The little lady in the dining room

Chapter 164 Chicken Feet
Seeing the person coming, Sydney's eyes trembled slightly.

It was Yue Tingxian. I haven't seen her for three or four years.

She held her breath slightly, but she also knew that she didn't have to be afraid of her, so she nodded and stepped aside: "Come in."

As soon as the two entered the room, Xueli sat down first. A Yao ran over and looked at Yue Tingxian curiously. Xueli coaxed her and said, "Hey, you and Dousha go to the yard to play for a while. Mother and this lady are old friends. There is something wrong with her." Something to say."

"Okay." Ah Yao nodded in agreement, knelt down and gave Xue Li a blessing, then went out holding Dou Sha's hand.Xueli looked on indifferently, seeing that Yue Tingxian had not forgotten to greet her when she walked past Yue Tingxian, so she felt a little relieved.

The two had a bad fight before, but now Yue Tingxian still knows how to be concerned about his identity.

"Sit." Sydney glanced at the round stool next to the table. After Yue Tingxian took her seat, she looked at her peacock green chest-length skirt for a while, and smiled, "Congratulations on your promotion to the female history. If you stay in the palace as a nanny, your future will be fine."

Yue Tingxian also looked back at her for a while, and sighed softly: "My lady, you don't need to test me like this. I was ignorant back then, and now I understand it. As my lady wishes, all I think about now is to go out of the palace to marry someone or stay in the palace." There is no third way to be a nanny in the palace."

Xue Li nodded slightly, and said with a sigh of relief: "Then you came to see me, do you have business?"

Yue Tingxian's eyes froze a little: "I think I'm wrong for the grievances between you and me, but it's too much for you to suppress my young maids who are excellent cooks for this. You know how difficult the life of court ladies is, and their future It all depends on your words, it doesn't matter if you deliberately add a word to keep people out of the imperial dining room, even if she has been ruined all these years, the female officials will not necessarily oppress her in the future because of your intentions!"

"I suppressed your little maid?" Xueli looked at her in confusion, "Why did you say that? I just arrived at Shangshi Bureau today."

Yue Tingxian swallowed hard, and said angrily: "Where did Ruoliu make a mistake? I heard that you were a little surprised to see her cooking so clean at first. Why did you deliberately block her out? Is it because you know she is The one I brought out?"

Xueli was stunned for a moment, and then remembered that Qin Ruoliu said that she was "working under Yue Nv Shi"—so Yue Nv Shi was Yue Tingxian? !
She couldn't laugh or cry in her heart, thought for a while, and told Yue Tingxian: "Then you go and tell her, let her make that dish again, it should be exactly the same, but make three times more, just say that I want the ladies to cook together Give it a try, and then decide if she can go to the imperial dining room."

Yue Tingxian frowned: "What do you mean?"

Sydney smiled lightly: "You will know in a while, tell her and go to the main hall, please help me inform all the female officials above the female history."

She sent Yue Tingxian away with a cold face, and Fugui would follow him, not letting Yue Tingxian give Qin Ruoliu any extra advice.

Sitting in the room, Xue Li panicked—how annoying is this?It was true that there was a "grievance" between the two back then, but Yue Tingxian also knew that he was at fault, but now he turned around and questioned her about someone who deliberately suppressed her!
whispering sound!
Sydney curled her lips: If you don't tell me yourself, I don't even know she belongs to you, okay!Take yourself too seriously!
Sulking for a while like this, she asked Dou Sha to bring brown sugar together to summon the maids: "The young envoys and middle envoys who have just entered the palace, as well as the chief envoys and respectful envoys who entered the palace at the same year as her, are all called to the main hall to wait."

So it was a dark day, and the Shangshi Bureau was busy again.It just so happens that most of the low-ranking maids are still helping the kitchen, and calling them directly from the dining room will not delay the supper in the various palaces.

After a while, the people gathered together. According to Xue Li's instructions, the new junior envoys and middle envoys each had desks and chairs, and the chief envoys and respectful envoys stood around.In the main hall, whether standing or sitting, all the ladies were neatly seated at the front, looking at the vacant main seat, I don't know which one it is.

