As soon as he said this, Yao Yupan realized he had said something wrong and quickly swallowed the second half. He took some blanched green leafy vegetables from the pot, blew on them twice and stuffed them into his mouth, trying to cover it up by chewing the leaves.
There was silence for a moment. The only sound in the room was the bubbling of the fish soup. The newly added ingredients were stirred up in the soup. The cut pieces of fish meat were soaked up by the soup and were as white and tender as tofu. The three of them stared at the fish soup, and no one picked up their chopsticks.
After holding it in for a while, Lou Hanyue couldn't help it and threw it out: "I haven't seen that person, so it's not easy to say what he's thinking. Wangzhi, what do you think?"
When his name was first called, Xie Wangzhi was stunned for a moment and really didn't know how to answer.
The palace did not explicitly say that maids and eunuchs could be together, nor did it explicitly prohibit them. It was something that was caught in the cracks of palace rules, and it was hard to say whether it was right or wrong. Some maids and eunuchs were lonely in the deep palace, so they got together to lick each other's wounds; some maids wanted to get close to each other, or eunuchs were immoral and had bad intentions after being stabbed, so they took advantage of the situation to force the maids to submit.
But no matter which one it is, it doesn't look like Changsheng.
If you insist, Changsheng is like a coal lump. When he clings to people, he is really clingy and treats people really well, but when he is cold, he is also really cold. When he doesn't care, he won't even look at people.
Xie Wangzhi didn't think that there was anything about her that he could appreciate. She didn't have a good appearance or figure, and she wasn't close to her family. There was no benefit for him to gain from her.
"I don't think he has this intention. I invited him to eat cake before, and this might be a return gift." Xie Wangzhi smiled, "I believe him."
Lou Hanyue had never seen Changsheng, so he could only believe Xie Wangzhi. After a moment of silence, he took up his chopsticks first: "Don't worry about it, eat fish, eat fish."
After the first bite, I couldn't stop. The fish stew is hot and fresh. After a bowl of steaming fish soup, I can sweat. Not to mention the extra dogwood oil and pepper. The soup is milky white with a few red spots of dogwood oil. The fish is white and tender, and the green leafy vegetables are floating in the soup. There are both meat and vegetables, which makes people itch.
After the pot of fish soup was shared, the three girls were a little full. Yao Yupan actually couldn't eat spicy food very well, so her lips and face turned red from eating, and she was breathing in cold air with her mouth slightly closed.
Lou Hanyue wanted to laugh when she saw it, and laughed at her casually, which made Yao Yupan's face redder and she pretended to hit her. Lou Hanyue quickly hid, while hiding and cleaning the dishes.
After the dishes were cleared and the charcoal was extinguished, it was almost time to prepare lunch. The young palace maids could only help out, and the three of them rushed to the food bureau and saw Zhang Dianshan standing at the kitchen door.
When he saw Xie Wangzhi and Yao Yupan, Zhang Dianshen frowned and waved: "Wangzhi, Yupan, you two come over and do it."
The two girls looked at each other, both a little confused, and responded in unison, trotting over.
"The meal has just been delivered from Qingsi Palace, saying that the Seventh Prince specifically requested you to prepare lunch, but no menu was given, so you can prepare it yourself." Zhang Dianshen tapped Xie Wangzhi on the shoulder, then tapped Yao Yupan, "The Crown Princess in Lizheng Palace is suffering from morning sickness and wants to eat sour plums, so you go and prepare it. I just came to deliver the message and had no time to find you two, but I came just in time, so hurry up."
Yao Yupan had just mentioned the matter of the Eastern Palace while eating fish, and now it happened to her. She was a little surprised, and responded quickly, trotting off to find sour plums.
Xie Wangzhi had nothing to be happy about, she was quite worried. She could not cook many dishes, mostly various kinds of snacks, but this was a formal meal, she could not just make a bunch of pastries and then send someone to say "Your Highness, please eat the pastries, just eat until you are full", not to mention that she did not know the Seventh Prince at all.
