Chapter Fifty-Three: The Demise of Emperor Ming of Qi (Part Two)

"The late emperor has passed! The entire court must assemble in mourning!"
The eunuchs’ shouts startled Ming Tian so much that he froze, forgetting to withdraw his hand from the oven after placing the roast duck, and got burned.
Fortunately, the oven wasn’t very hot, so the pain was sharp but not serious.
Yet compared to that sting, what truly shocked Ming Tian was the news of Emperor Qi Ming’s death.
It was now mid-February of the first year of Yongtai; according to proper history, Qi Ming Emperor was supposed to die in July. This meant even the timeline itself had shifted because of the presence of a time traveler.
Ming Tian sighed inwardly at his luck!
Yin Chan had told him: if the emperor dies, seize the opportunity.
As per palace tradition, the first noon after the emperor’s passing required the entire court to gather and mourn together, a custom known as "assembly mourning" in both Northern and Southern Qi.
Civil officials of rank two and above would cry inside the hall, those of lower rank and military officials, along with relatives, would mourn at the entrance, and the rest—miscellaneous staff—would wail in the imperial parade ground, the square outside the hall.
Ming Tian’s dining room and Yin Chan’s Imperial Medical Bureau, as departments serving the emperor, were allowed to take relatively prominent positions, even if they cried in the parade ground.
Being so close to the palace, it was difficult but not impossible to gain an audience with the new sovereign!
A plan began to take shape in Ming Tian’s mind!
A scheme that would kill Xiao Baojuan and Qian Shanduo, accomplishing two goals at once.
"Your Majesty!"
Qian Shanduo, at the head of the group, was the first to feign grief, kneeling and banging his head on the ground with exaggerated sorrow.
Come on, old brother, could you be any more fake? The snot is running out your ears—did you cry like this when your grandfather died?
Soon, the entire dining room joined in the ritualized wailing.
It was palace protocol; Ming Tian wasn’t bold enough to resist, so he had to play along and shout a few lines himself.
The eunuchs briefly relayed the emperor’s last words—mostly polite phrases, urging the entire Imperial Food Bureau to serve diligently and support the new monarch.
As for who the new emperor would be, it would be announced after today’s assembly mourning, and the enthronement ceremony would take place the day after tomorrow.
Everyone started discussing, speculating about the new sovereign.
Of course, Ming Tian already knew Xiao Baojuan would ascend, so he wasn’t interested in that debate. What concerned him was the enthronement ceremony itself.
It was as if a golden opportunity had dropped from the heavens!
The enthronement ceremony, the chance to kill Qian Shanduo and Xiao Baojuan—the special circumstances would provide maximum convenience for his plan.
If permission could be obtained for a direct culinary duel with Qian Shanduo during the ceremony, the plan could be executed perfectly.
Xiao Baojuan was infamous as a muddle-headed tyrant, later posthumously disgraced as the "Eastern Muddle Marquis," condemned for all eternity. To call him a calamity or disgrace in Chinese history is no exaggeration.
In ancient times, cooks held low status, only slightly above stable hands. Normally, the idea of holding a culinary contest at the enthronement ceremony was pure fantasy.

