Episode 11 recap: Zhao Ruoqi's dumplings were appreciated by the Empress Dowager.
Soon, it was the Empress Dowager's birthday. Zhao Ruoqi and the other two prepared the dishes and presented them to her. The Empress Dowager acknowledged their thoughtfulness, and the Empress was also present. They asked the Empress Dowager to taste the three dishes. Qin Meiren mentioned that the shrimp dish she prepared was accompanied by twenty-four different dipping sauces, offering a variety of flavors and rich textures. She even gave it a beautiful name.
The Empress Dowager thought the name was quite good. Bai Meiren also came forward with a fish dish, suggesting that the dish would taste even better when paired with a Jiangnan melody. She played a tune on her instrument. The Empress Dowager tasted the dish and found it to be well-prepared, and the music was also delightful. Zhao Ruoqi noticed that both of them had given their dishes beautiful names and performed dances and songs. After some hesitation, she decided to stick to her original idea and simply named her dish "A Bowl of Dumplings," without any additional fanfare, and served it to the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager thought Zhao Ruoqi was honest, as she presented and named her dish as it was. She was pleasantly surprised by the deliciousness of the dumplings and mentioned that back in the day, she and the late Emperor secretly sneaked out of the palace on a snowy day and had a bowl of dumplings on the street, which tasted just like this. She felt warm inside after finishing the dish. The Empress Dowager expressed that after the late Emperor's passing, she had taken over the reins of governance, and no one else knew about her feelings towards the late Emperor.
Comments(Episode 11)