northernbook Chapter 118: Burning the Three Treasures
Chapter 118: Burning the Three Treasures
"It's okay... I'm fine..." Even though she couldn't open her eyes, Ji Anni still said stubbornly, "I probably didn't sleep well recently, so I feel a little dizzy. Don't worry, I'll be fine soon after I close my eyes."
Yizhen quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat off Ji Anni's forehead. While wiping, she said worriedly, "Xiao Zhao, your face is blue, and you said you're fine."
Ji Anni held Yizhen's hand and forced a smile at her. Just as she was about to speak, she smelled the aroma of food.
Strangely enough, the headache gradually eased and even my black eyes gradually regained their vision.
Ji Annie looked in the direction where the food fragrance came from and saw Huarong and Dieer.
Huarong and Die'er each carried a bamboo basket in their arms, filled with food prepared by Yizhen. They had just returned from the imperial kitchen after heating up the food, and they were surprised to see a large group of people gathered in the right courtyard, and even the dojo had been set up.
As soon as Tian Ning saw Hua Rong, he hurriedly called out, "Hua Rong, your master seems to be ill, go and get the imperial physician."
Ji Anni had never had a good impression of hospitals since she was a child. When she heard that they wanted to invite a royal doctor, she hurriedly stopped them and said, "No, Princess. I just have a minor illness. It's not enough to alarm the royal doctor. Look, I'm fine now, right?"
Originally, this sentence was an excuse to stop Hua Rong from asking for the imperial physician, but strangely enough, after saying this, Ji Anni realized that her physical condition had really improved a lot. A second ago, her head was aching as if it was about to explode, but now it didn't hurt at all. Not only did the headache disappear, but even the previous feeling of fatigue disappeared without a trace.
Ji Anni tried to move the joints of her wrists and neck and didn't feel any discomfort.
This is strange...headaches, dizziness and fatigue are like thunderstorms, coming and going quickly.
It took only the blink of an eye, and even Ji Anni herself couldn't believe that she was on the verge of death just a moment ago.
"Xiao Zhao, are you okay?" Yizhen saw Ji Anni moving around and her face gradually regaining its rosy color. She was relieved and a little surprised, and said, "Xiao Zhao, your complexion is much better. Does your head still hurt now?"
"It doesn't hurt at all." Ji Anni said this without any reluctance, completely truthfully.
Concubine Baogui and Yun Zhen looked at each other. Neither of them spoke, but their deep eyes revealed a hint of uneasiness and confusion.
Princess Tianning was relatively simple-minded. She patted Ji Anni on the shoulder and said, "Concubine Zhao, I knew you were pretending to be sick just now. Now that you see the delicious food being served, you are no longer sick, right?"
"If I am pretending, I will die miserably." Ji Anni swore to the sky in all seriousness.
"My queen, princess...what's going on?" Hua Rong, who had just returned to the right courtyard, had no idea what was going on. She saw Princess Tianning, Concubine Baogui, Yun Zhen and Yi Zhen all surrounding Ji Anni, all with worried eyes, but Ji Anni herself looked rosy and energetic, and she didn't seem to need any special care or worry, so Hua Rong couldn't help but feel extremely confused.
Just now, Ji Annie suddenly screamed and fell to the ground, which had caused the ritual to be stopped. Now that Huarong and Die'er came back, everyone's attention was focused on them, and they even forgot that there was still a ritual to be performed.
Princess Tianning curiously opened the lid of the bamboo basket in Huarong's arms and sniffed it, saying, "What a nice smell! What is this?"
"It's Yizhen's hometown dish." Ji Anni also leaned over to smell the fragrance of the food. It was truly the best in the world.
Princess Tianning showed some interest in Yizhen for the first time in her life. She looked back at Yizhen who was still kneeling on the futon, opened her eyes wide and asked in surprise, "I didn't expect Concubine Su Congfei to be proficient in cooking. I smell the bean paste in this dish. It seems to be from... Nanhu County?"
Yizhen said, "The princess is truly a noble lady. She guessed it right. This bean paste was brought into the palace by Yizhen from Nanhu County."
Tian Ning asked again: "Then Concubine Su is from Nanhu County?"
Yizhen nodded and said, "My father is the magistrate of Nanhu County."
Although this position was very low, Princess Tianning, who was particularly impressed by Yizhen's cooking skills, did not show any contempt, but said in surprise: "So you are the daughter of the Nanhu County Magistrate. I have heard that Nanhu County is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, especially famous for its food. There are also many chefs from Nanhu County in the imperial kitchen, but their cooking skills are not even half as good as yours, Concubine Su Congfei."
"If the princess likes it, Yizhen will prepare meals for her every day."
"Really?" Princess Tianning grabbed Yizhen's hand, feeling excited and thrilled.
Before Yizhen could respond, Ji Anni answered first: "Please, Princess, this is of course false. Yizhen is the imperial concubine, do you really think she is a cook in the imperial kitchen?"
Yizhen said, "As long as the princess likes it, it is Yizhen's blessing to be the chef for her. It is the honor of the Su family. My father will be overjoyed when he knows about it."
Tian Ning was very happy to hear these words. Although she also knew that it was unrealistic to ask Yizhen to cook for her every day, she had a rare opportunity today, so of course she had to taste the authentic cooking skills of Nanhu County. Tian Ning picked up a piece of braised pork with chopsticks and put it in her mouth. As soon as she took a bite, she immediately showed an extremely intoxicated expression, and she was almost moved to tears.
Putting down his chopsticks, Tian Ning excitedly pulled Ji Anni to ask, "What day is today? You didn't even tell me you were having a party."
Ji Anni thought: We are not familiar with each other, why should I tell you at the party? Although she thought so, she could not say it out loud, because saying it out loud would just be looking for trouble. So Ji Anni smiled and said, "Today is Yizhen's birthday, and it is also the second day that Zhaoji has the honor of moving into the right courtyard. It's rare for good things to come in pairs, so we want to have a dinner party to celebrate a little."
Princess Tianning pointed to the round table in the Bo Xin Dang Pavilion and the simple grill made of stones beside the pond and asked, "What are these things used for?"
Ji Anni said, "To be honest, Princess, these are the ingredients Zhao Ji will use to make hometown dishes later."
"You want to cook hometown dishes too?" Princess Tianning was quite surprised.
Ji Anni said modestly, "Although it's not as delicious as Yizhen's, it's just a token of my appreciation. Zhaoji did her best."
"Great, great!" Princess Tianning said with a bright face, "It seems that I came at the right time. I am lucky enough to taste the hometown dishes of the two ladies in person. By the way, Concubine Zhao, what dish in Qi State is made with stones and raw meat?"
Judging from what Princess Tianning said, it seems that she also wants to stay for dinner tonight.
Ji Anni gave Yizhen a look that said "Why are we so miserable?" and answered Princess Tianning's question with a wry smile, "Princess, have you forgotten? Zhao Ji came from a small island in the south of Qi. The eating habits on that island are very different from here, so Zhao Ji's hometown dishes are probably a bit strange to the people of the Tianyou Holy Dynasty. The dish that Zhao Ji is going to make tonight... is called... 'Scorched Three Treasures'."
The so-called three treasures of fire-baked food are barbecued chicken skewers, barbecued dried tofu, and barbecued steamed buns.
These three things are the three most praised magic weapons when Ji Annie grills.