Wu Zhenzhen said, “I want to ask Chef Li to join with the Royal Kitchen in petitioning His Majesty that on days with court assemblies, the imperial kitchen should make breakfast and send it to the Waiting Hall for court officials to take, and the Royal Kitchen can assist from the side, helping with food preparation and delivery.”
Li Dahong was startled: “There are so many court officials—how could this be easy!”
Wu Zhenzhen had already considered this problem and now answered calmly, “It’s not convenient to cook fires in the Waiting Hall, so breakfast would temporarily be limited to cakes and pastries, accompanied by soups prepared in the imperial kitchen. These foods can be made in large batches, and with over four hundred people in the imperial kitchen, we can completely meet the court officials’ needs.”
Seeing Li Dahong frown without speaking, Wu Zhenzhen immediately added, “I’ve already suggested this to Pei Shangshi, and she also feels that if implemented, this would benefit many people, especially young officials whose families don’t have enough staff to manage every meal… I’ve heard that in recent years, Chef Li has carefully cultivated his son with famous teachers. Now your son writes beautifully, entered the academy as an attendant, and often participates in grand court assemblies, right? But Chef Li has been working in the imperial kitchen for years—I wonder how many times your son has eaten breakfast made by his father?”
Li Dahong sighed heavily: “Working for the imperial family, I only get to go home once every ten days or half month, and I don’t often cook when I’m home. He’s grown to over twenty years old and has hardly ever eaten food I’ve made.”
“So if we could use this opportunity to let your son taste his father’s cooking, it would be a comfort to him,” Wu Zhenzhen said. “Moreover, extending love for one’s own child to all children, if Chef Li could transform his paternal love into culinary skills and carefully prepare breakfast so that all officials from humble backgrounds benefit, it would be a great merit.”
Li Dahong went back to think it over and discussed it with the imperial kitchen and Imperial Cuisine Bureau supervisors. He gained approval from many supervisors whose nephews and younger relatives were court officials or scholars. They felt that although this would add more work, it would truly benefit the vast number of court officials and was a great good deed.
So the imperial kitchen and Royal Kitchen jointly petitioned the Emperor with this suggestion. The Emperor also felt it was feasible and ordered the relevant departments to discuss it. The Three Bureaus believed the cost was within acceptable limits, would solve part of the court officials’ worries, would allow officials to focus more on state affairs, and that these occasional small kindnesses would subtly increase their sense of belonging to the court—it could be implemented. Most censorial officials also supported it with few objections. Unexpectedly, the most stubborn opponent was the Emperor’s teacher, Assistant Administrator Shen Han.
In the court hall, Shen Han raised his arms and shouted at the Emperor indignantly: “At the fourth watch when the east is still dark and the water clock still drips, the chief ministers and all officials have already come carrying lanterns, gathering outside the palace gate to form a magnificent spectacle of a fire city. This brilliant fire city displays the imperial majesty, and when the people see it, they cannot help but prostrate themselves. Before the palace gate opens, the chief ministers in the Waiting Hall either quietly contemplate great plans for recommending worthy people, expelling treacherous officials, and pacifying the realm, or discuss state affairs with colleagues while waiting for the morning court to report to the Son of Heaven. Though their bodies wait, their hearts are devoted to diligent governance. This is also why the court, following the old system of previous dynasties, established the Waiting Hall outside the imperial city gate for all officials to gather in the morning and wait to pay court. It can be seen that this Waiting Hall, like Your Majesty’s office, is an extremely solemn and dignified place. If cakes and soups are arranged there for people to eat, with voices clamoring and crumbs scattered everywhere, the ministers would lose their dignity and the Waiting Hall would no longer be quiet—this truly lacks propriety!”
The Emperor looked around at his ministers: “Regarding Assistant Administrator Shen’s words, do you ministers have any insights?”
