In the evening, the table was filled with fragrant meals.

Gu Yunxi entertained concubines in various palaces tonight. The ingredients were not luxurious, but fresh.

The dishes included braised pork tenderloin with ginkgo, fried prawns with hibiscus, steamed pork wrapped with scallops, grilled fish strips with pine nut vinegar, eight treasures roast chicken, fried duck breast with pearl, spicy eel paste with sesame oil, stewed deer tendon in ten spices hotpot, white mushroom with milk, fried pickled bamboo shoots and flowering cabbage, and bacon with mutton and fish soup.

The ingredients on the table were nothing precious except the venison tendon.

However, Gu Yunxi was very good at choosing dishes. She matched the simple colors of red, white, yellow, green and black to create a colorful visual enjoyment, and could compete with the imperial food for grace and noble sense.

The imperial concubines were surprised. They never believed that the slender woman around them could really hold an iron kitchen knife and tossed a heavy and crude frying pan.

But just now, it was she who slapped Commandery Princess Jingle in the imperial garden.

"Hey, why are you sitting still? Enjoy your meal!"

Gu Yunxi smiled at the stunned people and took the lead in taking a seat．

"Zhiqi, pour 'milk honey' for Your Grace."

Lady-in-waiting Zhang looked at the semi-white and opaque liquid in the glass and smelled it. Her eyebrows gradually stretched. She took a big drink.

"Well, it's delicious. I just looked at the color of the wine and thought it was rice wine often drunk in the south!"

Gu Yunxi said with a smile.

"Can I use rice wine to deceive you that it's milk honey? This wine needs horse milk mixed with cardamom and cinnamon to boil. Then cool it and mix it with whipped protein liquid and Bauhinia honey, and finally brew it with two cups of spirits."

"Although its production process takes the most effort, its shelf life is not long. It's best to make it when you drink it. What you drink, I made it yesterday."

Lady Ying picked up the cup and asked.

"Do you have to use Bauhinia nectar?"

Gu Yunxi stroked the white jade gourd shaped earrings beside her ears and smiled.

"It's not necessary. It's OK to steam honey with locust flowers and jujube flowers, but Bauhinia flowers are rare. When you steam thousands of flowers in the urn, you only steam a little. The wild honey collected in the mountain is the most blood clearing and cooling, which is specially used to neutralize the heat of the liquor."

Lady Ying benefited a lot. She praised with the palms pressed together.

"Amitabha. It turns out that it's easy to cook three meals a day, but it's difficult to cook well. It's also an art to cook."

Gu Yunxi took a bite of food, chewed it slowly, swallowed it, and nodded.

"Exactly."

Meiren Jia always paid the most attention to herself figure. When she saw the delicacies on the table, she didn't dare to eat more. She only drank the bacon with mutton and fish soup from time to time.

She drank two small cups and praised it endlessly.

"This white soup is really delicious. I don't know how you make it. Would you like to teach me?"

Gu Yunxi chuckled.

"Listen carefully, sister. Remove the scales of the whole fresh bass, fill the hollowed-out belly with shredded sweet potato, shredded ginger and shredded green onion, and then roll it in hot oil and add water.

When boiling, put the pork front leg bacon slices soaked all night. Then add water and put the blanched sheep spine into the second boiling.

There are three key points in this soup: first, only after the bass is fried, the soup will be white. Second, if you want to remove the fishy smell of mutton, you have to wrap three or five raw walnuts and a handful of Yunnan specialty Pu'er tea in a spinning cloth and cook them together with the soup. Third, bacon must be made of pig forelegs, where there are both fat and lean meat.

When I'm free, I'll write down this prescription and give it to you. You can let the people in your small kitchen follow it.

In this soup, the bass is cold and the mutton is warm. The balance of cold and temperature can keep you from getting more heat and phlegm. There is also a salty smell of bacon. It doesn't hurt to drink more in spring. "

After hearing this, Meiren Jia was delighted and said repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, you know the most. I thank you for your generous advice."

Jieyu Zhao's eyes were filled with hatred and indignation and said.

"You have a good heart. Commandery Princess Jingle went too far today. Fortunately, you taught her a lesson. But you should also be careful. That girl is used to being arrogant and domineering. I'm afraid she won't give up."

"Yes."

"Sister, it's necessary to guard against people."

The imperial concubines talked one after another.

Gu Yunxi came forward to fight violence with violence and successfully subdued these people with another meal.

Gu Yunxi smiled faintly and took the opportunity to ask.

"What is the identity of Commandery Princess Jingle? Why doesn't she treat you like that?"

Lady-in-waiting Zhang held her cheek and sighed.

"The girl's surname is mu and her name is Qianying. She was not from the palace. She is the daughter of Imperial Mother Xiao's distant cousin.

When her father was an official in the Ministry of Works of the imperial court, he was in charge of the construction of the grand dam from the capital a year ago. On the day of completion, His Majesty and Her Grace patrolled and encountered assassinations.