But if it was the Eastern Muddle Marquis… this pleasure-seeking fool might actually be interested.
Still, the roast duck had to be made.
No matter what, this roast duck was crucial to any plan!
Though the court would be eating vegetarian due to the emperor’s death, Yin Chan had explained to Ming Tian the knowledge from "Yin Hua Lu": before the Yonghui era, chicken and duck were classified as vegetables.
Why? Ming Tian didn’t care—as long as he knew it counted as vegetarian now, that was enough.
Watching the duck slowly change color inside the oven, Ming Tian knew…
This duck would decide everything!
No matter how delicious Buddha Jumps Over the Wall might be, and no matter how flawless his scheme, the foundation of every plan depended on a key premise.
That was: attracting Xiao Baojuan’s attention to gourmet food!
There were about fifty minutes left.
Staring at the duck in the oven, Ming Tian suddenly had an inspiration.
No!
Capital roast duck was delicious, but the quality of ingredients—especially the sauce—was inferior to modern times, so it could never reach the height of yesterday’s Phoenix Crystal dish.
If he wanted to deceive Qian Shanduo, the duck had to at least reach eighty percent of Phoenix Crystal’s level!
The plan depended on Qian Shanduo claiming the roast duck as his own; if Ming Tian’s version wasn’t good enough and Qian Shanduo didn’t swap, the scheme would fail!
Why was this roast duck inferior to Phoenix Crystal? First, it was messy to eat, and second, it was too greasy.
Anyone, given equal deliciousness, would prefer food that’s easier to eat.
Phoenix Crystal achieved that, but roast duck did not.
Of course, he could serve sliced duck, but deboning it would make the fatty richness even more pronounced.
Ming Tian remembered a modern way to eat roast duck: many successful duck restaurants serve something extra after slicing the duck…
Mixed grain pancakes!
If he could make those, paired with some scallions and allow diners to choose their own accompaniment—such as wine-steamed wild chives and fresh coriander (i.e., blanched leeks and cilantro)—the duck’s flavor would be highlighted without feeling greasy.
But as Ming Tian stood before the rack of ingredients, he encountered a common problem for anyone who travels to the past.
Without modern search engines, where would all that knowledge come from? Ming Tian was just an ordinary person; how could he be like a novel protagonist, with an encyclopedia of everything in his head?
The more he cooked, the more acutely aware he became of his lack of knowledge.
He didn’t even know the recipe for mixed grain pancakes—the simplest thing!

What should he do? Switch to duck-stuffed bread? No, it would overpower the flavor and be too heavy; fine as a staple, but as a delicacy, it would undermine the duck’s taste—better to just serve sliced duck.
Steamed buns? Well, they pair nicely, but no!
In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, serving a crude food like steamed buns to the emperor was a capital offense!
So, what on earth was the solution?!
"Young man."
Suddenly, Zhao Ke’s voice startled Ming Tian. The old master appeared beside him, smiling like a ghost. "Are you having trouble with the side dishes?"
My goodness, Zhao Ke, are you really not a time traveler? They didn’t have roast duck in your era! How did you know I needed a side dish? Mind reading?
Ming Tian nodded dumbly, thinking perhaps this old chef could help him.
"Let me see if I can assist."
Zhao Ke was enthusiastic, gazing at the rack and stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Your roasting technique is something I’ve never seen before, truly ingenious. But I predict that your method will result in a very oily duck, so I think…"
Halfway through, Zhao Ke’s hands moved swiftly; after a quick circuit of the ingredient rack, his basket was piled high with supplies!
Besides the scallions, leeks, and lettuce Ming Tian had considered, there were many other items—even flour and eggs.
Though Ming Tian didn’t know the recipe for mixed grain pancakes, he knew flour and eggs were certainly needed.
Could it be…
He looked up and saw Zhao Ke scratching his head apologetically. "Heh, young man, forgive me for taking the initiative, but I suddenly remembered a food from my hometown that might pair well with your duck. Want to give it a try?"
Ever since arriving in this era, Ming Tian’s luck had been rotten. Never mind his sweetheart being chosen as the crown prince’s bride; he’d nearly been killed by explosions, and even bitten by ducks in embarrassing places. Heaven, don’t tell me my luck is about to turn?
Suppressing his excitement, Ming Tian swallowed hard. "Uncle Zhao Ke, may I ask where your hometown is?"
With a hearty laugh, Zhao Ke replied, "Ah, my hometown? It’s Wenbei County in Bo Prefecture, a place hardly worth mentioning."
As soon as he said it, Ming Tian was ecstatic!
He’d struck gold!
Wasn’t that the birthplace of mixed grain pancakes?!
……………………
There’s no Bo Prefecture in Southern Dynasty history. The ancient overlords surviving to this day have decreed that novels must not use real place names! Idiotic, really. I rarely curse, but when I do, it means I’m genuinely annoyed.
This is modern-day censorship, no different from ancient bans on mentioning the emperor’s name—though at least there was only one emperor back then.
In the book, Bo Prefecture’s real name is missing a character, precisely because adding it would make it a real place.
Wenbei County is also fictitious for the same reason. Those familiar with pancakes and mixed grain pancakes will know what Bo Prefecture stands for, so I won’t elaborate further.