The most beautiful lady in the harem

Chapter 32

Qin Liuse looked at Emperor Yongjia's expression. There was a wry smile on the corner of his mouth. He didn't look angry. She was relieved, but she still lowered her eyes, stood up, bowed to Emperor Yongjia, and said in a fearful tone: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have no other intentions."

She was not implying that Emperor Yongjia's throne was useless, she was simply shocked by the food.

Emperor Yongjia was really not angry, he just felt that no one dared to say this before.

He had been eating for so long that he had forgotten that his meals were not tasty. To him, it was just something to fill his stomach, so he just stuffed it into his stomach and finished it one meal at a time, and he never cared about it.

It’s not that there were no other concubines who came to this palace to serve dinner, but she was the first one to say such a heartless thing.

Emperor Yongjia actually cherished her heartlessness, which made people feel that this day was a little different.

Emperor Yongjia found it funny, leaned forward slightly, took Qin Liuse's hand and helped her up, smiling, "However, no one dares to talk to me like this."

Emperor Yongjia easily pulled her into his arms and sat her down.

The bad food was certainly not because the emperor's chef was bad. Last time, Qin Liuse was rewarded with an imperial banquet and his cooking skills were impeccable. If even their cooking skills were not good, then there really was no good cooking in this world.

But no matter how good a chef is, he cannot break the rules of the palace.

The emperor was busy with government affairs and never had a meal at mealtime. Once the emperor ordered a meal, the people from the Imperial Food Bureau had to deliver it immediately. After all, they could not keep the emperor waiting.

The emperor's meals often consisted of many dishes, with one chef being responsible for each dish. From the beginning of cooking to the time the dishes were served, it would take at least half an hour.

Let the emperor wait?

This rule is not included in our ancestors' rules.

Therefore, Emperor Yongjia's meals were all prepared in advance by the people in the Shangshi Bureau and then kept warm on the stove. These foods were all prepared early and were just waiting for people here to pass on the message.

Needless to say, as for vegetables, if you put them aside for a while after cooking, unless you eat them right away, not only will they look stale quickly, but the taste will also be different and they won't be very delicious.

As for meat, fish will naturally become fishy if left for a long time, and fresh meat will quickly become old if left for a long time.

There are a lot of smoked meats in winter, but Qin Liuse doesn't like to eat them. When she was a little girl in Yangzhou, most of the food she ate was freshly cooked. Moreover, as a merchant family, she was not short of money, so she was never treated badly in terms of food.

I never thought that I would fall into trouble at the hands of the dog emperor.

Unexpectedly, she had won the favor of the dog emperor by mistake. Qin Liuse's hand was held by Emperor Yongjia. Hearing this, she looked at him with some heartache, "Your Majesty, you might as well go to the harem to eat more."

As he spoke, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a plate of sweet-scented osmanthus cake on the table. "Your Majesty, why don't you try this? Eunuch Zhu just said it was sent by Li Chongyuan. I think it must be better than these."

Qin Liuse scooped a spoonful for Emperor Yongjia and put it into his mouth. At his eye signal, she also tasted it.

It is better than the emperor’s food, but it is just a snack, how can it fill you up?

"I'll ask the kitchen to make some for you." Emperor Yongjia saw that Qin Liuse couldn't eat this meal.

Qin Liuse quickly said no, because if this got out, it would be very annoying for people to use the small kitchen just for her.

Behind him was a tall and majestic figure, and in front of him was a table of delicious-looking dishes.

There was no one else in the room, and the two of them were sitting together. Qin Liuse was really afraid that Emperor Yongjia would do something stupid while eating.

With a roll of her eyes, she said, "Why don't I go to the kitchen to see what ingredients are available, and then I can cook a dish for the emperor?"

Emperor Yongjia raised his eyebrows, seeming a little surprised, "You can also cook?"

Qin Liuse pursed her lips and said, "I know a lot of things."

Seeing her so lively and charming, Emperor Yongjia rubbed her palm lovingly, called Zhu Wanxi over, and ordered, "Take Concubine Qin to the small kitchen."

At the end, he added, "Watch carefully, don't let Concubine Jieyu get hurt."

