Zhang Deshui got the meat.
Other people started eating the meat as soon as they got it, but Zhang Deshui wasn’t like them. Instead, he first smelled it hard for a while, and then put a piece in his mouth.
The moment he tasted the meat, his eyes lit up.
The lambskin was very crisp. The meat was very tender and tasty but didn’t have the stink of sheep.
The roast pig was the same. Not only was it mixed with the fragrance of various ingredients, but it also preserved the original taste of pork.
He cried as he ate, ‘Little Ye is better than us. The minister will definitely be satisfied this time.’
When Zhang Deshui finished the meat and wanted a little more, he found that the roast lamb and roast pig had been divided up, nothing left.
‘I got the ingredients, but the people in this residence take the meat away for granted. Do they think this is a midnight snack for them?’
…
The chief steward also brought the meat back to the State Preceptor.
He got a whole roasted lamb leg.
Of course, State Preceptor couldn’t finish it. Older people paid attention to health and had to eat less at night. He had just wanted to have a try, but in the end he ate more pieces than he had thought.
He remembered that he couldn’t eat much at night so he stopped and gave the rest to the chief steward.
The chief steward was waiting for this moment.
Even though it was a little cold, its taste didn’t change at all. The chief steward wolfed it up.
…
In the meantime, Mrs. State Preceptor was eating the meat, too.
She closed the door to her yard in case anyone could find she was eating meat.
While eating, she was feigning to scold the old maid. “Why are you always so voracious? You can find everything you want in the State Preceptor’s residence. Why do you go for a bit of roasted meat in the middle of the night? You’re such a foodie. Later, I’ll find a sheep and ask Madam Xiao to roast it for you. If you can’t finish it, don’t come back.”
The old maid replied, “You are right, madam. I was wrong. I won’t do this any more.”
After the old maid finished, Mrs. State Preceptor started eating the meat.
Mrs. State Preceptor also got a lamb leg. She was gluttonous and had eaten half of it before she realized.
…
Zhang Deshui finished his meat. He asked Ye Xiaoxian, “Madam Xiao, I’m not bragging about you. The roast lamb far surpasses those made by the chefs in the palace. However, they require us to prepare the meat the previous night. They will bring it to the ceremony the next morning, and they won’t eat it until the royal dinner begins. I wonder if the meat could keep fresh and maintain its taste after a long day?”
Ye Xiaoxian said, “It’s okay. As long as you don’t steam the meat, you can heat it by roasting it again or you can change the cooking method.”
“Change the method? How?” Zhang Deshui asked.
“Remake the seasoning and heat the meat by boiling it with the seasoning. This is suitable for people who like strong flavors.”
Zhang Deshui chuckled, “Then…could you tell me the recipe now?”
“Why?” Ye Xiaoxian asked.
Zhang Deshui shouted, “You told me that If I like the roast meat, you will give me the recipe”.
“That’s what you said. I only said to have a try. I don’t know if I can succeed.”
“Heavens! Madam, I’m running out of time, so please, don’t make fun of me. Give me the recipe so that I can finish my job. Otherwise, I might end up being beheaded.”
Ye Xiaoxian said indifferently, “It was you who got killed. It’s none of my business.”
“Madam, how about I kneel down for you?” Zhang Deshui begged again.
Ye Xiaoxian said, “You’re embarrassing me if you kneel to me.”
“What… what should I do?” Zhang Deshui was about to cry, but he couldn’t rush up and strangle Ye Xiaoxian to death if he couldn’t get the recipe.
Ye Xiaoxian smiled, “Unless you recommend me to be a chef of this ceremony. Then I can enter the palace. I have never entered the palace in my life. I’m curious about what the palace looks like.”
“…” Zhang Deshui opened his mouth, “You want to enter the palace?”
…
Little Ye took a shower again. She and Jin Xiaoyu chatted in her room while drying her hair.
Jin Xiaoyu couldn’t fall asleep because she had eaten too much this night.
Jin Xiaoyu asked Little Ye, “Do you really want to enter the palace? Why? Are you trying to escape? Or are you really curious about the palace?”
Ye Xiaoxian asked, “Of course the latter. You think we can get away from here?”
“What if Baoshan comes to rescue us?”
“If we can enter the palace, it means that the State Preceptor is smart. Obviously, He will keep an eye on Baoshan and arrange for people to follow us along the way. Baoshan will not take this risk.”
Ye Xiaoxian didn’t think too much of it. She really wanted to see the palace. And she knew that Xiao Baoshan couldn’t be so bold in the capital.
Even if he could take her out of the capital city, there were soldiers behind them and they wouldn’t be able to escape.
At the same time, she thought that if she couldn’t run away and would die in the end, it would be worth it to see the palace. After all, she was unable to see what the real palace looked like in the modern world.
Jin Xiaoyu thought differently. She didn’t want to see the palace. She just wanted to leave the State Preceptor’s residence.
