A Yuan had once said that with their restaurant’s food being so delicious, it wouldn’t be surprising if even the Emperor came. Unexpectedly, these words came true.
Who among Chang’an’s citizens hadn’t heard a few tales of emperors traveling in disguise? The most widely circulated were those about Emperor Xuanzong.
They said the romantic emperor wandered to the East Market, first watching Hu children’s songs and dances along with sword-swallowing and pole-climbing performances, then drinking a bowl of yogurt at Old Qiu’s shop – though another version claimed he ate cherry dumplings at Fuxiang Studio, and naturally versions were saying he had both the yogurt and dumplings before going to Pingkang Ward to listen to music, where he met someone who had both Yang Guifei’s charm and Mei Fei’s talent…
The story’s development varied from there. In versions young ladies typically heard, His Majesty was in high spirits and personally played drums while the courtesan danced the “Rainbow Feather Robe” dance – thus Pingkang’s version of the Rainbow Feather Robe dance had received imperial instruction and was the same as that performed in the palace music bureau.
In gentlemen’s private banquets, the stories became much more risqué, inevitably describing how the emperor and the courtesan did this and that, with some versions even having Yang Guifei arrive jealously and catch them in bed, and even more elaborate versions claiming the courtesan was actually Yang Guifei in disguise, merely their bedroom game…
Besides Xuanzong’s stories, there were also tales about Taizong, Gaozong, Empress Wu… Even the previous emperor had such a story – about meeting a fortune-teller on the street. In these stories, taverns and restaurants usually appeared as passing background characters, but this time, Shen’s establishment would be the genuine protagonist.
After the New Year and the Human Day had passed, those who needed to attend court did so, and those who needed to work returned to work, but the festive atmosphere was still thick. People walking the streets were somewhat languid, still exchanging smiling New Year’s greetings about “spring fortune and boundless longevity.”
The East Market Shen’s tavern had passed its peak customer hours, and Shen Shaoguang was lazily drinking tea behind the counter while discussing the upcoming menu changes with the manager.
The shop curtain lifted and four or five people entered. Shen Shaoguang turned to look and couldn’t help but freeze.
The manager had already gone over to greet them, “Happy New Year, honored guests. Would you prefer to sit in the main hall downstairs, or go upstairs? The downstairs hall is convenient for watching the entertainment, while upstairs is quieter, has high tables and chairs, and refined private rooms.”
Qin Xiang, the Imperial Guard Commander, carefully asked, “Sixth Lord, shall we go upstairs?”
The Emperor nodded and led the way up the stairs.
Shen Shaoguang had seen Qin Xiang twice from afar before, and comparing him with her impression of the Emperor’s face, she became even more certain of their identities. The others behind the Emperor appeared to be palace servants and imperial guards based on their appearance. Several more people entered after them, some sitting downstairs, some guarding upstairs, and presumably some were posted outside on the street.
This group wasn’t particularly conspicuous, and with Chang’an having many nobles, the shop’s customers paid no attention and focused on watching Zhang Er’lang and the others performing on stage.
Zhang Er’lang was grandly instructing: “Go tell Hu Sixth Master to buy some good lamb, we’re having hotpot and just need some lamb.”
“Then tell Feng Third Master to bring some vegetables and tofu, we’re having a hotpot and still need vegetables and tofu.”
“Tell Li Seventh Master to come for hotpot, say Hu Sixth and Feng Third are all here, we’re just missing him, and ask him to bring a fish along.”
“Tell Master Fang Er not to be stingy with his hidden daughter’s wine, bring a jar over for all the brothers to share a drink.”
“You must tell Zhou Fourth to swing by Shen’s and buy a jar of master stock – without that, nothing tastes right no matter what you cook!”
…
A Dou, playing the servant, asked: “Since master is hosting, what should we prepare? I’ll buy everything at once.”
Zhang Er’lang, who had been “commanding troops,” lazily replied, “Just boil some water in a pot on the stove.”
The customers burst into laughter, and the Emperor sitting by the second-floor railing also chuckled, with his attendants and guards following suit.
