Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 530 Miss Shen Comes Forward to Receive Reward

"I know what Chef Liu and his friends are cooking without even looking at it. They have a big table full of fancy dishes, but they always cook the same dishes year after year. Who would want to eat them?"

The Queen Mother muttered to herself and complained, and then pursed her lips, causing the little palace maid beside her to just smile secretly.

Shen Yu saw the eunuch bring out the egg custard from the food box and said hurriedly, "Reporting to the Queen Mother, today I made a dish of steamed egg custard with Chinese yam. It has just been taken out of the steamer and is not hot anymore. The Queen Mother, please come and have a taste."

The empress dowager looked towards the dining table with interest, then moved her legs to sit on the edge of the kang. The little palace maid came forward to help the empress dowager put on her shoes, and Zhenniang supported her and walked to the dining table and sat down.

The Queen Mother took a look at the bowl of refreshing steamed egg custard, nodded in appreciation, and then smiled and said to Shen Yu: "Steamed egg custard has always been a food for children. Miss Shen is treating an old woman like a child."

Zhen Niang said jokingly, "The Queen Mother is not old at all. She just has a poor appetite these days and has lost some weight. If she takes good care of herself for a few days, she will surely remain as graceful and elegant as ever."

The Queen Mother had heard this many times, so she didn't take it to heart. Her attention was on the bowl of delicious egg custard. She asked curiously, "This doesn't look like an egg custard made with only eggs. You said it was steamed with Chinese yam. Where is the Chinese yam?"

Shen Yu hurriedly said, "To answer the Queen Mother, this is made by steaming Chinese yam, peeling it, grinding it into Chinese yam paste, and then mixing it with egg liquid and steaming it again."

"The egg custard made in this way is easy to digest, nourishes the spirit, and strengthens the spleen and stomach. The Queen Mother's appetite has just recovered, so this is just right for her."

As Shen Yu was talking, the Queen Mother had already scooped a spoonful of trembling steamed egg custard into her mouth.

It is tender and smooth, and with the salty and delicious sauce, it is surprisingly delicious.

Although the dense flavor of yam is light, it gives the steamed egg custard a more substantial texture.

The Queen Mother originally just wanted to taste it, but she couldn't stop eating spoonful after spoonful. In front of everyone's surprised eyes, she actually finished most of the bowl of egg custard.

The Queen Mother put down the spoon in her hand and said with a smile: "I am sorry to have made Miss Shen laugh again. I didn't expect that this egg custard tastes so delicious."

“It tastes light at first, but the aftertaste is rich and pure egg flavor.”

"Well, I haven't tasted such a pure flavor for a long time."

"On a daily basis, eggs are either cooked into soups or pickled into salted eggs, which loses their original flavor."

Zhen Niang said happily: "Seeing that the Queen Mother's appetite has improved, I am really happy."

"Queen Mother, please take a look at the dishes on the table. Would you like to eat some more?"

The Queen Mother looked at the dining table filled with all kinds of food and surprisingly felt that the breakfast that she had been bored with the past two days actually looked good.

He casually pointed at the small, golden, hot, elephant-eye steamed buns in the bamboo steamer and said, "Please help me get another one."

"I remember it was made of millet, with red bean paste filling. I actually want to eat something sweet right now."

Shen Yu watched from the side and felt that the breakfast seemed to use less oil than the one that Chef Liu sent last night, and there were also some very small steamed noodles.

Thinking that the small steamed bun was not as big as a black chicken egg, and millet and red beans were easy to digest, he just stood aside silently and did not say anything to stop them.

After all, the Queen Mother had been following the rule of eating only until she was 70% full for many years. But after eating a small elephant-eye steamed bun filled with red bean paste, she put down her chopsticks and asked someone to clear the table.

After finishing her meal, the empress dowager gracefully took out the handkerchief tucked in her sleeve and wiped her mouth. With the help of the palace maid, she rinsed her mouth and wiped her hands, and was helped by Zhenniang to sit back on the kang by the window.

Just after cleaning up, Shen Yu thought that the Queen Mother had finished her meal and there should be nothing for him to do. He was about to report to the Queen Mother and go back to the small kitchen when he heard the eunuch outside the door shouting, "The Emperor has arrived."

As soon as everyone retreated to the sides, they saw the emperor leading the imperial physician in to check the empress dowager's pulse.

Shen Yu had no choice but to kneel down with the crowd again, thinking silently in his heart that he must withdraw early tomorrow, it would be good if he could kneel less often.

This mirror-like terrazzo floor is too cold and uncomfortable.

The emperor waved his hand casually and asked everyone to stand up, and asked the imperial physician to quickly take the empress dowager's pulse to see if she was feeling better today.

The old doctor, who had white hair and a youthful face with a long, flowing beard, took the patient's pulse carefully for a long time.

Shen Yu's feet became numb from standing for so long, and the emperor's expression changed from relaxed to worried to anxious.

He was not in a hurry, and slowly put down his hand that was checking the pulse, and said to the emperor with a smile: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, the Queen Mother's pulse is much stronger, and the blocked energy in her body is gone."

"With a few more days of good care, the Queen Mother will surely be able to recover as before."

"As for the medicine I prescribed for the Empress Dowager, you can take it or not. Medicine is not as good as food."

Before the emperor could speak, the queen mother smiled and said, "What the imperial doctor Wei said is true. I sweated all over after drinking the porridge yesterday, and I had a good sleep. I do feel much better today."

"And my appetite has improved a lot. I ate half a bowl of egg custard and an elephant-eye steamed bun this morning."

The emperor was even more delighted when he heard this, and he waved his hand and said, "Everyone in Kangning Palace will be rewarded."

Naturally, everyone knelt down to express their gratitude again.

Shen Yugang stood up with the others, and heard the Queen Mother say, "Your Majesty, don't forget Miss Shen. If it weren't for her cooking porridge and steamed egg custard and taking care of the meals, I wouldn't have recovered so quickly."

The emperor said hurriedly, "What the queen mother said is true. Miss Shen has made great contributions to the queen mother's meals. Your son will not forget it. I have already prepared a generous gift to reward her."

As he spoke, he glanced at the eunuch standing behind him.

The eunuch understood and clapped his hands twice. Then a young eunuch came in with a tray containing a gift list held high in his hands.

The eunuch beside the emperor shouted, "Miss Shen, come forward and receive your reward."

Shen Yu had no choice but to take two steps forward and kneel down again.

The eunuch stepped forward, took the gift list from the tray, and read aloud, "The Emperor, in recognition of Miss Shen's service in taking care of the Empress Dowager, has awarded her ten pairs of auspicious gold ingots and twenty pairs of prosperous silver ingots."

"One embroidered screen with a picture of a hundred children from Jiangnan, ten pieces of colored satin, and ten pieces of Lu Chou silk."

"I will also give you a set of kitchen knives from Gulan Country as a tribute. I hope Miss Shen will study her cooking skills diligently and strive for perfection."

Shen Yu was not surprised to hear that the emperor had rewarded him with gold, silver and other things. He just thought that the emperor was very generous. This trip was worthwhile and he made a lot of money.

But when she heard that Gulan would be rewarded with a set of kitchen knives, her heart suddenly started pounding with excitement.