Lao Huang is a steady person, the Xu family has been a coachman for more than ten years, and at this time he flicked the horsewhip lightly, and replied happily: "Young lady, do you know something, this guard brother said, a few days ago, Princess Mingzhu had some little temper, opened the cage of the beast field, and jumped out a lot of rare birds, this thing is more expensive than human gold, but some are very fierce, so the palace jurisdiction is a lot stricter." ”

Hua Manxi then understood, put down the curtain, in fact, how did she know, this is just a disguise, since the broken leaves were captured, in order to prevent him and his comrades from coming to make trouble, the old man who guarded the library gave such an explanation. After arriving at the palace of the Empress Dowager, there were already two or three concubines, the county lord of Yunhua and the county lord Shuxiao, all of whom were all on the scene. In autumn, the chrysanthemums are gorgeous, and various chrysanthemums are also prevalent in the palace, and there are a lot of them here.

Although most of them are longevity chrysanthemums, there are also some ingenious ones, such as the edge of some leaves, there is a shallow silver line, and the flowers are full of streams, which are crossed with great painstaking efforts. Before the autumn festival began, there was already an atmosphere in the palace, but fortunately this year she was able to be lazy and not have to be caught as a coolie. Today, she thought well, she wanted to make a table of chrysanthemum banquets and dedicate them to the Queen Mother.

After everyone chatted for a while, they were all looking forward to Hua Manxi's delicacies, and Hua Manxi gently moved to the imperial dining room. The first thing she wants to make is chrysanthemum chicken balls, which requires fresh chrysanthemum, a small amount of pea sprouts, and lean chicken breast. The chicken broth is prepared on the side and will not be used until the end.

Chrysanthemum is the softest and freshest, and the color is also beautiful, carefully tear it into neat several petals, and then drain it with the pea seedlings. When processing the chicken, first remove some of the tendons and meat membranes that affect the taste, and then use the back of the knife to pat the chicken into a puree to make its taste more soft and glutinous without losing toughness, and then put the chicken into a large bowl, add salt, wine, soy sauce, and egg whites and other condiments.

She told the green pine to start a fire, and when the boiling oil was hot to five minutes, she took a long-handled colander, and spent some effort during the process to cut the chicken into small pieces, which put in three or five pieces at a time, and the colander was half immersed in the hot oil, and it made a loud noise. The whole dish is not completely fried, so the small pieces of chicken float slightly, round like soybeans, and Hua Manxi will scoop up the things and put them in a large bowl to oil first.

After all the processing was done, Hua Manxi poured boiling oil, poured in delicious chicken broth, added a little salt wine, and a little vinegar, and then poured in the running water, which is a thinner kind of thickening powder, which is easy to give people a silky feeling, but not too sticky. The newly fried chicken balls and chrysanthemums, as well as the emerald green pea seedlings float and sink in the pot, which is very beautiful. Hua Manxi counted silently in his heart, and when the heat arrived, he fished it all out and dripped a few drops of sesame oil.

This dish was presented first and tasted by the Queen Mother. Hua Manxi hurriedly washed his hands and began to prepare the second course, there are flowers every year, to put it bluntly, it is chrysanthemum stewed carp, but it sounds better. The carp is still a special Yellow River carp, not to mention fat, the taste is also first-class delicious. She washed a lot of fine white chrysanthemums just now, and there are still leftovers at the moment, which can be used again. Hua Manxi scooped up a basket of fat and delicate black fungus, soaked it in water before, and rinsed it carefully.

Needless to say, killing fish and scraping scales is needless to say, Hua Manxi moves carefully, digs out the guts of the fish's gills, and picks out a small bitter gall. After rinsing out a large amount of blood stains with clean water, the maid handed over silver scissors, Hua Manxi used neat techniques, trimmed the fishtail shark fin better, and the kitchen knife drew several cross marks on the abdomen, which spread to the fishtail. Although this is easy to taste, the texture of the fish becomes excessively soft during the frying process.

In the spice plate on the side, egg liquid, salt, wine, soy sauce and other condiments are mixed, the queen mother is a little sweet, but Hua Manxi does not dare to add more, only a little put. Finally, pick up the plate and spread evenly over the fish. Biyun was puzzled in his heart, thinking that this might not be very clean, but Hua Manxi smiled and taught seriously: "You listen carefully, only human hands are the most emotional and warm." When you touch the ingredients, you also have an indescribable feeling, which is very different from making tools and wearing gloves. ”

She said and played, the action was very fast, Biyun nodded, and heated the pot for Hua Manxi, Hua Manxi pinched the fat fish tail with one hand, and put the big carp that was not light in the pot. Fish tail is the most easy to fold, and it is best to cook and grill it with a little less oil. Once both sides are golden brown, the fish is temporarily fished out. Scoop away half of the oil and water, sprinkle the chives and garlic, and a little chili to enhance the flavor, and fry the bottom of the pot to create a fresh flavor, and then add the broth.

