Chapter 40: The Palace Banquet
"It seems to be more like a saint, I may miss Ah Luo too much, so I was dazzled."
Nan Suyun looked at Phantom Tong carefully again, and suddenly felt that Phantom Tong was not so much like Beitang Luo.
"The queen mother and Mrs. Beitang both think that I have a good face, and it seems that I am blessed by Weichen."
Huantong's answer avoided the important and light, and the abacus in Queen Li's heart fell short, and she felt bored, so she pulled Nan Suyun and left.
Although Empress Li's expression was well controlled, Phantom Tong still noticed the restlessness in her eyes.
Looking at the figure that left in a hurry, the corners of Huantong's mouth rose slightly: "Queen Mother, you are starting to be anxious." ”
Phantom Tong guessed that there must have been some progress in the Sansheng Pavilion that made the queen feel threatened.
Otherwise, Nan Suli would not have rushed to the Taihe Hall in such a hurry and tried to test Huantong in this way.
After about a pillar of incense, the little eunuch beside Teng Ziyan came in with a box of pastries and distributed a few pieces to the ministers who were already sitting in the Taihe Palace.
"These wedding cakes are made by Princess Sheng Ping herself, let me share them with everyone and give everyone joy."
Princess Shengping is the title that Teng Ziyan got when she was in peace, which means that the world is prosperous and peaceful.
The ministers took the cake and thanked them, and the Taihe Hall suddenly became lively.
The little eunuch took advantage of this time to personally deliver the wedding cake to Huantong.
Then attached it to Huantong's ear and whispered: "The princess asked me to bring the words, everything is ready." ”
Phantom Tong nodded slightly, and then learned to be as grateful as the others.
Everything is ready, just waiting for the dinner party.
Playing with the cup in his hand, Huantong suddenly felt a little happy, after enduring it for so many years, his chance finally came.
The sky was getting dark, and the sun was a little reluctant to grasp the dead branches on the distant mountains, unwilling to fall any more.
Winter in Kyoto isn't that cold, but the north wind still makes the branches shiver.
The palace maid lit the palace lamps and lanterns one by one, and the emperor was also surrounded by the concubines, stepping on the candlelight, and walked towards the Taihe Palace.
"Long live my emperor, long live, long live." The ministers of the Taihe Hall bowed neatly on the ground and bowed their heads to welcome the arrival of the emperor.
"Get up, today is the Chinese New Year's Eve Palace Banquet, everyone should not be restrained."
The emperor lifted his robe and sat upright on the dragon chair in the middle of the Taihe Palace.
Phantom Tong sat in a position in the middle, holding his chin with one hand, watching the emperor's lips keep moving, but he didn't listen to a word.
Now he only hopes that the emperor will finish his speech quickly, so that everyone can start offering gifts.
Just when Huantong was drowsy, Yilian beside him secretly poked Huantong.
When I looked up, Queen Li was holding a food box and offering a gift.
"This is the milk cake that the concubine has learned, specially made for the emperor, I wish I will discuss the peace of the country, the people will be more than every year, and the emperor will be healthy."
The box was opened, and on the disk inside was a fish, a koi fish carved from milk cake, and the scales were painted red with sauce.
The milk cake exudes a rich milky aroma, which flows out the moment the box is opened, filling the entire hall.
"The queen's craftsmanship is good, and this milk cake looks good."
After receiving the emperor's praise, the queen smiled proudly and glanced at Teng Ziyan defiantly.
Before the banquet began, the queen got the news that Teng Ziyan had prepared pastries.
The queen will be the first in the gift link, so she also chose pastries, just to press Teng Ziyan.
"Your Majesty, Weichen has a question for the queen mother."
Phantom Tong suddenly got up and bowed to the emperor.
"Just ask." The emperor was in a good mood today and agreed very happily.
The queen's face was not very good, she had a hunch that the phantom was not good.
But as the mother of a country, not being surprised is the most basic quality, so Nan Suli smiled and looked at Huantong.
"Queen Mother, your milk cake looks soft and elastic, like jelly."
The queen didn't know what medicine was sold in the phantom gourd, so she hesitated for a moment before replying, "Exactly." ”
Huantong looked at the queen with a playful look and continued to ask, "The ingredients for making milk cakes were prepared today, but they are fresh?" ”
"Of course, the food made for the Holy One is naturally the freshest."
