I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

Watching the duck carver turn and leave, Bai Xiaoqi leaned forward and asked, "Where did he take our duck?"

"I took it to make soup. Isn't there an old duck soup in the set meal?"

"Oh..."

Relieved, she pinched a piece of duck meat with her hand, stuffed it into her mouth, smacked her lips, and finally commented, "It doesn't taste like much."

"You're eating it wrong. If it tastes bad, then something's wrong. You're supposed to roll it up in a pancake and then dip it in sauce."

As Chen Shuo spoke, he demonstrated for her, picking up a pancake, first placing shredded scallions on it, then adding two slices of duck meat, then dipping cucumber strips in sweet bean sauce and placing them on top, and finally rolling up the pancake. "Here, try it again and see if it tastes good."

Bai Xiaoqi stuffed it directly into her mouth, her expression instantly brightening with joy. Her cheeks bulged, and before she even swallowed, she mumbled, "It suddenly tastes delicious."

She found it amazing that simply wrapping scallions and cucumber strips in a pancake and dipping it in sauce instantly changed the taste.

“Right, many things don’t taste good just because you haven’t found the right way to eat them. But once you find the right way to eat them, they can be transformed into something amazing.” Chen Shuo rolled up another one for her. That’s how roast duck is. It doesn’t taste very good on its own, and it can even be quite greasy. But if you roll it up in a pancake, it tastes delicious.

There are actually quite a few delicacies in Beijing that are particular about how they are eaten, but douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) is an exception; no matter how particular you are about it, it can't be made to taste good.

When we visited Beijing years ago, a group of us eagerly ordered a bowl of douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) at the foot of the city wall. One of Chen Shuo's classmates had a short temper. As soon as the douzhi was served, he slammed his fist on the table and shouted that the shop was a rip-off and that the stuff was all spoiled.

It wasn't until later that I realized that's how it's supposed to taste, otherwise it wouldn't be authentic.

Chapter 254 Imperial Reception

On my first day in Beijing, I spent 400 yuan on Peking duck and returned to the hotel with a full stomach.

Once inside the room, Bai Xiaoqi was still grumbling to Chen Shuo, "The roast duck was delicious, but the duck soup was not good. It didn't seem to have any salt added, and it was a bit fishy. Also, there were very few duck bones in it. I don't think it was from a whole duck."

"Next time we eat, we'll pack up the duck carcass to take with us, and then you can hold the duck carcass and gnaw on it." Chen Shuo casually inserted the room card into the slot, then lay down on the bed and stretched comfortably. He always felt sleepy after eating, though he didn't know why.

Bai Xiaoqi didn't lie on the bed like him. She walked to the bedside, looked down through the glass, and then drew the curtains. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Hey, wait a minute."

"What are you going to do?" Bai Xiaoqi immediately became alert. "I absolutely will not take a bath with you today."

"What are you thinking? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Chen Shuo got out of bed, went to the bathroom to touch the mirror, but couldn't find anything wrong. Just as he was about to leave, he took out his phone from his pocket, turned on the radio and randomly played a program. Then he walked around the room, looking here and there, and occasionally lifting up the decorative paintings on the wall for a glance.

Bai Xiaoqi didn't understand what he was doing, so she simply followed Chen Shuo around. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

"Find the security camera."

Looking for the security camera?

"Yes, some hotels install miniature cameras in the rooms to spy on people, and they might even post the videos online."

"Such a thing exists?!" Bai Xiaoqi was shocked once again.

"Of course, there are some things we have to be careful about, but we haven't found any problems with this hotel, it's very safe. Okay, let's go take a shower together."

"I dont go."

"Go away, go away, I'm not going to eat you."

......

After taking a shower together and getting into bed, Chen Shuo held Bai Xiaoqi in his arms, gently stroking her smooth back and soft hair, slowly calming the impulse in his heart.

Its soft, bouncy body always has amazing elasticity, and you can never get enough of its tender and delicate feel.

After touching his back for a while, he slowly began to feel his way forward.

"Hmm..." Bai Xiaoqi snorted softly, ignoring his actions, and retaliated by reaching out to poke Chen Shuo's stomach, which was full of mischief.

He dragged me to take a shower again. We're not even married yet and we've already gotten to this point. What will we do after we get married?

She shook her head, clearing her mind, and asked, "Where are we going to play tomorrow?"

"When you come to Beijing, you definitely have to go to the Forbidden City, and you can also visit the ** on the way."

"**Watching the flag-raising ceremony?"

"You want to see this? Forget it, you can't get up."

"Who said that?" Bai Xiaoqi rolled over, half of her smooth body pressing down on Chen Shuo. "I can definitely get up."

"It would be strange if you could get up. The flag-raising ceremony starts at four o'clock, which means we have to get up at four o'clock. Can you even get up?" Chen Shuo glanced at her, not believing at all that this lazy cat could get up.

"I can't get up." Upon hearing four o'clock, Bai Xiaoqi instantly lost hope. "Then can you get up?"

"I can't get up either."

Chen Shuo reached out and dimmed the light of the bedside nightlight, then hugged her again and kissed her on the forehead. "Okay, go to sleep now. We'll get up at seven o'clock sharp tomorrow."

Did you set your alarm?

"deal."

"Ah."

Bai Xiaoqi responded, snuggled into his arms, then raised her head and kissed Chen Shuo on the lips before closing her eyes and falling asleep peacefully.

......

......

Nothing happened that night. The next day was Wednesday, which was the right time, since it was weekdays and there weren't many people traveling.

On weekends or holidays, the Forbidden City is packed with people; you can't see anything but heads.

