The Cloud Feather of the Red Chamber: A Marriage Arranged with Gong Yuanzheng at the Start

The last dish was also written down. There were dozens of dishes in total, including various tea snacks, stir-fries, and soups. There were more than a dozen sheets of paper scattered on the table.

Gong Yuanzheng put the papers together, folded them, and prepared to take them to the corner palace.

Lin Qingyue stopped him. "This is the draft, and there are still traces of my corrections on it. How can we just give it away? We need to organize it into a book."

Gong Yuanzheng was puzzled. "Isn't it just a recipe? As long as the people in the kitchen can understand it, that's fine."

Lin Qingyue felt helpless and didn't know how to explain it to him, so she took the paper from his hand, pulled out a few sheets and handed them to him.

"Write down these dishes, making sure your handwriting is neat and you don't make any mistakes."

Although he didn't understand, Gong Yuanzheng obediently picked up his pen and began copying.

Gong Yuanzheng's calligraphy was also the result of diligent practice from a young age. Although it cannot compare to that of famous calligraphers, it is by no means inferior.

The characters are strong and vigorous, with each stroke subtly conveying a powerful force.

Lin Qingyue then picked up a piece of paper and wrote out a table of contents.

Gong Yuanzheng wrote quickly and soon finished copying the vegetarian recipe. Looking at the recipe for Double Winter Duck Stew on the paper, Gong Yuanzheng hesitated, "Yue'er, my brother doesn't like meat..."

Lin Qingyue stopped copying her morning tea and stretched her wrists. "Dishes should be appealing in terms of color, aroma, and taste. I've eaten at Zheng Palace and Jiao Palace, but they were all just ordinary flavors and dishes."

"I was thinking, if we make the meat dishes more delicious, maybe Young Master Jiao will eat some?"

"Look at this dish, Double Winter Duck Stew. It's first braised in sesame oil for four hours, and the bones have been removed. It's hard to tell that it's a duck."

"And this fish-infused bamboo fungus dish, after being minced into meat and then stuffed, would probably be hard to tell it's fish."

"It's hard to tell what kind of meat it is. Young Master Jiao probably won't find it too disgusting to eat."

"You understand medical principles, so you should know the concept of medicine and food sharing the same origin and the importance of nourishing life through diet. If you rely solely on medicinal cuisine, I'm afraid even Young Master Jiao's body won't be able to withstand it in the long run."

Gong Yuanzheng listened, feeling overjoyed. Yue'er was only so kind to her brother because of him, but...

"Yue'er, I've already told you we're family. From now on, don't call him Young Master Jiao. Call him Brother with me."

As he spoke, he took the pen from her hand, saying, "I'll copy the rest; you can rest for a while."

Lin Qingyue's smile remained unchanged, and she simply said, "Give me the copied recipe, and I'll organize it."

The rest was copied by Gong Yuanzheng; Lin Qingyue only helped grind the ink.

Working together, the two quickly completed a small cookbook.

Gong Yuanzheng ran to the study, found some thicker paper, and made book covers.

Lin Qingyue thought for a moment and wrote four characters on the book cover: "Dream of the Red Chamber Culinary Classic".

Gong Yuanzheng raised an eyebrow. "Why did you choose this title for your book?"

Because many of the dishes in it are from Dream of the Red Chamber, but of course, I can't say that.

Lin Qingyue blinked. "The Red Mansion refers to the grand mansions of the wealthy. As for the culinary classics, I plan to compile a complete cookbook that not only describes the methods of cooking food but also expresses the realm of culinary art!"

Gong Yuanzheng: "..."

It's okay if you don't understand.

“Okay, Yue’er, then I’ll write it with you, and I’ll help you copy it.”

Lin Qingyue smiled and said, "Okay!"

With the recipe finished, Lin Qingyue's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and she revealed a hint of fatigue.

Gong Yuanzheng quickly helped her up: "Go to bed and rest for a while. I'll send the recipe to my brother right away. I'll go dig some winter bamboo shoots later. We'll have bean curd and winter bamboo shoot dumplings for dinner."

Lin Qingyue nodded, but didn't want to lie down on the bed. She decided to rest on the soft couch for a while.

Also, the white plum blossoms that Gong Yuanzheng arranged were really ugly, so I'll take this opportunity to tidy them up as well.

Thinking about it, I wanted to take the white plum blossoms off my head.

The moment her hand touched the hair bun, her face froze.

What kind of hairstyle is Gong Yuanzheng wearing?! It's just a haphazardly tied little bun, and she walked through most of the palace gates with this hairstyle?!

Gong Yuanzheng clearly saw her expression, and feeling guilty, he clutched the recipe in his arms tightly before dashing out of Zheng Palace. "Yue'er, I'm going to find my brother first!"

Watching Gong Yuanzheng's retreating figure, Lin Qingyue felt both annoyed and amused.

"Gong Yuanzheng! Don't even think about touching my hair again!"

------

Inside the palace, Gong Shangjiao still sat with his head bowed before his desk.

The clear sound of bells, accompanied by the owner's light footsteps, reached his ears.

A faint smile appeared on Gong Shangjiao's face. He put down his pen and looked at the boy who was running towards him.

Gong Yuanzheng didn't want to take a long way, so he went straight through the ink pool.

Water splashed everywhere, but Gong Shangjiao didn't care at all.

"Brother! Look, this is a gift from Yue'er and me to you!"

Gong Shangjiao smiled as he took the book, but was stunned as soon as he opened it.

He thought it was about precognition, but it turned out to be a cookbook.

"This is?"

“Brother.” Gong Yuanzheng said earnestly, “Yue’er saw that you only eat vegetables and not meat, and was worried about your health, so she wrote this cookbook.”

