Royal Feast Episode 10 Recap
> Royal Feast Recap
Following the recent tensions, Zhu Zhanji receives a report that his uncle, Han Wang, is kneeling defiantly outside the Qianqing Palace. The Crown Prince is unable to persuade him to rise and has joined him in kneeling. Urged by the Crown Princess to intervene, Zhu Zhanji arrives and dismisses the idea of persuasion. He approaches Han Wang, who boasts he can endure three days without food.
Without warning, Zhu Zhanji knocks his uncle unconscious and then claims Han Wang fainted, ordering him to be carried to the Imperial Hospital for treatment. Amidst the palace unrest, an official informs Meng Ziyun that Yuan Shaoqing, an official trusted by the Emperor for his physiognomy skills, has been banished for advising the Emperor to stop taking elixir medicine. This, combined with the Emperor’s frequent nightmares and deteriorating health, signals instability. Meng Ziyun warns her staff to be exceptionally cautious.
You Yifan notices Yao Zijin often borrowing a specific cookbook from the pharmacy department. He brings the book to her, but she reveals she has already memorized it. You Yifan then shares that it is his birthday and asks her for longevity noodles. While Laba noodles are traditionally served on this day, he insists on his special request.
Yao Zijin prepares the noodles, including a poached egg, which moves You Yifan deeply as it is exactly how his late mother used to make them. Other cooks whisper about her actions, suggesting she is trying to curry favor by adding the egg. On the Laba Festival, after distributing Laba porridge, the Food Bureau staff learn of a dark rumor.
A fellow cook warns that any chef who prepares longevity noodles for You Yifan on this day is fated to die or be injured within three months, earning him the moniker "King of Hell." Yin Ziping is horrified, scolding the others for not warning them sooner. The Emperor's health continues to decline, with episodes of delirium where he mutters about being the "true dragon emperor."
He refuses medical attention, but during a lucid moment, he tells Zhu Zhanji that the great burden of the empire will soon be his and urges him not to disappoint. Zhu Zhanji reassures him, and later secretly instructs an attendant to carry out an unknown task. In the plum garden, You Yifan encounters Su Yuehua and asks why the Food Bureau staff fear him, claiming a past incident was a misunderstanding he wishes to apologize for.
Later, he returns to his residence to find Su Yuehua has sent him plum blossom porridge and other fine dishes. Yao Zijin delivers food to Zhu Zhanji, who is enjoying plum blossoms in Qiongyuan with Wu Cairen. Yao Zijin is forced to wait outside in the snow for a long time. When Zhu Zhanji finally sees her, nearly frozen, he scolds his attendant, Chen Wu.
He then speaks harshly to Yao Zijin, claiming he wouldn't care if she froze to death, yet he takes her hands to warm them. Frustrated by her reserved demeanor, he impulsively declares his intent to take her as a concubine to change her attitude. Yao Zijin kneels, explaining her recent promotion to Zhang Shan and her ambition to master the culinary arts. Citing the precedent of a female official who declined imperial favor, she appeals to Zhu Zhanji’s magnanimity.
When he questions her past confession of affection, she replies that she wishes for their hearts to be truly aligned before she could commit hers. Moved, Zhu Zhanji drapes his cloak over her and has Chen Wu escort her back, then orders the attendant to be punished with twenty strokes, doubling it to forty when he complains. The Crown Princess, having successfully raised funds for disaster relief, receives rare peony seeds from grateful commoners.
During a viewing with Zhuang Fei, the arrogant Guo Cefei makes a sarcastic remark, implying the Crown Princess is trying too hard to emulate the late Empress Ren Xiao. Zhuang Fei sharply rebukes Guo Cefei for her lack of decorum, causing her to feign dizziness and leave. Soon after, You Yifan alters the New Year's Eve banquet menu, sending the changes to Su Yuehua.
The additions create a challenge for the Food Bureau, especially the final dish assigned to Yao Zijin, which requires an extremely long cooking time. As the banquet approaches, You Yifan is unexpectedly reassigned from his security post at Qianqing Palace. During preparations, Meng Ziyun discovers that Guanglu Temple has delivered substandard ingredients. She furiously rejects the entire batch, deducing it is a deliberate attempt by the temple, which favors the rival Shangshan Supervisor, to sabotage them.
She then reveals she had anticipated this and had already stockpiled fresh ingredients. The New Year's Eve banquet features a competition between the Food Bureau and the Shangshan Supervisor. The Food Bureau learns of their rival’s menu, which culminates in a rich, complex stew called "All Three Matters of Fortune and Longevity." This dish, simmered for over ten hours, is designed to overwhelm the palate, making any subsequent course seem bland.
During the banquet, Zhu Zhanji notes the Emperor ignores the "scallion-braised sea cucumber," which Meng Ziyun attributes to the inferior ingredients she was forced to use. To counter the rich stew, Yao Zijin presents a deceptively simple "clear soup with cabbage." Zhu Zhanji, with his discerning palate, immediately identifies the hidden elements—duck, chicken, ham, and pork elbow—that create the soup's profound flavor, recognizing it as a specialty the Food Bureau prepares for the Crown Prince.
