My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 101 The New Residence and the Dog-Loving Emperor Yongzheng

Emperor Yongzheng always advocated governing the country with strictness and severity, and he hoped that the princes who would inherit his throne would do the same.

Historically, Hongli was reprimanded by Emperor Yongzheng in his later years for his lenient manner when handling official duties.

Now, Hongli claimed that Kangxi hoped that future emperors would change his model. Upon hearing this, Yongzheng felt even more confident in continuing to govern with strictness and felt that he had always been doing what the late emperor intended.

"Your Majesty truly has high hopes for you!"

Emperor Yongzheng said something to Hongli with great emotion about this.

Then, Yongzheng said to Hongli, "Your twenty-first uncle will be coming over later to have dinner with me. I will also talk to him about the construction of his Beizi Mansion. He will be leaving the palace next year to accompany the princess who is about to be married."

Speaking of it.

Yongzheng said to Hongli, "You stay here too, have a simple meal with me and your twenty-first uncle, then we'll go for a stroll in Yucheng Garden, have some late-night snacks, and then come back."

Because the Qing Dynasty imperial family ate dinner very early, which was basically equivalent to lunchtime in later generations, they would usually have a snack in the evening.

This extra meal was called a late snack.

Upon hearing this, Hongli couldn't help but ask Yongzheng, "Why does Father suddenly want to take us to Yucheng Garden?"

"Now that Yucheng Garden has become Zhang Tingyu's property, it's natural that we can go there."

"More importantly, we're tired of the food in the palace."

Yongzheng replied.

Hongli nodded.

It dawned on him.

It turns out that because Yucheng Garden used to be Wang Yan's property, Yongzheng had never been there.

Now that Yongzheng has bestowed Yucheng Garden upon Zhang Tingyu, he can go there and return quietly.

And Hongli, upon hearing Yongzheng mention that he was tired of the palace food, couldn't help but say:
"Your Majesty, I recently had the Imperial Chef in charge of the meals at Yongshou Palace prepare a few new dishes. If you are tired of the regular dishes, you can ask the Imperial Chef at Yongshou Palace to prepare some of the new dishes that I asked them to make recently."

"Then let them make it, and I'll have a taste."

"Whoo!"

"Where did you find out about this new dish, you brat? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

As Yongzheng spoke to Su Peisheng, he glanced at Hongli and began to reprimand him.

Hongli smiled and said, "It was Khanmafa who mentioned it, but I didn't tell you because there hadn't been a suitable opportunity, and I never thought you would get tired of the palace's set meals."

Not long after, Yinxi arrived.

"Your subject greets Fourth Brother!"

"Is Hongli here too?"

"Greetings to Uncle Twenty-One."

After Yinxi paid his respects, Yongzheng asked Yinxi to rise, then beckoned him to his side and handed him a drawing:
"These are the blueprints for the new house that the Imperial Household Department is building for you. Your father once said that after you leave the palace and have your own residence, you can request permission to support your birth mother or adoptive mother and live with you."

"So, in addition to the courtyards for you and your future wife, your residence will also include the courtyard for the late Emperor Qian. Are you satisfied with that?"

"Whoo!"

Yinxi responded and took the blueprints to look at them.

The Imperial Concubine Chen, whom Emperor Yongzheng mentioned, was the birth mother of Yinxi.

Originally, Lady Chen was just an untitled concubine, but she was later granted the title of Noble Lady Qian at the beginning of the first year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign.

Since Yinxi was raised by Chen Shi herself, he did not have a foster mother.

Seeing Yinxi's joyful expression, Hongli realized that he clearly hoped to leave the palace and live alone with his mother in the future.

At this moment, Yongzheng waved to Hongli and said, "Come over here and give your twenty-first uncle some advice."

"Whoo!"

"Your Majesty, I am very satisfied. Thank you for your trouble, Fourth Brother."

Yinxi said with a smile.

Hongli then shook his head: "Not very good."

After hearing this, Yongzheng looked at Hongli and asked, "Why isn't it good?"

"Without cat shelters and dog kennels in the mansion, what if Uncle Twenty-One wants to keep dogs and cats in the future?"

Hongli asked Yongzheng.

He knew that Emperor Yongzheng liked to keep dogs, and that's when he specifically raised the need for pets.

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng nodded repeatedly: "Hongli is absolutely right. It doesn't matter whether there is a cat house or not, we can just rest on the roof beams. But there must be a dog house! We need to have the Imperial Household Department add one. When that happens, I will also send you a few puppies."

Yinxi rubbed the back of his head, smiled sheepishly, and said, "I'll listen to Fourth Brother." Then, Yongzheng seriously considered where the doghouse would be best, and also talked to Yinxi about how to raise a dog.

Hongli sighed inwardly, thinking that Yongzheng was indeed a dog fanatic; he would become completely absorbed in anything related to dogs.

Before long, Su Peisheng came to report that several new dishes prepared by imperial decree for Yongshou Palace had arrived.

