Food for the people

Before Qiao Ling came, the Queen Mother really wanted to let him stay by her side more because of Qiao Yu. She had never met Qiao Ling, but only knew that Qiao Yu had a younger brother with the same mother. Only then did Qiao Yu bring Qiao Ling over to let him have a look. After all, he didn't have much interest in Qiao Ling.

But after seeing Qiao Ling now, the Queen Mother felt that this idea might be really good.

It is true that she has not seen such a big child for a long time.

There are many concubines in the emperor's harem, but they have been out of business for the past two years, and no concubine's stomach has moved. The emperor has no children, and she is anxious, but the emperor himself does not mean to be anxious, and she can't do anything about it. Knowing what was going on, she asked several times in private, and the emperor told her not to worry, so she didn't ask any more.

But in her heart, the Queen Mother wanted a child to act like a spoiled child in front of her.

She is not young now, and the older she gets, the more lively she wants to be.

The emperor's concubines came to Duanyang Palace to pay their respects every day, but the concubine was different from the prince, she fought for most of her life, how could she not know which ones were sincere and which ones were false.She had dealt with the first emperor's woman enough, she really didn't want to deal with the emperor's woman anymore, so she simply let them go back after paying their respects, lest some people pretend to be smart and rack their brains to play tricks on her, just to annoy her for nothing .

But Qiaoling is different.

Qiao Ling was young, well-behaved, and well-behaved. He was liked by the Queen Mother from the first day we met. If we say that she used to have nine points because of Qiao Yu, but now she has five points because of Qiao Ling.

After Qiao Ling accepted the Queen Mother's words, he sat next to the Queen Mother all the time. He was always sensible. He knew what to say and what not to say. He knew much more than a child of his age. Whenever the Queen Mother asked him, he would answer obediently. , not at all nervous and speechless when he came.

The more the Empress Dowager looked at his small appearance, the more she liked him, and after a while she remembered something, and beckoned to Suihe, "Go, ask the kitchen to bring some lotus seed and lily soup."

Sui He replied and went.

Aunt Guanqiu smiled and took two steps towards the queen mother, and said: "Since the queen mother is happy, when the soup is served later, let's have a bowl with the young master. It's almost noon, how about you?" I didn't eat anything."

"Has the queen mother not had lunch yet?" Lu Jincheng asked.

"The weather is hot, and the empress dowager said she didn't have much appetite, so she just left it alone and didn't eat. She's happy now. Isn't this servant coaxing her to let her have a bite?"

As soon as Aunt Guanqiu finished speaking, Qiao Ling said softly: "Auntie is wrong, I should be the one who eats with the empress dowager."

Qiaoling is a small person, but he has a big idea. A few words changed the meaning of the words. Aunt Guanqiu was stunned when she heard the words, and then smiled: "Young master can talk, yes, it is the young master who eats with the empress dowager." , look, if the empress does not eat a bite, the young master will be ashamed to eat it."

The queen mother was persuaded by their back and forth, her eyes fell on Qiao Ling, and she smiled: "This child really has a fate with the Ai family, and his temperament is somewhat similar to that of Yan'er when he was a child. It's okay, I'll do it too." Don't try to persuade them, let them present Aijia's meal together."

Qiao Yu sat with Lu Jincheng, and looked at Qiao Ling from the corner of her eyes when she heard this.

He knew that his younger brother was liked by others, and as expected, even the empress dowager liked him very much.

There is a small kitchen in Duanyang Palace, because the Empress Dowager didn't use lunch, so she always prepared it, fearing that the Empress Dowager would not have it when she wanted to eat, so when she heard the order to pass on the meal, she quickly brought up the food and set the table full.

"Let's eat together, Aijia has no appetite, just drink some soup."

The queen mother at the table was not interested, she only drank a few mouthfuls of sweet soup, and then put down the bowl.

Qiao Yu and Lu Jincheng had already eaten before they came, and now they just ate a little with them, but Qiao Ling drank two bowls of sweet soup and ate some other dishes, probably because he really liked the food , the queen mother was a little greedy, and drank half a bowl more.

The dishes on the table were all light. Qiao Yu looked at them, then leaned over and whispered something in Lu Jincheng's ear.

Seeing this, the queen mother put down the bowl and said: "What are you whispering in front of Ai's family, and let Ai's family listen to it together."

Lu Jincheng glanced at Qiao Yu again, saw him nodding, and then said: "Qiaoer said that the queen mother has no appetite for food, if the mother wants to eat, he can go to the kitchen and make some appetizers for the mother to taste."

The queen mother raised her eyebrows when she heard the words, and looked at Qiao Yu with the same expression as when Lu Jincheng was puzzled: "What appetizer?"

Qiao Yu smiled: "Little thing, if the Empress Dowager wants to eat it, I'll make it and try it, but I have to use the Queen Mother's small kitchen."

"I heard that you opened a restaurant in Hanyang City. It tastes good, Suihe, take Sheng'er to the small kitchen, see what he wants, and prepare everything for him."

Sui He was about to receive an order when Lu Jincheng stood up.

"I'll go with him."

The Empress Dowager didn't stop her when she heard the words, but she laughed: "You still can't rest assured that he is in my Duanyang Palace, forget it, just go, you can't leave him for a moment."

Qiao Yu walked up to Qiao Ling, rubbed Qiao Ling's head, and comforted him: "You stay here to talk to the empress dowager, brother will be back later."

Qiao Ling nodded obediently, watching Qiao Yu and Lu Jincheng go out together.

