The master of the imperial dining room who fried the yellow finch was washing his hands while reprimanding the little apprentice: "I am still careful in my work, but my movements are too slow! You have become a celebrity chef, and you are slower in the restaurant, and there are still some diners who are willing to wait for you, but if you go one level higher, in the palace, you neglect these masters, it is a sin to kill your head. ”

The little apprentice nodded again and again, and said in a panicked tone: "Master, you are right, the apprentice must pay attention in the future." The first time I went on the apprentice, I was really nervous, so I was slower. ”

The master didn't raise his head and said, "You remember, you always have to be trembling when doing things in the palace, and you have to be careful from the first time to the last time. Because no matter what you do, it is easy to find fault, it's not that you don't do well, it mainly depends on the mood of these masters, and everything else depends on fate. That's why Master is strict with you and wants you to do things as well as you can, so that you won't be easy to get caught. Got it?"

However, the little apprentice did not answer him immediately, and the master of the imperial dining room felt a little strange, and when he wiped his hands with a cloth, he heard the apprentice plop and knelt down, and said, "Adults, what's wrong?"

The master of the imperial dining room put down the cloth, turned his head, and saw a few guards standing at the door, with a menacing appearance, and the guards led by him said in a strange manner: "The Queen Mother wants me to ask, who made that plate of pickled yellow finch?"

The master of the imperial dining room was stunned for a moment and said, "It's made of small ones." What, the Queen Mother doesn't like it?"

The guards at the head did not answer, and as soon as his hand was raised, several guards next to him stepped forward, grabbed his two arms respectively, tightly cuffed him, and dragged him out. The little apprentice was anxious and said, "What are you doing? There will be nothing wrong with my master's cooking, he has been here for more than ten years!"

"More than ten years?" the guard sneered, "Maybe it's been dormant for more than ten years, just to make a ghost today." You people, none of you can be trusted, after all, even the emperor will have an accident because of eating, and the disaster comes from the mouth, and it really can't be prevented. ”

"What?" the apprentice said angrily, "Since the accident in the palace, the imperial dining room has been cooking the same dishes every day, all of which are the same ingredients, how can it be possible to do anything?"

However, at this time, the master of the imperial dining room waved his hand at him and sighed: "Okay, since it is the queen mother's intention, you can take me away." Hey, apprentice, do you remember what I just said?"

The apprentice said: "But the master ......"

"Do you remember?"

"I'm ......," the apprentice gritted his teeth, "remember, master, go ahead!"

The master of the imperial dining room was brought to the Queen Mother, who raised her head, and the smile on her face was like a melting ice flower, which quickly dissipated and faded once it was illuminated by the sun. Her eyes are as cold as ice at the moment, intimidating the world, and those subordinates will tremble just by being swept by their eyes: being directly summoned by the Queen Mother for questioning is either a great good thing or a great bad thing.

The master of the imperial dining room faced the Queen Mother for the first time, and was shocked by her beauty and majesty, and was completely speechless for a while. The most majestic woman in the world ate (one hundredth) of what he ate, and he finally realized that his responsibility was greater and more arduous than he had imagined.

He was just stunned, and the guard next to him kicked him on the knee and said, "Be bold, when you see the supreme queen mother, you don't kneel down and ask for guilt!"

The master of the imperial dining room knelt on the ground, and as soon as he spoke, he heard an uncontrollable tremor in his voice: "Queen Mother, what is the crime of the slave?"

Tong Guan shouted angrily: "Bold! Dare to argue with the Queen Mother!"

