Dugong

Chapter 20 New Year’s Eve Banquet
Today's dinner will still be in Zhaoyang Palace.

When Li Ping'an first came to Zhaoyang Palace, he felt that it was magnificent and even more gorgeous and luxurious than the Qinzheng Palace.

I came here again today and saw all kinds of things that I didn’t like.

At this time.

Princess Yuan waited on Emperor Wude as he prepared his meal, smiling broadly, "Your Majesty, this is the golden pearl sheep scapula sent from the northern border. There are only two pieces from one sheep. Please try it."

Emperor Wu De smiled and put the mutton into his mouth. The mutton was as thick as fat and melted in his mouth.

"It tastes good. I heard that the Golden Pearl Sheep is a treasure of the barbarians and only the Wolf King's Golden Tent raises them. It seems that the war in the north is going quite smoothly!"

Princess Yuan said proudly, "Of course."

Emperor Wude smiled and nodded, took two more bites, and motioned for Eunuch Sun to clear the meal. "I still have some memorials to review, so I won't be accompanying my beloved concubine tonight."

After saying this, he did not wait for Princess Yuan to persuade him to stay and went straight back to the Qinzheng Palace.

Li Ping'an bent down to pick up the leftovers. He caught a glimpse of the gloomy face of Concubine Yuan and couldn't help feeling a little happy.

Of course, you can't show any trace on your face, and you have to be careful not to make any mistakes.

If he dropped a bowl or chopstick on a normal day, he would at most get a few scoldings from Eunuch Sun, but now he has offended Concubine Yuan, and he might even be dragged out and beaten to death.

Your Majesty will not care that Concubine Yuan beat the eunuch to death, as it is no different from a daughter-in-law throwing a bowl out of anger.

Leave Zhaoyang Palace.

Eunuch Sun's gloomy face showed a hint of smile: "Xiao Anzi, our family is going to look for our godfather, you take the others back."

Li Ping'an bowed and accepted the order, then took the eunuchs back to the imperial kitchen.

With more than a dozen people following in front and behind, they walked in the palace with great momentum.

Unfortunately, their pride was short-lived as they encountered the carriage of the Ninth Prince returning to his bedroom. They knelt obediently in a row by the wall and paid their respects in a low voice.

Everyone in the palace knew that the Ninth Prince was timid and afraid of voices.

Return to the imperial kitchen.

Li Ping'an personally watched over the burning of all the imperial meals, without leaving out any, to prevent anyone from secretly hiding the food that His Majesty had eaten and using it to perform evil spells such as warding off evil and cursing.

It was not until three quarters past midnight that he returned to his residence.

Xiao Zhenzi was still awake, waiting for Eunuch An to come back and help him wash his feet, change his clothes and make his quilts. He really served him more attentively than he did his godfather.

The two chatted for a while, and Li Pingan saw that he seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he asked with a smile.

"Is there something wrong, Xiao Zhenzi?"

Xiao Zhenzi hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and asked, "Eunuch An, I don't understand why some eunuchs bully others."

Li Pingan was slightly stunned. He had asked this question himself.

At that time, Xiao Zhongzi asked back, what other reasons do we need to bully others?

"Did someone bully you?"

Xiao Zhenzi shook his head and said, "It's not me, it's Xiao Fengzi, he's our good friend."

Li Pingan raised his eyelids: "So you helped?"

With the guidance of his three roommates, Xiao Zhenzi has become familiar with the Lotus Sutra and has cultivated true energy, making it easy for him to suppress the young eunuch in his class.

"No, I will remember what Eunuch An taught me and study hard without showing my face."

"Quite clever."

"What about Xiao Fengzi?"

"The weak are not worthy of being your friends!"

Li Ping'an didn't say that there was no true love in the palace, for fear that he would be stabbed in the back by Xiao Zhenzi one day, even though he would understand it sooner or later.

……

In a blink of an eye, it was the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month.

His Majesty holds a New Year's Eve banquet as per custom, inviting concubines, princes and princesses, royal relatives and others to gather in the palace to enjoy the imperial meal.

The Shangshenjian started to get busy as early as the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, purchasing various ingredients and urging tributes from all over the country.

During the day of the New Year's Eve banquet, the imperial kitchen began to prepare the dishes.

All thirty-six stoves were on fire, and the royal chef was swinging his spatula until it was smoking.

It's approaching evening.

With only an hour left until the New Year's Eve banquet, the imperial chef at the Nineteenth Kitchen had a problem and anxiously asked, "Why is there two taels of jade spirit missing?"

Eunuch Sun, who was supervising the scene, frowned and asked, "Did you use too much?"

