A eunuch had already come over here, urging him to come. Tao Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed: "That's easy, just work hard!" Although Le'er is aware of the tricks in the palace, Very good, but to really pass the cooking test, it still depends on Tao Jin. Now there was not enough time to cook the dishes that Tao Jin had in mind. Tao Jin was heartbroken and added some salt to the tofu, then poured the loach in with water. This is a dish from Tao Jin¡¯s hometown that children are willing to eat. Tao Jin used to go to the river to catch loaches when he was young, and his grandma also cooked them for him. Now relying on such food to win his own life, he felt that he was really kidding, but now there was no other way. He washed the loach carefully, put it together with the tofu, steamed it in a Jin pot, and sprinkled some of Tao Jin's own seasonings. The eunuch who was waiting for the food to be delivered to him at the door was already a little anxious, but because of Leer, he didn't dare to rush him. He could only raise his feet to see when Tao Jin's food would come out. That door, Tao Jin and the others, had been closed from just now. Although they could see a little bit of it through the crack in the door, they couldn't see it clearly. The eunuch waited for about a quarter of an hour when he heard the door creaking and being pushed open from the inside. Tao Jin walked out holding a large porcelain bowl with dark red glaze in his hand. There was a lid of the same color on the porcelain bowl. Although the eunuch was curious, he couldn't see what was inside. After just a few furtive glances, he took the bowl from Tao Jin's hand and took Le'er, Tao Jin and his party to the bustling banquet palace. This banquet is to send off the new year and pray for good luck in the country, so it is extremely grand. During the day, the officials headed by the emperor need to go to worship heaven and ancestors. At night, they have to prepare a night banquet to celebrate the success of the year. The entire palace was decorated with lights and colorful decorations. Even the lotus pond in the imperial garden, which had no lotus flowers at this time, was decorated with flowers. Tao Jin had never seen such a scene before, so it was dazzling. While watching, Tao Jin sighed in his heart, wondering if there would be a chance to see such a scenery after today. Fortunately, this small kitchen is not far from the palace where the banquet is held. We walked around a few palace gates and arrived. Listening to the sound of silk and bamboo, Tao Jin's heart began to beat again. Life and death are decided in one fell swoop, but I don¡¯t know what the outcome will be this time. The eunuch holding the dish walked to the palace gate and lowered his head. There was a eunuch over there with a long voice and shouted: "Tao Jin, a merchant from Chang'an City, is presenting the dish!" This made Li Yuanji make a fuss, and now Tao Jin and This matter of Li Yuanji's bet can be regarded as a major event in Chang'an. Now that this has reached Li Yuan's ears, it has added enough political color to this farce. Because now, it is no longer a simple matter of Tao Jin presenting dishes, it is a secret struggle between the two princes, and even the direction of the wind in the court. There was a eunuch here leading Tao Jin slowly into the palace gate. Tao Jin lowered his head all the way, not daring to look around. I just felt that the surroundings were bright, and it turned out to be as bright as day. According to the eunuch's words, he knelt down and said hello. Although he had said hello before, it was only outside the palace, but he was taken to cook without even seeing Li Yuan's face. Now, the one sitting high up there was the emperor. Tao Jin didn't move much, and his hands were wet with sweat. Tao Jin did not dare to raise his head when he saw Li Yili. It was not until Li Yuan said: "Raise your head!" that he slowly raised his head. I saw a man of medium height sitting on the high dragon chair. Although his appearance was ordinary, his majesty was unmatched by princes such as Li Yuanji. On one side, a eunuch brought the bowl filled with vegetables over. Lin Niangniang leaned against Li Yuan's head. Seeing this, she hurriedly smiled and said, "I heard among the people that Tao Jin is also a good cook. I don't know if this can be done." Can't you compare with the imperial chef?" Then he took the bowl from the eunuch's hand. "Your Majesty, I haven't seen this rare thing for a long time. Can you let me feast my eyes on it first?" Empress Lin is very young and her appearance is only pretty, but she speaks with the soft-spoken warmth unique to Jiangnan women. Pure meaning. Queen Dou, who was sitting next to Li Yuan, had sharp eyebrows. Although she didn't say a word when she looked at Lady Lin, her face showed deep displeasure. "Just take your hand, I want to take a look too!" Li Yuan looked at the obedient Lady Lin in front of him with a smile, and even rubbed his hand on Lady Lin's hand for a moment. Tao Jin did not dare to look directly at the empress, but he also took a look at the situation in front of him. Although Empress Lin was speaking to Li Yuan, her eyes moved several times.He turned towards Queen Dou. "Oh, why is this thing?" As the lid of the bowl was opened, Lady Lin screamed. Li Yuan wasn't really curious at first, so he couldn't help but