However, it was hard to get out of the State Preceptor’s residence. She felt depressed.
…
Zhang Deshui didn’t know how to persuade Little Ye to hand over the recipe. The ceremony would start soon. He was not able to figure out how to make the roast meat according to the list of ingredients Little Ye had given him. So what he could do was to ask the State Preceptor for help, hoping that he could let Little Ye enter the palace.
“Enter the palace?” The State Preceptor was playing with a big round stone in his hand.
Because the ceremony was about to begin, so ministers could take a rest at home in the next few days.
“Yes. We will continue to make roast lambs and roast pigs today. I’m worried that we still can’t meet the minister’s requirements. If so, we’re gonna… No, it doesn’t matter what we would be, but the ceremony has to be perfect.”
The State Preceptor thought of the roast lamb he ate last night. It was so delicious. He had never eaten such delicious roast lamb in his life. ‘If the Empress Dowager and the Emperor eat it, they would love it, too.’
‘Let Ye Xiaoxian enter the palace?’
‘Actually, she could enter the palace. Where she can go in the palace is only the kitchen. What she can only do is to cook in the kitchen. The palace was heavily guarded. She is unable to escape.’
‘It’s nearly impossible for Xiao Baoshan to rescue her in the palace.’
The State Preceptor thought for a while and said, “Okay, you can bring her into the palace, but only her. Jin Xiaoyu can’t go with her.”
Zhang Deshui was overjoyed.
‘Anyway, as long as Ye Xiaoxian can satisfy the minister of the Ministry of Rites, I will be okay.’
…
Finally, Ye Xiaoxian could leave the State Preceptor’s residence.
Even though she had to come back at night, it was good that she could go to other places.
They deliberately made Jin Xiaoyu stay at the State Preceptor’s residence to prevent Ye Xiaoxian from escaping. They could never escape and leave their companion behind. That was their spirit.
Ye Xiaoxian entered the palace by carriage. There were many people around her, probably all kungfu masters in the State Preceptor’s residence.
This flock of people attracted many people’s attention along the way. It looked as grand as the State Preceptor coming out of the residence.
With the State Preceptor’s handwriting, they entered the palace smoothly. The carriage stopped at the designated position and then they had to walk to the kitchen.
Little Ye had been impressed by the size of the State Preceptor’s residence when she first saw it. She entered the palace at this point and was even more impressed.
This place was like a small city with palaces scattered regularly. The style of these palaces looked similar. One was very easy to get lost if he wandered around it.
There were many servants in the State Preceptor’s residence, but even more in the palace. And many guards were walking back and forth in a standardized way, very powerful.
Little Ye looked around and walked slowly. Zhang Deshui reminded her, “Madam Xiao, there are rules in the palace. You can’t look around like this. This will violate the rules.”
‘Can’t I at least look?’
Ye Xiaoxian thought in her mind, ‘Even though the palace is large, if I live in here meticulously for a while, I would go mad.’
‘The State Preceptor’s residence is better. Although the State Preceptor is a dangerous man, I’m living a luxurious and unrestrained life there. That kind of life is the best.’
Little Ye walked for a long time and finally smelled the strong fragrance of the food, heard the clanging and crashing of pots and bowls. At the moment, Zhang Deshui told her, “The kitchen is here.”
The kitchen was in the palace, but it wasn’t an imperial kitchen. It was temporarily set for chefs to cook. It was said that the imperial kitchen was more than twice its size.
Ye Xiaoxian sighed again, ‘A kitchen in the palace could be bigger than half a city block.’
Zhang Deshui led Ye Xiaoxian in.
The ingredients for today were ready. The bodies of sheep, pigs and cows were all cleaned up, and the chefs were here too.
The chefs all looked sullen, perhaps because they had been tortured by the minister of the Ministry of Rites for a long time.
They thought it must be another day in vain.
But Zhang Deshui was very excited. As soon as he entered the kitchen, he said to them with a happy face, “Bros, I’ve found a savior for us today. With her, I promise that the minister will be satisfied with us and won’t be picky anymore.”
Everyone looked at Zhang Deshui and found that there was only a woman beside him.
Little Ye dressed up for this day. Her hair was rolled up and she was in a maid’s clothes. It was convenient for her to work in this way. Otherwise, the big sleeves of those beautiful clothes would annoy her to death.
So, the chefs regarded her as Zhang Deshui’s attendant. Savior? They didn’t see any Savior.
Zhang Deshui saw that everyone was looking towards his back, but not Little Ye. He couldn’t help but cry, “Where are you looking at? Huh? This person next to me is the savior. She can roast sheep, roast pigs, and the meat is far more delicious than us old fellows.”
Everyone looked shocked. They started to look Little Ye up and down.
Little Ye looked quite young, 20-odd years old at most. In addition, her outfit made her delicate, but she didn’t look like a cook at all. Each chef looked warmly shiny and greasy with a potbelly. But look at Little Ye. She was quite skinny.
