Looking at Daqing Yi's back, the Yuanjing Emperor's face was expressionless like a cold statue.
There were 24 palaces in the Imperial Palace where the Yuanjing Emperor's concubines and children lived. The Yuanjing Emperor's harem was not lively at all. Chuxiu Palace had not accepted a young and beautiful woman for more than a decade.
Wei Yuan arrived at the palace of the Empress. After announcing his arrival, he entered the palace and saw the Empress sitting on a soft couch.
The Empress had lost a lot of weight when she came in. Her round and dignified face became sharp.
She was an extremely beautiful woman. She was almost 40 years old but was still elegant. Although she was not as lively and beautiful as she was in her youth, time had carefully carved her inner qualities. Her mature and dignified charm was not something a normal girl could compare to.
"Why is Duke Wei here?" The Empress smiled and stared at Daqing Yi's face. His facial features were strong, with a high nose, thin lips, and deep eyes that contained indescribable vicissitudes.
The white hair on his temples made him look more mature and charming.
Wei Yuan lowered his head first, "I heard that the Empress is ill?"
The Empress smiled, "She has recovered."
"His Majesty said that the Empress has not had a good appetite recently and asked me to come and take a look."
The smile on the Empress' face faded and she looked at him calmly, "He asked you to come? Duke Wei doesn't know that I am ill? "
Wei Yuan hesitated and shook his head, "I have been busy recently and didn't know that the Empress is ill."
The Empress looked away and said calmly, "I am tired."
"The Empress should drink less tea, it is not good for the spleen and stomach …" Seeing that the Empress was impatient, Wei Yuan bowed, "I will take my leave."
"Wei Yuan!"
The Empress suddenly called out to him.
Wei Yuan turned his back to her and did not turn around.
"…" The Empress opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but she did not because of various concerns.
Thousands of words were hidden in her beautiful eyes, but Wei Yuan could not see them.
Wei Yuan left the Empress' palace. A light breeze blew and his green robe fluttered.
He really didn't know that the Empress was sick because the spy he had placed nearby had been removed by the Yuanjing Emperor some time ago. The Empress did not know about this.
These things could not be said in public, so he could only let the Empress misunderstand.
In front, the tall and slender Princess Huaiqing was leading the palace maids and guards over.
She wore a white palace dress embroidered with bright plum blossoms and a coat to ward off the cold. She looked cold and elegant, elegant and refined.
She was completely different from her mother when she was young.
"Duke Wei!" Princess Huaiqing bowed.
"Your Highness." Wei Yuan bowed in return and casually explained, "His Majesty heard that the Empress doesn't have a good appetite and is unwell, so he sent me to visit on his behalf."
Princess Huaiqing grunted. Her father, the Emperor, had long stopped coming to the inner palace. Every day, he only thought about cultivating and living a long life. He would only pay attention to the concubines in the palace who were sick, but he usually just sent someone to visit them.
"The palace maids in the palace said that mother hasn't eaten much recently." Huaiqing said.
"After a long illness, if she goes on a hunger strike, her body will become ill." Wei Yuan frowned, but in front of Princess Huaiqing, he hid his worry well and only expressed the worry that a subject should have.
Princess Huaiqing smiled lightly, as if she wasn't worried. Her voice was cold and clear, very textured, "I was just about to summon Xu Qi'an. Since I met Duke Wei here, Huaiqing saved the guards from making an extra trip."
Wei Yuan was stunned, "Your Highness, what do you mean?"
Princess Huaiqing said, "Xu Qi'an has a special secret recipe that can increase the taste of food by a hundred times, making it unforgettable. Mother doesn't have a good appetite, so she can try this secret recipe. "
…
Xu Qi'an paid for Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao to listen to music in the brothel. The two colleagues listened to the music while finishing the work of life inheritance.
This was Xu Qi'an's compensation, especially Song Tingfeng, who donated a total of five taels of silver to the Shenyang Hall. He was a wastrel who didn't have a family, so living expenses were secondary. If he didn't have money to go to the Musical House, he would be sad.
Leaving the brothel, Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng were very satisfied. Not long after the three of them left, they were stopped by a gong on horseback, who complained, "Where are you going to catch fish? I can't find you for a long time. "
"What's the matter?" Xu Qi'an asked.
"Duke Wei wants to see you." The gong said.
Of course, it was Xu Qi'an who was invited. Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao knew their place, so they waved goodbye to the kind and generous colleagues and continued their street patrol.
Returning to the yamen and entering the Haoqi Building, Xu Qi'an saw Wei Yuan sitting at the table and reading.
The eunuch put down the book and said, "I heard from Huaiqing that you have a secret recipe that can improve the taste of dishes."
"Is Huaiqing so gossipy? She even talked about such a trivial thing … "Xu Qi'an was stunned for a moment." It's just a small trick. It's not worth Duke Wei's attention. "
"The Empress has a poor appetite recently and is weak. I want to try your recipe." Wei Yuan said gently.
"The Empress is Huaiqing's biological mother. Huaiqing asked Wei Yuan to ask me for chicken essence …" Xu Qi'an nodded in understanding. Seeing that there was no one in the tea room, he took out a small jade mirror and gently closed the back. A head-sized jar fell out and was caught by him.
The fruits of Chu Caiwei and Song Qing's labor were all here. He only left a small bottle of chicken essence for Chu Caiwei.
Wei Yuan opened the jar and smelled it. He suddenly frowned. He smelled a slightly pungent umami smell.
"This is called chicken essence." Xu Qi'an explained.
