Xi Qingqing patted Hua Yun’s shoulder.
“You don’t need to be so formal. I’m just teaching you how to cook.”
Hua Yun felt a little disappointed.
He thought she didn’t want to accept him as a student.
“The difference between us is too big…” he thought.
Xi Qingqing said, “I’ll write down some recipes for you.”
“Today we’ll eat dumplings. Xue Xi and the others already know how to make them. They can teach you.”
“I’ll teach! I’ll teach!” Xue Xi said quickly.
Hua Yun bowed politely. “Thank you!”
Xue Xi felt embarrassed. He had thought of Hua Yun as a rival before.
Xi Qingqing returned to her room with a cookbook and started copying recipes.
She could teach step by step, but it would take too much time.
Hua Yun had talent, so it was better to let him learn from written recipes.
Knock, knock.
“Come in,” she said.
Mo Fuqing walked in.
“You’re done?” she asked casually.
He paused, then nodded. His ears turned slightly red.
“Sit.”
She continued writing, thinking about what happened today.
After what happened in town, she realized many people didn’t like Zhang Fengyun.
Even his guards didn’t help him.
But she still couldn’t remove him from his position yet.
She needed more achievements before she could act openly as a princess.
She thought about the Queen.
The original owner had complicated feelings.
At first, the Queen still cared about her.
But after Xi Yuanyuan appeared, everything changed.
The Queen gave Xi Yuanyuan the title of princess.
The original owner became jealous and desperate.
That was when everything started to go wrong.
Xi Qingqing shook her head.
“Better to trust myself than others,” she thought.
She decided to invite important town leaders to a gathering.
She would see where they stood.
Mo Fuqing came closer.
“What are you doing?” he asked softly.
“Writing invitations,” she replied.
“I’m planning a small gathering. After today, I’m openly against Zhang Fengyun. I want to see who supports me.”
“Can I look?” he asked.
“Of course.”
She handed him two invitations.
He looked at the paper.
Writing letters like this is rare now.
Most people used devices.
Her handwriting was beautiful.
“Your writing is very nice,” he said.
She felt a bit embarrassed.
“Anything I should fix?” she asked.
“No. Should I deliver them now?”
She thought for a moment. “Yes, go ahead.”
As he was about to leave, she asked:
“Have you seen Jiang Fei?”
“He will show up when it’s time to eat,” Mo Fuqing said.
“That’s true,” she nodded.
After he left, she went outside and posted job notices.
The palace was too big. She needed workers.
Just then, she heard footsteps.
She turned and saw Jiang Fei carrying a huge wild boar, covered in blood.
He stopped when he saw her standing there, clean and beautiful.
He remembered the past.
Back then, she looked at him with disgust and told him to leave.
But now—
She walked toward him and looked at the boar.
“This one is even bigger than last time! That must be heavy. Bring it inside.”
He froze.
“You’re not disgusted?” he asked quietly.
“Why would I be? Fighting always gets messy,” she said.
“Come on, take it to the kitchen.”
He followed her silently.
He looked at her as he walked behind her.
He finally understood.
She was different.
In the kitchen, she said, “Put it here. Let’s clean and cut it.”
She loved good food more than anything.
Now that things were more stable, she wanted to make proper seasonings.
With Hua Yun’s help, it might be easier.
She started imagining dishes—braised pork, steamed pork…
She almost drooled.
The boar was too big to cut with normal knives.
She thought about buying tools.
Suddenly, Jiang Fei turned into his lion form.
He was huge—over three meters tall, with golden fur.
Very powerful and beautiful.
No wonder the original owner liked his fur.
With a few strikes of his claws, the boar was cut into pieces.
Xue Xi came over and whispered:
“If you want his fur, you should ask now. After divorce, it’ll be harder.”
Xi Qingqing took a deep breath.
“That’s enough.”