Chapter 255 The Queen Summons
Ye Jiayao left before Liuli came out. If Liuli knew that she had heard Youshi's lecture, she would definitely be unhappy again.

The next day, Chunyu took half a day off and went to the farm with Uncle Jiang and the mason. Ye Jiayao was invited to the Chamber of Commerce. Now she is considered a core figure in the Chamber of Commerce and she has the right to participate in all matters of the Chamber of Commerce.

The three presidents, together with several elders of the Chamber of Commerce, formally confirmed the three things that Lu Xiaotian mentioned yesterday.

The food festival is scheduled for October, but the chef training needs to be started as soon as possible.

The first batch of trainees are mainly the kitchen helpers of various restaurants. As the key training targets of various restaurants, this group of people already have certain cooking skills and learn quickly. After three months, significant results can be seen. It is equivalent to an improvement class.

The courses will be arranged by Ye Jiayao, and the teachers are tentatively scheduled to be Lu Xiaotian, Duan Qilin, Ye Jiayao and Zhong Xiang.

The venue was provided by Duan Qilin. His family also had an old house that had been vacant. Because it was their ancestral property and they were not in a hurry to use the money, they could not sell it. Instead of leaving it idle, they would rather use it for good things. The group went to the Duan family's old house, which was located in the west of the city. The environment was good and quite quiet. There were two courtyards. Although it was an old house, the Duan family had always sent people to maintain and clean it. It was clean and tidy. They only needed to repair a few stoves and add chopping boards before they could start school.

Everyone was very satisfied with this place. Lu Xiaotian made the decision to rent it at the market price so as not to let Duan Qilin suffer any loss.

As for the matters of repairing the stove and purchasing new things, Duan Qilin was responsible for it. The expenses would be borne by the Chamber of Commerce and the class would start in half a month.

No one had any objection, and when they finished all the work, it was almost 3 p.m. Lu Xiaotian suggested that everyone go to the vegetarian restaurant, and he would treat everyone today.

Ye Jiayao said embarrassedly: "I have something else to do at home, so I won't participate."

Lu Xiaotian did not force her. After all, she was a woman and a wife. How could she be as comfortable as men? She said, "We will invite Shopkeeper Ye and the Prince some other day."

Ye Jiayao smiled: "Okay!"

After saying goodbye to everyone, Ye Jiayao hurried back home, but she didn't dare to delay the family's dinner and let everyone wait for her.

As soon as I returned to the mansion, the housekeeper came to greet me: "Second Young Madam, you are back. I have been looking for you for a long time."

Ye Jiayao was surprised: "What do you want from me?"

The housekeeper said, "The Queen has summoned me. I went to Tianshangju, and the people there said you went to the Chamber of Commerce. I went to the Chamber of Commerce again, but there was no one there. I didn't know where to find you, so I had to come back and wait."

Ye Jiayao's heart skipped a beat: "When did the Queen summon you?"

The housekeeper said with a sad face, "It's almost an hour."

Ye Jiayao thought to herself, awful, it has been delayed for so long, the Queen must be unhappy.

Ye Jiayao hurriedly told the coachman to wait at the door while she went back to change her clothes. She couldn't be dressed so casually when entering the palace to see the queen. It would be a crime if she was not well-groomed!
She hurried back to change her clothes and asked Qiao Xi to comb her hair again. At the same time, she instructed Xiang Tao to tell the lady that she would not have dinner at home, but would go to the palace to see the queen first.

Xiang Tao said, "Don't worry, Madam. Madam is afraid that you will be late, so she has sent people to inquire about it several times. I will go and give Madam a reply later."

Ye Jiayao rushed to the palace without stopping and entered the Queen's Chaohua Palace.

Surprisingly, Concubine Shu was here too. It was already time for dinner, and the two most distinguished women of Huai Song were still waiting for her. Ye Jiayao felt uneasy, and she apologized as soon as they met.

"I was not aware that the Empress and Imperial Concubine had summoned me, and was unable to see you in time. I beg your forgiveness."

Concubine Shu sneered and said, "You are really a busy person..."

Ye Jiayao said in panic: "I am just busy for nothing."

The Queen said calmly, "Today I summoned you to the palace on a whim. I don't blame you for not knowing. Get up and take your seat."

Ye Jiayao said anxiously, "I have kept the Queen and the Imperial Concubine waiting for so long. I feel very uneasy. Your Majesty, please let me stand and listen to your teachings."

Concubine Shu covered her mouth and laughed, and said to the Queen: "Sister, everyone says that Ye Jinxuan is a wonderful person. She is really interesting."

The queen smiled elegantly, looked at Ye Jiayao softly, and said, "I've already told you that I don't blame you, sit down!"

Only then did Ye Jiayao sit down.

"You are summoned to the palace today for the wedding banquet of Prince Yu and Princess Aruan. The imperial kitchen has drawn up the menu, but I and Concubine Shu were not very satisfied after seeing it. I heard that you are the best at hosting banquets. You did a great job in the birthday banquet of the old princess of Prince Helian's Mansion and the wedding banquet of Liuli. That's why I asked you to come and discuss it." The queen said slowly.

When Ye Jiayao heard about this, she felt relieved. Although she didn't know anything else, preparing a wedding banquet was a piece of cake for her. But this was a royal banquet after all, so she didn't dare to be careless.

"Your Majesty, can you let me take a look at the menu prepared by the Imperial Kitchen?"

The Queen gave a look and the maids around her presented the menu.

Ye Jiayao looked through the menu carefully. It was a standard royal banquet. There was nothing to pick. She wondered what the two ladies were dissatisfied with. So she asked, "May I ask the Queen, does the Imperial Concubine have any specific requests?"

