Palace Full of Delicacies Chapter 11   33 Jul 17, 2019

To that one new follower who just started following me yesterday, heheh, you got lucky, this is my first update in the loooooooongest time.

And to the ones who've been following me since the start, OTZ, I know, it's been so long since I put out anything, even I myself was starting to forget that I did this translation thing. Sorry for all the inactivity!

Not much to say about this chapter, the title should be able to speak for itself.

Hope you'll enjoy~

C11. Consort Selection

It was natural for the kitchens of a prince's manor to be well-stocked with ingredients of every kind. Since he had been living in poverty and couldn't afford quality ingredients, Su Yu had nearly forgotten that he used to be the head chef of a restaurant, not the owner of a food stall in a night market. Now that he was faced with this supreme selection of seafood, that old feeling of getting into the zone for the job was back.

Top-grade scallops with shells as large as one's palm were rinsed and shucked, filled with accompaniments such as glass noodles and minced garlic, seasoned with Su Yu's house-made seafood soy sauce, and lastly garnished with a few drops of sesame oil before being steamed. The raw prawns were cut up, with the heads dipped in a mixture of starch-water and egg white and fried in hot oil till golden. The prawn flesh was boiled, with yellow wine and ginger slices added to the water to remove the fishiness; they were then deveined after removing from the pot. The golden prawn heads and white prawn flesh, kept separate, were arranged in the shape of a yin-yang symbol. Pepper salt and soy sauce were set out in two saucers to form the dots in the symbol.

Thus the first two dishes in the Su Family Recipe Book were done.

An Hongyi put his chubby face against the table, staring at the tiny kitten, "The two-month limit is nearing its end. I think you should come stay at my manor."

An Hongche had been licking his paws; he paused, threw his younger brother a glance, and continued to lick his paws.

"An Hongzhuo wants to join hands with the people, but the people aren't taking up his offer." An Hongyi shifted a little closer. "Our noble uncles want you to return soon, the court is full of rumours that you have little time left to live. If you don't return, my doorstep is going to break from all these people walking over it."

An Hongche scratched his ear impatiently with a hind paw and shook his tail, signalling for his little brother to shut up. He knew very well when it would be suitable to return.

"Don't tell me you are reluctant to leave that fish-seller?" An Hongyi lowered his voice, looking towards Su Yu, who was walking towards them with the plates.

Naggy! Unable to stand it any longer, An Hongche gave his younger brother a scratch, finally giving his ears a break.

Holding his scratched nose, Arch Prince Zhao looked curiously towards the plates in Su Yu's hands.

Silk-Covered White Jade Scallops was considered a common dish for royalty, but the one Su Yu made seemed a bit different. The fragrance of the minced garlic burst forth in the hot oil, slowly seeping into the air, and even the savouriness of the scallops could be detected in the smell if one went closer.

Experts could determine the grade of a dish from the smell. Of course, An Hongyi was an expert, picking up his chopsticks without waiting for Su Yu to introduce the dish.

"Oooh…" After one mouthful, An Hongyi's eyes instantly filled with tears…he had burned himself.

The kitten crouched on the table couldn't be bothered with his moronic younger brother. He strode up to the plate of Taiji Yin-Yang Prawns[1], sticking a paw out to grab a tender, pale prawn.

Taiji Yin-Yang Prawns was a simple dish with easily available ingredients, so even commoners could have this dish. But An Hongche knew that the essence of dish was the soy sauce Su Yu had prepared himself.

Arch Prince Zhao had learned his lesson this time, going for the prawn flesh which wasn't as hot. He picked up a pale prawn, shelled it, and dipped it in sauce. And of course, the first bite was to be given to his elder brother.

Su Yu was amazed as he watched Arch Prince Zhao give his cat a prawn dipped in sauce. Only then did he believe the prince really was very familiar with this cat.

As the man and cat ate, Su Yu began to explain his plans for the restaurant. In the early stage, he would establish its reputation in the capital and train apprentices. He'd prepare the seasonings himself, and then he could open a branch restaurant in about three to five years. The furnishings and serving staff's uniforms had to be the same, and it would be managed like the McD's restaurant chain in the future world. So long as he had enough funds, it would definitely be able to spread through the land.