Xueli was lazy in the room for a while, and came over after hearing the rumor from Fugui that Qin Ruoliu's braised tofu was out of the pot.All the people bowed to her together, and only sat down after she sat down on the main seat.

Xue Li looked at Qin Ruoliu who was already standing beside him with a big bowl of braised tofu: "Is it the same way as before?"

"Yes, it's exactly the same." Qin Ruoliu had obviously just cried, and his eyes were red, "But the servant has no time to pick out the debris, so..."

"It doesn't matter." Xueli winked at Xingren who was following, and Xingren immediately stepped forward to take out a small dish and serve it to her in a spoonful.

Xue Li took a sip, and seeing that it was indeed the same, she said again: "Your daughter-in-law Shi thinks I am wronged for screening you out, do you think so too?"

Qin Ruoliu was silent for a while, then nodded.

Xueli furrowed her eyelashes slightly, and confessed to Xingren: "Is the small plate enough? Give a spoonful to each of the ladies and maids present here. If there are many, give it to the minister next to you. I will do it myself." The Imperial Dining Room selects people, and I am most afraid that others will say that I am unfair, so I just try it."

She spoke calmly and calmly, but her heartstrings were tense—it was the first time she came back to take care of such a thing, and she was very, nervous, tense, ah!

There are too many people, and there are 72 small palace ladies alone.The red bean paste, almonds, candied dates, sesame seeds, and brown sugar were all busy together, and it took a while before it was almost finished.Fang Shangshi tasted it first, and Yu Ren also tasted it one after another. Xue Lijing watched their expressions, some were at a loss and others frowned.

Sydney waited patiently until they had almost put down the porcelain spoons, and asked the one in the front row who frowned visibly: "What did you taste?"

The little girl put down the porcelain spoon and stammered: "Okay, there seems to be honey..."

Xueli nodded: "That's right, it's honey. A little maid who has just entered the palace for three or two months has tasted it, and all the ladies must have tasted it too."

She glanced at the silent Yue Tingxian: "Honey can be used instead of sugar in some stewed dishes, because honey has a special aroma and can make the dishes look more shiny and beautiful, but tofu and honey can be eaten together. It is easy to cause diarrhea——this envoy girl has been in the palace for at least three years, and the female history did not teach her?"

She didn't want to be as shameless as Yue Tingxian in public, but if she didn't clarify this matter directly, she wondered if there would be other rumors.

Seeing Yue Tingxian's expression stiffened, Xue Li still looked at her unyieldingly, waiting for her to speak out the answer.

After a while, Yue Tingxian's expression relaxed: "I taught her before. Food is incompatible with each other, and it's something you have to learn as soon as you enter the palace."

"Very well, then the responsibility for this matter does not lie with Nv Shi." She smiled appropriately, and looked at Qin Ruoliu, "What about you? Have you forgotten this, or do you have other ideas?"

Qin Ruoliu stood with her arms tied, her thin lips trembling non-stop.Xue Li couldn't bear it, and swallowed it back.

After waiting for a while, Qin Ruoliu said: "I know that eating tofu and honey together can easily cause diarrhea, but, but you have to eat more. There are many delicious dishes on the imperial dining table, and your majesty will not eat a lot of them from one dish. In this way, don't be too nervous about food, and mention the color, smell, and taste, isn't it great..."

Xueli sighed slightly: "But what if His Majesty really likes this dish, or the prince Diji who went to eat with him likes this dish very much? Several princes and Diji are still young, and the eldest Emperor Ping'an is only five years old, if they want to eat something more, His Majesty will indulge him a bit, and if they eat something bad, can you afford it?"

Her gentle words stopped here, and the main hall was so quiet that no sound could be heard.

Sydney's eyelashes were drooping, and she seemed to be condescending: "The Shangshi Bureau only prepares meals according to the rules every day, and there are not many places where you can move your mind. Compared with the Shangshi Bureau, the imperial dining room, and the concubines Small kitchens in concubine palaces are easier to get appreciation and rewards, so the maids in Shangshi Bureau have always wanted to work in the imperial dining room or the small kitchens of various palaces."

Her eyes flicked slowly, and her voice became sharper: "But you all remember that making delicacies harmful in order to be praised in terms of color and fragrance is not allowed no matter where you go."

No one dared to speak up, and the young maids who had just entered the palace sitting in front of them didn't even dare to breathe.

