Chapter 6: The Dark Emperor vs. the Delicate Palace Maid
"What! Serving the Emperor! Mammy, is it okay for a mere palace maid to do this?"

"Mammy, is this okay?!"

Madam Rong was annoyed by her loud talking.

"What are you arguing about? I asked you to serve the emperor so that you can learn more. Just follow me and don't make any mistakes. Serving the emperor is a great blessing."

"Okay! Thank you, mama!"

Chu Li calculated the time and found that the Emperor had just come out of his morning court session.

The nanny was also shocked at her learning ability. The maids who came to this palace were either unable to endure hardship or only wanted to climb onto the dragon bed.

But this Chu Li only wanted to serve her master.

Madam Rong brought her to the Emperor's Palace of Tranquil Longevity, where the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were waiting for breakfast.

Chu Li lowered her head and followed the nanny inside. She only heard her say to the emperor: "Your Majesty, breakfast is ready."

The emperor waved his hand, signaling for the dishes to be served.

At the nanny's command, the servants came in in an orderly manner, each carrying a large dish and placing them on the table one by one.

After all the dishes were placed, the Queen Mother handed one of them to the Emperor: "Emperor, this is the rock sugar bird's nest porridge that you loved most in your childhood. Please try it."

The emperor smiled softly, took the bowl of porridge and tasted it carefully: "It tastes the same as when I was a child, only the emperor's forehead is

Mother still remembers what I like to eat."

The empress dowager had a relatively youthful face, without a single wrinkle, her skin was fair, and her clothes were luxurious. She was the emperor's biological mother, and in this world she became the empress dowager at only about 35 years old. She lived out her life in the Cining Palace.

The Queen Mother loved this son very much.

But she didn't often come to the emperor's place, and today she came because she had something to say.

"Emperor, the harem has not had any pregnancy, and I don't know if I can see the heir in this lifetime. I have prayed to the temple, begging the Bodhisattva to let me see my grandson as soon as possible. Although I am not old yet, I have seen that your brothers have already had children, and their children are in the study room. I am really envious."

The emperor suddenly felt that the porridge in his mouth was not fragrant anymore. He was about to take a spoonful of porridge with the spoon but stopped midway.

Shen Yan knew that if the Empress Dowager didn't mention this matter, she would feel itchy. A few days ago, he refused the Empress Dowager's request for a meeting on the grounds that he was busy with state affairs, but he didn't expect that he couldn't stop her in the end.

Shen Yan looked around, trying to avoid the topic.

Until his eyes fell on the palace maid beside Madam Rong.

Why is she here?

Suddenly, a plan came to my mind.

"My Queen Mother, there is no rush for the issue of having an heir. Let's prepare the delicious food on the table first. It won't be too late to discuss this with me later! This is the braised shark's fin that I specially ordered the imperial kitchen to make. It is soft and smooth, and tastes very fresh.
You, pick up a piece for the Queen Mother."

Shen Yan supported his head with his hands, a playful smile on his face, and stared at Chu Li.

Rong Mama noticed the emperor's look and immediately stepped back and whispered to Chu Li: "Go and get some food for the queen mother. This is a rare opportunity."

Hatsuri: Great! It's my time to shine!

Chuli walked over, carefully picked up the chopsticks beside her, picked up a piece of fish for the empress dowager, and poured her a bowl of soup.

At the same time, the Queen Mother also sighed: "Alas, talking to the Emperor is just..."

But when I picked up the second piece, an embarrassing scene occurred.

The fish was too soft and rotten to be caught, and fell completely onto the table.

Hatsuri was stunned and stood there in a daze, unable to move.

Madam Rong was so frightened when she saw this that her face turned pale.

All I heard was the Queen Mother angrily say: "How come you can't even pick up the food properly? You are so clumsy, is it because you haven't learned the rules of the palace?"

Chu Li immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, it is my fault. I didn't expect the fish to be so overcooked and so difficult to pick up. I should have used a spoon."

"According to you, it's the fault of the dish?"

On the surface, this statement was saying that the emperor was wrong to choose this dish, but it was undoubtedly leading Hatsuri to blame the emperor for letting her pick this dish. No matter how she explained it, it was useless.

Chu Li looked at Shen Yan, only to see his smile deepen, as if he had known about this situation for a long time.

Turns out it was intentional!

This dog emperor deliberately asked me to pick up the food just to shut the empress dowager's mouth.

He must have seen that I was new there and knew that I didn't know how to pick up this dish, so he designed this to embarrass me.

There is no way to answer this question right now.

She gritted her teeth, thought for a few seconds, and then answered: "Empress Dowager, this dish was originally a tribute dish. The fish meat is wrapped in soup, delicious and tasty, and has no fishy smell. Of course, you can't pick it up with chopsticks. Why don't I teach you how to eat it?"

The Queen Mother found this novel and asked curiously, "Oh? This is the first time someone has taught me how to eat. I want to see what method you can use!"

Chuli directly took the small bowl, scooped out all the soup and shark fins, and then blended the pastries on the side into the soup, and the color suddenly turned light pink.

Like a bowl of sticky soup rice.

Then he placed it in front of the Queen Mother and said, "Queen Mother, you can have a taste."

The palace maids and servants were talking about it, and the eunuch beside them also became anxious.

"You ignorant maid, if you are poisoned, even ten lives will not be enough to save you. Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, please think twice and do not eat it!"

"Your Majesty, please be careful!"

The Queen Mother looked at Chu Li and asked, "Aren't you afraid that something might happen to me if I eat this?"

Chuli immediately responded: "Don't worry, Queen Mother, I will never harm you like this in public."

The Queen Mother sneered, but she thought the maid's words were really interesting, so she joked: "Okay, then I will believe you this time."

Shen Yan seemed to be watching the fun and had a strong interest in this strange operation. His eyes had never left Chu Li since he started picking up the food.

On the contrary, Madam Rong, who was standing by, was eager to protect people.

But looking at Fang Chuli working hard on it, he became full of trust in her.

The eunuchs wanted to stop her, but the Queen Mother persuaded them: "It's okay. I see how carefully she has done it. We can't let her kindness go to waste. Her beauty also attracts me."

Shen Yan then asked: "Are you sure you want to eat, Empress Dowager?"

He knows the Queen Mother's taste very well.

The Queen Mother nodded, looked at the crowd trying to stop her, and then looked at the Emperor: "Emperor, please taste it together with me."

Shen Yan smiled. He was curious about what this combination was and agreed: "That's fine."

The Queen Mother gave a spoonful to Shen Yan.

The two took a bite under the panicked eyes of everyone.

The Queen Mother's face suddenly changed.

The servants all held their breath, and even Hatsuri became nervous due to the atmosphere.

It’s over. It’s really not delicious?
Then I heard the Queen Mother say: "It's delicious!"

The Queen Mother took one bite after another and finished everything in the bowl in a few gulps.

"Make it for me again, please. I haven't eaten something this delicious in a long time. Your cooking today really opened my eyes."

Shen Yan was also a little surprised by these words. It turned out that the empress dowager did not like this kind of mixed food. She liked to eat each dish separately and never put other side dishes in one dish. They were all famous dishes made in the imperial kitchen every day and needed her approval before they could be served.

Today I finally opened my third eye.

The Empress Dowager actually loves to eat it.

It was made by a palace maid.

(End of this chapter)