My British Empire

  Chapter 155 The Five Marys

  ps: It’s hot! For the sake of Lan Che's hard work, let's count the votes to motivate him!

"Sir, we're here!" A well-carved, gorgeous and luxurious carriage passed the moat, and stopped slowly. It just stopped in front of the grass where the banquet was held. Behind a group of noble carriages, the groom who was driving gently reminded himself Owner.

   "Yes!" Donald agreed softly, and then, with the support of the groom, he got out of the carriage.

  Looking up, the soldiers lit hundreds of torches, stuck them in the trees, or simply held them in their hands, standing around the grass banquet, all with bright eyes and wide-eyed eyes, not letting any suspicious person go.

Immediately, Donald looked at the center, where a huge tent was stationed in the grass. The surrounding walls of the tent were raised, and one could directly see the dining table inside. The graceful maids were carrying food in and out, which seemed to occupy a very large area. Enough for these nobles and councilors to dine together.

   Take a closer look, isn’t this the exact same tent used for the banquet that James VI held to celebrate having an heir when Queen Mary was born?

  Donald couldn't help complaining in his heart, but he looked happy on his face, and walked towards the tent.

  In the Middle Ages, almost the vast majority of knights liked to eat meat, drink alcohol, and had a big appetite. In many chivalric literature, there are plots of knights eating and drinking, including the story of several knights eating and drinking, and eating a whole wild boar in one go.

  So, at a glance, Donald saw that next to those tents, the tables of some officers of the army were already full of large pieces of roasted beef, fat mutton that was shiny with oil, and fish with more meat and less spines.

  Of course they can't enter the tent, only noble people can enter, such as yourself. Thinking beautifully in his heart, Donald walked in.

Under the huge tent, there were dozens of long tables, and the middle one belonged to the king, high-ranking Scottish nobles and monks, and a businessman like him could only find a place to sit on the edge of the tent near the door. sit.

  In the early aristocratic banquets, there were no strict regulations on the order of seats. Usually, nobles who were close to the king would get a position close to the king to show their favor.

   Now, the court personnel who are responsible for the banquets of the royal family have all accepted the unified guidelines. The most important guests sit at the higher table, and the most honorable seats at the same table as the king are reserved for priests and high-ranking nobles. Then the seats are arranged in order according to the status, and at the same time, the positions of male guests and female guests cross each other and sit.

   After waiting for a while, the nobles and members of parliament also arrived one by one, leaving only Edward, Queen Mary and Queen Mary.

   Sure enough, a court etiquette officer immediately walked into the tent and shouted loudly to the nobles:

"By the grace of God, His Majesty Edward VI, King of England, France, and Ireland, and Scotland, Defender of the Faith, Head of the Church of England and Ireland, and of Scotland, and Head of the Church of England and Scotland, Her Majesty Mary I, Queen of England and Scots, come to— "

   After the court etiquette officer shouted, the nobles and members of parliament stood up and bowed to salute.

   "Good day, Your Majesty the King!" "Good day, Your Majesty the Queen!"

   Immediately, Edward took little Lolita's hand and walked over step by step, walking from the door to the center.

  As for why the Queen Mother did not come, she gave Edward the reason that she was not feeling well.

  The two were all smiling, and they walked over in gorgeous dresses. After the two came to the long table in the center, everyone got up and sat down.

  The first thing is to pray before the meal, to thank the Lord for His kindness. After the prayer, the servants line up and deliver the food one by one.

  The butler came up first, bringing bread and butter, and then the cupbearer and his assistants, bringing wine and spirits.

  Servants in the castle brought the wine in casks and poured it into large cups.

  The waiters will add spices and sugar to some wine, and then serve it with the last dish.

  At a banquet, the food is mainly meat and fish, with less vegetables and fruits.

  In the back kitchen, the chef and his helpers in the kitchen are exhausted in preparing the meat for the banquet.

Since the meat is mostly grilled, it is necessary to constantly turn the various meats on the spit—pork, beef, lamb, poultry, game, and they also prepare stews and soups in a large iron pot, which is hung on the hook. And on the iron chain, there is a fire under the pot, and the iron chain can be pulled up or down to adjust the temperature.

  So, one by one, the grilled meat exuding heat was delivered to the plates of the nobles by the maid.

   Then, the maids put a small dish mixed with pepper, nutmeg, ginger, chickpea, saffron, cloves, cinnamon and vanilla, these expensive spices from the East, and put it in front of the nobles, and Edward also had it in front of him.

   Then Edward saw the eyes of the nobles and councilors light up after seeing the precious seasoning in front of them, and they praised Edward's generosity in their mouths. Of course, these are the collections of the Scottish royal family and the ransom paid by some nobles.

   It can be seen that they are sincere and not fake at all.

Afterwards, some nobles grabbed a handful of pepper and sprinkled it directly on the leg of lamb, and the leg of lamb turned red immediately, looking very beautiful. Can't do it.

  Donald also had a happy face. As a rich businessman, this kind of bold behavior for a year is only like a treat, and he is usually reluctant.

  After the meat, comes the fruit. Some of the fruits are roasted, like apples;

  In the Middle Ages, the doctors of the lifeline of European medicine believed that all fruits were cold food, and if they were to be eaten, they should be cooked in a hot way or added with hot spices. In the eyes of the nobles, stewed fruit is considered high quality, and anyone who eats raw fruit is pure dick.

For example, when the pepper-flavored orange, pear, apricot and plum stewed apple soup was in front of Edward, he didn't show any disgust. On the contrary, he happily took a spoonful of it and sent it to the little girl's mouth. .

  So the nobles were very moved. You see, His Majesty the King actually fed such a delicious and cherished delicacy to Queen Mary. What a loving couple this is!

  So, in this pleasant and peppery tent, the nobles enjoyed an unforgettable dinner.

   After eating, the nobles gathered together in twos and threes to chat, and even beautiful ladies and handsome nobles gradually walked into the deep forest.

   After Edward finished eating, he was also very happy to condolences to the officers of the army.

   Then, after meeting some nobles, when he was about to take Mary back, he found four cute little lolis gathered around her, all about the same age.

   "Your Majesty!" After four clear and clear His Majesty's voices, Mary discovered Edward's arrival.

   "Brother Edward, these are my four good friends!"

   Seeing Edward coming, little Mary quickly hugged Edward's arm and introduced him one by one.

   "This is Mary Beaton." Little Lolita pointed to one of the tallest little girls and said.

   "This is Mary Hamilton!" A girl with fair hair.

   "This is Mary Lannox!" A little plump girl.

   "This is Mary Campbell!" A little girl with the same red hair as Little Lolita.

   "Five Marys!" Edward looked at the five people and said in surprise.

   These four Marys are all girls from the four major Scottish families. It is recorded in history and they have the same name. They accompanied Queen Mary to France to study and play together.

  (end of this chapter)