The manager returned to the counter to get menus, and Shen Shaoguang took the opportunity to give him a few instructions before heading to the kitchen.
The Emperor, still smiling, asked the tavern manager: “Does your establishment sell master stock for takeaway?”
The manager smiled and said: “Yes, we do. Many customers say they can’t recreate our flavor at home, and that’s largely because they lack this master stock.”
A regular customer called up to Zhang Er’lang from below, “What about the pot? Shen’s pots are specially made.”
Zhang Er’lang slapped his forehead, “Oh right! Then add Liu Eighth, and ask him to see if Shen’s sells pots.”
The regular customer called out to the manager, “Manager, manager! Does your tavern sell pots?”
The manager excused himself from the distinguished guests and came to the stairway edge: “We don’t sell pots. Let me say if the young masters want hotpot, better come eat at our humble establishment. Never mind the flavor or lack thereof, at least you won’t be cheated by such a miser.” He said this while pointing at Zhang Er’lang.
His deadpan delivery made people laugh even harder, and the laughter grew louder.
The manager returned smiling to continue attending the Emperor’s party.
The Emperor praised with a smile: “Your establishment has excellent entertainment! Who came up with this?”
The manager replied with a deferential smile: “Our humble establishment offers special pastries as payment for customers to leave amusing stories they know, then our proprietor selects and edits them. One sketch often combines stories from several customers, so it’s hard to say who exactly came up with it.”
The Emperor nodded, thinking this proprietor was truly clever – to think a tavern could also “broadly seek public opinion”… He also thought perhaps he should send people to collect folk customs from among the common people.
The manager presented the menu, and the Emperor lowered his head to browse it.
Shen’s menu was another major feature of the tavern. Besides dish names, it included one or two lines of introduction, whether about special preparation methods, interesting comments, poems written by past customers, or little anecdotes. Some even had illustrations, and the whole booklet was beautifully bound, different from current books, using butterfly binding for easy page-turning.
The Emperor had only meant to browse casually but later became absorbed, “Interesting… it’s interesting just to look at, even without eating.”
The manager smiled deferentially.
The Emperor looked at the palace servant beside him, who naturally understood: “Your servant has already memorized it.” Later, the imperial kitchen would make one like this too.
The Emperor ordered the classic milk soup hotpot, along with various meat items and vegetables like lamb, fish balls, and shrimp balls.
The servers brought tea, pastries, and fruits arranged by Shen Shaoguang, and after the manager helped set everything up, they withdrew.
In the kitchen, the manager reported the order to Shen Shaoguang, who instructed the cooks based on the Emperor’s tastes.
The manager asked: “Who is this guest? Young Miss is being so careful.”
Shen Shaoguang made a “shush” gesture without saying more.
Hotpot ingredients were prepared quickly. Shen Shaoguang personally mixed the basic dipping sauce and placed it on a tray with other condiments. The manager came in and led the servers to take it up.
The Emperor was browsing the poetry collection on the table and asked the manager with a smile: “Who is this East Hall Master who wrote the preface? Quite talented.”
The manager smiled deferentially: “In reply to the honored guest, I hear it’s a friend of our proprietor.”
The Emperor had only asked casually. These days many scholars earned money writing various pieces, and these so-called “friends” were mostly of this type. The Emperor, seeing the preface’s bearing and wording, figured it was likely a high court official – to get them to write, this proprietor must have spent considerably.
The Emperor didn’t mind officials doing such things. Emperor Xianzong even awarded five hundred bolts of silk to Han Tuizhi for writing the Ping Huaixi Monument, and even in the previous emperor’s time, there was a “Thousand Gold Minister of Personnel” so called because he could get a thousand gold per character for writing memorial inscriptions.
However… the Emperor thought again of the amusing entertainment and the clever menu and considered it possible that such a proprietor might indeed be friends with someone at court. The Emperor felt slightly envious – why didn’t he have such an interesting friend who was good with food?
