Chapter 765

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, who was the mother of the world, had lost a lot of weight when she came in. Her round and dignified face had become sharp and pretty.

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 ill because the spy placed nearby was removed by the Yuanjing Emperor. The Empress did not know about this.

These things could not be said in public, so she could only let the Empress misunderstand.

In front of them, the tall and slender Princess Huai Qing was leading the palace maids and guards.

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 very different from her mother when she was young.

"Duke Wei!" Princess Huai Qing bowed.

"Your Highness." Wei Yuan bowed in return and casually explained, "His Majesty heard that the Empress has a poor appetite and is ill, so he sent me to visit on his behalf."

Princess Huai Qing nodded. Her father had not come to the back palace for a long time. Every day, he only thought about cultivation and immortality. He would only pay attention to which concubines in the palace were sick, but he usually just sent someone to visit them.

"The palace maids serving in the palace said that muhou really hasn't eaten much recently." Huaiqing said.

"After being ill for a long time, if you go on a hunger strike, your body will be affected." Wei Yuan frowned, but in front of Princess Huaiqing, he hid his worry very well, only expressing the worry that a subject should have.

Princess Huaiqing smiled faintly, as if she wasn't worried at all. Her voice was cold and clear, "I was just about to summon Xu Qi'an. Since I've met Duke Wei here, Huaiqing can save the time for the guards to make a trip."

Wei Yuan was stunned, "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

Princess Huaiqing said, "Xu Qi 'an has a special secret recipe, it can increase the freshness of the food by a hundred times, the taste will be unforgettable even after a long time. Mother doesn't have a good appetite, so I 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 compensation for them, especially Song Tingfeng, who donated a total of five taels of silver to the health 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 invites you," said the gong.

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? How can she talk 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 bad appetite recently and is weak. I want to try your recipe." Wei Yuan said gently.

"The Empress is Huaiqing's biological mother, and Huaiqing asked Wei Yuan for chicken essence from me …" 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 sniffed 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, chicken essence was a broad and profound term. It had three meanings, one of which was the seasoning in front of him.

Another was a chicken that had become a demon. It was called chicken essence. And the last one was a special product of men.

He closed the lid and returned the jar to Xu Qi 'an. Wei Yuan called an official and said, "Ask the chef to cook a bowl of noodles."

Xu Qi 'an understood and went out with the official.

After a quarter of an hour, Xu Qi 'an came back with a bowl of egg and shredded meat noodles and placed it on Wei Yuan's table.

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "Have a bite and 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 had not been poisoned by the noodles, Wei Yuan moved his chopsticks.

Xu Qi 'an said quietly, "Maybe the poison was smeared on the chopsticks."

Wei Yuan was stunned and 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. His ability to control his temper was terrifying.

Sure enough, Wei Yuan ignored him and lowered his head to eat the noodles.

As he chewed the chewy noodles, he was 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 can't make this taste even with their blood, sweat, and tears." 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 and did not take it. He looked at the jar and said, "The bottle is for you. That is mine."

Xu Qi 'an's expression froze.

…

Dusk.

The palace maids served a stack of delicious dishes. The rich fragrance of the dishes filled the room. But the Empress looked unhappy and 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 and told us to make something good for Your Highness."

Another palace maid said with hope, "Your Highness, please have a taste."

They had already 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 and scooped a bowl of soup with some resistance. She frowned and tasted it.

The strong taste exploded in her taste buds. Gulp … In her slender neck, her throat 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 food for 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 mature 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 feel that Her Princess Highness was a white lotus on a snowy mountain, spotless.

"This Gong ate lunch at Imperial Mother's place today. That recipe of yours 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 jar 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 … At that time the framing would be like a jealous woman who had overturned a jar of vinegar and would 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 jar."

"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.