The firelight shone on Queen Wang's red cheeks. After stuffing a few firewood, she brushed a strand of hair on her temples behind her ears, and wiped her face with her gray hands. Her fair face was stained with black and gray marks, like a A small cat.
The corner of Xuanzong's mouth couldn't help but twitch. He was about to take out the handkerchief he was carrying and asked Yang Sixu to hand it to the queen. Unexpectedly, Xu Cairen moved faster than her. He squatted beside the queen and took the handkerchief.
After wiping Queen Wang's face clean, Xu Cairen held the Queen's face and looked at it.
And the queen gave her a bright sweet smile in return, which could dazzle people for a moment.
Xuanzong: "..."
Li Sixu stood on a stool and watched Concubine Xian cooking. She caught a glimpse of her father peeling the longevity fruit and staring at the queen mother and Xu Cairen from time to time, with the corner of his mouth raised in a subtle way.
Man, that's always the case.
Turning a blind eye to people or things that are within reach, you will be haunted by the dream of not getting what you want.
She urged Xu Cairen: "The dough at Yang Qing's place is almost ready. Go pick some leeks from the vegetable garden planted by your mother."
"Okay!"
Xu Cairen hurriedly handed the firewood in his hand to Queen Wang, went to the garden outside to pick up half a basket of leeks, washed them in the stream, and then brought them to the small kitchen.
According to Li Sixu's instructions, chop the leeks into fine pieces and mince them with the meat filling.
The leeks grown in Leng Gong are particularly fragrant. Li Sixu also poured a spoonful of longevity fruit oil when making the filling. The braised pork stewed in Xian Fei's pot does not need to be overheated. Li Sixu invited everyone to gather around the table to make dumplings.
Who has ever done kitchen work among those who are rich and noble in the royal family?
It's okay to peel a longevity fruit. It was the first time for the fourth prince to make dumplings. The dumplings were wrapped crookedly, either with too much filling or with a flat piece missing.
"Fourth brother is so stupid!"
Li Sixu laughed heartily as she stared at the dumplings made by the fourth prince.
The fourth prince was so angry that he glared at her: "Who has never cooked before?"
"Father knows how to do it!"
Li Sixu pointed at the dumplings on Xuanzong's plate: "Look at how well my father makes them. They are all neat and beautiful. My father is so capable. He can rule the country with literature and military skills. He can even learn how to make dumplings." Yes, I’ll get started quickly.”
Xuanzong was praised very much by his tenth princess. He didn't know whether he was thinking of the person who taught him how to make dumplings in the prince's palace, or he wanted to show the queen how well he made dumplings. He was afraid that the queen wouldn't see it. After putting down the dumplings in his hand, He also deliberately pushed the plate holding the dumplings to the middle of the table.
"My princess is right, Yan'er is too stupid!"
Xuanzong looked at the fourth prince with disgust: "You can eat the dumplings made by Yan'er by yourself."
"Father!"
Suffering a double blow from Xuanzong and Li Sixu, the fourth prince was filled with resentment.
Empress Wang glanced at Xuanzong and comforted the fourth prince: "It's my first time to wrap it up like this. Just be careful not to put too much filling. If you don't know how to handle it, you can dip some water on the edge of the dumpling wrapper first."
The queen demonstrated step by step, and as expected, Li Yan was much better at getting started.
Yang Sixu and Li Kailuo, who had never cooked before, felt itchy when they saw it. Li Sixu hurriedly invited them to join. As top masters, they were proficient in all kinds of martial arts, but they were worried about making small dumplings.
The way they were running around in a hurry immediately caused a burst of laughter!
Liang Dong saw that the dignified General Zuo Yulin and the decisive Eunuch Yang beside His Majesty were in embarrassment, and he hurriedly accepted the job of teaching them how to make dumplings.
How can anyone be stupid if he can become an important minister of Xuanzong?
After mastering the method, Yang Sixu and Li Kailuo quickly got started and performed well.
