Zhang Beichen gave it his all. As the saying goes, if you want to capture a man's heart, you have to capture his stomach first. It was the same for women.
In this era, it was very difficult to make delicious food.
In terms of staple food, the five grains were popular at this time: sesame, millet, millet, wheat, and beans. The aristocrats in the south could only eat rice, while most of the people in Qin still ate millet, yellow rice, and wheat rice.
The wheat rice they ate was cooked with wheat. It was very rough and unpalatable.
At this time, people didn't know how to make flour, so there weren't any kinds of flour or food.
After Zhang Beichen transmigrated, he wasn't used to it, so he 'invented' the flour-making technique.
He asked someone to get the ground flour and use the yeast obtained from the fermentation of fruits to make the dough.
This alone made Ying Yiren very curious. She watched Zhang Beichen pinch the flour balls like he was making clay figurines. It was interesting and novel.
As for the vegetables, there were no tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, pumpkins, peppers, or lettuce. At this time, there were only simple vegetables such as peas, leeks, scallions, and vegetables. Many people of Qin even ate duckweed, coriander, and other plants that were regarded as weeds in later generations.
There was also a lack of seasoning. There was no chili, cumin, and so on, but fortunately, there was salt and wild pepper, as well as all kinds of sauce and other seasonings, so it could still be used.
"My beloved subject, what are you doing? There's such a way to cook food?" Ying Yiren was like a curious baby. She saw Zhang Beichen using a shovel to stir-fry the food in an iron pan!
"What kind of cooking method is this? Will it be delicious?" Ying Yiren was very curious. At this time, there were basically two ways for the people of Qin to cook. One was to boil, and the other was to barbecue. There was no such thing as 'stir-fry' yet.
"This is called stir-frying vegetables!" Zhang Beichen explained, "Pan fry, deep fry, stir-fry, boiling, and steaming different dishes require different cooking methods to best bring out the characteristics of the ingredients! Your Highness, you will definitely be shocked!"
Zhang Beichen had already experimented. Hu Cheng, Liu Wen, and the others, who ate stir-fried food for the first time, couldn't stop praising it. It was as if they had opened the door to a new world!
With the help of the bailiffs, the food was ready in about an hour, covering a large table.
Zhang Beichen used all his skills. Just the color and smell of the food were enough to make Ying Yiren's appetite bigger!
She first tasted the fried bean sprouts, and her eyes were filled with surprise. She asked, "Why are these bean sprouts so fresh and delicious?"
"Your Highness, please try this stir-fried field rat meat!" Zhang Beichen gave her a piece of meat.
Usually, only relatives, elders, or husband and wife would do such a thing. It was somewhat disrespectful for an official to put food in the ruler's bowl.
However, Ying Yiren didn't care so much. She took a bite and the deliciousness of the meat, the pungent flavor of the seasoning, and the oil melted in her mouth. Ying Yiren's eyes lit up. This was a feeling she had never felt before when eating roasted or boiled meat!
"It's really delicious!" Ying Yiren couldn't help but praise, "You're so capable!"
"Your Highness, please don't worry, there's still so much. A bite of meat and a sip of wine, it's a perfect match!" Zhang Beichen poured her a glass of wine.
At this time, there was only grain wine. Because there was no high alcohol distillation technology, even the strong wine of Kingdom Qin State did not have a high alcohol percentage.
"Let me toast Your Highness to thank you for saving my life today!" Zhang Beichen raised his glass and drank.
"I would also like to thank my beloved subject for dealing with Baiyang County in such an orderly manner!" Ying Yiren said as she drank a cup of wine. At this moment, she felt extremely carefree.
Fine wine, delicious food, and 'Lord Beichen' as a companion. This was a scene she had once dreamed of, and it was happening here today!
The two of them chatted as they ate. At first, they were a little restrained, and they were still discussing the governance of Kingdom Qin.
"Your 'order to cultivate grass' in Baiyang County is very good, my dear subject," said Ying Yiren, "I plan to promote it to the whole kingdom. I intend to set up a region in Kingdom Qin and appoint you as the governor!"
"Many thanks to Your Highness for your fondness!" Zhang Beichen quickly said, "It's fine if the 'order to cultivate grass' is implemented in small places. If it is widely promoted, the old clans in the court will definitely be dissatisfied."
At the mention of the old clans, Ying Yiren snorted and said, "Don't worry about this, I have my own way of dealing with it!"
After talking about national affairs, Zhang Beichen wanted to talk to her about private matters, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.
He said, "Your Highness, drinking like this is very boring. Why don't we play finger-guessing games?"
"Finger-guessing? I'm the ruler, how could I do such a vulgar thing?" Ying Yiren said with a slight frown.
However, a few minutes later, as the wine went down her throat, Ying Yiren's face turned red, and she started gesturing with one hand.
"One heart respect!"
"Two lovers!"
"Three stars in the sky!"
"The four seasons change!"
...
The rules of their game were very simple. They would call out numbers at the same time and play with their fingers. The person who could guess the sum of their fingers would win, and the loser would drink.
"I'm right!" Ying Yiren's face lit up. She said, "Drink, quickly drink!"
Zhang Beichen downed a glass of wine and continued to guess. He said, "Your Highness, it's your turn!"
"I'll drink. Again!" Ying Yiren drank the wine and reached out again.
At this time, she had already drunk a lot and looked tipsy. After many people drank wine, the color of the wine would appear on their faces. Some people would be dark red, while others would be scarlet red, like ripe apples, emitting an alluring fragrance!
Ying Yiren belonged to the latter. At this moment, her eyes seemed to give amorous glances, her cheeks were red, and her lips were like blood-stained roses. Every frown and smile of hers seemed to have a fatal temptation that made people's hearts stir!
