diskusbooks Chapter 280 Three Needles
Chapter 280 Three Needles
Consort Chun traced the menu presented by the Imperial Kitchen with her fingertips, pointed to a dish of "Stewed Quail with Deer Antler," and frowned, saying, "His Majesty has recently lost his appetite. Replace this dish with Dragon Brain Crystal Shrimp, and add another vegetarian dish of Three Treasures Stew to the vegetarian menu."
Deer antler warms the yang and quail nourishes the yin. If "deer antler stewed with quail" were an ordinary banquet, it would be appropriate to serve it as the first course. However, this is the "first banquet" to welcome the young ladies into the palace, and the head of the Imperial Kitchen has done a really bad job.
Using deer antler in cooking is a type of medicinal cuisine, and there are many taboos regarding its compatibility. For example, it should not be eaten with tea or radish, and there are also rules about the timing of consumption. Medical books say: "Eating tonics after 5 pm will damage one's vital energy."
Although the banquet tomorrow is not at the hour of You (5-7 PM), medicinal cuisine is still not appropriate.
The more you do, the more mistakes you'll make. This time, Consort Chun is in charge, so it's crucial to ensure everything goes smoothly and without error. Especially since the First Glow Banquet is supposed to be an opportunity for the newly selected ladies to showcase their talents—there's no need to add anything extra.
Furthermore, the Emperor is only in his early twenties, a time of youth and robust health. When would he need nutritional supplements?
Hua Yan pursed her lips, took the menu from Consort Chun, and with a wave of her hand, changed the other two medicinal dishes on the menu.
"Aunt Mei told Donggua that she should go to the Imperial Kitchen to oversee things tomorrow, and that all the medicinal meals must be changed."
Now that it's May, freshwater delicacies are in season, and banquets mainly feature the eight delicacies from land and sea.
The first course is shad sliced into thin, translucent pieces, sliced with jade-like blades, and served with chilled plum sauce and tender ginger shreds... During my last visit to the Cining Palace to pay my respects, the Empress Dowager mentioned an old story: the late Emperor had bestowed upon this dish the name "Silver Scales Immortal Robe" during his southern tour, which is quite fitting for this occasion.
Consort Chun added, "Don't make winter melon stand out. Just prepare a few small snacks in advance. There's no need to serve milk tea either."
Aunt Mei carefully noted it down. "Your Majesty is right. May is the time when shad is at its fattest and most delicious. I will call Donggua now and have the Imperial Kitchen prepare a new menu and send it over."
"Go ahead, Aunt Mei. Keep an eye on this Imperial Kitchen Supervisor. Not only are the menus delivered late, but they're also not very well prepared. Find out who he's been associating with lately. When Donggua goes tomorrow, take Mingyue with you and tell them to be vigilant."
Aunt Mei's heart skipped a beat. After responding, she hurriedly left the study and headed towards the kitchen to look for the winter melon.
Consort Chun said worriedly, "Would anyone really dare to tamper with the food? I knew that managing the six palaces was a troublesome matter. We should find an excuse to hand it over next time."
Hua Yan smiled and comforted her, "If Madam heard what Your Highness said, she would probably say that you are not ambitious and be angry at your lack of drive."
"The power to manage the six palaces cannot be handed over casually. If you weren't in charge, how could Chun Tao and the others be arranged? This power is both an honor and a source of confidence. People in the palace have always been inclined to fawn over the powerful and bully the weak. Losing power is equivalent to losing the right to 'compete for the lead.'"
"...Whether the food will be tampered with is still unknown, but it's always better to be cautious."
Consort Chun took Hua Yan's hands and sat her down on the daybed. She sighed and said, "I have studied music, chess, calligraphy and painting since I was a child, but in the end I am just a pretty face and useless. There are many troubles in the palace. I can't let you worry about everything."
Hua Yan held Chunfei's hand in one hand and called Mengzhu Ruizhu and Lvliu to her side with the other.
"You have learned a lot from Aunt Mei. In the future, you will need to take good care of things. Think things through carefully. If you don't understand something, come and ask me and Her Majesty for guidance."
Although Hua Yan didn't feel tired, she still wanted Meng Zhu to take on the responsibilities. After all, Meng Zhu was always by Chun Fei's side, while she herself couldn't always accompany her because of her status as a "beauty".
Mengzhu took the lead in agreeing, and Huayan solemnly said, "Later, the three of you will come with me to Linde Hall for an inspection. At the First Bright Banquet, the most important thing is not the food, but all the arrangements. Any unexpected situations need to be considered in advance, and several backup plans have been prepared. Please confirm them in advance."
