Chapter 64: Official’s Duck Feast

Chapter 64: The Emperor Eats Duck

The current emperor, Zhao Boyun, is still quite young.

Born at the end of the year, he won't turn twenty-one until next month. He inherited the square face and darker complexion from Zhao Kuangyin's lineage, with a full forehead and thick, long earlobes symbolizing good fortune. Like Emperor Taizu, he is a robust, dark-skinned man.

Just after dawn, Zhao Boyun was awakened by the timely calls of the market outside the palace walls, more punctual than the crowing of roosters. The imperial palace of the Song Dynasty is modest and compact, originally just a residence of a Tang Dynasty military governor. After Emperor Taizu established the capital in Kaifeng, he renovated and slightly expanded it before moving in.

Moreover, unlike other dynasties, the Song Dynasty did not issue an edict to relocate all residents near the palace. Firstly, Zhao Kuangyin believed that seizing private property and forcing people to move would harm his virtue as an emperor. Secondly, when he founded the Song Dynasty, everything was in ruins, and every coin was precious. He was also preoccupied with negotiating the return of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun from the Liao people. To save money, he avoided spending large sums on relocating households and building grand palaces.

We'll just have to make do!

How small is the imperial palace? It is rumored that standing on the highest floor of the Fan Tower, one can overlook the entire palace.

Thus, despite the Song Dynasty's wealth, generations of emperors have lived amidst bustling residential areas.

Especially in Bianjing, where there are morning and night markets, and vendors and porters with loud voices often gather near the Donghua Gate, waiting for the high-ranking officials rushing to court, as well as the incoming and outgoing officials and eunuchs. They set up their stalls along the not-so-grand palace walls, selling freshly cooked rice, just-baked ring cakes, olives from the south, and walnuts from the north.

Zhao Boyun yawned and sat up, vaguely hearing the sounds outside, almost knowing what the officials would have for breakfast at the court meeting that day.

This was just the beginning.

Two years ago, the drum at Xuande Gate, silent for over a decade, was suddenly struck by a farmer, startling Zhao Boyun, who had just ascended the throne, into thinking there was some extraordinary injustice. During the court session, he immediately inquired about it. However, after the eunuchs investigated, they found that the farmer had no grievance; he had simply lost his pig.

While driving his pig, it suddenly went berserk, knocked him over, and ran off. He wanted to ask the guards if his pig might have wandered into the palace and if they could help find it.

Zhao Boyun was both amused and exasperated but still ordered the guards to search the city walls for the pig. Naturally, it was nowhere to be found. The farmer, heartbroken over his lost pig, cried so bitterly that Zhao Boyun sent a eunuch to fetch two thousand coins from his private treasury to compensate the farmer, so he could buy a new pig.

However, this good deed backfired, encouraging some shady behavior!

Since then, many people claimed to have lost pigs, dogs, cows, or sheep and came knocking at the palace gates. Some clever individuals even threw their chickens over the palace walls, claiming they had flown in. This forced the guards to chase chickens around the palace, only to return them to their owners, who then insisted they were not theirs, subtly hinting at wanting some silver.

The guard commander, furious, punished several cunning individuals and sent a few to the Kaifeng prison for a few days. He also ordered the installation of wire nets under the palace eaves. Now, if a chicken flew in, before it could land, a pole could be used to drive it back out.

This curbed the bold trend of commoners attempting to extort money from the emperor.

Zhao Boyun naturally sweated over this and dared not be so generous in the future—he couldn't stand the daily chaos of flying chickens and escaping pigs!

In short, even without a water clock or sundial, Zhao Boyun could guess the time by the sounds outside. The roosters kept in the palace for crowing had become redundant.

After rising today, a palace maid asked if he wanted breakfast, but Zhao Boyun waved it off, only asking, "Has Grand Eunuch Liang returned?"

The maid, busy tying up the dragon bed's curtains and folding the bedding, quickly replied that he hadn't returned yet.

The Song Dynasty's court meetings were late, between mid-morning and noon. Zhao Boyun thought it was still early, so he changed into lighter clothes and practiced Taizu's Long Fist several times on the jade corridor outside the Funing Palace, working up a sweat. Then, he was bathed and dressed by the palace maids.

