Gu Hexagram (Middle to Upper Level)
Chapter 18 Gu Hexagram - Upper-Middle Hexagram - Princess Yongqing
They naturally didn't understand what a greenhouse was, nor did they know Rong Yan's intention in using it. They were all curious but dared not ask, and could only obey orders.
Within half a day, the news had spread to the point that even Rong Shu knew about it.
"Tch, what kind of attention-grabbing thing is that hussy up to now? All she does is try to attract attention. She's not like a young lady from the Rong family at all. She's really lowering her standards."
"Madam, please don't take it to heart. After all, she didn't receive a proper education and grew up in that simple Taoist temple. Naturally, she can't compare to your elegance and grace."
"Of course. Although we don't know what she's up to, it's probably some low-level tricks. We'll just wait and see."
She had always looked down on Rong Yan. If it weren't for her lowly mother climbing into her father's bed, she wouldn't have had a younger sister.
Her hostility towards Rong Yan seemed to have existed since she was old enough to understand things.
With her around, everything became a comparison, and there was always competition for favor. Even the attention she received had to be split in two, how could she not hate it?
Especially now that the eldest young master has woken up, she thinks she has someone to rely on? Dream on!
...
For this banquet, Rong Yan has only slept for a few hours each night for the past two days before hurriedly getting up.
That's good, so I won't have to spend all day in my room facing my mother-in-law and the others.
Xie Chengzhi finally woke up, and people from all walks of life rushed to Qu Shen Courtyard. The social interactions within the inner quarters were vividly displayed in this regard.
Even Granny Li brought the best dried green beans from the field to congratulate them.
It's Karin's turn to keep watch tonight, and she's waiting in the small room at the end of the corridor.
Rong Yan and Xie Chengzhi generally don't need much service at night, but they still dare not slack off.
Hearing the door open in the chilly night truly startled Huali. Since Xie Chengzhi woke up, Baiqiong had been invited back to its own room, and the maids breathed a sigh of relief.
In the past, although Bai Qiong looked very beautiful, she was still a beast and was not close to them. They were quite afraid of her.
She peeked out and saw that it was the eldest son.
Xie Chengzhi was tall and slender, with a chiseled profile. He stood quietly in front of the door, looking up at the night sky, his breath creating wisps of white smoke in the air.
Huali glanced at it from afar and blushed slightly, her heart pounding. She quickly walked over.
"Young Master, what are your orders?"
Xie Chengzhi did not turn his head, but kept his face upturned. He only gave a soft command, "Do not wake your master. You may leave."
In the thirteen years she had lived, she had truly never seen anyone so beautiful. Although there was some weariness in her eyes, her elegant and graceful appearance was truly breathtaking.
"Step back."
Xie Chengzhi repeated the sentence softly, his voice devoid of any warmth, just like the cold, desolate night.
Huali finally came to her senses, nodding repeatedly with lingering fear. She then returned to the side room of the small house, where she couldn't help but peek at him again.
He didn't go back to his room, but just looked up at the sky.
Huali looked up at the night sky, puzzled. A bright, full moon hung in the sky. Tomorrow was the fifteenth. Could it be that he was worried about tomorrow's banquet?
But with the young mistress being so capable, what is he worried about?
Unlike the people inside the house, Rong Yan slept soundly, completely unaware that Xie Chengzhi had kept watch alone at midnight. This secret was one that even Hua Li hadn't told her.
*
Before dawn, many maids began to move around in the courtyard, some carrying flowers, others wiping utensils.
Before midnight, everyone in Rongyan's courtyard got up, with Du Chunhong and Xie Qisheng in the kitchen being the busiest.
The maids weren't surprised to see Du Chunhong, but they were shocked that Xie Qisheng had come to help. Their jaws nearly dropped to their stomachs.
"Just who is this young mistress, that she can make the third branch of the family so devoted to helping her?"
"She's a good person. Granny Li was also saved by the young mistress. She had been drinking old wine all her life, but the young mistress forced her to quit. She didn't sleep all night and was helping out. Would that have been possible in the past? It's all because she acknowledged the young mistress as her master."
"That's right. I think the young mistress is quite capable. Everyone is busy like this, but they are all willing to do it, and no one has said anything bad about her."
The kitchen staff went out to buy ingredients before midnight, just to get the freshest ingredients as soon as possible.
After all, the dishes ordered by Madam Du were made with common ingredients, but not with ordinary cooking methods. The chefs in the mansion were all experienced chefs. Although they had never cooked like this before, they could understand it just by looking at Du Chunhong's cooking method records.
