Yu Wan had always known that the reputation of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion had spread, but she did not know that it had already reached the palace.
To Yu Wan, a place like the palace was almost a legendary existence. Could she really enter the palace to cook for those imperial concubines?
“Stinky tofu, then. Your cooking is still the best. Even the stench from others isn’t as bad as yours!” Master Qin said impartially.
Yu Wan glanced at him indifferently. “I thank you…”
Master Qin smiled. “The Tianxiang Restaurant is so powerful, but they haven’t even entered the palace to cook. When I publicize this matter later, our business can go up another level!”
That’s right. The Tianxiang Restaurant was opened by Worthy Consort Xu’s brother. None of their chefs had entered the palace, so how could it be the turn of a new and outstanding Drunken Immortal Pavilion?
Yu Wan felt that a pie falling from the sky was a little unreal.
“Master Qin, do you know which lady wants to eat our Drunken Immortal Pavilion’s dishes?” Yu Wan asked.
Master Qin winked and smiled. “Make a guess?”
Yu Wan laughed. “I can’t guess. Just tell me.”
Master Qin straightened his back and said, “Worthy Consort Xu!”
Worthy Consort Xu? Wasn’t that the Second Prince’s biological mother? Was she the one who wanted to eat the dishes of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion?
Yesterday, she had just rejected the Second Prince’s “invitation”. Today, Worthy Consort Xu summoned the chef of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to the palace. Could this be a coincidence?
“Did Worthy Consort specify for me to go?” Yu Wan asked.
“Why? Are you unwilling? The reward is very generous! This amount!” Master Qin gestured. “Besides, the nobles in the palace don’t lack money. If they’re happy eating, they can give you a reward and you’ll have the money to build your house.”
This was the truth. Yu Wan understood that Master Qin only called her because he really felt that there were benefits.
“Alright, since you asked, I’ll tell you. I originally wanted to do you a favor.” Master Qin rubbed his nose resentfully.
It turned out that it was indeed Worthy Consort Xu’s palace servant who “directed” Yu Wan to go. At that time, the palace servant ate a bowl of stinky tofu at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and asked Master Qin who invented this method. Master Qin said that it was the second boss of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. The palace servant told Master Qin that she should enter the palace to cook for Her Highness.
In Master Qin’s opinion, this was a matter of course. Since Yu Wan was the one who invented the stinky tofu, her skills were definitely above the masters. How could she not go to the palace?
However, all of this was different in Yu Wan’s eyes.
Worthy Consort Xu had announced that she would enter the palace to cook at this critical juncture. The timing was too delicate. However, the “imperial decree” had already been issued. If she didn’t go, she would be “defying the decree”.
Yu Wan calculated in her heart and said to Master Qin, “Alright, I’ll change my clothes and follow you into the palace.”
In order to prevent her family from worrying, Yu Wan did not say anything about the Second Prince, nor did she say that Worthy Consort Xu had summoned her. She only said that the Drunken Immortal Pavilion had accepted a business deal from the palace and that she would be back soon.
On the way to the palace, Yu Wan asked Master Qin about Worthy Consort Xu, who had power in the harem. Master Qin was not curious about why she asked. After all, they were going to cook for Worthy Consort Xu, so it was especially important to figure out her preferences.
“Speaking of this lady…” Master Qin told Yu Wan everything he knew.
When Yu Wan heard this, she could not help but sigh at this lady’s history. It was simply an ancient version of a grassroots counterattack.
Worthy Consort Xu was born into a merchant family. At that time, the Xu family was not the current Xu family. In Prefecture Xu, they were barely considered a third-rate tycoon. They had spent a lot of money to pull strings and send their daughters to be selected ladies.
Speaking of which, it was also because the spots for that year’s Prefecture Xu selected ladies were not fully filled that they managed to pick up a bargain.
The status of a businessman in the Great Zhou was very low, so Worthy Consort Xu also became the last-ranked lady in the team. Her looks were considered outstanding, but there were many beautiful women in the harem, and there was no lack of beautiful women.
