Although the suggestion to select common women to strengthen the Royal Kitchen was proposed by Pei Shangshi, the Emperor was clear as a mirror, knowing it came from the Empress Dowager’s instruction. Using the excuse that there were too many palace women and he was planning reductions, he flatly refused. However, the Empress Dowager didn’t give up there, ordering the Inner Secretariat to list old and incompetent palace women, requesting the Emperor to release them from the palace next spring. Seeing this request was reasonable, the Emperor had to agree. With palace women quotas sharply reduced, when Pei Shangshi again proposed selecting common women to enter the palace, the Emperor no longer objected. He only summoned Cheng Yuan and said: “I don’t ask much regarding food matters. The Food Service palace women currently serving in the hall are sufficient. However, the Empress Dowager is advanced in years, so her meals must be even more carefully prepared. Cixiu Palace indeed should add more personnel. The selection area shouldn’t be too large – let it be confined to Liangzhe. The newly appointed Ji Jinglan to oversee Liangzhe East Circuit’s Ever-Normal Granary, Tea, and Salt Affairs will inspect various prefectures and counties. Why don’t you go with him, convey the Empress Dowager’s edict to each prefecture and county – next year in late spring, select women skilled in culinary arts to enter the Royal Kitchen. When the time comes, all selected palace women will be at the Empress Dowager’s disposal.”
Cheng Yuan reported the imperial intention to the Empress Dowager. After consideration, she said: “Very well. If he wants you to go, then go. First bring the people in, and who will command them can be discussed later.”
When Cheng Yuan and Ji Jinglan arrived in Pujiang, it was already winter, and the village drinking ceremony was held as scheduled in the Confucian Temple. County Magistrate Cui Yanzhi had received news early and personally reviewed the menu, adjusting the dishes to welcome these two distinguished guests.
That day, Qiuniang said she had been working continuously for days and was exhausted, making it inappropriate to attend banquets. She asked for leave from County Magistrate Cui and had Zhenzhen lead the female apprentices to manage the banquet affairs in her place. When the banquet began, as soon as Zhenzhen saw Ji Jinglan, her eyes lit up and she smiled: “Master Ji, it’s you!”
This Ji Jinglan was the person who had entered Shizhen Lou with County Magistrate Cui to taste delicacies on the day of the broken engagement banquet. At that time, he had completed his term serving in another region and was returning to the capital for an imperial audience. Passing through Pujiang, he heard his fellow examination graduate and good friend Cui Yanzhi mention Shizhen Lou and became curious, so he went along. Seeing Zhenzhen now, he also smiled: “Long time no see. Young Master Seven’s demeanor remains the same.”
Zhenzhen was as delighted as seeing an old friend. She personally poured a cup of wine to toast Ji Jinglan. Ji Jinglan also raised his cup and drank it all. After tasting, he asked: “Is this lamb wine?”
Zhenzhen said: “Yes. Winter has now arrived, so we’ve changed the wine to lamb wine – warm and dispelling cold, fitting the season.”
Ji Jinglan’s smiling eyes fixed on Zhenzhen as he said: “This wine tastes extremely sweet and smooth, no worse than Fengle Lou in the capital. Is it brewed by your restaurant?”
“It’s brewed by us.” Zhenzhen was very happy to hear Ji Jinglan’s praise and simply told him the entire preparation method: “We use the finest fat lamb meat, cut into square pieces, add almonds and cook until soft, extract the juice, mix with rice wine mash, then brew together with costus root. After ten days it can be drunk.”
“Excellent, excellent.” Ji Jinglan praised, then asked: “All these years, has your restaurant been brewing its own wine?”
“Yes,” Zhenzhen smiled. “Besides lamb wine, we also have rice wine and various fruit wines like green plum, bayberry, mulberry, and osmanthus. If Master Ji has leisure, please come to Shizhen Lou and I’ll treat you to drinks.”
Ji Jinglan laughed heartily, repeatedly saying “thank you.”
For this village drinking ceremony, the dishes had been adjusted according to the season, adding many winter warming and nourishing ingredients, quite different from the evaluation banquet dishes. However, following County Magistrate Cui’s opinion, they kept the raw crab, just using Bianjing’s hand-washing crab seasoning method. After tasting, Cheng Yuan nodded in approval, saying the flavor was delicious and extremely similar to traditional Eastern Capital taste.
Hearing this, Ji Jinglan said to Cheng Yuan: “This Shizhen Lou that makes hand-washing crab seems to be a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. The head chef has extraordinary knowledge. Not only can they make hand-washing crab with Eastern Capital flavor, but some rare delicacies they present show quite the bearing of princely households.”
