Tang Dynasty: After living together with Chang Le, Li and his companion were dumbfounded.

The news spread faster than Empress Zhangsun had anticipated.

The five spices were brought into the imperial kitchen on the fifth day.

At least seven powerful and wealthy families in Chang'an obtained samples of the five spices through various channels.

Some were gifts from concubines in the imperial harem to their maternal families.

Some of them were secretly taken away by the imperial kitchen cooks.

Others were bought from palace eunuchs at great expense.

The first thing every company did after receiving the samples was the same—

turn on.

闻。

Then ask your own chef to try making a dish.

Then--

Everyone reacted in the same way.

Shock.

A real shock.

It wasn't the kind of surprise that "it tastes a little better than before".

It's the kind of surprise that makes you think, "Is this still the same food?"

After the shock came the same thought—

Imitation.

You can smell most of the ingredients in this stuff.

Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, cinnamon, and dried tangerine peel are all common seasonings.

None of them are rare.

What's there to be afraid of?

Just mix them according to the ratio.

……

The Cui Family's Secluded Residence in Chang'an, Boling.

Cui Jingzhi, the head of the Cui family, personally oversaw the operation.

He was the head of the Cui family, one of the five prominent families and seven influential clans, in Chang'an.

He was sixty-two years old, with gray hair, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

Three porcelain plates were placed on the desk in the study.

The first dish contained a sample of five-spice powder obtained from the palace.

The second dish contains the first replica made by Cui's Kitchen.

The third dish contains the second batch of replicas.

The three powders looked almost identical in color.

But Cui Jingzhi's expression was very unpleasant.

Because there were three bowls of noodles in front of him.

It was made with these three seasonings respectively.

The first bowl – the original five-spice blend.

The noodles have a pure salty flavor, a clear and distinct numbing aroma of Sichuan peppercorns, and distinct layers of fennel and cinnamon.

It's so delicious that you'd want to devour the bowl along with it.

The second bowl—the first imitation made by the Cui family.

Noodle entrance——

bitter.

The flavors of Sichuan peppercorns and fennel are both present.

But underneath lies a distinct layer of bitterness.

That bitterness completely ruined the good flavor of all the spices.

It's not that you can't eat it.

But it was worlds apart from the first bowl.

The third bowl, the second imitation.

The chef adjusted the ratio of Sichuan peppercorns and fennel seeds, trying to use more Sichuan peppercorns to suppress the bitterness.

The result was an explosive burst of numbing sensation from the Sichuan peppercorns, almost numbing my tongue.

The bitterness has been somewhat suppressed.

But if too much Sichuan peppercorn is added, the whole dish becomes purely numbing.

It lacks the distinct sense of balance found in the original.

It was more like a blow to the tongue.

Cui Jingzhi put down his chopsticks.

Silent for a long time.

The steward of the Cui family stood behind him.

"Sir, the kitchen said they've basically figured out the recipe. It's 30% Sichuan peppercorns, 20% fennel seeds, 15% cinnamon, 0.5% dried tangerine peel, and the rest is salt."

"The proportions are fine."

"The Sichuan peppercorns used are the best Da Hong Pao peppercorns from Longyou Road."

"Fennel is a top-grade ingredient in the Hexi Corridor."

"The cinnamon and dried tangerine peel are all top-quality."

"Each item, when taken out of the box, is of no less quality than the sample."

"But mixing them together is wrong."

Cui Jingzhi tapped his fingers twice slowly on the table.

"What's the difference?"

The manager hesitated for a moment.

"The people in the kitchen said... the problem is the salt."

"Salt?"

"Yes. They said the salt in the sample seemed a little different. It wasn't bitter."

Cui Jingzhi's brow twitched slightly.

"Not bitter?"

"Yes. They carefully tasted the powder from the sample on their tongues. The flavor of Sichuan peppercorns and fennel was there, but the underlying saltiness wasn't bitter."