When he emerged from the bath, hungry, he saw Liang Qian, wearing a curved-wing hat and a dark green eunuch's robe, waiting respectfully at the steps of his usual living quarters with a food box.

Just in time!

Zhao Boyun's face lit up with joy, but with many palace attendants around, he quickly restrained his smile, coughed lightly, and ordered the other eunuchs and maids to wait outside, leaving only Liang Qian to serve him inside the hall.

"My dear Grand Eunuch, you're finally back."

With no one else in the inner hall, Zhao Boyun eagerly sat cross-legged on the warm couch, his slightly dark square face showing the youthful exuberance of a young man, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the food box:

"Is this the first batch from Shen's Duck Shop today?"

"It's the first batch, Your Highness. I timed it perfectly. As you mentioned, the first batch uses fruitwood freshly chopped this morning, so the aroma is most potent. I also instructed the shopkeeper to select the most tender and finest quality. The duck carcass was handed over to the imperial kitchen for making duck soup, which you can enjoy during lunch." Liang Qian did not correct the Emperor's impression of Shen's. After all, to the Emperor, whether Shen's was a noodle shop or a duck restaurant didn't matter; as long as the duck was delicious, it sufficed.

The Emperor nodded in satisfaction. He had eaten the roasted duck from Shen's several times, and although it was always excellent, he still believed the first batch was the most fragrant!

Having eaten it so often, he had become a true connoisseur of roasted duck.

"Your Highness entrusted me to go early this morning, so I went with Prefect Wang. Prefect Wang has a 'VIP card' at Shen's. Buying a duck usually costs 143 coins, but with Prefect Wang's card, we saved Your Highness 16 coins. I heard Prefect Wang has even stored 30 ducks at Shen's, and his wife eats one roasted duck every day, unable to stop eating!" Liang Qian chatted casually with the Emperor as he set up the brazier, placed a low table, and arranged the roasted duck and small pancakes wrapped in oil paper on the brazier to warm them slightly.

As it was cold, the duck Liang Qian bought had inevitably cooled down by the time it reached the palace gate. Warming them up would enhance the flavor.

The Emperor greatly praised Liang Qian's frugality: "Very good, very good. Even a mosquito's leg is meat. Grand Eunuch Liang truly knows how to manage the palace!"

The Empress Dowager insisted on light meals, instructing the imperial kitchen to reduce salt usage. If his early morning indulgence in greasy roasted duck were to reach her ears, he would surely face reprimand.

Thus, the Emperor had no choice but to secretly send Liang Qian out to buy the duck, using his private funds to avoid drawing attention. His economizing was also out of necessity—he wished to develop firearms!

This year, chaos broke out in Qinzhou, and the Finance Minister could not allocate additional funds to support the Emperor's ambitious ideas about firearms. Moreover, the Minister deemed the firebombs previously developed by the Emperor to be of little use against the Liao and Jin, as both nations were known for their cavalry, which moved too quickly on the battlefield to be hit. Producing so many firebombs wasted a lot of resources with little practical benefit, so he refused to approve the funds.

However, the Emperor believed that firearms would be of great use in the future. Firebombs were just the beginning; he was sure that craftsmen would develop other firearms, though even he didn't know what they might be.

He argued with his ministers but couldn't reach an agreement. In a fit of anger, he dismissed the Finance Minister and appointed a more compliant successor. But this year's finances were indeed tight, and he could not justify neglecting the welfare of the people for the sake of firearms. So, he temporarily allocated a sum from his private treasury to dig fire wells and develop more firearms.

Thus, he had to economize wherever possible, not wasting a single coin.

Especially sixteen coins. The Emperor was meticulous in his calculations.

As the steam rose from the brazier and the fat began to sizzle, Liang Qian opened the oil paper. Instantly, the heat carried a richer aroma, and the evenly sliced roasted duck within the oil paper looked irresistibly glossy, with clear meat texture and a hint of greenish luster in the juicy, gray-brown meat.

This was the freshest duck meat! The Emperor had loved meat since childhood, and aside from lamb, roasted duck was his favorite. He even contemplated setting aside a piece of palace land to raise ducks and had even thought of creating a "Duck Herding Supervisor" position, but the Empress Dowager firmly vetoed the idea, saying the outer streets were sufficiently noisy, and she did not wish to hear ducks quacking in the future.

