Chapter 41 Cooking
Yuying got what she wanted and went to the kitchen of the Palace of Heavenly Purity with peppers and Qingtao.
As the master and servant walked along the palace road, Qingtao kept persuading Yuying: "My lady, please give the basket to me. I will hold it for you."
Yuying now treasures this half basket of peppers. She just heard that if she wants more, there will be no more. She refused without thinking, "No, I can do it myself!"
When they arrived at the kitchen, the chefs and eunuchs in the room looked at each other in surprise as the nobleman, who was out of place in such a smoky kitchen, suddenly appeared at the door.
For a moment everyone was stunned.
It was not until the oil in the hot pot exploded that he came to his senses. A group of people knelt down and greeted Yuying, "Your servants pay their respects to the queen, and may the queen be blessed!"
Yuying was also frightened by the scene and quickly shouted.
There are so many people here, it should be okay for her to borrow a stove, right?
While Yuying was still considering what to say, Qingtao stepped forward and said, "My young lady is the noble lady of Changchun Palace, Jin. Today, I would like to borrow the kitchen. Please give me some convenience."
Hearing Qingtao speak, Yuying gave her an admiring look.
Qing Tao couldn't help but straighten her chest after receiving it, trying hard to suppress her joy. At least she had a bit of the aura of a senior palace maid beside the favored concubine.
If Yuying looked carefully, she would find that Qingtao was imitating Nianxue, who was beside Concubine An.
After hearing this, everyone in the kitchen looked at each other, feeling a little embarrassed. After all, it was not uncommon for concubines in the front and back palaces to send food to the emperor, but that was the business of the imperial kitchen and had nothing to do with their small kitchen!
Besides, those concubines said they were going to prepare meals for the emperor, but they didn't come in person. Didn't they ask the maids around them to come and give instructions? The more attentive ones would ask the maids to watch over the whole process, but there was no reason for them to come by themselves!
Why did this noble lady Jin insist on being so different? Everyone hesitated for a moment. Should they agree? If they agreed, what would happen if they delayed the emperor's meal? But what if they didn't agree?
This is harder to do.
Everyone had heard about this young lady who had been favored by the emperor recently. After all, many people in their kitchen had received many rewards because of this noble lady. If they really dared to stop her from entering, what would happen if this noble lady ran to the emperor and cried?
Everyone's expression changed at once.
Finally, a senior eunuch who seemed to be in charge stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency, now is the time to prepare lunch for the Emperor. I'm afraid..."
Yuying understood what he had not finished saying and raised her eyebrows.
Is this because he is afraid that she will delay cooking for Kangxi?
"I came here just to make lunch for His Majesty! His Majesty knows this too! If you don't believe me, you can go to the Palace of Heavenly Purity and ask!"
When everyone heard this, they naturally did not dare to ask Kangxi. They believed that Concubine Jin would not have the courage to falsely convey the emperor's will.
Since they would not be blamed, everyone in the kitchen became more friendly to Yuying. "Please come in, Lady Jin. I am Xiao Luzi, the chief eunuch in the kitchen. Please take a look at what ingredients you need and we will prepare them for you!"
Xiaoluzi led Yuying to the food, and Yuying took a look.
Wow, there are so many kinds of animals! There are all kinds of animals, including those that swim in the water, fly in the sky, and run on the ground.
Then Yuying will not be polite!
But she only planned to cook some home-cooked dishes, and she didn't know how to cook anything more complicated.
It didn't take much effort to select the ingredients, but when Yuying was about to try it herself, she was stopped.
As Yuying picked up the kitchen knife, Qingtao and the eunuch from the kitchen rushed forward, one pulled her away, and the other snatched the knife away.
Yuying wanted to snatch it back, but Qingtao, who was holding her hand, used some force to pull Yuying away, with a look of disapproval on her face, "My lady, please don't do it yourself! There are plenty of servants in this kitchen!"
