The Ling brothers and the old steward returned after disposing of the bodies.
As they approached the Abandoned Temple, they were drawn in by the long-missed aroma of cooked food.
Without a word, they quickened their pace. Upon entering the temple gate, they saw Nanny Song squatting there, cooking.
“Nanny Song, do we have food now?” Ling Bei asked, his face filled with disbelief.
After all, obtaining any food at this time seemed like an impossible fantasy.
Nanny Song smiled at everyone.
“All of this was given to me by the Prince.”
The implication was clear: since the Prince had provided these things, they should just eat and not ask any questions.
Everyone present was sharp-witted. Upon hearing Nanny Song’s words, they understood her meaning.
The Prince had never liked anyone questioning his affairs. No matter how curious they were about the origin of the food, they could only hold back their questions.
The old steward was observant. Noticing the several black-clad men tied up in the corner, he called out to the Ling brothers:
“Let’s go check on those people first. It’s rare to capture a live one. It would be best if we could find out who is behind this.”
The Ling brothers also understood the stakes. In just half a month since leaving the capital, they had already encountered two ambushes. Finding out the mastermind would at least give them some clarity.
The black-clad men, having lost their Poison Capsules and hoping for a quicker death, quickly confessed everything they knew.
In truth, they were merely members of a Jianghu Assassin Organization, doing jobs for money to eliminate troubles for their clients.
As for the true mastermind behind it all, they genuinely had no idea.
Xuan Zhan sat inside the Abandoned Temple, listening to the commotion outside. He had long anticipated this outcome.
Although no useful information could be extracted from these men, Xuan Zhan could roughly guess who the culprit was.
It was none other than his dear imperial nephew.
After consulting Xuan Zhan, the Ling brothers took the black-clad men aside to deal with them. They then returned to Nanny Song’s side, their eyes fixed intently on the large iron pot steaming with heat.
Before long, Nanny Song finished preparing the meal. She first served some to Xuan Zhan and Jian Junyao, delivering it to their room, before inviting the Ling brothers and the old steward to sit outside and eat together.
Knowing that food was scarce at the moment, Nanny Song dared not use up all the ingredients. She only made a radish and potato soup and a stir-fried cabbage dish.
Even such simple dishes, in these extraordinary times, became a rare delicacy in everyone’s eyes.
Looking at the food before her, Jian Junyao couldn’t help but swallow her saliva in front of Xuan Zhan, feeling rather embarrassed.
She peeked outside at the others, who were devouring their meal with gusto, completely unaware of what was happening inside the room.
Jian Junyao’s eyes darted around. Quickly, she retrieved two pig’s trotters from her Space—items she had bought during her sweep of the Food Mall.
She handed one pig’s trotter to Xuan Zhan.
“This is for you. Let’s have a secret feast, just the two of us.”
Xuan Zhan accepted it without hesitation, silently thinking to himself:
You have a conscience, knowing that I love pig’s trotters.
With his favorite food in hand, Xuan Zhan no longer held back.
Perhaps because she ate too hastily, Jian Junyao began to hiccup violently after just a few bites.
Xuan Zhan handed her the water pouch. “Were you a starving ghost in your past life?”
“If it weren’t for hunger, how could I have fallen off a cliff and ended up in this godforsaken place?” Jian Junyao replied, taking the water pouch and drinking a few sips.
However, a few sips of water did nothing to help her hiccups.
Seeing this, Jian Junyao focused her mind and entered the Space once more, retrieving a can of Canned Cola.
Since this man had already seen through her secrets, she decided not to hold back anymore.
After taking a few sips of cola, Jian Junyao took a deep breath and finally stopped hiccupping.
When she looked up, she saw Xuan Zhan staring curiously at the can in her hand.
Soon, another can of cola appeared in her hand.
“Here, try it. It’s really refreshing.”
Xuan Zhan took the can, examined it from all sides, and then, imitating Jian Junyao, pulled the tab open and took a sip.
“Hmm, not bad.”
Since her Secret Identity had been exposed, Jian Junyao had taken out many things, but this was the first time she heard Xuan Zhan give any feedback. She was so pleased that her tail practically wagged.
“Of course, this is the best-tasting drink where I come from.”
“Drink?” Xuan Zhan had now transformed into a curious child.
Jian Junyao explained, “A drink is flavored water. What you’re drinking now is called cola, which has a coffee-like flavor. There are also various fruit-flavored ones, all very tasty. But personally, I still like cola the most.”
Xuan Zhan listened intently, growing even more curious. What other new things could this woman possibly bring out?
After talking to herself for a while and noticing that Xuan Zhan remained silent, Jian Junyao decided not to continue. Right now, eating was the most important thing.
Both of them were starving. Not only did they finish the pig’s trotters Jian Junyao had taken out, but they also left no leftovers from the other dishes.
Just as Jian Junyao had finished disposing of the pig’s trotter bones and the two empty cola cans, she heard Ling Ye’s voice from outside.
“Prince, the one outside wishes to see you.”
“Tell him the food is all gone.” Xuan Zhan had no obligation to feed the emperor’s personal guards.
In the first few days after leaving the capital, he hadn’t realized how severe the drought outside was—so severe that even with money, one couldn’t buy food.
Additionally, Xuan Zhan had wanted to put on a show for the spies the emperor had sent, pretending to be so naive that he generously gave his precious food to his personal guards.
However, this time he miscalculated, and it ended up leaving his own people without rations.
Now that he understood the situation, he naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to continue feeding those people.
Seeing Ling Ye go out to deliver the message, Jian Junyao couldn’t help but ask.
“Are we really going to let them starve?”
Xuan Zhan didn’t answer her question.
“Do you have any food with a strong, fragrant aroma?”
Food with a strong aroma? Of course, she did.
Not only did she have fragrant ones, but she also had some that smelled downright awful…
Jian Junyao didn’t understand Xuan Zhan’s intention and thought he was still hungry, wanting more food from her.
So, she took out a pack of Kangshifu Braised Beef Noodles she had just bought from the Space.
“Here, this one has a rich and fragrant flavor, and it’s quick to prepare. If one pack isn’t enough, I have more.”
Xuan Zhan took it and examined it. The characters on the packaging were different from those he knew—they looked somewhat incomplete, and he couldn’t recognize a single one.
“What is this?”
“This is called Instant Noodles. You can eat it after pouring boiling water over it, though cooking it makes the texture even better.”
After hearing this, Xuan Zhan handed the packet back to Jian Junyao.
“Open the packaging.”
Jian Junyao immediately understood what the man meant.
It was simply that he didn’t know how to open the packaging.
She skillfully tore open the packaging bag, took out the noodle cake inside, placed it in a clean large bowl, and then arranged the seasoning packets on top one by one.
Seeing that Jian Junyao had put away the packaging, Xuan Zhan called toward the door: “Nanny Song.”
Nanny Song hurried in with small, quick steps: “Prince, what are your orders?”
Xuan Zhan handed the large bowl containing the noodle cake to Nanny Song: “Take this out and cook it.”
Nanny Song tried hard to suppress her curiosity, turned, and went out to cook the noodles.