In this era, pork was still a cheap food eaten by ordinary people and could not be used in high-end banquets. Even when Huang Qiong made Guobao Pork, the emperor didn't eat less. But in a high-end occasion like an imperial banquet, that thing would not be served. Therefore, among these dishes, duck is the lowest grade, with mutton and venison accounting for the majority.
If it weren't for today's royal banquet, Huang Qiong wouldn't be able to think of it at all. In this era of underdeveloped transportation, in the capital far away from the sea, you can still eat live sea shrimps, and they are authentic Bohai shrimps. That big shrimp was as long as Huang Qiong's hand. Huang Qiong is a foodie himself, but there is no way he can eat this shrimp. Before it is made into a delicacy, it is not alive at all.
It's winter now, and in this capital, thousands of miles away from the sea, it's not surprising to eat frozen seafood. But when it comes to eating live shrimp, the shrimp is probably worth thousands of gold. In addition to other equally cherished ingredients, as well as all aspects of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Honglu Temple, and the people in charge of the royal banquet, I am afraid that this banquet cannot be served without Wan Guan.
I recall that in a certain dynasty hundreds of years later, an egg worth only a few cents would be quoted twenty or thirty taels of silver when it was delivered to the emperor's table, and its worth would increase hundreds of times. Think about those officials who are now so bold that they even dare to steal and sell out all the food in their official warehouses. Presumably, if this royal banquet was placed in a restaurant and cost 10,000 guan, the guys in the chamberlain department would dare to report 50,000 guan.
It would be fine if it were a normal year, but now it is a year of severe drought, and countless victims in the northwest are crying for food. There are countless refugees inside and outside the capital, and a heavy snowfall can cause them to go without food for several days. The whole family didn't even have a winter coat or quilt to keep out the cold. The so-called peaceful and prosperous age is nothing more than this, and it only exists in official history books. The true appearance cannot even withstand the test of a heavy snowfall.
A royal banquet in the palace costs one hundred thousand yuan. If word spreads, how will others view Tianjia? It was true that the wealthy family was stinking of wine and meat, and the streets were frozen to death. Thinking of this, Huang Qiong could only smile bitterly and shake his head. Facing the emperor who frequently raised his glasses and the Prince of Guilin with a fake smile on his face, he could only brace himself to deal with it. Face-saving projects still need to be done.
Everyone is a person who cherishes blessings, and only tastes delicious dishes. For those lower-level officials or ordinary people, the imperial banquet is not only a great honor, but also allows them to eat things that they would never dare to think about. But to these people, Yuyan is just a name. Not to mention the emperor, there is also the richest man at home and abroad, the Prince of Guilin. What has he not eaten?
Even the emperor may not have eaten what others ate. For example, those who live inland may not even have heard of rare seafood such as lobsters and king crabs, which are abundant in the South China Sea, let alone eating them. After all, in this era, fresh seafood is not popular in most areas due to difficulties in transportation and preservation. Fish, shrimps, crabs, including shellfish, mainly river fresh food.
For wealthy families, in addition to the usual mutton, chickens and ducks, their treasures are mostly mountain products. After all, at this time, unlike hundreds of years later, all wild animals that could fly and run, except mice, were almost extinct. It can be said that where there are mountains, there are beasts. The last time Huang Qiong went to Shaolin Temple, when passing through Songshan Mountain, he saw a large group of sika deer wandering beside the official road.
Therefore, in this era, mountain delicacies are the most delicious, and seafood is far behind. The Prince of Guilin is guarding the South China Sea. What kind of delicious seafood can't he eat? You know, Guilin is much closer to the sea than Jingzhao. What's more, due to climate reasons, the game available in the south may not be available in the north, such as civets, pangolins, and cobras.
Huang Qiong bets that he, the emperor, who has never left the north since he ascended the throne, must have never eaten it. I just don’t know if the Guilin County Prince eats the very popular things in Guangdong and Guangxi, such as three-ringed rats and dragon lice. Seeing the Guilin Prince showing no interest in the delicacies on the table, Huang Qiong couldn't help but think viciously.
Since there was no shortage of food, the table was full of royal banquets. Except for Huang Qiong who was full of thoughts and did not take a few bites, the rest of the people only moved their chopsticks occasionally. Even except for a few dishes, most of the dishes were not even touched. Although we also know that these dishes will be rewarded to eunuchs and palace maids in the end, it is not actually a waste.
But seeing the table full of untouched high-end dishes being wasted like this, Huang Qiong was still speechless. But today the emperor at least looks happy. Although I didn't eat a few bites of the food, I drank a lot of this wine which is rare. He was very excited and chatted a lot with the Prince of Guilin.
Halfway through the banquet, the somewhat excited emperor, regardless of his dignity as emperor, came to the King of Guilin with a wine glass and said: "How about it, my son Aiqing is satisfied. After the New Year, I will tell Qin Tian We will select an auspicious day and hold a betrothal ceremony for them. In the hope of spring, we will take care of their affairs. In this way, Aiqing can go back with peace of mind."