Zhu Wanxi wiped the sweat off his forehead and quickly said yes. How could he cook while needing others to watch over him?

--

The cook in the small kitchen was on call at all times. She was a cook. Except for boiling water for Emperor Yongjia, the small kitchen was rarely used.

The fire would be opened occasionally, when Emperor Yongjia was craving for food at night, but this was rare. More often, it was to warm up the snacks sent by the concubines in the harem for Emperor Yongjia.

The cook took Qin Liuse to the small kitchen and introduced, "There are only some things in the small kitchen that can be kept for a long time. If these small ingredients are not used for a few days, I will take them to the Shangshi Bureau to exchange them. Jieyu will see if they are useful. If there are some that are not available here, I will go to the Shangshi Bureau to get them for Jieyu."

Qin Liuse shook her head and said no, "Just use these ready-made ones. Thank you for the trouble, cook."

The cook followed beside him with a satisfied smile. This master was not the kind of person who would make things difficult for her. If she met those masters who loved to show off and were difficult to serve, they would try to act like big chefs in this small kitchen and make her suffer a lot.

There was a wooden rack in the small kitchen, and on the rack were rows of baskets. Qin Liuse walked over and took a look. There were eggs, flour, and some wild vegetables.

With a clear mind, I decided to make some egg pancakes. They were simple, quick and delicious. Emperor Yongjia wouldn't have to wait for a long time, and he wouldn't be stained by the smell.

The cook watched Qin Liuse's delicate hands busy at work, and she even knew how to start a fire and burn charcoal. She was full of admiration, "Jieyu is so beautiful, she is not a delicate lady, she can even start a fire."

Qin Liuse smiled in her heart. She was not a delicate lady to begin with. She smiled and said, "I see that we have prepared too much food. The leftover food can be shared between the cook and the waiters later."

The cook's saliva began to flow when she heard this. In such a cold day, the smell of this fragrance had already made her mouth water, but no master had ever been willing to share food with her.

In the past, people of her lowly status were only fit to eat what their masters left over.

The cook was touched, but still shook her head and said, "I dare not, Concubine, please take them all in for the emperor to eat."

Qin Liuse smiled and said, "Don't be restrained just because I'm the master. If I bring all these egg pancakes in, the emperor will think I'm a street pancake seller!"

Qin Liuse spread the pancakes and only picked a few to put on a plate. "And you see, if we pile them up too much, the ones at the bottom will get soggy and soft, and won't taste good. It's hard work in such a cold day, cook, please stop being polite to me."

After hearing this, the cook quickly knelt down and kowtowed to Qin Liuse, thanking Qin Liuse for the reward.

--

When the egg pancakes were brought into Chengqian Palace, Emperor Yongjia smelled the scent and looked at Qin Liuse.

After the servants left, he reached out and took an egg pancake, rolled it up and took a bite, "My beloved concubine actually has such cooking skills, it's delicious."

Qin Liuse found it a little funny to see that he had lost all his kingly demeanor, but she was of course happy that the food she cooked was praised as delicious.

However, Qin Liuse did not dare to eat like Emperor Yongjia. He always remembered his identity and picked up the food with chopsticks, eating it in small bites.

Emperor Yongjia ate most of the egg pancakes. He looked at Qin Liuse and asked, "My beloved concubine, are you so happy?"

Qin Liuse nodded and said with a smile, "I was afraid that the emperor would think this egg pancake was too simple. Seeing that the emperor likes it so much, I am naturally happy."

In fact, it was precisely because of its simplicity that it won the heart of Emperor Yongjia.

In the past, the concubines who came to deliver snacks paid attention to the exquisiteness of the food, and competed to see who could deliver the more exquisite one and whose taste was more to his liking.

But they all forgot the word love. What they sent was not to fill their stomachs, but to make him look at them more and flip through their cards more.

Emperor Yongjia took her hand that was on the table and said, "Thanks to my beloved concubine, today I am able to enjoy the blessing that only ordinary couples can have."

Looking at the deep eyes of Emperor Yongjia, Qin Liuse's heart suddenly beat violently. The praise in Emperor Yongjia's words was of great weight and meaning.