After breakfast, Yin and Qingyan personally took the recipe and delicious side dishes to the imperial tent. They got up earlier than Kangxi and Consort Tong.
Just as they arrived at the imperial tent, Li Dequan brought over the food from the imperial kitchen. Qingyan felt nauseous looking at the steaming dishes.
They also brought some red date and millet porridge for breakfast, and the rest was still cooking on the small stove.
"Mother, I made breakfast myself!" Qingyan took out the pastries, side dishes, and millet porridge from the food box.
Emperor Kangxi's eyes lit up when he saw the cold dishes.
Qingyan's pickled vegetables were delicious; the bright red chili peppers garnished the black wood ear mushrooms, making them instantly appetizing.
The spicy kimchi, chilled by icebergs, was also brought out one by one.
Compared to the exquisite breakfasts served in the imperial kitchen, the Qing banquet seemed rather simple, with the four dishes of pastries being quite ordinary in style, yet they contained a deep sense of filial piety.
"It looks delicious." Kangxi pointed to the small kang table, and Li Dequan quickly put the breakfast that Yin had brought on it, and the young couple sat down as well.
Knowing they would be dining with them, the two ate even less.
Li Dequan used a small plate to set aside a portion of each breakfast dish and tasted a little of each. He had to admit that although the portions of these refreshing cold dishes were small, they tasted very good.
"Li Dequan, you may also go down and have breakfast. The fourth prince should have prepared it for you." Kangxi smiled and waved Li Dequan away.
Yin prepared breakfast for them, and he would definitely make an extra small portion for Li Dequan, who was quite satisfied with Yin's actions.
"Yes, this servant thanks you!" Li Dequan understood that these were all blessings from Emperor Kangxi.
After the servants in the tent withdrew, Kangxi began to eat.
After taking a bite of each, he said with satisfaction, "These next few days, the fourth brother's family will have to work a little harder and send some over for each of the three meals a day."
"Yes!" Qingyan stood up and replied.
"Sit down." Consort Tong had also eaten quite a bit, taking small bites of pastries one after another.
Qingyan thought about it carefully and shaped the purple sweet potato buns into roses, the milk buns into pear blossoms, and left the rest in their original shapes.
"This is good too, it tastes like purple sweet potato." Kangxi praised as he ate the purple sweet potato steamed bun.
******************
After breakfast, Qingyan was taken to the inner tent by Consort Tong, and Kangxi kept Yin behind to discuss matters.
"Little Darling, keep your small kitchen away from certain people as much as possible. Personally oversee the preparation of these delicious cold dishes and don't allow anyone to tamper with them." Consort Tong didn't want Qingyan to step forward at this time.
Suffering summer heat!
These two words had been troubling both Emperor Kangxi and his son. Yinzhen had not yet lost much weight, but Emperor Kangxi was different. Imperial Physician Yuan also said that Emperor Kangxi's weight had been steadily decreasing.
From the Imperial Medical Academy to the Imperial Kitchen, even the local stewards tried their best, but none of them could satisfy Emperor Kangxi.
Actually, the cold dishes served at the Qing banquet were quite ordinary. The imperial physicians were worried that Kangxi would get a sore throat from eating too much spicy food.
The imperial physicians were extremely cautious, which completely ruined Kangxi's appetite.
Consort Tong continued to dine with Emperor Kangxi, and even her portion of food became more carefully prepared.
"Yes, Mother, I've given all these cold dishes to Sulan and Sushu. And here's the recipe. You can make them often if you like after we return to the palace." Qingyan took the recipe from her bag and respectfully handed it to Shu.
Pollock was a special dish served at Qingyan Restaurant. It was delivered from Tianjin by fast horsemen on a ship that docked there.
Upon arriving at the Fourth Prince's residence, the fish were still there. Qingyan personally took charge of grilling the fish, sealing them away. Before each use, he would mix them with chili sauce and chill them on the iceberg for half an hour.
"That pollack dish is quite good; it seems to have come from Korea. When we return to the capital, you can select some from the Imperial Household Department's storeroom. The Imperial Kitchen won't use those ingredients that came to the palace anyway." Consort Tong felt that it would be better to give those things to Qingyan rather than waste them.
"Thank you, Mother!" Qingyan's eyes lit up. Those things were what she had been dreaming of. Seasonings that could be used as tribute were definitely the best.
Consort Tong felt it was well worth the price; exchanging those things for the sake of relieving Emperor Kangxi of the summer heat made the deal worthwhile.
As lunchtime approached, Yin took Qingyan back. She had instructed the kitchen to prepare sour plum soup in advance, chilled with ice. The two walked quickly under the sun, and by the time they entered the tent, their backs were already soaked with sweat.
After drinking two glasses of chilled plum juice, Yin felt instantly revived. Qingyan held a glass of plum juice and drank it sip by sip. Since having a child, she had become more careful about protecting her health and rarely used such cold drinks.
Today, she spent too much time in the sun, and her cheeks were all red.
Therefore, she specially asked Su Lan to prepare an iced cucumber face mask in an effort to make her cheeks feel better.
"Another face mask?" Yin looked at the green cucumber slices that Su Lan brought in, with an iceberg underneath.
"Yes, yes, if it weren't for the fact that we can't use milk freely here, applying chilled milk as a compress would be the best way." Yin knew that Qingyan secretly used milk to apply to her face at the mansion.
When you're out and about, it's best not to take out the materials from Xiaoguai's secret places, lest someone discover them and become jealous.
"Once we get back to the manor, you can do whatever you want." The other wives, on the other hand, rarely came out.
They were worried that Kangxi's anger would affect them, so the Crown Princess and the Third Prince's wife dared not go to Consort Tong to invite further scolding.
"If you want to go see your sister-in-law, that's fine too. You can bring the two children with you." Yin wouldn't restrict Qingyan; the little guy wouldn't get too involved with outsiders.
Fei Yanggu and his two sons rarely allowed Qingyan to come into contact with the women, as those women were controlled by the family and were intended to extract information from others.
Yin Genjueluo was a good choice. Yin rarely participated in court struggles and devoted himself to the military. Despite Ming Xiang's repeated persuasion, Yin did not change his mind.
After marrying Yinzhen, Lady Yingenjueluo was always favored by him. In some matters, she preferred the noblewoman raised by a military general and thought she could talk to Qingyan.
"Is there someone from the East Palace watching over my sister-in-law's side?" Qingyan didn't want to visit anyone. Whenever they talked, there were always spies from the East Palace watching them, making it uncomfortable to talk.
Sometimes, when they were talking enthusiastically, Ingenjueluo would suddenly change the subject, and she would have no choice but to follow her sister-in-law's lead. In the end, they couldn't chat as they pleased.
She preferred to forgo the conversation, as the two children were still young and it would be bad if something unexpected happened to them.
"You don't want to go again?!" Yin asked curiously.
On ordinary days, Qingyan liked to go to Yingenjueluo's tent, always hoping to spend more time with her. The two often lost track of time while chatting.
"Hmm, I don't like being told that!" Qingyan pouted. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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