Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 385: I’m not going, let’s eat!

Before the palace gates were locked, Xiangyun said goodbye.

The weather seemed particularly cold because snowflakes started falling again in the afternoon.

The Queen Mother looked at the weather and said proudly, "I am still a foresighted old lady! How suitable is the hot pot today?"

The imperial meal was prepared.

The soup base was made of chicken soup, some vegetables grown in the greenhouse, some tofu and gluten, and it was served with two plates of beef, two plates of venison, and a large bowl of steamed bun - this was prepared for Princess Hongchang.

Everything was arranged in the corner of the hall, waiting for the Supreme to come.

The hot pot soup is naturally fragrant.

Daiyu couldn't help it and walked over to take a look.

But Aunt Meng and Qingwen were standing nearby, commenting and criticizing the dishes on the table.

"This dish doesn't go well with chicken soup, it will be astringent when cooked."

"Tofu cooked in it may not taste good. Bone broth is better."

"In the winter, the soup is bland. It would be better if there was a plate of dried peppers."

“What are dried peppers?”

"You'll see more of them in Yizhou, namely chili peppers. Dried, ground into powder, and eaten with this dip, it's delicious."

Daiyu laughed when she heard this: "The ladies in the palace don't eat spicy food very often. I think the imperial cuisine has forgotten about it."

Then he asked Aunt Meng, "Does the Lord eat spicy food? Why didn't you prepare a dish for him?"

Aunt Meng then looked at the people preparing the imperial meal next to her.

The man's face was pale. "Well, in the past, Tai Shang could eat some spicy food. Spicy tripe strips, red oil duck, and hot and sour cucumbers were served on the table, and he could eat a few bites.

"It's just that I'm dining with the Queen Mother today, so I didn't prepare any chili sauce."

Daiyu smiled and said, "It's cold today, so eating something spicy can warm you up. Before the Lord comes, quickly order someone to prepare a spicy dish.

"Look for shredded tripe, strips of pork belly, duck feet and goose intestines. They are also good to eat with hot pot."

The imperial chef hurriedly obeyed the order and left.

Aunt Meng and Qingwen were already drooling with greed, and whispered to Daiyu:

"Let's wait for His Majesty and the Queen Mother to finish their meal first, and then we can eat downstairs later, okay?"

Daiyu smiled and waved her hand, "Your leader is Aunt Cheng. You don't need to ask me. Go ask her instead."

Turned around and left.

The Queen Mother saw her run aside and mutter to herself for a while, then come back with a smile on her face, and asked what was wrong.

Daiyu smiled and said, "They are already grown up, but they still want to eat like this. Your Majesty, please ignore them!"

The Queen Mother was intrigued and said hurriedly, "Prepare some more spicy dishes. I'll try some later!"

Then he thought of something else and told the imperial chef, "If the emperor hasn't eaten yet, send him a hot pot. It should also be served with spicy dishes."

Daiyu winked at Tanchun and Hongchang and said with a smile, "The Empress Dowager is so stingy that she is so worried that her son will miss out on even the seasoning plate..."

Everyone laughed softly along.

The Queen Mother didn't know, but she found out after asking Zijuan. She pointed at Daiyu and scolded her with a smile, "You have no conscience!

"How many good things have you looted from the Emperor's inner treasury?

"Yi Min even embroidered a soft pillow to thank her brother, what did you do?

"I'm describing it for you, and you're still talking nonsense!

"Someone come quickly, give her two glasses of milk as punishment!"

Everyone laughed.

Cheng Qian followed suit and said, "But! Today's pot smells delicious! If the princess is punished by eating milk, she won't be able to eat pot later!"

Daiyu quickly begged for mercy.

As they were talking and laughing, Tai Shang strode in with a stern face.

When he saw the empress dowager smiling happily, his expression relaxed a little.

Dai Quan helped take off his outer cloak and hood, then raised his head and glanced at Daiyu from a distance, then lowered his eyes and stepped aside.

