113. Coconut

Rongse's business in Beijing is getting bigger and bigger. Fusheng Building is next to the lake. You can see the lake view by sitting on the railing on the second floor. Before winter, Yunchu planned to renovate the yard behind Fusheng Building. The whole backyard is not only a stove room, but also a garden through the archway.

There was no need for major construction, only redecoration of the pavilions and mountain books, and digging of waterways to lead the lake water out through the mountain scenery. On both sides of the stone path were winding streams, on which small light plates could be placed to float down into the water with snacks on top. This banquet was called "Qu Shui Liu Shang".

There were also toys such as pots for playing and amusing themselves, specially prepared for the rich and powerful in the capital to play and enjoy.

Since the rumor that the Regent King and Fusheng were the same person spread, although not many people believed it, after all, the news came from the Cao family, and the powerful and influential people would rather believe it, and no one dared to ask Fusheng to cook for them personally.

Rong Se was also happy to be idle. After flipping through the account book of Fu Sheng Lou for half a month, he fixed his eyes on the income marked by Yun Chu for a moment, and sighed with satisfaction: "So it is said that only boring people would compete for the throne. The idle prince is the most attractive."

Yun Chu suppressed his laughter and said, "My Lord, I'm afraid you can't relax. The Prince of Ning will arrive in Jinjing tomorrow."

After all, Prince Ning's surname is Rong, and his grandfather had made great military achievements. As a member of the royal family, Rong Zhan's presence in the capital this time must be greater than that of Marquis Dingbei's return to the capital.

Rong Se said "ah" and nodded perfunctorily.

"Yes, but isn't my nephew busy with this matter? We should let the Ministry of Rites handle it, and make a big fuss about it. Although the real purpose is not to do so, it really doesn't need us. Let the Cao family and my nephew handle it."

In terms of seniority, the Ning County Prince should call Rong Se the Imperial Uncle. Rong Se also got to know this cheap nephew a little bit. It is said that he is famous for his love of playing in Danzhou. He does not play with the things of the playboys, but prefers to raise dogs. It is said that if his biological father had not died young due to his frail health, and he was the only son left in the family, he would not even want the title of county prince and the Qinchaying Camp.

In short, I just want to raise a dog.

"Alright." Yun Chu nodded gently and said, "If we go by seniority, even if Prince Ning has come from afar, he should be the one to pay his respects to you."

Rong Se slowly closed the account book, lowered his eyes and said, "Let's try his intention."

Rong Se was skeptical about the rumors about Rong Zhan.

Don't trust rumors to their true or false.

It is said that he is from the lineage of Prince Ning, who is not interested in worldly affairs. However, this time he accepted the invitation to go to Beijing. Even though he did not bring the Qincha Camp with him, Rong Se could not help but think too much about it.

.

Prince Ning's convoy was not large and the ceremony was not grand, but it was still luxurious after entering the city. As soon as the convoy entered the downtown, a clear young man's voice was heard from the carriage.

“Stop—”

The convoy stopped immediately.

A moment later, a young man in luxurious clothes walked out of the carriage. His black hair was neatly tied up, and he wore a hollow gold headband on his forehead. He wore a begonia red robe and a thick red fox cloak. He staggered out of the carriage, stomped his feet twice, put his hands to his lips, and blew gently into his palms.

"Hiss... Jinjing is quite cold. Luckily I brought this fox fur before I went out, otherwise I would have been frozen to death." Rong Zhan murmured in a low voice, raised his eyes to look at the busy main street of the capital, and raised his eyebrows slightly, "I have heard about the prosperity of Jinjing a long time ago, and today I can finally see it with my own eyes."

The chief and deputy commanders of Xuanji Camp were both recuperating in the palace. The officer who came to pick them up today was Rong Zhan. When he saw Rong Zhan getting off the carriage, he went up to him and said, "Your Highness, it's freezing cold, and there are so many people here. Please get back on the carriage. A bedroom has been prepared for you in the palace. Please go back with me to rest."

"What's the hurry?" The servant beside Rong Zhan spoke first, saying in a reprimanding tone: "Our prince is visiting the capital for the first time, and he just wants to take a look around here. Why are you rushing us?"

"I dare not." The supervisor immediately lowered his head.

"Oh, it's okay." Rong Zhan waved his hand casually, his eyes falling on a small clay figurine stall on the street. "You can't see these fresh things in Danzhou. I brought Danzhou's tribute. Please send it to the palace. As for me, I'm not in a hurry to go back."

The inspector wanted to say something, but Rong Zhan already showed a bit of displeasure, and his tone faded: "My young prince is not tired yet, he wants to take a good stroll in this capital and see how prosperous it is."

After all, the other party was a royal relative, so the inspector did not dare to make things difficult for him. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly nodded and asked, "Do you want me to send someone to protect the prince?"

"No need." Rong Zhan frowned impatiently and waved his hand, "Although Danzhou is poor, the prince is not short of guards."

Upon seeing this, the inspector had no choice but to lead his men to take away the two carts of tribute brought from Danzhou. He did not dare to provoke Prince Ning, who seemed to have a good temper but could actually change his face at any time.

After he left, Rong Zhan wandered over to the clay figurine stall and bought a yellow puppy with droopy ears. He held the puppy up and walked around, exclaiming, "It's really the capital city. So grand!" After exaggerating, he lowered his voice and said, "What a pity."

The servant who followed him asked, not quite understanding, "Master, what's the pity?"

