What did this mean? Su Yu was confused and wanted to ask more, but the Emperor had already finished approving the memorials. He raised his hand and pulled on the silk sash beside the dragon chair. Wang Gonggong answered and entered.
"Is it done?" The Emperor asked in a serious tone.
"Reporting to the Emperor, the things have been prepared." Wang Gonggong bowed and replied.
Not knowing what the Emperor and Wang Gonggong were talking about, Su Yu glanced at the memorials the Emperor had just approved and immediately widened his eyes.
Not to mention the question of fairness, the ones to be beheaded were the direct descendants of the Lu Family. The Lu Family had been entrenched in the court for many years and had deep roots. Just by looking at the Imperial Consort Lu, it was clear that these people dared to be so arrogant and despotic, they must have something to rely on. The Emperor was so decisive in dealing with them, wasn't he afraid of trouble?
"Let's go," An Hong-chul pulled Su Yu up, "The things have been prepared for you."
"What things?" Su Yu asked blankly.
The Emperor frowned, "Didn't you say you were going to make grilled whole fish?"
Previously, when they brought back mackerel, they found that they didn't have a metal plate to place grilled fish on top of the charcoal fire, so the matter of grilled whole fish was temporarily put aside. When the Emperor heard about it, he had people rush to make a set overnight.
"The people at Fei Shi have never made this before, so I don't know if it's suitable or not." Wang Gonggong brought out a tray covered with a layer of flannel. It looked very grand.
Su Yu reached out and lifted the flannel. It was a one-foot square, double-layered metal plate. The upper plate was exquisitely carved with a hidden flower in the center, and the groove on the lower plate was even more surprising. The groove was used to place the charcoal fire. The people who made the metal plate were very careful to make the tuyere and sink. They also carefully added a layer of fine mesh to prevent the charcoal ash from floating around. If the first layer of the metal plate was removed, it could be directly barbecued below.
"What does Fei Shi do on a daily basis?" Su Yu was very satisfied as he held the iron plate and looked it up and down. He secretly sighed that these people's craftsmanship was really good. If he needed any kitchen utensils in the future, he could just ask them to make it for him.
The corner of Wang Gonggong's mouth twitched as he looked at His Majesty.
"To make hidden weapons for the royal family." The Emperor said indifferently.
"Cough cough …" Su Yu choked on his saliva and looked at Wang Gonggong for confirmation.
Wang Gonggong dutifully explained the origin of the flying stones. The An family was good at using hidden weapons, so they searched for the world's most famous weaponsmiths and set up a Flying Stone Department in the Imperial Palace. They specialized in making hidden weapons for the Imperial Family and the Shadow Guard. Not only were they skilled, but they also worked very quickly. "If there's anything that Your Highness is dissatisfied with, you can have them take it and change it again."
Su Yu coughed even harder. Asking a concealed weapon master to make kitchen utensils for him …
He looked at the memorials on the table and then looked at the iron plate in his hand. Sure enough, something as complicated as imperial power couldn't be understood with his brain as a chef.
The fish he killed the day before had been kept in the ice cellar. After it was taken out and defrosted, the meat of the mackerel was still as fresh and tender as before. Su Yu was very surprised. He was already prepared to change the fish to roast.
"This kind of sea monster's meat won't rot for three days." His Majesty, who had nothing to do, was walking around in the kitchen again. When he saw Su Yu about to throw the fish away, he hurriedly stopped him.
Su Yu looked at the fish in his hand suspiciously. Won't rot for three days? It sounded like preservatives had been added. Could this kind of unknown creature really be eaten?
Although he was very worried, Su Yu still roasted the mackerel with preservatives under His Majesty's insistence.
When the gills of mackerel were removed, the bones and meat would be separated. However, without bones, it wouldn't be called a roasted whole fish. It would be called a roasted fish piece. Su Yu could only put the fish and fish bones together gently. He brushed oil on the charcoal fire and roasted it. When it was almost roasted, he put the seasoning on the plate.