Daiyu understood what was going on and immediately gave Zijuan a look.

Everyone saluted the Emperor. He just nodded, bent down, took the Queen Mother's hand, walked to the top and sat down, then he let out a long sigh of relief.

Daiyu took the tea from Zijuan and served it to her personally: "It's snowing heavily outside, please have a cup of hot tea, Your Majesty.

"This is the best jasmine buds from this year, paired with Biluochun tea. It's fragrant and sweet, and it's the best for clearing the liver and improving eyesight. You should try it!"

Tai Shang hummed again, took it with one hand, ate half of it in one gulp, and then sighed and finally smiled:

"70% perm. Just right. Zhaoqing is thoughtful."

Daiyu smiled and shook her head: "The Queen Mother was worried that you would have too many banquets recently and that you would have too much greasy food, so she specially asked for it to be prepared."

The Queen Mother took two more sips, handed the teacup back to Daiyu, looked at the Queen Mother, smiled and sighed: "When you get old, you will know who is the most intimate."

When the Queen Mother saw this, she glanced at Daiyu first.

Daiyu understood, lowered her eyes and stepped back, then quietly went into the back hall with Tanchun and Hongchang, and stood at the door listening quietly.

At Cheng Qian's wave of her hand, all the palace maids and eunuchs retreated to the side hall in an orderly manner to wait.

When there were no more people around him, the Grand Master took the Queen Mother's hand, sighed, and said sadly:

"Xiao is playing tricks on me again.

"She just told me that her family sent her a New Year gift and heard a strange story.

"It was not someone else, but Lai's nephew, who was a prefect outside. He imposed heavy taxes and levied heavy taxes, and also turned against his grandmother, uncle and aunt. His father was so angry that he died!

"It is said that the uncle took the grandmother to the capital to file a complaint and was hunted down..."

At this point, Tai Shang tapped his leg and smiled bitterly, "What are you talking about? The Xiao family came at the right time and saved the mother and son..."

The Queen Mother sneered and pulled her hand back from the Supreme Lord: "What do you mean by coincidence?

"This is the Xiao family trying to sow internal strife among the other family. She is the last one to coax you into dealing with the Lai family!"

The Supreme shook his head helplessly, his waist hunched over: "She has bullied Lai family all her life, and Lai family has always avoided her.

"It's come to this point, and the Lai family only has that one promising person, but she still can't tolerate him..."

The Queen Mother just watched these things for fun.

She put her arm on the pillow, leaned against it, and snorted, "At that time, Xiao was young and beautiful, with unparalleled beauty.

"Besides, she dares to challenge the Queen with her belly, who is she afraid of?

"You happened to go out and brought Lai back with you. You only favored her for half a month. You didn't even go to Xiao's place.

"Xiao was so angry that she rushed to the door and beat him up. During the scuffle, the child fell out and she could no longer have children.

"She has coveted the position of empress for many years. But without this child, no matter what she does, she will only be a concubine.

“Is this a temporary vendetta?

“No!

"This is a lifelong feud!"

Tai Shang frowned: "But, it's been thirty or forty years!"

"Don't worry." The Queen Mother smiled wryly, "She will remember this grudge until her death. This is just the beginning."

After a pause, he asked again, "Does Lai know about this?"

The Supreme laughed coldly, "Of course I already know. I was so worried all day that I got sick again.

"Besides, I just came out of Xiao's Palace, and in the half moment I walked over here, she became three times more ill.

“Just now at the gate of your palace, the imperial physician came running over to report that she had vomited blood.

"Please let me go and have a look."

The Queen Mother's face suddenly fell, and she stiffened her neck and looked away: "Oh?!"

"I'm not going." Tai Shang reached out and grabbed her hand again, "Neither of them is a good person! Let them fight each other!

"I have let go of all the important affairs of the court, so why would I waste my energy on their petty schemes?

"Have a meal!"