"Oh, right. When we came back from Linde Hall, Ruizhu went to the Imperial Hospital and asked Jianzhi to come to Huining Hall for dinner, saying that she wanted to check the Empress's pulse."
Seeing Hua Yan's meticulous attention to detail, Consort Chun knew that Hua Yan suspected Consort Mei. The dedication of those around her ignited her own fighting spirit. Therefore, as soon as Hua Yan finished speaking, Consort Chun immediately rose:
"Since we have nothing else to do, I'll go with you to Linde Hall. Mingyue and Xiaoyuanzi can stay inside and keep watch..."
......
Hua Yan was very experienced in arranging the banquet. When the five of them arrived at Linde Hall, Hua Yan gave them instructions one by one from the moment they stepped into the hall, and Meng Zhu recorded them behind her.
Xiao Nianzi had been guarding the place for several days, so he led the way. Hua Yan and the others checked the place one by one. They saw that the main hall was already properly decorated. As is customary, no spices were used at the banquet. Instead, many blooming flowers of various colors were brought from the flower room to decorate the place.
Twelve tables were placed on each side of the main hall, covered with embroidered gold lotus flower auspicious pattern tablecloths. The other side was reserved for the musicians, separated by a landscape painting screen.
"Was the carpet on the floor newly replaced?"
Xiao Nianzi bowed and replied, "The felt carpets in Linde Hall are changed every half month."
"Consort Rong is to perform a dance here. Several palace maids will be sent to check every inch of the hall. In addition, people will be sent to guard outside the hall. No one is allowed to enter or leave before 9:00 AM tomorrow."
Consort Chun also looked down at her feet and saw that the ground was covered with a velvet carpet with a peony pattern. The carpet was so fluffy that it would be easy to miss any small items hidden in it.
"Why not use a regular carpet instead? It would be more reassuring if it were completely visible." Perhaps influenced by Hua Yan, Consort Chun spoke with a solemn expression.
Hua Yan also looked at Xiao Nianzi, who respectfully replied, "The Shangqin Bureau is in charge of managing bed curtains, mats, and furnishings. This servant will have the Master of Furnishings send someone to replace them."
Mengzhu had been paying attention ever since she entered the hall. She pointed to the tablecloths on the tables on both sides and said, "We need to replace them with a matching red or blue carpet with phoenix and auspicious patterns."
Hua Yan nodded in praise, which made Rui Zhu very envious. She blinked her big eyes and examined the area even more carefully.
The side hall of Linde Hall was temporarily used to store the musical instruments sent by Aunt Minrong, as well as some of the clothes and jewelry worn during the dance. Mengzhu and Lvliu stepped forward to check them one by one. As usual, they prepared double sets of everything, including the guqin needed for tomorrow.
Seeing that the clothes were all extremely gorgeous, Green Willow couldn't help but reach out and gently touch one of them. "Hmm?... Ouch! Good heavens, there's... there's a needle hidden here!"
Hua Yan's expression turned cold. As she approached, she saw a bead of blood seeping from the fingerprint on Lü Liu's finger. She quickly stopped Lü Liu, fearing that the girl would put her finger in her mouth to suck the blood and stop the bleeding.
"Be careful, it might be poisonous."
Consort Chun walked over worriedly, and Ruizhu quickly took a handkerchief from her waist and carefully bandaged the fingers that Green Willow had extended.
Xiao Nianzi had just finished arranging the carpet in the main hall when he entered the side hall and saw this scene, and he was shocked.
Fortunately, Green Willow was only pricked by accident, and she reassured her, "It's alright, it doesn't hurt anymore."
Hua Yan stared intently at an embroidery needle. It was an ordinary embroidery needle, with nothing dyed on it. However, since the garment came from the Imperial Clothing Bureau, it wouldn't be difficult to investigate.
Xiao Nianzi knelt on the ground, first slapping himself several times before daring to beg for forgiveness: "This servant deserves to die. Because Aunt Minrong personally brought it here, this servant did not investigate carefully..."
Fortunately, Green Willow got curious and started working on it; otherwise, if Rong Meiren hadn't noticed when she changed clothes the next day, it might have caused trouble.
Consort Chun was furious: "First, block the news. You go to Funing Palace and summon Aunt Min Rong. Mengzhu, you all check all the arrangements and items several times."
Ultimately, before Min Rong even arrived, two thin needles were found embedded in the center of the main hall's carpet. When Xiao Nianzi and Min Rong entered the hall, Chen Sishe of the Shangqin Bureau was trembling, kneeling on the ground begging for forgiveness...