The eunuch asked the emperor to eat.

In the Qing dynasty, the emperor's way of eating was called "passing rice". Eunuchs are divided into two factions, each with its own duties, including serving eunuchs, eunuchs in cloth and eunuchs in law enforcement. Once the old eunuch shouted "Let's eat together", the musicians in the yard began to beat drums and sing together, and the emperor ate at the dinner table surrounded by eunuchs. The emperor can't talk when he eats, and it all depends on the eyesight of the eunuch who waits for food. When the emperor's eyes see which dish, the waiter eunuch will quickly move it to the emperor. But eunuchs are not allowed to be attentive, such as "this dish is fashionable" and "this dish tastes good, please try it" and so on. When the emperor eats more than three dishes, the law enforcement eunuch shouts "withdraw" and this dish must be withdrawn. After that, the emperor couldn't see this dish for ten days and a half months, even if his mouth was watering.

"You can't eat three mouthfuls", which is the family law set by the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty. No one can know what the emperor likes and dislikes, even eunuchs or ministers, including his own family. There are two reasons: first, I am afraid that someone will make a fuss about this, such as poisoning; Secondly, and most importantly, I am afraid that someone will invite me to spoil the emperor.

The imperial dining hall was responsible for the diet of the Qing emperors.

According to the Qing Hui Dian, the imperial chef only undertakes the cooking of the emperor and the meals of the empresses, princes and Fujin. The chef only supplies raw materials, and the specific cooking is undertaken by the kitchens in their respective palaces (that is, the small kitchens mentioned in the TV series).

"Every dish and every bowl has a silver medal, which is designed to prevent poisoning. In the same way, before food is sent, it must be tasted by eunuchs, which is called' tasting food'."

When eating, there are eunuchs who are responsible for serving the emperor. The eunuch's role is to see what the emperor likes to eat this meal today, what dishes are not quite to his taste, what dishes are salty and what dishes are light, and what dishes need to be added (don't laugh, Emperor Qianlong often gives orders, for example, one of the "dishes to see" is Baishui cook the meat, which is available every day, and Emperor Qianlong says one day. )。

Some of the "food stalls" we can see today were recorded by eunuchs, and every detail of the emperor's eating process was recorded. This is to study which bite the emperor likes, sweet or sour, salty or spicy, so as to improve it.