Most ministers watched their noses with their eyes and their hearts with their noses, remaining silently speechless. After a moment, Ji Jinglan stepped forward and bowed to the Emperor: “Assistant Administrator Shen’s words have merit. However, I believe that when our ancestors established the Waiting Hall, besides the purposes Assistant Administrator Shen mentioned, they also intended to show consideration for ministers who rose early, granting them this place to temporarily avoid the cold and rest briefly. This measure greatly demonstrates the Son of Heaven’s benevolence, and whenever I think of this, I am moved to tears of gratitude. Now, Your Majesty intends to bestow food upon the waiting court officials, continuing our ancestors’ loving care for ministers, ensuring they neither worry about cold and heat nor lack the pleasure of filling their stomachs—this is truly a great good deed. Therefore, I believe this matter is feasible. Court officials are all scholars, and when eating in the Waiting Hall, they surely won’t be as clamorous as in outside taverns. As for food scraps, we need only assign some cleaners to sweep regularly, and the hall can remain clean.”
The Emperor stroked his beard and nodded with a faint smile, clearly very much agreeing with Ji Jinglan’s statement.
Seeing this, Shen Han became even more displeased. He glared angrily at Ji Jinglan and said, “Scraps can be swept away regularly, but what about the odors from food? If everyone were like Scholar Ji who loves eating scallions and chives, making the Waiting Hall constantly filled with strong meaty smells, turning this place of waiting for court audience into a kitchen, what dignity would there be?”
A suppressed ripple of snickering immediately arose in the court hall. Ji Jinglan was so embarrassed his face turned completely red. He stared at Shen Han, tongue-tied: “You, you… how unreasonable!”
“Enough, we’ll end discussion of this matter here today,” the Emperor timely rescued Ji Jinglan, announcing, “Since most ministers agree, I will order the imperial kitchen and Royal Kitchen to prepare this matter and first implement it in the Waiting Hall for a few days. If the court officials find it very good, we can continue; if, as Assistant Administrator Shen said, the problems are obvious, we can also stop it promptly.”
When this court debate reached the Royal Kitchen, the female officials’ attention inevitably went somewhat astray—most were laughing about Ji Jinglan’s love of scallions and chives. Only Pei Shangshi, as always, despised Shen Han: “That old scoundrel, has he forgotten how he looked when he was young—left hand clutching a crispy cake bought from the roadside, right hand controlling an old, thin horse, chewing the cake while rushing to court?”
These words made all the women laugh. Wu Zhenzhen also laughed along, but suddenly thought that Pei Shangshi was usually cautious in speech and action, never easily commenting on court officials, yet she was completely unceremonious toward Assistant Administrator Shen. Every time she criticized him, her words were very sharp, giving the impression they were familiar with each other.
“Did Lady Shangshi know Assistant Administrator Shen when they were young?” Thinking that Pei Shangshi and Shen Han were similar in age, Wu Zhenzhen couldn’t help asking.
“Who knows him!” Pei Shangshi snorted disdainfully. “It’s just that he talks too much, often requesting audiences with the late Emperor. I frequently attended the late Emperor, and over time, he just became a familiar face to me.”
Wu Zhenzhen asked again, “How did Shangshi see Assistant Administrator Shen’s appearance when riding to court?”
Pei Shangshi said, “The late Emperor often ordered me to go outside the palace to buy food. Sometimes I would go out as soon as the palace gate opened and occasionally encounter him… Every time I saw him, I wished I could wash my eyes. That crispy cake—he could eat it if he wanted, but after eating, he would often leave some crumbs on his lips and mustache, making me really want to throw him a comb to clean himself!”
She frowned and shook her head, sighing repeatedly, as if seeing again Shen Han’s unbearable eating manner. Her expression and vivid tone made everyone laugh heartily, but Pei Shangshi suddenly realized what she was doing and shouted at the women, “What are you laughing at? Have you finished all your work? Still loafing around here!” Then she turned to Wu Zhenzhen, “Have you prepared the breakfast menu for the Waiting Hall these days? Although that old scoundrel talks a lot of nonsense, his point about food odors is something we should take seriously. The food provided to the Waiting Hall cannot have strong smells. Also, prepare mouthwash water and some cloves for the court officials to choose from.”
