Li Chengxuan looked at the fried fermented tofu cubes in front of him and refused in his heart.
Song Jinning didn’t seem to see the tension on his face, and was still persuading with a diligent smile.
“You’re welcome. Your Majesty, eat it while it’s hot. Otherwise, it won’t be crispy when it’s cold.”
Li Chengxuan didn’t move. He wonders if this thing is really edible? Isn’t Song Jinning just teasing him on purpose?
But if he doesn’t eat it, won’t Song Jinning look down on him?
When Song Jinning told Li Chengxuan that fermented tofu didn’t smell good and a lot of people didn’t dare to eat it, he proudly said that he is the son of heaven, and there is no one that can compare with him.
Song Jinning also thought of what he said at that time, and looking at his expression right now, she felt satisfied in her heart.
Naturally, a smile appeared on her face.
“Your Majesty doesn’t dare after all~”
She deliberately used a long tone. She even gave Li Chengxuan a thoughtful look to ‘comfort’ him.
“But this is excusable. After all, most people…”
Before she could finish what she was saying, Li Chengxuan grabbed his chopsticks and stuck a piece of fried tofu in his mouth at lightning speed.
Sure enough, this method of making Li Chengxuan’s ego shatter works.
While holding back a smile, Song Jinning said: “Your Majesty, don’t swallow it directly. You have to chew it slowly to taste it better.”
Li Chengxuan followed and chewed it slowly.
He felt that he was falling into Song Jinning’s trap.
Even if they can’t be a couple, they should still be allies! How come he has to eat this?
Li Chengxuan was angry, and for a while, he was gritting his teeth in anger.
But doing this made him accidentally bite the fried tofu in his mouth.
The sullen expression on his face stiffened for a moment.
Then he tentatively took another bite of the fermented tofu.
Song Jinning sat cross-legged across Li Chengxuan.
She had been looking at Li Chengxuan, and naturally saw the changes on his face. She knew that Li Chengxuan had finally tasted the magnificence of Fermented Tofu.
With her left hand supporting her head, Song Jinning smiled triumphantly.
“Your Majesty, how is it? Chenqie didn’t lie to you, right? Fermented Tofu is really good.”
“Don’t eat it like this. This is spicy sauce. If you dip the tofu in, it will give you a much better taste.”
Li Chengxuan looked at the red sauce with hesitation in his heart.
But in the end, he followed Song Jinning’s suggestion and took a piece of fermented tofu and lightly dipped it in the spicy sauce.
Song Jinning was right. It did give off a better taste.
Soon enough, Li Chengxuan had already finished half a plate of fermented tofu. Li Chengxuan placed the chopsticks in his hand on the table and asked Song Jinning, “What will you eat for lunch today?”
“Why does your majesty want to know? Isn’t your majesty going back to the imperial study to review memorials?”
Today is one of Li Chengxuan’s rare day offs, so this morning, he went to Shoukang Palace to pay respects to Empress Dowager Song.
The two spoke for a while, and Empress Dowager Song mentioned that Li Chengxuan was too busy with government affairs recently, and has been neglecting Song Jinning, so he should go to Weiyang Palace after visiting Shoukang Palace. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
When he entered Weiyang Palace, he saw Song Jinning making wine in full swing and enjoying herself.
She asked him to make wine with her, but Li Chengxuan didn’t want to, so he said he needed to review memorials as an excuse.
Even though Song Jinning and him have gotten along better than before, he still didn’t want to spend time with her more than he should.
But after eating this tofu, he suddenly had the urge to ask her what she was eating for lunch.
But then Song Jinning refused him so bluntly….
His handsome face tightened involuntarily.
“Zhen was just asking casually.” As he said this, he stood up. He was obviously preparing to leave.
Li Chengxuan reminded Song Jinning of her cat, Qiu Qiu.
Song Jinning is very good at raising cats.
She doesn’t know why, but she can always guess Li Chengxuan’s thoughts so easily.
“It’s nothing. Just claypot rice[1], roasted goose[2], pigeon[3], boiled cabbage[4], snow clam with white fungus and stewed papaya[5], chicken feet with black bean sauce[6], milk pudding[7]….”
After she finished saying everything she was going to eat, she smiled and asked, “Your Majesty, do you want to stay for lunch?”
Li Chengxuan:…
He really wants to turn around and leave. But the dishes that Song Jinning had mentioned made him feel curious, and there were even one or two dishes that she mentioned that he has never heard of before, so he didn’t know whether it was delicious or not.
It should be delicious, right? She is a person who likes to eat food, so how can she eat ordinary dishes?
But if he stays, he will be looked down upon….
Li Chengxuan was having a war in his heart.
Song Jinning didn’t want Li Chengxuan to stay for lunch. After all, it’s fine to eat alone. But she found out that she liked teasing Li Chengxuan.
Li Chengxuan was obviously conflicted, but he still maintained the solemn look of an emperor on his face, which made Song Jinning want to laugh.
Song Jinning thought for a while, and felt that she might be addicted to teasing Li Chengxuan.
“But since your Majesty has something to do, Chenqie can’t force it. Your Majesty…”
Song Jinning held back a smile, and was about to continue teasing Li Chengxuan, but Li Chengxuan suddenly cut off Song Jinning.
