Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 112 Crab Feast

"Have the snacks been delivered?"

In the main hall of Ninghua Palace, Concubine Yi was making tea with great interest.

Qiuyan nodded and said, "I saw someone from the imperial kitchen passing by."

"Now that the work is done, let's clean up what needs to be cleaned up." Concubine Yi lowered her eyes, a smile on the corner of her lips.

After receiving the order, Qiuyan did not dare to delay and went out immediately.

When he reached the door, he happened to meet Qingdong heading towards Anqing Hall, so he greeted him.

"What's this, father-in-law?"

"The emperor has set up a crab feast in the Hanxiang Pavilion in the Chrysanthemum Garden and asked Concubine Xie, Concubine Wei and Liu Baolin to accompany him. I'm here to pass on the message." Qingdong smiled politely.

Qiuyan's eyes flickered when she heard this, and then she smiled and said, "Now is a good time to enjoy the chrysanthemums and crabs. I won't delay your business."

After he finished speaking, he bowed and moved aside to let Qingdong go first.

At this moment, Qiu Yan immediately returned to the main hall and informed Concubine Yi about the matter.

"Just right," Yipin heard the news, but she remained seated and even seemed happier. "With her not in Anqing Hall, it will be more convenient for me to clean up."

Qiuyan thought about it and felt that it made sense, so she said nothing more and hurried to get to work.

More than half an hour later, Xie Jiu also took Chunrong out.

Although she dressed up, she chose a low-key and plain style today, which was very conventional and unoriginal, just like an ordinary palace concubine.

Today she wanted to complement Liu Baolin, so she naturally didn't want to dress too brightly.

As for Concubine Wei who was sitting at the same table, Xie Jiu was honestly not worried because Concubine Wei never liked to dress up.

After packing up, I picked up some snacks and went to the banquet venue.

When we arrived, the venue had already been set up.

There were tables and chairs set up in the pavilion, with one seat for each person, so it was quite spacious.

As soon as Xie Jiu sat down, he saw two figures coming towards him, one in front and one behind, not far away.

The one in the front was Concubine Wei, and she was dressed almost the same as usual. Liu Baolin, who was half a step behind, was wearing a sky-blue cross-collared, wide-sleeved, waist-cinching long dress today. She looked very beautiful and elegant. Her makeup was also light and refined, focusing only on her eyebrows and eyes. She also applied a light amount of rouge on her face, and her lips were light but shiny, which well highlighted her beauty.

Xie Jiu was quite satisfied with this outfit, and he thought that Zhao Xingjin would also take a second look at it.

Who doesn't like beautiful women?

The three met and greeted each other silently.

Concubine Wei didn't want to talk to Xie Jiu and Liu Baolin, so Xie Jiu just chatted and laughed with Liu Baolin for a few words.

Soon, Zhao Xingjin arrived.

"See the Emperor."

Everyone salutes.

"Everyone, get up. There's no need to be too restrained." Zhao Xingjin waved his hand.

He was in a good mood today. Memorials just received from various places said that this year was a bumper year and the harvests across the country were excellent. This was very good news for Zhao Xingjin, who had just ascended the throne.

Putting aside the good harvest and the filling of granaries, which made life easier for the people, people now believe in ghosts and gods. If natural disasters occur repeatedly, they will inevitably say that it is the emperor's fault and that God is dissatisfied and punishing him.

There are many kings in history who wrote edicts of repentance for this reason, but no one wants this to happen to him.

Seeing that Zhao Xingjin was in a good mood, everyone felt more relaxed and immediately took their seats.

"Your Majesty, Liu Baolin specially made a few snacks today and brought them here. I just saw one and it's exquisite, so I've been waiting for Your Majesty to come." Xie Jiu said with a smile. Zhao Xingjin looked over to show his respect, his eyes sweeping over Liu Baolin, and smiled gently, "Is that so? I heard from Concubine Xie that you have good cooking skills, and today is a good time to try them."

Liu Baolin immediately stood up, with a somewhat reserved look on his face, and spoke in a low voice.

