A long red carpet was laid out from the door to the jade steps. Heavy snow floated in the air, and the setting sun lost its brilliance because of the gray clouds. The curtain of the carriage was slowly lifted, revealing a corner of a snow-white robe. The white silk was whiter than snow.
It was rare to see the Imperial Preceptor step out of the carriage. The surrounding snow seemed to have grown eyes and consciously avoided the handsome man. The people who came out to welcome him only felt that the Imperial Preceptor's body seemed to be emitting a faint light, becoming the only bright spot under the gray sky.
"Welcome, National Tutor!" The clan relatives knelt down and saluted. They didn't dare to raise their heads and quietly waited for the National Tutor to pass by.
Wang Gonggong took advantage of the moment when everyone lowered their heads to quickly put a white mink cloak on the National Tutor. The thin silk was waterproof and fireproof, but not cold!
The Emperor stood in front of the door with his hands behind his back. He stood on the high jade steps and watched the National Tutor walk up step by step. He had just worshipped the heavens during the day and was still wearing a grand ceremonial robe. The bright yellow robe was embroidered with nine golden dragons and twelve pearls.
The number of times the National Tutor came out of the tower in a year could be counted with one hand. Therefore, every time he appeared, the Emperor had to greet him to show his respect.
When the National Tutor reached the top, the Emperor stepped forward. "Imperial Uncle."
The National Tutor took off his cloak and nodded slightly to the young Emperor, indicating that he should go first.
The two entered the hall one after the other. The Emperor's seat was at the top, and the National Tutor's seat was at the side. The other princes were half a step away, and the clan relatives were on the flat ground. They were arranged in order of nobility.
Su Yu's seat was not at the front in terms of nobility, but because she was still a member of the royal family and was a favored concubine, her seat was arranged behind Prince Zhao, half a step away.
The clan relatives looked at the empty seat high up and whispered to each other.
"Which prince's seat is that?" Looking around, Prince Su, Prince Ling, Prince Jing, and Prince Zhao were all there. Even Prince Li of the South Sea had rushed back and was sitting up there. Who else could be missing?
"You don't know? That's Concubine Xian's seat. "Another person said.
"How can an imperial concubine sit half a step away?" A clan relative was dissatisfied.
"You still don't understand. This is a sign that the Emperor intends to make her empress!"
When everyone heard this, they immediately shut their mouths. If it was a male consort who was about to be conferred the title of Empress, although it was a bit overboard to sit half a step away, in terms of etiquette, it wasn't wrong. After all, a consort couldn't sit together with distant relatives like you.
In reality, His Majesty the Emperor merely didn't want that stupid servant to be too far away from him. After glaring at Thirteenth Uncle, who was closest to him, for a long time, His Highness the Su Prince still didn't move. He could only snort and loudly recite his opening speech.
The womenfolk's side was livelier than this side. When the women gathered together, it was inevitable that they would gossip. The Empress Dowager was always kind and let them talk. Every year, the palace banquet wasn't just for the matriarchs to eat. There were many things to do, such as building relationships, matchmaking, and comparing.
"Lower your voice. Although the Empress Dowager looks kind, she's not easy to get along with." The older matriarchs reminded the new daughters-in-law who were too excited to attend the palace banquet for the first time. "If you want to talk, wait until the song and dance starts and the drums start playing."
Su Yu looked at the menu. Seeing that there was nothing missing, he raised his hand to let the palace servants start serving.
As a state banquet, it couldn't be done casually. In order to not lose face for the Emperor, Su Yu seriously studied the menu for several days. He discussed with the head chef of the Imperial Kitchen. Every cold dish was carefully selected.
The clan relatives were all normal people. Naturally, the dishes couldn't be mainly seafood. Most of the dishes were left to the Imperial Kitchen. Su Yu was only in charge of the main dishes. He would also take care of the side dishes.
For example, the braised duck tongue on the table now didn't have chili. Da 'an's method was to marinate it with sauce, pepper, and dogwood. Su Yu suggested that the imperial chef replace the dogwood with chili and add some sugar. Without the slight bitterness of the dogwood, there was only pure spiciness. Coupled with the sweetness of the sugar, it made people want to eat more.
The Emperor looked at the ugly duck tongue with disdain. Seeing the chili seeds on it, he knew it was Su Yu's dish. Only then did he pick one up and taste it. The taste was unexpectedly delicious!
Because there were many dishes in the palace banquet, there weren't many small cold dishes. There were pitifully five duck tongues on the delicate little plate in front of everyone. After eating, there was nothing left. His Royal Highness King Zhao looked around and saw that his uncles and brothers had already finished eating. There were still two duck tongues on the National Tutor's plate, but no one dared to snatch them. They could only watch helplessly as the National Tutor elegantly ate the duck tongues in small bites.
The weather was cold, so Su Yu cooked a large pot of mackerel bone soup. After boiling it until it was milky white, he sprinkled fine salt and chopped green onions on it. He didn't add anything else and just brought it to the table. The fresh fragrance from the ancient times almost made the clan relatives who had never tasted this kind of soup before. It was truly too delicious!
After drinking a small bowl of soup, the cold dishes were served one after another. The Emperor got up and changed his clothes. He changed out of his bothersome ceremonial robes and put on a comfortable ceremonial robe. It would be more convenient for him to stretch out his arms and eat later.
For the hot dishes, Su Yu only made boiled fish and sauteed shrimp with soy sauce. Considering that eating crab at the palace banquet wasn't too elegant and that the clan relatives might not be willing to eat it, he didn't serve it. Shellfish were rare in the winter, so he didn't want to use them for the banquet. He wanted to save them for the Emperor, so he didn't make any.