The imperial chef said without a doubt: "It's impossible. Our spoon says it can scoop half an ounce, not a penny more. Someone must have stolen some!" Eunuch Sun didn't bother to investigate now, so he asked again which kid was so ignorant.

“Can you make a new one?”

The imperial chef said helplessly, "You don't know, eunuch. The preparation of the jade ghee is extremely complicated and time-consuming. One hundred kilograms of ghee can only produce one or two ounces. It is difficult to make up for it in a short time."

Eunuch Sun's face turned ashen. He tried hard to suppress his anger and closed his eyes to think for a moment.

"Take some of the jade essence from the county prince and the princess and make it into one portion. Remember not to make it conspicuous."

The dishes for the New Year's Eve banquet were selected by His Majesty, and customized by the Imperial Kitchen Supervisor and the Imperial Hospital. Each dish is designed to be nourishing, ritualistic, auspicious, and auspicious, and can be said to be perfect.

For example, the method of making Yudihu comes from Buddhism. One bowl contains three taels and six qian, which is exactly the number of Tiangang guardian and corresponds to its efficacy.

Drinking Yudihu together with Zhaodianhong, Heniangong and other liquors can protect the five internal organs and one can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

The rules of royal banquets are so detailed and complicated!

Before the banquet begins.

Two or three hundred palace maids came to the imperial kitchen, and it was crowded for a while. Li Ping'an ordered them to divide into twelve groups, each responsible for a dish.

The eunuchs from the kitchen carried out the dishes one by one.

Until the last dish of Jade Dew Soup, Li Ping'an led the way, passed through several palace gates, and arrived at the New Year's Eve banquet palace.

Xingqing Palace.

Tonight is brightly lit and bustling with activity.

Li Ping'an watched as all the dishes were served smoothly, the order of respect was correct, and no one fell swoop. He finally let go of his worries.

As he bowed and left the palace, he secretly glanced at Emperor Wu De.

She would never have dared to do that when she first entered the palace, but now that she has seen the emperor so many times, she seems to be no different from an old man at the village entrance.

Emperor Wu De was wearing casual clothes, looking more capable and neater than usual. Sitting next to him was an old woman with a full face and regular features.

Queen!

Li Ping'an noted down the appearance of the noble lady who supported him. Compared with the noble lady in Zhaoyang Palace, the empress looked more approachable and kind.

When we arrived at the side hall to wait for the banquet to be over, Xiao Huizi came over and whispered.

"Eunuch An, today little Luzi sneaked out of the Imperial Kitchen and met with Ding, the Chief of the Vegetable Inspection Department."

Li Ping'an frowned slightly. As far as he knew, Ding Zhushi's backer was Empress Shufei. Could it be that he really had wronged that guy?

"Did you hear anything?"

Xiao Huizi reported, "Lord Ding is very powerful, so we didn't dare get too close. We only heard the words 'Prince', 'Northern Frontier', and 'Zhang Family'."

Li Pingan's heart sank: "Who else did Xiao Luzi meet?"

Xiao Huizi shook her head and said, "The others are all from the Imperial Kitchen. Maybe they went out without permission at night, but we don't know about that."

Li Pingan said quietly, "Not all the people in the imperial kitchen are from the royal family. Did Xiao Luzi give money to anyone?"

"Yes, he gave money to Xiaojunzi, Xiaoluzi, Xiaoliangzi and others. I heard that he made a windfall and wanted to share the profits with them."

"Just stay here and watch. I'm going to go see my godfather."

After saying this, he left Xingqing Palace and hurried back to the imperial kitchen.

At this time.

In the main room.

Xiao Liangzi knelt before Eunuch Sun, kowtowed repeatedly and begged for mercy: "Eunuch, please understand, I only stole a small bite and would never delay the New Year's Eve banquet. It must be someone else who stole it..."

Li Ping'an hurried in, without even looking at Xiao Liangzi, and whispered to Eunuch Sun.

"Godfather, I'm afraid that Concubine Shu and Concubine Yuan are secretly connected..."

After hearing the whole story, Eunuch Sun's already gloomy face suddenly turned as cold as ice. He reached out and grabbed Xiao Liangzi's neck, interrogating him in a sinister tone.

"Have you ever accepted money from Xiao Luzi?"

Xiao Liangzi didn't understand what was going on. He thought it was normal for a man to accept gifts, so he answered tremblingly.

"I have."

Click!

Eunuch Sun used his five fingers to pinch Xiao Liangzi's neck into several sections, then waved his hand and threw him out the door.

"You blind bastard..."

(End of this chapter)