, but among his sons, the Fourth Prince had consistently had few children. For the sake of the imperial line, Kangxi granted Yinzhen's request.
"In that case, take the person back later. Li Dequan!"
"Your servant is here."
"Prepare some more top-quality bird's nest and have the Fourth Prince take it back with him."
"Yes, sir!"
"Your son thanks Your Majesty for your grace!"
And so, Geng Youran entered the Fourth Prince's inner courtyard under the pretext of serving the concubine during her pregnancy.
"This servant, Geng Youran, greets Consort. May Consort be blessed!"
"Miss Geng, there's no need for such formalities. I hope you will continue to put in your best effort in the future."
"Please rest assured, Consort. If there is anything you would like to eat, please just tell me."
Because he valued this child so much, Yinzhen would visit Li Shi every day before going to other courtyards.
How have you been these past few days?
Sure enough, the court session ended early today, and Yinzhen arrived at Li's courtyard early with tonics.
"Your Majesty, I have been doing very well these past few days. Miss Geng is indeed worthy of being from Father Emperor's side; her cooking is just to my liking."
"That's good. Take good care of yourself during your pregnancy, so that my request to Father Emperor won't have been in vain."
After saying that, Yinzhen gently stroked Li's belly a few more times.
Even if Yinzhen hadn't said anything, Lady Li would have been extra careful.
Previously, it was because of her carelessness that her and Yinzhen's first son, Hongpan, died at the age of two.
Currently, there is only the eldest son, Honghui, in the mansion, and her pregnancy will surely make her a thorn in the side of others.
I never expected this day to come so soon.
One day, Li suddenly wanted to eat some sour and spicy food, so Geng Youran made a sour and spicy fish soup for Li.
The first step is to prepare the ingredients.
First, choose fresh, tender crucian carp; second, select pickled cabbage with a crisp texture and moderate sourness, and cut it into small pieces; third, prepare several pickled peppers, remove the seeds and chop them; fourth, prepare seasonings such as scallions, ginger, garlic, and salt.
Remove the scales, entrails, and gills from the fish, and clean it thoroughly. Make a few cuts on each side of the fish to help it absorb the flavors. Marinate it with a small amount of salt, rice wine, and pepper for half an hour.
Heat some cooking oil in a wok, then add chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic and sauté until fragrant. Then add chopped pickled peppers and pickled cabbage pieces and stir-fry until fragrant and sour.
Add enough stock to the stir-fried base ingredients, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for half an hour to allow the sourness of the pickled cabbage and the spiciness of the pickled peppers to fully infuse the soup.
Gently place the marinated fish into the pot, being careful not to break it apart, and simmer over medium-low heat. Once the fish soup boils again, skim off any foam, and add salt and rice vinegar to taste. You can also add a pinch of pepper to enhance the flavor, depending on your preference.
Once the fish is fully cooked and flavorful, turn off the heat and remove it from the pot. Garnish with chopped green onions or cilantro on top of the fish soup.
And so, a delicious and visually appealing fish soup was served on the Li family's table.
However, not long after dinner, Ms. Li began to experience persistent abdominal pain.
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