As soon as Lin Dan finished speaking, everyone present was dumbfounded, and even the scheming emperor showed a surprised expression.
According to Lin Dan, the dumplings are sent to the public to taste and let them choose for themselves. The final choice must be the taste they like. They didn't know who made the two buckets of zongzi, and they didn't know that it was related to the outcome of a competition, so they could come to the most fair results.
No one could refute Lin Dan's words, not even the emperor, because he had already promised to give Lin Dan a fair and just test, and she could decide everything. The Emperor Jinkouyu said that he was as heavy as Mount Tai, and he could not go back on his words.
Only then did the emperor realize Lin Dan's true intentions. The decision-making power of this competition is no longer in his hands, nor in the hands of the referee, but in the hands of the people. In order to prevent him from interfering with the imperial power, she even stipulated that only those who enter the city will be given, and those who will not be given to the city. The emperor can arrange for people to go out of the city to collect zongzi, but he cannot control who enters the city. Only God knows who will come to the capital today and when.
And the two buckets of zongzi have been disrupted. Even if the emperor has great supernatural powers and immediately sends a message to let people disguise themselves as commoners into the city, it is impossible to tell which bucket of zongzi is Yan Langqing. In the end, it depends on his preference. Besides, he couldn't even look down to find out who the two buckets of zongzi belonged to.
Is this fair? The emperor shook his head and laughed loudly, "Fair, this can't be fairer! Come on, move two buckets of zongzi to the West City Gate, and the guards will distribute them to those who enter the city. Each person entering the city is only allowed to choose one after tasting it. Take more." In this way, they can only take the one they like the most.
The emperor originally planned to support Yan Langqing. After all, this is the woman he likes, and she has just been wronged, so it's okay to pamper her. But now, he thinks Lin Dan is very interesting, and this competition is also very interesting, so why is he being unfair and making it more interesting? Next, he won't do anything, and he won't allow others to break the rules, and let the results be judged by the people.
Seeing the excited expression on the emperor's face, Tang Jiu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then looked at Lin Dan with a relaxed expression, his eyes became very hot, and then he smiled slightly. He was worrying in vain again, Lin Dan could always face any desperate situation calmly, and then made a way out with his persistence and wisdom.
Weiyuan Hou's lazy and casual expression finally faded, and now he is turning his head and staring straight at Lin Dan. Prince Cheng and Prince Gong whispered together, laughed lowly, and seemed to be in a good mood. The Duke of Yunnan and Guizhou just rubbed the teacup in his hand, occasionally raising his eyes to look at Lin Dan with deep eyes.
The one with the stiffest expression was Yan Langqing. She never thought that Lin Dan would come up with this kind of judgment method, but after thinking about it carefully, she had to admire Lin Dan's intelligence. The emperor especially likes quick-thinking women, and prefers interesting things. He probably admires Lin Dan very much now, and will no longer take sides.
Yan Langqing was a little nervous, but not too flustered, because she believed in her own craftsmanship.
The group came to the West City Gate and picked a high platform on the city gate to look down. Two buckets of zongzi were placed side by side by the guards, and one was torn apart for those who entered the city to taste. The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and many rich people will give out zongzi to the poor, all of which are to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, so passersby don’t find it strange, and because they are guarded by guards, they don’t dare to rob them. Take it, it is said that you can only take one, and no one dares to ask for more.
After taking a sip of the samples on both sides, those who entered the city quickly took their favorite zongzi and left. The emperor stood on the high platform and looked down, his bored mood had long been replaced by excitement and anticipation. He likes this way of playing, it's uncontrollable, so it's more interesting.
It took a lot of time to process the glutinous rice and pork belly. It was already afternoon when the two of them wrapped the zongzi, and it was only half an hour before the city gate closed. There was still a delay on the way, so the two buckets of zongzi could not be finished. But this does not hinder judgment, whoever has the few zongzi left will win, there is no doubt about that.
Everyone moved to a nearby restaurant and packed the most luxurious private room. As soon as the emperor entered the door, he hurriedly shouted: "Come on, count the zongzi in the bucket."
Immediately, two guards stepped forward and counted the dumplings in the two buckets respectively. After getting the results, they wrote them down on paper, and asked the other two guards to count them again. If they came up with the same number three times, it was over. One of the guards stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, there are 288 zongzi left in the bucket on the left, and 63 zongzi left in the bucket on the right, and the right side wins."
The difference between the two is really big! The emperor looked at Lin Dan, raised his eyebrows and said, "Can you recognize which bucket belongs to you?"
Lin Dan walked to the right and said firmly, "Naturally I recognize it."
Yan Langqing looked at the two buckets uncertainly, her face turning pale.
"How do you know this bucket is yours?" The emperor looked at Lin Dan with a smile in his eyes.
"When I made the zongzi, I tied a knot at the end of each rope. If you don't believe me, you can check it for yourself." Lin Dan took out a zongzi and showed the rope to the crowd. There was a small knot at the end, and he didn't hold it in his hand. If you look closely, you can't find it.
In order to show justice, several guards immediately took out all the zongzi and checked them one by one, nodding and saying, "Report to Your Majesty, the zongzi on the right are all tied with knots, but the ones on the left are not."
Lin Dan then said: "Even if you don't look at the knot, just open the zongzi. Yan Yuchu, you won't be able to distinguish your own craftsmanship, will you?" Hua Luo picked up two zongzi and unhurriedly opened it. open.
