nucmednet Chapter 250 Hot Pot Enters the Palace
Chapter 250 Hot Pot Enters the Palace
Lady Li couldn't wait to eat it. She had been craving for the flavor for many days and finally she could taste it again.
As the hot pot boiled, the unique spicy aroma filled the entire palace.
Both the Emperor and Concubine Li were attracted by the taste. Li Jun picked up a piece of mutton slice and put it into the pot, stirred it gently a few times, took it out, dipped it in some condiments, separated it into two halves, and one half was eaten by the eunuch who tasted the food. After a while, the eunuch who tasted the food showed a look of enjoyment on his face and kept sizzling in his mouth.
Concubine Li glanced at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I..."
The emperor signaled to her that she could eat. The personal maid quickly picked up a piece of mutton and put it into the boiling pot. She took it out after floating it up and down a few times, rolled it in the dipping sauce, and put it into Concubine Li's bowl. Although Concubine Li was very anxious, she still gracefully picked up the chopsticks and slowly put it into her mouth.
The emperor missed this taste so much. Seeing Concubine Li's enjoyable expression, he smiled slightly and picked up the mutton from the plate and put it into his mouth.
It is slightly spicy at first, with the fragrance of lamb mixed with the taste of chili and peppercorns.
Li Jun nervously held a cup of vinegar mixed with water. Manager Chen said that if the emperor couldn't stand the spicy taste, he could be given a sip of vinegar mixed with water.
Shopkeeper Chen bowed his head, perhaps because the hall was too warm, his back was already soaked.
The emperor had no expression on his face as he slowly chewed the mutton. After a while, he felt a slight spicy sensation in his mouth.
"This is the spicy taste, it's acceptable!" After the emperor said this, he picked up a piece of mutton and put it in the pot, floating it up and down a few times, dipped it in the sauce, and took another bite.
When Shopkeeper Chen heard the emperor's words, he finally felt relieved.
Li Jun saw that the emperor was enjoying his meal and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"
The emperor suddenly put down his chopsticks, and Li Junxin immediately picked them up.
I only heard the emperor say: "Go and get me some wine."
They raved about the taste of the chili hotpot, especially the unique spicy taste, which was unforgettable for them.
The emperor was very happy today, eating hot pot and drinking wine. After all, after so many years of day after day, today was very different. The emperor was very pleased and with a wave of his hand, he named Concubine Li Ronghua.
The emperor personally asked the shopkeeper Chen: "Where did this chili come from? How did you get it?"
Shopkeeper Chen knelt down and said what he had said several times: "Your Majesty, this pepper comes from the Western Regions. The shopkeeper of a branch in You Ran Ju was on good terms with the people of the Western Regions caravan. After obtaining this, he accidentally made this hot pot."
The emperor seemed very interested and asked, "Which branch?"
Shopkeeper Chen did not dare to hide: "Anyang"
When the emperor heard the word Anyang, his cold eyes narrowed slightly, and after a moment he said: "Step down."
The shopkeeper and the chef felt relieved!
The news that Concubine Li accompanied the Emperor to eat hotpot today quickly spread in the palace. It was said that the Emperor specially asked Li Jun to call the chef from Youran Ju outside the palace to make the hotpot that Concubine Li had been dreaming of in the imperial kitchen.
When it reached the Queen's palace, the Queen paused while turning the pages of the book and then continued to look at the next page.
The personal maid Chuntao waved her hand, and the little maid bowed and retreated.
In the quiet inner hall, the queen sat on the couch. The candlelight in the hall was bright and the fragrance of lilies floated in the room.
It makes people feel at ease!
"What is hot pot?" The queen opened her lips slightly.
Nanny and Chuntao didn't know, so they quickly knelt down and apologized: "Your servants didn't know, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
The queen waved her hand: "Get up"
After Chuntao helped the queen to sleep, she quietly went to the imperial kitchen.
The lights were still on inside. When the young eunuch saw Chuntao, he immediately greeted her with a smile: "Sister Chuntao!"
Chun Tao stopped a young eunuch and asked, "Where is your master?"
The young eunuch quickly replied in a flattering manner: "I will take Sister Chuntao over there."
When Chuntao met Chef Lin, he was studying the copper pot and some remaining chili peppers.
"Chef Lin" Chuntao's face was full of smiles.
When Chef Lin heard Chuntao's voice, he put down the pepper in his hand and said, "Chuntao, it's so late..." Could it be that the Queen also wants to eat hot pot?
"Chef Lin, do you know what hot pot is?"
Lin Yuchu thought for a moment, pointed at the copper pot and said: "Chuntao, look, this is the copper pot we brought in from outside the palace."
Pointing to the copper pot, he continued, "Put charcoal in here, put the prepared soup here, then put these ingredients in and cook them, then dip them in the sauce and you can eat them."
That’s all Lin Yuchu knows.
Chuntao asked again: "What is this chili?"
Lin Yuchu took out the remaining dried chili peppers, held them in his hand and handed them to her, saying: "This is chili pepper, none of us have ever eaten it. You see, if you put it in my hand for a while, I will feel a burning pain in the palm of my hand."
Chuntao originally wanted to come and take a look, but when she heard Lin Yuchu say that his hand would hurt, she quickly retracted her hand.
Lin Yuchu gave the pepper to the eunuch beside him to collect. Chuntao thanked Lin Yuchu and left the imperial kitchen.
Since the palace gates had been locked, Manager Chen and his two companions were arranged to stay in the eunuchs' residence and wait to leave the palace early the next morning.
The next morning, when Manager Chen and his two companions returned to Youran Ju, Little Li was already waiting for them.
After Shopkeeper Chen gave a brief account of the situation in the palace, Little Lizi left Youranju at noon when it was very busy. Of course, no one noticed the departure of an adult.
As the eldest prince, Zhou Qian was not appointed as the crown prince, and the other princes did not have any titles.
All the adult princes have left the palace and established their own courts. Since there is currently no crown prince, any prince may inherit the throne.
The eldest prince's residence is just behind the imperial palace, and this street is populated by the rich and powerful.
At this time in the prince's mansion, Zhou Qian was listening to Xiao Lizi's report.
Zhou Qian's eyes were cold, and Little Li felt a chill on his back instantly. Then he heard his master's cold voice: "Go and invite Mr. Su."
Little Leo quickly turned around and left the study.
In the study, Zhou Qian and Mr. Su had a secret conversation for half an hour.
The next morning, after the morning court session, he went to the imperial study. The emperor had just sat down when Li Jun reported that the eldest prince had come to pay his respects.
After Zhou Qian entered, he knelt in the hall.
The emperor looked coldly at Zhou Qian who was kneeling in front of him and said, "Go ahead."
Zhou Qian: "Please forgive me, father! I am the owner of Youranju. Today I heard that Youranju came to the palace to offer hot pot to you. I have heard of chili peppers, but I was afraid that it might hurt you, so I did not offer it to you!"
The emperor saw that Zhou Qian did not seem to be lying, and his anger subsided a lot. This thing was indeed not like ordinary food that people could accept immediately.
Therefore, he did not really blame his son.
"Get up." The emperor picked up the teacup beside him and took a sip.
"Anyang branch has talented people," he said seemingly casually.
Zhou Qian bowed: "There is a Western Region caravan in Anyang that often travels between the border and the Western Region."
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