"The meat dishes inside are so well-made that you can't even tell they're meat. You can try and see if you can eat them."

Looking at the recipe in his hand, Gong Shangjiao felt a warmth in his heart.

He recognized at a glance that the recipe had two different handwriting styles, indicating that it was written by Gong Yuanzheng and Lin Qingyue together.

The recipes are very detailed, with a wide variety of categories.

Morning tea, vegetarian banquet, specialty banquet, formal banquet.

From the tea and desserts to the cold dishes and delicacies, every single item was described in great detail.

It seems that the two of them did nothing but compile this cookbook all afternoon.

Gong Shangjiao carefully felt the book in his hand.

"You are interested."

Gong Yuanzheng smiled radiantly, and Gong Shangjiao felt that his smile at that moment was even more beautiful than the warm winter sun.

"Brother, I'm going to dig up bamboo shoots now. We'll have the bamboo shoot and bean curd dumplings I made for you tonight!"

He knew that Gong Yuanzheng could make medicinal cuisine, but this was the first time he had ever heard of him making dumplings, especially dumplings made with tofu skin.

Gong Shangjiao also became interested, "Then I'll wait for your dumplings."

Gong Yuanzheng left excitedly, while Gong Shangjiao looked at the book in his hand, a smile never fading from his lips.

He summoned Jin Fu and handed him the book in his hand, saying, "Make a copy of the recipe and give it to the kitchen. Keep this one in my study."

Just as Jin Fu was about to leave, Gong Shangjiao called him back, "Tomorrow, make this braised lamb trotters with shiitake mushrooms and braised duck, along with two vegetarian dishes and a soup, all the recipes from this book."

Jin Fu was somewhat surprised, but even more delighted. He had been troubled for a long time about the young master's aversion to meat, and now that he had spoken up, he figured the young master wouldn't have to restrict his diet anymore.

Returning to Zheng Palace with a large pile of dug bamboo shoots, Gong Yuanzheng cautiously entered Lin Qingyue's room. Seeing that she looked normal, he felt relieved.

She walked up to the soft couch with a smile. "Yue'er, I dug up a lot of winter bamboo shoots. Come and see them. We'll make dumplings together tonight."

Lin Qingyue was no longer angry, but thinking about how long she had been wearing this ugly hairstyle, she couldn't help but glare at Gong Yuanzheng.

With nothing to do in the room, he got off the soft couch and followed Gong Yuanzheng to the main hall.

Looking at the bamboo shoots in front of her, she exclaimed, "You dug up all the bamboo shoots on the mountain?!"

Gong Yuanzheng retorted, "No way! At most, we've only dug up half of it."

There are too many bamboo shoots, and we can't eat too many because it's bad for our health. They also won't be fresh if left out for too long. So let's pack a lot more and send some to each palace.

The servants of the Zheng Palace divided the work: some cut tofu skin, while others cleaned the bamboo shoots.

Soon, all the materials were ready.

Gong Yuanzheng watched Lin Qingyue make dumplings with a look of great curiosity.

Making dumplings with tofu skin is not easy. If you wrap them too loosely, they will fall apart when cooked; if you wrap them too tightly, they will break easily.

It took Lin Qingyue quite a while to finish wrapping one.

Gong Yuanzheng tried to wrap the tofu skin with great enthusiasm, but his skillful hands became clumsy again. After wasting more than a dozen sheets of tofu skin, he finally finished wrapping it.

Fortunately, the people in the kitchen were incredibly skilled. They were a bit slow at first, but once they got the hang of it, they wrapped the dumplings incredibly fast.

Fearing he would miss dinner, Gong Yuanzheng brought all the kitchen staff from Jiaogong Palace to Zhenggong Palace.

Finally, before dinner, all the dumplings were wrapped up.

One copy was sent to the lords of each palace, and two copies were sent to the Snow Palace.

But the Elder Council only has one copy; yes, there's only one copy for the three elders.

Of course, only the portion for the Corner Palace was personally wrapped by Gong Yuanzheng.

Gong Yuanzheng and Lin Qingyue ate what they had prepared.

As for the others, of course they were all taken care of by the servants of the Imperial Palace.

Looking at the dumplings that were served, Miyazaki's smile never faded.

Scoop up a dumpling and put it in your mouth; the tenderness of the tofu and the freshness of the bamboo shoots burst forth in your mouth.

Most importantly, these were handmade by Yuanzheng.

Miyazaki felt that these were the most delicious dumplings he had ever eaten since he became an adult.

Gong Zishang looked at the dumplings that were brought to her, and her resentment deepened. Why did Gong San have time to dig bamboo shoots and make dumplings, while she had to stay up all night to handle official business!

Gong Er! You made me the wielder of the blade, you were definitely up to no good!!!

Hua Gongzi was a little puzzled. Why would Gong Yuanzheng suddenly send them dumplings on a day that wasn't a holiday or festival?

No, even on holidays, I've never seen the Zheng Palace send anything to the Hua Palace.

But once the dumplings entered his mouth, he couldn't stop eating them. How could dumplings be so delicious? What if he wasn't full? Could he ask for another serving?

Young Master Xue didn't have so many thoughts. He ate it as soon as it was delivered. It tasted just right. He wished he could eat it every day.

Soon, a bowl of dumplings was gone, and Xue Gongzi looked longingly at Xue Chongzi.

Yukishige felt as if the bowl in her hand weighed a ton. After hesitating for a long time, she finally gave him three dumplings.

He loves to eat it too, so three is the most I can give him!

In the elders' quarters, the three elders remained silent as they looked at the only plate of dumplings.

The atmosphere became even more awkward after they heard that Yukimiya had two portions.