20demayo Chapter 4: A Visit to the Imperial Kitchen to Find the Mysterious Chef!
Chapter 4: A Visit to the Imperial Kitchen to Find the Mysterious Chef!
Li Shimin licked the last bit of oil off his fingers, then smacked his lips with a lingering satisfaction.
The warmth in his stomach was still spreading, so comforting that he wanted to hum a tune. But when he looked down and saw his empty palms, the restlessness in his heart surged up again.
That's it?
Half a rice ball is barely enough to fill a tooth gap.
The taste lingered on my tongue, whetting my appetite, but then the real treat was gone. Isn't that torture?
"Jiro?"
Empress Zhangsun noticed her husband staring blankly at his palm and seemed unsure. "If he's still hungry, I'll have the Imperial Kitchen prepare some more..."
"Don't mention the Imperial Kitchen!"
Li Shimin waved his hand, his intoxication instantly turning into disgust. "They're a bunch of good-for-nothings who only know how to waste food. They just steam or boil it all day long, adding nothing but salt and vinegar. They've practically ruined my tongue."
He stood up, waved his sleeves, and strode out aggressively.
"Prepare the carriage! To the Imperial Kitchen!"
Empress Zhangsun paused for a moment, then quickly gave her personal maid a wink, picked up the little girl who was still searching for rice grains on the ground, and followed.
"Sizi, lead the way."
Li Shimin turned around, his tone much gentler, yet still revealing a determined spirit, "Take Father to find that... handsome brother."
Just as the little ox was about to pick out a grain of rice that had fallen into the blanket, it froze upon hearing this.
We're doomed!
The handsome guy is going to be arrested and beheaded!
……
The Imperial Kitchen, a crucial area of the imperial kitchen.
It was just past lunchtime, the most pleasant time for these imperial chefs. Several head chefs were sitting in the shade, drinking refreshing plum juice and chatting.
"Have you heard? His Majesty barely touched his chopsticks at noon today."
"Alas, it's hot today, so it's common for distinguished guests to have poor appetites. No matter how you prepare mutton, it'll just taste the same."
Wang Dequan, the head chef of the imperial kitchen, with his large belly, waved a palm-leaf fan in his hand and looked nonchalant. "We just need to make sure the food is cooked properly and that the distinguished guests don't get sick."
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from the front yard, the sound of boots slamming hard on the bluestone slabs.
Then, a shrill voice seemed to lift the roof off:
"The Holy One has arrived!"
Clang!
The purple clay teapot in Wang Dequan's hand shattered into pieces.
His fat body jerked violently, and he almost rolled off the couch.
"Quickly! Kneel down! Welcome the Emperor!"
The entire imperial kitchen erupted in chaos.
Those chopping vegetables threw down their knives, those tending the fire extinguished the stove, and the servants were so frightened that they ran away with their heads in their hands, eventually kneeling on the ground in a dark mass.
Su Mu was mingling with the servants chopping wood in the backyard.
He had just finished cleaning up the abandoned kitchen. In order to destroy the evidence, he emptied all the ashes from the stove, covering his face and body with black ash. His coarse linen clothes were also filthy, like a rag.
Hearing the commotion, he didn't panic. Instead, he squatted down at the back of the crowd, head down, pretending to be a quail.
Anyway, he was chopping wood, and with that group of imperial chefs in brocade robes blocking the way, the fire wouldn't reach him.
Who is Wang Dequan?
Li Shimin strode into the courtyard, his face dark, his gait imposing. His bright yellow casual clothes were almost blinding in the sunlight.
Empress Zhangsun followed half a step behind, carrying the baby.
Wang Dequan crawled forward on his knees, his forehead hitting the ground with a loud thud: "This servant...this servant is here."
"Who prepared lunch today?" Li Shimin didn't wake him up; his voice was icy cold.
Wang Dequan shuddered, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.
Oh no, His Majesty must have been unhappy with the meal and has come to demand an explanation!
"Reporting to Your Majesty, it was this servant, and also Imperial Chef Zhang, Imperial Chef Li..." Wang Dequan stammered as he recited the names of the chefs.
The imperial chefs whose names were called trembled like leaves, wishing they could hide their heads in their crotches.
"Good, very good." Li Shimin sneered, his gaze sweeping across the courtyard. "All of you, raise your heads!"
Everyone looked up cautiously.
Li Shimin grew angrier the more he looked at this group of fat, big-eared fellows.
The delicious taste of that half rice ball was still lingering in my mind, but looking at what these people made, it was like comparing heaven and earth.
"I ask you, who can cook 'golden rice'?"
Wang Dequan was instantly stunned.
Golden rice?
