The first dish was a plate of eight freshwater fishes with their eyes wide open. Only the fish heads were exposed. The imperial kitchen even deliberately arranged the fish heads as if they were staring at you.
The second dish was four eggs. Half of them were smashed, revealing the furry and matured birds inside.
The third dish was a piece of brain that was emitting steam. It looked no different from human brains, except that it was slightly bigger. Then, some chopped green onions were sprinkled on it.
Soon after, the palace hall started buzzing again. Everyone was whispering to each other. Was there something wrong with the dishes at this banquet? Following which, some people started to look at the entrance of the main hall. There was a person sitting there.
Facing the murderous gazes of the crowd, Ren Baqian immediately felt as if he was sitting on pins and needles. This was arranged by the empress. Why are you looking at me?
Isn't it just stargazing? Isn't it just duck eggs? Isn't it just steamed goat's brain? Isn't it just fried spiders?
Ren Baqian looked at the few dishes in front of him, especially the steamed goat's brain that was emitting steam and the plate of fried spiders. He felt that he had lost his appetite.
One of the remaining two dishes was a roasted vole. The other dish looked better, but if they knew what it was made of, it was estimated that no one would be willing to eat it.
This group of people definitely didn't want to know what it was made of. If they knew, they would have the heart to strangle Ren Baqian.
Being stared at by so many eyes, especially from the big shots in the imperial court, Ren Baqian felt uncomfortable all over. Which bastard sold me out? How did they know?
He didn't think about it. After so many years of banquets, there had never been such problems. Yet, this happened not long after he arrived. Furthermore, he always went to the palace. It was easy for others to associate it with him.
The Seventh Prince looked at the dishes in front of him and felt a little scared. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't look like something that could be eaten. Speaking of which, he was the dignified Seventh Prince. He had always lived a luxurious life. When had he ever seen such things?
Not only him, but the others were also similar. Even though they didn't have a high status like him, they were all born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Even if they had suffered, it was just a little. They had never eaten such strange food before.
Everyone looked up to see what was going on with the Dayao people. In the end, they saw that everyone was looking in the same direction.
Looking at the gazes of the big shots in Dayao's imperial court, the people from the three nations frowned and felt nauseous. Then, they looked at him with all kinds of malicious gazes.
Looking at those Dayao people, they would be fools if they didn't know that this was Ren Baqian's doing.
From these dishes, they could feel the dense malice that assaulted their senses. They also recalled their old and new grudges. For a moment, Ren Baqian, who was sitting at the corner of the door, became the center of attention.
"But the biggest mastermind was the empress. Without her approval, how could I arrange this?" Ren Baqian felt that he definitely wouldn't be able to stick his head into his pants. He didn't have the guts to frown at the thousands of fingers pointing at him, so he decided to close his eyes and play dead.
Even with his eyes closed, Ren Baqian still felt a chill on his body.
"Her Majesty has arrived!" Ren Baqian was finally saved after hearing the voice at the door.
The empress was a little different today. She no longer had the lazy look that Ren Baqian had seen in the past. Her hair was tied up in a bun with a carved ruby hairpin. Her lips were as red as blood. Coupled with her cold temperament and her status, Ren Baqian was stunned the moment she entered.
Her clothes today were also a little different. She usually wore red muslin, but tonight, she wore a red silk dress with golden embroidery patterns on her body. There was also a phoenix with its wings spread out on her back.
Previously, Ren Baqian flattered the empress by saying that she was the most beautiful in the world. After seeing the empress today, Ren Baqian had no choice but to admit that he wasn't exaggerating.
If ten points were the full score, the empress's appearance would be given nine points, her temperament would be given another point, the seventh most powerful expert in the world would be given another point, and the ruler of a nation would be given another point. She would need at least twelve points.
On the other hand, the group of gigolos stared blankly at the empress, but they didn't dare to look at her for too long. They knew that the person in front of them could kill them with a single slap, but they still raised their heads to look at her. Then, they lowered their heads and raised their heads …
Naturally, the seat of honor in the hall belonged to the empress. After she sat down, the banquet officially began.
When the empress entered the hall, she swept a glance to the side. After seeing the food on everyone's table, she felt carefree and smiled. Who asked all of you to nag about marriage and having children every day?
In fact, Ren Baqian was still wrong. If it wasn't for everyone taking turns to force her to get married during the court session a few days ago, the empress wouldn't have asked him to prepare this menu.
It was the people from the other three nations who were implicated by the many officials of Dayao.
"May Dayao always be brave and mighty!" The empress sat at the seat of honor and raised her cup.
"May Your Majesty always be brave and mighty!" Everyone raised their cups.
Ren Baqian also followed suit. At this moment, no one was in the mood to care about him, and he finally heaved a sigh of relief.
He downed the cup in one go. The alcohol was strong, and it went straight down his throat like a knife. His stomach was burning.
At this moment, everyone should be eating to calm themselves down. However, everyone's eyes were on the empress, and no one moved their chopsticks. A few people who couldn't hold their liquor lowered their heads and looked at the food on their plates. Then, they fiercely glared at Ren Baqian.
The empress raised her cup again and said, "May all of you be honored."
"May all of you be honored, Your Majesty." Everyone raised their cups.
Once again, they downed the cup.
After two rounds, some people couldn't take it anymore. Especially the row of gigolos opposite them. Although they were only attending the banquet and the two toasts had nothing to do with them, they still had to drink.
At this moment, he lowered his head and swept his gaze across the table. After pondering for a long time, it seemed that only the braised pig intestines looked edible. When he placed it in his mouth with his eyes closed, the taste was unexpected. His mouth was filled with fragrance. This made everyone heave a sigh of relief. Fortunately, that bastard didn't go too far.
Many people looked at Ren Baqian again, wondering if he would eat it. If he didn't, they would beat him to death when they got out.
The empress was sitting at the seat of honor in the hall, but a group of people were looking at the door.
Ren Baqian looked at everyone's gaze. Alright, I'll try it out with my own body. Otherwise, I'll really be out of luck when I get out. First, he tasted the braised pig intestines. It wasn't bad. The cooking skills of the imperial kitchen's chefs were pretty good. They should have been practicing recently.
Following which, he grabbed a spider and put it in his mouth. He had never eaten this thing before. The colorful spider looked disgusting, but he braced himself and put it in his mouth.
"Eh? It's crispy and tastes like chicken. It tastes better than the braised pig intestines. " Ren Baqian's eyes lit up. This thing was more delicious than he had expected. He grabbed another spider and put it in his mouth.
For a moment, the entire hall was filled with him grabbing spiders left and right and putting them into his mouth.
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