Original subtitles

[Royal Feast]

[Episode 3]

Father, are you okay?

Such audacity!

How dare you do that!

How dare you go berserk!

Big Brother was almost hurt because of you!

You deserve to be slain!

How dare you!

Second Brother, you mustn't do so!

Protect His Majesty!

Grandfather, be careful!

[You Yifan] [Vice Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard]

Your Majesty, please pardon me for being late to the rescue.

You may drop the formality.

Father.

Father, don't worry.

I am fine.

How dare you do so?

That horse was crazy.

How dare you try to keep it in check when it has such a fierce personality?

Grandfather,

I'm fine, aren't I?

I told you to practice your horse riding skill.

All of my sons

are mighty in both the pen and the sword,

except for you, a useless fatso.

Are you not ashamed as a father?

My precious grandson had to step in just to save you.

Father, please be appeased.

It's all my fault.

The rest of you didn't try to save the Crown Prince even though he was in danger.

Why should I keep you around?

Take them away!

Yes, Your Majesty.

-Your Majesty, please spare us! -Your Majesty, please spare us!

Whoever tries to convince me to do otherwise will be punished severely.

From today onward,

the Imperial Food Service

is to cut down the Crown Prince's food intake.

If he's still

as fat and useless after three months,

if he still can't ride a horse by then,

all of you will be beheaded.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Father.

Slowly.

Even from my fief,

I had heard that another exceptional talent had entered the capital.

Now that I've seen you personally,

you're mighty indeed.

It's no wonder you've won His Majesty's heart

and were promoted as an exception.

Prince of Han, you flattered me.

I don't deserve such praises.

Wait!

This is...

Your Highness.

What's the matter?

It's nothing.

Let's return to the palace.

Be careful.

[Xingyun Cottage]

(Why is Yao Zijin sneaking around?)

The Crown Prince isn't willing to take his meals.

If this continues, I'm afraid His Highness's body can't stand it.

I've summoned everyone here today

for you all to prepare meals for His Highness in turns.

Anyone who can solve this issue for the Eastern Palace

will be heavily rewarded by the Crown Princess.

If not, if something happens to His Highness,

the entire Imperial Food Service will be punished.

But His Highness is a meat-eater.

He has a huge appetite as well.

But now, His Majesty has issued a decree

that His Highness isn't allowed to consume any meat.

How can we solve this predicament?

That's right.

Both Directress Hu and Directress Wang have given it a try.

But no matter what dishes they prepared,

His Highness wasn't willing to take them.

Even if we give this a try,

would we be able to achieve something that the two directresses couldn't?

You all are the best cooks

we've selected from all around the nation.

The Ming nation is vast with a plethora of unique dishes.

If we brainstorm a solution together, it might work.

Are you guys going to give up

without even trying?

Look at this.

Your Highness,

why don't you try this dish?

Your Highness.

You...

Fine.

Lancui, what exactly is going on?

How did you manage to

make His Highness like the stir-fried vegetables?

That's right. Tell us about it.

Hurry and tell us about it.

That's right.

Tell us about it.

This is a secret.

How can I tell you guys about it?

Why can't you tell us about it?

Just tell us.

Why can't you tell us?

Arrest her.

Sir!

Officer You, please pardon me for my rudeness.

But this is the Imperial Food Service.

Why did you come without notifying us?

Give her the strokes!

Officer You!

[Fine Meal, Divine Work]

Officer You!

Manager Fang!

Officer You!

Officer You!

You!

You.

Are you trying to tip someone off?

Hurry and tell us!

Ziping!

Ziping.

Sir,

the Imperial Bodyguard

has the right to investigate, interrogate, and arrest suspects.

You and your subordinates are revered by all palace personnel.

But this is the Inner Court.

You cannot mete out illegal punishment without permission.

Who are you?

Officer You.

What did you say just now?

Officer You,

if a maidservant has committed a mistake,

the Palace Surveillance will deal with them.

Please show mercy.

Officer You!

Back then, our founder wanted to punish a palace servant out of rage.

