“Thank you for the reminder, Princess. This old subject has his own clever method.”
Su Taifu smiled mysteriously, took the items from the steward’s hands, and entered the imperial study.
Sile was curious about what method Mr. Su had to deal with her father. Lifting her skirt, she stealthily slipped into the imperial study and stood behind the screen to secretly watch, completely ignoring the palace maid’s attempts to stop her.
“Nothing but rubbish! How many times have I said I never want to see these things again? Remove them, take them all away!”
“And what is this potato dish? It doesn’t even compare to half the quality of the Gu Family’s!”
“Is this cold noodles? What difference is there between this and ordinary noodles?”
“What is the imperial kitchen doing? If they don’t know how to prepare food, have them all dragged out and beheaded!”
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The head chef of the imperial kitchen has already been replaced. If you dislike these dishes, this servant will order them to bring others.”
Yuansheng offered suggestions from the side, extremely anxious and overwhelmed.
Last time when The Emperor went out of the palace to eat from street stalls, The Retired Emperor found out and flew into a rage.
The Retired Emperor worried that outsiders might harm The Emperor, causing turmoil in the court, therefore he forbade The Emperor from leaving the palace easily, and absolutely prohibited bringing outside food into the palace.
Yet The Emperor only loved the potatoes and cold noodles from the Gu Family’s stall, having craved them for over ten days.
Since The Emperor couldn’t get what he wanted, all the palace staff had been enduring his wrath every day. These were difficult times indeed!
At that moment, a young eunuch entered to announce, “Your Majesty, Su Taifu requests an audience outside.”
“Teacher is here! Quickly invite him in.”
Huangfu Heng’s anger instantly subsided.
Seeing his teacher carrying something in his hand, the smile on his face couldn’t be contained.
Indeed, his teacher understood him best!
As his teacher approached closer,
Huangfu Heng caught a familiar scent and immediately became very excited. “It’s the Gu Family’s Tieban Tudou and Liangmian! No… why is there also a refreshing fragrance?”
Su Taifu placed the food on the table, and palace maids immediately came forward to unwrap each item.
Yuansheng, who had been delighted moments earlier that Mr. Su had come to save them, suddenly changed expression. “Master Su! These chicken feet are filthy things! How could you bring such items before His Majesty?”
He immediately ordered the palace staff, “Quickly remove them!”
“Wait!”
Su Taifu stopped the palace staff’s actions, picked up a chicken foot and began chewing it with great relish.
“Who says chicken feet are filthy? This old subject finds them delicious!”
“Your Majesty, these are the Gu Family’s secret recipe Pao Jiao Chicken Feet! They’re numbing, spicy, sour, and sweet – the flavor is excellent, refreshing to eat, truly divine food for relieving summer heat and stimulating appetite!”
“This… is edible?” Huangfu Heng looked disgusted.
Huangfu Heng was not only picky about food but also very particular about ingredients. Things like chicken feet that walked on the ground every day disgusted him the most.
Su Taifu didn’t respond, merely continued chewing on the chicken feet with single-minded focus.
Such delicious things were rare in this world!
He needed to eat a few more before the young emperor discovered how delicious chicken feet could be.
Huangfu Heng: “…” As if anyone would compete with him for them.
The pile of chicken bones in front of Su Taifu grew mountain-high.
The sour and refreshing aroma of the chicken feet kept drifting into Huangfu Heng’s nose, making his mouth water uncontrollably.
He had already finished the Tieban Tudou and Liangmian, yet he still felt hungry…
Sile, hiding behind the screen, was also craving intensely.
When she saw her picky father eating chicken feet, she was completely petrified.
By the time she recovered her senses, all the chicken feet had been eaten.
Only the sour and spicy scent of the chicken feet remained in the air.
Sile sniffed the aroma, her mouth watering profusely.
Oh my goodness, the chicken feet must be so delicious!
She had to leave the palace to buy some!