She was clearly in the cold palace, but because Li Sixu gathered everyone around to make dumplings, a burst of laughter came from the small room next to the frying shop. She squatted under the eaves and peeked in the cold wind for a while, while De Fei stared blankly at the sky.
Is this a cold palace?
Is this still the Daming Palace?
The queen cooks the fire and chooses the dishes, and the wise concubine serves as the cook?
Also, is the one making dumplings still the emperor?
Why would even Yang Sixu, who kills people without blinking an eye, sit there with a weird look on his face while making dumplings with a smile?
Concubine De fell into confusion!
After entering the cold palace, Concubine De was tortured by Xu Cairen until she was left half alive. Her desire for food made her sense of smell sharper.
She sat under the eaves, and her mouth watered when she smelled the aroma of fried pork slices, stewed meat with star anise and cinnamon, and stewed pork bones with lotus roots and longevity fruits.
All kinds of fragrances are mixed together, and finally become the fragrance of longevity fruit exploding in the pot.
De Fei, who had been eating steamed buns with pickles for a long time, felt that if she peeped in the dark again, she would die from the smell.
She rubbed her numb legs and was about to get up and leave when a shadow fell over her head.
It seems like you are closer to the aroma of food?
Seeing Xu Cairen standing in front of her holding a bowl, Concubine De looked frightened.
Is this woman too poisonous?
Did he deliberately bring delicious food to her?
Concubine De was about to scold, but Xu Cairen pushed the bowl and chopsticks into her hands: "I know you are outside. The princess asked me to bring it to you. Eat it!"
"mine?"
Concubine De was speechless!
She was holding the bowl and people were going to be dumbfounded!
"Are you afraid that the princess and I will be poisoned?"
Xu Cairen went to grab the bowl from her hand: "If you don't know the heart of a good person, then don't eat it."
"don't want……"
She also admitted that it was poisonous!
Concubine De dodged Xu Cairen's outstretched hand, holding chopsticks, grabbing the dumplings dripping with sesame oil in the bowl and stuffing them into her mouth.
When he heard someone calling her from inside the house, Xu Cairen smiled meaningfully and ignored Concubine De and turned back to the house.
In the Leng Gong warehouse, everyone was sitting around the dumpling table, which was temporarily set up by Yang Qing. On it were a pot of fried pork slices with garlic sprouts, a pot of braised pork, several seasonal vegetables grown in Leng Gong, and a large pot of lotus root stew. Peanut soup.
Add another fried longevity nut and place it in the big bowl in the middle of the table.
Hot dumplings are also on the table!
At Li Sixu's suggestion, everyone sat together as if they were just making dumplings, regardless of the etiquette of monarchs and ministers.
The meat slices stir-fried with garlic sprouts are alternately fat and lean, slightly browned and curled. There are tempeh and garlic sprouts inside. The aroma of garlic and soy sauce are mixed together. It smells fragrant and tastes better when eaten.
Xuanzong tasted a piece of fried pork with garlic sprouts and was full of praise: "I have never eaten such delicious pork."
"That's because the imperial dining room's cooking method was too greasy. I asked the Concubine Xian to cut the fat and thin meat into thin slices, and then slowly fry the fat in the meat on the bottom of a pot greased with longevity oil. Fry until browned and curled, so it’s not greasy.”
Xuanzong then looked at the pot of braised pork that was golden in color, dipped in sauce, and exuding a tantalizing aroma.
Li Sixu hurriedly explained: "This is not greasy. I asked Concubine Xian to put some orange peels on it to remove the greasiness. Father, please give it a try."
Yang Sixu was busy preparing food for him. Xuanzong picked up a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth. As expected, it tasted slightly elastic, fat but not greasy. Compared with the mutton he loved to eat, it had a different flavor.
The taste buds got the ultimate enjoyment, and Xuanzong was amazed: "So pork can be so delicious?"
