In the following time, Xia Shang's busy life added another garden poetry meeting. Although a lot www.biquge.info of troublesome things have been handed over to the Fang brothers, the work of using their brains is not easy at all, seeing that the preparation of the poetry meeting is beginning to take shape, an invitation from the palace came.

There are still three months to go, but the preparations for the festival have begun in an all-round way, food is only a small part of it, clothing, venues, safety, programs, etc., none of which is not a labor force, the entire palace, and even the entire capital are busy because of the court. Among them, food is one of the most important links, and food is the easiest to leave a good impression on guests, and the imperial court attaches great importance to this. Xia Shang only heard that all the chefs would gather before each court banquet to discuss the details of the court banquet dishes, and the specific process was unknown.

The status of the chef in the Tang Dynasty was not high, but fortunately, during the Zhenguan period, the grand event appeared, and the status was improved, and the people had some reputation and stories of good cooks. And the chef of the Great Banquet is the best way to enhance the fame of the chef, especially the folk chef. People always want to hear stories like the rise of the grassroots.

The imperial court also seems to be deliberately promoting this worship atmosphere, and the team of folk chefs who came to the imperial dining room gave the folk chefs enough face, whether they entered the menu or won the final victory, they were picked up by a sedan chair.

It should be noted here that all chefs whose dishes are included in the menu of the Imperial Banquet are invited to the palace, and they are only responsible for one of their own dishes. During the Imperial Banquet, there will be a part where the chef cooks on the spot for the guests to enjoy, and only the chef of the Imperial Dining Room is allowed to show his face, and there are two people selected for the Imperial Banquet.

Don't look at the difference between just in front of the stage and behind the scenes, the honor is very different.

More than a dozen sedan chairs entered from the Suzaku Gate and went all the way to the West Inner Garden.

There is a forest garden in the west inner garden, adjacent to the East Palace, Taiji Palace, the emperor has to pass through this place every day, and everyone is arranged here to facilitate the emperor to check the progress of preparation by the way.

There are twelve chefs selected this time, and there are a total of thirteen people including Xia Shang.

Xia Shanggang got out of the car and drove like everyone else, he didn't know where he was, looking at the lush forest rockery around him and the small flowers interspersed with it, he thought it was the imperial garden.

The dazzling sunlight was as dazzling as a diamond, shining on Xia Shang's eyes through the gaps in the new branches of the trees, making Xia Shang a little dizzy after sitting for a long time, but a drop of dew falling from the branches hit Xia Shang's eyebrows, which immediately made him sober up.

In front of me was a clearing surrounded by trees, and the ground was paved with flat bluestone slabs, and there were some traces of moss on it. A little further away is a small attic obscured by intricate branches, which clearly suggests that this is a secluded place in the palace.

Thirteen people, thirteen peters, and the other cooks had all gotten out of the car, and they seemed to be discussing something together.

Xia Shang stood aside, and after calming down, he heard someone asking.

"Didn't you say there were only twelve people? I counted how it was thirteen petites? ”

"That's right! I also found out, and at first I thought I had miscounted, but it seems that there are indeed thirteen people. ”

"Who's that extra one?"

The chefs didn't know much about each other, and although they had met in the competition, they didn't look at each other carefully, and for a while, no one knew who the extra person was.

However, these were all temporary, and it didn't take long for Xia Shang to become the focus of the field.

The first to see Xia Shang was Gu Zi, and among the more than ten people, only Gu Zi knew that Xia Shang had been Xu Yuan's deputy. The deputy came to the palace, but Xu Yuan, who was the head chef, was not invited, what is the reason?

Of course, no one will question Xia Shang, since he can get here, his identity must be determined.

"This master, may I ask who it is?" A kind-looking middle-aged master walked up to Xia Shang with a smile and asked.

Xia Shang was a little uncomfortable being stared at by so many men, and arched his hand: "It's delicious." ”

"It's delicious!"

There was a sudden exclamation in the audience, it seems that it is delicious and has some fame in Chang'an. For this reason, Xia Shang was a little proud. But it didn't last a few seconds before it was replaced by doubt, because the indifference and contempt were seen in the people around him. Xia Shang was confused, and said in his heart that he hadn't offended them, how could he attract such a look?

Xia Shang felt a little embarrassed, and was about to say something to the middle-aged master who came forward to talk, but he didn't want the other party to retract the smile just now and put on a cold face and no longer care.

Xia Shang scratched his head and was about to ask the other party if he had said the wrong thing, when a father-in-law with a whisk of dust came from nowhere, and said lazily in a thin voice: "Okay, okay, don't look at it, people are the masters appointed by His Majesty, if there are any problems, I will talk about it later, this time you came to the palace for a while, and you have a lot of time to get along." ”

The father-in-law's words made everyone look puzzled.

"How much time do you spend together?"

The father-in-law glanced at everyone: "There is only one rule in the palace, don't ask more." We can't tell you more, you'll find out soon. Ladies and gentlemen, come with us. ”

The palace is important, and everyone present no longer has the arrogance of the past, and after the father-in-law spoke, there was no sound of conversation, and they all followed the father-in-law honestly and did not know where to go.

The group didn't go far, but only bypassed the trees that had just blocked them, and reached a more spacious place.

It was an open field, surrounded by trees on three sides, and on the other side was a huge palace that looked old, and you can clearly see that the doorposts and windows were dusty, and it seemed that it had been idle for a long time.

In the open space, four rows of stoves were repaired, with five positions in each row, and a simple shed was set up overhead for shade.

It's a simple makeshift kitchen, and the chefs present will definitely cook here, but what the father-in-law said before is still a mystery.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Jia from the imperial dining room will arrive later."

The father-in-law said a simple word, and then left.

Now there were only a dozen cooks left, but no one dared to walk around, at most talking to each other.

After a while, Jia Yu arrived in a standard chef's uniform, and first bowed to everyone: "Masters, Jia Yu is justified here." ”

"Master Jia, I'm glad to meet you."

"Well, I'm sure you're impatient to wait, let's make a long story short. Naturally, I invite you here today for the sake of the Great Imperial Banquet. Because there are a lot of dishes involved, you need to cooperate with the time. And before the start of the court, there will be a lot of visitors in Chang'an, considering the nanny of the dishes, His Majesty decided to ask the masters to stay here first, and then leave after the end of the court. ”

"This ...... Doesn't that mean none of us can go back now? It's too sudden, isn't it? ”

I didn't expect my father-in-law's words to mean this, and the scene immediately became lively.

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