“It’s still luck that she was able to catch His Majesty’s eye.” In the carriage, Master Qin continued, “At that time, Empress Ma had just gotten pregnant with the Eldest Prince and it was inconvenient for her to serve His Majesty anymore, so she chose a few lovely girls from the selected ladies and placed them in her palace.”
“Worthy Consort Xu is one of those young ladies?” Yu Wan asked.
Master Qin smiled and shook his head. “No, at that time, there was Consort Li who was extremely doted on by His Majesty. The young ladies couldn’t compare to her. But soon, Consort Li was also pregnant with a son.”
Yu Wan paused. “Wait, wasn’t the Second Prince born by Worthy Consort Xu? How could he be the son of Consort Li?”
Master Qin said, “That child wasn’t born.”
Yu Wan had heard some things about the princes from Bai Tang. She knew that the Eldest Prince was five years older than the Second Prince, and Consort Li was pregnant with Empress Ma in the same year. In other words, in the next five years, no prince was born in the palace until… Worthy Consort Xu gave birth to Yan Huaijing.
Yu Wan felt a chill run down her spine.
Master Qin continued, “After Consort Li found out that she was pregnant, she imitated Empress Ma and also found a few young and beautiful women.”
“Worthy Consort Xu was chosen by Consort Li?” Yu Wan asked.
Master Qin shook his head again.
When all the young ladies entered the palace, they would more or less be roped in by the concubines who were favored. This was not only a way to fight for favor, but also a capital to settle down. Although they would die quickly if they followed the wrong person, they would die faster without a backer. Worthy Consort Xu was one of the latter.
“At that time, she was only a second-class female attendant,” Master Qin said.
No one thought highly of a lone soul like Xu Yi. Her green token would never be sent to the Emperor. If nothing went wrong, she would die of old age in the palace.
“But guess what she did?” Master Qin asked with interest.
“What did she do?” Yu Wan asked.
Master Qin seemed to have thought of something funny. “She planted vegetables in the palace.”
Yu Wan was surprised.
Master Qin said, “One day, His Majesty ate a very delicious cabbage and asked which imperial chef made it. He was heavily rewarded, but the imperial chef said that it wasn’t that his culinary skills were good, but it was because of the good ingredients that Female Attendant Xu planted.”
The Emperor went to the place where Female Attendant Xu had stayed. It was a desolate old palace. Female Attendant Xu had her sleeves rolled up and took a hoe to farm in the backyard. That appearance had caught the Emperor’s eye.
When the Emperor was young, he lived in the Cold Palace for many years and was often not full. That was how the Empress Dowager planted vegetables for the young Emperor and Prince Yan.
That was the experience that the Emperor wanted to recall the most. No one dared to touch it, but Female Attendant Xu took the risk of being killed. She boldly forced the Emperor to remember everything about the Cold Palace.
Worthy Consort Xu was the daughter of a merchant, not a country bumpkin. How could she know how to farm? Did Bai Tang know how to farm? How was that possible? Therefore, be it farming or planting vegetables, they were just another scheme.
Yu Wan knew Worthy Consort Xu better. “After that, her favor didn’t wane?”
Master Qin laughed self-deprecatingly. “How can there be an everlasting favor? She also lost favor, but she won in the end.”
The Emperor had handed over the power of the six palaces to Worthy Consort Xu not because he doted on her and wanted to dote on her in bed, but because in the Emperor’s eyes, she was the most suitable woman to lead the harem.
It seemed that today’s meeting with such a capable woman was not a coincidence.
… .
Other than Yu Wan, there were also two chefs from the Drunken Immortal Pavilion who entered the palace with Master Qin today. They were both brought over by Master Qin from Jiangzuo. They were in their early thirties and were steady in their work. They had once gone to the Yu Family’s old residence and humbly asked Uncle for guidance on their culinary skills.
Master Qin was extremely confident in bringing the two of them along.