After explaining himself so passionately, Su Yu looked back only to see the man and cat eating without even raising their heads. They weren't listening to what he said at all.

Su Yu: …

Only after Arch Prince Zhao finished the last scallop did he give a cough and answer, "All right, it shall be done."

"Ah?" Su Yu was stumped. What did he mean, 'it shall be done'?

An Hongyi summoned a guest scholar of his court and had him take charge of the things needed for Su Yu's restaurant. Arch Prince Zhao would purchase the two shop spaces and be responsible for the initial furnishing and purchasing, and he would even pay the carpenters and related tradesmen. All in all, Su Yu just had to wait at home, and he could go straight to the restaurant to open it for business and start cooking after the restaurant was done with furnishings. As for the earnings, it would be divided into three parts and seven parts. Su Yu would receive three-tenths of the total, and Arch Prince Zhao would receive the other seven-tenths.

Of course, Su Yu hadn't any issues with the earnings being split this way. Actually, his initial goal had been to let Arch Prince Zhao bear half the costs and get the House of Arch Prince Zhao to back him up. He hadn't expected something this good at all.

Names were signed on, approval was given, the contract was written. An Hongyi didn't make any other requests. He only told Su Yu to leave that bottle of soy sauce behind, then shoved the green jade tablet back to him.

Su Yu felt a little floaty even as he walked all the way back to the Su family home. It was as if a good Samaritan had fallen out of the sky, and he'd come across something so good, just like that?[1] Unable to understand for now, he silently marked Arch Prince Zhao as a good person in his heart. Su Yu rubbed his face, bringing the kitten with him to greet his mother.

"The consort selection is just around the corner, I am thinking of making some nice clothes for Ying-er," came a woman's voice from the room. Su Yu stopped in his tracks, his brows creasing.

"It's Auntie Wang[2] from the elder master's family," Chuncao said to Su Yu in a low voice.

Auntie Wang was a concubine of Su Yu's elder uncle Su Xiaozhang. She had an unofficial daughter named Su Ying, who was fifteen years old this year.

He was in a different generation than his elder uncle's concubine, but he still had to avoid causing misunderstanding. Su Yu stood in the corridor, no longer walking further in.

"Second Brother!" a soft voice called out from behind. Su Yu turned and saw a young girl of about eleven or twelve years old, standing timidly about three paces away.

"Xiao-zhi, why are you here?" Su Yu couldn't help but smile. This was his half-sister who had been born to a different Auntie, but they were from the same father.

"Mother summoned me over, I…" Su Zhi looked at the curtains drawn together over the door, secretly tugging at Su Yu's clothes. Auntie Wang would mock her a great deal every time they met, and she didn't want to come face-to-face with Auntie Wang unless she had absolutely no choice. But she couldn't ignore her mother's summons either. Unlike Su Yu, she both respected and feared her mother greatly.

Su Yu sighed. This girl's birth mother didn't have a good background, which had brought them quite a lot of suffering, and now she was even more timid than ever.

Taking his little sister by the hand, Su Yu let Chuncao go in to report their presence and followed her in.

"Hoh, Second Young Master's back." Auntie Wang, who had been smiling animatedly, immediately rose upon seeing Su Yu, her smile reducing some.

Ignoring her, Su Yu bowed to his mother.

"Why did Madam call Zhi-er over?" Su Ying did not bow even when she saw Su Yu, only staring at the frail Su Zhi with eyes full of disdain.

It had been made known that this year's consort selection would be held as planned. Their family had only two daughters, and Su Zhi wasn't old enough. Su Xiaozhang said his family would be sending Su Ying, and they had already reported it to the genealogy management office. As an unofficial daughter, Su Ying hadn't much status in the family to begin with, and entering the consort selection was the only way for unofficial daughters from noble families to climb to the top at once. If she was selected, she would have the highest position in this family; why wouldn't she be pleased about it?

