The wives of the concubines are empresses

The summer is getting hotter and hotter, so a few basins of ice are placed in the imperial study to make it feel a little cooler.

Shangguan Wanjun walked to the door and saw the bright sunshine outside, feeling hot.

"Your Majesty, let's go into the inner room. It's too hot outside. Please be careful of your health." Eunuch Lin suggested carefully.

Shangguan Wanjun looked up outside and felt it was dazzling.

"Go and arrange for someone to make some mung bean soup to cool it down, so that the guards can drink it to prevent the heatstroke."

Eunuch Lin arranged Liu Cheng to do it.

Imperial Room

"Chief Steward Wang, the Emperor has ordered that the mung bean soup be cooled and given to the guards on duty outside."

Wang, the head steward of the imperial kitchen, quickly responded, "Yes, Eunuch Liu."

The weather was hot and Shangguan Wanjun was in a restless mood, even reading memorials made her feel irritable.

However, she still managed to read fifty memorials in one afternoon.

Eunuch Lin could sense the emperor's irritability and stepped forward to whisper.

"Your Majesty, how about taking a break before watching?"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Wanjun decisively put down her pen.

"Eunuch Lin, how much ice is there in this palace?"

"There are many underground storage rooms. It's hard to count the exact number, but it's generally enough to get through the hot weather."

Hearing this, Shangguan Wanjun felt relieved.

Thinking that the current political situation is still not very stable, Shangguan Wanjun supported her head and thought about the future.

Eunuch Lin is a shrewd man and knows how troubled the young master has been recently.

Shangguan Wanjun thought silently for a quarter of an hour. When she looked up and saw Eunuch Lin and Liu Cheng, she thought of the eunuchs in the TV series.

Some emperors would use eunuchs to check and balance the officials.

In the current situation, can she do the same?

She has been checking and balancing civil and military officials from the very beginning. It is time to develop a third party, or perhaps a fourth party, so that the four parties can check and balance each other.

Although there are scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, all dynasties have paid great attention to the economy. She can also improve the status of merchants to develop the entire country.

Only when the country is rich and the people are strong can the other states of the Zhou Dynasty be afraid.

Thinking of the situation at the border, Shangguan Wanjun was no longer so worried.

"I want to establish the East and West Factories. You will be responsible for supervising the officials in the East Factory, while the West Factory will be responsible for supervising the national economy and curbing unscrupulous merchants who charge exorbitant prices."

Eunuch Lin and Liu Cheng looked at each other, and Eunuch Lin stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I am old. It would be better to hand over the training of the East Factory to Xiao Liuzi." He was showing weakness and giving up power, and he also wanted to have a good life in his later years.

Shangguan Wanjun was smart and understood what he said.

"Well, then, Eunuch Lin, enjoy your retirement."

Shangguan Wanjun looked at Liu Cheng and said, "Little Liu, you must grow up quickly in the future."

Liu Cheng knelt on one knee and said, "I will live up to the emperor's trust and training."

After solving a big problem, Shangguan Wanjun felt hungry.

"Okay, get up and ask the imperial kitchen to get me some cold drinks and snacks."

Liu Cheng stood up and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will take my leave."

Steward Wang of the Imperial Kitchen did not expect that Eunuch Liu would come back to the Imperial Kitchen just a few hours after leaving.

In response to the emperor's words, Liu Cheng flicked his whisk, straightened his back, and looked at the oncoming Steward Wang with a smile.

"Butler Wang, the Emperor has requested some iced drinks and snacks. The Imperial Kitchen has some new dishes, so please give the Emperor a try."

Wang, the chief steward of the imperial kitchen, smiled when he thought of the purple basil drink.

"The basil drink is pretty good. Add a little ice and it's definitely delicious."

Liu Cheng wondered, "How is this done?"

"30 grams of perilla leaves, half a lemon, appropriate amount of rock sugar, and a piece of tangerine peel.

Perilla drink is a drink tailor-made for summer. It can warm up the spleen and stomach damaged by cold and chillness, and it also relieves symptoms such as wind-cold, cough and phlegm.

Summer is also the season when perilla grows vigorously, so it can be used in accordance with the season. It is a healthy tea that combines taste and appearance. "

Liu Cheng was delighted to hear this. "Then let's go with this. You can prepare some snacks."

Liu Cheng returned to the imperial study with prepared drinks and snacks.

"Your Majesty, these are prepared by the imperial kitchen."

Shangguan Wanjun looked at the coffee table in front of her: a cold drink, a fried dumpling, a small rice dumpling with fermented glutinous rice wine, and a jelly-like snack.

"What kind of snack is this?"

"Your Majesty, this is called agar-agar cake. Please try it."

Shangguan Wanjun picked it up and tasted it, and immediately fell in love with it.

"How is it made?"

Liu Cheng was in a dilemma. "How about I ask someone to invite Wang, the chief steward of the imperial kitchen?"

Shangguan Wanjun smiled and said, "Please."

The chief steward of the imperial kitchen, Wang, walked into the main hall of the imperial study with a nervous mood.

"This slave is here to see the Emperor."

"I'm asking you, how is this agar-agar cake made?"

"Your Majesty, the main ingredient for this agar-agar cake is agar-agar, and you need to carefully remove any sand, shell fragments, and other debris.

"Boil first": Add one hundred times the weight of the dried agar-agar into a clean, grease-free pot, boil over low heat, and pour in a little white vinegar to promote the release of gelatin.

"Wait for shaping": When the juice in the pot becomes viscous, turn off the heat and pour it into a basin, bucket or other container. It can be shaped after cooling.

?Final seasoning?: To increase the flavor, you can add a small amount of citric acid, banana oil, orange juice, etc.

In the production process of agar-agar cake, the selection and processing of agar-agar is a very important step. It is necessary to ensure that the agar-agar is clean and free of impurities to ensure the quality and taste of the final product.

Adding white vinegar during cooking helps agar-agar release its gelatin, which is the key to agar-agar cake taking shape.

After forming, you can add different seasonings according to your personal taste, such as citric acid, banana oil, orange juice, etc. to enhance the flavor of the agar-agar cake.

This type of agar-agar cake not only has the therapeutic effect of reducing internal heat, relieving summer heat, and dispelling heat, but also brings a refreshing coolness in the hot summer."

Shangguan Wanjun was delighted to hear this. "That's right. Then, prepare a copy for each of the concubines in the harem. Thank you, Steward Wang, for your hard work."

Shangguan Wanjun looked at Eunuch Lin, who understood and took out gold leaves as a reward.

"Butler Wang, you have to do it well. The emperor loves to eat these, so you can also create more."

Wang, the chief steward of the imperial kitchen, accepted it respectfully and happily. "Thank you for the reward, Eunuch Lin."

"Send six more to the Imperial Study."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

When Concubine Wenwu received the agar-agar cake, she was stunned: they didn’t seem to have ordered any cakes.

"Noble Consort Wen, this is what the Emperor ordered the Imperial Kitchen to send to the concubines."

When Concubine Wen Bai Xuanyi heard this, she happily accepted it and said, "Thank you, eunuch. Here's the reward."

Chen Lie took out a few golden beans.

"Your servant thanks Concubine Wen, your honorable wife."

As soon as Concubine Wu returned to the palace, she received agar-agar cake.

"A reward from the Emperor?"

"Yes, Concubine Wu, the Emperor tasted it today and thought it was very good, so he asked all the concubines to try it as well."

Defei Mu Wennian tasted it and found it tasted really good.

"It's delicious. It seems the emperor has excellent taste."

All the fathers-in-law who sent agar-agar cakes received more or less rewards and were very happy.