Helpless, the Emperor now secretly sent Liang Qian out to buy roasted duck from the market whenever he grew tired of the imperial chefs' cooking. He had practically tried roasted duck from every shop in Bianjing.

Before encountering Shen's, the roasted duck he had eaten was all quite similar and indeed not as good as the imperial chefs' cooking. He would eat a couple of pieces for novelty's sake and then lose interest.

It wasn't until the Lotus Viewing Festival in June, when he called Wang Yong and other important ministers into the palace late at night to discuss expanding the imperial examinations, that everything changed.

At the time, Wang Yong and his wife were out enjoying the city, and the eunuchs searched for a long time before finally finding him and dragging him breathlessly into the palace. Wang Yong didn't even have time to go home and change clothes, so he still had several roasted ducks from Shen's in his hands—originally meant for his subordinates at the government office.

As soon as Wang Yong entered the hall, the aroma from the oil paper was impossible to contain. The fragrance was so enticing that the Emperor, who had been serious, forgot the official business and sat down with his ministers to finish the three or four ducks Wang Yong had brought. After licking the sauce off his fingers with satisfaction, he finally remembered that he hadn't called the ministers into the palace just to eat duck.

That was the first time the Emperor tasted Shen's roasted duck, and after that, he could never forget it.

Now, every few days, he would borrow Wang Yong's "VIP card" to buy a few ducks. At first, he modestly asked Wang Yong to buy them for him, but as the Emperor became more and more addicted, he felt it was inappropriate to keep asking Wang Yong to buy ducks for him.

After all, in his eyes, Wang Yong came from a humble background and didn't have the wealth of noble families. He lived a simple life, and spending hundreds of coins a day to buy roasted duck for the Emperor felt like the Emperor was taking advantage of his subordinate.

So later, he started using his private funds and instructed Liang Qian to go out and buy the ducks himself.

The Emperor also heard from Wang Yong that most shops in Bianjing would sell leftover roasted ducks the next day, but Shen's slaughtered and roasted fresh ducks daily, which was why the meat was so fresh and glossy, with such a beautiful diffraction sheen.

Ducks that were still alive and kicking two hours before going into the oven—how could the meat not be fragrant!

If only he could raise ducks in the palace. The ducks in the imperial kitchen were slaughtered at Fengjin Garden, a specialized farm in the suburbs for raising cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and fish, and then transported into the palace by eunuchs through the Donghua Gate.

By the time they reached his dining table, they had already been dead for a while!

Liang Qian was wrapping the roasted duck for him, and in just this short time, the hall was filled with the aroma of fruitwood smoke. The Emperor inhaled deeply, savoring the roasted duck—the subtle fruitwood aroma, the slight greasiness, the charred richness, the wheat fragrance of the small pancakes, the sweetness of the hoisin sauce, the coolness of the cucumber strips... Who came up with this way of eating? Dipping roasted duck in sauce, wrapping it in pancakes, and pairing it with cucumber and scallion strips—what a genius way to eat!

The chef at Shen's Duck Restaurant was truly exceptional.

"That smells amazing." Seeing Liang Qian had rolled up the small pancake for him, Zhao Boyun squinted with a smile and quietly reached out with his chopsticks, precisely grabbing the rolled pancake.

He took a bite—yes, this was the flavor!

The duck skin was crispy and glistening, fragrant without being greasy. The duck meat was just right—not so soft it lost its texture, nor too dry to chew. It was fresh, tender, firm, and rich without being greasy, especially with the small pancake and sweet bean sauce. It grew more flavorful with every chew.

Zhao Boyun loved wrapping a piece of duck meat with two slices of skin, dipping it in sauce—it burst with flavor when he chewed it.

After eating a whole duck early in the morning, all that sweat from his morning boxing session was wasted. He patted his now-rounder belly and whispered, "Grand Eunuch Liang, remember to tell the servants in Funing Palace to keep their mouths shut these days. Don’t let it slip if the Empress Dowager asks."

Liang Qian nodded with a smile. "Your Majesty, rest assured, this servant understands."

Although the Emperor was not the biological son of the Empress Dowager, after his birth mother passed away when he was young, he was raised in the Empress Dowager’s palace for several years, until he was crowned Crown Prince at sixteen and moved to Duanben Palace. So Zhao Boyun was usually very capable and decisive in dealing with ministers and political affairs but was especially wary of the Empress Dowager’s stern lectures.