She thought for a moment and asked Zhang Dianshan in a low voice: "Dianshan, did the Seventh Prince say anything else?"
"Anything else?" Zhang Dianshan thought about it. There really was something, but the two words were too common, so she didn't pay attention. "Yes. The Seventh Prince said that it should be well-done."
Xie Wangzhi understood. No wonder he suddenly asked her to prepare lunch even though they were not related to each other. He had been holding it in for so long because he had eaten the half-cooked cherry blossom cake last time, and now he was looking for a chance to take revenge.
However, the Seventh Prince did not get angry on the spot, and he was so roundabout in his criticism of her, which showed that he was not a bad person. The cherry blossom cake was her own fault, and Xie Wangzhi had no complaints, and began to think about what to do.
He hasn't been crowned a prince yet, which means he's not yet fifteen years old, but he must be quite capable of passing on the message. Xie Wangzhi guessed that the Seventh Prince was at the age of growing up. She liked meat herself, so she naturally thought he liked it too. After thinking about it, she decided to make some mutton soup and eat it with bread.
There were ready-made noodles in the kitchen, so there was no need to worry about them; mutton soup was also easy to make, just blanch the fresh mutton and stew it. While the broth was stewing, Xie Wangzhi mixed two vegetarian dishes and then started to make cherry blossom cakes. When they were steaming, she stared at the fire, thinking that if she didn't move a step this time and it wasn't cooked, then there was something wrong with the pot.
However, things went against one's wishes. Not long after the cherry blossom cakes were put into the pot, a eunuch came in from outside and started urging people to make the sour plum cakes in a shrill voice.
There are rules in Lizheng Palace. Whoever prepares the meal must follow. If the meal is tasty, there will be a reward. If it is not tasty, there will be a punishment. Xie Wangzhi thought this rule was inexplicable. Whether it was tasty or not was her own business. But since it was the rule of the Eastern Palace, she would not offend him.
Originally, Yao Yupan could have gone with them, but she was greedy today and drank an extra bowl of fish soup. She couldn't eat spicy food and had felt uncomfortable in her stomach not long ago. She couldn't just drag her out and let her go to Lizheng Hall like this.
Zhang Dianshan argued with the eunuch who served the meal for a long time, but the eunuch was also a stubborn person and refused to give in. Zhang Dianshan thought about it and pulled Xie Wangzhi: "She and the roommate who makes sour plum cakes are also good at cooking. Can we let her go?"
The eunuch looked embarrassed, so Zhang Dianshan continued, "When you get to the Crown Princess, tell her that the maid who made the sour plum cake is not feeling well and can't come. If the cake doesn't taste good, tell the child. She can understand and pass on the message."
"... All right." The eunuch looked at Xie Wangzhi and nodded, "Follow me."
Lizheng Hall was a bit far away, and Xie Wangzhi didn't want to go there at first, but Zhang Dianshen and the eunuchs had already made the decision, so what else could she do? She could only carry the food box and follow them out obediently.
She was not familiar with the eunuch who came to serve the meal, and neither of them talked much. Xie Wangzhi followed the eunuch silently, walking on the palace road, counting the stone slabs under his feet.
It was cold, and all the wild geese had flown away. There was a pale sun in the blue sky, and a slight white mist could be seen when breathing, which disappeared in the blink of an eye. The wild cats in the palace were too lazy to move, and the palace walls were clean, with no cats running over them.
Xie Wangzhi suddenly felt a little lonely.
After walking in silence for a while, they entered Lizheng Palace. The Crown Prince was not there. The Crown Princess was sitting on the couch, holding onto the shoulders of a palace attendant, bending over and vomiting. Fortunately, she hadn't eaten anything, so she couldn't vomit anything. It just made her feel sick, but there was no smell in the palace.