The Queen glanced at Concubine Shu and smiled gently, "Let my sister speak!" Concubine Shu was not polite either, and said thoughtfully, "These dishes are too old-fashioned. Can you come up with something new? And the Emperor wants it to be decent but not too extravagant."

Ye Jiayao thought for a moment and said, "Princess Aruan is from South Vietnam, so why not add a few South Vietnamese flavors to the menu, which will be novel and unique."

"This is fine, what do you think, sister?" said the queen.

Concubine Shu said: "That's a good idea, do you have any other ideas?"

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "I dare not be careless about the wedding banquet of Prince Yu and Princess Aruan. Can you allow me to go back and think about it carefully, and then give you two ladies a reply tomorrow?"

The two looked at each other and reached a consensus. The Queen said, "That's great. The Emperor attaches great importance to this wedding banquet. We must be extremely careful."

Ye Jiayao accepted the order respectfully.

When she left the palace, she suddenly saw Xia Chunyu waiting for her outside the palace.

"Chun Yu, why are you here?" Ye Jiayao walked forward quickly.

Xia Chunyu was relieved to see that she was safe and sound. Perhaps because of the last time Concubine Mei summoned him, he was worried when Yaoyao entered the palace. So, when he came back from the farm and heard that Yaoyao was summoned by the queen, he rushed over immediately. Although he knew that nothing would happen, he still had to come to feel at ease.

"What is the matter that the Queen summoned you for?" Xia Chunyu asked as he helped her into the carriage.

Ye Jiayao said: "To be exact, it was the Queen Mother and Concubine Shu who summoned me."

Xia Chunyu smiled knowingly, "So, it's about Prince Yu's wedding banquet?"

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "Smart."

Sitting in the carriage, Ye Jiayao explained Concubine Shu's requests, especially the emperor's proposal, which was that the emperor should be decent but not extravagant. The Song Dynasty was rich, and Prince Yu was marrying a princess of South Vietnam. It was a matter related to the diplomatic relations between the two countries, so why was he still reluctant to spend money?
Xia Chunyu shook his head and smiled, "You don't know this. Although the Simon War has ended, it cost a lot. In addition, there is a severe drought in the north, and a large area has been affected. Not only has the grain production decreased, but a huge amount of money has to be spent on disaster relief..."

Ye Jiayao was stunned. A severe drought in the north? How come there was no news at all? But then she thought, this was ancient times, transportation and communication were not well developed, even the court could not know the news in the first place, let alone other ordinary people.

"Also, Huai Song looks rich, but in fact it is very weak. It has enriched the pockets of corrupt officials and emptied the country's treasury. Therefore, this year the emperor has made up his mind to vigorously rectify official discipline and reform the salt tax..." Xia Chunyu said again.

Ye Jiayao sighed: "It seems that being the emperor's wife is not easy!"

Xia Chunyu sneered: "Do you think that the emperor is high above and has nothing to worry about? I am by the emperor's side every day and can see clearly that the emperor is diligent in his work and loves the people."

After returning to the mansion, Xia Chunyu said, "You go see your mother first. She knows you've entered the palace and is worried about you. I'll ask the kitchen to prepare some side dishes."

Ye Jiayao said: "Just ask the kitchen to prepare a bowl of noodles. I'll just eat something."

Xia Chunyu touched his stomach with a bitter face: "I'm almost starving, and eating noodles alone won't make me full."

Ye Jiayao was surprised: "You didn't eat?"

Xia Chunyu raised his eyebrows and looked at her: "What do you think?"

Ye Jiayao felt warm in her heart. He must have known that she had entered the palace and was worried about her, so he came to wait for her without even having dinner.

"Okay, then ask the kitchen to cook a few more dishes, and I'll have a couple of drinks with you." Ye Jiayao said with a smile.

When Youshi heard that the Queen had entrusted the arrangements for Prince Yu's wedding banquet to Ye Jiayao, she couldn't help but feel happy. At first, she disliked this daughter-in-law because she was a cook, but she didn't expect that a cook could achieve so much and even the royal wedding banquet was arranged for her.

"Then you have to do it well." Yu said gently.

"Well, my wife will go back and think about the menu later, and show it to the Queen and the Imperial Concubine tomorrow." Ye Jiayao nodded.

"Then you should go back early and don't have to come over to pay your respects. Oh, by the way, you haven't had dinner yet, I asked Zhou Xing's wife to save some food for you. Madam Sun, please go and tell them." Yu Shi said.

Mother Sun responded and said she would go. Ye Jiayao hurriedly said, "Mother Sun, there is no need to tell me. The prince hasn't eaten yet. The prince has already asked someone to go to the kitchen to arrange it."

Yu Shi asked curiously, "Chun Yu is back?"

Uh, didn't Mrs. You know that Chunyu has come back? Ye Jiayao could only perfunctorily say, "Yes, he is back. He went to the farm today and just came back."

Yu was afraid that her son would be hungry, so she quickly drove Ye Jiayao away.

It was not until the third day that Liuli found out that Prince Yu's wedding banquet was handed over to Ye Jiayao. It was said that the Queen and Concubine Shu originally just wanted Ye Jiayao to draw up a menu, but after seeing Ye Jiayao's menu, they handed the entire wedding banquet over to Ye Jiayao, saying that even the imperial chefs in the palace did not know how to cook many of the dishes, so they had to hand it over to Ye Jiayao.

When Liuli found out, she was very upset. This Ye was really scheming. She deliberately made dishes that the imperial chefs didn't know how to cook, so as to show how powerful and capable she was. Moreover, she was so concerned about Prince Yu's wedding banquet. Was she trying to please Prince Yu on purpose?
(End of this chapter)