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

"I don't want to."

The moment the words left his mouth, Yelü Qi felt as if his heart was breaking, and his last glimmer of hope vanished.

It hurts so much, it's so painful.

I really want to bring back to Liaodong with stir-fried snails and wolf-tooth potatoes.

Why did Heaven treat him this way? Why is Lady Shen from Da'an and not from Da Liao? It's so unfair, so incredibly unfair.

"Lady Shen will not be going to the Liao Dynasty, so the Third Prince should enjoy today's palace banquet." The Emperor looked smug, his tone even revealing a hint of boasting.

As expected, Madam Shen was still on his side.

I'm so angry at this stinking foreigner!

Liao Dynasty envoy: "..."

It was intentional! Emperor Da'an must have done it on purpose!

The three princes will certainly not tolerate this.

Can we take this Lady Shen away?

"Since Madam Shen is unwilling, I naturally won't force her... By the way, when can we eat those... iced glutinous rice balls?"

Yelü Qi was sad for a while, then turned his attention to the bayberry glutinous rice balls.

Emperor Da'an said he would enjoy the palace banquet, so of course he would enjoy it to the fullest.

After this meal, who knows where the next one will come from?

But whatever, let's eat this meal first.

"Please take your seats first, so we can serve the food. Or do you really want to wait in line?" Shen Qing said.

The shout of "queue up" was just to maintain order temporarily, but this is a palace banquet, what kind of behavior is queuing up?

Moreover, palace maids can serve dishes faster.

"Queue up! We need to queue up!!" Nangong Jing, sitting at the top, couldn't help but shout.

He missed the Zhiwei Restaurant outside the palace so much. These days he was confined to the East Palace and was suffering terribly.

Countless times in the dead of night, he dreamt of queuing in front of the Zhiwei Restaurant.

Although he was initially reluctant to queue, he has now come to love queuing.

The emperor's eyes lit up: "How about this, let's use silver to buy food for Lady Shen, just like we would outside the palace."

"As for the price, how about one thousand taels of silver per portion?"

Shen Qing: "..."

Good heavens, this emperor is even more ruthless than the system.

A thousand taels of silver? Are you crazy?

Are you addicted to role-playing games?

Yelü Qi frowned slightly: "This is a palace banquet..."

"The palace banquet is boring. Let's do something more interesting and line up to buy Lady Shen's delicacies!" The emperor was in high spirits, clearly having made up his mind.

Each dish costs 1,000 taels of silver. Including the bayberry ice glutinous rice balls, there are seven dishes in total. Each person has to pay 7,000 taels of silver. When you calculate it, it is another huge sum of money.

He'd stuff it all into his private coffers; just thinking about it makes me happy.

Lady Shen is truly his lucky star!

Yelü Qi: "..."

What should I do if I really want to eat something but don't want to spend money?

Liao envoy: Emperor Da'an must be desperate for money!

But their Liao Dynasty was poor too.

What's even more frightening is that they actually wanted to pay for the food.

He really has gone mad.

The ministers of Da'an: Oh no, His Majesty has started to amass wealth.

I was supposed to enjoy the palace banquet, but I feel so sad and want to cry.

"Your Majesty is wise," Pei Yuan said calmly. "I just wonder whether the money for the food ended up going to Lady Shen or..."

The emperor choked, stammering, "...Of course...it's for Lady Shen!"

"If that's the case, it's quite reasonable for Madam Shen to cook the food and collect the money. What do you all think?"

"A thousand taels it is, it's worth it to buy food for Madam Shen!" Prince Chun spoke first.

The eldest princess chimed in, "That's right! I'm willing to offer a thousand taels for Lady Shen's food!"

"I am willing too!"

"I'm willing too! What's money? Let's eat first!"

"Money may be spent, but it will come back again; I'm going to eat my fill today!"

"..."

Yelü Qi saw this and realized that if he didn't agree, he might not get to eat.

So he shouted repeatedly, "I'm willing too!!!"

Other Liao envoys: Well, they wanted to eat too, so they had no choice but to agree.

But are these Da'an people really not conspiring to swindle them out of their money?

The Zhiwei Restaurant isn't expensive at all.

Since things have come to this, the queuing arrangement is settled.

Those who need banknotes should use banknotes; those who don't need banknotes should write IOUs.

Before long, Shen Qing had collected a pile of silver notes and a pile of IOUs.

Yelü Qi finally got his share of bayberry glutinous rice balls.

Inside the white porcelain bowl was a deep red bayberry soup, with a layer of crystal-clear crushed ice at the bottom. The bayberry soup seeped down through the gaps in the ice, turning the crushed ice a crimson color.

You can still vaguely see a few whole bayberry pieces.

Small glutinous rice balls float on the bayberry soup noodles, each one round and uniform in size. A few mint leaves are sprinkled around the edge of the bowl, and cool air rises from the rim of the bowl, hitting people's faces directly.

Yelü Qi couldn't wait to scoop up a spoonful.

The crushed ice, bayberry juice, and mini glutinous rice balls were all put into my mouth at once.

A refreshing coolness instantly spreads throughout the mouth, dispelling the summer heat and bringing an ultimate sense of comfort.

The next moment, the sweet and sour taste of the bayberry juice exploded on the tip of the tongue.

With a gentle bite, you'll find soft and bouncy little glutinous rice balls, carrying a very subtle bayberry aroma, and a soft and chewy texture.

Take another bite of bayberry pulp; it's sweet and sour, with a hint of minty coolness.

"So refreshing!"

"This weather is perfect for eating bayberry-flavored glutinous rice balls!"

"That thousand taels of silver was absolutely worth it!!"

The Liao envoy beside him, while eating, chimed in, "That's right, absolutely right! How can there be such delicious food in the world?"

"Third Prince, why don't you try to persuade Lady Shen to return to Liao with us, or perhaps you could think of another way?"

Yan Wenli, who was enjoying his meal nearby, immediately shouted upon hearing this, "You Liao people, don't even think about making a move on Lady Shen!"

"Madam Shen will never go to your Great Liao in her entire life!!"

After saying that, he buried his head and started eating again.

It's delicious, so delicious! I wonder when I'll be able to take Lady Shen out of the palace.

Waaah, Lady Shen must be having a hard time in the palace.

"The fifth dish—crispy fried milk!" Shen Qing's voice rang out again.

Fried milk?

"Fresh milk can be fried?"

"Madam Shen, I have prepared one thousand taels of silver!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"I absolutely have to try this fried milk today!"

"..."

Instantly, the long queue formed again.

Freshly fried crispy milk is golden brown all over, with a crispy outer shell. With a gentle bite, the shell cracks open, and your teeth come into contact with the piping hot milk core.

The milk core is soft and smooth, and the rich milky aroma instantly fills the entire mouth. The crispy outer layer and the tender inner layer create an extreme contrast.

Swallow it down, and you'll find it rich and creamy with a hint of sweetness.

......