As Empress Xiaocigao was afraid of His Majesty's wrath,

she insisted on handing the maidservant to the Palace Surveillance.

Even Empress Xiaocigao did the same thing.

Officer You, if you insist on meting out punishment in the imperial harem,

you'll go against the palace rules and our founder's teaching.

Officer You, you're a trusted aide of the Emperor.

You should handle the matter impartially.

Officer You,

the things she said just now...

You tried to stop me even though your body was shaking.

So how tough is your neck?

I wish to give it a test.

So that's all you got?

There are countless pitiful people in the world.

How many of them can you help?

You should care for your own safety first.

Take both of them away.

Yes, Officer You.

Officer You,

that was an impressive performance.

Matron Meng.

Officer You, I know you're favored by His Majesty

and that your rank is high.

But this is the Imperial Food Service.

This is the place where we prepare meals for His Majesty.

If they commit mistakes,

those who have committed lesser mistakes will be sent to the Palace Surveillance.

Those who have committed serious mistakes will be sent to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

We don't need to trouble the Imperial Bodyguard for this.

Show it to them.

His Majesty has already issued a decree long ago.

The Imperial Bodyguard is to protect the Eastern Palace at all times.

This concerns the Crown Prince's health.

Even though it's something as simple as a meal,

we need to report them to His Majesty.

You and your subordinates have supplied the Crown Prince with meat.

You have gone against the imperial decree.

Take them away.

Wait.

They're cooks responsible for preparing the Crown Prince's meals.

If you take both of them away,

will you guards prepare dinner

for His Highness today?

Officer You,

it seems like you can only

take one person with you today.

Fine.

If so, I'll stay here

and observe how you will act according to the imperial decree.

But let me say this first.

His Highness is not allowed to have any meat in his meals.

If anyone dares to go against the imperial decree again,

Matron Meng, I'm afraid even you can't handle the consequences.

Your Highness.

[Sharp and Sensitive]

Your Highness, it's me.

Miaoxian, what fragrance did you put on?

Your Highness, I knew that you don't like the smell of rouge.

That's why I chose to put on the elegant jasmine fragrance.

Change it.

You don't like it?

Yes, Your Highness.

Please wait for me.

I'll be back immediately.

Your hair.

I didn't even dare to use any osmanthus oil.

I plucked this rose personally.

It has a faint fragrance.

Your Highness, you don't like it either?

I'll wash my hair then.

Please don't leave. Please wait for my return.

Your Highness, please wait for my return!

Your Highness,

please take a bite. This can nourish the lungs.

Who had touched this paper before?

Do not delay His Highness's meal.

Hurry and prepare the meal.

Officer You, what do you mean by this?

Matron Meng, didn't you say

that they're needed to prepare His Highness's meals?

If you need the three of them to help you out with everything,

then the rest of them must be useless.

Why don't you leave them to me

and let me bring them to the imperial prison?

Prepare the meals immediately!

As a cook,

even if our lives are in danger,

we mustn't forget our duties.

From now on,

everyone will prepare the meals for the other palaces.

As for His Highness's dinner...

Let me do it.

Yuehua,

you mustn't do so.

Okay.

I'll leave it to you.

Yukuai.

Xuelu.

What about the two of them?

Prepare the meals right now.

Yes, Matron.

What should we prepare?

During the meal preparation process,

we must be focused.

If any of the meals are delayed,

I will punish you personally

before the Palace Surveillance punishes you guys.

What will happen to us

if we fail?

Today, we'll prepare a vegetarian meal.

I will draw up the menu.

Ziping,

you're in charge of making pain noodles.

Thank you, Officer You.

You're too courteous.

Let's go.

The heat is too high.

It's irritating my eyes.

Officer You, do you know that servant?

Sorry for being nosy.

These palace servants

must be new to the palace.

[Vegetarian Yellow Croaker With Vinegar]

Is the fish gill made from mushrooms?

Your Highness, please try this.

[Shrimps in Two Styles]

Good.

It's been a long time since I had

something so delicious.

Slow down.

How did you make them?