Dried chili and Sichuan peppers covered the entire body of the fish. The grilled fish meat gurgled in the iron plate filled with spicy oil. The aroma of the mackerel itself and the spiciness of the ingredients exploded in the hot oil, causing the entire dining hall to be shrouded in a rich aroma.
Because he was suspicious of the quality of the fish meat, Su Yu tasted it first. He had made a lot of roasted fish in his previous life. He had tried all kinds of fish, but there had never been a fish meat that could compare to this strange fish. Because the mackerel's meat was greasy, it couldn't be used to make soup. However, it was a good choice for roasting. Even better, the fish bones that were "as hard as stone" but "melted in the soup" slowly melted in the oil and soaked into the fish meat, forming a crispy outer layer on the fish meat. It was very delicious.
At this time, they didn't care about the freshness of the fish. The two ate the foot-long fish and the side dishes with white rice.
While the Emperor and his favored concubine were eating heartily, there were many people in the inner palace who still couldn't eat. For example, Imperial Consort Lu.
Ever since the Agarwood incident, not only had she been grounded, the Lu Family had also been suppressed. Even though Prime Minister Lu tried to divert the Emperor's attention, such as driving Princess Mu out and dragging the Marquis Of Changchun into the water, the Emperor didn't show any signs of being fooled. Instead, there were more and more memorials to the Lu Family.
Prime Minister Lu's power was gradually being taken away. For example, there were memorials to Imperial Consort Lu's Second Uncle for committing crimes. The memorials were directly sent to the imperial study. Prime Minister Lu didn't even have the chance to stop them. He didn't even know the specific contents of the memorials.
Imperial Consort Lu was burning with anxiety. At this time, the head palace maid, Yulan, came to report that the concubines had finished weaving the birthday gift for the Empress Dowager.
"The Heavens are really helping me." Imperial Consort Lu was overjoyed. She was the one who suggested that the concubines make this velvet blanket together, so she should be the one to present it. Using this as an excuse, she could also see the Empress Dowager.
The velvet blanket was made of fine snow-carved velvet. It was smooth and soft to the touch. It was one of the best velvet blankets. On the snow-white velvet blanket, there were many black plum blossom paw prints, which set off each other beautifully.
The Empress Dowager held the blanket full of cat paw prints, unwilling to part with it. "It's really interesting. In the future, when I make a mattress for the Crown Prince, I'll also have these paw prints embroidered on it."
"That's right," Lin Gugu joined in, "It's best to use this kind of material to cover the Crown Prince. Aiyo, nubi can't wait to see it."
"The Emperor now only favors Consort Xian. I don't know when the Crown Prince will be born." Imperial Consort Lu interjected in a strange tone.
The smile on the Empress Dowager's face faded, "You shouldn't worry about the Crown Prince."
Imperial Consort Lu's expression changed. She immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness, "Chenqie misspoke."
The Crown Prince of the An Family had always been chosen by the National Tutor. No matter if the child was born of a concubine or a concubine of a prince, as long as the National Tutor said that the child was suitable for the country, even if the child was a concubine of a prince, he could still ascend the throne. Therefore, Imperial Consort Lu would occasionally remind the Empress Dowager that she couldn't let the princes have an heir before the Emperor.
As a concubine, reminding the Empress Dowager about the matter of having an heir was understandable. But if she mentioned the Crown Prince, it was challenging the authority of the National Tutor.
"Aijia likes this blanket very much. You're considerate. Go back." The Empress Dowager didn't want to talk more and had Lin Gugu put the blanket away.
"Empress Dowager!" Imperial Consort Lu knelt at the Empress Dowager's feet and cried, "Niece knows that she has done something wrong. These days, niece really doesn't have the face to see Aunt. But now that the Lu Family is in trouble …"
"Concubine Lu, be careful with your words." The Empress Dowager interrupted her words.
