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Chapter 58
58. Loyal ministers speak long words
"...I think you are tired of living."
The head of the imperial dining room was intoxicated and attentively courting Pei Nianyu, hoping that Pei Nianyu could teach him two tricks.
Unexpectedly, just as his handkerchief touched Pei Nianyu's lapel and wiped it twice, the man in black next to him picked it up like a chicken.
The next moment, he met the cold eyes of the man in black, and under the chilling coldness, he even felt the surging anger, which finally turned into a sharp sword, until he was completely chilled.
For a moment, the manager seemed to feel that he was already a corpse in the eyes of the person in front of him, and that gaze froze him in place like a substance, and he didn't dare to move at all.
This is the only time he has felt the threat of death hovering above his head in so many years of life.And the last time... was the palace change many years ago, when the Imperial Army massacred the imperial city in the dark night.
Fortunately, the time Lou Yefeng lost his mind was extremely short, and his long-term professionalism made him calm down quickly.After two breaths, the murderous look in Lou Yefeng's eyes faded away, and he returned to a calm state, then he raised his wrist and threw that round, fat body directly out of the door.
——Although his internal strength has not recovered, his body that has been trained for a long time is still easy to throw.
As soon as the manager landed on the ground, his heart, which had been frightened and almost stopped beating, finally started working again.He breathed a sigh of relief as if he was alive after a catastrophe, and then tried to stand up, but his legs were trembling and he was completely powerless—then he looked at Lou Yefeng inside the door, gritted his teeth, and crawled outThe courtyard of the imperial dining room.
Eunuch Wu outside the courtyard hadn't gone far, only to hear a gurgling sound behind him, he couldn't help turning his head to look, and was immediately amused:
"Hey, who is this round?"
The head of the imperial dining room lost face in front of so many colleagues and subordinates. Among them, he seemed to be dying in the middle of their class, so he was naturally very angry:
"Wh-Where did this vulgar person from the world come from, how dare...do something to our family..."
Eunuch Wu gloated in his heart, and raised his foot and kicked him:
"I told you that the one inside is one that I can't even offend. You don't even look at what you are, and a mere fourth-rank eunuch dares to post it to curry favor with you. Why don't you take a mirror and look at yourself, are you worthy?"!"
The manager wanted to cry, but he couldn't offend him, he couldn't offend him, and he couldn't flatter him. Where did his grandma invite an old Buddha!How can such a noble person come to cook?
"Hurry up and go back to work!"
The boss finally stood up, and his legs went limp again:
"I... I dare not!"
"Hmph, do you think people will trouble you when they are free? Work honestly, stay away from distinguished guests, and don't use your brains!"
"……yes."
………………
Here, Pei Nianyu watched in astonishment as Lou Yefeng erupted because of the courteousness of others, and unexpectedly stopped the kitchen knife in his hand.
Afterwards, he looked at Lou Yefeng's calm expression, although he had calmed down, he was obviously very angry.So Pei Nianyu couldn't help but feel very happy - didn't expect this cub to be quite protective, so he was obviously jealous.
But even eating such a round ball of vinegar, is this reaction too big?
Pei Nianyu suddenly leaned close to Lou Yefeng's ear and teased him softly:
"Oh, is my family Ye Feng jealous? He is the head of His Majesty's imperial dining room, you are so rude."
Lou Yefeng was immediately embarrassed when he heard the words, jealous or something... how could he, a shadow guard, have such a mentality towards his master.So quickly denied the three consecutive:
"I... this subordinate dare not! This subordinate has never... that... cough... this subordinate just feels, just feels that it would be humiliating your status if someone like him came to serve you."
Pei Nianyu was stunned, and thought about the "little tricks" that Ye Feng of his family did not dare to do blatantly on weekdays.Then he was almost certain that Lou Yefeng felt that normally he would not dare to touch the person whom he had always admired devoutly, but today he was "blasphemed" by such a ball. It is not surprising that he was furious.
