As soon as Lin Dan finished speaking, everyone present was stunned, and even the emperor who was planning to plan showed a surprised expression.

According to Lin Dan, the rice dumplings were sent to the public for taste and let them choose them themselves. The final choice must be the taste they like. They did not know who made these two buckets of rice dumplings, nor did they know that it was related to the outcome of a competition, so they could get the most fair result.

No one can refute Lin Dan's words, not even the emperor, because he had long promised to give Lin Dan a fair and just competition, and everything could be decided by her. The emperor's words are as heavy as Mount Tai and cannot tolerate repentance.

The emperor then realized Lin Dan's real intention. The decision-making power of this competition was no longer in his hands, nor in the hands of the referee, but in the hands of the people. In order to prevent him from using the imperial power to interfere, she even stipulated that only those who entered the city would not be given to those who entered the city. The emperor could arrange for people to go out of the city to get rice dumplings, but he could not control those who entered the city. Who would come to the capital today and when will it come, only God knows.

The two buckets of rice dumplings have been disrupted. Even if the emperor has great magical powers, he immediately sent a message to someone who disguised himself as a commoner and entered the city, but he could not tell which bucket of rice dumplings belonged to Yan Langqing. In the end, he still had to rely on his preferences. Moreover, he couldn't bear to ask who the two buckets of rice dumplings belonged to.

Is this fair? The emperor shook his head and laughed loudly, "Fair, this is fair! The person who came moved two buckets of rice dumplings to the West City Gate and distributed them to those who entered the city by the guards. Each person entering the city must only choose one after tasting it, not take more." In this way, they can only take the one they like the most.

The emperor originally planned to support Yan Langqing. After all, this was the woman he liked, and he had just suffered a grievance, so it would be okay to spoil it. But now, he thinks Lin Dan is very interesting and this competition is also very interesting. Why not be fair and make it more interesting? Next, he will not do anything, nor will others allow others to break the rules, and leave the results to the people to evaluate.

Seeing the emperor's intriguing expression, Tang Jiu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He went to see Lin Dan, who looked relaxed, his eyes became very hot, and then he smiled slightly. He was worried again. Lin Dan could always face any desperate situation calmly, and then rely on his persistence and intelligence to find a way out.

Wei Yuanhou's lazy and casual expression finally faded away. He was turning his head and staring at Lin Dan straight. Prince Cheng and Prince Gong gathered together and whispered, laughing softly, and looked very good. The prince of Yunnan and Guizhou only rubbed the teacup in his hand, occasionally raising his eyes to examine Lin Dan, with deep eyes.

Yan Langqing was the one with the stiffest expression. She never thought that Lin Dan would propose this kind of judgment method. However, after careful consideration, she had to admire Lin Dan's intelligence. The emperor especially likes women with quick thinking and likes interesting things. He probably admires Lin Dan very much now and will never favor any side.

Yan Langqing was a little nervous, but she was not very panicked because she believed in her skills.

The group came to the west city gate and picked a high platform on the city gate and looked down. Two buckets of rice dumplings were placed side by side by side by side by guard, peeled one and broken one for those entering the city to taste. The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and many rich people will distribute rice dumplings to the poor, all for accumulating virtue and doing good deeds, so passers-by don't find it strange. Because there are guards guarding them, they dare not rob. They say that only those who enter the city can take it, so only those who enter the city can get it, and no one dares to ask for it too much.

The samples on both sides were taken a bite, and the person entering the city quickly took the rice dumplings he liked and left. The emperor stood on the platform and looked down. His bored mood had long been replaced by excitement and expectation. He liked this way of competition, which was uncontrollable, so it was even more interesting.

It takes time to deal with glutinous rice and pork belly. It was already afternoon when the two of them had wrapped the rice dumplings. It was only half an hour before the city gate was closed. It was delayed for a while on the road, so the two buckets of rice dumplings were not delivered. But this did not hinder the judgment. There was no doubt that whoever had fewer rice dumplings would win.

Everyone moved to a nearby restaurant and booked the most luxurious private room. As soon as the emperor entered the door, he hurriedly shouted: "Come on, please count the rice dumplings in the bucket."

Immediately, two guards walked forward and counted the rice dumplings in the two buckets respectively. After obtaining the results, they wrote them on paper. Two other guards were asked to continue counting. After three times, they all obtained the same number. Then they gave up. One of the guards walked forward and bowed, "Report to Your Majesty, there are 288 rice dumplings left in the bucket on the left, and 63 rice dumplings left in the bucket on the right, and victorious on the right."

The difference between the two is really big! The emperor looked at Lin Dan and raised his eyebrows and said, "Can you recognize which bucket is yours?"

Lin Dan walked to the right and said confidently: "Of course I recognize it."

Yan Langqing looked at the two buckets in a vague manner, her face turning a little white.

"How do you know that this bucket belongs to you?" The emperor looked at Lin Dan with a smile.

"When I made a dumpling, I tied a knot at the end of each rope. If you don't believe me, you can check it yourself." Lin Dan took out a dumpling and showed the rope to everyone. There was indeed a small knot at the end. If you didn't hold it in your hand and look closely, it would be impossible to find it.

To show justice, several guards immediately took out all the rice dumplings one by one, nodded and said, "Report to Your Majesty, all the rice dumplings on the right are tied with knots, but there are no one on the left."

Lin Dan then said, "Even if you don't look at the knot, just open the rice dumpling leaves. Yan Yuchu, you won't be able to tell your own skills, right?" After saying that, he picked up the two rice dumplings and opened them slowly.