“Since the empress is sincerely asking zhen to stay, how can zhen not see your good intentions? It doesn’t matter, the memorials can be done later, zhen will eat here first.”
After that, he sat down, held his chopsticks, took a piece of fermented tofu, dipped it slightly in the spicy sauce, and ate it in a calm and elegant manner.
Song Jinning wanted to laugh out loud. But she knew that if she laughed, Li Chengxuan would become an angry kitten again.
So she could only endure. She called Gu Yu and ordered: “His Majesty is going to stay for lunch. Go and tell the small kitchen to prepare the foods Bengong had just said.”
In fact, the original menu only consisted of claypot rice, roasted goose, pigeon, boiled cabbage, and snow clam with white fungus and stewed papaya. The other dishes she said were only to tease Li Chengxuan.
Gu Yu nodded and turned around.
When the people in the small kitchen heard that the emperor would eat in Weiyang Palace for lunch, they exploded.
They had already started to make the food in the original menu. The dishes that Song Jinning had said were not easy to make, but it was not very time consuming to do.
Everything was ready after a short while.
Gu Yu led the maidservants over to serve the food.
The maidservant stepped forward and lifted the lid for the both of them. The black pot emitted a tangy smell when it was opened.
It was the claypot rice and snow clam with white fungus and stewed papaya that Song Jinning had mentioned earlier.
In the snow clam with white fungus and stewed papaya, goji berries[8] were also added.
The Claypot rice had Lachang[9] and Larou[10] on top. The white rice inside the pot was also slightly brown on the edges.
In addition to these foods, there was also boiled cabbage and asparagus on the side.
This looks really good.
Li Chengxuan didn’t have the heart to say that when the maidservant opened the clay pot, his heart was beating in anticipation.
He is the emperor! How can he lower his pride and tell his wife that he hasn’t seen this food before?
So he lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Gu Yu picked up a small bowl with a mysterious soup in it, and poured it on the rice.
The claypot had just left the fire, and the pot was heat-preserving, so when the maidservant lifted the lid of the pot just now, Li Chengxuan could see the oil on the edge of the pot making small bubbles. As soon as the soup was poured, Li Chengxuan even heard a sizzling sound
Just listening to this sound made him move his fingers involuntarily.
Song Jinning was holding a spoon on her left hand and chopsticks on her right hand, and was ready to start eating. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Li Chengxuan sitting still, so she raised her eyes and smiled at him.
“Your Majesty, please eat.” There was a smile on her beautiful face.
Li Chengxuan pursed his lips slightly. He mimicked Song Jinning’s way of eating and held the spoon in his left hand, while holding his chopsticks with his right hand.
Speaking of this claypot rice, Song Jinning thinks that this type of crispy and fragrant rice is the best. And the special soup could be tasted in the rice, which made it especially delicious.
As for Li Chengxuan, as the Emperor above all, who would dare give him crispy rice? The only rice he ate was steamed rice of the top tier.
Now that he has seen it with his own eyes, he felt that it was very strange. After all, it’s not like regular rice…
Song Jinning didn’t have a big appetite, so she only ate half of the pot.
When she put down the spoon and chopsticks in her hand, she saw that the pot in front of Li Chengxuan was almost empty.
Song Jinning felt proud.
The food here in Weiyang Palace is good! So Your Majesty, if you treat me nicely in the future, you can open the door to a new world!
T/N: Sorry that there’s no extra chapters this xmas. Don’t worry i’ll be posting 1 or 2 extra chapters this coming new year:) Merry *belated* christmas everyone!
Foods mentioned in this chapter (I was too lazy to put it the pictures in the footnotes kek)
Claypot Rice
Roasted Goose
Pigeon
Boiled Cabbage
Snow Clam with White Fungus and Stewed Papaya
Chicken Feet with Blackbean Sauce
Milk Pudding
Goji Berries
Lachang
Larou [1] 煲仔飯 (Bāo zǐ fàn)- Claypot rice. It is a traditional dinner dish in Southern China and Southeast Asia, mainly in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. This is basically rice cooked in a clay pot
[2] 烧鹅 (shāo é)- Roasted Goose. This dish is so delicious, if you guys get the chance, you should try it. There’s a restaurant near my house that sells this on top of Bao zi fan, and it’s so good.
[3] 乳鸽 (rǔ gē)- Pigeon. Or more specifically, baby pigeon. This baby pigeon is usually killed when it’s under four weeks old. The taste is described as ‘like eating black chicken’.
[4] 白灼菜心 (bái zhuó cài xīn)- Boiled Cabbage. This is usually served with oyster or soy sauce.
[5] 雪蛤银耳炖木瓜 (xuěhá yín’ěr dùn mùguā)- Snow clam with white fungus and stewed papaya.
[6] 豉汁凤爪 (chǐ zhī fèng zhuǎ)- Chicken feet with black bean sauce.
[7] 双皮奶这 (shuāng pí nǎi zhè)- Milk Pudding.
[8] 枸杞 (Gǒuqǐ)- Goji Berries. They are fruits native to Asia. They have very high medicinal properties and are used mostly in supplements.
[9] 腊肠 (làcháng)- a dried, hard sausage usually made from pork and pork fat. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine and soy sauce
[10] 腊肉 (làròu)- Larou is a kind of Chinese cured meat. It is mainly popular in Sichuan, Hunan and Guangdong, but it is also made in other parts of Southern China.