one's door

Chapter 297 Liu Rui
Zhang Yan no longer has a rigid need for food, and is more concerned with satisfying his appetite.

When he was in Langyuan City, Zhang Yan often wandered around the city, buying and tasting delicious food when he saw it.Later, after having errands in the martial arts academy and the academy of miscellaneous studies, it was considered to have subsided.In addition, sister Mei at home is very good at cooking, and she often learns some new dishes from her friend who used to be a chef in a restaurant. Zhang Yan is also very lucky at home.

But the banquet in the palace was beyond Zhang Yan's expectations.

I thought that the higher the grade, the better the food.Wang Nian also often goes to the imperial dining room, and when he comes back, he talks in his sleep about "delicious" and "I still want to eat".On Zhang Yan's first day here, he was treated to a meal in the emperor's study, although it was simple, it tasted good.

But in today's big banquet, the dishes on the table are exquisite, and the dishes are arranged like paintings, but holding a chopstick in your mouth is a completely different experience.You can't say it's unpalatable, after all, the ingredients are there, and the cook didn't blow them out.But if you want to talk about delicious food, you really can't talk about it.The taste is bland, and even the seasoning salt seems to be deliberately reduced a lot.

Is it because you are afraid that the food will be so delicious that the ministers will think about it all day long?So you made it like this on purpose?
In fact, Zhang Yan had misunderstood.State banquets are no more than usual meals, and there are fixed rules.Whether it is dishes, tastes, or even tableware, there are regulations.Unless there are special circumstances, the future generations of the royal family are not allowed to change it at will.Even the chefs who cook state banquets are not the same as the chefs who supply the palace halls on weekdays.

So the taste of the state banquet was weird. It can only be said that the taste of the former emperor of Nanyuan Kingdom who set the rules of this table banquet was really light to the extreme.

However, although the chefs are not from the same group, the eunuchs and court ladies who can work in the imperial dining room will not change.

"Hey! Little Mantou! Little Mantou!"

Just like that, when Zhang Yan was still lamenting that the original taste of the "emerald shrimp" in the bowl was actually pretty good, Wang Nian, who had been sitting beside him all this time, suddenly jumped up from his seat and shouted loudly. Shout out to a little palace lady who was holding a plate not far away.

small bun?Zhang Yan immediately remembered that Wang Nian caused trouble in the palace before, scaring the prince and the prince to the brim and burning down a side hall, as if the reason was to help a court lady named Xiao Mantou.Have you seen the Lord now?

Zhang Yan turned his head to look, and Wang Nian beside him had already trotted towards the maid.

"Little Mantou, it's me, Brother Stone!"

"Shi, Shitou brother. I, I have to work, I, I have to go first." Xiao Mantou's face turned pale with fright.They were personally warned by the head of the imperial dining room before that they must not make any mistakes when delivering food, and they must not make a sound, fast in and fast out, and will never be allowed to procrastinate during the banquet, affecting the appetite of all the nobles at the banquet.

Especially not long ago, when Xiao Mantou was beaten, Yang Rui and Wang Nian made a scene in the palace.In fact, Xiao Mantou's situation is the most difficult.If Yang Rui hadn't been reminded by the guards around him, and then took the initiative to find the head of the imperial dining room to take care of him personally, the little steamed bun would have peeled off its skin if it wasn't killed.

As a servant, because you injured the prince and son, you will be punished regardless of whether you are wronged or not.This is customary.Of course, after Yang Rui came forward, with his current status in the royal family, Xiao Mantou was spared.

During this big banquet, Xiao Mantou didn't expect Wang Nian to be there, and was stopped. He was worried that he would be punished if he went back, and he was also worried that Wang Nian would get into trouble again.While replying to Wang Nian, he wanted to leave quickly.

"Little Mantou, where are you going? Let me help you, and I will also serve the plate." Wang Nian was bored, and the food on the table was not to his liking, so how could he be reconciled to seeing a playmate after so long?

Little Mantou turned his head and glanced at Wang Nian timidly, but he didn't dare to stay any longer, so he could only let Wang Nian follow behind him.