Yu Wan thought to herself, Is there really a need for culinary skills on this trip?
When the carriage arrived at the palace, there were already eunuchs waiting there.
“Eunuch Wu, sorry to keep you waiting!” Master Qin smiled and greeted him.
It seemed that this was the palace servant who tasted the dishes in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. Yu Wan sized him up imperceptibly. He was a few years younger than Uncle Wan and looked more handsome. He looked kind, but a sharp glint flashed across his eyes.
To be able to work under Worthy Consort Xu, he was definitely not an ordinary person.
“Are these the chefs of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion?” Eunuch Wu smiled appropriately at Yu Wan and the other two.
“It’s a little girl?” He sounded surprised.
Master Qin smiled and said, “She’s the second boss of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. Although she’s a little girl, she’s capable! Miss Yu, this is Eunuch Wu, whom I mentioned to you just now.”
Yu Wan went forward and greeted Eunuch Wu.
Eunuch Wu only looked at her with a faint smile and didn’t show any other expression. Then, he said to Master Qin, “Follow me to see Her Highness first.”
Master Qin was excited to be able to see the Imperial Consort! He thought that if he entered the palace to cook, he would be led straight to the kitchen.
The group followed Eunuch Wu to Xianfu Palace.
The Xianfu Palace was very big. After a few doors and turns, they arrived at the side hall where Worthy Consort Xu was.
Eunuch Wu stopped outside the hall and said respectfully, “Your Highness, the people from the Drunken Immortal Pavilion are here.”
“Come in.”
It was a soothing but solemn voice.
Eunuch Wu led Yu Wan and the others into the side hall.
In the main seat above the side hall, Yu Wan saw the legendary Worthy Consort Xu.
She was wearing a purple palace dress and an eight-tailed phoenix hairpin. Her eyebrows were picturesque, and her face was exquisite. Her hands were slender and her joints were well-proportioned. She sat upright on the palace throne and had an indescribably powerful aura.
As expected of a woman who had been in the harem for twenty years. Just this aura alone was not something an ordinary noble lady could have.
“Kowtow to Her Highness,” Eunuch Wu reminded.
Master Qin lifted his clothes and knelt down. “Qin Zuo greets the Worthy Consort. Long live the Worthy Consort.”
Yu Wan and the two chefs behind Master Qin also knelt down one after another. The three of them were relatively calm and didn’t embarrass Master Qin.
“There’s a girl?” Worthy Consort Xu sounded a little surprised. “Lift your head and let me take a look.”
Yu Wan slowly raised her head.
Since she had entered the palace to be a chef in name, Yu Wan was indeed dressed like a chef. She wore a plain white dress with a waist and an apricot-colored cotton shirt. She did not put on any makeup and her black hair was only tied up in a bun. No one would take a look at her outfit in the crowd. However, Worthy Consort Xu not only took a look, but she also took a lot of glances.
There were too many people with more exquisite facial features than Yu Wan, but she was the first one who had a comfortable appearance. Her temperament was also calm. Just by looking at her, one’s restless heart seemed to be able to slowly calm down.
The years were peaceful.
This sentence flashed across Worthy Consort Xu’s mind for no reason.
“Your Highness,” the nanny in charge called her softly.
Master Qin didn’t dare to look around, but he also felt that Worthy Consort Xu had been looking at Yu Wan for too long.
Worthy Consort Xu picked up the hot tea that the nanny handed her and took a sip. “I hit it off with this girl. Let her stay and talk to me. You guys go and prepare dinner.”
Master Qin frowned strangely. Didn’t they say that they wanted to eat her stinky tofu? What did she mean by letting her stay and talk with her? Whose fault was it if their food wasn’t delicious enough?
Qin Yue felt that there was something he had overlooked, but before he could figure it out, Eunuch Wu brought him to the small kitchen of the Xianfu Palace.
Worthy Consort Xu did not tell Yu Wan to get up.
Yu Wan knelt on the cold floor for an hour.
