Yan Langqing had recently been feeling uneasy and the root of it all stemmed from Lin Dan, a person she had long forgotten but who had suddenly reappeared in her life. She once had Lin Dan’s four signature dishes sent into the palace for tasting and their flavors were indeed extraordinary.

She had tried to replicate those dishes but found that even with the same ingredients and seasonings, she couldn’t recreate the unique taste of Lin Dan’s cooking. The other party must have had a special technique, one that was incomprehensible to others. Without Lin Dan’s personal guidance, even possessing the recipe would be futile.

This level of mastery was something only cooks who had worked for decades, perhaps even a lifetime, could achieve. But how old was Lin Dan? Yan Langqing was only two years older than Lin Dan, yet Lin Dan had already surpassed others by far. Yan Langqing had to admit that she was anxious, but as an imperial cook, her pride would not allow her to concede defeat to an ordinary cook.

She was determined to accept the challenge, but she had to wait until her break time to get out of the palace. However, trouble arrived before the break did. Several guards, armed with large swords, stormed into the imperial kitchen and demanded, “Who made today’s Eight-Treasure Tofu? Step forward immediately!”

“It was me.” Yan Langqing replied calmly, taking a step forward. In the palace, she had the emperor’s constant protection, so she naturally feared nothing.

“Besides you, who else touched that dish?” One of the guards asked again.

Several palace maids and eunuchs, all close to Yan Langqing, stepped forward one by one, including the young man who often helped her search for gourmet foods outside the palace.

“Tie them all up and take them to the Department of Punishments!” The head guard, without waiting for an explanation, had everyone bound and taken for interrogation.

Upon hearing that they were to be sent to the dark prison, a place akin to hell, Yan Langqing finally panicked. Struggling, she urgently asked, “What crime have we committed?”

“Do you not know whether you’ve committed a crime or not?” The head guard also had them all gagged and they were roughly dragged away.

Today’s matter was neither too severe nor trivial. The emperor had hosted a banquet in the palace for several Mongolian princes to discuss the purchase of warhorses. One of the princes had informed the palace maids that he could not eat peanuts, as it would make him ill. The palace maid expressed their understanding but then Eight-Treasure Tofu mixed with peanut butter was served. The prince ate it, fell ill, and broke out in red rashes, suffering intense itching. As a result, the banquet was ruined and the horse purchase was postponed until the prince recovered.

To give the prince an explanation, the emperor ordered the guards to thoroughly investigate the matter and the investigation led to Yan Langqing. But she truly did not know about the prince’s allergy. No one had informed her. However, as the head cook who had personally made the dish, even the emperor, reluctant as he was, had no choice but to have her detained and interrogated to avoid offending the foreign guests.

Once it was confirmed that there was no involvement of foreign spies or conspiracies, and it was just a mistake, the Department of Punishments was ready to release the people. But then Prince Gong, who oversaw the department, suddenly arrived and without a word, threw down two bamboo sticks. He ordered fifty lashes each for Yan Langqing and her pupil, the young eunuch.

Yan Langqing, being a favorite of the emperor, was treated leniently by the executioners, who only pretended to hit her. But her pupil was not so fortunate. After the interrogation was over, he was left in tattered clothes, covered in blood, and barely recognizable. As Yan Langqing was dragged out of the dark prison, her legs were weak and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face. People often said that the palace was a man-eating place, but Yan Langqing had never felt it before, protected as she was by the emperor. Today, she finally understood— the dark prison was indeed a gaping maw, waiting to devour lives.

While being interrogated on the bloodstained floor, she vaguely heard Prince Gong say, “My elder brother ordered it. Beat them hard…… They offended his treasured person…… Hah, it’s not some concubine, but a cook with exceptional skills……”

Yan Langqing was no fool. She quickly realized that the reason she had been punished was because she had offended someone she shouldn’t have. But who could it be? The first suspects that came to mind were the other cooks in the imperial kitchen. Because only by pulling her down could they create a vacancy for the head cook position.

Now, she saw everyone as a potential enemy. After returning to the imperial kitchen, she dared not stay a moment longer and just wanted to hurry home. However, an imperial decree came down, stripping her of her title as an imperial cook and sending her home. She was stunned, filled with unwillingness and humiliation.

She truly had no knowledge of today’s event. No one had told her that the prince couldn’t eat peanuts. She had been framed, but without evidence, she couldn’t defend herself. She didn’t even have time to change out of her bloodstained clothes before she was thrown into a carriage and sent out of the palace.

The young eunuch who often left the palace to select delicacies for her had been gravely injured and thrown into the side quarters. Whether he would survive remained uncertain. But even if he did, he would never return to the imperial kitchen. Instead, he would be relegated to the Cold Palace to serve the mad concubines or to the Laundry Bureau to clean toilets. The suffering had just begun.