We stopped by the ** (likely a place name), but didn't stay long. At 8:30 a.m., just as the Forbidden City opened, the two of us bought tickets and entered through the Meridian Gate.

Wearing exaggerated sunglasses, Bai Xiaoqi, a country bumpkin, entered the Imperial Palace and excitedly looked around. She often saw this palace in period dramas, and now she finally saw it in person.

"The Forbidden City you see in period dramas is the Ming and Qing Imperial City in Hengdian, which is a replica, not this one."

"is it?"

"Well, only a handful of movies have been filmed in the Forbidden City, and those were all made in the last century. Now that this place is a national museum, how could we possibly allow film crews to come in and film?"

After entering the Meridian Gate, you'll find the Golden Water River. From there, you can see the Gate of Supreme Harmony. From here, you'll enter the Three Great Halls, the so-called "front court and rear palace." This place is a paradise for perfectionists, as the Forbidden City showcases the ultimate in symmetrical beauty.

The stone lions in front of the hall are a pair, and the Hongyi Pavilion and Tiren Pavilion, which are the fifth floors of the Wenlou, face each other from afar. The right and left doors are also balanced and symmetrical.

"This is where the emperor holds court, right?"

Standing on the platform of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, facing the enormous palace, the golden glazed tiles gleamed in the sunlight, as if plated with gold.

"No, the emperor rarely held court or meetings in this place, or rather, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was used very infrequently. It was only used on important occasions, such as the enthronement ceremony or the New Year."

Chen Shuo pointed to the Taihe Gate behind him, "The emperor usually holds court at that gate."

"Stop lying to me. It's always shown on TV here. Besides, there isn't even a chair in that place. Does the emperor sit on the floor to hold meetings?"

Bai Xiaoqi simply didn't believe it. Why would the Emperor hold a meeting at the gate when there was such a beautiful palace to use? Was he a fool?

"If there's no chair, we can bring one over. Does the Emperor keep so many eunuchs and palace maids just for free? And don't always believe what you see on TV; a lot of that stuff is fake. Have you ever heard of the Emperor holding court at the palace gates?"

"No."

"Then it's pointless for me to explain it to you if you haven't heard it before."

Chen Shuo simply gave up on explaining; the foolish little cat would always be foolish.

Just like that widely circulated joke, two farmers were discussing the emperor's life. One said that the emperor must have eaten his fill of white flour buns, while the other said that the emperor used a golden hoe when he went to the fields.

This is a typical example of being limited by poverty and having not seen much of the world, so they assume that emperors would eat white face masks to their heart's content and would carry golden hoes to work in the fields.

Bai Xiaoqi's imagination was limited by herself. There's a term called "first impressions," which means that once a person has a preliminary impression of something, it's hard to change it.

She watched period dramas and heard folk tales, so she assumed that the emperor held court in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and would not go to the entrance.

When Chen Shuo was a child, he also thought that the court was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, but he later learned the truth after Chen Jianwen explained it to him.

I was quite shocked at the time. It turns out that being an emperor is similar to being a real estate agent manager, leading a group of employees to hold a morning meeting at the door every day.

They just don't call it a morning meeting; they use a more sophisticated term—"the emperor's audience with the emperor."

Chapter 255 You're envious, aren't you?

What is this place for?

Bai Xiaoqi stood curiously at the entrance of Qianqing Palace, peering inside. "There's a chair inside."

"In the Ming Dynasty, it was the emperor's bedroom, the place where he slept."

"The Emperor is sleeping in a chair?" Bai Xiaoqi felt that the Emperor, with such a powerful status, was portrayed as extremely miserable in this guy's words. He had to go to the door to attend court, and he even had to sleep in a chair.

"I already told you it's from the Ming Dynasty. During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, this place was converted into the emperor's office and a place to receive court officials. There are even beds inside, but we can't see them from the doorway."

"The Qing Dynasty was the one with the queue hairstyle?"

"Oh yes, it's braided hair."

"That one is so ugly."

"It is quite ugly, but those before the Qing Dynasty are very beautiful, with long hair and a hat. You saw them in that Ming Dynasty TV series you watched before, that's how they were."

"Oh, I remember now."

Bai Xiaoqi then noticed the plaque above the steps in the hall and read it aloud, word by word: "Mingguang Dazheng".

"That's called being upright and honorable. You have to read it from right to left. Let's go, let's go for a stroll ahead."

Several tourists nearby were laughing. Chen Shuo pulled her away, expressing his usual disdain for her ignorance and lack of knowledge.

"The Hall of Union is not used often. It is only used by the Empress for grand banquets, such as New Year's Day, the Thousand Autumns Festival, or the Emperor and Empress's wedding."

The Jiaotai Hall was a bit dim. Bai Xiaoqi pulled down her sunglasses, craned her neck to look inside for a while, and then was pulled forward by Chen Shuo.

After passing the Hall of Union, the next stop is the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.

"This palace is Kunning Palace. You can think of it as the empress's sleeping quarters, but that was during the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, the empress also lived there, but she couldn't stay for too long. At most, she could only stay for a few days, and then she had to move to another palace."

"The Emperor and Empress don't sleep together?" Bai Xiaoqi exclaimed in surprise again. The Emperor is really pitiful; he can't even sleep with his wife at night.

"It's not that he doesn't sleep, it's that he sleeps too little. The emperor has so many concubines, he can't just leave them all alone and go to sleep with the empress every day. He has to be fair to everyone."

"That's true, there have been TV dramas where emperors have many wives."

“Those are called concubines, not wives.”