Nightwatcher

Looking at Da Tsing Yi's back, Emperor Yuan Jing didn't have any expression on his face, like a cold sculpture.

There are twenty-four palaces in the inner court of the imperial palace, where the concubines and children of Emperor Yuan Jing lived. Emperor Yuan Jing's harem was not lively at all, and the Chuxiu Palace had not accommodated young and beautiful women for more than ten years.

Wei Yuan came to the master of the harem, outside the palace of the empress, and after passing the transmission, he entered the hall and saw the empress sitting on the soft bed.

The empress who was the mother of the world, came in and became more relaxed, and her round and dignified face became sharper.

She is a very beautiful woman, she is nearly forty years old, and she still has the same charm. Although she is not as lively and bright as she was when she was a girl, her connotation has been carefully carved over the years, and her mature and dignified charm is comparable to that of ordinary girls.

"Why is Duke Wei here?" The queen smiled subtly, staring at Da Tsing Yi's face, which was tough, with a high nose, thin lips, and deep eyes, which contained indescribable vicissitudes.

The frosty whiteness of his temples made him more mature and charming.

Wei Yuan bowed his head first: "I heard that the queen is sick?"

The queen smiled and said, "It has been cured."

"Your Majesty said that the Queen's appetite has been poor recently, and asked my minister to come and have a look."

The smile on the queen's face faded, and she looked at him calmly: "He asked you to come? Mr. Wei, I don't know if I'm sick."

Wei Yuan hesitated for a while, shook his head and said, "Recently, I'm busy with official duties, so I don't know the queen is ill."

The queen turned her face away, and said in a flat tone, "I'm tired."

"The empress should drink less tea, it's not good for the spleen and stomach." Seeing the empress showing impatience, Wei Yuan bowed and said, "I will take my leave."

"Wei Yuan!"

The queen suddenly stopped him.

Wei Yuan turned his back and didn't look back.

"" The queen opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but because of various concerns, she didn't say anything in the end.

Thousands of words are hidden in her beautiful eyes, but Wei Yuan cannot see them.

When Wei Yuan left the Queen's palace, the breeze blew, and his green clothes fluttered.

He really didn't know that the queen was ill, because Anzi who had been planted nearby was pulled out by Emperor Yuanjing some time ago. And the Queen didn't know about it.

It is impossible to say these things in public, so they can only be misunderstood by the queen.

In front, the tall and slender Princess Huaiqing is leading the maids and guards over.

She was wearing a white palace dress, embroidered with bright plum blossoms, and covered with a big cloak to keep out of the cold. She was glamorous and luxurious, elegant and refined.

Very different from when her mother was young.

"Duke Wei!" Princess Huaiqing saluted.

"Your Highness." Wei Yuan returned the salute, and explained casually, "Your Majesty heard that the Empress has a poor appetite and is in poor health. Let me visit on his behalf."

Princess Huaiqing let out a "hmm", father had long since stopped coming to the harem, he only thought about cultivating immortality and longevity every day, he would only pay attention to any lady in the palace who was sick, but usually he would send someone to visit.

"The maid serving in the palace said that the queen mother really hasn't eaten much recently." Huaiqing said.

"After a long illness, if you go on a hunger strike, your body will suffer from the root cause of the disease." Wei Yuan frowned, but in front of Princess Huaiqing, he hid his worry very well, and only expressed what a courtier should have worry.

Princess Huaiqing smiled slightly, she didn't seem to be worried, her voice was cold and crisp, and said with great quality: "I just plan to summon Xu Qi'an, since I met Duke Wei here, Huaiqing will spare the guards to make an extra trip."

Wei Yuan asked in astonishment, "What does Your Highness mean by this?"

Princess Huaiqing said: "Xu Qi'an has a special secret recipe, which can enhance the umami taste of food a hundred times, and the taste will be unforgettable for a long time. The mother's appetite is poor, so I can try this secret recipe."

Xu Qi'an asked Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao to listen to the music at his own expense, and the two colleagues finished the work of passing on life while listening to the music.

It was Xu Qi'an who made up for them, especially Song Tingfeng, who donated a full five taels of silver to the Yangshengtang. He is a slut without a family, living expenses come second, if he has no money to go to the Jiaofang Office, he will feel sad in the balls.

Leaving Goulan, Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng, who were hungry and hungry, were extremely satisfied. The three of them were stopped by a gong riding a horse and complained, "Where are you going to fish? You can't find anyone for a long time."

"What's the matter?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"Wei Gong welcomes you." The Tonggong said.

Naturally, Xu Qi'an was invited. Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao knew that they were not in the same weight, so they waved goodbye to their benevolent colleagues and continued their street patrol.

Returning to the Yamen and entering Haoqi Building, Xu Qi'an saw Wei Yuan sitting at the desk reading a book.

The eunuch put down the scroll and said: "I heard from Huaiqing that you have a secret formula that can enhance the umami taste of the dishes."

Is Huaiqing such a gossip? This kind of trivial matter is also talked about everywhere. Xu Qi'an was stunned for a moment, "Small tricks are not worth remembering by Wei Gong."

"The empress has lost her appetite recently and her body is weak. I would like to try your formula." Wei Yuan said gently.

The queen is Huaiqing's biological mother. Huaiqing asked Wei Yuan to ask me for chicken essence. Xu Qi'an nodded suddenly. Seeing that there was no one in the tea room, he took out the small jade mirror and lightly buckled the back. A head-sized jar fell out and was held firmly by him. reached out to catch it.

The fruits of Chu Caiwei and Song Qing's labor are all here, and he only left a small bottle of chicken essence for Chu Caiwei.

Wei Yuan opened the jar, sniffed it, and frowned. He smelled a slightly pungent umami.

