The next day, early in the morning, the big kitchen was busy, and before the morning fog dissipated, the fresh vegetables were purchased from the house.

The people in the kitchen wash the vegetables, pick the vegetables, because of the large amount, they are busy for a long time, the things were prepared yesterday, everyone has the bottom of their hearts, busy but not messy.

Han Guijia, the steward of the kitchen, commanded the meat that had been cooked in advance for further processing, his stomach growled, he was a little hungry, he picked a piece of elbow with skin, put it in his mouth, just chewed it, and before he could swallow it, he spit it out, his expression was very painful, and he shouted in a broken voice: "Old Ma Pozi." ”

The Ma Pozi was cutting braised pork, listening to her shouting, busy wiping the handle on the apron, and trotting over, "Auntie, what's the matter?" ”

A piece of the Han family's boneless and skinned elbow was thrown into her face, and she screamed loudly: "You did a good thing, can you taste this yourself?" ”

Ma Pozi was stunned, and quickly picked up the piece of elbow meat that the Han family threw on the stove, tore a small piece and put it in her mouth, grinned tightly, spit it out, and wiped her mouth with her jacket sleeve.

The Han family was so angry that he pointed at her and said, "What did I tell you, all the guests who came here today are distinguished guests, let you be careful, and give me the bucket cuddle." ”

Ma Pozi cried and said with a sad face: "I have tasted it all, the saltiness is just right, and the salt is put in a good amount, is it impossible?" ”

When Han Guijia heard this, he hurriedly lifted the lid of a pot next to him, tasted the pork ribs, and immediately spit it out, which was saltier than Fang Cai's elbow, and then tasted all the boiled cattle, sheep, rabbits, chickens, ducks, deer and other meats, all of which were salty and straight to the sand mouth.

Immediately, the Han family was stupid, their eyes were straight, and it took a long time to react, at this time, the cooks on the kitchen stove all gathered around, and they were so frightened that their faces changed, and the Han family's butt sat on the ground, unable to speak.

When Ma Pozi saw that the matter was serious, her face was so frightened that her face seemed to be ashes, her lips trembled, and she muttered over and over again: "I tasted, tasted." ”

Suddenly, I saw Cheng Ying's daughter-in-law in the crowd, like a life-saving straw, and hurriedly grabbed it, "Cheng family, you and I tasted it together, the saltiness is just right, don't you say?" ”

Cheng Ying's family was also stupid, nodded busily, and said to himself: "I tasted it, it's just right, that's right, why has it changed today." ”

At this time, the mother-in-law who stole two pig's trotters yesterday also interjected: "I also tasted it, it's not salty." ”

Han Guijia on the ground got up when he heard this, "Really? ”

Several people said, "Seriously." ”

At this time, Cheng Ying's family remembered and said: "By the way, the second young lady came over, and I also tasted a piece of meat for the second young lady, and the second young lady said that it was fragrant." ”

Han Guijia lowered his head and pondered, at this time, someone brought the salt jar, the daughter-in-law of the Zhao family was a cook, and she had a good memory, and said: "I remember last night, this salt was still full of jars, why is there half of it left, I loaded it yesterday, I'm afraid I won't find salt today." ”

A cook said, "Is it that someone took advantage of people's unpreparedness to do something?"

Everyone was guilty of thinking, and the mother-in-law who gnawed on the pig's trotters yesterday said: "I will go out for a while, and I have not left anyone in the kitchen." ”

Suddenly remembered, and said: "But, I went out of Lu to Dengdong, and the bowl that was washed and put on the stove was gone, which one took it?" ”

Everyone shook their heads, and said that they didn't take it, they all ate and drank wine, and who would take an empty bowl to do something.

The mother-in-law said suspiciously: "That's weird, I obviously washed a big blue porcelain bowl, but I couldn't find it in a blink of an eye, someone must have taken it, not the kitchen must have been an outsider, and the person who came must have seen who sprinkled the salt." ”

This clue is not enough to explain anything, Han Guijia said in a hurry: "Don't find out who did it first, let's talk about what to do first, the banquet will be opened in four or five hours, and it will be too late to do it, not to mention that the pot and stove are occupied." ”

Everyone was gossiping, and they couldn't say a serious idea.

There was no way, the Han Gui family had to send someone to invite the second young lady to come, and such a big thing could not be hidden.

