Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 521 Take You to the Palace

"But I guess I will have to cook for the Queen Mother today or tomorrow. Cooking is smoky and hot. If I get bumped or bruised, I will feel bad for it and it will be a waste of Madam's kindness."

"How about you keep it for me first, madam? It will be the same if you give it to me later."

This sentence reminded the two people who were still standing in front of the hanging flower gate. The lady said in annoyance: "Well, I'm old now, and I don't think things through. When I saw Miss Shen coming, I was so happy that I forgot about the important things."

"Miss Shen is right. Cooking in the palace is the top priority now."

"Yesterday I went to the palace to visit the Queen Mother again. It seemed that she ate less and had no appetite when looking at the food. She seemed to be a little lazy."

"But this has made the emperor very anxious. Today, the master handed over a letter. The emperor got angry because of this matter. All the officials dared not go home. They are trying to coax the emperor to calm down."

As she spoke, she said to Jing who was standing beside her, "It is indeed not appropriate to wear jewelry while cooking. This mutton-fat jade bracelet is afraid of being bumped. Please keep it for her first, and give it to her when she returns from the palace."

Jing saw that Shen Yu didn't seem to be being polite on purpose, but was telling the truth.

Besides, Jing was not the type to get stuck in a rut. She took the bracelet readily and said with a smile, "I'll keep it for you and return it to you when you come back."

After she received it, she wrapped it in a handkerchief and handed it to the maid beside her, saying, "Mo Ju, find a box to put this away and put it together with the sets of head ornaments and jewelry I prepared for Miss Shen."

The maid named Mo Ju responded, hurriedly took it and held it carefully in her hand.

The lady led Shen Yu to the courtyard and said to Huang Mama who was following beside her, "Hurry up and ask someone to prepare hot water. After taking Miss Shen to wash up, I will go to the palace with her."

Mother Huang answered yes and left immediately.

The lady and her group entered a courtyard next door. She introduced it to Shen Yu as she walked: "This is the house I live in. You can live with me for the next few days. I have everything here, and it's warm even if I live in a cage."

"The second wife also has a house here, but both of their families have houses on this street, so she doesn't live here on weekdays."

Shen Yu agreed and just walked into the main room and sat down when he saw Mother Huang coming over to report that the water was ready and asked Shen Yu to go over and wash up.

The lady smiled and asked, "The luggage that Miss Shen brought has been moved in. Move it all to my side room. Miss Shen will stay here for the next few days."

Mother Huang said hurriedly, "I guess the Madam couldn't bear to let Miss Shen live anywhere else, so she has already moved in."

The lady nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, take Miss Shen over to wash up and change her clothes. I will also change my clothes here, and we will go to the palace to visit the Queen Mother in a while."

Shen Yu hurriedly bowed to the old lady and the second lady, and followed Mother Huang.

As soon as I left, I heard the maid come over and say, "Madam, the old master heard that Miss Shen is coming, and he has sent someone to pick her up. She is waiting at the gate of the outer courtyard."

The lady shook her head and said, "Go and tell them quickly that there is no need to wait. I will personally take Miss Shen there later."

The maid took the order and went down. The old lady and the second lady also went into the inner room together to change their clothes. After Shen Yu finished washing up, they went into the palace together.

The Second Madam stood by, watching the maid change the Madam's clothes and re-do her hair, and said with some worry, "Mother, is Miss Shen's cooking skills really that good? What if you take her there and the dishes she cooks still don't suit the Madam's taste? What should we do?"

The lady said confidently, "Don't worry, I have eaten the dishes cooked by Miss Shen, and they are completely different in taste from the dishes in the restaurants in the capital."

"I will personally take her there and ask to be admitted to the harem to see the Queen Mother. She can cook in the small kitchen in the Queen Mother's palace."

"If the master takes it, he can only send it to the palace gate and have someone lead it to the imperial kitchen."

"She's a girl, she's unfamiliar with the place, and she's going to the palace, how can I let her go in alone?"

The Second Madam smiled and said, "This Miss Shen is indeed quite nice and graceful."

"Although she is a girl from a small county town, I saw that she didn't show any panic when she entered our house."

"He looked so relaxed, as if he had returned home. He didn't look like a child who had never been to the capital or seen the world."

The lady nodded with a smile: "Second Madam, what you said is very good. It's like returning to your own home."

"That's right. In a month or so, Xiao Si will come back and the two of them will get married. Then the child will be our own, right?"

Although it was the first time that the Second Lady met Shen Yu, she had heard Lu Lang praising her many times before and had long been curious about her.

When she saw her today, she felt that she was even better than Lu Lang said. Thinking that she was the wife of her youngest son, she couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

After the lady had packed up, the two of them came out and sat in the main hall waiting for Shen Yu.

Soon, Shen Yu had washed and combed her hair, changed into clean clothes, and walked in behind Huang Mama, carrying a small wooden box.

The lady looked at it and said with satisfaction: "Let's go now. The emperor lost his temper today and must be confused."

"Go quickly and try to cook for the Queen Mother. If it suits her taste, everyone will be happy."

Shen Yu responded with some concern, "Madam, I have a set of knives for cutting vegetables and removing bones in this box. Can I bring them into the palace? If not, I will leave them here."

The lady thought for a moment and said, "I heard that famous chefs all have their own knives that they are used to using. You can just take them."

"When we get to the palace gate, we'll hand it over to the eunuch who's coming to pick us up. Let him first deliver the small box to the small kitchen in the Queen Mother's palace. It won't matter."

She looked at the small wooden box that Shen Yu was carrying, thought for a moment and asked, "Besides the kitchen knife, what else is in it?"

Shen Yu placed the small wooden box on the table and opened it for the lady to check. "In addition to the kitchen knife, there are also some spices that I tried to grind every day, and a can of boiled dogwood oil, all of which are used for seasoning when cooking."

The lady looked at them one by one, opened the seasoning and smelled it, then nodded: "These are all commonly used by the cooks, there is nothing you can't bring. When you cook, there will be someone watching and checking, and the finished food will be tasted by the eunuchs first. Let's go now."

In front of the palace.

The lady-in-waiting and Shen Yu were standing there waiting. They had been waiting at the palace gate for a while.

The imperial guards knew that the person who came was the wife of the current Grand Tutor, so they did not dare to neglect her and ran in to report.