Putting down the poetry collection, the Emperor invited Qin Xiang to eat with him.
Qin Xiang apologized, “In that case, your servant shall be presumptuous.”
Although Qin Xiang was now Commander of the Imperial Guard, he had previously been the Emperor’s palace servant – perhaps this was precisely why he became Imperial Guard Commander, as serving the Emperor was his primary skill.
He poured out a little dipping sauce and tasted it with his chopsticks, “Mm – this flavor is already perfect, adding anything else would make it worse.” He then prepared the dipping sauce plate for the Emperor.
Qin Xiang, knowing the Emperor’s taste, first put several fish balls into the pot.
The manager smiled and said: “Our humble establishment’s fish balls are made from fresh fish, they cook instantly and are extremely tender – they need to be scooped with a ladle.”
Qin Xiang scooped out the fish balls, placing them in both his and the Emperor’s dishes, trying one first, “Sixth Lord, please try it. Your servant finds it excellent.”
The Emperor tried one, and indeed it was both tender and fresh, melting in the mouth almost without chewing. The dipping sauce was also excellent, with a hint of chive flower and prickly ash spiciness that wasn’t too strong, perfect for dipping fish. Then they cooked shrimp balls and various meat slices and vegetables, and the Emperor began eating in earnest.
The Emperor wasn’t hungry. In the afternoon, he had heard Imperial Guard Wu Xian and several junior captains planning to go to Shen’s in the East Market for hotpot, praising how good it was last time. The Emperor then remembered Fuhui had also mentioned such a tavern and the pot had come from there, and Minister Li had praised it – likely the same place. On impulse, with nothing particular to do during the holiday, he decided to come out and enjoy himself among the people.
The hotpot here, while not necessarily much better than what was made in the palace, was somehow particularly satisfying and delightful. The Emperor recalled what the manager had said about customers being unable to recreate the flavor at home, and wondered if even his home couldn’t manage it. The Emperor smiled, not taking offense.
Moreover, the atmosphere here was truly wonderful, and downstairs the entertainment had changed to a new piece.
“It’s not that I don’t like studying, it’s that reading makes me hungry.”
“I’m different from you, reading makes me sleepy.”
“Oh my, how can you get sleepy?”
“How can you get hungry?”
“Look for yourself, ‘Two orioles sing in the green willows’ – tsk tsk, two orioles, wouldn’t they be good deep-fried? Or dry-fried? Even chopped into meat sauce and poured over noodles would be excellent.”
“And there’s ‘Garden peonies lack proper charm, lotus on the pond shows little feeling. Only the tree peony has true national beauty, when it blooms it stirs the capital’ – honey-preserved peonies, deep-fried lotus, steamed tree peonies in sugar… isn’t that fragrant? Just tell me, isn’t that fragrant?”
…
Raucous laughter erupted from downstairs.
The Emperor also smiled. During the holiday season, eating such satisfying hotpot and seeing his subjects so relaxed and content, the Emperor’s heart, troubled by the recent rebellion in Shannan Circuit, found peace. Overall, the empire was still prosperous and peaceful. He encouraged himself: for their sake, so they could eat hotpot and enjoy entertainment every day, what did it matter if he worked a bit harder?
Shen Shaoguang didn’t know her hotpot had given the Emperor such confidence. What she did know was that the Emperor left more than twenty taels of silver and a poem in the collection. Even more unexpected was that when the Emperor’s party left, Qin Xiang was recognized by a customer, and someone who could receive such attentive service from Commander Qin… thus the spectating crowd figured out the truth.
Within days, stories spread through the neighborhoods about the Emperor secretly leaving the palace to eat hotpot.
Shen Shaoguang instructed the manager to be ambiguous when asked, keeping things vague – firstly because ambiguity made for better gossip, and secondly for discretion. Meanwhile, the Emperor’s not particularly remarkable poem was written out by Shen Shaoguang, mounted, and hung in the main hall, bringing wave after wave of customers to Shen’s establishment.
Author’s Note: ① A classic hotpot joke from the internet.