Shen Wanzhen listened to a daughter-in-law in the kitchen back and forth that things were boiled down, and she didn't care about changing clothes, so she hurried over, and everyone told her what happened, Shen Wanzhen put a piece of chicken in her mouth, and she coughed twice, someone hurriedly handed over a glass of water, and Shen Wanzhen took a big sip to dilute the salty taste in her mouth.

frowned and thought about how to solve it, in a few hours the guests arrived, if the dish is salty, there is a way to remedy, but the meat has tasted, there is no way.

Han Guijia was flustered, knelt down with a bang, and begged: "Master forgiveness, really the slave and maid don't know what's going on, it's not that they don't do their best, the slave and maid have been in the house for so many years, when did there be such a big mistake, please think about it, how to get this matter done." ”

Everyone in the kitchen knelt down one after another, begging: "Please have mercy on the master, such a big event today, if you go on a business trip, the slaves and maids will not live, and the errand will be smashed." ”

"Get up, everyone is thinking about what can be remedied."

Shen Wanzhen thought of a few ideas in her mind, the only idea, and I felt that it was slightly feasible, that is, to go to the big restaurant in the capital to ask for food, but so many people, how much money is spent, this large amount, from the account, the uncle and Mrs. must know that they are nothing, at most blame a frizz, but these people have suffered, the errand is gone, it is equivalent to no job, they all drag their families, and they have been working in the big kitchen for some years, and their reputation is ruined.

If you redo it, not to mention that it is not in a hurry, the meat is frozen, and it will take a few hours to thaw for a while, which is obviously not possible.

At this time, a rough maid carried a charcoal brazier, Shen Wanzhen suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and remembered a poem: "Green ant new cool wine, red clay small stove, late day snow desire, can you drink a cup of nothing?" ”

Remembering that when the library was moving the dishes, she saw some charcoal hot pot in the warehouse, she asked at the time, and the next person said that the uncle had a heavy snow day banquet, vassal elegance, eating meat and drinking, chanting poems against it, and it was purchased now, and it was put for a few years, and no one moved.

The more Wanzhen thought about it, the more she felt that this idea was feasible, so she said to the Han family: "You don't have to worry, the green vegetables are done, the meat is not nothing, I have an idea, do you think it will work?" "Say it, just say it.

The Han family's face instantly brightened, and he said, "Okay! This method is good, eat the pot, this is not to say, the meaning is also new, these days in the next few days, who is tired of eating meat, this method is novel and chic. ”

Everyone said it was a good idea.

Shen Wanzhen immediately asked people to open the warehouse, take out the charcoal hot pot, the prince and the princess, live in the upper hall, form a separate seat, naturally one person has a warm pot, low-level officials, sit around the table, put a small charcoal stove on the table, set up a soup pot on the stove, four or five people a seat, and solve the problem of few pots.

Next, there is another problem, the ancient shabu-shabu, there is no machine for cutting meat, and it is cut manually, which requires good knife work, Shen Wanzhen picked out a few skilled knife cooks, did nothing, and was responsible for cutting meat, Shen Wanzhen instructed, "Remember, it must be fine, and the thinner the cut, the better." ”

Shen Wanzhen asked the subordinates in the second room to help, like Mrs. Qian, although she usually doesn't go to the stove, but her knife skills are good, so she also joins the meat cutting.

Shen Wanzhen brought paper and pen again, and personally wrote a list of the ingredients that should be prepared.

Vegetables: cabbage, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, lotus root, callus white, winter bamboo shoots, winter melon, shiitake mushrooms, mung bean sprouts, frozen tofu, coriander, garlic, green onions, etc.

Dried fruits: magnolia slices, dried bamboo shoots, red dates, bamboo sun, etc.

Meat and seafood: pig, sheep, beef, chicken, duck, goose, rabbit, fish, crab, shrimp, etc.

Game: pheasant, duck, quail, venison, dog, etc.

The people in the big kitchen of hot pot dipping sauce make their own preparation.

These are written clearly, and handed them to Han Gui's family to confirm one by one, if there are ready-made ones, wash them and set them aside, and if they don't have them, they will immediately go out of the house and buy them back.

"Eat a lot of greens." Shen Wanzhen specially advised, all the people who want to come are high-ranking officials and eunuchs, and I am tired of eating delicacies from the mountains and seas, but I can't do without it, Bofu pays attention to face, can't be too shabby, and the necessary embellishments are wanted.

The cooks in the big kitchen didn't dare to ask more than the master's orders, and they all picked up the bargain if they didn't punish them.

As soon as it was dark, the guests arrived one after another, and the men let them drink outside, and the women ate in the flower hall.

