A Bowl of Jjajang, The Son-in-Law of Jegalse - Chapter 541
Only Noblemtl
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Episode 541: Spotted Turtle
After I finished reading the second secret letter that reached the Emperor, Qingyi asked me in a cautious voice.
“How are you, old man?”
When I turned my head, I saw Cheong-yi’s slightly tense expression.
There was a good reason why Cheong-i waited for my answer with such a tense expression.
The old man said nothing special about the secret letter with the national seal that arrived last time, but if it wasn’t the national seal and had been stamped with the royal treasure, then it would have been absolutely unacceptable.
The young emperor sent it to his old brother with the most precious thing stamped on it, so that’s why it was sent. If he had stamped it and sent it, wouldn’t it just be an imperial edict?
That was because I heard that a decree was like an order from His Majesty the Emperor, so it could never be refused, and that no one could do anything about it.
Since Cheong had already been given a marriage certificate with Soso, he couldn’t help but be cautious.
It seemed like he was worried that he might be dragged there and not be able to get married during the peach blossom season.
If by any chance the order is accepted, I will have to help the Emperor for whatever reason.
“Thankfully, he said that all I had to do was send him the recipe for the government’s Qujiangyeon. That’s fortunate, ma’am.”
Cheong’s face brightened when I replied with an expression telling her not to worry.
Cheong-i clung to my arm and asked back.
“Are you talking about the government’s Gokgangyeon (???)? So, are you saying that the government has to prepare food for the successful candidates in the civil service examination?”
“That’s right, ma’am.”
“You are amazing, Your Majesty! Carrying out the imperial command!”
And Young-young, who was listening from the side, also clung to the other arm and asked.
It’s like I’m just excited because Cheong-i is excited.
“What is it? What is a song lecture? Is it good?”
“Sister Young-young, a few days after the civil service examination, the government holds a banquet for those who passed, and you are asked to prepare the food for the ceremony.”
However, unlike the excited Cheong-i, Yeong-yeong’s question sounded like a flat cola.
Yeong-yeong asked with a slightly pouty expression.
“But isn’t it just an errand in the end?”
‘A guy who knows one thing but doesn’t know two. No, it’s like he doesn’t know both.’
Yeong-yeong, who treats the emperor’s orders as errands.
He explained to Young-young with an arrogant smile.
“Young-young, if someone just runs errands for someone, they’re a servant, but if someone carries out government orders, isn’t that the equivalent of a high-ranking official? That’s a position that even government officials have a hard time obtaining.
The point is that it’s not the errand that’s important, but who you’re running the errand for.
The emperor doesn’t ask just anyone to run errands.
Then, Young-Young seemed to think about something and answered with a look of not understanding.
“But, whether it’s a government job or someone else’s, running errands is annoying.”
‘Is this guy Young-young T?’
After listening to Young-Young’s answer, it was clear that his MBTI was definitely T.
It doesn’t fit.
Because T was originally the exclusive domain of intelligent people.
***
“You want me to tell you about the past? Why the past?”
“Yes, the news is that the government officials are requesting dishes that will show off their authority and are suitable for those who passed the state examination. Shouldn’t we first learn about the state examination and then prepare dishes that are suitable for it?”
“Ah, is that why?”
The first person he went to after informing all the wives that he was to prepare the Emperor’s special dish was Sosik.
Even though the cooking test was over, I heard that the adult was still waiting at our restaurant with a recipe to present to the government, so I went to see him and asked him to tell me about the test.
In order to create a suitable dish, it was necessary to look back on things like past systems.
My cooking philosophy is that the more you know about what you’re trying to pair with a dish, the easier it is to find the dish that will pair with it.
The saying that the more you know, the more you see is also applicable in cooking classes.
“Let’s see… Where should I start? Oh, right. Listen. I’ll explain the past system in general.”
“Okay, sir.”
“Song’s imperial examination is called the palace examination. To pass the palace examination, which is directly administered by the government, you must first pass the local examination, hyangsi (??), which is administered by each region. In order to take the provincial examination, administered by the Ministry of Rites, you must first pass the provincial examination.”
“Aha, so you weren’t just looking at the past in Tokyo?”
I didn’t know, but I heard that in order to take the actual exam, you have to pass a preliminary exam held in the province.
I couldn’t help but be amazed at how systematic it was.
‘This level of perfection in the Central Plains. This isn’t the Central Plains I know?’
If it’s ‘Jungwon’, it’s a sign of something sloppy.
“Then, of course, you. I explained last time that we have to have a sealing law and a registration law for the sake of fairness, right?”
“Yes, it was about sealing the names and ages of the elders and transferring the answers to another piece of paper so that the handwriting could not be determined?”
“That’s right. You must have done well in the past. I told you that you are a talent that is too good to be a chef. Anyway, it goes like this.”
I heard a brief, general explanation, but it didn’t really hit me.
As I was thinking about what I could find here, the old man’s explanation continued.
“Oh, and when the list of successful candidates is announced, they are not called Jangwon but Jinsa (??). Jinsa is the word used to refer to someone who passed the civil service examination.”
“That’s true.”
“Was this helpful?”
I heard something, but as expected, I feel like it’s a bit lacking.
News asked the adult again.
Because I still needed some more information.
And this time, I asked for more in-depth information rather than basic information.
“I understand the general idea, but is there anything impressive? Something that only the successful candidates know, but not the general public. Like an interesting story. Something that people would find interesting.”
“It is something that only the successful candidates can know···.”
The old man clutched his chin and fell into thought at my question.
The old man seemed to be thinking deeply about something, and after a while, as if something had occurred to him, he clapped his hands and shouted.
“Ah! That’s right! There it was! A turtle!”