Cheng Yuan asked what delicacies could make Ji Jinglan feel this way. Ji Jinglan described several dishes from Zhenzhen’s broken engagement banquet, then sighed: “It’s just that this girl spent so extravagantly to compete for pride – she’s not someone who cherishes good fortune.”
Cheng Yuan smiled faintly as he looked toward Zhenzhen, examined her for a while, then summoned her over, asking gently: “I hear your restaurant is called ‘Shizhen.’ I wonder if there’s an allusion behind it?”
Zhenzhen was about to give the reason her mother had previously told her, but on second thought, felt that reason was extremely ordinary. It would be better to use the allusion Song Ai had mentioned. This distinguished person before her was refined and cultured, surely well-read in poetry and books. Telling him this scholar’s anecdote would certainly make him view Shizhen Lou with even greater favor. So she said to Cheng Yuan: “The name Shizhen Lou comes from a famous saying by Su Yijian, the Assistant Administrator: ‘Food has no fixed flavor; what suits the palate is precious.'”
Seeing Cheng Yuan smile without speaking, thinking he probably didn’t know this, she then recounted in detail the anecdote about Su Yijian and Emperor Taizong regarding pickled vegetables.
Cheng Yuan listened quietly to the end, then slowly applauded: “Wonderful. Your restaurant’s delicacies are delicious, and Young Master Seven is learned and well-mannered. Clearly the restaurant owner must be a talented scholar with vast learning and extensive knowledge.”
County Magistrate Cui said: “Shizhen Lou’s owner is Young Master Seven’s mother – talented and beautiful with excellent culinary skills, and her breadth of mind and insight don’t yield to men. She’s a rare exceptional woman in Pujiang.”
Cheng Yuan asked why the owner wasn’t present at the village drinking ceremony. County Magistrate Cui explained about her taking leave. Cheng Yuan sighed: “A pity – fate prevented this meeting.”
During the fifth round of wine, among the dishes served was “Skewered Rabbit” – rabbit meat strips mixed with scallions and vinegar, wrapped in caul fat and deep-fried. County Magistrate Cui found it delicious and invited all the scholars to taste it together. The scholars all raised their chopsticks, but only Zhao Huaiyu sat properly, facing the dish of skewered rabbit at his table without picking up his chopsticks.
County Magistrate Cui noticed and repeatedly urged him to taste it. Zhao Huaiyu answered somewhat embarrassedly that his stomach had been poor lately and he shouldn’t eat much meat or fish. County Magistrate Cui said: “Just taste one piece – it won’t hurt, don’t disappoint the chef’s craftsmanship.”
Seeing Zhao Huaiyu delay repeatedly without tasting, Zhenzhen also went over to quietly urge him: “Rabbit meat is a winter delicacy, but it’s cool in nature and sweet in flavor. It can supplement the center and benefit qi, cool blood and detoxify. It’s called ‘vegetarian among meat’ – I think it won’t harm your stomach.”
Zhao Huaiyu nodded but showed no intention of picking up his chopsticks. County Magistrate Cui watched with a slight frown.
Seeing this, Feng Xian approached from behind holding a wine ewer, pretending to pour wine for Zhao Huaiyu, but seemed to be bumped by the table corner. With a light cry, the ewer slipped from her hands, and both pot and wine spilled onto the skewered rabbit before Zhao Huaiyu.
Feng Xian quickly knelt down, repeatedly apologizing. Zhenzhen also immediately came forward to help her clean up the mess on the table. Cheng Yuan observed coldly, then turned his head away, smiling as he toasted County Magistrate Cui. The County Magistrate hurriedly raised his cup in response, no longer paying attention to Zhao Huaiyu. Feng Xian took the opportunity to remove the skewered rabbit and quickly replaced it with a dish of vegetarian food from Yibei Lou. Zhao Huaiyu thanked her quietly, his gaze toward Feng Xian filled with infinite gratitude.
This village drinking ceremony began at noon and lasted two hours before ending. After leaving the Confucian Temple, Zhenzhen privately said to Feng Xian: “That Zhao Huaiyu, for some reason, absolutely refused to eat rabbit meat. County Magistrate Cui urged him so much that I felt embarrassed watching. Fortunately, sister was clever and thought of a way to resolve it in time.”