If the rice dumpling leaves are not opened, the two rice dumplings will look exactly the same, whether they are made by the same person. However, when the rice dumpling leaves are completely disassembled, the difference inside is very large. Before, everyone stood on the platform and looked at the city gate, but naturally they could not see clearly what the situation was. But now, the two rice dumplings are lying in the jade white bowl and are fully visible to them.

I saw that the rice dumpling on the right was golden, with a clear surface, and looked very delicate and small. The two ends of the rice dumpling on the left were slightly yellow and white, and the middle part was sauce-colored, as if soaked in a large dyeing vat, which seemed very complicated. Whether the dishes were good or bad, we had to judge from the three aspects of color, fragrance and taste. To see the difference between the two rice dumplings clearly, everyone had to admit that judging from the appearance, Lin Dan had already taken the lead.

All the meat dumplings that Yan Langqing has made are of such a mixed color, because the glutinous rice is white and the pickled pork belly is sauce. The two are steamed together and will naturally dye each other and become less beautiful. But she never expected that the glutinous rice soaked in gray water would turn into a brilliant golden color, which looks very tender and cute. What is the reason?

She accused in shock: "This is not right! Lin Dan's glutinous rice has been soaked in gray water. It is dirty. How could it look better than mine?"

Before everyone showed a surprised expression, Lin Dan slowly spoke: "You only know one thing, not the other. Do you know that the ash formed after the firewood burns is cleaner than spring water. Due to the tempering of the flame, the dirt inside has been burned. The ash water also contains a magical medium that can be used to cleanse your hands and also to produce dry goods. Soaking the hard dry goods into the ash water will soften several times the speed of clean water. The rice dumplings I made are soaked in this ash water, called ash water dumpling, which is a specialty of the Baiyue region. The glutinous rice soaked in ash water is not only not dirty, but also dyed a layer of golden yellow. The fragrance is rich and unique, with a soft and smooth taste, and is more delicious than ordinary white dumplings."

She reached out and signaled: "After the taste, you can judge the fragrance and taste of the two."

The emperor picked up the plate, sniffed the two rice dumplings carefully, raised his eyebrows and handed the plate to the old imperial chef beside him. After smelling it, the old imperial chef's eyes lit up and handed it to the next referee. Everyone took turns to smell it and finally handed it to Yan Langqing.

Yan Langqing didn't believe in evil, but after smelling it, she looked as if she was dead. This gray water rice dumpling was indeed as Lin Dan said, exuding a faint smell of grass and wood, and a fresh astringent smell and a faint sauce aroma. It was very unique. Her white rice dumplings were only the aroma of rice and meat. Although they smelled nice, they were not rich in layers. Compared with Lin Dan's rice dumplings, they looked ordinary.

"Everyone, try the taste." Lin Dan picked up the chopsticks calmly and cut the two rice dumplings apart.

Everyone tasted two kinds of rice dumplings, and their faces were even more amazed. No matter how bright the gray water dumplings were, they not only had a bright color, unique fragrance, but also had a very soft, glutinous and smooth taste. Although they had cooled down, the taste was not lost. They bit into their mouths and slight teeth. First, they tasted a little sweetness of glutinous rice, but then astringent astringent gusto, and finally there was a strong sauce and meat flavor that was so uncluttered that it was rich in juice. The rich juice filled the mouth, making people feel aftertaste.

After tasting Lin Dan's rice dumplings, then taste Yan Langqing's rice dumplings, the taste and taste immediately decreased by several levels. The white glutinous rice dumplings were already cooled, not as soft as they were when they were just out of the pot. They were a little sticky when they bite into their mouths, which was difficult to chew, but the core was hard and difficult to swallow. Even the meat filling was already clumping and looked dry.

Seeing everyone's frowning brows, Lin Dan said slowly: "When eating the gray water rice dumplings is cold, the taste is better. It has a little elasticity in the softness, which is very easy to put in. Not to mention wrapping the meat filling, even if it is not wrapped in any filling, it is just eaten with sugar. Ordinary white glutinous rice dumplings will have dry and hard hair after being cold, and it is not easy to put in. You have to heat it up before eating. This is the difference between the two. To prevent you from saying that I am not good at winning, I will pick two rice dumplings and heat them up."

Yan Langqing's hand holding chopsticks shivered slightly, but said nothing, but looked at the emperor with hope.

The emperor smiled and waved his hand: "Come on, go and warm the rice dumplings!"

Immediately, two palace servants took the rice dumplings to the kitchen, and took a food box to turn around for a while. The heated white rice dumplings were indeed very soft and glutinous, and the taste was much better than before. However, Lin Dan's gray water dumplings were golden, with delicate and rich oil flowing out of the gaps in the glutinous rice, dyeing it a layer of clear and shiny luster. I don't know how many times the white rice dumplings were better than Yan Langqing's.

The emperor took a fancy to the gray water dumplings at a glance, immediately picked up the chopsticks and tasted them, and then sighed. The glutinous rice soaked in the gray water is sweeter, softer, and smoother, and is completely soaked by the juice secreted by the meat filling. Each bite is rich and delicious, which makes people want to swallow their tongues. After tasting the gray water dumplings made by Lin Dan and then trying Yan Langqing's white dumplings, only four words appeared in the emperor's mind - ordinary.

After the two kinds of rice dumplings were opened, the gray water dumplings were both beautiful and delicious, while the white dumplings were mixed and hard, making them difficult to eat. No wonder Lin Dan's bucket was almost empty, and Yan Langqing's bucket was still half full. This time, she lost really well.
Chapter completed!