As soon as the spicy and fragrant boiled fish was brought into the palace hall, it attracted everyone's attention. His Royal Highness King Ling's spirit was shaken. He stretched his neck and waited for his share. As soon as it was brought to the table, he quickly picked up a piece with his chopsticks and threw it into his mouth. It was so hot that he couldn't stop sucking in air.
Prince Su felt embarrassed and raised his hand to slap him.
For the hot dishes, the princes' dishes were different from those of the clan relatives. It was just that they were sitting high up, so no one could tell. The clan relatives' meat dishes included fish and shrimp, mutton, chicken, and squab. The princes' dishes were all seafood. Salt baked crab legs, vermicelli scallops, and squirrel mandarin fish. The soup in the cup wasn't the squab soup of the clan relatives, but the shark fin soup of the Ying Yu.
On the womenfolk's side, Su Yu also prepared different dishes.
Women seemed to naturally like to eat spicy food more than men. In the past, there weren't any chili peppers, so the people of Da 'an used dogwood. Su Yu specially added a few more Sichuan dishes for the womenfolk. A side dish similar to spicy hot pot was unexpectedly popular. Su Yu used the spicy soup to cook tofu skin, fish balls, tofu, and kelp. The womenfolk ate so much that they forgot to chat.
"See, what did I say? Small households don't do things well. They didn't even arrange for singing and dancing. In a while, when the dishes are served, there will be a lot to see." Zhaoyi De sneered. After waiting for a while, Zhaoyi De didn't respond. She turned her head and saw that the concubines and concubines were also eating without raising their heads.
It had been cold recently, and the charcoal fires in the palaces were tight. Eating spicy food to dispel the cold made her feel comfortable all over.
His Majesty the Emperor had just sat down when a huge roasted lobster was placed on the table. Chef Su Yu also came over.
In order to make it easier to cook, Su Yu wore a cotton robe with narrow sleeves today. He looked like a chef. When he walked in, not many people paid attention to him. The princes were staring at the huge roasted lobster. The lobster was about three chi long. It looked quite spectacular. It had just come out of the oven and was still steaming.
"Why are you only here now?" His Majesty the Emperor looked at Su Yu, whose forehead was still covered in sweat. Then, he looked at the people below who were eating without raising their heads. He was suddenly unhappy. Why should his stupid servant cook for these people!
Knowing what Uncle Cat was unhappy about, Su Yu smiled and bowed. "Emperor, please allow this subject to cut the main dish."
Only then did the clan relatives raise their heads and look at the stage.
"Eh? The imperial kitchen has a new head chef? "
"Shut up, that's Consort Xian!" The clan relatives who had participated in the consort selection hurriedly said.
"Ah!" Everyone was shocked. They had heard that Consort Xian was hosting the palace banquet this time, but no one expected that she would personally cook.
"A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen. This is outrageous!" A stubborn old man said.
"If you think it's outrageous, then don't eat it," someone next to him said and snatched the duck tongue in front of the stubborn old man.
Su Yu didn't hear the discussion below the stage. In order not to damage the freshness of the lobster meat, he took a sharp jade knife and cut open the hard shell. He peeled it open quickly, revealing the white and tender lobster meat. The fragrance locked in the shell instantly exploded. Even His Majesty the Emperor couldn't sit still.
He took out a jade fork and speared a large piece of lobster meat onto a plate. He first presented it to His Majesty. The lobster meat was fresh and tender like hibiscus flower petals. His Majesty picked up a piece and dipped it in Su Yu's sauce. The slightly hot lobster meat touched the tip of his tongue. The delicious taste was indescribable.
The National Tutor looked at the lobster meat that Su Yu presented and considerately handed over a plate of garlic sauce. There was a slight smile in his cold eyes, "Consort Xian is virtuous and virtuous. She can bear the heavy responsibility of the country."
The dishes were placed on the ground one after another. Whether it was the members of the imperial family or the womenfolk, they didn't have the time to chat. When they finally put down their chopsticks, they found that they were too full to talk.
After the palace banquet ended, the concubines didn't see Su Yu as a joke, but received a bolt from the blue. The National Tutor's assertion quickly spread throughout the harem.
It had to be known that the National Tutor had the final say in the selection of the empress. To say that a concubine could bear the heavy responsibility, wasn't that the same as saying that she had both ability and integrity, enough to be the mother of the country?
Now that there was no son born in the palace, and the only son of the imperial prince was still being raised by Su Yu, the concubines immediately panicked.
"We can't go on like this. We have to quickly think of a way!" De Zhaoyi paced back and forth in the palace that didn't have enough charcoal.
Shu Zhaoyi, who dared to come in, had people add more charcoal to the smoker. Anyway, this was De Zhaoyi's palace, so it wouldn't hurt to burn more. "The emperor is not interested in women. What can we do?"
"To prove that he can't be the empress, we have to let people know that he, a man, is not suitable to raise an imperial prince." De Zhaoyi's eyes were cold. As long as the eldest imperial prince had an accident, she didn't believe that the emperor wouldn't blame Consort Xian.
"You're crazy!" Shu Zhaoyi frowned, "How precious is an imperial prince to Da 'an? If people know, the nine generations will be exterminated."
"Don't worry, nothing will happen." Concubine De took out a small bag of medicinal powder from her sleeve. This was given to her by the Imperial Consort Lu, who had already left the palace. In the past, it was used to deal with those seductive concubines. Now, as long as it was added to the food of the eldest imperial son's wet nurse …
When Shu Zhaoyi saw this medicinal powder, she immediately understood. Cold things would make milk sluggish, and this medicinal powder was a kind of heat poison. People couldn't detect it for a while, but when a baby ate this milk, it would cause blisters!
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