Chapter 6
- Soubise (2)
"The meal is served."
With the voices of the female servants, individual small tables were placed before the four men sitting in the pavilion: Grandee Hong and Hong Eon-guk, father and son, and Im Sa-hong and Im Soong-jae, father and son.
On each small table were only a few pieces of bangjja yugi (bronze) tableware.
In the center was thickly sliced beef cooked in a special way, a few pieces of pickled vegetables, and alongside it, a bowl of rice and dried radish greens in soybean paste soup. That was all.
"...This is quite a simple meal. It seems only this region's granary has suffered a famine."
A strangely relaxed smile flickered across Im Soong-jae's face as he spoke mockingly.
Could it be because his prediction had come true?
It seemed his efforts to bribe and threaten the cooks and kitchen staff of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office the day before had paid off.
Whether he knew it or not, Hong Eon-guk responded with a straight face.
"I heard that Royal Secretary enjoys rare dishes, so I ordered them to present a new dish. I hope it pleases you."
With all the cooks and kitchen staff having run away, what kind of food could they have possibly prepared to entertain guests?
Im Soong-jae, slightly curious, picked up his bronze spoon and began to rummage through the dishes on the table, then suddenly started to click his tongue.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... What kind of food is this...? I never knew Hong Chambong had such barbarian tastes."
"...What on earth are you talking about?"
"I regret to say, I cannot accept this meal."
Im Soong-jae slammed his spoon down, and a bell-like resonance echoed from the bronze tableware on the table.
Sungjae continued with his smooth, oiled tongue.
"It has always been said that a ruler's meal reflects the nature and customs of the surrounding ten li. Thus, a guest from another region can gauge the customs, geography, and the success or failure of the harvest simply by looking at the meal."
"That... that is so."
"But all that is visible in this meal is grilled meat, so what else could this be but the barbarian custom of indulging in meat? How can one who enjoys such dishes be called a statesman who serves the country?"
At Sungjae's words, Im Sa-hong, the Vice Minister of Public Works, stroked his beard and shook his head in disappointment.
"There is truth in what you say. How could Grandee Hong make such a mistake? Could his mind be elsewhere...?"
This small table had become a good excuse for them, who were trying to find fault with the reception no matter what.
Wasn't that why they had come in the first place?
'...I expected this anyway.'
Having anticipated this outcome from the start, Hong Eon-guk sensed that it was time to slowly proceed with the plan he had laid out since morning.
Hong Eon-guk first came forward and bowed deeply to the Im family.
"...We have committed a great discourtesy in our eagerness to please you. We are well aware that this is no light matter."
"Indeed, it is not."
"Therefore, we must set a proper example for all under heaven."
"Set a proper example...?"
It was Im Soong-jae who seemed flustered, his eyes wavering at Hong Eon-guk's excessively humble words.
"Yes. In that sense, I will bring the cook who prepared the food and punish him with my own hands to appease your anger."
"N-No, Hong Chambong. What are you saying?"
"Guards, is anyone there! Quickly bring the cooks and kitchen staff from the kitchen!"
"That's, that's not what I meant..."
"Isn't this how we should atone for the rudeness we have shown you!"
The Im family began to show signs of embarrassment at Hong Eon-guk's sudden change in attitude.
* * *
"Do you think the meal was served properly?"
The prisoners in the kitchen and Bong Seondal craned their necks, peering anxiously toward the back garden.
They couldn't possibly see anything from that position, but they couldn't contain their curiosity.
"I can't help but think there weren't enough side dishes on the table..."
Ji-young quietly shook her head at Bong Seondal's worried words.
"If there are too many side dishes, it's harder to focus on the taste of the food. If they just taste the food we served, I'm sure we'll have a good chance."
The beef dish, cooked gently using the soubise method, would have a unique texture that people of this era had never experienced before.
And the other decisive move Ji-young had prepared was the special sauce that came with it.
That sauce contained a flavor that people of this era could never have experienced, and anyone who enjoyed gourmet food would be unable to resist it.
Just as she was thinking that, Guards suddenly burst into the kitchen.
