Seeing his brows furrow again and again, Qi Yize grew even more curious about the contents of the letter.
“Yu Zhizhi is still waiting outside for your reply. She said whether you agree or refuse, you must send someone out to inform her.”
Qi Yize blinked. “Can I take a look at what’s written in the letter?”
Zhao Yunjin refused without hesitation. “No.”
“Then can you at least tell me roughly what she said?”
Seeing how nosy he was, Zhao Yunjin picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and replied calmly:
“To express her apology, she invited this prince to go to Fuju Restaurant tomorrow at noon for lunch.”
“So, are you going or not?”
A faint smile curved Zhao Yunjin’s lips. “I’ll agree to her first. Do you think I’ll actually go?”
Qi Yize understood.
Yunjin was planning to give Yu Zhizhi a little hope first, then slap her down afterward.
Time passed unknowingly for a quarter of an hour. Yu Zhizhi was still waiting outside, while Zhao Yunjin had already returned to his study, leisurely reading.
Seeing that he made no move, Qi Yize couldn’t help asking, “Aren’t you going to send someone to inform her?”
“No rush. Let her wait another two quarters of an hour.”
Qi Yize gave him a thumbs-up. “That move of yours is quite ruthless!”
He understood that his friend wanted to teach Yu Zhizhi a lesson—to let her know he wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
Compared to Zhao Yunjin, Yu Zhizhi was still too inexperienced.
Yu Zhizhi waited outside for a full half hour before finally seeing someone sent by the Sixth Prince.
Zhao Yi, with a stiff expression, said flatly, “My master has agreed.”
Yu Zhizhi knew very well that the Sixth Prince had deliberately delayed to give her a show of power.
Based on his usual style, he was not someone who acted slowly or hesitantly.
“Go back and tell your master his efficiency needs improvement,” Yu Zhizhi said bluntly.
Zhao Yi glared at her, clearly displeased, but he couldn’t lash out.
“You—”
“You what? I know you don’t like me. I’ll leave then.”
Yu Zhizhi ran over to her brother and stuffed all the apricots they had picked from the ground into both sleeves.
Over the next two days, she planned to make them into dried apricots—delicious and healthy snacks that Xiaocheng and her parents would surely enjoy.
Zhao Yi frowned at the now noticeably bare apricot tree. “What happened?”
One of the guards recounted everything that had just occurred.
“At first, she only kicked the tree once. Later, when she grew impatient, she kicked it several more times.”
After a while, upon hearing Zhao Yi’s report, Zhao Yunjin simply replied, “It’s fine.”
So his master had no intention of pursuing the matter.
At that moment, Zhao Yunjin found himself a little curious about how she had looked while kicking the tree—whether she was really as crude and amusing as Qi Yize described.
He also wanted to see her expression when she mocked his efficiency.
But even more, he wanted to see how she would react tomorrow at noon when he broke the appointment.
She would probably explode in anger—and perhaps do something even more unexpected.
After returning to the Yun residence with her brother, Yu Zhizhi went out again to a blacksmith’s shop.
She had a copper hot pot stove custom-made on an expedited order.
Another three taels of silver gone.
Next, she went to the Yun family’s grocery shop located in the Haixi District.
At that moment, Fang Lanzhu was inside checking accounts. When she saw Yu Zhizhi, the latter immediately explained her purpose.
“My daughter, take whatever you need.”
Yu Zhizhi smiled sweetly. “Thank you, Mother!”
Though the shop was small, it had everything. After browsing for a while, Yu Zhizhi quickly found dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, dried mushrooms… all the seasonings needed for making a hot pot base.
She planned to prepare the base in advance and make both spicy and non-spicy versions for the Sixth Prince the next day.
Unfortunately, there was no doubanjiang in ancient times, so she had to substitute it with a kind of fermented paste sold in the shop.
As for star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon bark, tsaoko… she learned from her mother that these spices could only be bought at a pharmacy.
One key ingredient—beef tallow—was nowhere to be found.
Although she could substitute it with soybean oil or lard, the flavor wouldn’t be as authentic. Left with no choice, she went to the only place in the capital authorized by the government to sell beef, hoping for luck.
To her surprise, she managed to buy a piece of beef fat.
Though it was quite expensive—it cost her a full one hundred coins.
She also planned to return the next day to buy fresh beef and fatty slices as hot pot ingredients.
Beef and fatty cuts—these premium ingredients should be enough to show her sincerity.
Enough to make the Sixth Prince call her “grandma” three times after eating.
And forget everything she had said while drunk.
By the time she finished buying the ingredients and returned to the Yun residence, the sun had already begun to set, painting the sky with a faint red glow as night approached.
After having dinner with her parents and brother, Yu Zhizhi hurried to the kitchen, eager to start preparing the hot pot base.
The Yun household was small—aside from family members, there was only Uncle He’s family of three as servants.
Normally, Aunt He handled the cooking. When she saw Yu Zhizhi enter the kitchen, she looked surprised.
After all, she had heard rumors—this young lady had lived in luxury at the Prime Minister’s residence for years. How could she possibly know how to cook?
Wasn’t this just messing around?
Seeing Yu Zhizhi carrying two heavy baskets, Aunt He quickly stepped forward to take them.
“Miss, if you need anything, just tell me. There’s no need for you to do it yourself.”
Yu Zhizhi smiled. “Don’t worry, Aunt He, I know what I’m doing. But I’ll need your help to clean this beef fat and render it into tallow.”
“No problem, Miss.”
Aunt He nodded repeatedly.
Then Yu Zhizhi began soaking the spices and preparing the dried chilies and peppercorns.
Once everything was ready, she started frying the hot pot base.
After pouring the beef tallow into the pot and heating it, she instructed Aunt He, who was tending the fire, “Keep it on low heat the whole time.”
“Understood.”
Yu Zhizhi focused intently on the pot. Only when the spices had fried until dry, firm, and crisp—fully blending their aroma with the beef tallow—did she remove them.
Making hot pot base required patience and care.
Otherwise, if it burned, the flavor would be greatly affected.
At that moment, Aunt He caught a faint, rich aroma. She couldn’t help sniffing the air—and only then did she begin to believe that Yu Zhizhi really could cook.