"Some days ago, Yu-er presented me with some silver, so I had a pair of bangles crafted for Zhi-er, which have arrived today." Lady Zhao smiled, bringing out a small box and handing it to Su Zhi.

"Mother?" Su Zhi was shocked, looking up at Su Yu. Su Yu didn't know what this was supposed to be either.

In the box was a pair of thin silver bangles. There wasn't much silver, but the workmanship wasn't too bad. The bangles were fine and fully round, etched with several butterflies with spread wings, seemingly about to take off. They looked very nice on Su Zhi's slim arms.

"Zhi-er should start to learn some needlework[3] too. Consider this a celebratory gift from your mother and elder brother," Lady Zhao said with a smile.

Auntie Wang's face changed when she heard this. Those words were clearly meant to be heard by her and her daughter. They'd already branched out, and Lady Zhao and her daughter would be relying on Su Yu for their meals and necessities; Auntie Wang and Su Ying wouldn't be able to get even a single coin if they tried to get money from them.

"Madam, we've known each other for so many years, must you be so cruel." Auntie Wang's smile grew increasingly stiff.

To enter the consort selection, they had to have something presentable to wear. Her own madam was so stingy, and she couldn't find anything presentable even after searching through all the clothes chests, so she could only come to the second master's wife to get some benefits on account of their relationship. But she'd gotten a little carried away in the heat of the moment and annoyed the other, so what was she to do now?

Over the years, Lady Zhao secretly helped Auntie Wang a few times in order to keep the eldest family in check. Now that they had already fallen out, Lady Zhao couldn't be bothered with her, and she sent the mother-and-daughter pair away with a few words. She asked Su Yu about the restaurant, and after hearing that everything was going smoothly, she nodded, smiling coolly, "Let them be gleeful for another few days; take this to the genealogy management office tomorrow."

Su Yu took it over. It was a name sheet with his name, birth date, and horoscope written on it. "What is this for?"

An Hongche, who had been fast asleep in Su Yu's shirt, was stirred by the noise coming from the chest. He stuck his head out lazily to take a look, and immediately woke up.

"Of course your uncle will be unwilling to let you go for the consort selection, how can I let him have his way?" Lady Zhao's gaze was full of scorn.

"Wait, wait, Mother, what consort selection, I'm going?" Su Yu was completely befuddled. Weren't they discussing a consort selection where the emperor chose fine women? What did it have to do with a man like him? Seeing the matter-of-fact expressions on Lady Zhao's and Su Zhi's faces, Su Yu got a bad feeling.

"The royal family selects consorts regardless of gender, of course you must go as well." Lady Zhao looked at him, baffled.

Crack-crack-crack! A ray of lightning descended from the sky, blasting the dumbfounded Su Yu to bits…

There we go. 🙂 time for the real plot to begin

New names:

Su Ying = 苏颖. (颖 can refer to: 1. grain husk, glume; 2. Tip (as in writing brush), point. Popular character to use in girls' names) MC's younger cousin, daughter of Su Xiaozhang (remember him?). Is an unofficial (庶 shu) child, unlike Su Ming (his mother is Madam Li, Su Xiaozhang's official wife, which makes him 'official', or 嫡 di).

Su Zhi = 苏芷. (芷='fragrant herb', commonly refers to Chinese angelica, a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine. This character is used more for girls' names) MC's half-sister from a different mother, is also an unofficial child.

Today's footnotes:

[1]: The original text used terms that, to my knowledge, are almost never heard outside of China, so I substituted something that was more likely to be known to Western readers. In relation to plot development, it's so minor a detail that changing the terms won't affect anything.

[2]: From 姨娘 yiniang. Children of concubines had to treat their father's official wife as their mother, while their birth mother was known only as 姨娘—'Auntie'. (Part of the di/shu system)

[3]: 女红nǚgōng. Note how the 红 here is pronounced gong, not hong as per usual applications. (This has to do with how the term 女红 evolved) One thing I noticed while looking up the term: while 女红 is often called 'needlework' in English, 女红also includes things like decorative papercutting, weaving, and Chinese knotwork.

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