"What are you doing?"
"W-Why are you suddenly doing this?"
"Don't say another word, just come with us!"
Ji-young, Bong Seondal, and the prisoners, who had no idea what was going on, were grabbed roughly by the scruff of their necks by the Guards and dragged outside.
They were dragged to the front of the pavilion in the back garden of the Provincial Office, where a banquet should have been in full swing.
"What are you doing! Why aren't you immediately flogging those who have insulted the decorum of the nobility?"
Hong Eon-guk's angry voice pierced their ears like a blade.
Even in this short moment, Ji-young could sense that something was wrong.
Looking now, they hadn't even touched the meal she had painstakingly prepared!
"W-Wait a minute!"
Ji-young tried to speak urgently, but the Provincial Office Guards didn't give her a chance and forced Ji-young and the prisoners to kneel in the back garden.
And, from far away, two burly Guards, one arm out of his sleeve, were seen carrying Staffs that were as big as their bodies.
The Staff for punishing serious criminals, the so-called 'chidogon'.
Five ja and seven chi in length. The largest of the five types of Staff in the Provincial Office.
A few strokes of the Staff might not seem like much, but being hit with the chidogon was a terrible punishment that could lead to paralysis or even death by flogging.
"Aigo, aigo."
"Please, sir, we were wrong."
As soon as they saw the chidogon, Bong Seondal and the prisoners, their faces pale, prostrated themselves on the ground and began to beg with their hands and feet.
"T-There, sir, no, Your Excellency! Why are you doing this!"
Meeting Ji-young's desperate gaze, Hong Eon-guk turned his head and tried to avoid her gaze.
It was a desperate measure to protect his family, but it was still a matter of dragging in innocent people and sacrificing them.
But the thought that his young daughter might become a target of the Red Envoy forced Hong Eon-guk to harden his heart.
"The food of the nobility must make full use of the nature of the region and be made without leaving anything behind. But the food on this table is nothing more than meat, so how can it be called food that is in accordance with the law! I will severely punish the crime of insulting the reception of the nobility!"
"No!"
Ji-young didn't miss the opportunity to retort loudly even in that situation.
Since she was already caught by the Guards and couldn't lift a finger, the only thing she could do in that situation was to shout.
"That table contains all the nature of this place!"Sikbeopjayeon (Food Law of Nature),
Food is about capturing nature."
Ji-young, who had studied ancient cookbooks, could not have been unaware of that concept, which also appeared in the Record of Yearning for the Clouds.
It was just that the method had transcended the limitations of this era.
"What did you just say? That the nature of this place is contained here?"
"Yes, it is."
Ji-young answered confidently to Hong Eon-guk's question, who was showing signs of embarrassment.
Then, a sharp voice came from behind.
"Hoo, that's interesting."
The owner of the voice was Im Sa-hong, the Vice Minister of Public Works, the father of the Im family, who had been watching the situation unfold.
Could it be because Ji-young's words had piqued the interest of the gourmet?
"Explain how that is so."
"You can't know the taste of food until you eat it, can you? I'll explain it after that."
Ji-young's voice, as she lay prostrate on the ground, was confident, but in reality, her heart was pounding.
But in order to avoid being beaten to death by the Staffs that the Guards were holding, she had no choice but to get them to eat the meal first.
"How audacious. Very well. But if you don't give a satisfactory explanation, I won't let it go."
Im Sa-hong said that and picked up a piece of beef with his brass chopsticks.
A piece of meat cooked in a reddish color, coated with a glossy dark brown sauce.
Im Sa-hong had tasted all the delicacies from all over the country.
As a powerful figure in the capital, second to none, he put the whole piece of meat in his mouth and began to chew.
The eyes of everyone gathered there were focused on one place, Im Sa-hong's mouth.
At that very moment,
Im Sa-hong's eyes widened and his pupils contracted.
"Ooh!"
Letting out a groan-like exclamation, Im Sa-hong's eyebrows twitched slightly.
Then, as if falling into ecstasy, his eyes began to close languidly.
'C-Could it be!'