Wu Zhenzhen, referencing opinions from Pei Shangshi and the Imperial Cuisine Bureau, drafted a breakfast menu for the Waiting Hall. The main foods were steamed buns, stuffed buns, and various pancakes, with fillings that didn’t include strongly flavored seasonings. Common items included fried flower steamed buns, bamboo shoot and pork buns, sugar and pork buns, crystal buns, goose and duck buns, shrimp and fish buns, as well as crispy cakes, sugar and pine nut cakes, oil pastry cakes, sweet dew cakes, jade yam cakes, and hibiscus cakes.
Pei Shangshi specifically mentioned that in the past, the “Imperial Academy steamed buns” made in the Imperial Academy kitchen in Bianjing were famous throughout the capital. They used bamboo shoots, bracken, and meat as filling, seasoned with Sichuan peppercorns and salt. All who ate them praised them endlessly, and even Emperor Shenzong had said, “Nurturing scholars with these leaves nothing to be ashamed of.” From then on, all scholars took pride in regularly eating Imperial Academy buns. Wu Zhenzhen then carefully inquired about the Imperial Academy bun recipe and had the imperial kitchen make them for the Waiting Hall. They were indeed very popular with the court officials—every time food was delivered, the Imperial Academy buns were snatched up first.
This reminded Wu Zhenzhen of the previous debate about village drinking customs. It seemed that historical allusions and good omens were indeed important factors for these scholars when choosing food. She immediately selected a recipe called “Guanghan Cake” from the notes Lin Hong had given her and taught the imperial kitchen to make it: sprinkle dried osmanthus flowers with licorice water, pound with rice into powder, and steam into rice cake. When slightly dry, cut into long strips resembling tablet shapes.
This pastry’s name carried the meaning of “high achievements in the Moon Palace” and “plucking osmanthus in the lunar palace,” and its color and shape resembled jade tablets. Therefore, it quickly gained the court officials’ favor—often one person would take one tablet and then share it with others.
After the court officials had eaten in the Waiting Hall for half a month, the response was excellent. Except for Shen Han, who remained dissatisfied, the other ministers’ opinions were only about the variety and taste of foods—they had no objections to the matter itself.
One day, the Emperor ordered Wu Zhenzhen to wait in the hall where third-rank and above officials stayed in the Waiting Hall, continuing to seek their opinions about breakfast. Wu Zhenzhen had left the imperial city the previous evening and waited quietly in the Waiting Hall. After the fourth watch, the first to enter was actually Shen Han. He stared at Wu Zhenzhen, who was bowing to him, and recognized her as one of the Royal Kitchen women who had disrupted his daughter’s wedding. When Wu Zhenzhen asked for his opinion, he said irritably, “My opinion is that there should be no food in this Waiting Hall! You’re so young, yet following Pei Shangshi you don’t know how to learn good things—you actually encouraged His Majesty to do something that disregards imperial dignity!” Getting angry as he spoke, he furiously pulled out the jade tablet from his waist and slapped it on the table. “I have thoroughly searched the classics and found many historical examples to advise His Majesty to abolish food in the Waiting Hall. I’m just waiting for court to report this to His Majesty.”
Wu Zhenzhen saw that the jade tablet had scattered writing on it, presumably the key points of the historical examples he had recorded. Facing his anger, she couldn’t say much, so she just smiled and bowed, performed another courtesy, then retreated to a corner to continue waiting.