Looking at the lingering indignation in Lou Yefeng's eyes and the somewhat gnashed expression, he felt that there was a tinge of sweetness in such a hectic morning.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the chef chiefs next to him were all looking down at the ground, looking at their noses, noses, noses, and hearts.Without warning, he stretched out his head and kissed Lou Yefeng's cheek.
Lou Yefeng: "...!!"
He had a look of astonishment, and the coldness in his eyes melted away as quickly as snow seeing the morning sun.
Pei Nianyu smiled openly:
"Okay, don't be angry."
——There was a sour smell in the air, the source of which was unknown.
The chef chiefs next to him were trembling, just lowered their heads and took notes without mentioning them.
After a while, the ball manager finally made enough mental preparations to enter the room, and then tiptoed along the wall to go inside.Seeing that the two men glanced at him but ignored him, he finally felt relieved.
Two hours later, Pei Nianyu finally explained the basic steps of the 108 dishes, and asked casually:
"Do you have any other questions?"
Twenty or so people held their breath and concentrated, but no one answered.
Pei Nianyu sighed and asked again:
"Well, does any of you remember?"
More than twenty people trembled, all of them slowly raised their hands.
Pei Nianyu: "..."
A bunch of idiots!
It's a pity that the cooking steps of the dishes displayed by this master chef are so complicated that they have never seen before.Not to mention a thorough understanding, even if you just memorize it by rote, it is difficult to remember all the ingredients.
In the past, when they made imperial meals, they only selected the most refined and top-quality meat ingredients, mountain delicacies, and cooked them.The difficult part is how each meal has forty-eight products without repeating the same food every day, and how have seen these displayed by Pei Nianyu, who handles the ingredients so delicately and elegantly.
Pei Nianyu couldn't help feeling a little disgusted with these people.He knew the system of the Dajing Dynasty, the royal kitchen in the imperial dining room was hereditary from generation to generation, the so-called "children inherit the father's business".
By the time of Pei Niancheng's reign, it was unknown how many generations of imperial chefs he was.Hereditary will inevitably lead to a lack of competitiveness, so that the craftsmanship will regress and become self-sufficient. Is this all predictable?
The level...maybe not as good as the chef in charge of the big restaurant outside.
It's no wonder that Pei Niancheng gets angry every day and doesn't want to eat the food from the imperial dining room. It's no wonder that the already unpalatable cooking level and second-rate craftsmanship can be delicious.However, these people can't drive, they only learn to cook imperial food since they were born, but where do they go to ask for a living if they are opened?
Pei Nianyu sighed, and finally took out the patience he had honed in self-cultivation and self-cultivation over the years, and said very kindly:
"Assign the task, let's do it first, if you don't know it or forget it, please feel free to ask me."
The chef chiefs were amnesty: "Mr. Xie give advice!"
So the imperial dining room started quickly, and each chief chef and deputy chief chef summoned their own staff, and assigned them to each dining room to start cooking according to the regulations.
Pei Nianyu, on the other hand, patrolled each dining room in turn, keeping an eye on their processes, techniques, and ingredients for mistakes.
There are a total of hundreds of people in the imperial dining room, and the speed is much faster after the work is divided.Not long after, the first dishes on each stove have been cooked one after another. After Pei Nianyu has checked and accepted them one by one, they can be put into the copper hot pot to warm up, and will be served to the princes when the banquet begins.
Pei Nianyu looked at the decent dishes and nodded. It seems that although these bastards are a little mediocre, they know that the Winter Solstice Banquet should not be messed up, otherwise it would be a matter of losing their heads.
So he happily stretched out his chopsticks for acceptance.
However, before the chopsticks were put into the pot, a black figure suddenly popped up beside him, held down his chopsticks, and whispered in a voice that no one else could hear:
"His Royal Highness King Yu, please allow me to test the poison first."
But it's not who Fang Heng is.
