The little lady in the dining room

Chapter 24 Laba
Regarding whether or not to go to the Imperial Dining Room, everyone in Shangshi Bureau has three kinds of ideas.

The first category is those who are very motivated and really want to go. As soon as the news is released, they have already started to make connections secretly.Send gifts to the imperial court, go to the palaces to fool around with familiar faces, not afraid to spend money for the sake of future.

The middle category is those who don’t care, don’t worry, go or not, just go with the situation, go as soon as they come, and continue to work at Shangshi Bureau if it’s not their turn.

Those in the last category are people who don’t want to go, and both Xueli and Zixian are included in this category.

When the news came out, the two were studying how long the three-month-old calf's leg meat tasted best, and they had been grinding it in the kitchen for half a day, tasting it here and there, and they were never hungry. Not full.

When they first heard the news, the two of them choked on the beef slices in their mouths at the same time, and after chewing a few more times, they both calmed down again, bent down to continue to look at the soup, and then recorded it in the handbook.

The little palace lady who came to deliver the message ran away after she finished speaking, and went to the next dining room to continue delivering the message.

Xueli swallowed, and arched Su Zixian with her arm: "What do you say?"

"I'm not going." Zixian curled her lips, "There are so many rules in front of the emperor, it's annoying to think about it. It looks beautiful, and there are many rewards, but it's licking blood on the edge of a knife!"

Sydney nods heavily!

That's it, how dangerous is it to lick blood on the blade?I accidentally lost my tongue.

It's better to eat blood tofu in Shangshi Bureau to satisfy your cravings!
Seeing that their companions had the same "no ambitions" as themselves, both girls laughed.Su Zixian scooped up the blanched beef bone soup, took out a bowl, and said that she wanted to cook a bowl of noodles for Bai Ji, so Xue Li went to knead the noodles.

Bai Ji's illness came and went, and he became more and more bored.When I asked her what was on her mind, she refused to say anything, and shook her head vigorously when she was forced to do so.After coming down to Sydney and Zixian a few times, they had no choice but to give up, no longer pressing questions, just trying to get her some delicious food to replenish her body from time to time, so as not to cause the root cause of the disease.

There is a rift between the three of them regarding the Bingtang matter, but if you want to say that just watching her die of illness...

If you say it kindly, it won't go to that point; if you say it cruelly, they are also afraid to see a companion die in their room!

The weather is getting colder and colder, and it will be Laba in another night.

On the night of the seventh day of the seventh day, all kinds of rice and beans have been soaked in advance in each meal room, and some that are not easy to cook have been boiled in advance.

Zou Shangshi personally inspected the dozens of porcelain jars, which were filled with Laba garlic prepared earlier.

In the evening of the next day, a banquet was held in Concubine Hui's palace to celebrate Laba.

Right now there is no empress, Concubine Hui is the person in charge of the Phoenix seal, and concubines in various palaces are interested in setting up a small banquet to invite concubines or foreign wives who have been friends with each other. She can make the decision to start it, and if others want to do it, she must first order it, otherwise it is called Passover.

At such times, the Roujia Palace where Concubine Hui lives always looks very grand, and the accompanying concubines are the first to arrive, waiting in the side hall of Qingxin Hall, helping Concubine Hui entertain the concubines from other palaces, Talking and laughing.

The palace people preparing the banquet are all in the small kitchen at the back.

Laba porridge and other things were prepared and delivered by the Shangshi Bureau, but there were also some dishes that had to be cooked fresh, so Zou Shangshi sent a maid to come over, and they were very busy in the small kitchen.

Cui Wan made a dish of salt and pepper prawns, and she looked around for someone to taste it, but just in front of her, Sydney was right in front of her, and she stopped her: "Sydney, open your mouth!"

Sydney opened her mouth obediently without much reaction, and a shelled shrimp with its head removed fell into her mouth, scorching her tongue numbly, and it took a long time to taste it.

The salty taste is wrapped in the crispy fried shrimp shell, and the tenderness of the shrimp meat can be felt when biting down. Because of the simple seasoning, the taste of the shrimp will not be covered by the other taste after being turned out between the teeth. It was originally wrapped in the shrimp The fresh fragrance in the shell keeps surging in every breath.

The texture and taste are both excellent, and the eyes are brightened after tasting the pears: "delicious!"

"Send it to the front." Cui Wan handed her the shrimp, turned around and went on to do other things, Xueli and Zixian looked at each other, both muttering: Are you in a good mood today?

Because of Jiang Yuyao and Bai Ji's affairs a few days ago, Cui Wan has been unhappy.After Bai Ji was sent to do chores, he really didn't care about them, which made Xueli and Zixian very careful for several days, for fear that they would also be sent to do chores.

Seeing her in a good mood today, the two of them also breathed a sigh of relief.Xueli walked around to the Qingxin Hall with the prawns in her hand, and immediately the servants in the Qingxin Hall came to take over, and after giving each other a blessing, she could go back.

Several tables were set up in the Qingxin Palace, and each table created a sense of harmony. The concubines and concubines ordered their wives to drink sweet fruit wine, exchange cups and gossip about family affairs, and look at the situation at the front table from time to time.

This plate of shrimp is presented to the front.

