The Manchu and Han Banquets in Qing Dynasty

One, and they are all people in front of the empresses of the palaces.

The first one to come was Haizhu. Haizhu was not as cheerful as usual, and she cowered when she spoke, as if she was hiding something.She asked, "I heard that you spent the night in the Hall of Mental Cultivation last night, didn't you?"

Zixiu nodded, not understanding why she asked this, thought for a while, and replied: "I was drunk last night, the emperor asked me to go there."

Haizhu smiled and said, "So that's the case. Then, do you still remember what happened last night? Well, I mean, did you sleep alone?"

"Yeah." Didn't he sleep alone? Could it be two people sleeping together?Zixiu was puzzled, turned his head a few times, and suddenly understood what Haizhu meant.

He blushed, and said: "Miss Haizhu, it's not what you think, that, I slept alone, I didn't sleep with the emperor..."

He felt that the more he explained, the worse he got, and the more confused he was, he didn't even know how to explain it.

Haizhu let out a chuckle, and said, "I understand, you sleep alone, and the emperor let you go there because it's closer and more convenient. Is that so?"

Zixiu nodded vigorously, he was a little annoyed, he clearly thought so, but he didn't know how to express it.

"Well, well, I have nothing to do, but brother Zixiu, I have to remind you that someone may come to you later." Haizhu got the answer and said: "If someone is like me just now Asking you, you said that the place where you sleep is far away from the place where the emperor rests, do you understand?"

"Oh." Zixiu nodded obediently, he knew that Haizhu would not harm him.

After Haizhu left, as she expected, a little palace lady came soon after.The little maid looked only thirteen or fourteen years old, her voice was sweet, and she had two cute dimples on her face.

"Excuse me, is Lin Zixiu Lin Yuchu?" She knocked on the door.

Zixiu opened the door, remembered what Haizhu said just now, and said, "Yes, I am Lin Zixiu, what can I do for you?"

The little palace maid said: "This servant is someone close to the empress. The empress heard that Lin Yuchu stayed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation last night, so she sent a servant to ask about the situation of the emperor last night."

Zixiu thought, wouldn't it be better for the queen to ask Eunuch Liang directly?Ask him what to do?He remembered Haizhu's words, so he replied: "The place where I rested last night is far away from the emperor, so I don't know much about it."

The little maid said: "It turns out that it is like this, it really bothered Lin Yuchu."

"It's ok."

After the little maid left, several people from other palaces came, and Zixiu answered them one by one, saying "my resting place is far away from the emperor", and those people didn't ask any further questions once they got the answer. .

If he didn't know the intentions of these people at the beginning, he would have figured it out no matter what later on. He felt a little puzzled. He was just a little royal chef. Even if he was trusted by the emperor, what did he have to do with those messy people? ?These empresses are all the emperor's wives, one is prettier than the other, how could they... suspect his relationship with the emperor?

He is a man!

Zixiu wondered, unwilling to think about these things again.

However, things had just begun here, and Zixiu spent the next day in complete chaos.

In the morning, there was an endless stream of people giving gifts.At first, it was concubine Hui's reward, giving him ten gold ingots and ten sets of finely crafted clothes.Next came all kinds of empresses, some gave ginseng supplements, some gave silk, satin and cloth, and some gave gold, silver and jewelry...

Zixiu couldn't figure out the situation for a while, when did he become a celebrity?

In the evening, he mentioned this matter to Kangxi, and Kangxi smiled and said, "They are trying to curry favor with you."

"But they are empresses, and I'm just a little imperial chef. Their status is much higher than mine." This is what puzzles him the most. What is the purpose of these people?

Kangxi said: "Identity? I didn't give it to them. I can make an ordinary person rise to the sky in one step, and also make a noble person a prisoner. Don't you understand the truth?"

"They fawn on you because they think I love you the most. I think they must have asked you about the night before yesterday, right?"

Zixiu nodded, thinking that Kangxi could be a detective."But I don't like it," he said.

Kangxi smiled as expected, and said: "But you can't refuse. If I trust you, it may cause people to fall into such and other troubles; but if I don't trust you, you will definitely not be able to survive in the palace."

Zixiu shuddered, is the matter really so serious?But if you think about it carefully, it may indeed be the case.He knows that he is not smart and it is difficult to communicate with people, and he also knows that he is easy to offend people like this.Therefore, with the emperor as a protective umbrella, he would save a lot of trouble.But as Kangxi said, this will also bring him other troubles.

However, if he had to choose one of the two, he would rather choose the present situation, not only because Kangxi could protect him, but also because he wanted to chat with Kangxi like this.He thought that if Kangxi got tired of him one day, he would be very sad.In the palace, Kangxi was the one who communicated with him the most. In his heart, he already regarded Kangxi as a friend, although it seemed to outsiders that he was a high-ranking.