The small kitchen of Duanyang Palace is not far away, it is in the south corner of the palace. Although it is called a small kitchen, it is actually not small at all. There are more than a dozen people in the kitchen, busy inside and out. Seeing Lu Jincheng suddenly, they quickly put down the things in their hands and knelt down to salute him.

Aunt Sui He came out with them, and when she saw this, she came out from behind the two of them and called all the people in the house out first.

Then he ordered the two most clever ones from it, and brought them to Qiao Yu.

"My lord, if you need anything, you can just ask them. They are the managers in the kitchen, and you can ask them directly if you need anything."

Qiao Yu nodded, and then Aunt Sui He backed out, leaving Lu Jincheng and Qiao Yu in the small kitchen together.

There were all kinds of cooking utensils in the small kitchen, Qiao Yu looked satisfied, and beckoned the two people at the door into the room.

Although everyone has never met Qiao Yu, just by listening to the gossip in the palace these two days, they should know who Qiao Yu is. Now that they know who he is, naturally no one dares to act presumptuously in front of him. Called, the two hurried up to him and asked him what he wanted.

Qiao Yu told the two of them what they needed, and they nodded after listening to it, and then went to prepare things according to Qiao Yu's instructions.

In a short while, everything Qiao Yu needed was ready.

Qiao Yu washed his hands, and let the two of them out of the kitchen, but Lu Jincheng walked over to him, stood in front of Qiao Yu and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Qiao Yu was very blunt: "Help me pick off the pepper stalks."

There were a group of people standing outside the door who hadn't gone far. Hearing Qiao Yu's tone, their hands and feet were numb with fright and their faces turned pale.

who is thisThis is the proud and noble Prince Yan, not to mention asking him to work, even if he is served by someone else, if he is not served well, it will be a catastrophe. This Princess Yan really did not play her cards according to common sense.

Of course, in their view, Princess Yan herself is the product of not playing cards according to common sense.

And compared to Qiao Yu's natural tone, it was Lu Jincheng's actions that surprised them so much that they almost dropped their jaws.

Not only did the arrogant Prince Yan follow Qiao Yu's orders, but he also did it willingly and neatly, as if he had done it many times before they could see it.

Everyone gathered outside the door, clutching their chins that were about to drop from shock, and silently observing the incomparably compatible movements of the two, they all fell in admiration for Qiao Yu.

Qiao Yu didn't make any fancy things, on the contrary he made things very simple.

Cucumbers, green peppers, and carrots are all cut into strips, rubbed with salt, and then remove the excess water that has been marinated.

Pepper, aniseed spices, water, soy sauce, salt and sugar, boiled on high heat, after cooking a strong aroma, turn off the fire and let it cool, and finally pour the multi-flavored sauce on the cucumber and carrot that has removed the astringency, let them blend with each other, After marinating for a while, the simplest, but also the most appetizing pickled cucumber strips are ready.

Qiao Yu moved quickly. If it didn't take too much time to cool down in the middle, he would have already finished everything.

The more pickled the pickled cucumber, the more fragrant it is. It is not the best time yet, but when you scoop it out, you can still smell the fragrance of cucumber perfectly mixed with the strong fragrance.

Qiao Yu finished cooking pickled cucumbers, took a small plate out of the jar, and together with Lu Jincheng, went back to the place where the Queen Mother and Qiao Ling were.

Qiao Ling had already finished two bowls of sweet soup, and was whispering something to the queen mother, causing the queen mother to bend her eyes and let out a chuckle, she seemed to be in a very good mood.

Qiao Yu is extremely proud that Qiao Ling can be so liked by the empress dowager. He knows very well that his younger brother is actually a buried jade. A very sensible child will definitely like him.

Qiao Yu and You Rongyan placed the dish in front of the Queen Mother, and said to the Queen Mother: "Okay, Madam Queen Mother, let's try it."

The pickled cucumber sticks are very dark in color, which is out of place among the light dishes, and it is not too delicate.

The cucumber was marinated without its previous hard and crunchy texture, and when the chopsticks picked it up, it became a little soft.

The queen mother looked at the plate of pickled cucumbers, which was not at all eye-catching, and reached for the chopsticks.

Aunt Suihe was still a little worried and said: "The empress dowager can't eat too greasy food..."

Before she finished speaking, the Empress Dowager waved her hand to stop her and said, "It's nothing, just a few mouthfuls."

Qiao Yu smiled and explained: "This dish looks dark in color, but there is no oily star. This is a cold vegetable dish. If the Queen Mother doesn't want to eat, there must be nothing wrong with drinking two bowls of porridge and rice with it. question."

The queen mother let out a doubt again this time, picked up a cucumber strip that was as thick as a thumb, and put it in her mouth.

Cucumbers are pickled and lose part of their moisture, but they are inexplicably more crispy. When you bite your teeth lightly, you can hear the sound of them cracking cheerfully. Tian Cheng is eye-catching.

The empress dowager took a mouthful, and took a second mouthful after deliberation, but found that this small plate of cucumbers was even more fragrant than the last.

When she put down her chopsticks, she realized that the plate of pickled cucumbers had been completely eaten.

After eating the pickled cucumbers and drinking half a bowl of sweet soup, the empress dowager narrowed her eyes and said, "Go let the people in the small kitchen learn from Sheng'er. It's hot these two days, and the emperor doesn't have much appetite. Give the emperor a taste of this side dish."

Aunt Guanqiu smiled happily, and hurriedly responded with a smile.