———pr


Her son had been beaten by the authorities until he was covered in blood, which terrified Madam Zhou. She kept asking what they would do next. The shop had been smashed, the signboard destroyed, and a noble had declared that they were not allowed to reopen. Did this mean they had to kneel and beg that little wench Lin Dan? No matter how Madam Zhou thought about it, she couldn’t reconcile herself to it. But if they didn’t ask Lin Dan to return, their family wouldn’t recover either. The ten thousand taels of silver they had lost was their largest asset, a devastating blow that would take a decade or more to recover from.

Yan Shouye gritted his teeth and said, “Beg her for what? She has a backer, but so do we. Our backer is the Emperor himself. Once Langqing returns, I’ll have her ask the Emperor for help and everything will be fine. Our Langqing is destined to become a consort in the future.”

“Didn’t you say before that she would become a marquis’s wife?” Madam Zhou finally felt somewhat relieved.

“A marquis’s wife is nothing, being an imperial consort is much better. All these years, I’ve kept Langqing from getting married and you blamed me for delaying her prospects. Now look, if I hadn’t held her back, would she have the fortune she has today? Once Langqing returns, this hurdle will be behind us. I’ll have her report to the Emperor and we’ll deal with Marquis Weiyuan and those people to avenge me!” Yan Shouye grew more excited as he spoke. He struggled to sit up and shouted, “Someone come, go see if the young lady has returned!”

Immediately, a maid ran out, and soon after, she hurried back, her voice hoarse from shouting, “It’s terrible, terrible! The young lady—, the young lady was beaten until she was covered in blood and was stripped of her position as an imperial cook!”

The palace servants who brought Yan Langqing back followed the orders of Prince Gong, recounting in detail her serious offense and demotion from the palace, right at the entrance without leaving any dignity for the Yan family. The passing neighbors, who had often been bullied by Madam Zhou and Yan Shouye, couldn’t hide their schadenfreude. Serves you right! You thought your daughter’s position as an imperial cook made you superior, but now you see, don’t you?

Yan Langqing was so ashamed that she couldn’t face anyone, covering her head with a thin blanket before allowing the servants to carry her out of the carriage. When she saw her father, also bedridden, she was utterly shocked.

Yan Shouye was completely panic-stricken. He then revealed how he had oppressed Lin Dan and her mother and had set fire to Hometown Dishes Restaurant, saying in frustration, “How was I to know that within just two or three months of returning to the capital, she would befriend so many influential figures, each of whom was willing to stand up for her? If I had known……” I wouldn’t have provoked her!

But he couldn’t bring himself to say those last words out loud. After a moment’s hesitation, he muttered, “We can’t rely on the Emperor anymore. Langqing, you should send a letter to Tang Peng and ask him for help. You probably don’t know, but last time, when Tang Peng entertained a few princes from Mongolia at Hometown Dishes Restaurant, he was humiliated because of Lin Dan so he resents her deeply. When I suggested burning down the shop and asked him to smooth things over with the officials in the Southern District, he agreed without hesitation. But he’s only been so kind to me because of you. If you ask him, he won’t refuse. We can’t close the shop or else how will we live? But to reopen, we need a backer, don’t we? Tang Peng is the Deputy Minister of War and a young master of Marquis Yongding’s household. With him on our side, Prince Cheng won’t come to smash our signboard again.”

He rambled on, but Yan Langqing only heard the words ‘Mongolian princes’, and her heart tightened. She immediately asked, “Did the Mongolian princes dine at Lin Dan’s restaurant? Does she have connections with them?”

“How could she have connections with them? It was Young Marquis Tang who brought them there. A few years ago, the young marquis joined forces with the Mongolians against the Xiongnu, so both sides formed a strong friendship.” Yan Shouye replied. He was aiming to secure an official post for himself and thus keeping close tabs on state affairs.

“The young marquis? It was the young marquis?” Yan Langqing was utterly stunned, tears streaming down her face. She had thought it was people from the imperial kitchen who conspired against her, but now she realized Young Marquis Tang was involved. Indeed, who else but Young Marquis Tang could persuade the Mongolian princes and reach into the palace walls?

Then there were Prince Cheng and Prince Gong, both standing up for Lin Dan. She had worked so hard to make a living in the palace, contributing so much to the family, only to have everything destroyed in a single moment. Why did it have to be this way?

Overwhelmed with grief, Yan Langqing roared in anger, “Father, didn’t I tell you to live quietly and avoid trouble? Did you ignore everything I said? Your troublemaking back then got me expelled from the marquis’s residence and made Young Marquis Tang despise me to this day. Now, you’ve caused more trouble and I’ve been kicked out of the palace and lost all my dignity. Are you satisfied? How many more times will you drag me down?”

Watching his daughter weep bitterly, half-leaning on the chair, Yan Shouye was filled with guilt and regret. But there was nothing he could do. He could only stammer, “I didn’t realize Lin Dan would be such a prickly thorn, untouchable. How about—, how about you still send a letter to Tang Peng? He’ll surely help you.”