Rong Zhan rubbed the ground with his toes, still smiling almost innocently, and said slowly, "It's just the surface. The rich and powerful are hiding here, living a life of drunkenness and intrigue, and they don't know what the human world is like. Not a single brick or tile is clean." At this point, his eyebrows were filled with a bit of disgust, and he sneered in a low voice, "It's very dirty."

.

"No one entered the palace?"

Rong Se paused, exchanged glances with Liang Shenyu, and then asked, "What did Prince Ning do?"

Yun Chu smiled and said, "We spent two hours in Jinjing. The tribute he brought was delivered to the palace. But when we opened the car, we saw that they were all these big wooden balls." He said, making a circle with his hands, "I heard that it was edible, called something... coconut? His Majesty ordered that the tribute be made into dishes for the dinner to welcome Prince Ning, but the chefs had never seen it before and had no idea how to start."

Rong Se was stunned. He had not thought that Danzhou's specialty was coconut. He asked with a strange look on his face, "They don't know about coconut? This is a good thing. It tastes good and has tonic effects. Besides, isn't there coconut oil in the palace? They have seen coconut oil, so why haven't they seen coconuts?"

Yun Chu, who had never seen a coconut before, was not surprised to see the Regent King. After a moment of silence, he said, "Coconut oil and coconut powder are also tributes from Danzhou. In previous years, it was coconut oil... so I have never seen a coconut that is not oil."

“…Okay.”

Rong Se was speechless and ordered: "Since they don't know what to do, then don't waste the natural resources. Move all the things to the palace for me."

Before Yun Chu could say anything, Liang Shenyu leaned over and whispered, "After all, it is a tribute from Danzhou, and the Prince of Ning is still in the capital."

Rong Se couldn't hide his disappointment and said "hmm".

Coconuts are rare here. Just as Yun Chu said, the little coconut oil that people have is rarely seen here. They only use coconut oil.

But if Rong Se really had to cause harm to those chefs, he would feel painful.

After thinking for a moment, Rong Se suddenly said, "Don't let those chefs touch the tribute. The dishes for Danzhou's tribute tonight will be prepared by the chefs of Fusheng Tower, the Regent Prince's Mansion, and... Fusheng."

Liang Shenyu even saw the genuine sorrow and grief on Rongse's face and couldn't help laughing.

...When it comes to food, the prince's reaction is always particularly strong.

After Rong Se finished speaking, he hurriedly changed his clothes. He changed his gorgeous dress into a dark-colored one with a cross collar and narrow sleeves, without any unnecessary decorations. His long hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, and he put on the mask that covered most of his face. He looked smart and steady.

Soon, the Regent Prince's carriage set off with Fushenglou and the palace's chef.

The two carts of coconuts in the kitchen had not been moved yet and were placed in the yard. The chefs were in a dilemma. After receiving the order from the Regent's Palace, some of them thanked God and the earth, while others were quite indignant. They had heard of the reputation of Fusheng Tower a long time ago, and now they had come to the palace, didn't they want to steal their jobs?

Rong Se was very satisfied when he saw the round and plump coconuts. He clapped his hands and ordered, "Unload all the coconuts. I'll open them later. Look at them all."

A sneer suddenly sounded.

Rong Se looked over and saw a burly chef who was a bit older. When their eyes met, he saw that the other person's eyes were unfriendly.

The man said contemptuously, "I've heard of Fusheng's great name a long time ago. He's just a chef in a tavern. He got his fame by relying on being the Regent. What's the best restaurant in the world... Ha, I advise you to go back early, so as not to lose face in front of the guard."

"Master Sun." A chef beside him quickly pulled him, his face changed, and said in a deep voice: "Say less."

Chef Yu, who was called Master Sun, refused to give in. He waved his sleeves and said coldly, "Stop talking. I want to see what delicacies they can make out of this lump of wood today."

A few days ago, the Regent's Palace took away the fish that was presented to His Majesty, so he had to cook some of the leftover small fish. As a result, His Majesty became furious and scolded him. Now, with new and old grudges, his face was the ugliest among all the chefs.

Several chefs looked at each other in bewilderment for a moment; some were afraid of the title of Regent Prince's Mansion, while others were naturally unwilling to accept it.

They were all carefully selected to cook for the emperor himself. No matter how famous Fu Sheng was, he was just a common chef after all. But now that someone had come to the emperor, the chefs were naturally reluctant. So although many of them did not speak, Rong Se could feel that their eyes were filled with caution and dissatisfaction.

"Master Sun, right?"

Rong Se deliberately lowered his voice, making it sound a little hoarse, different from usual, but also more intimidating.

"You are short-sighted. Don't think that everyone is like you. This is not a piece of wood. If I use it to make delicious food, what will you do?"

Master Sun took the initiative to provoke, so he naturally couldn't lose face at this moment. Although he was also afraid of offending the Regent Palace, he still gritted his teeth and said in a rough voice: "If you can make a decent dish, I, Sun Lai, will throw away my job and leave the palace!"

Rong Se curled his lips slightly, and snorted with a determined laugh, "Everyone is listening, let's wait and see."

Sun Lai was the first to speak out. Although he looked down on this fussy life, he was still a little uneasy at the moment. However, he could only bite the bullet and say, "What about you? What if you can't do it?"

"If you can't do it, I will smash the sign of Fu Sheng Building and never enter the kitchen again."

Rong Se's tone was calm and gentle, without any hint of cursing, and his tone was so light as if he didn't take the words seriously at all.

Determined and confident.