He is responsible for the food safety of the imperial dining room, and this time when Pei Nianyu came here, he followed him all the way, for fear that something might happen to this messy imperial dining room.Now the prince wants to try the dishes, but he has not tested the poison beforehand, which is of course absolutely impossible.
And Lou Yefeng on the side is so angry, this Fang Heng is really an idiot, didn't he see himself beside him?Not to mention that he is here, Yun Shao is also there, how can it be his turn to test the master's poison as an outsider shadow guard? Doesn't it appear that the shadow guard of his palace is negligent and incompetent?
When he went out today, someone either robbed him of his job as an attendant, or someone robbed him of his job as a shadow guard.Lou Yefeng couldn't help feeling extremely disgusted with them in his heart - what kind of flattery is one or two, look at our prince's easy talk!
So Lou Yefeng lowered his face and said:
"Don't bother Fang Yingwei, I am a shadow guard who specializes in testing poison for the master. Since I am here, there is no reason to use others' hands."
Fang Heng looked at Lou Yefeng, he hesitated to speak, and then he wanted to——
He had just been beaten up by Lou Yefeng, and he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. To be honest, he still didn't really want to confront Lou Yefeng.Since Lou Yefeng had spoken out not to let him intervene, it was not easy for him to force it.
But Lou Yefeng said that he wanted to test the poison himself... that is also not acceptable!
Although the relationship between His Royal Highness King Yu and Lou Yefeng has not been made explicit, almost everyone of Pei Niancheng's shadow guards has some guesses in their hearts.
And what Fang Heng saw today was the same.
If Pei Nianyu only regarded Lou Yefeng as a respected and loyal minister, then it would be enough for him to be supported by a high-ranking official, but how could he always bring a shadow guard with no martial arts by his side.
Under such circumstances, there are many people in the imperial dining room, and it is a mess all day long. It is not as clean as their palace, and the difficulty of guarding is ten times less.
Just in case, when Lou Yefeng tested the poison and found something wrong, His Royal Highness King Yu was furious, isn't that still his responsibility in the end...
Pei Nianyu saw that Fang Heng was hesitating, but looked at Lou Yefeng from time to time, his heart turned, and he probably guessed Fang Heng's concerns.He frowned suddenly, and asked in a rather heavy tone:
"Just now you have been following me?"
"...The subordinates are only on guard from a distance. Forgive me, Your Highness."
Pei Nianyu snorted displeasedly:
"You don't know what day it is today. Ye Feng and I are just guests. You are in charge of the safety of the imperial dining room. If you are watching our actions from behind, it makes sense. But if you are afraid of neglecting the king, so take extra precautions around the two of us, then have you ever thought about your master more?"
"This imperial dining room is so big, and today is such an important day. There are hundreds if not thousands of princes and ministers who came to the banquet. Don't step up and keep an eye on those who deliver meat and vegetables. In case of the banquet,What kind of trick did a minister get, where do you want your master to put his face?"
Fang Heng's face turned pale and he broke out in cold sweat after a few words.
"...Yes, Your Highness. This subordinate has been taught."
"Go, do what you should do, I don't care about you here."
Pei Nianyu sighed softly when he saw that he listened and left quickly.
Maybe what kind of leader really leads what kind of subordinates, or the situation they are facing is very different.The people under Li Han... are demanding, but at the same time they tend to think too much and worry too much.
On the contrary, Ye Feng's subordinates didn't have this problem, they just went straight and only had their master in their hearts.
Pei Nianyu was meditating as he walked, but suddenly saw a big lump of something in front of him, but it wasn't the ball manager and whoever it was.
The manager learned his lesson this time, stood three steps away, and reported tremblingly:
"This, Mr. Master Chef, I have a way to improve it. I wonder if you can let me take the time to listen to it?"
Although Pei Nianyu looked down on him, he was still quite interested in the improvement he could figure out, so he asked:
"Oh? Let's hear it."