C42

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Fang Zinan got up very early to wash his hair and take a bath before bringing Shang Yiqing to the palace.

Calamus and wormwood hung from the doors of the palaces.

Shang Yiqing could clearly see from the palanquin that today was a good day to pick herbs. If it was in the past, she would have gone up the mountain with her father to pick herbs.

"We've arrived at the Yanchen Palace." Following the order given by the eunuch.

The sedan stopped in front of the palace gates.

Fang Zinan and Shang Guiqing slowly walked into the palace.

Shang Yiqing hadn't seen the empress yet, but she saw the three princesses and the three consorts with a single glance.

How terrible! Why did she become the last one to arrive? Shang Yiqing stuck out her tongue. Suddenly, she saw Fang Zinan glance back at her as if she was trying to comfort her.

"Why is Imperial Concubine Rong late again today?" A familiar yet unfamiliar smile was on Princess Ning's face.

Shang Yiqing welcomed her. "Younger sisters naturally can't compare to older sisters, but it's still not too late for the empress dowager to arrive yet." She saw an exquisite Ai Hu hanging from the golden hairpin on Princess Ning Xiaoyao's head. There was a dazzling fragrant bag tied around her waist, and on her wrist, there were colorful silk threads. Her outfit was worn to cater to the Dragon Boat Festival. Looking at the other princesses, she secretly let out a sigh of relief. It was fortunate that Fang Zinan had reminded her of this a few days ago. Otherwise, she would have forgotten to wear those things!

"The emperor arrives, the empress arrives!" Following the young eunuch's voice, the emperor and queen appeared in the palace.

The princes and imperial concubines all stepped forward to pay their respects to the empress.

"You shall rise." The emperor said amiably and sat down in front of the empress. "You can sit down as well."

The princes and princesses, led by Prince Yu, took their seats.

It's the Dragon Boat Festival, so there's no need for formalities. I'll just take it as a family banquet. Why don't we have a taste of this year's brown bread?" The emperor spoke, and then a palace maid brought a palm and placed it in front of everyone.

"Thank you for the rewards, Your Majesty and Esteemed Empress." Everyone thanked him politely.

Princess Ning stood up. "Your Majesty, esteemed wangfei, this is the brown paper chenqie personally wrapped this morning. I hope Your Majesty and esteemed wangfei can have a taste of its freshness." As he spoke, he personally peeled off the leaves and placed them on the emperor's table.

Shang Yiqing saw that the brown paper looked white and exquisite, but she wondered how it tasted like.

The emperor and empress each took a sip, then the empress nodded with a faint smile. "Mm, Princess Ning's cooking skills are getting better and better. I feel like the taste is even better than last year's!"

Princess Ning was so overjoyed that a smile blossomed on her face. "Thank you for your praise, esteemed wangfei."

Following that were the two princesses, Princess Dingguang and Princess Xuan, who took out their packets of brown seeds and offered them up.

It was almost Shang Yiqing's turn, she was a little nervous. After she came here, she discovered that the people here all ate sweet brown bread that wasn't salty, so she made a meat stuffing with ham. However, this was the first time this had happened in the Southern Champion Kingdom, so she couldn't help but be a bit worried. When she raised her eyes, she saw the look in his eyes, as if she was comforting her. After Shang Yiqing made the brown meat, she had given it to Fang Zinan to taste. Fang Zinan told her with certainty that the taste was not bad, and his attitude was completely different from when he had first eaten the brown meat. Now that she saw his eyes, she felt a little more relaxed.

"Princess Rong, what kind of brown bread did you wrap for the Empress to taste today?" Princess Xuan tilted her head and asked with a smile.

Shang Yiqing heaved a sigh. "We'll only know after the empress has tasted this." With that, Shang Yiqing presented her package of palm to the empress.

"Empress, chenqie's brown bag might be different from what you normally eat. I'm afraid that the Empress isn't used to it." Shang Yiqing said guiltily. Although she had Fang Zinan's encouragement, she still did not have the confidence.

"Don't worry, let me have a taste." Empress Chen smiled at Shang Yiqing, her beautiful eyes showing signs of love.

Empress Chen picked up a piece of chopsticks and took a bite. After eating it, she just stood there without saying a word.

Shang Yiqing felt as if her heart was about to leap out of her chest. She was regretting giving meat to the empress. The empress had never eaten before, so she definitely wouldn't be used to it.

On the other hand, when the emperor saw that the empress had gone silent, he couldn't help but ask, "What happened? "The brown paper with the princess bag is not to your liking?"

"No," Empress Chen smiled as she shook her head, "This palm is the most unusual one that chenqie has ever tasted. chenqie doesn't know how to evaluate it."

"It can't be?" The emperor's interest was piqued. "Let me have a taste as well?" As he spoke, he also took a piece and began to taste it. After eating, he did not speak either.

It's over! This was definitely bad. The emperor and empress didn't say anything, so the food must have been terrible! Shang Yiqing thought as if she had heard the laughter of the other consorts. She felt as if needles were stabbing her in the back.

Suddenly, he heard the emperor's gentle smile. "Not bad at all. It's hard to imagine that wangfei would be so ingenious and produce such an unusual brown thing. I've never eaten a brown meat before, and now I feel that the taste is really great! "

It turned out that after tasting so much brown, the emperor and the empress had long since lost interest in the sweetness and greasiness of the sweet brown. Now that they had eaten the rich and fragrant brown, they suddenly felt that the taste buds had been refreshed and instead praised them greatly.

Shang Yiqing heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, the emperor had actually praised them, which meant that he was praising their tastes.

"All of you, come and try the brown paper with the Royal Consort present. It really is different from the others, it has a unique flavor to it!" The Emperor couldn't help but touch the brown paper on his plate with his chopsticks as he spoke.

"Thank you for your praise, your majesty." Shang Yiqing calmed down and retreated. When she saw the smile in Fang Ziqing's eyes, she couldn't help but feel a little proud. She had a beauty that made one's heart beat faster.

Prince Yu took a sip and said, "I really didn't expect that Princess Rong would be able to wrap a brown meat bun. The taste is really good!"

"Thank you, royal father, for your praise. Actually, chenqie only used a better taste of the ham. Compared to the other consorts, her cooking skills aren't worth mentioning." Shang Yiqing said humbly. In front of so many people, she was always a good girl.

Empress Chen beamed with pride. "Prince Yu, you see that Imperial Concubine Rong is really clever. Did I choose the wrong daughter-in-law for you?"

Prince Yu stroked his beard and laughed. "As expected of the Empress. This prince is extremely satisfied with this daughter-in-law of mine!"