Chef Gan is the head of the kitchen. He has been working in the Hou Mansion for twelve years and has risen from a vegetable cutter to the head of the kitchen. He is known as Director Gan.
The "director" here is not the same as the head of a bureau in later times, but someone who can keep the kitchen under control.
Chef Gan is not tall, and although he works in the most lucrative job, he is thin and pale, yet his culinary skills are solid and he has real expertise. Sure enough, as soon as Du Chunhong presented the meal plan, Chef Gan shook his head repeatedly.
"Madam Du is good at cooking, but she clearly has no experience with communal meals. I think the Marquis's mansion is bound to make a fool of itself at this banquet. Alas, I hope we don't end up taking the blame."
The apprentices had also seen the menu, and even they, with their level of expertise, could see that something was amiss.
"She has no experience and doesn't ask us for advice. Even if she makes a fool of herself, it won't affect us much. Master, just follow our instructions. Don't try to take the lead or make any changes. Madam Du is just helping the young mistress. We don't know what kind of person the young mistress is. She might not end up getting the short end of the stick."
Chef Gan smiled; he was only in his early thirties, with a face full of wrinkles. "I won't say anything. I'm just a little sorry that our reputation is going to be ruined by the young mistress."
"What reputation do we lackeys have?"
Upon hearing this, Chef Gan spat out a disappointed sigh and let out a silent lament.
We decided to try one of their breakfast dishes first – chive boxes.
If following Du Chunhong's method is truly unpalatable, from the perspective of not wasting ingredients, he should find a reason to change the menu, at worst saying that fresh chives could not be found at the market.
These fresh and crisp chives are in season.
Chives and pork are a perfect match, but if you insist on making some kind of vegetarian dish, then this so-called box dish will fall flat.
Although Chef Gan had little hope for this dish, his attention still turned to the oil used—walnut oil?
Pshaw, it takes months for walnut oil from Dali to be transported here, and the walnut oil currently in circulation isn't even new oil.
Which noble person from the palace isn't picky about food?
Using old oil is definitely not the best choice, and he couldn't help but shake his head when he saw this.
The bubbling of pots in the kitchen early in the morning and the clanging of whetstones all boosted the spirits of those fetching water and working in the back.
The vibrant green chives were chopped into tiny pieces, filling the air with their pungent aroma.
Then, add some sesame oil and salt to draw out the moisture; this is a very common procedure.
The fire in the wood-fired stove burned brightly, illuminating the entire kitchen with a warm glow. With a sizzle of oil poured into the scalding hot wok by Chef Gan, the chopped king oyster mushrooms were tossed into the oil and stir-fried quickly, instantly filling the entire kitchen with their aroma.
The chopped chives were simply tossed in, and after a few stirs, the tender green chives turned dark green and became glossy after being coated with walnut oil.
"Liangzi, roll out the dough!"
"Alright, it's coming!"
The helper, Liangzi, deftly lifted a damp cloth covering the dough, pinched off a small piece of dough from the slightly yellow, chubby dough, and rolled it out into a flatbread with practiced ease. His hands seemed to be unaffected by the heat, as if he had practiced Iron Palm. He then scooped up some chives and minced meat and stuffed it into the flatbread.
Chef Gan herself wrapped the dough while giving instructions, saying, "Wrap it into a semi-circular shape, flatten it, and fry it slowly over low heat."
Although Liangzi was a little puzzled, he did as he was told. In no time, the two of them looked at the finished chive boxes for a long time, and the aroma of chives and meat became stronger and stronger.
None of them had high hopes, but the aroma in the air made their stomachs rumble.
"I'm actually quite hungry, Master, please have some."
One of the chive boxes was taken out, and in the end, Chef Gan was the first to take a bite.
Unlike traditional vegetable steamed buns, this one has a rich aroma of oil mixed with the unique vegetable flavor of chives, making it both pungent and fragrant.
Especially when pan-fried over low heat, the oil is plentiful, and the dough is fried until crispy and fragrant. With one bite, not only are your lips and teeth filled with the aroma of oil, but the combination of tender meat and chives is also incredibly delicious!
After chewing slowly, he suddenly opened his eyes wide in surprise!
The texture of these minced king oyster mushrooms is practically indistinguishable from minced meat!!
He had never studied it before; he didn't realize that the combination of chives and king oyster mushrooms could produce such a wonderful flavor.