Her father stopped the sword for Her Grace and died. For this reason, his daughter was brought up by Her Grace.

She relied on herself to be the descendant of a meritorious official, and Her Grace spoiled her. She always acted very domineeringly. Others can't have what she likes, and others dare not ask for what she doesn't like."

Gu Yunxi swallowed the wine and rolled her eyes.

"How can children be raised like this? They have no concept of right and wrong since childhood. When they grow up, they will inevitably be discussed behind their backs."

Lady-in-waiting Zhang shrugged.

"She is almost the daughter of Her Grace and His Majesty's sister. She doesn't worry about getting married!"

"Leave her alone. Let's drink and eat and have a good time tonight," Gu Yunxi waved to them.

"I don't have great skills. I like cooking and making snacks on weekdays. I'm not hypocritical. I like to do things according to reason. If you like it, you can come to Jingyang Palace more in the future."

Lady Shu put her chopsticks down and asked.

"Sister, Concubine Liang and other people were banned that day, and the people in the palace spread it all over. They ran to your palace and robbed the precious treasure given by His Majesty to you?"

Gu Yunxi gently wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief and smiled bitterly.

"It's also because I'm too slow and don't understand the rules of the imperial harem. I thought those sisters were joking, but they were really angry.

It happened that His Majesty came to my palace. He couldn't stand the messy scene and punished several people on the spot. Ah, I can't escape the blame for what happened in the Jingyang Palace. When I think about it, I feel uncomfortable and sorry for them. "

As she spoke, there were tears in Gu Yunxi's eyes, and she wiped her eyes and face.

The imperial concubines were busy persuading.

"Oh, sister, you are the victim. Why are you crying for them?"

"Yes, His Majesty rewarded you with those treasures. How shameless they are to compete!"

"Sister, don't be afraid. In the future, we will stand on your side and help you."

"Yes, me too."

Gu Yunxi couldn't help laughing from tears. She asked the palace maids to pour wine for everyone and got up to raise her glass.

"As the saying goes, I rely on my parents at home and my friends when I go out. Now in this palace, I have to rely on you for everything. If you don't mind, we will drink this wine together and share the same boat in the future, and our fate will be linked."

Without hesitation, they drank up a cup and sat down one after another.

After drinking three cups of wine, Gu Yunxi turned her head and signaled to Zhiqi.

Zhiqi understood and took some eunuchs to the back hall to take out some exquisite jewelry and playing pieces.

Gu Yunxi's smile was like flowers.

"Sisters, as I said just now, I don't have many hobbies in my life. I like cooking and making snacks. These are gifts from His Majesty. I can't use too much alone.

I enjoyed talking with you today and didn't take you as outsiders. I'm willing to share these treasures with you. But we agreed that each of you would only take one. "

Lady-in-waiting Zhang was dazzled by the dazzling jewelry, grabbed Gu Yunxi's arm and kept swinging.

"Sister, these jewelries are so beautiful. Are you really willing to give them to us?"

Gu Yunxi adjusted her clothes with a loving expression.

"Of course, sister, remember, when I say I like you, I really like you. I like to give you gift and you don't need to refuse. Everyone here has a share. If I don't want to give it, just like the end of Commandery Princess Jingle today, you can't take anything."

Watching the imperial concubines happily choose their favorite jewelry, Gu Yunxi smiled and thought.

'A meal and a hairpin are just small favors. The way to survive in the harem is nothing more than to win people's hearts. It's so simple.'

—

Commandery Princess Jingle ran into the Cining Palace in disheveled hair. When she entered the palace, she cried and howled.

"Your Grace, you have to help me. I am greatly wronged today."

"Oh, my sweetie, what's the matter with you?"

Imperial Mother Xiao was meeting guests in the hall. The hairpin on her head was bright in color and her makeup was exquisite. Because of careful maintenance, there was no trace of years' grinding and carving on the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.

When she heard the news, Imperial Mother looked shocked. She hurriedly put the carved pure golden snuff bottle in her hand and hugged Jingle who had a swollen face and was crying.

Empress Dowager wore a black satin royal outfit today. On the soft silk material, the patterns of tangled bergamot flowers were embroidered with dark blue, green, red, moon white and soft purple. She also wore a high shouldered brown long-lengthened sleeveless shawl.

The cloth at the vertical neckline, shoulder and waist were inlaid with a circle of superior East beads, and dense golden peony flowers were embroidered everywhere.

The clothes were exquisite in workmanship. It took 50 embroiderers to embroider in turn for two years to make them.

"Jingle, tell me, what's the matter with you?"

Jingle wiped the tears on her face with her hand. She looked at the anxious woman with crying red eyes and sobbed.

"Your Grace, someone knows I am with you, but she still wanted to hurt my face. She was obviously beating you!"

"Who dares to be so bold? Ying'er, tell me quickly!"

A deep and charming voice suddenly came around Imperial Mother Xiao.