Your Highness,

the head is made by putting shredded peanuts on top of the pastry crust.

The body is made from egg rolls, lotus roots,

and Chinese yam.

The tail is made from shredded carrots.

Look at the shrimp's body.

It even has stripes.

Your Highness,

the stripes on the shrimp

is made from shredded egg roll,

black and white sesame seeds.

They're seasoned separately, fried, and arranged on the plate

to form the shape of a shrimp.

Very meticulous.

Your Highness,

it's rare for the Imperial Food Service to be this thoughtful.

They should be rewarded.

Reward them.

Come on, try this bowl of noodles.

Delicious!

Where are they?

Eunuch Yuan, what brings you here?

Where are the rest of you?

They're sending meals to the respective palaces.

Eunuch,

did the Great Imperial Grandson give us any instructions?

Who went to the thatched cottage today?

It was me.

Eunuch,

did something happen?

It's nothing.

You're in luck. Follow me.

[Qingning Gate]

Officer You.

How did you get rid of the stain on the paper?

Your Highness,

I used the Huishan Spring Water that was given to us last year.

Such audacity!

How dare you spout such nonsense?

It's true.

The spring water wasn't filtered by fine sand yet.

It has a strong aftertaste.

It has to be aged for one to two months

for it to be nourished by the night dew.

Only then, it can be used to make tea.

Your Highness, when I was sending the snacks to you,

I saw that your paper was stained.

That's why I gave it a try.

Your Highness, please spare me.

His Highness has already finished his dinner.

We never went against the imperial decree in any way.

What else do you guys want from us?

Officer You.

This clay pot contains the stock for tonight's noodles.

It is white in color indeed.

It has a rich smell.

So what do you think is inside?

What else could be there?

It's just a normal stock.

Do you want me to expose you in public?

What did you use to cook the stock?

Ziping has a habit.

She loves to collect leftover ingredients,

especially

chickens, ducks, pork, fish,

meatless bones,

even shrimp heads and its tomalley.

By cooking these ingredients in a pot,

it'll create a white broth.

It has a rich and pleasant taste to it.

Yin Ziping.

I've told you already.

You have gone against the imperial decree

and you deserve to be beheaded.

Arrest her.

Officer You,

are you sure you don't want to get to the bottom of this?

Officer You,

this is just plain water.

There's no broth.

Ziping!

Officer You,

plain noodles are made by cooking the noodles in plain water.

No broth is used.

Officer You, you misunderstood us.

Officer You,

if you'll excuse us.

Officer You, is there anything else I can help you with?

Take her away and give her 20 strokes.

Expel her from the palace.

Give her 20 strokes and expel her from the palace.

Someone.

Your Highness!

I'm innocent!

Your Highness!

I'm innocent!

Your Highness!

Your Highness, I know my mistake now!

Your Highness!

Your Highness,

so why did you...

She's claiming other people's credit for herself.

She harbored evil intentions, so she deserved to be punished.

You're back?

Your Highness,

I've visited the officials who were implicated

and sent to prison during the feast.

I've provided them with monetary aid as well

so that they won't starve.

Your Highness was right.

Government officials do receive too little wage.

And those officials are honest and uncorrupted.

If I didn't aid them,

they wouldn't have enough coals for them to last through the winter.

How did you know that she was impersonating the real deal?

I verified it myself.

The stain didn't disappear

because of the Huishan Spring Water.

It's the plum rain water that was aged for three years.

The Huishan Spring Water she had gathered

was infused with the plum rain of the southern region

and transported all the way here to the capital.

It hasn't been aged for two years yet.

I'm sure that person has other secrets that we don't know about.

The maidservant just now kept mentioning the Huishan Spring Water.

She doesn't understand the secret to it at all.

But she's daring enough to impersonate her.

Doesn't she deserve to be punished?

Your Highness,

I was ignorant.

I was wrong.

I will head to the Imperial Food Service now.

Wait.

Your Highness,

what other instructions do you have?

Forget it.

Let's go.

It's time for me to visit my grandfather.

Your Highness,

your ink is ready. Regarding the painting...