What he found most brilliant was the walnut oil, which he had initially disagreed with!
This is what surprised him the most. The aroma of walnut oil carries a hint of nuts, blending in as if one were eating the aroma of walnuts. Combined with the spiciness of chives and the mildness of king oyster mushrooms, this combination is just right.
He originally thought that Du Chunhong was just a powerful woman who simply copied and pasted things from the book!
He realized how terribly wrong he was by his narrow-mindedness!
The combination of chives wrapped around the aroma of meat and pancakes was surprisingly harmonious. Chef Gan looked completely absorbed in the food, and Liangzi didn't hesitate to pick up the still-hot chive pancakes and eat them with great relish.
It's so hot, but it tastes so good!
When the apprentices saw that their masters were so engrossed in eating that they couldn't even speak, they rushed to grab some to eat as well.
Everyone fell silent. It was delicious, truly delicious.
Those who had previously mocked Rong Yan and Du Chunhong for having problems with the menu now seemed to have choked on their words, as if they had been slapped in the face.
"Master, this is just one of the leek boxes on the menu and it's already so delicious. Should we try the others? We don't have enough time."
After a slight hesitation, Chef Gan waved his hand and said, "No more trying. Everyone, quickly prepare the vegetables we bought this morning. Wash what needs washing, chop what needs chopping, stew what needs stewing. You only need to do some simple preparation. You are not allowed to do anything in the pot. I am the only cook here today. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you all responsible!"
“Oh, Master, you think too highly of us. Princess Yongqing will be here too. We wouldn’t dare to do anything if you asked us to! It’s safer if you do it yourself, Master.”
Chef Gan's eyes were already sparkling because of the chive dumplings, a dish he had randomly selected for inspection. He was even looking forward to the other eight main dishes.
Every dish is an ordinary dish, yet every dish is extraordinary!
After Du Chunhong finally finished inspecting the wine, she entered the kitchen and was met with admiring and respectful looks from everyone. She looked around, puzzled, but no one paid her any attention because everyone was too busy.
She went to another stove and began to stir-fry skillfully, which surprised everyone again.
Some people here knew she had some culinary skills, but they rarely had the chance to see her knife skills and cooking methods. Watching her cut tofu into thin strips as finely as shredded radish, even Chef Gan was shocked!
Such knife skills were beyond even his own comprehension.
While the kitchen was bustling with activity, the inner and outer courtyards were also incredibly busy.
In the outer courtyard, the potted plants were being cleaned of their withered flowers and leaves, one by one. Early in the morning, maids began sweeping up the fallen leaves on the ground. Most of the maids from the inner courtyard also came out to help in the outer courtyard, and the potted plants creaked as they were moved.
Before 9:00 AM, someone arrived at the mansion; it was the daughter of Minister Chu of the Ministry of Justice.
Rong Yan, dressed impeccably, was waiting in the reception room early in the morning. Upon seeing him, the young lady of the Chu family stared at Rong Yan with wide eyes.
"She is so beautiful, no wonder the eldest young master fell in love with her."
"Shh, keep your voice down."
Rong Yan: ?
Is this... a secret conspiracy?
Rong Yan grinned and let Hua Li lead the people inside. Madam Wang sat in the inner courtyard, presumably with her in charge, she only needed to take care of the facade.
People started arriving one after another. After exchanging pleasantries in the outer hall, they went from behind the screen to the inner courtyard.
When Rong Shu arrived, she was dressed in a light pink dress, with several hairpins in her hair, but the most eye-catching thing was a delicate red plum blossom by her ear.
When Rong Shu saw Rong Yan, the corners of her lips curled up slightly, and there was an undisguised arrogance in that smile.
Rong Yan didn't want to pay attention to it, and was too lazy to bother with it.
Rong Shu wasn't annoyed. She walked past her and had the maid lead her towards the Listening to the Rain Pavilion.
After being shrouded in rain for three days, the air in the Listening to the Rain Pavilion must have become polluted. Rong Shu thought to herself as she covered her nose, but as soon as she entered, she was so shocked that she dropped the handkerchief in her hand.
Moreover, the reactions of the others were not much better than hers.
The canopy over the pavilion had been removed, but the pond was still covered with black silk cloth, creating a dark and gloomy scene that was not only unsightly but also somewhat frightening.
Rong Shu sneered, "I thought she had some brilliant tricks up her sleeve, but this is all? Pshaw."
Princess Yongqing, who had been waiting for a long time, finally saw Shanshan arrive late.
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