“A turtle?”
When I tilted my head in confusion at the adult’s words that suddenly called out turtle, the adult smiled.
“If you become a Jinsa, you will be the first to greet the Emperor. Have you heard about that?”
“Are you talking about the Qujiang Lecture?”
When I asked if the main character was Guk Gang-yeon, Su Dong-po shook his head.
“No, Gokgangyeon is a banquet hosted by the emperor, and there is a process in which the government officials greet the successful civil servants.”
“No. This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”
Before the integration of memories, I knew that Cheongwoon was a student who was trying to see the past, but that was just because he wanted to study hard and pass the exam.
I was neither a student of Taehak, which was like Seoul National University during the Song Dynasty, nor was I a student of Seowon, which was like a private school, so I had no information.
If they really wanted to make my son study, they should have had him tutored by adults and given him information, but judging from the fact that they just made him study on his own, it seems like my biological parents didn’t have that many expectations of me regarding my studies.
The old man nodded at my answer and continued speaking.
“First, the successful candidates pick a day, put on their formal attire, and go to the government office. The government office is sitting on the throne, and the candidates stand alone on the turtle-shaped heads painted on the steps below to greet the government office.”
“Are you saying that you stand alone on the turtle shape?”
“Yeah, that’s why they call it a monopoly.”
A Chinese character meaning “to stand alone on top of the head of Zara.”
The moment I heard that, something crossed my mind.
Because there was definitely a dish that would suit this dish perfectly.
“Exclusive owl head!”
So, let’s ask the adults with a smile and shout out the news.
“Okay, did you find it?”
“Yes, there is a dish that just came to mind, sir!”
“Okay, what kind of food is it?”
“It’s a monopoly!”
“huh?”
The dish that comes to mind when I hear the word monopoly odu is monopoly odu.
A dish of the same name came to mind.
That’s why the old man blinked when I called out the name of the monopoly.
“There is such a dish?”
“Yes, sir.”
I answered that there was a dish like that, but to be exact, it wasn’t that dish. There was a dish called Bingtang Gap-eo (????).
This is a sweet, steamed dish of Zara, which originated in Zhejiang Province, and has a bit of a story.
In Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, there was an old restaurant where two scholars on their way to take the imperial examination stopped by for a meal.
The dish they ordered was a special dish called Omakase, the chef’s special, and after eating all the food, they asked the owner for its name because it was so delicious, and the owner answered with the meaning that they should pass the exam with flying colors.
It is called Bingtang Gap-eo, but it is said to be a monopoly fish.
And one of those scholars really did pass the civil service exam with the highest honors. On his way back to his hometown, the scholar returned to his master and asked him to let him eat the same dish again, saying that it was thanks to the good food that he had passed the civil service exam.
Then the owner made a deal with the scholar. He asked him to name the restaurant in exchange for allowing him to eat the food for free.
The old restaurant came to be called Jangwonru (???), and Bingtang Gap-eo was nicknamed Dokjeok Odu (exclusive fish cake).
Just like the bean cake called dumyeon-go (???) is called ryeota-gon.
Of course, this is a story with low credibility.
In my opinion, it is clear that this story was made up to sell the Bingtang Gap-eo.
How could the owner of the restaurant know that the crown prince was standing over his head and saluting the emperor?
It was clear that marketing targeting students, whether in the past or present, was something that made money.
Because it was a name that would sell well to test takers.
“What kind of dish is this monopoly odu?”
An adult who hears the name of a dish and becomes curious about it and asks questions about it.
Since he is a person who is serious about cooking, he seemed curious about what the name of the dish, which he heard for the first time, tasted like.
“Of course, since it contains the character for turtle, it is a dish made with turtle.”
Around April, when the past opens, is the season when Zara is at its most delicious.
The people of the Central Plains call the turtles of this time “chaehwagap-eo (????),” which refers to turtles that grow when rape flowers bloom.
When the larvae finish hibernating and spring comes, they start gaining weight again, because larvae reproduce in early summer.
That is why the crabs from April and May are called chaehwagap-eo, and the dish made with them is called bingtanggap-eo.
“Oh, crab. The crab is really tasty.”
Su Dongpo nods, knowing that fact.
He swallowed hard as if he was looking forward to it.
“Then, the dish to be served at this Gokgangyeon (???) will be a dish called Dokjeol Odu made with Gap-eo (gap-eo)?”
Just thinking about April’s harvest sounds delicious, so it seems like the dishes made with it will naturally be delicious.
But if I were making a dish for regular test takers, I might have just planned to use Chaehwagap-eo.
But didn’t our older brother want to be praised by the Queen Mother after always being scolded?
And didn’t you ask me to prepare a dish that would honor your brother’s dignity?
He is not the king of a country, and our brother has the title of ‘Emperor’, the Emperor of the Central Plains, so he is not satisfied with ordinary Zara dishes.
“No, sir.”
So, when I shook my head, the adult blinked and asked again.
I don’t understand why you said you would make it into a gae-o right away and then said no.
“You clearly said you were going to make it with a knife, but now you’re saying it wasn’t. What do you mean?”
Did you think it was a pun?
He smiled at Su Dongpo and answered.
“This is a dish given by the Emperor and symbolizes the Emperor’s authority, so can it be made with just regular zara?”
“then?”
“Shouldn’t it be at least as big as a spotted turtle?”
“By class!?”
Elder Su Dongpo is startled by the word “Banbyeol.”
It was no wonder he was surprised.
A dish made with Zara that I catch and make myself.
It’s because the one that goes in there is a giant that grows to over 100kg.
‘I was called this in my past life? King of the Yangtze River.’
It’s the emperor’s cooking, so the ingredients have to be of royal quality.
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