Maybe,

someone will be able to utilize this.

How did you figure out to make a broth like that?

Matron Meng,

when I was young, I was living in poverty.

The restaurants often throw their leftovers away.

I collected them

as I thought it was a waste.

After that, I realized that you'd get different results and tastes

by combining

different ingredients.

If so,

why did you use plain water to cook the noodles in the end?

Matron Meng,

for vegetarian meals,

it'll taste fresh and refreshing on the first and second day.

But it's hard to make them interesting all the time.

I used plain water to cook the noodles.

As His Highness is wise,

he'll be reminded of His Majesty's imperial decree

and understand the situation immediately.

That's why he won't make things difficult for our Imperial Food Service.

Even though you're new to the palace,

it seems like you understand His Highness well.

His Highness was in charge of governing the nation when His Majesty was on an expedition.

He reduces the taxes and aids the natural disaster victims every year.

He serves the people well.

His Highness's benevolence

was spread throughout the nation.

Everyone in the country knows about it.

Matron Meng,

Zijin was the major contributor in preparing the vegetarian meal tonight.

Can you please not transfer her away?

Matron,

Zijin is very intelligent.

It'll be a waste of her talent if we do transfer her to

the Directorate of Imperial Parks.

From today onward,

you can stay in the Imperial Food Service

and study the art of cooking.

Matron Meng!

Thank you, Matron.

Honestly speaking,

we did cook the noodles with plain water.

But the noodles

were made

from the mackerels I got

from Jiaxing.

(Although it doesn't taste like fish,)

(it's delicious and refreshing.)

(I added ginger and spring onion to the soup)

(to cover the fishy taste.)

(They won't be able to find this out.)

But I didn't see you making it.

So did you plan to solve this issue for the Eastern Palace from the start?

It's good that His Highness is taking vegetarian food.

But he needs some time to get used to it.

We cannot rush the process.

I'm sure that jinx has too much free time on his hands.

He kept haunting us.

He's here to monitor the Eastern Palace under the imperial decree.

We were just implicated for no reason.

I've long heard of

His Majesty's hostility towards the fat crown prince.

His Highness needs to ask for His Majesty's permission to drink a sip of water.

When the titans clash, the mortals suffer.

Lower your volume.

Let me see.

No need for that.

You taught me how to read,

and I helped you to get a spot here.

This is a fair trade.

We're even now.

I didn't beg you to save me.

Fine then.

Does it hurt?

If it hurts, let me apply this for you.

Come here.

Be gentle. It hurts.

Just stop it.

I suddenly remembered something.

I have something else to do.

I shall take my leave.

It's late.

Where are you going?

I...

I'll retrieve the food box

and deliver the medicine.

[Xingyun Cottage]

So he's insulting me by saying that I'm a sneaky rat.

(Miss Yao,)

(His Highness has a message for you.)

(You can use the ink and the brush.)

Your Highness.

Your Highness?

The moon looks exceptional today.

Let's go.

Let's enjoy the night view.

Your Highness,

we could've captured the rat just now.

Isn't it interesting

to have a friend you have never met

and is not noisy?

Your Highness, don't you wish

to know how this thoughtful person

looks like?

No.

Maybe I'll be disappointed after I see her.

It's better for me not to see her.

Everyone here knows

that Manager Zhao and Manager Bai have left the palace.

The slots for the managers are empty.

The Table Maid, He Shu is calm and dependable.

She will be promoted to the ranks of manager.

As for the last slot, we'll hold a fair competition.

This year, we'll make an exception.

If the new maidservants can pass the Inner Court Academy exam,

they can participate in this competition as well.

I will use this opportunity

to select a disciple too.

I will impart everything that I've learned to her.

All right. That's all for today.

You all are dismissed.

Yes, Matron.

Zijin,

don't let me down.

Your Highness,

she's thoughtful, excellent at cooking,

and exceptional at drawing.

Aren't you curious about her at all?

Not at all.

The memorial that my grandfather was supposed to send to me isn't here yet.

Go and inquire about it.

Yes, Your Highness.

Something seems amiss.