318. Childhood Sweethearts
Translator: ChowvanLee
After the ministers and the generals tasted the roast lamb, they praised its taste in unison.
“It’s very delicious!”
Before this, they heard that the minister of the Ministry of Rites was bold in using newcomers. He had summoned Xiao Baoshan’s wife into the palace as the head chef and everyone was looking forward to seeing what would happen.
They wanted to know if the Ministry of Rites would be making a joke or could surprise them.
If the minister of the Ministry of Rites was making the wrong decision, he would definitely be fired. If he could satisfy the diners, then it would be obvious that Xiao Baoshan’s wife was really good at roasting meat.
As everyone picked up their chopsticks, whispers were like little hissing fires at the banquet. The people who were attending the banquet as a routine actually looked at each other and whispered, “This roasted lamb is really good.”
“This skin is so crisp, and there are sesame seeds on it. It’s very tasty.”
“It doesn’t have the stink of sheep either. That’s something.”
“Last year’s meat was too chewy. I can’t even swallow it,”
“…”
Everyone praised the lamb’s delicacy.
Then they turned to roast pork, which got the same comments.
]Next was beef.
The beef was cut and made in boiling water. It was a pity that there were very few chili peppers in the capital city, so it was not cooked in a spicy way. But with the addition of ginger and pepper, its taste was not inferior to ordinary boiled beef with chili.
The next dish was the plain boiled chicken. This time, the chicken was much crisper than before.
Dog meat was not on the table. Due to custom, dog meat was a taboo for some ministers, but if anyone wanted to eat dog meat, they could let eunuchs add it to them.
At the banquet, everyone was having the meat happily and the atmosphere was much better than before.
Seeing that everyone was eating meat, Li Chengkun felt a little desolate, but then he had second thoughts. ‘I invite them to dinner just to let them enjoy themselves. It’s alright as long as they like it.’
Besides, he liked the meat, too, and ate a lot unknowingly.
For a moment, the smell of meat floated everywhere.
…
What Li Chengkun and others never expected was that while they were enjoying delicious food and liquor, Yan Ziyan in the north had lost the battle on this day.
This time, Yan Ziyan and his army were badly injured. The Northern Qing Army suddenly attacked and destroyed a battalion of men. They almost lost the city gate.
They managed to guard their base in the end, but had ma.s.sive casualties.
That night, Yan Ziyan sent a letter to the capital city and asked the Emperor to send another troop to a.s.sist them.
…
At the end of the banquet, the ministers stroked their bulging bellies and exited the palace.
After this banquet, they kept talking about the meat and were interested in Ye Xiaoxian.
“Xiao Baoshan’s wife is pretty good at cooking. She can actually make roast lamb and roast pork so delicious.”
“Other dishes are good, too.”
“Agree, I’ve never eaten this much before.”
“Is there an expert teaching her so that she could cook such delicious dishes?”
“I heard from the minister of the Ministry of Rites that she does has a master.”
“No wonder…”
Li Chengru and Li Chengyi also came out from the banquet.
Li Chengru asked Li Chengyi to leave first. He had to wait a little longer. He just asked a eunuch to help pack some leftovers so that he could bring them back to Xiao Baoshan.
Xiao Baoshan couldn’t see Ye Xiaoxian, but he could temporarily relieve his lovesickness by eating Ye Xiaoxian’s food.
Li Chengru followed the eunuch out of the ante-room, waiting for the eunuch under an apricot tree.
And coincidentally or not, the Empress’s sedan would pa.s.s by him.
After the banquet, the Empress looked at Li Chengkun expectantly, hoping that Li Chengkun could come to her palace or rest at her palace.
But Li Chengkun wasn’t going to do that at all. Once the banquet ended, he said that he was about to get drunk and wanted to go back to his palace.
The Empress was disappointed and could only go back to her palace.
She didn’t expect to meet Li Chengru here.
Li Chengru saw the Empress, too. He took a step back quietly to let the Empress’s sedan pa.s.s first.
The Empress stopped the sedan, then the maid helped her off. She greeted Li Chengru, “Chengru, why are you here?”
Seeing that the Empress got off the sedan, Li Chengru bowed at her and answered, “Empress, I’m waiting for someone.”
She called him “Chengru”, but he called her “Empress”.
The Empress smiled awkwardly and asked, “Who are you waiting for?”
“One eunuch, I ask him to pack some food for me and I’ll bring it back to General Xiao.”
“Are you very close to General Xiao?”
“He is just an acquaintance.” Li Chengru said flatly.
“Then… what about Madam Xiao?” The Empress asked again.
Li Chengru frowned and continued, “The Empress has asked too much. Please forgive me, I don’t want to answer it.”
“Then I won’t ask again.” the Empress added, “Since you’re taking food, I have a lot of snacks in my palace. You can take some back to General Xiao. They are… apricot cakes made by me when I was free.”
When the Empress mentioned “Apricot Cake”, she specifically observed Li Chengru’s expression.
However, Li Chengru was expressionless and rejected, “Empress, that won’t be necessary. I will be leaving soon.”
Very soon, the eunuch came over with a big food box. Li Chengru took it, first asked the eunuch to leave, then he bowed to the Empress and said, “Empress, I’m leaving first.”
The Empress smiled bitterly again before returning to her sedan.
She felt a heart-piercing pain inside.
Back then, when apricot flowers started to bloom, they were childhood sweethearts. She called him “Brother Chengru” and he called her “Sister Apricot”.
She was two years older than him, so she always took care of him. When he knew about love, he told her he wanted to marry her as her husband.
But in the end, she chose to marry Li Chengkun, who was a lot older than her.
She told him it was because of her family’s choice, but she didn’t struggle before she accept that decision. He gave up and ever since then he just took her as his sister. Since his sister was married, he couldn’t be sad for too long and what he could do was only to congratulate her.
Now that she was the Empress, he was certain that she was happy. He didn’t want to mention their past at all.
The Empress returned to her palace and the maids helped her take off her heavy accessories before she changed into her nightgown.
When she was in bed, she asked the personal maid who had been serving her all the time. “Jinyi, do you think I’m happy?”
The maid didn’t know why the Empress asked her this question out of nowhere. She was startled. She thought she had done something wrong, so she knelt down right away and said, “The Empress is definitely happy. Your Majesty… Why do you say that?”
The Empress saw the maid’s scared face; she couldn’t help but shake head.
She was n.o.ble, but no one would care about her from heart. Not to mention people who could speak the truth to her.
Li Chengkun married her, made her the Empress because of her family’s influence.
But Li Chengkun had never liked her!
He never liked any woman in the palace. His heart only belonged to politics and power.
If she had chosen Li Chengru back then…
The Empress didn’t dare think about this question, but she couldn’t help herself.
The more lonely she was, the more she couldn’t control herself to think about the beautiful past. The more she thought about it, the more she regretted her decision.