Some of the ministers outside the palace were very surprised to hear that the head chef was Xiao Baoshan’s wife. They had always heard that Xiao Baoshan had gone back to the village to marry a village woman after the defeat a few years ago. They didn’t expect this village woman to cook so well that she could even outshine the imperial chefs!
State Preceptor couldn’t say anything about it. Since it was related to the ceremony, there was no reason for him not to let Little Ye go. Even if he still kept Little Ye at his place, he still had to let Little Ye leave as she was appointed as the head chef of the ceremony.
However, he still told Wan Shijie to keep an eye on Little Ye. Also, he ordered Jin Xiaoyu to be kept at his residence as a hostage.
……
Xiao Baoshan now lived in Qian Qi’s former residence. After all, he was now Qian Qi’s subordinate. Since his official position was not as high as before, he didn’t need to go to court. He had nothing to do in the capital unless he was really needed.
He also heard about Little Ye becoming the head chef.
Although Xiao Baoshan had known that Little Ye was good at cooking, he never thought that her cooking skill could reach such an extent. He was a rough man and didn’t have high requirements for food as long as he could be well-fed. A few years ago, when he was a general, he also entered the palace and ate at a royal banquet. He felt that it was just a litttle more delicious than the usual food.
Only now did he know that Little Ye’s cooking skills were top-notch.
He also heard that Little Ye was going to be the head chef of the ceremony. He also thought about secretly snatching Little Ye away while she left the State Preceptor’s residence.
However, he was not confident enough to save Little Ye from the State Preceptor residence, not to mention from the royal palace.
What’s more, he was not qualified to participate in the ceremony with his current position.
Moreover, he knew that State Preceptor was guarding against him and would definitely keep Jin Xiaoyu in his residence. Once Little Ye escaped, Jin Xiaoyu would definitely lose her life.
He didn’t want to save one’s life but at the cost of another’s.
He could only wait anxiously every day.
……
The ceremony finally began.
The day before the ceremony, Little Ye and Zhang Deshui entered the palace to prepare and check the ingredients.
The last time she entered the palace, Little Ye was surprised by the large number of servants in the palace. She was more shocked when she came to the palace this time. A large group of imperial physicians were sent only to check the ingredients. They would carefully examine even a single piece of green onion in case there was poison on it.
Thinking about some movies and TV dramas she had watched before, Little Ye thought that it was really dangerous to live in the palace.
It was so dangerous for assassins to poison the food. If they were caught, their whole family would be killed.
In addition to the imperial physicians, there were also maids and eunuchs who came to help wash vegetables and clean up. Ye Xiaoxian could tell they were trained in a strict way, as they could perform neat and unified movements even they worked in large number. Whether they came or left, their steps were in unison.
At first, Ye Xiaoxian worried that she would be overwhelmed by her work, but she didn’t expect that she only needed to give instructions. Her assistants would quickly complete the task according to her instructions.
Therefore, she was less tired than the last time before. She didn’t have to do everything personally.
On the first day, she had to make the seasoning, marinate the meat, and then roast them at midnight.
In order to ensure the freshness of the ingredients, she could not mix the roast lamb and pork with seasonings immediately. She should roast them after the ceremony.
Therefore, Little Ye didn’t need to go out that night. She stayed in the palace.
……
An old maid who was from the Empress’s palace came to arrange accommodation for Little Ye.
When the old maid came to the kitchen to pick up Little Ye, she did not say anything. She only took Little Ye to the harem. Little Ye had to stay in a chamber room, which was the same as where the maids lived.
After all, Little Ye was not the real head chef. She was just a temporary helping hand. It was good enough for her as she could live in the harem.
However, Little Ye received better service than others. She could live in a single room, and the old maid arranged for two maids to serve her.
It was midnight and everyone was tired and sleepy, so was the old maid.
She said to Little Ye while yawning, “If you need anything, just name it. Also, the harem is where the concubines live. Please don’t wander around. If you offend an imperial concubine, you will be punished.”
Little Ye said, “I’ve been busy for a whole day. Moreover, it’s midnight. I’m too tired to wander around. I just want a bucket of water to take a bath.”
The old maid asked the two maids there to prepare water for Little Ye.
Little Ye was too sleepy. When she was soaked in warm water, she almost fell asleep. The two maids who were serving her were also sleepy. Later, one of them felt that something was wrong. Opening her eyes, she saw Little Ye sleeping in the bucket. She quickly woke Little Ye up, and helped her get dressed.
Little Ye fell asleep while lying on her stomach after she got dressed.
The next day, the two maids woke Little Ye up. After a night of rest, they looked very energetic. Since Little Ye looked young, they designed Little Ye’s hair into the same style of a young girl.
There were also prepared clothes for Little Ye to change. When Little Ye finished washing and changing clothes, the two maids suddenly froze and both looked at her in surprise.
