Capítulo 1837: Chapter 1837: Radishes (5)
Jiu E finally breathed a sigh of relief, thanked and returned to his seat, but… his seat was empty. The snacks and dishes from before were all cleared away, not even a cup of tea was left. However, since Emperor Xuanjing did not mention it, the palace attendants pretended not to see. He couldn’t very well stand up and ask for food again, so he sat down, feeling frustrated, and glared fiercely at Yang Ruxin.
Meanwhile, the Crown Princess Consort got up and whispered a few words into the Empress Dowager’s ear.
The Empress Dowager, who had been sitting without speaking, brightened her eyes and looked at the Emperor: “My dear son.”
“Mother!” Emperor Xuanjing quickly turned respectfully to the side.
“I heard that Madame Gu’s radishes are particularly delicious, why don’t we bring them up to have a look?” The Empress Dowager looked at her son with a hopeful expression.
Emperor Xuanjing’s mouth twitched, but faced with this request from his own mother, how could he refute her? So he nodded and ordered people to bring up the melons and vegetables that Yang Ruxin had given as a birthday gift.
Though it was said to be a basket, they weren’t really many. The basket was woven by villagers, very pretty and delicate, with only about a dozen radishes, and merely two cabbages.
When the Crown Princess Consort and Crown Prince saw the fresh radishes, they couldn’t help but smack their lips.
“Oh my, how did these radishes grow?” The Empress Dowager exclaimed upon seeing the radishes, “They all look the same. Even twins wouldn’t resemble each other so closely!”
“Indeed, it’s my first time seeing radishes that look so alike.” Empress Consort Mu also found it remarkable.
“Perhaps Madame Gu has some secret method?” Xiao Jin couldn’t help but mention, but due to her son’s warning, she had not troubled Yang Ruxin. However, that did not mean she liked Yang Ruxin, especially since Gu Qingheng was part of the Crown Prince’s faction.
Emperor Xuanjing also noticed that not only the radishes but the melons and vegetables brought up were all uniformly sized, so he looked towards Yang Ruxin: “Madame Gu, how were these grown?”
Yang Ruxin hurriedly saluted: “In response to the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and all esteemed madams, these melons and vegetables were indeed grown by a method handed down in my family. They are regularly watered with medicinal juice, making them exceptionally rare and precious, especially in taste, far superior to ordinary radishes and cabbages…”
Growing radishes with medicinal juice? It’s the first time anyone’s heard of it.
However, Cui Fangfang frowned at this, ancestral method? What ancestral method did the Yang family have?
No matter what everyone thought, the Empress Dowager had already ordered the radishes to be cut into small pieces, intending to taste them personally.
“Mother, let me go first.” Emperor Xuanjing, however, stopped the Empress Dowager.
“You’re the Emperor, how could you risk it?” The Empress Dowager refused to allow the Emperor to eat first, “Why don’t we let…”
“Father, Imperial Grandmother, let my wife and I go first.” The Crown Prince stood up.
The Crown Princess Consort also hurried to follow.
“Crown Prince…” Emperor Xuanjing frowned, but just as he was about to stop them, he found the Crown Prince had already popped a piece into his mouth, and the Crown Princess Consort simply took a larger piece and started chewing.
People around them looked at the Crown Prince and Crown Princess Consort with strange expressions.
For a moment, Taihe Hall fell silent except for the crunching sounds made by the Crown Prince and Princess Consort as they chewed the radishes.
“Delicious!” The Crown Prince exhaled after swallowing.
Seeing her grandson eat it, the Empress Dowager promptly picked up a piece and stuffed it into her mouth.
The old madam usually paid great attention to her diet and hardly ate cold or raw things, but at this moment, a piece of radish went down and she felt invigorated, as if… In short, it really was tasty!