The Queen Mother didn't show much emotion, she lowered her head and played with her beautiful nails. Her hands are smooth and delicate, they are hands that never work, and they are maintained like a girl. The Queen Mother looked at her hands and felt very satisfied, then looked up at the cook, and said slowly: "It's okay that this pickled yellow finch came late today." But why don't you use steaming, but use oil to fry? Pickled yellow finches are already fresh and plump, steaming can best retain its taste, but it has to be too oily, so that the noise dominates, and the oil is too much, but it is a pity. ”

As soon as the cook heard this, a cold sweat broke out: I thought that the Queen Mother would not touch this dish, but who expected that the Queen Mother not only ate it, but also knew how to eat it, and was very dissatisfied with its new method. He had to explain stubbornly: "The Queen Mother Mingjian. On weekdays, this dish is dry steamed, but you say you're tired of eating it. The servant thought of a new way to cook, so that the Queen Mother might be more comfortable eating. ”

When Tong Guan heard this, he sneered and said: "What the Queen Mother likes to eat, what she wants to eat, you need to be a cook to figure it out, you are a big celebrity around the Queen Mother or what, dare to overstep your authority, it is really not a pity to die! Everyone knows what has happened in the palace recently, and it is precisely at this moment of urgency that no variables are allowed, including the food, and it is absolutely forbidden to suddenly change the dishes." You're good, self-righteous, change steaming to frying, who knows if you're a trickster in it!"

The cook kowtowed and apologized: "The slave knows his mistake." The minion will definitely change the yellow finch back to the original method next time, and he will not disappoint the queen mother again. I just ask the Queen Mother to open up and let the minions go......"

The Queen Mother chuckled. When the Queen Mother laughed, he suddenly felt creepy and unpredictable, and his fate was just a plaything in her hands. He heard his own kowtowing sound dull and indistinct, and he was too frightened to do anything but keep kowtowing.

And Tong Guan's voice was neutral and slightly high, he laughed along, and then said to himself: "You are a cook, just seeing the Queen Mother, you have already cultivated a blessing for several lifetimes, and you still think that your dishes are delicious and move the Queen Mother? The Queen Mother is angry that you made this kind of thing, you don't follow the rules, even if you are cut by a thousand knives, it is not a pity at all!

The men on both sides immediately grabbed the cook's hand and dragged him out. The cook tried to struggle, but it was useless, he just gave up, and the man collapsed, and his strength disappeared along with his courage.

The Queen Mother didn't look there, but slowly picked up a bowl, scooped half a bowl of soup, and took a sip. This bowl of soup is as clear as water, the soup is fresh and tender cabbage, but there is a hidden mystery in it, it tastes fresh and elegant, the taste is rich and mellow, not oily or greasy, fragrant and refreshing. This dish is called "broth cabbage", it is to put the old hen and ham into the pot to boil a pot of broth, two hours later, the soup residue is separated from the oil slick with a sieve, and then put in the minced meat and stir well, wait until the minced meat floats up and then take it out with a colander spoon, boil the soup again, put in the dried scallops to boil; and finally completely separate the slag and remove the oil, the soup is already fresh and clear like water at the moment, and it can be sprinkled with a small amount of salt to taste. The Queen Mother has a light taste, and deliberately reduces the amount of salt to increase the umami flavor. Then divide the soup into two pots, select the cabbage heart until it is tender and good, put it into one of the pots of soup and cook it for seven ripeness, rinse it with water out of the pot, and then use a small silver needle to repeatedly pierce the cabbage heart out of thousands of holes, put it in a colander spoon, pour it down with the broth, and thoroughly blanch the cabbage heart. Throw away this pot of soup, put the choy sum in the bottom of the bowl, and scoop another pot of stock into the bowl, so that a pot of broth cabbage is ready.

Tong Guan rubbed his hands. Although the inside of the hall is not very cold, it is still a little worse than the imperial dining room. He looked at the cook's desperate appearance, as if he had found the meaning of life, so he crossed his waist and pointed to the guards and taught them a lesson: "What are you still doing in a daze, drag it down, and punish it—"

The Queen Mother said slowly: "Slow, I still have something to ask." ”

"Ahh As he spoke, he quickly reached over, took the bowl and spoon, scooped up a spoonful of cabbage and put it into the bowl, scooped a small spoonful to his mouth, puffed up his cheeks and blew for a long time.

The Queen Mother smiled: "Don't you still have something to announce? The mourning family has long hands and mouths, and there is no need to bother Tong's father-in-law when he drinks a sip of soup. ”

As soon as Tong Guan heard this, he was so frightened that he immediately knelt down with the bowl in his hand, and said: "The Queen Mother atons for her sins! The slave doesn't know that the Queen Mother has something to talk about when she comes to our imperial dining room manager, and she makes her own initiative to take him to punish the crime, and the slave deserves to die for his crimes, and he deserves to die for his crimes!"