Chicken essence was a mixed product with MSG and guanylic acid as the core components. The two complemented each other.
Speaking of which, the word chicken essence was broad and profound. It had three meanings, one of which was the seasoning in front of him.
Another was when a chicken became a demon. It was called chicken essence. And the last one was a special product of men.
Closing the lid and returning the jar to Xu Qi'an, Wei Yuan called for an official. "Ask the chef to cook a bowl of noodles."
Xu Qi'an understood and followed the official out.
After a quarter of an hour, Xu Qi'an came back with a bowl of egg and shredded meat noodles. He placed it on Wei Yuan's table.
Wei Yuan nodded. "Have a bite. Help me test for poison."
"…" There was only one pair of chopsticks. Xu Qi'an used the other end to take a bite.
After waiting for a moment to confirm that the small gong was not poisoned by the noodles, Wei Yuan moved his chopsticks.
Xu Qi'an said faintly, "Maybe the poison was smeared on the chopsticks."
Wei Yuan was stunned. He said angrily, "Get out."
Xu Qi'an did not leave. He grinned. After spending so much time with Father Wei, he knew that Wei Yuan was not a person who would really get angry. He was terrifyingly good at keeping his temper.
Sure enough, Wei Yuan ignored him and lowered his head to eat the noodles.
Chewing the chewy noodles, he was a little surprised by the texture of the noodles. It was the first time his taste buds had been attacked by chicken essence. When he took a sip of the soup, Wei Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up.
"How is it?" Xu Qi'an asked expectantly.
"How many chefs have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into making this taste?" Wei Yuan nodded with satisfaction. The Empress was used to eating the delicacies in the palace. Other than having no appetite, she was also tired of eating the dishes in the palace.
Xu Qi'an could feel the praise in Father Wei's eyes.
Wei Yuan took out a porcelain bottle from the box and handed it to Xu Qi'an. The latter took it and poured some from the jar into the porcelain bottle.
Then he handed it back to Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan shook his head. He did not take it. He looked at the jar. "The bottle is for you. That is mine."
Xu Qi'an's expression suddenly became dull.
…
Dusk.
The palace maid served a stack of delicious dishes. The rich fragrance of the dishes filled the room. But the Empress's expression changed. She frowned unhappily.
"I said to prepare a bowl of plain porridge."
The palace maid said in a low voice, "Duke Wei just sent the secret recipe. He told us to make something good for Your Highness."
Another palace maid said with hope, "Your Highness, please have a taste."
They had tried it. The taste was different and unforgettable. After living in the palace for so many years, they had tasted all kinds of delicacies for their masters.
But today's taste was an unprecedented taste experience. It made people feel that the delicacies they had tasted before were just so-so.
Hearing that it was Wei Yuan's arrangement, the Empress sighed. She scooped a bowl of soup with some resistance. She frowned and tasted it.
The strong taste exploded in her taste buds. Gulp … Her slender neck moved, and she swallowed it subconsciously.
Then, the Empress drank the soup mouthful after mouthful without any resistance or disgust.
"I'm a little hungry. Get me some rice." The Empress handed the bowl to the palace maid and looked at the table full of delicious food with anticipation.
…
The next day, just after dawn, the eunuch of the Empress's palace came to the yamen of the night watchman with a batch of gold, silver, and jade.
Wei Yuan received the eunuch in Haoqi Building. This eunuch was obviously an old acquaintance of Wei Yuan. He sat at the table casually, drinking the tea made by Wei Yuan and said with a smile,
"Where did Duke Wei find the secret recipe? Your Highness ate it very happily last night."
Wei Yuan stared at him and asked nervously, "No anorexia? How much did you eat? "
The eunuch smiled and said, "I ate more than before, more than when I was in good health. When I got up this morning, Your Highness asked about the lunch for the first time. "
Wei Yuan smiled sincerely.
Just after noon, Xu Qi'an was called to the palace by Princess Huaiqing. In the elegant room with bright windows, he saw the princess, whose breasts could be put on the table.
She was as cool, elegant and beautiful as always. If one did not look at the plump figure, one would think that Her Highness the Princess was a white lotus on a snowy mountain, spotless.
"Today this Gong ate lunch at Imperial Mother's place. Your recipe seemed to have improved?" Princess Huaiqing asked.
"It is all Senior Brother Song and Young Lady Caiwei's credit." Xu Qi'an said.
Princess Huaiqing nodded her head, "BenGong was reluctant to part with that taste but Imperial Mother was stingy and did not give it. Do you still have it? "
"No." Xu Qi'an immediately shook his head, "A full pot was given to Duke Wei and sent to Her Highness the Empress."
He actually had it and a small bottle but he could not give it to Huaiqing as he had to keep it for the framing.
It was not that Princess Lin An had a high position in his heart, but the framing was too noisy. The Emperor's Inner Palace was not big and the chicken essence was a novelty that would spread to Lin An sooner or later. This did not matter as it was a gift from Wei Yuan.
But Princess Huaiqing knew who the real 'initiator' was and with Huaiqing's black-bellied character … At that time, the framing would be like a jealous woman who overturned a jar of vinegar and vent her anger on Xu Qi'an's head.
After all in Princess Lin An's heart, Xu Qi'an had long forsaken the dark for the light and became her henchman.
Princess Huaiqing's eyebrows slightly frowned, "But BenGong heard that the chicken essence that Wei Yuan sent to Imperial Mother was half a pot."
"En?" Xu Qi'an was surprised for a moment as he looked at Huaiqing.
Huaiqing also looked at him and both of them could not help but be silent.
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