Feng Xian said: “He has his reasons for not eating. When we urge people to taste dishes, if a guest declines once after urging, it might be politeness or some unimportant reason for not wanting to eat. But if we repeatedly urge and the guest still won’t eat, then he has his reasons for not being able to eat. We shouldn’t urge anymore. What you see as honey, he might see as arsenic. What we think is good, others don’t necessarily like.”
Zhenzhen praised: “Sister is still considerate of others and thinks things through.”
Feng Xian smiled slightly: “Growing up watching diners’ expressions, how could I not understand such simple principles?”
Suddenly they heard someone behind them asking them to wait. The two women turned to see Zhao Huaiyu hurrying to catch up. He ran before the two women and bowed repeatedly, sincerely thanking them. Zhenzhen gestured toward Feng Xian with a smile: “You should thank Sister Feng Xian – she’s the one who helped you… By the way, the silk thread fish scale removal method last time was also her idea. She’s the ‘wearing coarse clothes but harboring jade’ person you mentioned.”
Zhao Huaiyu looked at Feng Xian again with even more admiration in his eyes, thanking her solemnly once more. Feng Xian also curtsied in return. After a moment she raised her head, and her gaze met Zhao Huaiyu’s. Finding he had been staring at her, Feng Xian’s cheeks reddened slightly, and she silently lowered her eyes, no longer looking at him.
“Can you tell us why you were unwilling to eat rabbit meat?” Zhenzhen couldn’t suppress her curiosity and asked Zhao Huaiyu. “Stomach problems shouldn’t be the most important reason, right?”
Seeing Zhao Huaiyu momentarily silent, Zhenzhen quickly said: “I was presumptuous – please don’t mind, you don’t have to answer.”
“No matter, I can tell you.” Zhao Huaiyu spoke then, giving her an answer: “Because my mother was born in the Year of the Rabbit, so I will never eat rabbit meat in this lifetime.”
Zhenzhen and Feng Xian had only just returned to Shizhen Lou when someone came from the government office again, saying the distinguished person from the capital appreciated Shizhen Lou’s delicacies and admired the owner’s high talent, hoping to invite the owner to the government office for a conversation. Qiuniang listened for a long time without responding. Zhenzhen saw her face was pale and said to the messenger: “My mother is unwell and it’s inconvenient to go out today. Please ask the distinguished person to wait one day – tomorrow my mother and I will come pay our respects.”
The messenger said: “The distinguished person has already considered this matter and has requested a famous doctor who is already at the government office, just right to treat Lady Wu.”
The messenger repeatedly invited them. Zhenzhen looked helplessly at her mother. Qiuniang slowly stood up and said: “I will obey the command.”
She walked slowly to Zhenzhen, looked gently at her daughter, a trace of melancholy drifting through her eyes.
Zhenzhen called out “Mother” in confusion. Qiuniang reached out to embrace her, her right hand gently stroking Zhenzhen’s face as she said softly: “I’ll go and come back. Take care of yourself.”
Zhenzhen felt her fingers were ice-cold and said: “Mother, it’s cold. Add another layer of clothing before you go.”
Qiuniang smiled faintly without agreeing, looked deeply at Zhenzhen once more, then surveyed everyone at Shizhen Lou. She smoothed her temples with her hand, arranged her hairpins, then followed the government office person away.
Arriving at the government office, the clerk said the distinguished person was waiting in the Plum Hall in the rear courtyard, leading Qiuniang around where the winter plum blossomed to search. Reaching the Plum Hall, the clerk guided Qiuniang inside. She saw a person in eunuch’s robes standing with his back to her, hands behind his back. The clerk reported Qiuniang’s arrival. That person ordered the clerk to withdraw, then slowly turned around. His gaze first fell on the long shadow that the setting sun cast from Qiuniang’s body, feeling the winter plum fragrance that came with her, as if contemplating for a long time before raising his head.
Seeing Qiuniang’s features clearly, he revealed a thin smile, bowed deeply to Qiuniang, then said slowly: “Since parting in Lin’an, nineteen autumns have passed. Fortunately, madam’s beauty and dark hair haven’t been besieged by the years.”
His words were gentle and his manner refined, yet Qiuniang felt a chill down her spine, the corners of her hanging sleeves trembling slightly. After staring at him intently for a moment, the hope that had remained in her heart was extinguished one by one like candle flames in the wind. Her face was ashen as she finally said only one sentence: “I have only one request… don’t harm my child.”
Cheng Yuan looked at her, his eyes showing neither sorrow nor joy. As if weighing matters in his heart for a long time, he was slow to respond: “I promise you, Lady Chrysanthemum.”