The spy outside the hall felt that something was wrong. He turned around to report to Yan Huaijing, but he was blocked by Worthy Consort Xu’s men.
In the small kitchen.
Master Qin placed the jar of sour bamboo shoots on the stove, but he suddenly had an idea. “Aiya! I remember now! The Second Prince once saved Miss Yu!”
That was during the Master Chef Competition. Yu Wan was framed by her peers and was locked in the icehouse. It was the Second Prince who saved Yu Wan upstairs. In order to protect Yu Wan’s reputation, the Second Prince hid Yu Wan’s identity, but others did not know. Could it be that he and the Yu family did not know either?
At that time, they had suspected it, but after that, there was no news from the Second Prince, so they gradually treated this matter as a good deed by the Second Prince.
But what if… it wasn’t purely a good deed? Could Worthy Consort Xu have misunderstood something and summoned Yu Wan?
Master Qin wished he could stab himself to death. “I… how could I have forgotten such an important thing! My pig brain! I, I, I… I was blinded by lard!”
Master Qin threw down the jar and walked out. Just as he crossed the threshold, Eunuch Wu walked over with a smile. “Boss Qin, where are you going? Is Her Highness’s food ready?”
Master Qin smiled and said, “I suddenly remembered that I left some ingredients in the carriage. I’ll go get them now.”
Eunuch Wu smiled and said, “We’re in the palace. What ingredients do we not have? Even if we really don’t have them, I’ll go get them for you.”
Master Qin’s heart sank. The news couldn’t be sent out…
Second Prince Manor.
Yan Huaijing finished reading the dossier in his hand and the information sent by the spy from Gong City. He was about to enter the palace to greet Worthy Consort Xu when he saw a little eunuch waiting respectfully at the door.
He was Worthy Consort Xu’s servant.
“Why are you waiting for me here?” Yan Huaijing asked with a frown.
The young eunuch said, “May I ask if Your Highness is going to greet Her Highness?”
Yan Huaijing replied indifferently.
The young eunuch said, “Her Highness said that before His Highness considers which girl he will marry, there’s no need to greet her.”
Yan Huaijing frowned. “Is my mother being serious?”
The young eunuch said, “Yes, Your Highness. If you’ve already made up your mind, I’ll bring you to greet Her Highness.”
Yan Huaijing clenched his fists. “There’s no need. Go tell Mother that I’ll… visit her another day.”
The young eunuch bowed. “Goodbye, Your Highness.”
… .
In the Xianfu Palace, Yu Wan had been kneeling on the cold and hard floor for an hour. Her knees were swollen and she felt a piercing pain. However, she did not show it on her face. Her back was still straight, and her figure was cold and stubborn.
Worthy Consort Xu peeled the orange leaves indifferently. When she peeled the ninth one, she finally said casually, “Do you know why I asked you to kneel here?”
She was tactful when dealing with people. For example, she could not be too rude to Yan Ruyu. However, Worthy Consort Xu really did not care about a small village girl.
“It’s because of His Highness.” Yu Wan’s expression was very calm.
Worthy Consort Xu smiled faintly. “You’re smart. It seems that you’ve admitted to seducing my son.”
Yu Wan said neither servile nor overbearing, “Would you believe me if I said I didn’t seduce him?”
Worthy Consort Xu looked down at her. “I’ve seen many women like you. You look aloof and pure, but you have more tricks up your sleeves than anyone else. His Highness is in the royal family and has never come into contact with a commoner like you. It’s inevitable that he’s mesmerized by you.”
Yu Wan said slowly, “A commoner? Forgive me for being blunt, but my background seems to be higher than yours.”
Soldiers, scholars, farmers, and merchants. The Great Zhou Dynasty emphasized farmers and restrained merchants. The farmers were only poor, but in terms of background, they were ranked ahead of the merchants.
“How dare you!” Worthy Consort Xu hated it when others talked about her background. No matter how glorious the Xu family was now, it could not change the fact that they were once merchants. On the surface, those people flattered the Xu family, but they secretly mocked them.
