Ye Yunfang did not dare to mention Xiao Qiao's name in front of Empress Zhaoyi. She was afraid that it would arouse the hatred in Empress Zhaoyi's heart and kill Xiao Qiao in a rage, so she let Chu Qiao stay in the imperial dining room without even a single mention.
Went to see it.
Although Mingzhu asked Ye Yunfang privately several times to ask Xiao Qiao to come back, Ye Yunfang always refused on the grounds that she was too busy and had no time. Mingzhu was a simple-minded girl, and there were some things she couldn't tell Mingzhu directly, lest she ruin things.
At this moment, Ye Yunfang sincerely hopes that Chu Qiao wins this match, at least she no longer has to rely on Empress Zhaoyi and can gain a firm foothold in the palace.
The venue gradually became quiet, and a eunuch holding a document walked up to the contestants and said loudly.
"Competitors please take your place and check whether the kitchen utensils in front of you are all available. If you have any questions, please speak up in time. Once the competition starts, you cannot make any more requests."
After the eunuch announced, all three hundred and fifty people stood in front of their tables, nervously checking the kitchen utensils and making clinking sounds.
Some contestants who had never seen such an event had their legs trembling, hands cramping, and sweating. Some were afraid that they would be eliminated early. They kept clasping their hands and praying.
Chu Qiao took a step forward and checked carefully. Everything that should be there was there. Then she raised her head and glanced at her side with the corner of her eye. Three people away was Lan Hui. Her face looked red.
, you should be confident, right?
At this time, Lan Hui also looked over and smiled coldly at Chu Qiao with a bit of contempt.
"The selection begins, the first question is, smell!"
Soon, the first session began, smelling with your nose?
Chu Qiao's heart trembled. Isn't this what the old imperial chef said in the book she gave her? The essence of an imperial chef is also a prerequisite, which is the nose, eyes, ears, and mouth, to see whether the person is suitable to become a qualified imperial chef.
Unexpectedly, this is the first content in this assessment.
The eunuch's voice came loudly again.
"Open the first jar of the case in front of you, smell the seasoning inside, name it, layer it into several layers, then write it on the paper and silk, step back, and wait for inspection!"
After reading the rules, the little eunuch tidied up and signaled that everyone could start.
Chu Qiao quickly opened the first small white porcelain jar on the case. It was indeed seasoning, and it was a mixture of seasoning. This was indeed a bit difficult.
Just when Chu Qiao leaned down and didn't wait to hear it, she heard a clanging sound next to her. A man with trembling hands actually knocked over the jar on his table. The jar contained aged star anise and Angelica dahurica.
and ginger powder, the smell is so strong that it hits Chu Qiao's nose.
Damn it, Chu Qiao frowned and smelled the smell. The most taboo thing was to be confused by other smells. She was unlucky today to be next to such a guy who couldn't drink.
The guy opened the jar and was so nervous that he knelt on the ground to clean it up, which made the smell even stronger and made people want to sneeze.
"No. 90, continuous life, knock over the jar, appear!"
With a low shout, the man named Liansheng burst into tears, but the jar hit him and his chance was gone. He could only turn around and walk outside the venue, sobbing sadly as he walked, for his sake
Today I have been preparing for a long time and gone through countless twists and turns, but in this moment, my future was ruined.
Before it even started, one player left, making the atmosphere of the game even more tense.
Chu Qiao didn't dare to neglect. She held her breath and released it again. She looked at the contents of her jar and concentrated on it. She ignored the influence of the anise on the ground. She smelled it, then picked up the pen and wrote on the paper.
A few words.
"5 parts of Sichuan peppercorns, 2 parts each of cinnamon and Sanai, grind them into dough."
After she finished writing, she took a step back and avoided it. Not far away, Lan Hui's eyes rolled around, and she pried open the bottom of the jar with her fingertips, revealing a piece of white paper, which seemed to be written.
What word.
Chu Qiao was shocked. No wonder this woman was so confident that someone would cheat on her behalf?
If Chu Qiao had followed her past temperament, she would have definitely found out this woman without hesitation and pointed out the fact that she had cheated and deceived her. But now, she was silent and looked away. This was an assessment venue and no contestants were allowed to make noise.
, Secondly, why Lan Hui dared to be so presumptuous, it must have been arranged secretly by someone. This person was definitely not an ordinary person, but someone closely related to Concubine Jin Hui. She couldn't stand out at this time, otherwise she would be stared at.
Lan Hui finished writing the answer and took a step back.
Soon the time was up, and dozens of little eunuchs came up and looked at the papers in front of the contestants one by one.
At this time, it would be a lie to say that Chu Qiao wasn't nervous. She didn't know if her judgment was correct. Because of the influence of the star anise, she couldn't tell whether there were 2 parts of cinnamon or not.
Just when she was taking a deep breath and feeling extremely nervous, the voice sounded again.
"On the 4th, Zhang Jiao retreats, on the 13th, Liu Yun'er retreats, on the 15th, Wu Ergou retreats..." The sound of retreating one after another was really thrilling, and soon, at least dozens of people turned around and left.
When the number eighty-eight was read, Chu Qiao was so nervous that she almost choked because she was the number eighty-nine.
The word "retreat" came out. Number 88 shook her head and retreated. Then there were more than 100 numbers. Chu Qiao stared at number 89 on her stage. She actually passed.
By the way, there were quite a few people eliminated in the first round. It was not that they were not good at studying or cooking, but that after the spices were ground into powder, ordinary cooks could only smell what was there, but it was difficult to distinguish the ingredients in it.
Weight, this is why most of them will be eliminated in the first round.
The Royal Cuisine Competition is very strict, and the palace only wants the best of the best.
In an instant, there were fewer people in front of the prince. Lan Hui and Chu Qiao no longer had to look at each other. The two people between them all retreated.
Lan Hui pursed her lips and glanced over. The contemptuous look in her eyes was gone, replaced by confusion. She really couldn't figure out how a little girl like Li Chunxiang could do it? She could actually smell the ingredients and dosage of seasoning powder.
This is really surprising.
Lan Hui also smelled the jar in front of her just now, and could only smell two of the three ingredients. As for the dosage, she had no idea at all, but Li Chunxiang did it.
When Lan Hui looked at Chu Qiao steadily, Chu Qiao also looked over with a smile. She also smiled indifferently, with a trace of contempt in her smile. If someone hadn't cheated for her, Lan Hui might have had to do it this round.
After quitting, although she was still standing in front of the stage, in Chu Qiao's heart, she had been defeated.