"I'm from the Shangshi Bureau. I know that people often need to move their minds in the palace, but it's better not to change their minds." Sydney paused, "Your time to enter the palace is short, don't you?" It doesn’t matter if you understand. But let me tell you, there are too many people who have used crooked minds to calculate everything and finally counted themselves in. At that time, it will be easy to be sent to work as a handyman—you can ask, Yushanfang What happened to the former Wang Sishan!"

Several older female officials turned pale, Fang Shangshi said cautiously: "My lady..."

Enough is enough for Sydney.Going on, it would be too much to frighten these eighty-nine-year-old, twelve-year-old little maids.

Anyway, if they are willing to inquire about these things, they can always inquire about them, not only Wang Sishan who just called in to suppress the Shangshi Bureau, but also Jiang Yuyao who initially plotted against her for promotion, and many others that have nothing to do with her people.

It is best for them to understand the severity at this moment, if not, it depends on fate in the future.

"The person who told me that delicious food should not damage the body is better than the taste, and has been serving the food in the imperial dining room." She dialed back a little appropriately, and came together with threats and lures, "I just got married a few days ago, and my majesty personally rewarded me." I heard that she married a well-known merchant in her hometown as his wife, and the restaurant and inn under her husband's name were also handed over to her to take care of."

After the scene of "giving both kindness and strength" was over, Xueli held her breath and looked around for a moment, sighing that she had suppressed the situation.

After all, she is still young, and all the female officials in the Shangshi Bureau have taught her in the past; she has no status yet, who knows whether these young maids who are not afraid of tigers at all regard her as an imperial court lady at all?

It is absolutely impossible to pick people step by step without giving them a warning, and it doesn't matter what they are fooled into later.

Feeling that she had grasped the matter, Xue Li finally gained some confidence, she looked at Qin Ruoliu again: "You are still young, it is not a big mistake to be uncertain about the severity, this matter will not affect your future Jinfeng."

She swept away Fang Shangshi as she spoke, and Fang Shangshi immediately said: "I would like to follow my lady's wishes. If my lady doesn't care about it, we won't care about it."

Qin Ruoliu, who was already crying tears, was startled suddenly, looked at Xueli in amazement for a while, and then hurriedly kowtowed to thank her.

Zichen Palace.

The night was still light, and after reading the memorial, the emperor was thinking about whether to read a book for a while or go to Jiugeyuan to see the children, when he heard that Fugui from Sydney and Xiaocheng who pointed to Yi's side to help came.

It's better to listen to their reports first, and he sent people in.

What Xiaocheng reported first was not much in content. It roughly talked about how Mrs. Yi met people after she came to Shangyi Bureau, and said that Mrs. Yi sent someone to Shangshi Bureau to deliver a post a while ago, saying that she wanted to see Mrs. Ruan.

There's nothing wrong with it.The emperor nodded and looked at Fugui again.

Fugui took a deep breath, and first told the general story of Sydney's arrival at Shangshi Bureau, and casually mentioned the story of Emperor Ping'an sneaking past, and finally talked about the matter of standing in front of the little palace ladies in the evening, He became more courageous, and spoke in such an eloquent and elated manner that he almost deserved a ring.

...Oh, except for Xiangmu, he didn't dare to say the phrase "If you want to know what will happen next, please listen to the next chapter to explain."

After finishing speaking eloquently in one breath, the hall returned to silence.

After a while, the emperor heard a low snort.

Xie Zhao endured and endured but still couldn't hold back, recalling what Fugui said just now and imagining the scene in Shangshi Bureau just now—tsk tsk, the scene where Dali gave such an imposing public lecture... It's not easy to imagine!

In short, it was done well, it could be regarded as a successful start, and it was much stronger than he expected.

It was the first time for her to deal with so many people and so many things, and she also left the Yuqian and Jiugeyuan she was familiar with. He was ready to see her frantically running around.She knew that it would be good to find something to make a name for herself as soon as she got there.

He waved Fugui and Xiaocheng to retreat, waited for a while, guessing that the two should have walked halfway, and then entered the bedroom.

The emperor changed his clothes and walked out again. Xu Shishui was about to lead someone to follow, but Chen Jijiang stopped him: "Don't go."