Gu Yanxi looked at the lavishly dressed woman before her, feeling somewhat dazzled.
This was the most beautiful woman she had seen since arriving in this world.
The woman was young, with fair skin and exquisite features—like a meticulously carved piece of jade. Especially those peach blossom eyes, so captivating that Gu Yanxi almost fell in love herself.
Gu Yanxi couldn’t bear to refuse such a beauty, but…
“Miss, the Pao Jiao Chicken Feet are sold out. Please come back tomorrow. I’ll set some aside for you then, so you’ll definitely get some.”
“How dare you! My young… my lady thinks highly of your chicken feet—that’s an honor for you! There are still a few left right here!” Lucui pointed at the ten remaining chicken feet in the basin and ordered Gu Yanxi to wrap them up.
Gu Yanxi didn’t move. These had already been reserved by someone who had even paid in advance.
“Lucui, don’t be rude!”
Sile batted her large peach blossom eyes and deployed her ultimate weapon. “This sister is both beautiful and kind-hearted, with such excellent culinary skills—truly a model for women of Da Shuo! I’m not an unreasonable person either. Since that person hasn’t come to pick up the chicken feet yet, maybe they don’t want them anymore. I’ll pay double the price. Could you sell them to me?”
A voice cut in, “I reserved the chicken feet and already paid for them. Who said I didn’t want them?”
Gou Dezhu approached Gu Yanxi. “Chef Gu, I’m here to pick up the chicken feet.”
“You’re finally here. Looks like you’ll be late for school again today,” Gu Yanxi greeted him.
She then turned to Sile. “You see, miss, this gentleman has already reserved all the chicken feet. If you’d like some, please come back tomorrow.”
Sile didn’t hear Gu Yanxi’s words, her gaze fixed intently on Gou Dezhu.
Noticing the sparkle in Sile’s eyes, Gu Yanxi glanced between their faces and thought to herself, Something’s going on here.
Gou Dezhu felt uneasy under the woman’s stare. She’s quite beautiful, but it seems her mind isn’t all there. I’ve been talking to her, and she hasn’t responded at all.
“Hey, miss, are you okay?” Gou Dezhu waved a hand in front of her eyes. Could she really be a simpleton?
“If you want these chicken feet, I can share half with you.”
Sile stammered, “I… no, that’s not necessary.”
Gou Dezhu only took five chicken feet and asked Gu Yanxi to pack the remaining five for the young lady.
Holding the chicken feet, Sile stared at Gou Dezhu’s retreating figure as he entered the Academy, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
Knowing Sile was a new customer, Gu Yanxi reminded her, “Miss, the weather is quite hot. Chicken feet don’t keep long, so you should eat them as soon as possible.”
Only then did Sile look away. “Pretty sister, is that young gentleman a student of Yunchang Academy?”
She batted her peach blossom eyes, her tone exceedingly gentle and full of anticipation.
Gu Yanxi understood her thoughts and smiled inwardly. Gou Dezhu’s spring has arrived.*
She nodded lightly.
Seeing that Gu Yanxi wasn’t annoyed with her, Sile pressed further, “Then do you know his name or which family’s young master he is? Oh, and what does he usually buy from your stall?”
“Pretty sister, you’ll tell me, won’t you?”
Sile pouted slightly, looking especially adorable, much like a modern Barbie doll.
Gu Yanxi chuckled. “He comes to buy breakfast at this time every day. He likes all the food at this stall.”
Gou Dezhu had helped her before, so she had been saving a portion for him these past few days.
After several interactions, the two became friends, and Gu Yu even started calling him “brother.”
Sile originally wanted to follow in his footsteps by buying a portion of each snack to taste and see what flavors he preferred.
Unfortunately, she arrived too late, and all the food had sold out.
Gu Yanxi noticed her disappointment and comforted her, “Come earlier tomorrow, and you’ll definitely see him.”