Mrs. Zhao Shao is the eldest daughter-in-law of the Bofu, and she is the future Mrs. of the Bofu, so she naturally went out to entertain guests, and Mrs. Cao also went around with her daughters, and Shen Wanzhen commanded her subordinates to serve wine and food.

In the hall, each table was pressed in advance with a charcoal soup pot, and when the table opened, the guests sat down, and a plate of vegetables and meat was served, and everyone was curious.

In the past, I used to eat warm pots in cold winters, and the meat slices were thinly sliced, put into the soup pot, and dipped in the ingredients to eat, but there were not so many ingredients.

The table is full of dishes, flying in the sky, running on the ground, you name it. Especially looking at the fresh green vegetables dripping with water droplets, crisp and watery, arousing people's appetite, and there are many small dishes in it, pickles, cold side dishes, it is refreshing at a glance, and the big fish and meat are tired of eating in the new year, and there is no appetite.

The people put the dishes into the pot, and when the pot opened, all the guests stretched out their mouths to eat.

Drinking and chatting, the inner and outer halls are all eating hotly, chatting up, among the male guests there are borrowing wine to have fun, drumming, singing, causing bursts of laughter, the atmosphere is lively, unrestrained.

Uncle Zhan was accompanying several old grandfathers and marquis, chatting, and before he was seated, someone came to report: "King Anyang and King Cheng have arrived." ”

This surprised Uncle Zhan, every year to post please, but the brothers of King Anyang and King Cheng never showed up, Uncle Zhan let them go, and did not let them come, he was cautious, never befriended the princes, so as not to have a tongue, and now the emperor is as careful as a hair, so as not to make a taboo.

As soon as he heard the report from his subordinates, he couldn't slack off, and he was busy dressing, so he took his three sons to greet him. Perform the great gift of the monarch and the minister, "The minister Changyi Bo Zhan Rong knocked to see the two princes. ”

Zhao Shijiao, the king of Anyang, smiled, "Uncle doesn't have to be polite, this king heard that you have a treat and ask for a glass of wine." ”

"The two princes came to the humble house in person, and they were full of brilliance, and they couldn't ask for it." Say it, and let it in.

Zhao Shijiao knew Zhan Shaoxiang, the eldest son of Bofu, and said with a smile: "Is the eldest son of Zhan good-looking? ”

Zhan Shaoxiang clenched his fists and arched his hands, "Thanks to the prince, it's very good." ”

Zhao Shijiao walked in, his eyes swept to Zhan Shaoting, who was standing respectfully on the side, and asked, "This is ......." ”

"Two dogs." Uncle Zhan hurriedly replied.

Zhan Shaoting also waved his hand, "I respectfully invite Wang Ye'an." ”

Zhao Shijiao nodded.

Entering the door of the house, Uncle Zhan was not allowed to go to the hall, knowing that these two princes did not stick to the number of etiquette, did not like to be rigid, so they let the highest place in the mansion Lanyue Building, set up a few seats, Uncle Zhan personally accompanied the two kings to drink, and his third son retired to accompany the male guests in the house.

He also invited several highly respected marquis in the court to accompany him.

"The two highnesses are here, and the thin wine and vegetarian dishes are not a tribute." Uncle Zhan is not polite, he really didn't expect the distinguished guests to come, and he didn't make special preparations, and he was a little apprehensive about it.

The people put the wine and food on the table, and Uncle Zhan began to look at the warm pot that was served, thinking to himself, this winter is cold, especially the coldest days of the New Year, and it is reasonable to eat the pot to entertain guests.

Later, I saw that the same dish came up, and it was full of a few, which was also strange.

The next person got the order of the second young lady, wait for the water to boil, put the vegetables on the table into the soup pot one by one, the soup boiled, and gave everyone a bowl of pure vegetable soup, everyone took it and drank it, it was light and palatable, and then put all kinds of meat.

Not to mention that Uncle Zhan is curious, even King Anyang wonders when he looks at it, the palace also eats warm pots, but it is the meat, the green vegetables, I really haven't tried it, and these many ingredients are in the pot together, revealing freshness.

Rolling away again, seeing that the red, white and green foods in the copper pot look good, King Anyang stretched out the chopsticks with interest and took a bite of the food dipping sauce in the hot pot in front of him, and took a bite of the green vegetables, and said: "Yes, Uncle Zhan can eat, he actually came up with this idea, which is not only trouble-free and refreshing, but also lacks nutrition, where did the cook in the Bofu find it?" ”

Uncle Zhan also wondered in his heart, he invited foreign guests every year, but they were all decent, there were changes every year, and they were not far from the top and bottom, but this year was very different.