"I thought crabs were delicious, but eating too much of them inevitably makes them a little greasy. A few dim sum would be nice to help with the greasiness, so I made some myself and brought them here. They certainly can't compare to the cooking in the imperial kitchen. Thank you, Concubine, for your kindness. Originally, seeing how exquisite the dishes were today, I was embarrassed to serve them."

"No way, you're just being modest." Xie Jiu said softly.

Finally, he looked at Zhao Xingjin and sighed helplessly.

"The Imperial Kitchen sent me some snacks today, saying they had some new creations. I thought they looked good and tasted great, so I brought them here specially. But now that I've seen Liu Baolin's cooking, I realize the Imperial Kitchen's food still doesn't have much newness."

The concubines were given snacks every day, which were delivered on time by the kitchen. If one wanted to please a favored concubine, it was normal to put some extra effort into making them. Therefore, the people present were not surprised that Xie Jiu had new snacks.

In fact, Xie Jiu brought this purple cloud cake specifically to highlight Liu Baolin's craftsmanship.

Sure enough, when Ming Chunrong brought out the purple cloud cake, it seemed unremarkable compared to the snacks brought by Liu Baolin. It was still the old style of palace snacks.

"The Imperial Kitchen staff also followed the rules. Although they lacked some originality, they didn't make any mistakes. Concubine Xie really didn't need to belittle the Imperial Kitchen's skills just to flatter others. It would be disheartening for the people below to hear that."

Concubine Wei's voice sounded at an inopportune time, and the words she spoke were unpleasant.

Immediately, the smiles on everyone's faces faded a little.

Liu Baolin was particularly embarrassed. After a moment's hesitation, he quickly tried to smooth things over. "Concubine Wei was joking, but how could Concubine Xie belittle the imperial kitchen's craftsmanship? It's just that I learned how to make these pastries outside the palace. They're completely different from those in the palace, so Concubine Xie finds them more fresh."

Xie Jiu looked at Concubine Wei opposite him with a forced smile.

"If I hadn't known that Concubine Wei was such a stickler for nitpicking, I would have misunderstood her and thought she was picking on me because she didn't like me."

These words seemed to irritate Concubine Wei, causing her to raise her eyes immediately. However, after meeting Xie Jiu's gaze, she seemed to realize something. Her eyes flashed slightly, and her body suddenly relaxed. She actually lowered her head slightly and did not respond.

Zhao Xingjin was watching from the side and felt a little annoyed by Concubine Wei's behavior that ruined the atmosphere.

But seeing that she didn't continue, he suppressed his unhappiness and didn't show it.

"Alright, everyone, start eating. This steamed crab won't taste good if it gets cold. And fill up your glasses of chrysanthemum wine."

Xie Jiu then put on a smile again, and at the same time asked someone to put a portion of the snacks that Liu Baolin brought on everyone's table.

Her purple cloud cake was left untouched beside her, just to serve as a backdrop.

It's not just about capturing a person's stomach, it's even better to capture his heart. Liu Baolin's snacks really made Zhao Xingjin's eyes light up, and he even said a few more words to this person.

With Xie Jiu assisting from time to time, it was obvious that Zhao Xingjin had a better impression of Liu Baolin.

Concubine Wei saw it all and felt indescribable in her heart, which was not very pleasant, but she still did not say anything.

Xie Jiu's words "deliberately finding fault" just now made her realize that some bad changes were taking place in her mentality, which made her a little upset.

But she stopped talking, and the atmosphere on the field became more and more harmonious.

But just when Xie Jiu thought that the banquet was going to go on smoothly, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach, which made her face turn pale.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Xingjin keenly noticed that something was wrong with her.

Xie Jiu covered her abdomen with one hand and waved the other gently, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Perhaps I drank too much chrysanthemum wine and feel a little unwell. Please allow me to go down and rest for a while."

I started feeling a little dizzy just now.

Zhao Xingjin nodded, but he didn't expect that as soon as Chunrong helped Xie Jiu stand up, she felt a wave of nausea and couldn't help but lean over and retch.

It was also at this time that Zhao Xingjin discovered that Xie Jiu's face had become even paler, which was very abnormal.

"Yang Zhian, call the imperial physician!" Zhao Xingjin ordered immediately.