Jin Lanyue looked at the cook expectantly, her face—which now resembled a little stray cat’s—practically having the words “praise me quickly” written across it.
The cook… the cook truly had no way to speak against her conscience.
She suggested tactfully, “County Chief, have you considered making another one from scratch?”
“No can do.” The little toddler shook her head firmly.
Because there was only one bottle of the Universal Medicine.
The cook closed her eyes in despair, telling herself that it didn’t matter since they wouldn’t be the ones eating it anyway. Since it was made by the little County Chief, her father, mother, and brothers probably wouldn’t reject it either. After all, it was a token of her painstaking filial devotion and couldn’t be wasted… With such thoughts, she braced herself and steamed the sponge cake.
Thus, a tray of bizarre pastries emerged from the steamer.
Little Jin Lanyue carefully cradled the plate as if holding some rare, priceless treasure. “Look! Delicious pastries!”
Staring at the dark, messy lumps on the plate, the cook swallowed hard with great difficulty. “County Chief… how about we start over—”
“No!” The little toddler was already running outside on her short legs. “Mommy is waiting!”
Inside the main chamber, the Marquis of Beiding was keeping Jiang Xiyue company and chatting with her, while Jin Qizhi and Jin Lizhi were also attending by the bedside to serve the medicinal broth.
Seeing Jin Lanyue march inside cradling a plate of peculiar-looking items, all four of them froze in unison.
“Daddy! Mommy! Big Brother! Second Brother!” Jin Lanyue’s eyes were shining brightly. “Yue’er made delicious pastries!”
She went out of her way to emphasize the word “delicious.”
Looking at her daughter’s tiny face smudged with flour and her dirty hands, Jiang Xiyue felt a surge of warmth in her eyes out of sheer heartache. “Yue’er…”
“Hurry up and taste them!” The tiny tot held up the pastries like presenting a treasure.
Standing at the very front, the Marquis of Beiding pinched a piece of pastry. He saw that its shape was exceptionally odd, and it emitted a bizarre aroma that was a mixture of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy notes.
He took a small bite, and his entire body instantly stiffened.
Mmph… how should one describe it?
The presentation was hideous, and the taste was far worse.
The Marquis of Beiding’s expression contorted for a few moments, and he subconsciously wanted to spit it out. However, when he met his daughter’s expectant gaze, he hesitated for a long while. In the end, closing his eyes and bracing his heart, he straightened his neck and swallowed it down whole with a single gulp, not daring to chew it even once more.
He forced a smile and said, “Mmph… very… distinctive…”
Seeing this, Jin Qizhi and the second brother each tasted a small piece as well.
Jin Qizhi managed to swallow it down with great effort, while the second brother was straight-up brought to tears by how awful it tasted. Yet, fearing he would make his younger sister sad, he forcefully blinked the tears back down.
The father and his two sons looked at one another, their expressions a colorful display of complex emotions as they maintained their strained smiles.
Jin Lanyue, completely oblivious to the intricate thoughts running through their minds, assumed they adored it immensely. Thus, she joyfully asked if they wanted some more.
The father and sons shook their heads in pure terror, their movements never having been so perfectly synchronized.
The tiny tot then carried the plate of pastries over to her mother on the bed.
The Marquis of Beiding raised his eyes and spotted the cook who had followed them inside, standing outside the door with a look of hesitation.
He waved his hand, quietly calling her into the room to ask what had transpired.
The cook recounted everything down to the last detail.
The young maids serving beside Jiang Xiyue also added a few words.
The story gradually came together—the moment Jin Lanyue woke from her afternoon nap and heard that her mother couldn’t swallow any food, she had personally run off to the kitchen to prepare this “meal.”
The Marquis of Beiding’s emotions became incredibly complex.
It was a wonderful thing for a child to possess filial devotion…
But it was best not to let her enter the kitchen ever again in the future.
He couldn’t handle it; he really couldn’t handle it at all.
That single bite just now was enough to leave an aftertaste that would linger with him for decades.
[Mission Completed]
[You have fairly served the poisoned pastries to every single person, fairly intending to poison everyone to death.]
[Watching them eat the pastries with faces turning completely green, your heart is filled with boundless satisfaction!]
[Even if it doesn’t poison them to death, it is enough for them to remember it for decades to come!]
[Reward Obtained: Antidote Pill]
Huh?
Jin Lanyue tilted her tiny head.
So did her daddy and brothers like her pastries, or did they not like them?
Over by the bed, Jiang Xiyue accepted the pastry her daughter had crafted with her own hands.
The Marquis of Beiding opened his mouth, intending to stop her, but looking at the traces of sweat still lingering on his daughter’s small face and her bright, star-like eyes fixed upon her mother with absolute adoration, he found himself unable to voice the words.
He silently closed his mouth.
It was merely filled with a bunch of seasonings. Although it tasted dreadful, it shouldn’t cause any real harm to the body.