"Master?" Xu Shishui looked out, thinking that it's so late, it's better to have someone follow him?
Chen Jijiang raised his eyebrows and said nothing, squinting at the emperor's pale gold-colored flying fish suit in the night, he said to himself, Your Majesty, you and Mrs. Ruan are really enjoying the day.

After taking a bath, Xueli felt tired all at once, probably because she had put in too much effort and didn’t have a proper dinner—after trying so many servings of tofu, she couldn’t eat anything else, but tofu wasn’t enough , very hungry now.

So she indulged herself a bit during supper, ordered a bowl of scallion oil noodles, a goose egg soup, and a plate of marinated chicken feet.

She also specially ordered both spicy and braised chicken feet, thinking that Ah Yao could eat braised chicken feet.As a result, Ayao fell asleep after yawning and eating half a bowl of egg custard, and she was forced to pick up the toilet to wash it, and she was not in the mood to enjoy the pleasure of eating chicken feet at all.

Xue Li had no choice but to dismiss the others after taking a bath, and sat in front of the desk to eat slowly.

The scallion oil noodles have simple ingredients but the taste is extremely attractive. The aroma of the yellow scallion oil poured on the noodles is simply... arrogant!After mixing well, the noodles are covered with oil so that there will be no lumps. After Sydney leisurely savored three or two bites, she reluctantly put down the noodles—you should save your stomach to eat chicken feet.

The noodles with scallion oil can still be eaten after returning to Jiugeyuan, but she really doesn't have the courage to eat it in front of so many court ladies and eunuchs and a few children.What's more terrible is that the court ladies and eunuchs can still avoid it, but there is no certainty when the emperor will kill him, no matter if she is gnawing on it at that time, or if she has a small pile of chicken claw bones exposed in front of her, it will not look good !What a shame!

The result of not eating this thing for a long time is that after one bite of Sydney, I feel that it is really delicious in the world.

The chicken feet are well marinated, and the marinade is adjusted just right, not too salty.Eating like this, the mouth is full of salty and fresh taste.The meat on the chicken feet is tender and chewy, and it is smooth and bouncy in the mouth, so comfortable!
I ate one each of the marinated one and the spicy one, and Sydney still prefers the spicy one.The taste is richer. A light spicy taste is added to the already good lo mei. When chewing, it is lightly touched on the tip of the tongue. It is not special, but it is addictive.

After eating the third one, there are already a handful of bones in front of my eyes.If the chicken feet are gnawed cleanly, there will be a lot of bones - except for a big one, the knuckles are all small and small, white and crystal clear.

Sydney began to "return to the old business" again.In the past, when she occasionally ate, she would eat and play like this, while savoring the taste, she would make a pattern or a word on the gnawed bones. The most complicated time was when she wanted to make an elephant. Later...

Then she couldn't eat anymore.

This time, let's put a word and try it!
She happily ate and swayed, not noticing that the window behind her was opened for a short moment and then closed again, and she didn't hear the almost inaudible footsteps.

Xie Zhao blocked the sleeping Ah Yao behind him, lay on his side on the couch with his hands on his back, smiled and looked at her childlike back just a short distance away, wondering when she would realize that there was someone more in the room.

——It wasn't her fault that she didn't notice when he came in, after all, his kung fu was actually practiced with the imperial guards.I came all the way just now, and I climbed over the wall and slipped away, and no one in the Shangshi Bureau noticed...

But it's obvious that there is an extra breath in the room!
After Sydney happily gnawed on the four braised and four spicy chicken feet, a huge "delicious" dish was placed on the table.

She licked her fingers and was quite satisfied with the work in front of her - not a single bone wasted, and not a single piece was missing, perfect!
Wiping her hands with a handkerchief and standing up, Xueli looked back with a smile still on her face...

"hiss……"

She took a breath of cold air, and then the breath stopped in her heart, and she forgot to breathe it out.

The man on the couch lifted his chin slightly, and the folds on the pale gold flying fish suit moved slightly, glinting dimly in the candlelight.

The long-lost attire made Sydney's heart tremble, and she swallowed forcefully, still feeling caught off guard.

He spoke first: "Miss Ruan, do you eat alone?"

(End of this chapter)