Regarding the emperor's proposal, the equally shrewd Prince of Guilin would naturally not refute: "Since the emperor believes that the beauty of the little girl Pu Liu is worthy of His Royal Highness, the foreign ministers will naturally be respectful and disobey. However, next spring there will be Isn't it a bit too much to arrange a wedding for them? Foreign ministers know that princes usually get married at the age of twenty. "
Regarding the words of the Prince of Guilin, the emperor smiled lightly and said: "How come you are not worthy? In this world, if you are the princess of the Prince's Palace of Guilin and you are not worthy to be the Queen of my Da Qi Dynasty, whose daughter is there? I have this qualification. As for whether I worry about it or not, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Ah Jiu will be nineteen after the New Year, and your princess will be eighteen after the New Year. It’s nothing to be a year ahead of schedule.”
This must be the first time that the emperor mentioned the matter of appointing his daughter as the next queen in front of the Guilin County King. After listening to the emperor's words, not only the expressions of the prince and Situ Huanshuang changed slightly. Even the Prince of Guilin, who was probably also very cunning, couldn't help but be shocked.
Huang Qiong, who was accompanying the emperor to propose a toast, looked meaningfully at Huang Qiong. After hearing what the emperor said, which could even be earth-shattering, but with a calm face, Huang Qiong laughed and said, "The emperor treats my little girl like this." Such love really makes Foreign Minister not know what to say. Foreign Minister did not expect that my little girl would be so lucky to be selected by the Emperor as the new Crown Princess."
Regarding the flattering words of the Guilin County Prince, the emperor looked at him, laughed and said: "Of course, there are some things that cannot be said yet. I am happy today. I drank a little too much wine, and with this opening of my mouth, I will I have spoken out what is in my heart. I hope that if you love me, you will keep it a secret for me. After the two children get married, I will naturally take action."
After looking at the emperor who was obviously drunk, he pondered for a moment, and the prince of Guilin naturally took the crown prince and the princess and knelt down to express his gratitude. Behind the emperor, looking at the somewhat hypocritical Prince of Guilin, Huang Qiong said nothing on the surface, but in her heart she curled her lips slightly, somewhat mocking the two men for their fake acting skills.
Although I have never known how much alcohol I, the emperor, have. But based on Huang Qiong's understanding of himself as the emperor, let alone drinking too much in front of a foreign minister like the Prince of Guilin. Even in front of a son like him, he would never drink too much. The fact that he drinks a little too much is obviously intentional and he wants to express his thoughts.
As for the Guilin County Prince who has become his father-in-law, I am afraid that he is also full of reluctance. Didn't Shuang'er say that her future father-in-law is interested in Prince Shen and Prince Song, who are easier to grasp than herself, and she is not his first choice. Even if the position is given to a queen, for the King of Guilin, having a son-in-law whom he cannot control is not a good thing.
Although the expression on his future father-in-law's face was well concealed after hearing the old man's words, the slight frown was enough to show that his true thoughts were at least not as good as what he said. I'm afraid that right now, he is thinking more about how to deal with his future son-in-law in the future. If Situ Huanshuang is really his daughter.
Huang Qiong knew very well that despite the fact that he, the emperor, and the Guilin County Prince looked like they were in harmony with each other. In fact, I may be thinking about how to plot against the other party. The Prince of Guilin has been in Beijing for so long, Huang Qiong does not believe that the emperor has not discussed with him the right to trade overseas.
Not to mention a vacant position that is still in vain, but now he is immediately made the father-in-law of the emperor. But if he were asked to hand over the trade rights that the Guilin County Prince's Palace had monopolized for hundreds of years just for such a status, I'm afraid he would never be willing to do so. It's just that this is an old fox. If you have any thoughts, you will only do them secretly and will never show them on your face.
Thinking of this, Huang Qiong took another casual look. The emperor, who had been very excited today, secretly shook his head. Although my acting skills as an emperor are a bit poor, my scheming skills are not bad either. Even if I wish that I could take back the overseas trade rights tomorrow, I am not lacking in all the superficial skills that I should do. After all, I have been the king for many years.
There are two old foxes in front of me. One occupies supreme power, but lacks the corresponding talents. One has almost all the time, place, and even people, but has no rights. If the two fight against each other, it is estimated that there will be a battle between dragons and tigers. I don’t know who will have the last laugh among these two old foxes in this fight.
It just doesn't matter whether it's the emperor or the king of Guilin. Whether it is an open fight or a secret fight. Where this matter will go from now on is beyond Huang Qiong's control. He just hoped that no matter how the two of them fought privately, it would be fine, but they would definitely use the people of the world as bets, causing a real sword-fight and chaos in the world.
There is no banquet in this world that lasts forever. Originally, today's royal banquet was for Huang Qiong's marriage. Now that the marriage has been decided, it means that the royal banquet has come to an end. No matter what the emperor and the prince of Guilin really think in their hearts. But at least on the surface, the guest and the host were able to enjoy themselves.
It doesn't matter if it's really just this amount of drinking, or if it's just pretending to drink too much. After seeing off the Guilin County Prince and his family, who were obviously unable to sit still and were eager to return home, the old man, who had drunk a lot of wine today as an exception, clearly showed signs of fatigue on his face. The waist that had always been straight in front of the Prince of Guilin also became somewhat rickety.
Seeing that the old man was obviously tired, Huang Qiong, who had just sent the Guilin County Prince's family to the main entrance of the palace on behalf of the old man and was returning, hurriedly took a few steps to help him. Looking at Huang Qiong who came to support him, after hesitating for a moment, he slowly lowered his hand that was about to refuse. He nodded and said, "I'm really tired today. Please accompany me for a walk in the Royal Garden."