Letting her have a taste wouldn’t hurt…
Under the tense gazes of the crowd, Jiang Xiyue took a gentle bite.
Her sense of taste, which had been dulled by the illness, could not register that bizarre flavor; she only tasted her daughter’s profound love.
“The pastries Yue’er made are truly delicious.” Jiang Xiyue offered a tender smile, taking another large bite.
Her pale fingertips gently caressed her daughter’s flour-smudged face. “Mommy likes it best.”
The tiny tot’s eyes shone as if brimming with stars. “Really? Then Mommy must eat more!”
With that, she handed over another misshapen piece of pastry.
The Marquis of Beiding, Jin Qizhi, and the second brother held their breath, watching with absolute disbelief as Jiang Xiyue ate those dark lumps of pastry one after another.
What was even more astonishing was that as the pastries were swallowed down, the grayish-pale complexion on Jiang Xiyue’s face gradually flushed with a healthy pink hue, and even her breathing became steady and powerful.
“Strange…” Jiang Xiyue set down the final piece of pastry, touching her forehead in bewilderment. “Suddenly, I feel my body is much lighter and more energetic.”
The female physician hurriedly stepped forward to check her pulse. “This pulse…”
The female physician’s eyes widened in shock. “It is the pulse of someone who isn’t sick at all!”
That very evening, Jiang Xiyue made a miraculous and complete recovery.
Not only could she climb out of bed and walk around with absolute ease, but she even broke her recent record by enjoying two full meals.
This phenomenon, which should have been entirely impossible, so thoroughly astonished the female physician that she summoned the other imperial physicians over to conduct a joint diagnosis.
As the imperial physicians checked her pulse, they repeatedly voiced their amazement. “The Madam’s pulse is perfectly balanced, and the extreme summer heat has entirely dissipated. This… this completely defies all medical logic!”
Utterly flummoxed, an imperial physician inquired, “From what exact moment did the Madam begin to improve? Did any extraordinary event take place?”
“It was right after she ate the pastries my Yue’er made that she suddenly made a turn for the better!” the Marquis of Beiding instantly realized.
Jin Qizhi followed up, “Yes, aside from that, nothing else out of the ordinary occurred.”
The second brother came to a sudden realization. “So, it was Sister who saved Mommy?”
Stroking his beard, the imperial physician remarked, “Though it sounds entirely incredible, after eliminating all other possibilities, this must be the correct answer.”
“It must be that our Yue’er’s filial piety moved the heavens above.” The Marquis of Beiding lifted Jin Lanyue high into the air, pressing a kiss upon her soft cheek. “My Yue’er truly is a lucky star bestowed by Heaven!”
“Sister’s filial piety has moved Heaven,” Jin Qizhi said with deep emotion. “Sister’s filial devotion touched the heavens, so Heaven bestowed divine power to cure Mommy.”
The second brother jumped up and down, clapping his hands. “Sister is the most amazing! An illness that even the imperial physicians couldn’t cure was instantly cured by Sister’s pastries!”
“Indeed,” Jiang Xiyue believed it without a single shred of doubt. “It was Heaven that guided Yue’er to create this pastry to cure my illness. If not for Yue’er, heaven knows how long I would have remained ill.”
Inside the Imperial Academy of Medicine.
The imperial physicians who had gone to the Marquis of Beiding’s manor to conduct the diagnosis were completely surrounded by their colleagues.
“Sir, is it true that the Marchioness made a recovery overnight?”
“For an illness to strike so fiercely and vanish so rapidly is truly a rarity!”
“This shouldn’t be possible. Could it be… that Heaven truly manifested its divine will?”
An old imperial physician stroked his snow-white beard. “I have practiced medicine for forty years, yet I have never witnessed such a wonder. Just yesterday, the Marchioness was still lingering on her sickbed, yet by last night, her pulse was perfectly balanced and her complexion was radiant.”
He lowered his voice. “What is even more miraculous is that rumor has it she only improved after consuming the pastries handcrafted by the little County Chief…”
This piece of news seemed to grow wings. Overnight, the tale of County Chief Fukang’s filial piety moving Heaven, drawing divine pity to cure her biological mother, spread throughout the entire imperial capital.
Inside the imperial palace.
The little princess was currently practicing her calligraphy. Upon overhearing the hushed whispers of the palace maids, she immediately threw down her writing brush. “What? The pastries Yue’er made cured her mommy?”
She proudly raised her chin. “As expected of the person under my protection! Truly formidable!”
Upon hearing this, the little prince curled his lips in sheer disdain. “It must be witchcraft! How could that little brat possibly possess such ability?”
“However…” The little prince’s eyes darted around. “If she stops being on good terms with Chaoyun, I will admit it is immortal magic!”
The moment Qu Zijin caught wind of this matter, he immediately entered the palace to request an audience with the Emperor.