The master of the imperial dining room was also stunned, thinking that he was going to die, but who knew that this was not the case. He raised his head in surprise, and the moment he raised his eyes to meet the Queen Mother, he didn't dare to continue to look up, he lowered his eyebrows, held his breath, and listened to the fall.

"It's not easy to cook this thing. The Queen Mother said slowly, "As far as I know, the Cai Jing family, which belongs to the Ministry of Households, has done the best in Bianjing City, and this atmosphere is also brought up by him." Cai Jing has no ambitions, his only hobby is to like to eat pickled yellow finch, I heard that the yellow finch piled up at home, even if he is reincarnated two hundred times, he can't eat it all. ”

The master of the imperial dining room bowed his head and remained silent until the Queen Mother asked him: "You invented the way to pickle yellow finches, right?"

The master of the imperial dining room said, "Yes." ”

"Yes, it's you. You're a cook at Cai Jing's house, aren't you?"

The master of the imperial dining room nodded, and said in a cold sweat: "Exactly, it was Lord Cai who asked me to enter the palace and enter the imperial dining room." Lord Cai is loyal, and what the slave did today is just my own mistake, and it has nothing to do with Lord Cai. ”

The Queen Mother smiled lightly: "I understand the appetite of the master, no wonder Cai Jing is willing to recommend you over, and I really can't bear to cut my love." I don't know if the pickled yellow finches he eats at home now will still be as delicious as before, and what his appetite is...... Tong Guan, get up. Her eyes wandered, and she glanced at Tong Guan next to her, Tong Guan hurriedly got up from the ground, put the soup bowl on the table, and said, "Empress Dowager Xie." ”

"The mourning family is full. The Queen Mother said. Tong Guan hurriedly glanced at the subordinates, and immediately someone ran to clean up the table, and the movement was very small and fast.

Tong Guan went to the Queen Mother's side again, stretched out a hand to the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother slowly got up, walked a few steps to the master of the imperial dining room, and said: "You are a person with a heart, and you are very loyal, and the mourning family can also trust you, you will not be killed because of the change in the cooking method of the same thing, this will also be a big blow to Cai Jing, isn't it? By the way, how is Cai Jing doing?"

The master of the imperial dining room has been staying in the palace, how can he know about his master outside the palace? Although the queen mother is talking to him, she is actually saying this to Tong Guan. Tong Guan and Cai Jing have a good relationship, and Cai Jing also knows most of Tong Guan's affairs. Tong Guan naturally understood, and hurriedly leaned over and said: "Queen Mother, in addition to the government affairs to be dealt with recently, Lord Cai is also running around for the affairs in the palace, day and night, night and night, the whole person is very haggard. ”

The Queen Mother said: "Oh. Even if he didn't arrange things, he was so caring, which is really rare. During the special period, the entire court has worked hard. By the way, are there any rumors in Bianjing?"

Tong Guan said: "This is exactly where Lord Cai's usual job lies. Lord Cai was conscientious, and in order not to cause panic, he blocked the news tightly, even if there were a very small number of people spreading rumors, they were immediately arrested, and serious ones have been corrected on the spot. The lockdown of Bianjing City is also explained to the people as repairing the plank road and postponing it for a few days, the reason is very humane, but the attitude remains tough. So, Queen Mother, don't worry, gossip can't get out, people can't get out, and it is imperative to catch the murderer. ”

The Queen Mother listened to him, thought for a while, and said with a wry smile: "A good one is imperative." It's just that the emperor himself said that the murderer was his younger brother, and pointed at Zhao Ji's nose to say this sentence, even if he was delirious and said it, but after all, it was the emperor, what could the mourning family do? Ji'er, this child is very sensible and very kind, and he has to come to me every day to say goodbye, and the mourning family will never believe it. ”

Tong Guan said: "The Queen Mother is very right. The Queen Mother really cares about His Royal Highness Duan Wang, although she is putting him in prison, in fact, she is serving him with delicious food and drink, and letting General Wang follow him to protect him, it is really benevolent and righteous, and it can't be better. Don't blame yourself, Queen Mother, you will definitely be able to find the murderer, save the emperor's life, and also restore the innocence of His Royal Highness......"

