Chapter Fifty-Four: The Meat Ranks

  He became even more cautious from then on.

  However, for a long time afterwards, everything was peaceful and uneventful. The winter arrived quietly, and on the day of the Winter Solstice, it snowed. The entire Yiqiu Palace was covered in a layer of silver, and the maple leaves that still clung to their branches were frozen and frosted, looking like a sheet of bright red jade glass.

  This winter is different from the one in Huanyi Lane, there is enough coal at home, and the cotton-padded jacket is newly distributed, it's both light and warm, and fits well. Chao Sheng rummaged through the trunk, the two thin old clothes brought from Huanyi Lane, when compared with the upper body, were a piece short.

  People are often unaware of their own growth, but they can always tell when their clothes have become too short.

  Chao Sheng put on his old clothes and compared them with his current size, feeling a bit sentimental.

  It's even grown taller.

  She also thought she was slowly getting old.

  She doesn't have a heart to harm others, but she has to be constantly on guard against being harmed by others. Sometimes Cao Zhen also feels that such days are unbearable, there is no thousand-day thief, only a thousand-day anti-thief?

  But she still doesn't know who the thief is.

  Let her learn what means to harm others - perhaps she can learn.

  But at the thought of one day becoming like that, he felt a chill run down his spine.

  If there is anything discordant in this peaceful life, it is the tenth princess.

  She came a few more times after crying that time, and saw the old man being honest and simple. It seemed that no one here in Yiqiu Palace knew that she had made a big mistake before, so she put her mind at ease. She pointed to Chao Sheng and asked him to make two snacks for her. Chao Sheng was afraid of this spoiled princess, so he gathered his spirits and made sesame cakes once and braised pork another time.

  This dried meat is actually a type of cured meat. The method wasn't taught by Li Aunt, but rather something that Chao Sheng remembered seeing before and tried out himself several times until he succeeded. It's not suitable as a main dish, but it's more than enough as a snack to go with tea or wine, and it's very popular. At least the Fourth Prince said it tasted great after eating it, and instructed that it be made into a regular tea accompaniment from then on. Firstly, it's delicious without being greasy, secondly, after drying, the meat loses its moisture, so the storage time is at least twice as long as before. If you pay attention to keeping it dry, in this winter weather, it can be stored for a long time without any change in flavor or texture, making it very convenient.

  The tenth princess was also full of praise after trying it once, not only did she eat a whole plate by herself, but also asked to take some away. The fourth prince naturally wouldn't be stingy with just one plate of meat, and instructed someone to pack a box for the tenth princess to take back.

  Who would have thought that the tenth princess had a good appetite, and every other day she would send someone to fetch it. Chao Sheng was puzzled - could it be that the tenth princess treated this as her staple food? No matter how delicious something is, eating it every day will make one tired of it, right?

  However, thinking on the bright side, the beggar is probably full and won't come to bother us again. Isn't that a good thing?

  Chao Sheng Yu was on one hand working hard to sell his cured meat, while on the other hand waiting for news that Princess Wei had grown tired of him.

  As a result, the whole winter passed by, and then spring also passed by. It wasn't until summer arrived and everyone was feeling lazy that Princess Ten finally dropped the matter and didn't mention it again.

  But by autumn of this year, Princess Hua suddenly remembered again and sent someone to ask for meat once more.

  She was so stunned that she couldn't speak. She wanted to say, "I'll give you the recipe, let someone else make 180 catties of it for you, and then sit in a pile of meat, eating with your head down, left and right, until your mouth is crooked and your eyes are slanted, how about that?"

  But this is impossible.

  The tenth princess is now living in Huiyuan, feeling quite uncomfortable. She wants to let the kitchen make some dishes, but it's not easy to find someone to do it. Even if those people are willing to do it, what will others say? What will the superiors say?

  Moreover, Chao Sheng also noticed that the people who came to fetch meat were not only coming to Huayeju to fetch meat but would always go to Songtangge to stay - Princess Wei This is a two-for-one deal, and it also informed her brother and covered up other people's ears.

  Maybe she doesn't really love eating this kind of pastry so much, it's just that she can't do without it for a whole day.

  But Huayeju still has someone who loves to eat it.

  The Eighth Prince.

  One time he was studying at the Fourth Prince's place, and in the afternoon when they washed their hands to have some snacks, he was suddenly enchanted by this row of meat dishes. If Xia Bi hadn't stopped him, he would have eaten all the ones in that box clean.

  However, the eighth prince was not unpleasant, after eating something his mouth was sweet, and when he saw Chao Sheng, he sweetly called out to her: "Sister Chao Sheng", which made Chao Sheng feel honored.

  But no matter what, the meat is taken away, whether it's for herself to eat or to give to others, or even if it's thrown away, since she let someone take it, Cai Sheng still has to continue making it. She's now so skilled at making this that she's come up with many variations, such as honey-glazed pork belly, pepper-salt pork belly, and fruit-nut pork belly, all of which have been a huge hit. Qiu Yan got a great deal, eating nonstop while laughing and saying: "Look at you now, specializing in making meat! I heard that someone's courtyard has a Needlework Maiden, our place can have a Pork Belly Maiden too! Do it well, strive to make pork belly with 108 different variations!"

  Chao Sheng also smiled: "Who is Shen Zheniang?"

  She is a palace maid in the Rear Palace, and this is what others call her. It's said that she has extraordinary skills with her needlework, and once embroidered a hundred-birds-paying-homage-to-the-phoenix skirt for the Empress Dowager, which the Emperor saw and praised as "lifelike". From then on, everyone called her Goddess Needlework. Speaking of which, among the palace maids in the Beautiful Garden, there's also a Hundred Spirits Maid who sings beautifully.

  Um, Shen Zhen Niang and Bai Ling Niang both sound pretty good.

  Really summon a row of meat daughters... Chao Sheng Da Jiong, can this title be heard?

  Qiu Yan burst out laughing and almost choked on his meat porridge: "You really believed it?"

  Chao Sheng glanced at her and said, "You're still pretending to be a sister, but you're actually making fun of people."

  After a while, Qiū Yàn suddenly said: "Chūn Mò was ill in the winter. In my opinion, her illness is all because she has been cooped up in the house for too long and has been suppressing it. The prince had already said that it wasn't her fault, but she still just stays in the house with her head down doing needlework..."

  Chao nodded slightly.

  Since Chunmo moved out of this house and no longer lived with her, Chaosheng had seen her only a handful of times.

  Chun Mo seemed to have changed into a different person after the last incident, either because she was scared or because the Fourth Prince told her to reflect on her actions. She became silent and taciturn, shutting herself indoors and not going out for a long time. As a result, many people almost forgot that Huaye Manor had someone named Chun Mo.

  Nowadays, the number one imperial concubine of Huaye Residence should be Qiuyan, this is what everyone acknowledges.

  Chao Sheng has always been someone who just focuses on his work and doesn't bother with anything else, which actually makes him seem rather unassuming.

  "I heard that the second prince's marriage is going to be settled."

  Chao Sheng was taken aback: "Who is it?"

  "It's none of our business." Qiu Yan wiped his hands and took a sip of tea: "Song Can's days are not going to be so good soon..."

  Chao nodded slightly.

  It's only natural. As long as the Second Prince is happy and content, he doesn't care about anything else, leaving everything to Song Chan. But once he gets married, it will be the Second Princess who takes charge in the future. And what about Song Chan... If she's lucky, she might become a concubine, but if not, once the Princess enters the palace, she might even get rid of her - who can tolerate someone like her by their side?

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