The tall, skinny man named Kang Hua turned around with a sly grin. “Don’t worry, Brother Yuan, I’ll just pick one red fruit to taste. It looks like it should be pretty good.”
The others couldn’t talk him out of it and let him go ahead—truth be told, they were curious about the fruit’s flavor too.
Kang Hua stood by the pepper patch, sizing it up for a good while, before finally picking a smaller, bright red chili pepper and popping it into his mouth.
He figured, if he picked a small one and it didn’t taste good, he could toss it without regret.
The chili hit his tongue, and he chewed a few times while his companions watched eagerly. “Well? Is it good?”
Before Kang Hua could even register the taste, his tongue felt like it was set ablaze—scorching and painful, his whole face flushed red from the heat.
He spat the pepper out, stuck out his tongue, and drooled uncontrollably, mumbling incoherently, “Ah! It hurts! It hurts! My tongue is falling off!”
Could he have been poisoned?
His companions were terrified. They hoisted Kang Hua up and ran toward the courtyard, shouting that they needed to find the Princess Consort right away!
They guessed those red fruits the Princess Consort grew were probably poisonous, and they hoped Kang Hua could still be saved.
“Princess Consort, save us!”
Qiao Yan was busy in the kitchen when she suddenly heard a ruckus in the courtyard, like someone was dying.
She furrowed her brow and strode out quickly. “What’s wrong?”
Once she stepped into the courtyard and saw Kang Hua’s flushed face, tongue out, and drooling, she knew exactly what had happened. She couldn’t help but laugh—he’d shoved something into his mouth without even knowing what it was, not worried she might have sprayed pesticides on it.
Gao Zhuoyuan anxiously reported the situation to the Princess Consort, but when he looked up and saw her laughing, he grew even more frantic!
“Princess Consort, please grant us the antidote! Kang Hua was just being greedy—punish him however you see fit, but please spare his life!”
Antidote?
Qiao Yan’s smile deepened. So they thought her chili peppers were poison!
She said nothing, just watched the commotion with amusement while a group of guards looked ready to kneel before her.
She rubbed her cheeks, stiff from laughing, and pointed at the water vat. “Don’t worry, those are my treasures, not poison. A few sips of water and he’ll be fine.”
The guards exchanged glances, hardly daring to believe it.
Kang Hua’s tongue was burning unbearably. He rushed to the water vat, scooped up a ladle of water, and gulped it down—sure enough, the pain on his tongue began to fade.
Mu Qinzhen was in the study playing with the two little ones when he heard the commotion outside and came out to see what was happening.
Xiao Chuan’er was sharp—one look at the scene and he knew that man had stolen some of his mother’s chili peppers. His little face scrunched up with a hint of disdain. “Idiot!”
Xiao Yu’er, nestled in her father’s arms, echoed her brother in a babyish voice, “Idiot~”
Mu Qinzhen frowned, puzzled, and looked at the two little ones. “Chuan’er, what exactly did he eat?”
Xiao Chuan’er puffed out his little chest, his cute, milky voice tinged with pride. “It’s Mother’s big treasure!”
Mother had four treasures—the two most important were him and his sister, and the rest were the sweet potatoes and chili peppers!
He knew their family’s money came from Mother growing chili peppers and sweet potatoes, things no one else had.
The little one explained sweet potatoes and chili peppers to his newly acknowledged father in his babyish voice. Mu Qinzhen kept a calm face, but inside, waves were stirring.
This woman had discovered new crops—this would be a boon for the country and its people!
With the commotion over, Qiao Yan ordered the guards to wash the vegetables and headed back to the kitchen to prepare the midday meal.
She heated oil in the wok, tossed in minced scallions and ginger to sizzle, then added the sliced cured meat to render out the fat, and finally threw in the chopped garlic sprouts and green and red peppers, stir-frying until cooked—a plate of stir-fried cured meat was done.