Zhao Boyun felt relieved and asked carefully, "Is the chef from Shen’s confirmed? On the eighth of next month, I will host a banquet to welcome the two generals."

He had a big event to attend to and had already secretly summoned Generals Xi and Yue back to the capital.

"It’s all settled," Liang Qian bowed and reported. "This servant has already paid the deposit. Just wait for a while; when General Xi Junior and General Yue arrive in the capital, this servant will go to Shen’s in advance and explain the dietary preferences of the two generals to Mrs. Shen, asking her to whip up more of her signature dishes. It is said that the famous spicy soup at the Feng family’s banquets was made by this Mrs. Shen."

"With Grand Eunuch Liang handling things, I have nothing to worry about," Zhao Boyun patted Liang Qian's shoulder and smiled with some regret. "It’s a pity that General Xi has just quelled the chaos in Qinzhou and isn’t in good health—he won’t be able to return. Otherwise, I’d definitely share a hearty drink with the three generals who haven’t been seen for a long time! By the way, this time we won’t host the banquet for the two generals in the palace. Let’s have it at Yujin Garden—it’s quieter there... and let’s invite the Prince of Lu as well. He’s been grumbling about being tired of the imperial kitchen’s food, so this time we’ll treat him to something special."

"Yes, this servant has taken note."

At this time, the morning bell from the Bell and Drum Tower rippled into the palace like waves—it was almost Si hour. Zhao Boyun didn’t delay, changed into his court clothes, and went to court humming a cheerful tune after being full and satisfied.

***

The morning bell lingered, one after another, piercing through the morning mist, also echoing between the houses in Yangliu East Alley. Shen Miao sold three roast ducks, four bowls of soup noodles, and six bowls of lamb soup as soon as she opened the door. Indeed, when the weather is cold, hot soups sell much better than in summer.

She went to the pottery kiln to order a small wine warmer, hand-pinched earthenware, no matter what shape, as long as it’s palm-sized, with a small piece of charcoal underneath and a pot of wine on top—it’s fine, no matter how strange it looks, what’s wanted is that ancient and simple taste. And a small piece of charcoal can still keep warm after burning out, slowly warming for an hour, so the wine won't get cold whether customers come to drink during the day or night.

After selling this morning’s batch, there was no one in the shop, so Shen Miao left A Tao to guard the shop and went to the backyard to cook duck blood and vermicelli soup with Fu Xing in the kitchen.

With many roast ducks sold, the duck heads, duck feet, and duck offal were also utilized. Duck blood, duck intestines, duck liver, duck gizzard, duck feet, and duck heads could not only be eaten by themselves but could also be braised with pork head meat and sold as a side dish for wine.

Some customers don’t like duck skeletons—they only want roast duck, so the remaining duck skeletons were kept by Shen Miao to make soup. The duck feathers were also collected—she first picked some long feathers to make a shuttlecock for Xiang Jieer, the rest she washed, dried, and stored in a sack. When she had time, she would remove the coarse feathers and fill the soft down into quilts and winter clothes—it must be very warm!

In short, the duck was a treasure—nothing was wasted.

Fu Xing was sprinkling a little salt water into the fresh duck blood, stirring slowly, waiting for it to coagulate. In the soup pot behind, the duck soup made from duck skeletons had been cooked until it was milky white and thick, bubbling and rolling.

Shen Miao slowly added two handfuls of “silver light rice threads” as thin as hair, waiting for the vermicelli to soften instantly, absorbing the duck soup, becoming crystal clear—the duck blood was also ready.

Fu Xing carefully and gently stirred the coagulated fresh duck blood into it.

The duck blood was bright red, becoming more tender and smooth when heated, melting in the mouth. The duck intestines and duck liver had already been washed and prepared by Fu Xing—the intestines were cut into sections, the liver was sliced, blanched until crispy and tender. These two couldn’t be blanched for too long—they wouldn’t taste good if they were overcooked, so as soon as they changed color and curled, they were immediately taken out.

Sprinkled with coriander, green onions, and shredded ginger, drizzled with a little sesame oil, the fresh fragrance directly penetrated the lungs.