Concubine Hui, Concubine Shu and Concubine Li were at that table, and the shrimps were placed closest to Concubine Li, but as soon as the serving lady put it on her plate, she frowned unabashedly.

The palace people who were close were startled, and a palace concubine who was about to come forward to toast also stopped a few steps away.

"What's the matter?" Concubine Hui asked kindly.

Concubine Li tilted her head as if feeling uncomfortable, took a breath, and then frowned and said: "The concubine really doesn't like these things that need to be used. It doesn't matter whether it tastes good or not, but it always leaves a fishy hand."

As soon as she said this, the maidservant knelt down, kowtowed and apologized, Concubine Hui also apologized: "People here don't know, sister, why don't you ask your own people to come in to serve?"

Concubine Li shook her head and said she was fine, and even stretched out her hand to help the maid get up, but her lovely peach eyes turned red.

There is still something to say, the sentence just now was just throwing a brick to attract jade.

Concubine Hui and Concubine Shu glanced at each other. Concubine Shu was too lazy to say anything, so Concubine Hui smiled and said, "Why are you still crying? It's a good Laba Festival, what's wrong with you, tell me, sister."

She gave this step well, with a gentle voice like a big sister.Concubine Li sobbed twice, sat on her side, leaned forward a little, and looked aggrieved: "Sister, the concubine never hides anything from my sister, and she also puts her likes and dislikes on the surface to let her know. But why is my sister hiding everything from my concubines?"

Concubine Hui couldn't help raising her eyebrows a little.

If it wasn't for the sake of showing dignity, their seat was far away from the last two seats in the back. Concubine Li's words must have been heard by the concubines who were close, and she was ashamed for Concubine Li.

How come you haven't progressed so much?
So Concubine Hui didn't look at her again, took a sip of the wine, and said lightly: "Sister Li Concubine, what do you want to hear? The reason why there is only one Phoenix Seal is because many things can only be handled by one person."

This is straightforward enough.

She almost said "you don't deserve it".

Concubine Li was already pissed off, but being choked by her so suddenly, her face turned pale.

Concubine Hui suppressed her anger before she got angry: "That court lady from the same town as you... I have seen it before, and the craftsmanship is good. It is not impossible to put it in the imperial dining room."

Li Fei was overjoyed immediately.

She previously complained that Concubine Hui controlled the harem too strictly, and she always found out about the changes in various places very late.This time the Imperial Dining Room had to transfer someone, which made her even more sulking - it was an opportunity to send someone close to the emperor, and she had to seize it!

Now it seems that she is being stingy, Concubine Hui actually planned for her.

Concubine Hui looked at the joy on her face, and couldn't help saying that Concubine Li was so stupid again in her heart—she said, "It's not impossible to put it in the imperial dining room", but she didn't say it would definitely work!
Shaking her head, Concubine Hui took the chopsticks and put an egg dumpling into the bowls for Concubine Shu and Concubine Li respectively, as a virtuous and magnanimous person in charge of Fengyin.

"The porridge can be delivered!" Xue Li greeted the little maid in the small kitchen, and someone came in immediately, and put the porridge already in a sandalwood square plate and took it out.

There were quite a few concubines and wives who came into the palace, and it took more than [-] people to serve six bowls each, and they filed out, looking domineering.

Xueli walked in the front, leading the group of little girls who were so nervous to serve as soon as they returned to the banquet to go around the front.People from Qingxin Palace came to pick up the things in their hands again, but these little girls were a little irritable, they didn't leave immediately, but whispered to each other: "There are so many people!"

"Is His Majesty here?"

"Which one is Concubine Hui?"

Xue Li sternly sternly raised her hand and knocked on the heads of the two young maids who were closest to her, and said, "Is this the place where you guys talk nonsense? Don't go back yet!"

The twenty or so little girls became quiet for a moment, and walked back with their heads down, watching each one become more docile than the other.

Seeing that after another turn, they will reach the small kitchen at the back, but a loud call from the front made them turn their heads again in unison.

"Your Majesty is here—"

The eunuch's high-pitched voice swayed, and the front and back of Qingxin Hall were quiet.Xue Li wanted to shout at these little girls again, but when she looked up, she saw many maids of the same age as her also ran out, standing in the corner watching curiously, hooking their necks vigorously, but they dared not go any further.

She couldn't help herself turning her head to look.

She always felt that the emperor was difficult to serve, and he must have come in a walking chariot, but she didn't see the walking chariot when she looked left and right, only a group of people approaching from a distance.

This place is a small passage between Qingxin Hall and the adjacent palaces, it is only two or three feet wide, and the field of vision is not wide enough, so many little maids involuntarily leaned forward.

After a long distance, the emperor noticed that there were crowds of people in the side path - so many people, it's too obvious, okay?

Frowning unconsciously, Chen Jijiang flinched at the side.He knew that the emperor was in a bad mood at the moment, just after he got angry with the officials of the Ministry of Rites about the matter of the Seven Kings, his face was ashen all the way.

"Go quickly." Chen Jijiang gave two words to the servants in a subdued voice, telling them to teach those unruly little girls a lesson.

When the emperor raised his eyes to look over there again, he saw seven or eight eunuchs walking against the wall, heading for the path, and stopped immediately.

(End of this chapter)