That's why Yongzheng didn't teach Yinxi how to raise dogs.

Hongli and Yinxi then accompanied Yongzheng to have a meal.

The new dishes that Hongli ordered the chef in charge of the Yongshou Palace's meals to prepare were home-style dishes that had not yet appeared.

This is mainly because Hongli would cook a few home-style dishes at home in later generations, and he did so for many years. While he might not have been a master chef, his dishes were still quite delicious.

Therefore, Hongli instructed the chef in charge of the Yongshou Palace's meals to try making it according to his requirements.

Of course, Hongli also knew that the reason why some dishes in later generations tasted better was mainly because they had richer seasonings. For the Qing Dynasty, the most difficult thing in cooking was the lack of MSG.

Fortunately, the chef at Yongshou Palace was a famous Shandong cuisine chef in the Yongwang Mansion back then. His core skill was being able to use sea cucumber powder to make natural MSG to enhance the flavor.

It was only after Hongli moved to Yongshou Palace and developed a special relationship with the Empress that he learned the chef's unique recipe for enhancing flavor from him.

Only then did he allow the cook to try making some new dishes and seasonings according to his instructions.

The so-called new condiments are those based on chili peppers that became popular in later generations, such as fermented bean paste.

Because Hongli discovered that people in this era had not yet become accustomed to eating chili peppers and tomatoes.

In fact, although chili peppers and tomatoes were introduced to China at the end of the Ming Dynasty, they did not gradually become popular until after the reign of Emperor Qianlong.

Therefore, Emperor Hongli had not yet discovered any dishes containing chili peppers or tomatoes.

"This one, I will name it Mapo Tofu; this one, I will name it Fish-Flavored Shredded Pork; and this one, I will name it Kung Pao Chicken..."

After these new dishes were placed on the table, Hongli introduced them to Yongzheng one by one.

After Hongli finished introducing the Mapo Tofu, Yongzheng first tasted it. He immediately felt a burning sensation in his mouth and quickly put down his chopsticks.
"Excellent! Serve me some tea!"

Su Peisheng quickly brought over some tea.

Yongzheng immediately took a sip of tea.

Hongli smiled slightly upon seeing this.

He knew that someone like Yongzheng, who was trying spicy food for the first time, would definitely not be able to handle even a level of spiciness like Mapo Tofu.

However, it seems that Yongzheng's taste buds were also awakened by this. After drinking the tea, he couldn't help but use a silver spoon to scoop a spoonful into his jade bowl and taste it.

This time, Yongzheng didn't drink any more tea, but nodded repeatedly: "Although it made my mouth feel numb, it tasted incredibly delicious afterwards!"

Then, Yongzheng tasted shredded pork with garlic sauce, Kung Pao chicken, and twice-cooked pork, and found them even more delicious. He then said to Hongli and Yinxi:

"You guys eat too."

"Whoo!"

As soon as Hongli picked up his bowl, Yongzheng had already put some food on his plate.

"Thank you, Father."

Emperor Yongzheng then said, "Consider this my reward for letting me eat such delicious new dishes today."

Then, Yongzheng asked Hongli how he came up with the idea to have Hongli do this.

Hongli claimed that Emperor Kangxi had previously expressed a desire to try various dishes made with chili peppers and tomatoes, and he wanted to try them in accordance with Kangxi's last wishes.

Upon hearing this, Yongzheng's eyes reddened instantly: "I am truly grateful for the blessings bestowed upon me by the late Emperor!"

"Your subject thinks that although this was the late emperor's idea, it can be promoted to the people. Because dishes made with these chili peppers make you feel warm all over, which is suitable for keeping warm in winter. Perhaps fewer people will freeze to death in winter."

Hongli said at this time.

Emperor Yongzheng nodded: "You are absolutely right. It can certainly be promoted, but how can ordinary people have the ability to make all kinds of sauces?"

"We won't let them make sauces either. Instead, when we distribute porridge for disaster relief, we'll cook a big pot of spicy soup. If conditions are right, or if we need to do work-for-relief and the people need to contribute their labor, we'll try adding some lard, mutton offal, and pig offal. Maybe that will keep the people warm and replenish their energy, which is better than just drinking porridge and barely keeping them alive."

Hongli remembered that hot pot in the Sichuan and Chongqing region originated from this method. It was originally a way for ordinary people to replenish their strength and keep warm by using some low-class meat.

However, Emperor Yongzheng became interested after hearing this: "I can try it. I myself would like to eat it this way. It should be a unique flavor to cook mutton and venison in chili oil broth."

As Yongzheng was speaking, he noticed that several dishes in front of him were empty.

This made Yongzheng's eyes widen, and his anger flared up.

He was so busy talking to Hongli that he hadn't eaten much.

Hiccup~~~
Immediately afterwards, Yongzheng heard a burp. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Yinxi stretching his neck, mouth open, mouth full of oil, and head covered in sweat.

"You ate it all?"

(End of this chapter)