Xie Wangzhi put the food box on the table, opened it, and took out the contents, a box of sour plum cake and a box of sour plum candy balls. The sweet and sour taste immediately overflowed.
"Greetings, Madam." She knelt and saluted. "The food made by the Imperial Food Bureau has arrived."
This was a very formal ceremony. The Crown Princess was vomiting and her stomach was in pain. She nodded casually. The palace servant next to her immediately brought the plate and held it in both hands and presented it to her.
Smelling the sweet and sour taste of sour plums, the hairy feeling in her throat was suppressed, and the Crown Princess felt better. She took a piece of sour plum cake and took a bite. The sour plum cake was sweet and sour, and it was soft and sticky. Without much chewing, it turned into soft sugar water and flowed into her throat, and she didn't have time to feel nauseous.
The Crown Princess finished a piece of sour plum cake, paused, didn't feel sick, and nodded: "Not bad. Reward."
"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty." Xie Wangzhi replied and bowed again. When he stood up, he didn't pay attention and raised his head a little high, so he caught a glimpse of the Crown Princess's face.
The Crown Princess was very beautiful, but her beauty was quite conventional, with willow-shaped eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, and small lips. She looked like a beauty from a book, but she lacked some spirit. She was also suffering from severe morning sickness, and her face was pale, with a hint of haggardness between her eyebrows and eyes.
"Go down." The Crown Princess was obviously very tired and had no energy to talk more.
Xie Wangzhi withdrew his gaze, responded, and followed the eunuch who led the way out to the side hall to receive the reward.
The reward was quite affordable, a handful of silver leaves, weighing about one ounce in total, sealed in a red paper bag. The bag was not big, and could be easily carried. The eunuch who distributed the reward handed the bag to Xie Wangzhi, and he said a lot: "You are lucky. The meals served in the past two days were not to your liking. The queen had morning sickness and felt uncomfortable, and the palace people were unlucky."
Xie Wangzhi didn't respond, nor did he take the paper bag. He looked up at the eunuch and said, "Would you mind going with me to the Shangshi Bureau?"
"You have to go through so much trouble to collect a reward. Are you afraid that someone else will snatch it from you?"
"No. I didn't make the snacks. I came here on behalf of someone else. The Crown Princess gave me a reward. If I go back alone, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain myself." Xie Wangzhi looked at the eunuch, "So can you come with me?"
"You are young, but you think a lot." She was still a young lady, and her words were very formal, which was a bit pitiful. The eunuch was also idle, so he nodded and said, "Let's go, I'll do a good deed."
"Thanks."
The two walked side by side to the Imperial Food Bureau. Halfway through, the palace road was quiet. Xie Wangzhi suddenly thought of the Crown Princess: "Can I ask you one more thing?"
"Just ask. Anyway, this place is remote and no one can hear it." The eunuch thought for a while and said, "Oh, some things are beyond the limit and cannot be asked. I haven't lived enough."
Xie Wangzhi nodded: "I want to ask, don't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Crown Princess eat together?"
This question was out of bounds, and the eunuch thought Xie Wangzhi wanted to ask about the prince's food preferences. "Don't worry about it, just cook according to what the queen likes. I remember that except for the palace banquet, Your Highness and the queen have never eaten together."
"Why?"
"Who knows?" the eunuch said, "Maybe your highness is very precious and is afraid of eating something he shouldn't, so it's better to separate from your highness."
"I understand, thank you." Xie Wangzhi nodded, but felt something strange in his heart.
Judging from the situation in the palace just now, the Crown Princess is definitely suffering from severe morning sickness. She vomited like this just after being diagnosed with pregnancy. I haven't heard anything about the palace during this period. After four years of marriage, how cold-hearted must the Crown Prince be to not eat with his wife all the time, and even not show up when his wife was pregnant
Xie Wangzhi thought to herself that the imperial family was indeed heartless and she would never marry into the royal family.