The Queen helped Li Han up, stroked her hair, and said earnestly, "I really can't do anything about you. Since you have agreed to this matter, you must do it well and don't let this palace and His Majesty down!"
Li Han nodded rapidly and promised: "Li Han will definitely live up to the trust of His Majesty and the Queen!"
The Queen and His Majesty nodded in satisfaction. However, although it seemed like they had the best of both worlds, the Queen, as the mistress of the harem, naturally considered more than the Emperor, and raised her doubts to the Emperor with a bit of worry.
"However, the more troublesome thing now is that the imperial kitchen is full of elderly people. Teaching them new dishes now might backfire. If I allow Li Han's people to rashly replace them, I'm afraid that others will be dissatisfied and the dishes will not go smoothly!"
The queen was a little helpless when she said this. Human nature cannot be suppressed by power alone. If it is allowed to develop, it will eventually damage its foundation.
Li Han felt a little troubled after hearing this. She had indeed neglected her other interests. Seeing that the way of making money that she had negotiated with great difficulty was going to be in vain, Li Han felt like crying but had no tears.
"The Queen is so thoughtful!" The Emperor thought for a moment, as if realizing something, and suddenly said, "Oh right, isn't the day after the Blessing Festival the day for selecting the Imperial Chef to work in the Imperial Kitchen? This is a great opportunity to renovate the Imperial Kitchen!"
"Yes, I actually forgot about this. This is indeed a good opportunity!" The queen echoed the emperor.
After hearing this, Li Han suddenly became excited again. This one thing was like riding a roller coaster, up and down. Li Han's little heart could not bear it. She just hoped that nothing else would happen.
The emperor saw Li Han sighing and jokingly said, "That's right, Li Han, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You must seize it firmly. Whether you can let me and the Queen enjoy your new dishes depends on whether your people have the ability to do so!"
"Your Majesty, Li Han, you will definitely work hard!"
Li Han's eyes were determined, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips. After all, the palace was a fat duck. As long as she could grasp it and swallow it all in one gulp, she could make much more money than Huayun Pavilion, which had been selling vegetables for decades.
"Don't be too happy too soon!" The emperor smiled and kindly reminded him, "Do you know the rules of this competition?"
Li Han shook her head in confusion. After all, this was the first time she heard of this.
The Emperor patiently explained, "This selection will be conducted through anonymous voting, primarily by me, the Empress, the concubines in the harem, and some ministers. This is done to ensure fairness and impartiality, and also to prevent manipulation by those with ulterior motives."
"Anonymous voting!" Li Han muttered to himself, thinking that the emperor was quite smart to come up with such an idea.
In fact, it is no wonder. The most ruthless people are the royal families. The palace is a gladiatorial arena. Everyone is a beast dominated by desire. No one is absolutely clean. Everyone wants to climb up by stepping on the corpses of others, especially for something as tempting as the throne.
Since ancient times, there have been many emperors who died due to poisoning, framing, etc. With the lessons learned from the past, the emperor in power now must naturally be extra careful.
"Li Han, are you confident?" The queen saw Li Han standing there in a daze, thinking that she was scared, so she asked worriedly.
"Of course I have confidence. There is no such word as fear in my life, Li Han!" Li Han patted his chest and spoke righteously.
"Hahaha, well done. The Queen and I will be waiting for your good news. When you win, I will definitely reward you well!" The emperor was very pleased to see Li Han so confident.
After lunch, Li Han did not rest. He hurried back to his room and picked up his pen, ink, paper and inkstone.
In the letter, Li Han talked about the selection of royal chefs and that Huayun Pavilion was invited to participate. He emphasized the importance of this matter and asked the best chefs of Huayun Pavilion to prepare new dishes during this period and strive to "kill all others" in the selection and win the first place.
When the chefs at Huayun Pavilion heard about this, they cheered and their excited voices could be heard at the end of the street.
"Sister Li Han is so amazing! She even got this opportunity, and it was invited by His Majesty himself. She really made our Huayun Pavilion proud!"
"Yes, we must go all out this time. We must not let Sister Li Han down. We must let all the chefs in the world see the strength of our Huayun Pavilion!"
…
Everyone in Huayun Pavilion was discussing this one after another, and every word was filled with admiration for Li Han and high expectations for this selection.
Li Han, who was in the palace, didn't know that everyone in Huayun Pavilion was in an uproar because of this incident. She was strolling and chatting with the queen in the imperial garden.
"Li Han, even though His Majesty has tacitly approved of what happened today, I still want to tell you that it's not good for a girl to always be in the spotlight. You need to be careful!"
Li Han felt more and more uncomfortable listening to the Queen's words, but she did not refute. On the one hand, it was because she didn't dare, and on the other hand, it was because she felt it was unnecessary.
The concepts of this world are too closed and backward. It is obviously impossible to discuss the issue of gender equality with them using modern people's thinking. Even if you do, it will not be accepted by others and may even be criticized by thousands of people. It would be bad if you are executed as a reactionary.
Therefore, Li Han nodded obediently: "Empress, Li Han knows your good intentions. Everything you said is for Li Han's own good. Li Han is not a child now. I know what to do and what not to do. Don't worry!"
After hearing this, the Queen touched Li Han's head, looked at her tenderly and said, "Yes, you have grown into a big girl, it's time to choose a prince consort!"
"Prince Consort!" Lu Li's face suddenly appeared in Li Han's mind. She was already thin-skinned, and suddenly her whole face turned red.
"Empress, you are making fun of Li Han again. If you do this again, Li Han will ignore you!" Li Han turned her face away in shame and said to the queen in pretended anger.
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore!" The Queen looked at Li Han's innocent look, and covered her mouth with her hands to hide her laughter. "Don't leave tonight. It's rare to have such a leisurely time. Why don't you stay with me and have a good chat? I also want to hear about the tavern you opened outside the palace!"
The palace is like a cage made of gold. People outside are trying to get in even though they are bleeding, but they don’t know that people inside are also covered in bruises trying to get out.
The queen was full of expectations for the outside world, but because she was a concubine, she could not leave the palace as easily as Li Han, so she was particularly interested in what happened to Li Han.
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