Hearing the title "Concubine Lu," Imperial Consort Lu's face couldn't help but pale. She had already been stripped of her position as Noble Consort. The Empress Dowager had specifically pointed it out to remind her that she couldn't even take care of herself right now, so she shouldn't blindly worry.
"Empress Dowager, the Lu Family is also your maternal family. You can't just abandon it like this!" Concubine Lu shrieked.
"Aijia is only a woman deep in the palace. How can I participate in the affairs of the previous court?" The Empress Dowager frowned and continued to speak slowly, "Since you've married into the Imperial Family, you should think of the Imperial Family. If you always want to help your maternal family, the Emperor will be bitterly disappointed."
In the past, Concubine Lu liked the Empress Dowager's temperament the most. She wasn't impatient and easy to talk to. But now, she hated this slow temperament. She was so anxious that her forehead was covered in sweat. After going around in circles, she still said the same few words. It didn't hurt or itch, and she couldn't help at all.
"Always want to help your maternal family? Who in the palace doesn't help their maternal family? " After returning to Yuluan Palace, Concubine Lu raised her hand and smashed a large vase. "The Empress Dowager makes it sound so easy. It's all because the Lu Family isn't her proper maternal family!"
"Niang niang!" Yulan was scared out of her wits. She hurriedly pulled on Concubine Lu. "You can't say that!"
"Make the Emperor bitterly disappointed? This consort doesn't believe that Yao Fei won't help her maternal family if something happens to it! " Concubine Lu shrieked. If she wasn't allowed to help her maternal family, then she shouldn't help anyone. Otherwise, she would have something to say in front of the Empress Dowager.
A few days later, Mr. Yuan entered the palace to report to Su Yu about the recent business. He also brought an urgent piece of news.
"Su Ming killed someone?" Su Yu looked up in surprise from the account book. That cousin of his who only knew how to be unreasonable at home actually had the courage to kill someone?
Ever since Su Yu entered the palace, his eldest uncle's family didn't dare to cause trouble. His official mother's Jhao Clan was also living well in the manor. These days, Su Yu had been too busy in the palace. He had almost forgotten about his eldest uncle's family. It turned out that the peace before was the calm before the storm. It was fine if he didn't make a sound, but when he did, he would shock everyone!
Su Ming was fighting with someone over a singer. Because of a disagreement, he accidentally pushed the person down the stairs. That person was unlucky. His head hit the stone steps and he died. The people saw that the situation wasn't right and wanted to report it. Su Ming panicked and shouted, "My cousin is a favored concubine in the palace. Who dares to touch me?"
Su Yu rubbed his temples. Why did this method of murder seem so familiar?
"Everyone in the capital knows that Boss is a favored concubine. The capital government arrested Su Ming, but they don't dare to convict him." Mr. Yuan sighed. Nowadays, rumors were everywhere. They all said that Su Yu was the one who got the Dao, and that the Su family relied on Su Yu to do evil.
"Boss's eldest uncle asked me to send a letter to Boss. Take a look." Mr. Yuan was a little hesitant. He didn't know if he should show this to Su Yu. He was supposed to take orders from the Emperor, but the Emperor had never given him any specific instructions for the tasks he was supposed to perform. For example, the matter of running errands for Concubine Xian. The Emperor didn't tell Su Yu what he should know and what he shouldn't. He only told him to listen to Su Yu's orders.
Su Yu took the letter. He knew what his eldest uncle said. Since he brought it here, he opened it and read it.
In Su Xiaozhang's letter, he first mentioned that Su Ming had killed someone. He said that his son was extremely innocent and that he had only accidentally pushed someone. He didn't know why that person had died. He guessed that someone might want to target the Su family and deliberately frame them. He also said that it was Su Yu who was too eye-catching in the palace and implicated them. Not only did they not get any benefits, but they were even more unlucky than before.
