Episode 37 recap: The competitors of the Liu family are jealous.
Rong Er had not visited the Taipi for a while because of the incident at the restaurant. She decided to visit her and saw an eunuch asking the Taipi for a reward. Rong Er learned that many eunuchs were not treated well, so she expressed that she would have time to help serve porridge at the Yan Chi Lou.
Li Qi started working at the police station. The chief assigned him to patrol a lucrative area, which puzzled the other officers. The chief said Li Qi had a strong background. During his patrol, Li Qi caught a thief, but the thief was immediately released at the station, as he was a habitual offender who had been bribing the police. Li Qi insisted on not releasing him, but another officer Li Ge told him he was new and didn't understand the situation. The chief then had the thief arrested and assigned Li Qi to patrol a street alone.
Rong Er went to serve porridge at the Yan Chi Lou and instructed them not to entertain guests in her absence. She vaguely saw Wu Tian there and he quickly hid. After Rong Er left, a famous food critic Xue Yansheng came to the Liu family's restaurant with friends to try the imperial chef's cooking. Liu Shougu, not wanting to lose the opportunity to make money, instructed Duo Luo to cook, despite Duo Luo saying they should wait for Rong Er. The dishes were terrible, and the guests angrily left after discovering the deception. When Rong Er returned, she comforted Duo Luo and Liu Shougu.
Xue Yansheng later wrote a critical review, and his friends vandalized Rong Er's restaurant. Rong Er decided to regain her reputation by inviting Xue Yansheng and his friends back, allowing them to choose the menu for her to prepare. Xue Yansheng chose 8 dishes and a soup to truly test her abilities.
Li Taifeng told Xue Yansheng that his article on the Liu family's restaurant was excellent. Li Taifeng said that 8 out of 10 people on the street claimed to be imperial chefs, but they were all frauds. Xue Yansheng responded that he couldn't condemn them all, as Beijing was a large city and skill mattered more. He told Li Taifeng that Rong Er's pastries were quite good, and he would return to the Liu family's restaurant in three days to try her cooking and see if she truly had the skills.
Knowing Rong Er planned to make mushroom soup, Li Taifeng had his men buy up all the morels in the city, intending to prevent Rong Er from being able to make it.
Rong Er insisted on apologizing to Xue Yansheng and his friends, and the meal would be free. However, Liu Shougu and Duo Luo said the ingredients were expensive, and they couldn't afford to serve the meal for free. Rong Er said that integrity in business was more important, and they should pawn her jewelry if needed to cover the costs.
When preparing the ingredients, Liu Shougu and Duo Luo searched all over Beijing but could not find any morels, as Li Taifeng had arranged for them to be bought up. Liu Er and Yu Mei said they would go to the Yue Yue Lou to try and steal the morels.
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