At this time, the whole pot is rich in the taste of fresh soup, and then put the fish gently, and skillfully boil on both sides, which is to let the taste of this soup penetrate and fill it all along the opening cut before. After a little while, the juice is reduced, and it can be served in a white porcelain plate. After this fish is ready, Hua Manxi also drizzles a little sour plum juice on it, which is just right to make it more fresh.

Although Hua Manxi is not messy at all, after burning a few dishes, the sweat is also steamed. Qing Song took out a clean handkerchief and wiped the sweat for his master, while watching Biyun walk around, and a few little palace maids were busy washing vegetables and cutting them into beautiful flower shapes. Hua Manxi is just a commander-in-chief, and he can't cook all the dishes by himself. Finally, after making a good-looking chrysanthemum shortbread, this small banquet is completed.

Hua Manxi took the handkerchief, wiped his face carefully, tidied up his clothes, and then went back to the Empress Dowager. Halfway through the meal, it was very lively, and a few pots of fruit wine were served. For Huamanxi, the taste of the wine can almost be regarded as very light, but the fresh fruit flavor is very strong, and it is quite delicious. Everyone ate to the end, and the sky was dark unconsciously. Eating and chatting, time is always so short.

The Empress Dowager was in a good mood and wanted to enjoy the string of rosewood Buddha beads that she had recently seen in the flowers. Hua Manxi excused herself several times, but the key was that she felt that wearing this thing was really inconvenient on weekdays. If it can only be put in the makeup box, isn't it a useless treasure? I couldn't bear the Empress Dowager, an old man, and her status was very valuable, she really couldn't bear it, and finally she was caught in her left hand, and this Buddha bead was directly put on her hand.

Hua Manxi had no choice but to give thanks, and at this time everyone almost dispersed. However, Lord Shu Xiaojun passed the word with the maid, saying that he had obtained a few new paintings recently, and he wanted to invite Hua Manxi to take a look. Xu Jinfei is thousands of miles away, and it makes no difference whether he returns home or not, Hua Manxi agreed, and there is a small sachet ball, which is about to be given to her.

The little county lord is a girl's mind in the end, once there is someone to talk to, he is very excited, pulling her to chatter, from his newly purchased aqua red skirt to today's thinking, make a skin for his favorite book, so as not to be damaged. Hua Manxi listened while smiling, and finally asked her if the gadget had been sent to her temple. The little county lord nodded, and took the sachet ball with the twig pattern himself, and there was a bright silver shelf on it, which was very novel and beautiful.

In terms of spices, in fact, there is nothing to pay attention to, that is, Hua Manxi's own things, kneaded into mud, mixed with some medicinal materials, smoked, not a valuable, but the little county lord was very happy, saying that she also borrowed a book of incense seals a few days ago to relieve boredom. At that time, she could vaguely see that there seemed to be some books about the esophagus in a vertical bar. In ancient times, many literati and scholars who had no intention of officialdom had two books, one was full of fun, and the other was also happy to come to the audience.

The little county lord took a sip of tea and continued, I originally wanted to borrow one or two books, and show Huamanxi when the time came, but I was fascinated by it at the time, so I forgot it, and when I wanted to go again, the library pavilion said that there was something important these days, and I urgently needed to rest, but I didn't open the door to welcome people. Seeing that she was a little gloomy for a while, Hua Manxi comforted her in turn: "This royal library is a valuable place, if any shelves fall down, or some rats sneak in, it needs to be carefully investigated and rested, and it is not known." The county lord doesn't have to be sad, so did you go and take a look today? ”

Lord Shu shook his head and said very honestly: "I heard that my sister is here today, I am happy in my heart, and after honestly reading half of the female commandments, my sister is here." The things you make are really delicious, unlike me, you can only make some tea, and Uncle Huang also said, although I am skilled, but my mood has not yet arrived, and there is still some taste. ”

Hua Manxi thought for a while, smiled and asked her, "Then the county lord will go out for a walk with me, how about a walk?" This inner palace, many places are very strict, you can't go in, but there are also many places, the scenery is beautiful. The night is full of stars, and maybe there is a different feeling. Or maybe you've already opened the door when you get to the library. ”

When Lord Shu Xiaojun heard this, he also felt that there was some reason, so he ordered the maid to bring a cloak, and the two of them walked around the nearby palace. Now is the time when it is lukewarm, and it is also very comfortable to go out for a walk and talk in the evening. The two of them were not fast, but after walking for a long time, they also arrived at Yu Yechi behind the library pavilion, and did not see the lights lit, Shu Xiaojun was a little disappointed, so he simply lay on the railing and looked at the koi in the pond for a while.

Hua Manxi was about to ask for some fish food to feed, but she felt an itch in her ears, as if someone's voice sounded, very light and thin, as if it was her illusion. She paused and was about to continue walking. The voice sounded intermittently, very hoarse: "Yes...... Mrs. Xu - Hua Manxi. The voice seemed very weak, but it was somewhat familiar.

Hua Manxi looked around in surprise a few times, but did not find the owner of the voice, but felt that it came from underground, as if it was ...... Broken leaves that haven't been seen for a few days.