The Manchu and Han Banquets in Qing Dynasty

For people who cook meals, the master can take their heads if something goes wrong. They don't want to get into trouble.

"That's right, my lord, if you want me to say that this young master is responsible for the disaster, he should be responsible for the fault." Another imperial chef said.

Then a large group of people joined in.

"This...how can it be done?" Cheng Li hesitated. Although he felt that what everyone said was reasonable, he really let this young man bear the burden alone... This young man is afraid that he will have a hard time.

Rong Ruo smiled, and said: "Forget it, Rong Ruo will bear it by himself, so as not to hurt everyone."

As he spoke, he turned around and left, his slender back showing a touch of loneliness.He knew that these people couldn't be blamed for being ruthless, everyone was afraid that the emperor would blame him, this matter was small or big, if he had to bear it alone, maybe the emperor would forgive him for Ama's sake.

"Please wait." He suddenly heard someone say this, the voice was not loud, but he did hear it, and then the voice said again: "Please wait, I have a solution."

Rong Ruo turned around happily, and saw a young man standing behind him, looking at him sincerely.

"I have an idea, do you want to try it?" The young man was Zixiu, and when he saw that Rongruo wanted to leave, he chased after him.

"Zixiu, what can you do? It's too late to make a cuttlefish soup." Cheng Li didn't want his apprentice to get involved, so he hurriedly tried to stop it.

"Master, don't worry, I said there is a way. The cuttlefish soup I made before was court cuttlefish soup. What I am going to make now is homemade cuttlefish soup. It won't take much time." Zixiu assured, "But please everyone Help, prepare the ingredients together."

Hearing what he said, everyone became interested. They had never heard of homemade cuttlefish soup.

"Okay, let's help you this time." A royal chef said, and the others also expressed their willingness to help.

Zixiu looked at Rong Ruo and smiled, "You go back first, it's okay."

Rong Ruo said, "I'll wait for you to finish before leaving. My name is Nalan Rongruo, thank you."

"You're welcome, my name is Lin Zixiu." After finishing speaking, Zixiu returned to his seat. While directing everyone to prepare ingredients, he explained how to operate.

In less than a quarter of an hour, his so-called home-cooked cuttlefish soup was indeed made, and the color and fragrance were no worse than those of the court.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and someone said: "Finally, we've got a job done."

"Yes, I have to thank brother Zixiu."

"Zixiu, how do you know this dish?"

Everyone was chattering, Zixiu just looked at them and smiled, and not far away, Rong Ruo also looked at Zixiu and smiled.It was this little royal chef who helped him, he thought, he should do something to show his gratitude.

While everyone was discussing enthusiastically, a shrill voice suddenly came from outside, "The birthday banquet begins, pass the dishes."

"Everyone, hurry up and pass the food." Cheng Li said.The royal chefs started to work again, ordering the remaining dishes to the little eunuchs who came to pass them on.

Rong Ruojian could no longer talk to Zixiu, and the birthday banquet was about to start, so he rushed over by himself.For Zixiu's help, he will repay him sooner or later.

The author has something to say: Rong Ruo is here, Sahua.Rong Ruo is younger than Kangxi, and he is considering whether to play tricks on them, with a smirk

eighth course

The emperor's birthday is a joy for all people. After everyone's long-awaited and longed-for, the emperor and empress finally appeared.

All the ministers, family members and concubines shouted long live in unison. Kangxi and Xueshan walked to the throne one after the other to accept the congratulations from everyone.Kangxi was sitting on the seat, even though he had just turned 16 years old, he couldn't ignore the unique aura that belonged to the king.

"Everyone loves you in peace." Kangxi said loudly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Everyone got up, and then sat down in their seats one by one.

Rong Ruo took the opportunity to sneak in, and he saw his Ama at a glance, so he hurried over while taking advantage of the confusion.Seeing him coming, Mingzhu asked with a straight face, "Where did you go? Why are you only here now?"

Rong Ruo said: "Ama, I'll tell you about this matter when I get back. You see, the emperor wants to pass on the food."

Mingzhu glanced at Kangxi, and Kangxi really asked Liang Gonggong to pass on the meal.Mingzhu said: "Hmph, I'll deal with you when I go back."

Rong Ruo smiled, she didn't take it seriously, Ama never beat or scolded him, she always held him in her hand and protected her, fearing that something might happen to him, how could she be willing to punish him?

"Dear dears, you must eat and drink today. You are welcome." Kangxi sat at the top, the empress sat next to him and a little below him, followed by concubines, and at the bottom were officials at all levels.

The stage was set on the opposite side. At this time, the sound of silk and bamboo had already started, and the dancers began to dance.

The imperial meals were handed down one by one. First, the maids offered fragrant tea called Lushan Yunwu, which was specially reserved for the emperor's birthday banquet.After the fragrant tea, there are four dried fruits, and then there are four candied fruit, four pastries, and four pickles...

Everyone enjoyed the dance while eating the imperial meal, and the atmosphere was peaceful.