After a round of scolding, he started to say good things. He said that as long as he talked to the Emperor, such a small matter would be settled with a word from the Emperor. If this matter was made public, his cousin was a murderer. It would be very bad for Su Yu's reputation. The Emperor might even dislike him because of this …
After Su Yu finished reading, he was so angry that he laughed. "Teacher, please tell him that half a year ago, if Su Yu wasn't lucky, I'm afraid he would have died like this person. Cousin is so extraordinary. As a palace official, I can't help much."
Su Yu's good mood after hearing about the sprouting of chilies in the eastern suburbs was completely ruined by this news. He calculated the money he had left with Mr. Yuan. He considered buying another house and taking his official mother and stepsister out. He wanted to separate from his eldest uncle so that they wouldn't be implicated.
"It's okay to separate from the family. It's just that we can't do it now," Mr. Yuan advised. "Su Ming just got into trouble, and the Boss is in a hurry to separate from the family. There might be some bad rumors."
"What do I need a good reputation for?" Su Yu said indifferently.
"Gossip is a fearful thing. If you say too much bad things, people will believe it. Being with the Emperor is like being with a tiger …" Mr. Yuan was helpless. Since he had been with Su Yu for so long, he couldn't help but give him a few words of advice. Before he finished, he was suddenly interrupted by a cold voice.
"How long do you want to talk about such a small matter?" The Emperor, who was wearing a bright yellow court robe, suddenly walked in. He grabbed Su Yu's wrist and pulled him up.
"This commoner greets the Emperor!" Mr. Yuan quickly knelt and saluted. He immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't know if the Emperor heard what he said.
"Tell the Jingdou government to deal with this impartially." The Emperor clearly knew everything. He waved his hand to let Mr. Yuan pack up and leave. "In the future, don't bother him with these things."
"As you wish." Mr. Yuan saluted and left.
Seeing the Emperor order Mr. Yuan around so easily, Su Yu couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He remembered that in Xian Mantang, the two of them pretended not to know each other. When Mr. Yuan came to the palace to find him, he said mysteriously that he couldn't reveal the Master behind the scenes.
An Hong-chul turned his head and met Su Yu's curious gaze. He couldn't help but stiffen. At the time, because Su Yu was short on money, he asked his stupid younger brother to help Su Yu manage the seafood restaurant. However, his stupid younger brother didn't know anything other than eating. The Emperor could only throw Yuan Ce, the strategist, to him and pretend to be a guest of Prince Zhao's manor. He pretended for so long that he forgot in his excitement that he and Yuan Ce shouldn't know each other in front of his stupid servant.
"Why is the Emperor here?" Su Yu pursed his lips to hold back his laughter. He didn't want to expose him.
After the morning court, the Emperor saw that the sun was good today, so he wanted to find Su Yu to accompany him to sunbathe. After waiting for a while, Su Yu didn't come back. Thinking that this stupid servant was talking to another man and forgot about him, he angrily came to catch him.
The Emperor's thin lips pressed into a straight line. After a moment of silence, he said, "Ye Xiao Palace has been repaired. I'll take you to see it."
"Ye Xiao Palace has been repaired?" Su Yu was very surprised.
After the incident last time, Su Yu moved to the North Pole Palace. Ye Xiao Palace had been empty since then.
The Imperial Censor had reported this matter countless times. Even Wang Gonggong was scolded. They said that he didn't know how to advise the Emperor and only knew how to flatter the Emperor. In order to get rid of the title of being a traitor, Wang Gonggong had people renovate Ye Xiao Palace. The servants were changed and the guards were rearranged. He did his best to make sure that the Emperor couldn't find any mistakes so that Xian Fei could move back as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, the Heavens didn't do as he wished. The Emperor went to take a look and was still dissatisfied with Ye Xiao Palace. Today, he said that there shouldn't be a side room in the bedroom. If a palace maid lived in the side room, it would be bad for Su Yu's purity. Tomorrow, he said that the pool was too deep. If Su Yu was pushed in, it would be dangerous … … In short, every time Wang Gonggong said that the renovation was finished, the Emperor would find that it wasn't suitable and wouldn't allow Su Yu to live there.