"Your Highness, it's not fun to just drink. Let's play something more interesting!" Zhang Beichen suggested, "Whoever loses, the winner can ask the loser to answer a question. The loser must answer truthfully. If the loser is not willing to answer, they will have to accept punishment from the other party. How about it?"
Hearing that, Ying Yiren's eyes lit up. She replied, "This sounds interesting. Let's do it!"
Zhang Beichen lost the first time.
"My dear subject, let me ask you, which country are you from?" asked Ying Yiren.
"I'm from China. I'm now a Qin citizen," Zhang Beichen replied.
Ying Yiren didn't probe further and the two of them continued.
This time, Zhang Beichen won. He asked, "Your Highness, did you have a man you loved before?"
"You! How can you ask me such a question?" Ying Yiren's face reddened in embarrassment.
"Your Highness, you must accept your loss!" Zhang Beichen said with a smile.
Ying Yiren could only reply, "I've been learning how to rule the country from my father since I was a child. I've always been surrounded by a group of elders and generals. How could I have any man I like?"
"Continue!" Ying Yiren felt that she was at a disadvantage and should have asked Zhang Beichen more explosive questions.
Sure enough, she won again. She asked, "My dear subject, you asked me just now, then what about you? Do you have a girl you like?"
"Of course," Zhang Beichen replied.
Hearing this, Ying Yiren became a little nervous and asked, "Which family is she from? Tell me, and I'll grant you a marriage decree!"
"No, this is the second question you're asking!" Zhang Beichen refused to answer.
"Then let's do it again!" Ying Yiren was not convinced and continued.
However, she lost. "Your Highness, tell me the most embarrassing thing you've ever done," Zhang Beichen said with a proud expression.
"Ah?" At the mention of this, Ying Yiren felt even more embarrassed. However, she had already drunk a lot, so she felt less restrained.
She held it in for a while, then said with a red face, "I once drank too much and had a wedding ceremony with a tree. I even hugged the tree to sleep for a night. The next day, my father found out and laughed at me for a whole year."
"Hahaha!" Zhang Beichen couldn't help but laugh. He didn't expect the usually dignified Ying Yiren to have such a side.
"What are you laughing at? I order you not to laugh!" Ying Yiren slapped his hand in embarrassment.
"Alright, I won't laugh." Zhang Beichen was still holding back his laughter. The two of them continued. Zhang Beichen won a few times in a row.
"Your Highness, what other embarrassing things have you done?"
"Your Highness, please tell me the name of the person you like the most!"
"Bei..." Ying Yiren almost blurted out, but her subconscious was telling her that as a monarch, this wasn't very good, so she changed her words. She said, "I choose the punishment option."
"Punishment?" Zhang Beichen squinted his eyes and looked at Ying Yiren. "How about this... please dance, Your Highness."
"How dare you ask me to dance for you?" Ying Yiren was even more embarrassed and angry. She was the empress, who would dare to ask the empress to dance for them!
"If you agree to a bet, you must accept your loss!" Zhang Beichen could tell that although Ying Yiren said no, she didn't blame him. After drinking, Ying Yiren didn't feel so restrained.
"Alright, just you wait, I'll win the next round later," Ying Yiren said as she stood on the empty ground and really jumped up.
She was performing a kind of elegant formal sleeve dance, which was divided into elegant formal dance and common dance in this era. Elegant formal dance, as its name suggested, was a dance that was performed formally and elegantly, usually performed by the nobles.
The common dance was performed by the commoners, and it was more open.
Zhang Beichen only knew that Ying Yiren's martial cultivation was powerful, and she was able to kill Bai Liangpu, who was at the peak of the fourth realm, in seconds. He didn't know that she actually knew the elegant formal sleeve dance.
At this time, the sky was already dark, and there were lanterns lit up around them. Under the moonlight and candlelight, Ying Yiren waved her long sleeves, her soft hands fluttering like butterflies.
She had already changed out of her long robe earlier and was now wearing a bright red dress. This was also a type of noble ceremonial dress. It could be seen as a one-piece dress. The waist was tightly tied with a silk belt, revealing a woman's slender waist. The sleeves were wide, and when the sleeves danced, it had a different style!
'I'm drinking wine and asking the empress of Kingdom Qin to dance for me! It's such an amazing and beautiful day!' Zhang Beichen was so happy that he felt like he was floating!
After the short dance, Ying Yiren was both embarrassed and angry. 'How dare he ask me to dance for him? I have to find a way to get back my pride!'
In the finger-guessing match, Ying Yiren won.
"It's my turn! I'll ask first," said Ying Yiren.
"Zhang Beichen, answer me honestly. Besides me, have you ever thought of being loyal to any other emperor?"
This was a question that would only lead to death. Of course, Zhang Beichen had thought about it before. Previously, he had compared the seven emperors in the simulator for a long time. He felt that the original art of the empress of Qin was more touching to him, so he chose Ying Yiren first.
Zhang Beichen had originally planned to interact with all seven monarchs.
But if he answered like that, Ying Yiren would definitely not be able to accept it.
"I choose punishment!" He said.
A sly look appeared on Ying Yiren's face as she said, "Are you sure? My punishment is to make you drink this wine clean!"
She picked up a glass of wine.
'That simple?' Zhang Beichen thought that he could finish the wine, but suddenly, Ying Yiren poured the wine down and it spilled on her feet.
To make it easier for them to dance, Ying Yiren had taken off her shoes, so she was barefooted.
"Answer the question or be punished, you can only choose one!" said Ying Yiren with a proud expression.
She thought to herself, 'Now that the wine has been spilled on my feet, how are you going to drink?' This punishment was simply an insult to a public official!
'Now, you can only choose to answer my question!' Ying Yiren felt that victory was in her hands.