After serving a few more dishes, it was finally the turn of the four appetizers, namely the four dishes of "Longevity Without Borders".These four dishes may not be the most brilliant, but they are the most difficult to make.

As soon as the dishes were served, people immediately gasped in admiration. Not to mention the beautiful appearance of these four dishes, the color and aroma are also top-notch.

Mingzhu said: "This year's imperial chef is better than before. In the past, the emperor's birthday banquet also served these dishes, but it is much worse than this year's."

Rong Ruo smiled and said: "Ama said that this year's imperial chef is very good, and my son went to the imperial kitchen just now..." He was interrupted by Mingzhu before he finished speaking.

Mingzhu frowned and said, "What are you doing there?"

"Shh, Ama, keep your voice down." Rong Ruo helplessly reminded Nalan Mingzhu, Mingzhu glanced around and found that someone was looking at their father and son.

Rong Ruo whispered: "I accidentally spilled an imperial meal, and went to the imperial dining room to ask the imperial chefs to help me prepare it, but the imperial chefs said that there was too little time, and a new imperial chef helped Erchen later." .”

"You...why did you touch the royal meal? What if the emperor finds out about this?" Mingzhu reprimanded Rong Ruo with a straight face, this kid is not naughty at home, why would he be a bad thing once he enters the palace?

Rong Ruo said: "Ama, things have already happened, and it's useless to talk about them. Besides, Zixiu has already solved it for me."

"Zixiu?"

"It's the new little imperial chef. He looks a little older than me. Ama, his cooking skills are really good. I'll tell you about that dish when it's served." Rong Ruo smiled mischievously. He acted like a teenager in front of him.

"You... Think about how to thank others." Mingzhu said helplessly.

"Well, I was thinking about it. He is the imperial cook, so he can't leave the palace, and I can't often enter the palace." Rong Ruo was troubled by this problem. He wanted to thank his benefactor but couldn't find the opportunity.

"It's not difficult. I'll take you to see your aunt after the birthday banquet. When you enter the palace, you can just say to see your aunt." The "aunt" Mingzhu mentioned was Hui, who just gave birth to the prince last month. eunuch.

Concubine Hui is Nalan Mingzhu's younger sister, she gave birth to the prince only one year after entering the palace.It can be seen that the emperor loves Concubine Hui very much recently, and often goes to Concubine Hui's Yongshou Palace.

"Okay, I haven't seen my aunt for a long time. Last time I said that she gave birth to a little prince, I didn't have time to go to the palace to see it." Rong Ruo liked this aunt very much. Come.Concubine Hui has a better relationship with him than her elder brother.

"Your aunt has been favored by the emperor recently. Not long ago, she specially recruited a new cook from outside. Your aunt said that the cook's cooking is very suitable for her. Even the emperor often goes to her place for dinner." Mingzhu also said. Before the birthday banquet, I had a few chats with Concubine Hui, Concubine Hui seemed to be in a good mood and recovered a bit.

"Really? That's fine."

While the two were talking, they served several more imperial dishes, and then heard the eunuch report: "Four imperial dishes: pine mushroom, cuttlefish soup, lotus leaf chicken, beef tenderloin and fried white mushroom."

Rong Ruo said: "Ama, this is the cuttlefish soup."

The four dishes were served one by one, and Rong Ruo happily introduced to Mingzhu: "Ama, do you see if this cuttlefish soup is different from the previous ones?"

Mingzhu took a spoon to taste some cuttlefish soup, and said after a while, "It's a little different."

Rong Ruo: "This is what Zixiu made. He called it home-cooked cuttlefish soup, saying that he used to eat royal cuttlefish soup."

Mingzhu nodded, feeling a little admiration for this cook named Zixiu in her heart, it was amazing that this person could find a substitute in such a short time.

Everyone ate dozens of dishes for several hours. Although these people usually have delicacies from mountains and seas, there are not many dishes when the dishes are so rich.

Kangxi saw that everyone was eating to their heart's content, and he couldn't help feeling a sense of satisfaction in his heart.He tried every dish, trying to identify which ones were made by Zixiu, but in the end he found it was futile.He is not a gourmet, and he cannot remember the taste of Zixiu's dishes after eating them, but this does not prevent him from eating, as long as he tastes every dish, he will always eat Zixiu's dishes.

He tasted a spoonful of cuttlefish soup, and felt that the taste was very strange, no, it was not unpalatable, but a little different from the usual court dishes.He asked the little eunuch to call Liang Jiugong, and Liang Jiugong soon appeared.

"Who made this dish?" Kangxi asked, pointing at the cuttlefish soup.

"Back to the emperor, the cooking was arranged by Cheng Li, the head of the imperial dining room. How about I ask the slaves now?" Eunuch Liang carefully looked at Kangxi's face, fearing that he would be displeased.

Kangxi said: "No need, I'm just asking casually, you can go down."

"twitter."

Kangxi took another sip. For some reason, this peculiar taste evokes his childhood memories, sweet childhood memories.He asked someone to call Liang Jiugong again, Liang Jiugong ran out of breath and said, "Your Majesty?"

Kangxi: "Go and check