Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1594: Farewell My Concubine!

The first ray of sunlight in the morning shone through the glass window and onto Ye Mingsheng's face.

Ye Mingsheng, who was still sleeping, seemed to feel the sunlight and immediately turned over and continued to sleep.

It was unknown how long it took Ye Mingsheng to slowly wake up. He sat up from the bed and his first reaction was that he felt dizzy and thirsty. He subconsciously said:
"Water! Give me a glass of water!"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng finished speaking, a teacup was handed to him. At the same time, a gentle female voice sounded in Ye Mingsheng's ears.

"Your Majesty! Your tea is here!"

Ye Mingsheng took the teacup and drank it all. The familiar aroma of Tieguanyin tea filled his mouth, waking Ye Mingsheng up completely from his sleepiness. Looking at Chen Rouer, who was as docile as a kitten beside him, Ye Mingsheng handed over the teacup.

"Your Majesty, would you like another drink?"

Ye Mingsheng, who was simply returning the teacup, hesitated for a moment when he heard Chen Rouer's suggestion, and then nodded again.

Seeing this, Chen Rouer poured another cup of tea and handed it to Ye Mingsheng.

Ye Mingsheng drank two cups of tea in a row, looked at the sun hanging high outside, and immediately had a bad premonition in his heart. He instinctively asked Chen Rouer:
'What time is it now?'

"Your Majesty, it's almost noon now!"

After hearing this, Ye Mingsheng's face became very surprised. He couldn't understand why it was already noon when he woke up.

At this time, Chen Rouer said to Ye Mingsheng softly with a shy look on her face:
"Your Majesty, you were amazing last night..."

Hearing Chen Rouer say this, Ye Mingsheng also recalled the madness of last night. After coming out of An Miaoyi last night, Ye Mingsheng remembered that Chen Rouer had new tricks waiting for him, so he came directly to Chen Rouer.

Chen Rouer was sleeping at that time. Although Ye Mingsheng's arrival disturbed her sleep, she still responded to Ye Mingsheng's arrival with great enthusiasm. Under her deliberate provocation, Ye Mingsheng, who had been gathering his strength for many days, could not suppress the fighting spirit in his heart and decisively launched a fierce attack on this goblin!
This was a very fierce battle. Under the powerful firepower suppression of Ye Mingsheng, Chen Rouer could be said to be retreating step by step. In the end, in order to resist Ye Mingsheng's attack, she even sought external aid!

Recalling the battle last night, Ye Mingsheng looked around the room. Seeing this, Chen Rouer also asked:

"What are you looking for, Your Majesty?"

Ye Mingsheng shook his head upon hearing that, and immediately planned to get up. He still had work to do today, especially this afternoon, when Ye Mingsheng would hold a high-level meeting with Cui Shao, Gu Sansi and others to discuss some important matters of the court recently, so Ye Mingsheng had to prepare well now!
Ye Mingsheng was about to stand up, but unexpectedly Chen Rouer sat directly in his arms, then hugged Ye Mingsheng's neck and said coquettishly:
"Where are you going, Your Majesty?"

"Get up! I have things to do today, just listen to me!"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng being so ruthless, Chen Rouer also lost her temper. She leaned on Ye Mingsheng's chest and hugged him tightly, saying with some grievance:
"I don't want you to leave! Your Majesty, you are like this every time, coming and going in a hurry, not even having time to have a meal with me..."

"Rou'er, listen to me! I have things to do! I got up late today, and if I delay any longer, it will really delay things. I will come to accompany you when I am free someday!"

"Your Majesty, you said the same thing last time, and the time before that, and the time before that. You are like this every time. You come and bully others, and then leave after bullying them. You don't care about other people's feelings at all!"

"If you have time, go find Concubine Pei and the Queen. You don't have time to accompany them!"

After saying this, Chen Rouer, who looked aggrieved, was about to cry, with tears streaming down her face.

Although Ye Mingsheng was in a hurry to go to work and wanted to push Chen Rouer away, seeing Chen Rouer's aggrieved look, Ye Mingsheng felt a little pity in his heart and continued to comfort her:

"I'm telling the truth this time! Rou'er, be obedient! This afternoon's meeting is very important, don't be willful!"

After hearing Ye Mingsheng's reiteration, Chen Rouer's attitude softened. After hesitating for a moment, she said:
"Your Majesty, would you please stay and have lunch with me?"

"You woke up from a sleep and didn't have breakfast. I have a chef from Jiangnan here. How about you try Huaiyang cuisine?"