The envoy asked, "This is the idea that the kitchen came up with?" ”

"This is the idea of the second young lady." The maid replied crisply.

"Intelligent, worthy of being a person from Bofu." As soon as Zhao Shijiao heard the second young lady of Zhan Mansion, he knew that it was Shen Wanzhen, smiled and praised it, and said in his heart: This woman is different, the elf is eccentric, and even the ideas are very peculiar.

"It can't be compared with the palace banquet, so it's good if the prince doesn't dislike it." Uncle was happy.

Zhao Shijiao, the king of Anyang, came to the imperial brother for a banquet for several days, and somehow he couldn't eat it, and now he looked at a table of things, and he had an extra appetite, and he ate a lot, but Uncle Zhan didn't move a few hoops, and the vegetables in the butterfly in front of the king of Anyang were empty in the blink of an eye, signaling that there were more people, anyway, there was no shortage of this thing, and it didn't cost a few dollars.

Zhao Shijiao ate with relish, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead for a while.

The maids on both sides kept shaking the palace fans in their hands, and Yun Libo and Chengyi waited for a few marquises, and they also ate there, and there was little talk in the room.

King Cheng only moved a few times, looked at the third brother, and wondered, it was said that it didn't taste so good? As for how many days you seem to have not eaten, have you eaten like this?

Zhao Shijiao raised his head again, and eight large window sashes landed on the east side of Lanyue Tower, looking directly at the night sky outside, and said in his heart, no wonder it is called Lanyue Tower.

The servant served a bowl of hot soup, and Zhao Shijiao took it all in one breath and drank it all, sweating profusely.

got up and walked to the window, Uncle Zhan only thought he was tired, because the pot in the room emitted heat, he opened half of the window, and hurriedly instructed his subordinates: "Close the window, the prince has just eaten hot things, and it looks cold." "King Anyang is the heart and soul of the Queen Mother, if something goes wrong in his house, the Queen Mother will not follow.

Zhao Shijiao waved his hand, "It's out of the way." Uncle Zhan still made a look and asked his subordinates to close the window.

Zhao Shijiao looked up at the night sky, the moon was half covered, the stars were sparse, and his eyes inadvertently moved to the northeast, and suddenly, a string of red lanterns in the inner house of the second gate went west to east.

I saw a group of maids and women hugging a soft sedan chair, holding a lantern with the words "second room", pausing at the second gate, and slowly going northeast along the flower wall.

Zhao Shijiao waited until the last bit of light disappeared before he withdrew his gaze.

I don't know if it's because of wine or a warm pot, my heart is a little hot.

I don't know when, King Cheng stood side by side beside him.

But she said that Aunt Ying gnawed on the pig's trotters at night, and she was already full, so she was afraid of smelling the vegetables, but she couldn't help but be curious, and wanted to see Shen Wanzhen's jokes, so she helped Shang Xiang to the flower hall.

Because of the lateness, the table has already been opened, in addition to the concubines of the mansion there are a few foreign guests, also the aunt level, the master mother of the Zhan Mansion of course disdains to sit with the concubine, so she is accompanied by a few concubines, although the official goes out to entertain with his wife, but there are also those who do not know things, the official with money and silk, the rules at home are not strict, and they are not afraid of jokes, and they come out with their favorite concubines.

A few people were eating with their heads buried in it, and An Shi raised his head and said hello, "My sister is here, sit down." ”

Aunt Ying looked at the dishes on the table, a charcoal stove in the middle, a soup pot on it, steaming, a few concubines around the stove to eat fragrantly, from time to time a few peaches and vegetables were sent into the pot, and a few glasses of wine were eaten, everyone's face was flushed, and a waiter's concubine said: "This way of eating, it is the first time, the second young lady really wants to fold, thinking of this method, eat refreshing and happy." ”

There were also praises on other tables, and some of the people who could talk echoed and said, "I don't get tired of eating, and my body is warm." ”

A few more asked for spicy pots alone, and they were sweating profusely and comfortable.

Aunt Ying couldn't eat a bite, not only did she not embarrass the Shen family, but she let her be in the limelight.

Shen Wanzhen saw that the meat could not be eaten, so she was told that the kitchen did not need to cut it, because of foresight, the green vegetables were prepared, and seeing that the green vegetables were empty at the bottom of the bowl, but the meat was rarely touched by chopsticks, so a few pieces of meat were placed

Borrow a taste.

In Lanyue Tower, several marquis accompanied the two princes to talk, and King Anyang and King Cheng said goodbye.

