Chapter 88 Come to Eat
A few days ago, Wang Zhengang told Zhu Yuhuan that Zhu Qizhen was coming, but he didn't expect that he would actually come as he said.
When Hu Shanxiang learned that Zhu Qizhen was coming, she first asked the palace maid to ask the emperor to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Zhang first, and then come to Kunning Palace.
Previously, Zhu Qizhen was busy with state affairs, and Empress Dowager Zhang naturally sympathized with her grandson and exempted him from paying respects to her. But now that Zhu Qizhen was coming, he should naturally pay respects to his elder, Empress Dowager Zhang, first, and then come to Kunning Palace.
With Wang Zhen by his side, Zhu Qizhen naturally followed Hu Shanxiang's instructions and went to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Zhang first, and then slowly came to Kunning Palace.
He didn't want to go through so much trouble, but Wang Zhen said that there was an order of hierarchy. If he didn't do as he was told, his mother would be scolded, and Princess Shunde would also be in trouble. Zhu Qizhen could only agree reluctantly.
Finally arriving at Kunning Palace, the palace servants had already spotted the emperor's sedan chair and immediately went inside to announce it. Zhu Yuhuan and Zhu Youtong were both waiting inside the palace. Zhu Yuhuan immediately noticed that the jade pendant around Zhu Qizhen's waist was a gift from Zhu Di, a gift from Zhu Di. It was obvious that Zhu Qizhen had carefully selected it before coming here.
Seeing that both sisters were there, Zhu Qizhen glanced between them, put his hands behind his back, and said in a serious manner, "Why are you so respectful, second sister?"
Hearing the teasing and complacency in Zhu Qizhen's tone, Zhu Youtong suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty is now the supreme ruler. How dare Youtong be disrespectful?"
Zhu Yuhuan took over the conversation, half-jokingly saying, "Your Majesty, we have offended you many times in the past, often teasing you with fruits and snacks. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me for this."
She spoke in a deliberately pretentious tone, which made everyone laugh for a moment. Even Zhu Youtong, who was originally dissatisfied, laughed out loud at his sister's words.
Fortunately, the 27-day mourning period was over, so smiling once was not inappropriate.
Zhu Qizhen clenched his fists in front of his face, obviously not wanting the image of an emperor that he had worked so hard to create to collapse so easily, but just one look into his eyes revealed that Zhu Qizhen was also laughing.
Zhu Yuhuan then said with a smile: "We are all brothers and sisters. Let's go in and talk. Mother has already ordered the meal to be served. She is waiting for the two of us to dine with His Majesty."
The three of them entered the house together. Hu Shanxiang saw Zhu Qizhen coming to greet her and said, "Your Majesty has been busy with state affairs and has lost a lot of weight. Please sit down and have your meal."
Zhu Youtong was about to sit down, but was pulled by Zhu Yuhuan next to him. He coughed and said, "Your Majesty, please have dinner."
Zhu Qizhen chuckled upon hearing this and said complacently, "Second sister is becoming more and more polite to me." After that, he sat down next to Hu Shanxiang and said, "But it's better for Second sister to stay the same as before, otherwise I always feel something is wrong."
Zhu Youtong no longer pretended to be polite. He sat down openly and said, "Since Your Majesty has said so, then I will not be polite. It's really uncomfortable to be so formal."
Zhu Yuhuan chuckled, then sat down next to Hu Shanxiang and his sister, saying, "If Your Majesty is not used to it, why not have the palace servants sit at separate tables?"
In fact, the three mothers and daughters in Kunning Palace had long been accustomed to eating at the same table, so when Zhu Qizhen came, they had no choice but to adapt.
Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said, "I think this is good. Moving from Kunning Palace to Qianqing Palace, I will be the only one eating. It's better to watch my second sister eat."
Zhu Youtong snorted and said, "Do you think I'm some rare and exotic animal? What do you mean by 'watching me eat delicious food'?"
Zhu Yuhuan personally poured her a glass of warm water and said, "Drink this first to warm your stomach."
When all four of them were seated, the kitchen served fresh meals. Hu Shanxiang said, "The palace's kitchen is not as good as the Shangshenjian's. Your Majesty, please don't be offended."
Zhu Qizhen didn't take it seriously and said, "This is much better than the food at the Shangshenjian. The food there is always sticky when it's served. It's not as good as the fresh food at mother's place."
Wang Zhen was serving the meal and took a piece of Zhu Qizhen's favorite goose with his chopsticks. Seeing Zhu Qizhen eating with relish, he knew that what he said was indeed from the heart.
The emperor's meals were prepared by the Imperial Kitchen Supervisor and then served to him, often lacking in freshness and flavor. Unlike the Renshou Palace and Kunning Palace, which each had its own kitchenette, although the chefs weren't carefully selected, the food was fresh and could be adjusted to suit taste.
After the meal, Hu Shanxiang said to Zhu Qizhen, "I heard from Huanhuan that Your Majesty is concerned about the meals in the Kunning Palace's kitchenette. Why not have these palace servants write down the recipe and send it to the Shangshenjian? That way, whenever Your Majesty wants to eat, he can just ask the Shangshenjian staff to prepare it and send it to him."
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "No need. If the people in the Imperial Kitchen learn how to cook the food in Kunning Palace, I won't be able to eat at my mother's place anymore."
Zhu Yuhuan joked, "Your Majesty is looking for an opportunity to sneak into my mother's palace to relax, otherwise you will have to eat the food of the Shangshanjian in the Qianqing Palace."
Zhu Qizhen saw Hu Shanxiang looking at him and chuckled. "Mother, I'm in the Palace of Heavenly Purity every day reading those memorials and petitions. I start reading early in the morning after washing and changing clothes, and I still haven't finished reading by lunchtime. There are also several old men around... and several ministers who are responsible for my affairs. I can't walk around anywhere else outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity. It's meaningless. I can only relax when I come to pay my respects to you."
Zhu Youtong chuckled inwardly upon hearing this, then said, "That won't do. If His Majesty doesn't handle government affairs properly, everyone will blame us. It's all us who led His Majesty astray..."
Zhu Qizhen quickly straightened up and said righteously, "I... no, I am the emperor. How could I be led astray? Who dares to lead the emperor astray?"
Although he is the emperor now, he still speaks like a child. If Zhu Qizhen was no longer the prince, people around him would have laughed at him long ago.
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