Little Ye was confused and quickly asked, “Why are you looking at me?”
“You look like…” One of the maids spoke but was interrupted by the other one.
“Stop! It’s rude to say that…”
The maid had to shut up.
A moment later, the old maid came as well. The moment she saw Little Ye, she was also stunned for a while.
“You…” She couldn’t say anything.
She came to pick Little Ye up late last night with a lantern, so she didn’t take a closer look at Little Ye. Now Little Ye had cleaned her up and changed the clothes, the old maid was surprised to see her looked like this.
Little Ye actually looked like… the Empress Dowager?
However, the people in the palace were cautious and didn’t dare to speak in front of Little Ye, so the old maid also stopped talking.
Feeling that they were so boring, Little Ye was unwilling to ask them.
She took a close look at the mirror to make sure that there were no pox on her face and her makeup was fine, then she felt relieved.
With the guidance of the old maid, she walked towards the imperial kitchen.
On the way out, she bumped into some of the concubines’ sedan chairs. As soon as she saw them, the old maid quickly pulled Little Ye to one side and bent down. They could only move on after the concubines’ sedans had passed.
Little Ye didn’t feel tired when she was busy in the kitchen, but now she was exhausted by bending time and time again.
After walking forward for a while, Little Ye suddenly heard someone call her, “Little Ye?”
Turning around, she caught sight of Li Chengru.
It also surprised Li Chengru to see Little Ye.
The old maid recognized Li Chengru and wanted to pull Little Ye down to bow. Li Chengru stopped her, “You don’t have to be that polite. I just want to talk to Little Ye.”
The old maid hesitated for a moment.
Li Chengru asked, “She’s my friend. Is it inappropriate for me to chat with her?”
The old maid had no choice but to step aside, but she still stared at them vigilantly and wanted to eavesdrop their conversation.
Li Chengru didn’t care about the old maid and just stared at Little Ye.
Little Ye asked, “What’s wrong? I noticed that all of you have been staring at me. Do I have something on my face?”
Li Chengru did not say frankly as the old maid was alongside him. He only said, “No, I just think you seem to have changed a lot. Perhaps it is because of this hairstyle and clothes.”
“Have I become uglier, or more beautiful?” Ye Xiaoxian joked.
“Of course you have become more beautiful.”
When Li Chengru first met Little Ye, she was an ordinary woman who was running a small restaurant in the county and was badly dressed. Later on, she was often on her way to seek refuge, so she could only wear dirty clothes.
When she reached Tianshan tribe, she was dressed as a local. Now she arrived at the capital city, she changed a lot just because she dressed up a little.
In the past, Li Chengru vaguely felt that Little Ye looked like a certain person but couldn’t remember. When he saw her dressing now, he finally knew the answer.
However, that person was too powerful. Ordinary people dared not discuss her in public.
Ye Xiaoxian thought that she must be dressed properly since Li Chengru praised her. She was really afraid that she would offend someone in the palace if she wore the wrong clothes.
“The Seventh King, why are you in the palace? Isn’t this the harem? How did you come in?”
Li Chengru smiled and said, “My mother is still in the palace. I’m here to visit her, so naturally I can enter the palace.”
“Oh,” Li Chengru’s mother should be the a Queen Dowager now.
Li Chengru then asked, “I heard that you are appointed as the head chef of the ceremony. That is great. I haven’t eaten your food for a long time. Tonight’s dinner must be delicious.”
Ye Xiaoxian smiled embarrassedly, “I’m glad you like it. I heard that the people in the palace are picky eaters.”
“They just like delicious food. The food you made is exactly delicious.”
Ye Xiaoxian smiled again.
Li Chengru asked, “How are you recently? General Xiao always wants to see you, but he can’t.”
“Very good, tell him not to worry about me. I have received good service in State Preceptor’s residence,” Ye Xiaoxian said seriously.
“Alright, I’ll pass your words to him after I see him.”
Looking at Li Chengru again, Ye Xiaoxian said, “I want him not to worry about me, which also means I want him not to care about me when he makes decisions. He should do what he thinks is right without the restraint of me. If he does something to be ashamed of because of me, I will definately hate him. I do not want to be a sinner like this!”
Li Chengru looked at Ye Xiaoxian with complicated expression on his face. After a while, he said, “Okay, I will also tell him your words.”
Ye Xiaoxian continued, “It’s getting late. I should go to work. There are still a lot of things waiting for me to do in the kitchen. The ceremony is about to begin. Hurry up and prepare. By the way, if you have food that you can’t finish tonight, you can bring some to Baoshan so that he can taste it.
Li Chengru nodded.
Little Ye turned to leave and walked to the kitchen with the old maid.
Li Chengru quickly left as well to avoid doing anything that could arouse suspicion.