The Queen Mother sighed and said, "It's just like this, where has Ji'er suffered like this." Fortunately, only one day has passed...... No, not a day. Only one night and one morning. Ji'er should have woken up for a while, he was bored at this time, right? If it was a long time, it wasn't that what would happen to him, but that someone would definitely suspect what was going on in the palace. The emperor did not go to the court today, and the mourning family could go to the court for him and deceive the people of Bianjing. But after a long time, you always have to goof, you can't hide it, and you can't hide it. It is necessary to save the emperor, but if-"

The Queen Mother slowly turned her head, looked at Tong Guan, and said, "Tong Guan, do you understand?"

Tong Guan hurriedly whispered: "The Queen Mother ......"

"Not only do the mourning family understand, you know, these princes and courtiers also understand. The Queen Mother said slowly, "Fighting is inevitable, especially this chapter, the mourning family has long seen him eyeing him, but there is no way to deal with it for a while." The mourning family has no intention of interfering in the affairs of the palace, but they can't see Zhang Dun showing his teeth and claws all day long, and there is no one in his eyes. I heard that Cai Jing has a way to deal with him, and there are quite a few masters in his family, right?"

Tong Guan was so frightened that he took three steps and made two steps, walked to the Queen Mother and knelt down, and said: "Queen Mother, it's true, Lord Cai has cultivated these masters in case of accidents, not to ......"

The Queen Mother sneered and said, "It's useless for you to panic." Not only does the mourning family know, but the emperor also knows. The ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, there are more people who do such things, they just turn a blind eye, they are all like this, who doesn't take some precautions? Don't rely on the emperor at that time to turn a blind eye, when the time comes to use you, continue to pretend to be crazy and stupid. ”

Tong Guan said: "Slave...... Minions understand. The minion will ask someone to pass on Lord Cai, minion, slave to let Lord Cai stop Lord Zhang's conspiracy. ”

The Queen Mother said: "Do you know what Zhang Dian's conspiracy is?"

Tong Guan was stunned, and he didn't dare to say anything in front of the Queen Mother, so he had to shake his head honestly and said: "The slave doesn't know, please make it clear to the Queen Mother." ”

"How can a woman in the mourning family know this. The Queen Mother's smile gradually faded, and she said, "The mourning family only knows that there is no sudden rebellion and rebellion, everything is just a long-planned plan, so it will be so logical." Zhang Dan's intentions for Shen Wang Zhao Yan are almost to the point where everyone knows about it, and he says some good things in front of the mourning family every day. There's nothing wrong with King Shen, it's just that as a prince, having such a close relationship with the minister is already very alarming, isn't it?"

Tong Guan trembled and said, "Yes." The Queen Mother said yes. ”

The queen said expressionlessly: "It's good that you know." Go and talk to Cai Jing, his people, the mourning family needs to borrow. Others say it's useless, you have to go. By the way, you have to tell him not to mix a lot, otherwise when the emperor wakes up, the mourning family will not be able to protect him. ”

"The minions understand. Tong Guan lowered his hand and said, "Then, the Queen Mother, the slave will retire first......"

The Queen Mother said: "Before that, you first ask someone to do something, anyone can do it, as long as you do it seriously." ”

Tong Guan had already guessed a few points, and cautiously tested: "What does the Queen Mother command?"

"This concubine Shen is reckless, she can't have much in her head, and her relationship with the harem concubines is also very bad. Something happened to the emperor, she lost her only supporter, and it was reasonable to be heartbroken and commit suicide. With that, the Queen Mother had already walked out.

“...... The minions understood. Tong Guan stepped forward a few steps, helped the Queen Mother, and said, "The Queen Mother can rest assured, the slave immediately called someone to do it." ”