"Then... should I accept their gifts?"

"Why don't you accept it? If you don't accept it, they will think that you are prejudiced against them. Besides, these things are just small things that they don't like in their eyes."

There were a few black lines on Zixiu's forehead, and he really wanted to say: "Your Majesty, you said they were all your wives, did you ever say that about your wife?" But he still didn't say anything, in fact, He was very happy.

"But you can't get too close to them, after all, they are also my concubines." Kangxi said again.

"I don't dare, my slave has absolutely no desire for women." Zixiu reacted quickly this time, fearing that Kangxi would punish him for this matter.

Kangxi wanted to say, "I don't want to see you being confused by them and change." After all, there is only one Lin Zixiu, and there are many concubines in the harem.He could have fewer concubines, but he couldn't lose Lin Zixiu.

Lin Zixiu is no longer just an imperial cook, he is his chat partner, the person he confides his heart to, and even his friend, his only friend in this world.

The author has something to say: Friends, they will eventually become romantic, hehe

No.14 dishes

When Zixiu was favored, some people envied him, others flattered him, others envied him, and what's more, some hated him.A woman who is favored by the emperor will naturally become a thorn in the side of all the women in the harem, and a man who is favored will become a thorn in the flesh of his competitors.

So is Zixiu.

In terms of age, he is not yet a weak crown, so he can be regarded as a young boy; in terms of qualifications, he is just a young imperial chef who has just entered the palace, a brand-new rookie; in terms of cooking skills, he is not the best among the imperial chefs.So, why did he get the favor of the emperor?

Hesheli Xuesong thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he became envious and jealous.He is the queen's cousin. He has been in the palace as an imperial cook for three years, and his culinary skills are also among the best in the palace, but he has only been summoned by the emperor once so far.It was recommended by Xueshan that time, and Kangxi knew that there was such a person as him. Although he was one of the best in the imperial kitchen, he was not happy after all.

Therefore, he wanted to know what kind of ability this Lin Zixiu had to be able to ride on his head.

"Cousin, you must help me this time. You have also seen that Lin Zixiu is favored, and the emperor often goes to the Yongshou Palace of Concubine Hui. If I can defeat Lin Zixiu this time and get the emperor's attention, it will be of great benefit to you." Besides, Lin Zixiu is a lowly Han Chinese, how can his cooking be compared to my Manchurian's?" Xuesong said to Xueshan.

Xueshan was still a little hesitant at first, and she had always disliked Lin Zixiu, but now that she was provoked like this, she immediately couldn't sit still.

"Cousin, are you sure?"

"You still don't know my skills? I've been cooking for you for so many years, so you should be the most aware of my skills, right?" Xuesong said a little annoyed.

Xueshan nodded, she knew how good her cousin's cooking skills were, apart from Cheng Li who cooked for the emperor in the palace, her cousin's cooking skills were the best.She has never eaten the dishes cooked by Lin Zixiu, but after all, she is a young imperial chef who has just entered the palace, and she knows that her cooking skills will not be much better after thinking about it.

Moreover, as my cousin said, maybe the emperor will like his dishes after tasting him, so maybe he will come to Kunning Palace often.Thinking of this, Xueshan felt that her cousin's plan was worth a try.

"Okay, I will tell the emperor about this as soon as possible, cousin, you must be ready and win!"

"Don't worry, I will definitely win, and then let that kid go back and forth from wherever, hmph."

The two brothers and sisters had a discussion, and Xueshan would first ask the emperor about it. It would be best if the emperor agreed, but if he disagreed, she would work harder and join other concubines to speak up.

Xueshan was thoughtful, she went to Qianqing Palace pingpingtingting, only to find Lin Zixiu, who was an eyesore, was inside again.She gritted her teeth secretly, but there was nothing she could do, and she became more determined to get rid of Lin Zixiu.

"The concubine has met the emperor, the emperor is auspicious."

"Why is the queen here?" Kangxi asked without looking at her.

"The concubine heard that Lin Yuchu is a good cook, so I had an interesting idea in my heart. I wanted to ask the emperor what he meant." Xueshan approached Kangxi, and she seemed to glance at Zixiu unintentionally. But it felt a little cold in that look.

Kangxi stopped writing, and finally raised his head. He raised his eyebrows and said, "An interesting idea? Let's hear it."

Seeing something interesting, Xueshan said: "Your Majesty, I heard that Lin Yuchu is Han Chinese, and the dishes he cooks must be the most Han Chinese dishes, so the concubine is thinking, what is it?