The following day.
Before dawn had even broken, the servants in the Imperial Kitchen were already bustling about. The Emperor’s breakfast required a spread of nine dishes, the extreme number. Each dish had to be perfect in color, aroma, and taste, while remaining nutritious. This was already a simplified version; in the time of the late emperor, there would have been at least twenty-one courses.
The newly appointed head eunuch directed the staff, "For this morning’s breakfast, the Emperor shall have: braised sea cucumber in small bowls, five-inch plates of stir-fried purple-capped mushrooms, furnace-roasted duck with cabbage, three-fresh pigeon eggs, and chicken noodle soup..."
Chapter 39