The queen thought that Phantom Tong was just going to make a fuss about the freshness of the material, so she completely relaxed her vigilance, only feeling that Phantom Tong was still too young.
Seeing the queen's slightly relaxed expression, Huantong was secretly happy in her heart, knowing that she had taken the bait.
"Before I arrived in Kyoto, I had the pleasure of eating something similar to this milk cake once, and the taste was unforgettable. It's a pity that it was a folk dessert in Yanliang, so after that, the minister also had nothing to do with it. Today, I saw the queen's milk cake and smelled the smell, ninety percent of it was the dessert, so I wanted to ask the queen how to make this milk cake. ”
Speaking of milk cakes, Huantong also made an intoxicated expression, obviously telling a story, but it made people believe it.
"Yanliang's dessert? How can the queen make Yanliang's desserts? ”
When everyone was discussing how delicious this milk cake was, Ran Sheng was the first to grasp the point and asked suspiciously.
Under Ran Sheng's guidance, other ministers also realized this problem and began to talk about it.
The queen's face was obviously a little bad, and the smile on her face was a little unbearable.
"Empress Niang, we are Shang Qu's Chinese New Year's Eve banquet, you shouldn't offer Yanliang's things."
I don't know which one is straight, so I asked directly. The sound was loud and crisp, and every corner of the Taihe Hall could be heard clearly.
"The recipe was obtained by accident today, and Hongu didn't know that this pastry came from Yanliang."
The queen's face was extremely bad, and her voice was hurried, with a hint of anger.
"What about the raw materials, as far as the minister knows, this dim sum needs something called cold potato flour, which is made of cold potatoes, but cold potato merchant Qu does not have it, only Yanliang can find it. Where did you find the Queen Mother? ”
Huantong looked serious, as if he was really curious, and he was not embarrassed by Queen Li at all. Deliberately embarrassed, how can it be written on the face.
Nan Suli clenched his fists with both hands, and his nails dug deep into the flesh, leaving several deep marks on his palms. The pain made her restrain her anger and keep a smile on her face.
"My maid found it in the imperial dining room, is there anything wrong?" The queen's voice had clearly revealed displeasure, but due to the scene, there was no seizure.
"Then I want a little too, yes, Your Majesty."
Naturally, Phantom Tong will not let Nan Suli go, tonight's show has just begun.
Originally, the emperor should have rejected Phantom Tong and let tonight's farce end, but looking at the longing in Phantom Tong's eyes, Teng Yijue seemed to see Teng Zijin's shadow, and he couldn't bear to respond.
The steward of the imperial dining room was taken to the Taihe Palace, and knelt tremblingly under His Highness, thinking that something had gone wrong, and he lay on the ground and did not dare to raise his head.
"How much cold potato flour is there in the imperial dining room?"
The emperor's voice was strong, coming from a high place, echoing above the main hall, with an innate majesty.
"Your Majesty clearly sees that cold potato flour is a thing of Yanliang Country, and if you borrow ten guts from the minions, the minions will not dare to hide in the imperial dining room."
The little manager threw his whole body on the ground, and his voice trembled, as if he was frightened.
"But the queen said that she got cold potato flour from the imperial dining room."
It's that straight guy again, who spoke out bravely when everyone didn't dare to speak, and Huantong silently applauded him in his heart, it was like a god from heaven.
"Your Majesty knows clearly, someone must be trying to frame the minion, and there is absolutely no cold potato flour in the imperial dining room."
The little manager was a little excited, but he didn't care about being afraid, raised his head, and rubbed forward twice, wanting to impress the emperor with his sincere gaze.
Teng Yijue glanced at the queen beside him, his eyes were suspicious and probing, and then said to the little eunuch kneeling under His Royal Highness: "Okay, I really believe in you, go down." ”
The little manager was also frightened, knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times to thank him, and only stopped until his forehead was red and retreated.
"Concubine Ran, what have you prepared for me?"
Teng Yijue completely ignored Nan Suli who was standing in front of him, and turned his head to ask Ran Guifei.
Nan Suli still wanted to open her mouth to defend herself, but she understood that the emperor didn't want to waste any more time on this matter, so she had to return to her seat stupidly.
Huantong sat below, seeing the queen's deflated appearance clearly, the corners of her mouth kept rising, and she hurriedly raised her hand to support her nose and blocked her mouth.