If the zongzi leaves are not opened, the two zongzi look exactly the same in size and shape, as if they were made by the same person. However, when the zongye leaves are completely disassembled, the difference inside is very big. Previously, everyone stood on the high platform overlooking the city gate, and naturally couldn't see the specific situation, but now, the two zongzi were lying on the jade white dishes, and they had a panoramic view.
I saw the zongzi on the right with a golden body and a clear surface, looking very delicate and small, while the zongzi on the left was slightly yellowish white at both ends and sauce-colored in the middle, as if it had been dipped in a large dye vat, making it very miscellaneous. Whether the dish is good or bad, we have to judge from the three aspects of color, aroma and taste. To see the difference between the two dumplings, everyone has to admit that judging from the appearance, Lin Dan has come out on top.
All the meat dumplings that Yan Langqing has wrapped are of this kind of variegated color, because the glutinous rice is white, and the marinated pork belly is in sauce. When the two are steamed together, they will naturally dye each other and become unsightly. But she never expected that the glutinous rice that Lin Dan soaked in gray water would turn into a brilliant golden color, looking very fresh and cute. What is the reason for this
She was shocked and accused: "This is not right! Lin Dan's glutinous rice has been soaked in gray water, and it is dirty. How can it be better than mine?"
Before everyone could show their surprised expressions, Lin Dan said slowly, "You only know one, but you don't know the other. Did you know that the ashes formed by burning firewood are cleaner than spring water. Due to the quenching of the flame, the dirt inside is The dirt has been incinerated. The gray water also contains a magical medium, which can be used to clean hands, and can also be used to make dry goods. Soak the hard dry goods in the gray water, and the softening speed is several times that of the water. I package This kind of glutinous rice dumpling is soaked in this gray water, called gray water zongzi, which is a special product of Baiyue area. The glutinous rice soaked in gray water is not only not dirty, but also dyed with a layer of golden yellow, with a strong fragrance and delicious taste. Unique, soft, glutinous and smooth, more delicious than ordinary white rice dumplings."
She reached out her hand and said, "After the comparison, everyone can judge the fragrance and taste of the two."
The emperor picked up the plate, sniffed the two rice dumplings carefully, raised his eyebrows, and handed the plate to the old royal chef beside him. Everyone took turns to smell it, and finally handed it over to Yan Langqing.
Yan Langqing didn't believe in evil at first, but after hearing it, her face turned ashen. As Lin Dan said, this gray water dumpling has a faint aroma of grass and trees, and there is also a fresh astringency and a faint sauce aroma mixed in, which is very unique. And her white zongzi is just the aroma of rice and meat. Although it smells good, it is not rich in layers. Compared with Lin Dan's zongzi, it looks ordinary.
"Let's taste it, everyone." Lin Dan calmly picked up his chopsticks and cut the two dumplings apart.
Everyone tasted two kinds of zongzi respectively, and the surprise on their faces was even stronger. Without him, this gray water dumpling is not only bright in color, unique in fragrance, but also very soft and smooth in taste. Although it has been cooled down, the taste is not lost. When I bite into my mouth and flick my teeth, I first taste a little sweetness of glutinous rice. At the back, there is astringency, and finally, the aroma of sauce and meat is too thick to dissolve, and the rich juice fills the mouth, which is unforgettable.
After trying Lin Dan's zongzi and then trying Yan Langqing's zongzi, the taste and taste immediately dropped several levels. This white glutinous rice dumpling has been cooled, and it is not as soft and glutinous as when it was just out of the pot. It is a little sticky when you bite into your mouth, making it difficult to chew, but the core is hard and difficult to swallow, and even the meat filling is already knotted Chunks, looking dry.
Seeing the frowns of everyone, Lin Dan said slowly, "Eat the glutinous rice dumplings after they are completely cold, and the taste is better. There is a little elasticity in the soft glutinous rice. Not wrapped, just dipped in sugar, the taste is also very wonderful. Ordinary white glutinous rice dumplings will become dry and hard after being completely cold, and it is not easy to eat. If you can't win, I will pick up two more dumplings and heat them up."
Yan Langqing's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, but she didn't say anything, but looked at the emperor with hope.
The emperor smiled and waved his hand: "come here, go and warm up the dumplings!"
Immediately, two palace servants took the zongzi to the kitchen, and after a while they turned around with a food box. The heated white rice dumplings are really soft and glutinous, and the taste is much better than before, but Lin Dan's gray water rice dumplings are golden, with delicate and rich oil flowing out from the gaps in the glutinous rice, giving it a clear layer of moisturizing. Bright and beautiful, I don't know how many times better than Yan Langqing's white rice dumplings.
The emperor took a fancy to the grey water rice dumpling at a glance, and immediately picked up his chopsticks to taste it, and then sighed with satisfaction. The glutinous rice soaked in grey water is sweeter, softer, and smoother. It is completely soaked by the juice secreted by the meat filling. Every mouthful is full of rich and delicious meat aroma, which makes people want to swallow their tongues. After having tasted Lin Dan's secret-made grey water zongzi and then tried Yan Langqing's white zongzi, only four words came to the emperor's mind - bland and unremarkable.
After the two kinds of rice dumplings were taken apart, the gray rice dumplings were good-looking and delicious, but the white rice dumplings were hard and hard to eat. No wonder Lin Dan's bucket was almost empty, and Yan Langqing's bucket was still half full. This time, she really did not lose.