"But..." Yuying wanted to say that she was afraid that the cook in the kitchen wouldn't be able to cook, after all, she only had a few peppers. But before she could finish her words, Xiaoluzi on the other side quickly took over the conversation: "Yes, yes, yes, how can you trouble the noble to do these things yourself? Just leave it to us servants."
After much persuasion, Yuying finally gave up the idea of doing it herself and just stood by and gave directions throughout the process.
Yuying planned to make four dishes, one boiled pork slices, one spicy chicken cubes, one green pepper stuffed with meat, and finally a spicy fish head.
Yuying underestimated the skills of the imperial chef. After all, he was supposed to cook for the emperor. If his skills were not good, he would have been dragged out and chopped off long ago. Even if it was his first time cooking, he was better than Yuying. At this moment, Yuying smelled the fragrance of the cooking and was glad in her heart that she did not insist on doing it herself.
When everyone in the kitchen smelled this overbearing scent, they no longer cared about hierarchy and looked at Yuying in surprise.
They watched as Concubine Jin picked out only a few common ingredients and added the unknown fruits she brought with her, and she was able to create something so delicious. Just smelling the aroma made people's mouths water.
Especially when they saw that she picked a fish and didn't want the body but only the head, everyone wanted to stop her. After all, in their eyes, it was unheard of to make a dish out of a fish head and serve it on Kangxi's table.
But Yuying insisted on having only the fish head. She had been craving for it for a long time, and no one could stop her!
When the dishes were ready and served, Yuying did not forget to leave some for the people who helped to taste them, about a quarter of them, "These are for you to taste. I will take the remaining peppers away, and Qingtao should be kept for me!"
Then she asked Xiao Luzi to select a few eunuchs to go with her to the Qianqing Palace.
Although the people in the kitchen felt sorry for not keeping the fruits, at least they still had some delicious food to taste, so it was not like they got nothing.
After leaving the kitchen, Yuying was followed by a group of eunuchs and went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Kangxi, who was waiting in the Qianqing Palace, had already asked people to urge him several times.
Finally, Liang Jiugong hurried in from the door, "Your Majesty, you're back, you're back, Concubine Jin is back!"
Sure enough, Qingtao came in with a group of eunuchs. When Kangxi saw whether Yuying was there or not, he asked in confusion, "Where is your master?"
This was Qing Tao's first time facing Kangxi alone. She couldn't help but take a deep breath, "Your Majesty, our lady said that the kitchen was filled with fumes, so she went to take a bath and change clothes. Your Majesty can try it first, and you don't have to wait for her."
Kangxi heard this, and although he knew it was not bad just by smelling it, he still said, "Then I'd better wait for her to come with me."
"Liang Jiugong, go to Yuqing Palace and call the prince to have dinner with me." At this time, Kangxi still did not forget his beloved son.
Liang Jiugong, who was standing by, swallowed his saliva secretly several times. When he heard this, he rushed out as if he was in need of help.
On the way to Yuqing Palace, Liang Jiugong was still savoring the taste.
When Yuying changed her clothes and came out, she saw Kangxi and the prince already sitting at the dining table waiting for her.
[How can I be so prestigious? Let the emperor and the prince wait?]
After hearing Yuying's thoughts, Kangxi realized belatedly that his action seemed inappropriate.
But the wait was over.
After Yuying took her seat, she looked at Kangxi, who was sitting at the top, and the crown prince, who was sitting opposite her, and asked tentatively, "Shall we start?"
Kangxi nodded. The dishes had already been tasted by the eunuchs in charge of testing for poison and were only served on the table after they were found to be fine.
Kangxi didn't want Liang Jiugong to serve him anymore. He picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of green pepper. Seeing this, Yuying wanted to persuade him. After all, it was his first time eating it, so he shouldn't be so brave.
But before Yuying could open her mouth, Kangxi had already put it in his mouth.
boom--
In an instant, Kangxi's expression changed.
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