Uncle Zhan hurriedly got up to send each other off, and sent it all the way to the gate, watching the two of them get on the sedan chair, only then did he turn around, and he was suspicious in his heart, the king of Anyang usually has no tail of the dragon, and he is imaginative, and the prince's mansion in the capital rarely lives, how can he come today? .

Zhao Shijiao and King Cheng sat in the carriage, and King Cheng couldn't help but ask: "The third brother is here, what are the plans in his heart?" ”

"Plans? It's just a banquet at the house, where are the plans? Zhao Shijiao said.

King Cheng glanced at him meaningfully and said, "She is a married woman, but to be honest, the second son of Zhan is really not authentic." ”

"It's a pity." Zhao Shijiao said lightly.

How could King Cheng have a hunch, he didn't dare to think about it, but he couldn't help but not think about it, the third brother didn't have a crush on that woman, if this was the case, it would be troublesome.

Zhao Shijiao went directly back to the Anyang Palace, and when he arrived at the gate of the mansion, he instructed the coachman to send King Cheng back to the mansion.

As soon as Zhao Shijiao entered the gate of the palace, the housekeeper Chen Fu hurriedly greeted him, as if he had been waiting for a long time, "The prince is back, Mrs. Yan said that she had a stomachache since dinner, did the prince go and see?" ”

Dafan adult prince, did not marry a formal princess, there are concubines around him, this Mrs. Yan is an alien woman, is a subordinate to please the prince and the queen mother, this Yan Ji can be called stunning, can sing and dance, and has a docile temperament, usually compared to those concubines, it can be regarded as the heart of the king of Anyang.

It was because Chen Fu didn't dare to slack off, and as soon as the prince came back, he immediately returned to the prince, only when the prince could go over to visit immediately, but he didn't want the prince to ignore it, he just snorted and went straight to the dormitory.

Chen Fu followed behind, I don't know what happened when the prince went to Zhan Mansion, it stands to reason that Bo Mansion is not a small family, male and female guests are separated, and his own prince can't see Mrs. Zhan Shao, how can he look like he has something on his mind, and he can't get the essentials for a while.

But before he finished speaking, he stubbornly said: "Miss Xu sent by the king of Xiangyang is crying and crying, and she wants to see the prince." "King Xiangyang specially sent two beauties to him.

Zhao Shijiao waved his hand irritably, "Both of them will be sent back to King Xiangyang, don't bother me about this." ”

Chen Fu saw that the prince was impatient on his face, he didn't dare to say more, and raised his leg to leave.

"Come back." Listening to the king's call, Chen Fu didn't know what was going on, and respectfully listened to the prince's orders.

"Forget it, tell her, if you make any more trouble, send them back." Chen Fu agreed: "Yes." "Go down.

"The prince has a good heart." The eunuch Fang Gong, who has been waiting for the prince since he was a child, is fair.

"If the king of Xiangyang sends it back, will the two of them still survive according to the temper of the king of Xiangyang? I'm talking about ....... ”

Zhao Shijiao stopped talking and looked out the window, the night today was not very bright, as far as the eye could see, it was gray and black, and the bottom of his eyes was deeper than the dark night.

He was waited by his subordinates to wash and settle, and today he drank more wine, his stomach was warm, and he lay down comfortably, but he couldn't sleep after tossing and turning.

In the flower hall in Zhan Bo's Mansion, the female guests ate happily and chatted warmly, and the banquet was delayed.

The male guests outside also made a lot of trouble, as soon as the courtiers ate and drank, they put □ Duan and were usually serious and reserved, and the strict court officials were also a little more cute.

In the past, the harsh winter banquet guests, often not for an hour, the dish will be cold, back to the pot in the heat, lose the original taste, become the leftovers of the cold burn, but the warm pot is different, when it is steaming, highlighting the atmosphere, affecting the mood of the people, the people on the table are particularly excited.

A meal of wine was drunk until it was gone, Shen Wanzhen stared at the people cleaning up the guy, Zhao came over, called her to the side hall, and as soon as she entered the door, she asked; "What's going on today? Did something happen? How did it become a pot to eat. ”

She has been busy, and she didn't bother to ask, and at this moment she finally cleared up and stopped.

Shen Guanzhen told what happened. Plentiful. Hope, "This is worth it, who dares to do such a bad thing, tonight, tomorrow let me find out that it is not light" Although the Zhao family does not like to let Shen Xiaozhen steal the limelight, but the banquet of the uncle's mansion, which is related to the future successor to the uncle's uncle, should not be underestimated, Zhao's face sank, speculating that it was the hand and foot that moved?