"This thing is called chicken essence." Xu Qi'an said popular science.

Chicken essence is a mixed product, with monosodium glutamate and guanylic acid as the core components, and the combination of the two complements each other.

Speaking of it, the two words chicken essence can be described as broad and profound, and it has three meanings, one of which is the seasoning you see in front of you.

The other is that the chicken has become a spirit, which is called chicken essence. There is also a specialty that is unique to men.

After closing the lid and returning the jar to Xu Qi'an, Wei Yuan called the officials: "Let the cook cook the noodles."

Xu Qi'an understood and went out with the officials.

A quarter of an hour later, Xu Qi'an came back with a bowl of egg and shredded pork noodles and put it on Wei Yuan's desk.

Wei Yuan nodded: "Take a bite and help me test the poison."

"" There is only one pair of chopsticks, Xu Qi'an took a bite with the other end.

After waiting for a while, after confirming that the little gong hadn't been poisoned to death by the noodles he brought up, Wei Yuan moved his chopsticks.

Xu Qi'an said quietly: "Maybe the poison was smeared on the chopsticks."

Wei Yuan was taken aback, and said angrily, "Get out."

Xu Qi'an didn't get out, just grinned. After spending so long with Wei's father, Wei Yuan is a person who won't really get angry, and his skill in nourishing his qi is terrifying.

Sure enough, Wei Yuan ignored him and lowered his head to eat the noodles.

Chewing the firm noodles, he was a little surprised by the texture of the noodles, and had the first experience of the taste buds being hit by chicken essence. When he took a sip of the soup, Wei Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up.

"How?" Xu Qi'an asked expectantly.

"No matter how many chefs have worked hard, they still can't make this kind of taste." Wei Yuan nodded in satisfaction. The queen is used to the delicacies in the palace. Apart from her lack of appetite, the reason for her anorexia is that she is tired of eating the dishes in the palace.

Xu Qi'an could feel the approval in Wei's father's eyes.

Wei Yuan took out a porcelain bottle from the grid and handed it to Xu Qi'an, who took it and poured some from the jar into the porcelain bottle.

Then hand it back to Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan shook his head, didn't answer, looked at the jar: "The bottle is for you, that's mine."

Xu Qi'an's expression suddenly became dull.

dusk.

The maid served stacks of delicacies, and the strong fragrance of the dishes filled the room. But the queen looked sleepy and frowned displeasedly:

"Bengong said, just prepare a bowl of porridge."

The palace maid whispered: "Wei Gong just sent over the secret formula and told us to make something good for the empress."

Another court lady said with hope: "Your Majesty, you can try it."

They have tried it and the taste is different and memorable. Living in the palace for so many years, I have tried all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas for the masters.

Only today's taste is an unprecedented taste experience, which makes people feel that the taste they ate before was only mediocre.

Hearing that it was Wei Yuan's arrangement, the queen sighed, scooped up a bowl of soup with some resistance, and frowned to taste it.

The strong umami taste exploded among the taste buds, Gulu's slender neck rolled, and he subconsciously swallowed it.

Then, the queen took one sip after another, and finished the soup without any resistance or disgust.

"I'm suddenly a little hungry, let's serve some rice." The queen handed the bowl to the maid, staring expectantly at the delicious food on the table.

The next day, just after Maoshi, the eunuch from the Queen's Palace brought a batch of gold, silver and jade wares to the Dagengren Yamen.

Wei Yuan received the eunuch in the Haoqi Building. This father-in-law, who was obviously an old acquaintance with Wei Yuan, sat casually at the table, drinking the tea made by Wei Yuan himself, and said with a smile:

"Where did Mr. Wei find the secret recipe? The Empress was very happy with what she ate last night."

Wei Yuan stared at him, and asked nervously, "No anorexia? How much did you eat?"

The father-in-law laughed and said: "I ate more than before, even more than when I was in good health. When I got up early today, the empress asked about the lunch food for the first time."

Wei Yuan smiled sincerely.

Just after noon, Xu Qi'an was summoned to the palace by Princess Huaiqing. In the elegant room with bright windows, he saw a young and mature princess with breasts that could be placed on the table.

She is as cool, noble and beautiful as ever. If you don't look at the plump figure, you will think that Her Royal Highness is the white lotus of the snow mountain, spotless.

"Today, I had lunch at my mother's place. Your recipe seems to have improved?" Princess Huaiqing asked.

"It's all thanks to Brother Song and Miss Caiwei." Xu Qi'an said.

Princess Huaiqing nodded, "I am a little bit nostalgic for that smell, but the empress is stingy and doesn't give it to me. Do you still have it?"

"It's gone." Xu Qi'an immediately shook his head: "The full can was given to Wei Gong and sent to the empress."

He actually had it, and a small bottle, but he couldn't give it to Huaiqing, he had to keep it for Mounting.

It's not that Princess Lin'an has a high status in his heart, but that mounting is too noisy, the emperor's harem is not big, and novelties like chicken essence will spread to Lin'an sooner or later. It doesn't matter, after all, it was sent by Wei Yuan.

But Princess Huaiqing knows who the real "instigator" is, and with Huaiqing's black belly, she will be like a jealous woman who overturns the jar of jealousy, and she will vent her anger on Xu Qi'an.

After all, in Princess Lin'an's heart, Xu Qi'an had long since turned to the light and became her servant.

Princess Huaiqing frowned slightly, "But I heard that Wei Yuan sent half a can of chicken essence to his mother."

"Huh?" Xu Qi'an was taken aback, looking at Huaiqing.

Huaiqing also looked at him, and the two couldn't help but fell silent.

PS: It was three o'clock in the middle of the night yesterday, and my vitality was greatly injured, but it is gone today.