"The courtyard has been repaired, but the bedroom still can't be lived in." An Hong-chul said unhappily.
Su Yu blinked, "Then let's go take a look. We'll go back to the North Pole Palace after lunch." He was very curious about how Ye Xiao Palace had been renovated.
Hearing Su Yu say that they would come back after they finished looking, the Emperor snorted softly and pulled Su Yu to Ye Xiao Palace.
Ye Xiao Palace was still as luxurious as before. The scenery in the courtyard hadn't changed much. The only difference was that the water pavilion in the center was a little bigger. A soft cushion was placed on the wooden board. It was only a little higher than the water's surface. Lying on top of it, one could reach out and touch the cool lake water. It was very interesting.
The Emperor took off his court robes and pulled Su Yu to lie down on the soft cushion. The autumn sun shone on his body. It was warm and very comfortable.
"Sauce also likes to bask in the sun here." Su Yu looked at the Emperor's squinting eyes. He felt that the Emperor's expression was exactly the same as the expression of the golden kitten.
"Mm." An Hong-chul lazily responded. He turned over and laid on his side to look at the fish swimming in the water.
"Eh? What's that? " Su Yu noticed the ripples in the water. He sat up and looked into the water. He remembered that there weren't any goldfish in the lake before. There were only lotus flowers.
"Zhen had them raise some fish." The Emperor replied.
Such a beautiful lake should raise some good-looking fish. Sitting by the lake to feed the fish and looking at the colorful fish scales, this was the life that the imperial concubines in the harem should have. Su Yu thought that the Emperor finally knew how to have fun. He stretched his neck to take a look. He wanted to know what kind of fish the Emperor was raising.
As soon as he looked, Su Yu almost fell into the lake.
He saw that in the clear lake, there were fat carp, silver carp, and grass carp. The most good-looking ones were probably the pink river balls. However, with their three catty bodies, they couldn't be considered very good-looking.
"How good-looking. Fat and strong. The skinny goldfish in the Imperial Garden are so ugly." The Emperor lay by the water and reached out to gently stroke the surface of the water. The water wet his fingertips and he quickly shook them.
The corners of Su Yu's mouth twitched. He took a small plate of fish food that was handed over. It probably wasn't enough for these big guys to eat. Moreover, sitting by the beautiful lake, elegantly feeding the grass carp, it was really …
The Emperor didn't think it was a killjoy. He picked up a piece of fish food and threw it into the water.
Several big fish immediately came over to fight for it. A silver carp with a large head even jumped out of the water and splashed Su Yu's face with water.
An Hong-chul moved as fast as lightning and slapped the fish. The silver carp was hit and fell into the water with a splash. It flipped over on its belly before waking up.
Su Yu was stunned as he watched the Emperor happily play the game of "throwing fish food and slapping fish." He felt that something was strange.
The Emperor coolly slapped the fish for a while. He was a little sleepy from the sun. He yawned and shook his wet fingertips. He put the back of his hand to his lips and paused for a moment. He took out a handkerchief to wipe his hand. He laid back down on the soft cushion and hugged Su Yu's waist. He closed his eyes and prepared to take a nap.
Su Yu looked at the Emperor who curled up in a circle beside him and smiled helplessly. This guy, the more he looked at him, the more he looked like a big cat. He obviously didn't want him to go back to Ye Xiao Palace, but because he was worried that he would be troubled by the Su family's matters, he awkwardly pulled him out to bask in the sun.
"It would be great if sauce was also here." It would be interesting to put these two awkward guys together.
The half-asleep Emperor heard this and his thin lips gradually became a straight line.
Looking at those lightly pursed thin lips that glowed a cute pink under the sun, Su Yu couldn't help but slowly lean over and kiss those warm and soft lips. The moment they touched, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in his mind. "Stupid slave, don't call me sauce …"
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