"Very clean. Very pure."

"The salt they use is already the best available on the market, but it still has a bitter taste."

"That's where the difference lies."

Cui Jingzhi's fingers stopped.

He is a businessman.

An old businessman.

An old businessman who has spent his whole life trading.

He immediately grasped the crux of the problem.

It's not a problem with the Sichuan peppercorns.

It's not a problem with the fennel.

It's not a matter of proportion.

It's salt.

The salt used in this five-spice powder is not salt that they can make.

Cui Jingzhi closed his eyes and thought for a while.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze was a few degrees more somber than before.

"check."

"Go and find out who's making this five-spice powder."

"Start with the palace. The Empress wouldn't grind the powder and mix the ingredients herself."

There must be someone behind this.

"Find that person."

The steward accepted the order and left.

Cui Jingzhi sat alone in his study.

Looking at the dish of five-spice powder on the counter.

The dark brown powder lay quietly in the candlelight.

He reached out and picked up a small amount.

Place it on the tip of your tongue.

Close your eyes.

That pure salty taste spread through my mouth again.

There is no bitterness.

It's not astringent.

He spent his entire life in the salt business.

What kind of salt hasn't he seen in the world?

Salt from Qinghai Lake, Salt from Ponds, Salt from Wells, Salt from Seas —

None of them taste like this.

"interesting."

Cui Jingzhi opened his eyes.

The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

It's not a laugh.

It's the expression on a hunter's face when he discovers the trail of his prey.

……

The Cui family is not the only one being investigated.

The Zheng family of Xingyang and the Lu family of Fanyang

These two families were no less powerful than the Cui family in the salt industry.

They also received samples.

The attempt to replicate it also failed.

The problem was found to be salt.

The three aristocratic families reached the same conclusion almost on the same day:

The secret of five-spice powder lies not in the recipe.

In salt.

Someone has mastered a type of salt that they cannot make.

And this salt, under the guise of "seasoning," is quietly seeping into every dining table in Chang'an.

---

The Cui family acted the fastest.

The manager, along with two others, spent three days getting a general idea of ​​the distribution chain for the five spices.

The five spices flowed out of the palace.

The origin is the Empress's Lizheng Hall.

The five spices in the Lizheng Palace were brought in by Princess Changle, Li Lizhi.

It ends at this level.

Where did Princess Chang Le get the five spices?

Nobody knows.

There are no relevant entries in the Princess's residence's purchasing records.

No orders have been placed with any shops.

I have not had any contact with any known pharmaceutical or raw material suppliers.

The thing seemed to appear out of thin air.

It's exactly the same as the white sugar we had before.

The steward of the Cui family reported this result to Cui Jingzhi.

After listening, Cui Jingzhi remained silent for a long time.

"Keep an eye on Princess Chang Le?" the steward asked tentatively.

"We can't keep an eye on the princess," Cui Jingzhi shook his head. "She's His Majesty's most beloved eldest daughter. Keeping an eye on her is like slapping His Majesty in the face. If word gets out, the Cui family will be in deep trouble."

He thought about it.

"Keep an eye on the people around her."

"The maids, eunuchs, and errand runners—these people always have to go out of the palace to buy things, right? They always have to come into contact with people outside, right?"

"Follow them, see where they go, who they meet, and what they take."

"Be careful. Don't get caught."

The steward nodded and left.

……

the next day.

When Yu Shu went out of the palace to buy things, two more people followed her.

She didn't notice.

Yu Shu was Li Lizhi's personal maid, and it was common for her to go out of the palace to shop.

Cosmetics, silk, and seasonal fruits—the palace rations of these things were insufficient, so Her Highness often sent her out to replenish them.

Today she went to the East Market.

I bought two bolts of plain silk.

A box of rouge.

I went to a dried fruit shop and bought some walnuts and red dates.

The two people following behind wrote down the name of each shop.

No anomalies were found.