This scene amused many people, but they all laughed moderately, and the scene was not suitable for making jokes about Zhang Yan.Even the emperor Yang Sheng just smiled and didn't take Wang Nian's behavior of leaving the meeting halfway.

Of course, many people quietly cast contemptuous glances at Zhang Yan at the banquet.It was so impolite during the palace banquet, but Zhang Yan turned a blind eye to it.Secretly said that the inferior people are the inferior people, no matter how capable they are, they can't change their vulgar nature.

However, no matter whether they were watching for fun or feeling contemptuous, no one said anything in person.The emperor has acquiesced, do you need other people to be troublesome?
So I saw Wang Nian carrying a plate from time to time and following a little palace lady back and forth between the banquets.

Not long after the last dish was served, Wang Nian insisted on taking Xiao Mantou, who had finished his work temporarily, to the table where Zhang Yan was, saying that he wanted to introduce his brother and teacher to Xiao Mantou.

At other times and other occasions, Xiao Mantou might have followed Wang Nian over to salute Zhang Yan and say hello.But now she clearly saw that the emperor was sitting at the table Wang Nian was pointing at!How dare Xiao Mantou go over there?It's like what the head wants, but it just can't pass.

The two children froze in the hall.Looking at it with a pair of eyes, it doesn't matter if Wang is run over, and he is not afraid, but Xiao Mantou is almost crying in fright.

"Hehe, come here."

The only person who can speak actively in the hall is Emperor Yang Sheng.He likes Wang Nian's monkey-like temperament very much, and he is Zhang Yan's student and brother-in-law, so he is extraordinarily kind.Seeing that the two children were pulling each other, curiosity aroused, and he asked Xiao Mantou and Wang Nian to go together.

This frightened Xiao Mantou so much that he didn't dare to move, an eunuch hurriedly came to remind him, and Xiao Mantou hurriedly followed Wang Nian to the front table.

After seeing the big ceremony, the emperor smiled and asked Wang Nian a few words, such as "How do you know the little maid in my palace?" Later, remembering that a part of his palace was burned, he smiled and said, "So you beat me up because of her." Killed several children of the royal family, and even burned down my palace?"

Throughout the whole process, Wang Nian was laughing and not frightened at all, while Xiao Mantou knelt on the ground and did not dare to lift it, even trembling slightly.How could she, who was like duckweed, dare to be as reckless as Wang Nian?At a young age, I already know the truth of scrambling to survive.

Suddenly, Zhang Yan spoke, smiled and said softly to the little steamed bun kneeling on the ground: "Little girl, raise your head and tell me your name?"

Maybe it was Zhang Yan's gentle voice, or maybe it was because he didn't dare to disobey anyone present, Xiao Mantou cautiously raised his head and looked towards Zhang Yan.Seeing a friendly face with a smile, Xiao Mantou felt inexplicably relaxed, as if he was not so nervous.

"If you go back to the nobleman, the servant girl is called Liu Rui."

"Brother, Liu Rui is my friend. Her nickname is Xiao Mantou. I'll get it for her."

Zhang Yan glared, and stared back at what Wang Nian said behind him.Then he smiled again and looked at the little girl who was still kneeling.

This girl is one or two years younger than Wang Nian, and should be about the same age as Yang Rui.Looks handsome, a little thin.

"Liu Rui, I have something here, can you hold it for me for a while?"

Zhang Yan took out a walnut-sized regular hexahedron from his bosom, which was the talent ruler.It's just that it's much smaller than the one he practiced for the first time.He is carrying it with him now, and when he encounters an opportunity, he will not easily miss it because he is not sure.

Liu Rui didn't dare to say no, so Wang Nian ran over to help pass it on, and finally the talent ruler was in Liu Rui's hands.

"Don't be afraid. Close your eyes and don't think about anything, just count ten or five in your heart."

"I, I can't count."

"Then Wang Nian will count for you, okay?"

"okay!"

Fifteen could not be counted, and a dazzling brilliance suddenly lit up on the talent ruler, which made Zhang Yan's heart skip a beat.

(End of this chapter)