Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

When it was Shen Qing's turn, she stepped forward and casually picked up a stick from the lottery box.

"What number?" The servant holding the lottery tube snatched the lottery ticket from Shen Qing's hand.

"Number 20, congratulations on drawing number 20." The servant handed the ticket back to Shen Qing and gave him a smile.

Shen Qing frowned slightly. What was there to congratulate him on?

Moreover, she didn't see this servant congratulating anyone else.

Strange and weird.

She didn't say anything, but walked to the side and waited for someone to draw the other number twenty.

The contestants stepped forward one by one to draw lots, and soon everyone formed pairs, except for number 20 who was not drawn.

Lee Cheol-sung was the last to step forward to draw lots.

There was only one lot left. He drew it and saw that it was number twenty.

The servant holding the lottery box quickly smiled and said, "Number twenty, you and Madam Shen are in the same group."

Li Zhesheng turned to look at Shen Qing, his gaze complex.

There are too many suspicious things about this Lady Shen. She has summoned the Golden Chopsticks Token twice in a row, and both times she used simple dishes. He can no longer tell whether it is her strength or her connections.

However, he wasn't afraid.

This test assesses his basic skills, which he has practiced since childhood and are certainly no match for a woman.

"Now, let's announce the group assignments."

"Kong Lingxian-Fang Yan as one group, Zhu Tian-Li Wei as one group, Wang Er-Sun Zhan as one group..."

"Shen Qing and Li Zhesheng form one group!"

As a contestant who has drawn two Golden Chopsticks tokens in succession, Shen Qing's group assignment is undoubtedly the focus of everyone's attention.

Upon hearing that he and Li Zhesheng had been paired together, the audience immediately erupted in discussion:

"Li Zhesheng, he comes from a family of imperial chefs. What are imperial chefs? They are people who serve the current emperor. Basic skills are no challenge for him at all!"

"Yes, I feel there's no need to compare. Li Zhesheng's basic skills are absolutely top-notch. He was trained from a family of imperial chefs since childhood."

"It seems that Madam Shen is in trouble this time."

"Although Madam Shen has prepared two Golden Chopsticks Orders, one is a cucumber salad and the other is tiger-skin eggs. They don't require any basic skills at all. I think Madam Shen is mostly clever, and she's probably going to fail this time."

"What bad luck! I wanted to see more of Madam Shen, but I ended up facing Li Zhesheng instead."

"..."

The consensus was almost unanimous; everyone felt that Shen Qing's career was truly over.

Mr. Qingci and Mr. Fang also showed some worry on their faces.

Li Zhesheng comes from a family of imperial chefs, and Old Master Sun was the former head of the imperial kitchen. Needless to say, Old Master Sun would definitely side with Li Zhesheng.

As for the other judges, one is Li Zhesheng from a family of imperial chefs, and the other is a woman from a small county town. It's easy to guess how they will choose.

Moreover, Li Zhesheng is truly capable.

Jin Ye sat in the armchair, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked at the scene. The corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up, and he looked happy and smug.

He was just using a little trick.

Offstage, Guo Tiancheng and Situ Liang both looked worried.

A family of imperial chefs—for ordinary cooks like them, a family of imperial chefs was simply beyond their reach.

"What should we do? Is Madam Shen really going to lose this time?" Situ Liang was extremely worried.

Guo Tiancheng sighed: "It's good that we can make it to the third level. At least we have someone from Ping'an County who can make it to the third level."

In the second stage of the competition, Guo Tiancheng was eliminated; he still failed to make it into the top 40 out of 100.

He tasted the two remaining tiger-skin eggs and found them to be an unparalleled delicacy, arguably the best food he had ever eaten.

But tomorrow we'll be facing Li Zhesheng from a family of imperial chefs. A family of imperial chefs, their strength is definitely formidable.

But Madam Shen is only sixteen years old, and she is a woman. She didn't start practicing her basic skills from a young age. How can this not cause concern?

"You two are being way too pessimistic," Yan Wenli said, frowning.

"I've tasted the imperial cuisine a few times, and it is indeed excellent, the most delicious food in the world. But Madam Shen's cooking is so delicious it seems otherworldly. Can't you two have a little more faith in Madam Shen?"

As the Minister of Revenue, he occasionally got to eat imperial food at palace banquets.

It was delicious, of course, but to be honest, he felt it couldn't compare to the food made by Madam Shen.

"You've even tasted imperial cuisine?" Situ Liang asked incredulously.

"Of course I've tried it! I was an official in the imperial court!"

"An official?? What kind of official are you? You don't look like an official at all." Situ Liang shook his head.

Most officials are imposing and arrogant, putting on airs and bossing others around.

But this person in front of me is straightforward and just ran up to the judges' stage to stuff eggs into their mouths. This level of unreliability doesn't seem like that of an official at all.

"I am the Minister of Revenue," Yan Wenli said helplessly.

"Are you serious?"

"certainly."

"Then you must have a lot of money?" Situ Liang's eyes lit up.

Yan Wenli was even more helpless: "Does managing money necessarily mean you have money? I'm not a corrupt official."

"I didn't know you were the Minister of Revenue, my apologies..." Guo Tiancheng, who was standing nearby, heard this and immediately tried to bow, even wanting to apologize on behalf of Situ Liang.

Yan Wenli quickly stopped him, saying, "We are all supporters of Madam Shen, so there's no need to worry about these formalities."

"Yes, yes, now that you say so, I'm relieved. I'm sure Madam Shen will pass the next test smoothly!" Guo Tiancheng's eyes lit up.

He suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.

After the competition ended, Shen Qing approached Guo Tiancheng and the others.

Although it's unclear what the three were talking about, they were clearly having a pleasant conversation.

"Madam Shen, what are we going to eat later?" Yan Wenli asked as soon as he saw Shen Qing, his expression full of anticipation.

Shen Qing was taken aback. Us?

When did you say you wanted to have dinner together?

"Why don't you come to my residence? I have everything you need. You might as well skip the inn and come stay at my residence instead. You can choose whichever courtyard you like!" Yan Wenli said in a very generous manner.

Situ Liang, standing nearby, couldn't help but whisper, "They really are rich. How could they let us choose any courtyard we wanted if they weren't rich..."

"This isn't quite right..." Guo Tiancheng couldn't help but say from the side.

Yan Wenli said nonchalantly, "Suitable? Why not? We're all from Ping'an County, practically family. How can family stay at an inn? Come on, come on, let's stay at my place!"

"Madam Shen, I have several guest courtyards in my residence. You can choose whichever you like, and you can order the servants around as you please, but..."

"Could you... make me another plate of that cucumber salad from yesterday? I really want to try it..."

The next moment, Situ Liang rolled his eyes.

No wonder the official was so kind; he was waiting for this.

However, he also wanted to try what that cucumber salad tasted like...