move over and saw that the bowl actually contained a bowl of white and tender soybean tofu. For people in the royal family, this tofu is a vulgar food and cannot be eaten. However, Li Yuan has also been on the battlefield and has suffered some hardships. Naturally, he has seen this tofu. When he saw that there was a piece of tofu in the bowl, he couldn't help but raised his eyebrows and shouted: "Why, you gave it to me. Is it such a vulgar thing?" Tao Jin tried to suppress the fear in his heart and forced a calm smile: "Although this tofu is vulgar, there is something in it!" Li Yuan calmed down his anger after hearing this. His eyes became colder and colder as he said, "If you don't tell me clearly, then I will punish you for deceiving the emperor!" Tao Jin knew that Li Yuan told him clearly that as long as he couldn't explain clearly, , that is death. Tao Jin lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, please separate the tofu!" As soon as Tao Jin finished speaking, there was a eunuch over there with chopsticks, and he separated the tofu bit by bit as Tao Jin said, and a strange fragrance floated into the air. . Li Yuan smelled the tangy aroma, and then saw the loach coiled in the center of the tofu. The flesh was white and tender, and the tofu was like white jade, so he couldn't help but smile and said: "How did you think of it?" As tempting as a beautiful woman wearing a veil, Li Yuan couldn't help but lift his chopsticks. Over there, Empress Lin smiled and said, "Your Majesty, haven't you tasted the food yet?" Li Jiancheng's eyes flashed with light. A eunuch came over, took silver chopsticks and tried them carefully, and then tasted a few more pieces. After a while, there will be no movement. Only then did Li Yuan move his chopsticks. Li Jiancheng's face changed slightly and he stared straight in Li Yuan's direction. Li Yuan moved his chopsticks without stopping. It took him a long time to let out a sigh of satisfaction. He looked at Queen Dou who had been looking at him and said, "This is good. You don't have to worry about me in the future!" Queen Dou looked at it. Looking at the bowl, he said: "It's a good idea, it deserves a reward! I heard that this child was discovered by Shimin, so it would be better not to forget Shimin!" After hearing this, Tao Jin felt a little relieved. points, but I am even more curious about Queen Dou. Is this from Li Shimin's group? But Tao Jin remembered that Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng, and Li Yuanji were all the same mother, so why would mothers treat one another favorably? Li Yuan did not respond to Queen Dou's objection, but looked at Tao Jin with interest and said: "This dish is fishy and delicious, and it is not greasy. It is a good thing! I heard that when you presented the dish this time, it was for King Qi I made a bet. What is this bet?" "Maybe after eating well, Li Yuan's attitude has improved a lot, and even his speech has softened a lot. Tao Jin hurriedly lowered his head and told Li Yuanji about the bet one by one. Li Yuan's clan is of barbarian descent. Although he couldn't say he was disgusted with the affairs of this aristocratic family, he still felt that there were many shortcomings. He actually asked Tao Jin, "Are you still from the Tao family?" Tao Jin smiled bitterly. , replied: "Tao Jin was kicked out of the house by the second wife of the house and several clan elders a long time ago. In addition to his reputation!" Tao Jin said this with a bit of sadness and desolation. The ministers were enjoying the banquet in silence because the emperor was speaking. But after hearing Tao Jin's words, some people began to whisper. It's just that this is in the palace. After all, these people have to say it, but no one dares to make a loud noise. Only Cheng Yaojin shouted with a loud voice: "Isn't this bullying?" This Cheng Yaojin was drinking some wine. , I dare to say anything and do anything, so I am fearless. Although Li Yuan was dissatisfied with Cheng Yaojin's behavior, he recognized his words in his heart, so he smiled and said: "In accordance with your bet, I will give you a favor. From today on, you will belong to the Tao family." The leader is the patriarch of the Tao family!" As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yuanji looked at Tao Jin with an unkind look, but looked at Li Yuan and said slowly: "Father is wise, I wanted to reconcile. They are brothers, but this saves them a lot of trouble!" Li Yuan took a deep look at Li Yuanji, but said with a serious face: "The differences between elders and younger ones will not lead to chaos after all!" He seemed to be saying to Tao! Jin, but it seems to have a hidden meaning. Tao Jin knew that he was lucky today and had escaped another disaster, but he was a little worried about the imperial edict issued by Li Yuan. Because of Li Yuan's imperial edict, it meant that his happy days were over, and he would have to continue fighting with those in the Tao Mansion. It's just that his identity is different at this time. I don't know what it will be like to meet the second lady, the second master, and even his second brother again. Tao Jin thanked him and was led down by the eunuch. It was a quiet battle, but it was a coincidence.It's over. Tao Jin didn't know that after he entered the small kitchen, Li Shimin's gloomy face had never cleared up. Only now did he see a smile.