After the cured meat, Qiao Yan dumped the smoked chicken into the wok and stir-fried it until golden brown, added a spoonful of her homemade chili bean paste, and once the aroma bloomed, poured in a big pot of water to simmer.
When the chicken was tender and falling apart, she added the vegetables the guards had washed.
While the dish cooked, she mixed up a cornmeal batter and slapped palm-sized cakes around the edge of the pot, letting them bake until golden and crispy.
This cornmeal wasn’t the coarse stuff regular farmers ate—she’d bought it with Points from the System’s Mall, so it was finer and went down smooth without scratching the throat.
The broth bubbled, sending wave after wave of fragrance through the air. The guards in the courtyard were entranced, drooling over the smell.
So fragrant! They’d never smelled anything this good before—the Princess Consort’s cooking was incredible!
In the study, Mu Qinzhen caught the aroma of the meal and was startled too. He hadn’t expected that woman to be such a skilled cook.
Xiao Yu’er’s little belly growled loudly at the scent. She tilted her head up and sniffed hard—that was it, she had to go find her mother for food.
So the chubby little girl, off to mooch a meal, led a whole crowd behind her, all of them swarming toward the kitchen with stars in their eyes.
Xiao Yu’er took point, followed by Xiao Chuan’er and Mu Qinzhen, while the seven guards trailed eagerly behind their lord.
Stepping into the kitchen, the fragrance hit even harder, and their mouths watered all the more.
Qiao Yan turned around and found a crowd waiting at the door, startling her for a moment.
Were they worried she’d poison them?
Xiao Yu’er, unaware of her mother’s thoughts, hugged one of her thighs, shaking her little body and acting cute: “Mommy~ Baby’s hungry, feel it, baby’s tummy is all flat~”
Xiao Chuan’er kept a straight face and stayed silent for a second, then also trotted over on her little short legs to hug her mother’s thigh. She didn’t speak or act cute, just held on quietly, but her sparkling eyes and the unconscious swallowing motion gave away her thoughts.
Qiao Yan found her two precious babies utterly adorable. She took out two golden, crispy flatbreads, blew on them at the corner of her mouth until they were no longer hot, and then handed them to the two little ones.
The little cubs’ eyes lit up, and they held the flatbreads with their tiny hands, munching away happily, which made the group of guards behind them even more tempted, staring at Qiao Yan with longing.
Qiao Yan ignored them and rolled her eyes: “What are you looking at? Are you three years old too?”
Mu Qinzhen remained silent from start to finish, but after glancing at the two cubs gnawing on their flatbreads, he gave Qiao Yan a meaningful look.
She didn’t even give him one!
What about the deep affection she’d promised him before?
In the Sea of Consciousness, Little Milk System was also holding a piece of corn flatbread, gnawing away with crumbs all over the corner of her mouth.
Her Physical Manifestation Function allowed her to take things from the outside world, so every time her host made something delicious, she could pig out too.
After letting out a satisfied burp, Little Milk System noticed Mu Qinzhen’s expression and said to Qiao Yan.
[Host, your man’s craving it.]
Pfft!
Qiao Yan, who was pressing the flatbread, nearly threw a lump of dough on the ground. What the heck? Her man? Imagining herself together with Mu Qinzhen, she couldn’t help but shudder.
Having to face that deadpan face every day, she’d probably go frigid!
She corrected the little one: “Xiao Tongzi, watch your wording. He’s not my man. At best, he’s a stranger who contributed a sperm cell for my children.”
Little Milk System was full and content, too lazy to argue with her host.
[Fine, fine, your stranger-who-contributed-sperm-cells is eyeing the flatbread with craving. Hurry up and give him one, he looks pretty pitiful.]
Qiao Yan was noncommittal. She turned and sneaked a glance at the deadpan Mu Qinzhen. Would a celestial being like him, who seemed untouched by mortal cravings, actually get greedy? She found it a bit hard to believe.
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