Later, several first and second-rank officials entered in succession. They were quite polite to Wu Zhenzhen, and if they had opinions, they shared them with her, then each took pastries from the hall to eat. Only Vice Minister of Rites Zeng Jie didn’t take any food but sat alone with a worried expression, sighing from time to time. When colleagues asked why, he said, “Yesterday an old friend of mine left Lin’an to return to his hometown permanently. I went to see him off and couldn’t help feeling sad.”
Thinking about this, he tapped the table with his finger and began to quietly sing a song: “Sadly viewing life’s swift passage, the zither’s mournful remaining notes. The Chu traveler, so sentimental, especially resents partings, climbing distant blue mountains and waters. Eyes following the endless withered grass, in the deep night, how many places sound the sparse fulling blocks…”
He sang with deep emotion and pleasant tones. People in the hall either listened attentively or hummed along, all showing appreciation. Unexpectedly, midway through the song, Shen Han suddenly slammed the table and stood up, scolding, “The Waiting Hall is where all officials gather—why is Vice Minister Zeng openly singing these decadent sounds here?”
Zeng Jie was startled and said, “This is a poem by Sun Zhu, Imperial Reader Sun from Emperor Shenzong’s time. Its style is elegant and refined, its meaning clear and graceful—it cannot be compared to ordinary flower room poetry. How can you call it decadent?”
Shen Han said, “The Waiting Hall was originally established by our ancestors for ministers to contemplate governing strategies. For the Vice Minister to recite old sentiments here is rather inappropriate and fails the imperial grace.”
The other ministers all felt he was making a mountain out of a molehill and tried to mediate with smiles and words, but Shen Han sternly rejected them all. Zeng Jie then stood up and flicked his sleeve: “Nonsense!” He left this place and went to the adjacent room. The others, seeing Zeng Jie had left, suddenly felt it was awkward to stay here facing Shen Han, so they also left one after another. Finally, only Shen Han and Wu Zhenzhen remained in the hall.
Shen Han turned his head to one side, clearly not wanting to speak with Wu Zhenzhen. Wu Zhenzhen then excused herself, saying she had other official business to attend to, and also withdrew.
Shen Han sat alone for a long time when his stomach suddenly began gurgling loudly. Only then did he remember that upon rising, he had been preoccupied with his plans to remonstrate and had no appetite, so he hadn’t eaten breakfast at home. Now he was quite hungry.
He had never eaten food from the Waiting Hall and didn’t want to break his principle now. So he closed his eyes, sat upright with proper posture, trying to wait for this hunger to pass. However, waves of sweet fragrance from the various pastries in the hall kept attacking him, stubbornly entangling with his sense of smell, causing the rumbling in his stomach to persist rather than subside, continuing to move up and down, making sounds demanding food.
Finally, he slowly opened his eyes, first making sure no one was around, then glanced toward the food. As soon as his gaze touched the food on the table, he quickly withdrew it as if burned, closed his eyes and sat quietly. However, after a moment, urged by hunger, he couldn’t help opening his eyes a crack and stealing a glance in that direction.
After pondering for a long time, his hand reached toward the Guanghan Cake closest to him, took out a piece, slowly pulled it back, and examined it carefully.
This cake had quite a distinctive shape, like a tablet, but he didn’t know what it tasted like… His hand involuntarily broke off a piece of Guanghan Cake and involuntarily put that piece into his mouth… He began to chew hesitantly.
The texture was soft and delicate, with a hint of osmanthus fragrance in the rice aroma—not bad… he commented mentally while his hands didn’t stop moving, breaking off another piece.
Wu Zhenzhen hadn’t actually gone far and had been standing outside the door, also secretly observing Shen Han’s behavior. Seeing this scene, Wu Zhenzhen couldn’t help finding it amusing. Intending to startle him, she deliberately coughed.
Hearing this, Shen Han was immediately frightened and shuddered, hurriedly throwing the Guanghan Cake onto the table. However, seeing that the cake was obviously missing a section and very worried that Wu Zhenzhen would see it, he immediately picked it up again and shoved it into his sleeve.