This soup was almost entirely made by Fu Xing. The “duck blood and rice thread soup” had already been in the market of the Song Dynasty, so he could also make it. Shen Miao only occasionally gave some tips on details—no need to do everything herself.

When Ji Geer and Xie Qi came back from their morning run, the duck blood and vermicelli soup was ready. Fu Xing was serving the soup to everyone, Shen Miao was personally frying pan-fried buns. The heat and aroma from the kitchen filled the entire yard.

Since Xie Qi came to teach Ji Geer some simple martial arts, Yan Shu had wisely brought an extra set of clothes with him, so Xie Qi wouldn’t have to trouble himself to go back and forth.

Yan Shu thought to himself with a grin, this way he could also legitimately have meals at the Shen’s.

Xie Qi borrowed Ji Geer’s room to wash and change into a clean padded jacket. When he came out, he saw Shen Miao frying meat buns on the griddle, the bottom of the buns gradually turning yellow. She lifted her hand to pour on the water batter and quickly covered the pot.

She was very focused when cooking. Xie Qi watched quietly through the window, unconsciously revealing a smile.

Once the water had nearly evaporated and the bottom had turned golden brown, she sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions and sesame seeds, then fried for a little while longer until the bottom of the buns became crispy and the top fluffy, ready to serve.

The freshly fried pan-fried meat buns were best eaten hot. Shen Miao carried a large plate out and called, "Dinner’s ready! Come on back and eat!"

Yan Shu had already neatly arranged the bowls, chopsticks, tables, and benches, and even wiped them clean.

Xiang Jieer and Chen Chuan were pulled back by Thunder and Wind.

Chen Chuan’s leg had already had the splint removed, and he had recovered exceptionally well. Now, running and jumping, you couldn’t tell he’d ever limped. Every day, he went out to walk the dogs, getting reacquainted with his leg again.

After three months of not walking, when the splint was first removed, Chen Chuan had to lean against the wall for two days.

For breakfast, everyone got a bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup and two big pan-fried meat buns. It seemed simple, but in this chilly autumn weather, it hit the spot. A sip of the fragrant and smooth hot soup, followed by a bite of the pan-fried bun with its rich top and crispy bottom, left Xie Qi feeling warm from head to heel.

He had run a big circle with Ji Geer on an empty stomach and was indeed hungry.

Seeing him eat so quickly, Shen Miao worried he might not be full and asked with concern, "Ninth Geer, want another?" In her eyes, Ninth Geer, at his age, would still be a growing boy in later generations, capable of eating his father out of house and home. Eating more was normal.

Before Xie Qi could respond, Yan Shu had already picked up his small plate of meat buns, stood up, and thanked her earnestly, "Thank you, Madam Shen. I’d like another one. I’ll help Youyu with the dishes later."

Xie Qi glared at him.

Youyu didn’t understand what he was saying but turned her head and smiled at him when she heard her name. Yan Shu had to grin back, and the two of them ended up smiling foolishly at each other.

The whole table cracked up at him. Tang Er quickly got up and went into the kitchen to grab him a bun with an extra crispy bottom, patting his head and saying without thinking, "Yan Shu is about the same age as my little brother. I just can’t help liking him."

Shen Miao shot a glance at Tang Er, noticing that his expression wasn’t sorrowful when he mentioned his brother, indicating he had already let go of his past. She felt relieved. Tang Er had gotten drunk with Fu Xing on the night of the Lotus Viewing Festival. When Shen Miao returned from setting off fireworks, Fu Xing was snoring in his room, but Tang Er was silently crying, hugging the water vat, softly calling for his mother.

Shen Miao went over and tried to push him, but he wouldn’t let go, mumbling to the water vat.

From his drunken ramblings, Shen Miao put most of the story together. It turned out that Tang Er hadn’t been sold by his stepmother—he had volunteered.

His stepmother was only eight years older than him! After his father died, his stepmother wanted to take her own young son to seek refuge with her maternal uncle, but after the funeral, they were broke and couldn’t even scrape up the travel money.

"...We were truly at our wits' end, and at this critical moment, my little brother fell ill. The three of us combined had less money than what was needed to pay for the medicine, and the pharmacy clerk wouldn’t let us leave. My stepmother, clutching my feverish brother, was crying her eyes out, so I told her to sell me."

