Dark clouds loomed over the Hesheli residence in Beijing. Suo'etu could not believe that Kangxi was in good health. He had specially bribed the soldiers in the army to obtain food for treating malaria.
He wandered around the study. Emperor Kangxi had not returned to the capital for the New Year, nor had he sent the Crown Prince to the front lines. Soetu couldn't help but think more about it. Originally, the Hesheli clan should have occupied a position of real power, but due to Mingzhu's obstruction, he was hesitant to do anything.
Qingyan glanced at the screen and couldn't help but purse her lips. The problematic meat sent by Suo'etu had all been secretly disposed of in her spatial storage. The bribed man, believing his mission was complete, panicked when Kangxi didn't fall ill.
In the past few days, Yin felt that Qingyan was hiding something; otherwise, she wouldn't go to the space whenever she had free time.
He ate the lotus root slices and wood ear mushrooms she had pickled using Jiujiuya's method; the spicy flavor was extremely appetizing.
"Little darling, you can tell me if you have any problems." Qingyan turned her head and whispered to Yin. She was being extra careful, but he still noticed.
His spies in Beijing reported back to the Hesheli residence. Suo'etu was clearly unwilling to give up; he couldn't let outsiders laugh at the imperial family. Yin's tacit approval had already chilled Kangxi's heart.
Suo'etu took advantage of his position to control the troops at the Nine Gates. When Fei Yanggu went on a military expedition, the power of the Nine Gates Commander was handed over to Fu Shou. During this period of meticulous investigation, Kangxi and Yinzhi discovered that the man was someone Suo'etu had cultivated in his early years.
This move sent a chill down Yin's spine; he never expected the Crown Prince to extend his reach to the Nine Gates.
Throughout history, emperors have placed great importance on city defense deployments. In his previous life, Yin Rang made the Thirteenth Prince the Commander of the Nine Gates, which finally put his mind at ease.
"Si Si, this old man almost made me sick!" Qing Yan hates taking medicine the most. If anyone dares to make her sick, she will repay that person properly.
puff!
Yin spat out the tea in his mouth. Qingyan made him feel helpless. She was only thinking about taking bitter medicine and did not think that if something happened to Kangxi, everyone who went on the expedition would be punished.
"Those sick poultry..." Yin wanted to figure out what kind of disease it was.
"Malaria!" Qingyan uttered the two words lightly.
Immediately, Yin's face turned pale. In his previous life, when Emperor Kangxi went to war against Galdan, he contracted this illness and only recovered after using quinine. Could it be that Suo'etu was involved again that time?
Qingyan saw Yin was in a daze, so she stretched out her chubby little paws to grab the ice balls on the kang table.
The ice balls were a new arrival from the imperial kitchen. They were made of glutinous rice on the outside and filled with an ice cream cone the size of a ball.
Qingyan specially searched for the recipe for ice cream in Marco Polo's Travels in her spatial storage and explained it in detail to the imperial chefs. After several days of waiting, they were finally able to enjoy this treat.
"It's the dead of winter, and you're still eating this!" Yin protested several times, but was completely suppressed by the gluttonous Qingyan.
After Consort Tong tasted one, she immediately stood over at Qingyan's place, which was a huge blow to Yinzhi.
"Sisi, this is what life is all about." Qingyan knew that Yin would never understand why she would ask for a plate of these ice balls after eating hot pot on such a cold day. "Hot pot can cause internal heat, and these are for cooling down."
After she finished speaking, Yin rolled his eyes at her twice, saying that Qingyan dared to speak her mind.
Consort Tong's health was poor, and with these ice pills, she had already secretly eaten them several times behind Emperor Kangxi's back. Fortunately, the imperial physicians didn't say anything harmful to Consort Tong's health; otherwise, would Kangxi have turned a blind eye?
"You!" Yin poked her forehead with his right index finger. This girl is a menace.
Yin didn't bother with her; as long as she didn't get sick, he wouldn't stop her.
Before dinner, Yin pulled Qing towards the imperial tent. As soon as they entered the tent, Fuquan stared at them expectantly.
Qingyan was slightly puzzled. Fuquan rarely rested in the camp. Today, Kangxi specially summoned several brothers and Feiyanggu. The ice balls invented by Qingyan were finally put to good use.
"Second Brother, Xiao Guai has made some more food. You can try it later," Kangxi said directly.
Qingyan smiled like a little fox, secretly hoping that after eating the spicy hot pot, these people would also have some ice cream, which was probably not something that most people could accept.
Fuquan felt uneasy under Kangxi's watchful gaze, and some of the dishes Qingyan came up with were truly unappetizing.
She made durian pastries before, and the taste was...
Those present exchanged glances, all recalling the ordeal of that day when they lost a bet with Qingyan and were punished by having to eat two durian pastries each.
This was the first time Emperor Kangxi had ever tasted durian. He had only heard of it before and had never actually tried it. The emperor enjoyed the banquet immensely, completely misleading Emperor Kangxi and his entourage.
"Fourth brother, have you tried it?" Yin was the first to taste the delicious food Qingyan had prepared.
Yin nodded; he thought it tasted quite good. In winter, Manchus prefer various kinds of hot pot, most of which are boiled in plain water. Qingyan's hot pot broth was appetizing, and after eating it, one felt quite soothed.
Previously, Yin had instructed the imperial kitchen to use the broth from this pot to make some late-night snacks for the guards on night duty, and the feedback was quite positive.
"Father, I ate it a couple of days ago!" Yin recalled the unseemly meal, and a sliver of anticipation rose in his dissatisfaction.
Kangxi and Fuquan would certainly not lose their composure like him; they would probably also be unable to resist criticizing him. Seeing that Yin's expression had not changed, Kangxi was relieved. Consort Tong listened to the questions from the father and son, and couldn't help but look forward to Kangxi's performance.
Half an hour later, pots were placed on the table, their red broths making the grown men sweat. The Manchus, who love strong flavors, could already smell the spiciness even before taking a bite.
Kangxi felt increasingly uneasy. He caught a glimpse of Consort Tong's expectant look and sighed inwardly, realizing that even his own wife had been corrupted.
Fuquan gritted his teeth and cooked some mutton in the hot pot. It smelled terrible, but it was acceptable to eat.
"It tastes good. When it's cold, eating this will definitely make you sweat." Recently, the guards have all said that eating this late-night snack will keep them from feeling cold.
Kangxi and the others initially thought they had made something hot, but now Kangxi thinks the method is quite good.
"Little darling, is this what you wanted?" Fuquan asked.
He ate with gusto, his tongue practically numb. After a few bites, his back was drenched in sweat. After the meal, he would wait about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before the sweat would subside, at which point the guards would leave the imperial kitchen tent to patrol outside.
"Yeah! Second Uncle, don't you think it's great?" Qingyan's little mouth was all red from eating, but Yin didn't seem to have much of an opinion.
At the head table, several grown men ate with bloodshot eyes, while Consort Tong kept pouring Emperor Kangxi herbal tea, finding the food increasingly delicious.
Emperor Kangxi had to admit that some of the little guy's foods were irresistible.
"Eat!" Yin placed the cooked tripe on Qingyan's plate; the little guy liked to eat these chewy, tough things.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