Im Soong-jae, who was watching the scene from the side, realized that something was wrong and quickly brought the meat in front of him to his mouth.
After chewing what was in his mouth a few times, a look of shock spread across Im Soong-jae's face as well.
"N-No way! This taste is..."
The two men were simply swept away by the storm of flavors and lost their words.
The most surprised by that unexpected reaction were Grandee Hong and Hong Eon-guk, father and son.
A meal that had been nothing more than a discarded card was turning the situation around?
As if they themselves couldn't believe it, they quickly brought the meat to their mouths.
Soon, their expressions began to change as well, as if they too had been shocked.
"W-What on earth is this!"
"It's beef that's been cooked in a special way for a long time. And although it may seem like there's only meat, it actually contains all kinds of ingredients from this place."
"All kinds of ingredients are in it?"
"Yes. The sauce on the meat isn't just made with soy sauce. The vegetables from the garden here are boiled to make vegetable juice, and then anchovies and kelp brought in from Mapo are added to make broth. Then, shiitake mushrooms picked from the back mountain of the Provincial Office are added and simmered with soy sauce until it's thick."
What Ji-young had brought out was the ultimate 'umami'.
The key was mushrooms, anchovies, and kelp.
'Guanilic acid' in shiitake mushrooms, 'inosinic acid' in anchovies, and 'glutamic acid' in kelp.
When three different types of umami components are combined in a specific ratio, the umami is amplified dozens of times, becoming a so-called 'umami bomb'.
This combination is a method that is also applied to the manufacture of modern chemical seasonings, including MSG.
It was undoubtedly an incredible level of umami that people of this era, who had only tasted umami from meat broth, had never experienced before.
In addition, the sauce was made with water that had been boiled with vegetables from the garden and contained a rich aroma, creating a sauce with a deep flavor.
The beef, which had been cooked gently using the soubise method, was eaten with this special sauce, so it was no wonder that people of this era were wide-eyed.
"It's truly a taste of heaven!"
Im Sa-hong smacked his lips and shook his head once again after emptying the food on the table.
The situation of the others sitting on the pavilion was not much different.
They had forgotten that they were fighting over the meal and were simply lost in the taste of the food.
'Hoo...'
Watching them, Ji-young breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
Fortunately, it seemed that she would be able to avoid the worst-case scenario.
* * *
"This is really unexpected. To taste the most delicious food in the world in a place like this."
Even with the medicinal wine and sweets that had been served to cleanse their palates, the Im family could not stop talking about the food they had eaten a little while ago.
"I thought it was just grilled meat, but I could taste all kinds of complex and subtle flavors in it. It was no lie that you had gathered the ingredients from this place and captured only the essence of the taste."
"I felt the same way as my father."
Im Sa-hong asked Hong Eon-guk subtly with a sly look in his eyes.
"Tell me honestly. Wasn't the commotion you made earlier about beating the cook a deliberate act?"
"D-Did you notice even that? I can't seem to fool Your Excellency's eyes, hehehe..."
Hong Eon-guk laughed loudly and vaguely glossed over the rest of his words.
But he couldn't help but feel uneasy inside.
He had almost beaten an innocent person and harmed them greatly, and no matter how desperate he was, he couldn't be proud of having devised such a mean plan.
Moreover, the attitude of the Im family, who had suddenly become so generous because of a single dish, was somehow not very pleasant.
There was no way they would express their feelings so honestly without any intention.
"...For such thoughtful Grandee Hong and his son to have other thoughts for His Majesty, that is absolutely impossible. The rumors in the world are truly frightening."
"I am grateful that you understand."
"So, about that..."
Im Soong-jae sipped his medicinal wine and slowly looked at his father sitting next to him.
When Im Sa-hong nodded, Im Soong-jae took something out of his arms and placed it on the floor with a thud.
It was the red Chaehongpae, symbolizing the authority of the Red Envoy.
'Could it be that the meaning of this Chaehongpae is...'
Just as something ominous flashed through Hong Eon-guk's mind, Im Soong-jae's eyes gleamed strangely.
"...I have found a 'Red Beauty' to offer to His Majesty."