"My father was dead, so I could’ve slipped away and left her to figure it out. But I couldn’t bear to see her suffer, so in the end, I decided to leave her some money, at least enough for her and my brother to cover the travel expenses, medicine, and a couple of cotton coats. Otherwise, in the freezing cold, they wouldn’t have made it home in one piece." Tang Er, with drunken, bleary eyes, rambled on to Shen Miao, then laughed, though it looked more like he was crying. He had a long face with single eyelids, and when he smiled, his eyes turned into slits. His voice lowered, "This is for the best. Staying with her would only have been a burden. Without me, her stepson, around, she could remarry someday, even with a young child."

Shen Miao finally understood the whole story. She had previously heard from the broker that Tang Er had been sold by his stepmother and found it strange. He was already an adult, capable of going anywhere he wanted.

Now, the mystery was solved.

But the next day, when he sobered up, Tang Er never mentioned it again. Fu Xing and A Tao had no idea he had such a past, and Shen Miao didn’t want to mention it, treating it as if it had never been spoken of.

While she was lost in thought, Ji Geer was asking Xie Qi about the upcoming academy examination next month.

The results of the prefectural examination had just been posted, and the date for the academy examination was already announced at the yamen gate, sparking chatter in the streets as everyone talked about this year’s extra exam. Most people were happy about it, as scholars no longer had to wait a full year to take the exam. Innkeepers, tavern owners, and merchants were especially pleased, as their establishments were packed every day. Proprietor Zhou’s bookstore was selling brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones like crazy—no one was unhappy.

Xie Qi smiled and replied, "I’ll accompany you to Chenliu, and then I’ll head to the examination hall."

The Xie family had gone to their spring estate for the autumn, even taking Chef Fang with them. Xie Qi and Yan Shu were left unattended, so they paid thirty strings of cash for meals and followed Shen Miao for three meals a day.

They ate whatever the Shen family ate. So when Shen Miao went to Bai Village in Chenliu Town to prepare a banquet, Xie Qi and Yan Shu followed like little tails.

Shen Miao didn’t miss the faint worry in his eyes and said softly, "Ninth Geer, are you concerned it might not go well? Should we go to Taiqing Temple tomorrow to buy a couple of talismans for peace of mind?"

There was no other way. Ninth Geer’s fate seemed to hinge on metaphysics!

Xie Qi shook his head, but before he could speak, Yan Shu sighed like an adult, "Madam Shen, don’t waste your effort. All those talismans and divinations you mentioned—we’ve tried them all at home! While others worship Confucius and the God of Literature before exams, our family is different. We worship Zhong Kui, Guan Gong, and the Earth God. Before Ninth Geer goes to the exam, we make him step over a fire basin, burn mugwort, and hang him with peace talismans, peach wood swords, and five-zhu coins from every temple, Taoist shrine, and nunnery we could find. None of it worked."

As he spoke, he gestured with his hands spread out to the sides.

Shen Miao was utterly shocked, wondering if some evil spirit had possessed him—how else could it be so hard to shake off?

Xie Qi, catching Shen Miao's look, couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated, and he turned his head away with a sigh.

But...

He wasn’t actually worried about whether he would be unlucky. Instead, he was pondering the hidden implications behind the imperial court’s decision to expand the examination system—increasing the number of candidates and the frequency of exams would inevitably lead to a large number of students from humble backgrounds entering officialdom. However, official positions were like the radish holes in Shen’s vegetable patch—one hole could only hold one radish. For every new person who entered, someone else would have to step aside.

Who, then, would be the ones demoted or dismissed from office?

In such uncertain times, even if he aced the exams, landing an official post might still be tough.

Xie Qi saw the situation clearly, but he never considered giving up on the exams. The imperial exam was more about proving himself after all those years of study. As for the emperor’s intentions, he could only speculate. No one knew to what extent the emperor wanted to suppress the influential families.

Since the tide was unstoppable, worrying about it was pointless. He figured that when the cart got to the mountain, a path would open up.

These hidden worries were not immediate, and life went on as usual. Before they knew it, the day arrived to head to Bailao Village in Chenliu Town. Early in the morning, Bai Laosan sent a large flatbed cart to pick them up.