Empress Ma had long lost her favor. She was only one step away from becoming the Empress, and this step was her background!
Worthy Consort Xu put down the half-peeled orange and looked coldly at Yu Wan, who was kneeling on the ground as if she didn’t know fear at all. “Even the Princess doesn’t dare to be so impudent in front of me. I think you’re tired of living! Do you think I won’t dare to do anything to you just because my son dotes on you?”
Yu Wan shook her head. “I’ve never thought that way. It’s all your own guess.”
Worthy Consort Xu sneered. “My guess? Alright, then tell me, who lent you the courage to make you look down on me?”
Yu Wan said calmly, “If you want to accuse me, there’s nothing you can do. If I lie respectfully at Her Highness’ feet today, will you not vent your anger on me?”
Worthy Consort Xu mocked, “Take my anger out on you? You mean, you didn’t do anything wrong at all. I wronged you?”
Yu Wan looked up and met Worthy Consort Xu’s piercing gaze. “I don’t know where Your Highness heard about me and the Second Prince, and how much you’ve heard. Even if it’s to interrogate a suspect, there’s no reason to come to a conclusion immediately. Your Highness, you didn’t even ask for my explanation before you blindly thought that I seduced the Second Prince. Forgive me for being blunt, but I’ve indeed been wronged.”
Worthy Consort Xu enunciated each word clearly. “What a glib tongue!”
“Your Highness.” The nanny in charge shook her head at Worthy Consort Xu.
Worthy Consort Xu whispered, “I know what to do.”
The nanny in charge was hinting to Worthy Consort Xu not to really kill Yu Wan. After all, Yu Wan was the woman the Second Prince had taken a fancy to. Killing her was a small matter, but there would be a grudge between them. There were many ways to deal with her!
How could Worthy Consort Xu not be able to keep her cool when she could sit in her current position? She was just scaring Yu Wan, but since this move was useless, she would change it.
Worthy Consort Xu’s anger dissipated. She slowly smiled. “I heard about your father’s case.”
Yu Wan’s eyes moved slightly.
Worthy Consort Xu took in her expression and smiled mockingly. “It doesn’t matter who steals whose military achievements. It’s more important who His Majesty wants to protect. Do you think your father will still be alive when the crime is decided?”
“What makes you think that the person His Majesty wants to protect can’t be my father?” Yu Wan asked.
The nanny in charge shook her head. This girl was too bold. Who was the one being questioned?
Worthy Consort Xu sneered. “Don’t tell me you still don’t know the relationship between the Yan family and the Young Master Manor?”
Yu Wan looked at her without blinking. “Your Highness, you mean that Your Majesty protected the Yan Family only because of the Young Master Manor?”
“Could it be because of you?” Worthy Consort Xu mocked.
Yu Wan lowered her eyes and murmured, “Is Young Master Yan so important to His Majesty?”
Worthy Consort Xu raised her eyebrows and said, “As heavy as Mount Tai, better than biological children.”
Yu Wan’s lips curled up. “In that case, I advise you not to make another mistake.”
These words did not make sense. Worthy Consort Xu did not understand what Yu Wan was talking about. Worthy Consort Xu looked at Yu Wan strangely. “If you leave my son, I will promise you that no matter how angry His Majesty is, I will protect your father’s life for you.”
Yu Wan smiled faintly. “Your Highness, you don’t have to threaten me. I never planned to marry into the Prince Manor. Didn’t Your Highness tell you? He wanted me to be his secondary consort, but I rejected him.”
“You!” Worthy Consort Xu stood up in anger.
Yu Wan said calmly, “Isn’t this the outcome you want, Your Highness? What are you angry about? Could it be that I’m the only one who’s forced to leave your son in despair and not allowed to look down on him? Perhaps in your eyes, your son is a popular person, but in my eyes, he’s nothing.”
“B*tch!” Worthy Consort Xu rushed down the steps and raised her hand angrily to slap her!