Could it be that gold leaf was added? That stuff is hard to digest; only a foolish emperor from the previous dynasty would do something like that.
"Your Majesty..." Wang Dequan said cautiously with a smile, "This... is this newly presented yellow millet?"
"waste!"
Li Shimin kicked over a vegetable basket beside him. "I'm talking about fried rice! Fried rice made with pork and eggs, each grain separate and glistening with gold!"
Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.
All the imperial chefs looked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion.
Pork? Isn't that cheap meat? Is that for human consumption? Fried rice with eggs? Can you even eat fried rice?
Only Su Mu, kneeling in the corner, twitched his lips slightly.
Goodness, this word sounds familiar.
It seems that his two spoonfuls of fried rice were quite powerful, directly breaking Emperor Li Er's defenses.
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
Li Shimin laughed in exasperation, "That rice ball that Sizi was holding just now, did it fall from the sky? It's right there by the back door of the imperial kitchen, right in this courtyard!"
He turned abruptly, took the little girl from Empress Zhangsun's arms, and his tone softened instantly, as if he had performed a magic trick: "Little girl, come and see. Which of these people is your handsome brother?"
Little Sizi perched on Li Shimin's shoulder, her little hands clutching her father's collar, timidly peeking out half her head.
Hundreds of people were kneeling in the courtyard.
In front were the well-dressed eunuchs and imperial chefs, and behind them were the disheveled servants. Their heads were bowed, and only their dark hair buns could be seen.
Little Si blinked her big eyes twice, looking a little dazed.
There are so many people!
And that handsome guy was wearing white clothes, his face was clean, and he had a beautiful smile. Why do all the people here look like mud monkeys?
Especially those in the back rows, their faces were all black, and you couldn't see anything except the whites of their eyes.
Su Mu felt that youthful gaze sweep over him. He calmly lowered his head even further and tucked his hands, covered in coal dust, into his sleeves.
Now, let alone Xiao Sizi, even his own mother might not recognize him.
"Really?" Li Shimin asked expectantly, "Which one is your brother?"
Little Sizi strained her eyes, searching for that familiar figure in the crowd. But no matter how she looked, all she saw were chubby uncles and dark-skinned old men.
That beautiful pot that could make glowing rice and conjure up sweet, juicy treats is gone!
Xiao Sizi suddenly felt a pang of panic.
Did Guoguo know that Aye was coming to arrest him and behead him, so he ran away?
Yes! That must be it!
Your god is so amazing, he must be a deity!
"No...no duck..." Little Sizi pouted, her voice trembling with tears, "Pretty Boy isn't here..."
Li Shimin frowned deeply: "Not here? Are you sure?"
"Mmm-hmm!" Little Sizi nodded vigorously, her two little pigtails swaying wildly. "My lord is so fair-skinned, and these people... are all so dark and ugly!"
The imperial chefs kneeling on the ground felt as if they had been struck by an arrow.
Ugly? They call that being well-off!
Li Shimin was unwilling to give up, so he carried the rhinoceros and walked around the crowd. When he reached the group of servants, Su Mu felt a whiff of ambergris, and then a pair of bright yellow boots stopped right under his nose.
Su Mu held his breath, his heart skipped a beat.
No way? Does this little girl have X-ray vision?
"What about this one?" Li Shimin asked, pointing to a young servant next to Su Mu.
The servant was so frightened that his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
Little Sizi glanced disdainfully at the unlucky guy who had fainted, and shook his head: "No, that pot smells good, this one smells bad."
Su Mu breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he had worked up a sweat chopping wood these past few days, and with his rancid linen clothes, he was definitely no longer associated with that "fragrant brother".
Li Shimin sighed in disappointment, and the sound of his footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Back in the center of the courtyard, Li Shimin's face was so gloomy it could drip water.
Since Sizi didn't recognize him, it means that person has already left.
Or... is he not even among these people?
"Could he really be a reclusive master?" Li Shimin murmured to himself.
Within this imperial palace, who else could enter unnoticed, cook a meal, and then vanish just as unnoticed, but some legendary extraordinary person?
"Wang Dequan!"
"This servant...this servant is here."
"Search this entire imperial kitchen! See if any unfamiliar faces have entered! Also, check the backyard for any leftover ingredients!" Li Shimin was unwilling to give up. "I refuse to believe that a living person like this can fly away!"
"Yes, yes, yes! This servant will investigate immediately!"
Li Shimin glanced again at the group of useless people kneeling on the ground, growing increasingly annoyed. He flicked his sleeve and shouted, "Get up, all of you! If you make any more pig feed tonight, I'll chop you all up and feed you to the pigs!"