Having said that, Chen Rouer looked at Ye Mingsheng expectantly. Ye Mingsheng was a little hesitant when he heard that. His meeting with Cui Shao today was around 3 p.m., and it was only noon, so there was actually still some time.

The reason why Ye Mingsheng was in a hurry to leave was that he actually wanted to rush back to the imperial study to have lunch, and then see if there were any memorials to be dealt with today...
It seems that it is not impossible to stay here and have lunch with Chen Rouer. After all, lunch does not matter where you eat it.

Thinking of this, Ye Mingsheng pondered for a moment and asked:

"You'll stop making trouble after dinner?"

Hearing that Ye Mingsheng seemed to soften his tone, Chen Rouer nodded very seriously.

"I will let you go after lunch. You can go wherever you want!"

After saying this, seeing that Ye Mingsheng still seemed a little unconvinced, Chen Rouer also took Ye Mingsheng's hand, and held Ye Mingsheng's little finger and said:
"We will not change our promise for a hundred years"

Seeing Chen Rouer being so playful and cute, Ye Mingsheng immediately ordered:
"Then let's serve the food directly!"

As soon as these words came out, Chen Rouer immediately ordered:
"Let Chef Liu and the others cook well and make all their signature dishes!"

Seeing that Chen Rouer seemed to be about to start a war, Ye Mingsheng quickly stopped her and said:
"Don't make too many dishes. Too many dishes will be wasted if two people can't finish them. Just make five or six dishes with a combination of meat and vegetables!"

"Your Majesty, you finally came to dine with me. Isn't it too perfunctory to only cook five or six dishes?"

"Rou'er, I know what you mean! We have a long way to go, so just do as I say. Just five or six dishes with a combination of meat and vegetables will be fine. I have to work in the afternoon so I won't drink!"

"Yes!"

After instructing them to cook, Chen Rouer and Ye Mingsheng started to get close to each other, and a few maids brought the dishes over after a while. Because Ye Mingsheng had already said so, Chen Rouer's cooks followed his orders and cooked five dishes and one soup in total!
The five dishes are Wensi tofu, phoenix tail shrimp balls, crystal pig's trotters, stewed lion head with crab meat, three-piece duck, and turtle stewed chicken. The soup is Huainan beef soup, and the staple food is xiaolongbao!
Ye Mingsheng, who had not eaten breakfast, was a little hungry at this time. He did not bother to be polite with Chen Rouer and started eating directly. He picked up the prawns with chopsticks. Shrimp has always been one of Ye Mingsheng's favorite ingredients. Whether it is braised, blanched, or stir-fried, Ye Mingsheng likes it very much...

While Ye Mingsheng was enjoying his meal, Chen Rouer pointed at one of the dishes and asked:

"Your Majesty, do you know what this dish is?"

Ye Mingsheng took a look after hearing this and replied subconsciously:

"Turtle stew with chicken!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Rouer immediately looked embarrassed, while a maid next to her laughed out loud. However, she quickly realized the inappropriateness of her behavior, and quickly covered her mouth, looking at Ye Mingsheng nervously, fearing that Ye Mingsheng would punish her.

Ye Mingsheng never cared much about these minor details, so he naturally wouldn't argue with a maid. He looked at the dish carefully and said:
"The dish doesn't contain turtle and chicken. The cooking method used in this dish is stewing. It's turtle stewed with chicken, or chicken stewed with turtle. Is there any other explanation?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's analysis, Chen Rouer nodded somewhat awkwardly, and then began to introduce:

"Your Majesty, you are right. The main ingredients of this dish are turtle and chicken, and the cooking method is indeed stewing. It is not wrong to describe it as turtle stewed with chicken, but this dish has an elegant name in Jianghuai, called Farewell My Concubine!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly when he heard this:
"Farewell My Concubine is a great name! I am uneducated! How did it come about?"

"This dish was originally called Dragon and Phoenix Stew. It was a famous dish created by the people of Jianghuai to commemorate Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu, and his concubine Yu Ji, who overthrew the tyrannical Qin rule..."

"This turtle represents the dragon, which is the leader of the water race. The chicken belongs to the feathered race, and the phoenix is ​​the leader of the feathered race. So as the name suggests, this is dragon and phoenix stew. This is one of the representative dishes of Huaiyang cuisine. Your Majesty, you can enjoy it!"

Although Ye Mingsheng didn't like eating soft-shelled turtle very much, when he heard what Chen Rouer said, Ye Mingsheng also stretched out his chopsticks, picked up a piece of the skirt and put it into his mouth. Because he didn't like eating soft-shelled turtle very much, Ye Mingsheng didn't taste it much, just chewed it twice perfunctorily and swallowed it, then said to Chen Rouer who looked expectant:

"This dish is well made! Very delicious and fresh! The chef who made this dish really put a lot of thought into it!"

Ye Mingsheng originally just wanted to say a few polite words. He knew that although Chen Rouer was very charming and sweet in front of him, she was quite strict with her subordinates. If he didn't say it was delicious, the chef might be in trouble today.

So even though he doesn't like eating soft-shelled turtles, Ye Mingsheng is willing to say a few polite words in order to prevent innocent people from suffering.

But what Ye Mingsheng didn't expect was that Chen Rouer took his polite words seriously. She personally handed the Farewell My Concubine to Ye Mingsheng and said:

"Your Majesty, if you like it, then eat more!"

"This dish is very nutritious!"

Although he was helpless about Chen Rouer's enthusiasm, but since he chose to act, Ye Mingsheng would do the whole thing. He immediately picked up two more pieces of skirt and put them into his mouth. Although Ye Mingsheng tasted it perfunctorily, after swallowing a few pieces in a row, Ye Mingsheng could still feel that this dish was very delicious...

You know, being able to make the dishes so delicious without MSG is enough to show that the cooking skills of this chef are quite high!
Even so, Ye Mingsheng still didn't like eating soft-shelled turtle, so after reluctantly eating a few bites, Ye Mingsheng began to set his sights on shrimp balls and stewed crab meat lion head!

Last night at An Miaoyi's place, Ye Mingsheng also ate the Four Happiness Lion Head Meatballs. Although they were both in the form of lion heads and meatballs, they were cooked differently, one was braised and the other was steamed!

To be honest, as a northerner, Ye Mingsheng's taste is relatively heavy, and his meals are usually filled with thick oils and sauces. Therefore, when he tasted this steamed lion head, Ye Mingsheng felt it was very novel and the experience was very good.

Under Ye Mingsheng's continuous attack, the shrimp balls and steamed crab meat were soon gone. At this time, Chen Rouer also understood what kind of dishes Ye Mingsheng liked. Seeing that Ye Mingsheng liked it, she immediately asked the chef to make a second serving.

However, her action was stopped by Ye Mingsheng, who waved his hand and said:

"I'm full. I still have to work in the afternoon. It's not good to eat too much!"

After saying this, Ye Mingsheng took the hot towel from the palace maid beside him and wiped his mouth. He finished his lunch and stood up from his chair.

Seeing Ye Mingsheng's actions, Chen Rouer knew that Ye Mingsheng was about to leave, so she stood up immediately, then moved to Ye Mingsheng's side and tidied up his clothes...

Feeling the reluctance in Chen Rouer's eyes, Ye Mingsheng was a little unsure for a moment. Chen Rouer really had deep feelings for a middle-aged uncle like him, or was she just pretending to be infatuated with him. However, as the old saying goes, it's better to judge by deeds than by heart. Ye Mingsheng didn't care whether she was acting or not, and immediately comforted her:

"I'll come see you again in a few days!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Rouer leaned into Ye Mingsheng's arms and whispered:
"Next time you come, I will let Your Majesty taste my lion's head!"

"Ok?"

Because Chen Rouer's voice was very soft when she said this, Ye Mingsheng couldn't hear it clearly for a moment.

Seeing Ye Mingsheng's puzzled expression, Chen Rouer thought that Ye Mingsheng was playing hard to get, so she gently punched Ye Mingsheng's chest with her pink fist and said shyly:

"Hate!"

"No, I really didn't hear it clearly!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Rouer could only use her jade finger to gently draw a circle on Ye Mingsheng's body. Ye Mingsheng then realized what was going on and looked at Chen Rouer with some anticipation. Although he was always bold, Chen Rouer was still a girl under 20 years old after all, and therefore rather shy.

Feeling the heat in Ye Mingsheng's eyes, Chen Rouer immediately stepped back.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng shook his head, turned around and walked outside. However, just as Ye Mingsheng walked into the yard, he saw a young woman in palace dress and still charming walking towards him. When she saw Ye Mingsheng, she bowed and saluted.

At this time, a breeze blew over, and Ye Mingsheng also smelled some fragrance. He immediately looked towards the source of the fragrance. Looking at this beautiful young woman who still had her charm, Ye Mingsheng seemed to remember something and looked her up and down.

But in the end Ye Mingsheng said nothing, and continued to rush towards the direction of the imperial study...
(End of this chapter)