For them, since childhood they had been taught that “the body, hair, and skin are given by one’s parents,” and that every word and action must strictly follow ancient moral principles. In their eyes, women were nothing more than tools for bearing children and managing the household. It was normal in their world for a man to have one wife and multiple concubines.
But she was different.
Not to mention that the education she received since childhood taught her that “when education flourishes, the nation flourishes; when education is strong, the nation is strong; when the youth are strong, the nation is strong.” In this world, they practiced a monarchy, where the emperor governed the court and officials managed various regions.
But in her country, the people were the true masters of the nation. Elections were held every five years, and leaders were chosen by millions of citizens to govern the country. Men and women were equal and received the same education. Sometimes women were just as capable in the workplace as men—at times, they could even hold up half the sky.
They also practiced monogamy. If a marriage developed irreconcilable conflicts, either party could file for divorce. People pursued beauty and personal happiness freely; they lived the way they wanted without caring too much about others’ opinions, as long as they themselves were happy.
Mu Jianxi spoke these words casually, but every sentence struck like a heavy blow to those listening. Just as she had expected, everyone was deeply shocked.
After snapping out of it, Ye Li nervously asked three questions in a row:
“Miss Mu, how many people are there in your country? Is it wealthier than ours? Are the people living happily?”
“Our country has more than 1.4 billion people. There are millions serving in the military alone. We are one family made up of 56 ethnic groups. As for wealth, we’re doing fairly well—second in the world in terms of economic strength, not bad at all.”
“The people live happily too. Most households don’t worry about food or clothing. Even those in difficulty receive government assistance.”
“If another country dares to go to war with us, it’s not only the soldiers—ordinary civilians will also stand up. We will defend our homeland to the death. National dignity cannot be violated. And no matter how many enemies we kill, after dying in battle, our names can still be recorded in the family registry. Who could resist the temptation of being first incense at Qingming Festival?”
She continued:
“When disasters occur in your world, local officials or imperial courts send people to assist, but the results are often not ideal, and sometimes the casualties are even greater. In our country, however, everyone unites—officials, soldiers, and ordinary citizens all work together to overcome difficulties. When one place is in trouble, support comes from all directions. People from other regions—and even other countries—voluntarily send supplies and aid. This is what it means when we say: ‘united as one, we overcome all difficulties together.’”
As she spoke, Mu Jianxi grew more and more excited. She felt incredibly proud to have been born in such a country—her pride was almost overflowing.
The five people around her were completely shaken. Their minds struggled to process everything. Even Gu Ruizé was stunned, his mouth slightly open.
Watching her speak about her country with such pride, they all felt a faint bitterness in their hearts. If their own country were as strong and advanced as hers, perhaps they too would speak with such confidence and pride.
Gu Ruizé felt deeply moved. If he ever had the chance, he truly wanted to see her world for himself. A country this powerful naturally inspired both awe and fear.
He did not know that in the future, he would indeed follow her into the modern world with the four great hidden guards and Zhao Fuhua. There, the two of them would live like an ordinary couple—shopping, cooking, and sharing a peaceful life together. But that is a story for later.
After returning to the princess’s residence, Mu Jianxi had lunch and then went back to her room for a nap.
When she woke up, it was already mid-afternoon. As soon as she arrived at the kitchen, she was greeted by two chefs, four matrons, five servants, and maids who all bowed respectfully.
“Miss Mu, we have been ordered by the prince to assist you in preparing tonight’s meal.”
Having previously seen her cook, they all knew her dishes were fragrant, visually appealing, and extremely appetizing. Yet none of them had dared to approach before. Now that they finally had the chance to observe closely, they were eager not to miss it.
Mu Jianxi understood Gu Ruizé’s intention—he was worried she couldn’t handle everything alone, so he had sent help.
Looking around and not seeing the four gluttonous hidden guards, she casually called over a servant.
“Go call the four hidden guards here to work.”
“Yes, Miss!”
An hour later, the four hidden guards and Zhao Fuhua were each holding wooden sticks, pounding pinecones to extract pine nuts. Their faces were strained with effort, clearly working very hard.
The ingredients had already been handled by others—vegetables chopped, difficult items washed, spices ground into powder. Mu Jianxi suddenly felt very relaxed; all she needed to do was cook.
She decided to start with dishes that took longer to cook. She poured oil into the pan, added rock sugar to make caramel color, added hot water and stirred it evenly, then set it aside. She heated oil again, added prepared spices, stir-fried until fragrant, then poured in the caramel mixture. She added pig ears, covered them with water, and seasoned with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white liquor, and salt. She let it braise for two ke (about two hours).
After preparing several slow-cooked dishes, she moved on to cold noodles.
“Cold noodles should be cold, of course,” she thought.
After boiling water, she had two matrons skilled in noodle-making pull a large batch of noodles in advance. Together with another chef, they cooked the noodles in two pots, then coated them with cooled cooked oil and mixed them evenly. Finally, they were placed outside in the courtyard to cool naturally in the wind.
Half an hour later, Ye Yu and Ye Feng brought in a full basket of peeled pine nuts—each one large and plump.
Since she couldn’t do everything alone, Mu Jianxi decided to guide the two chefs in making salt-baked pine nuts.
“Let’s make salt-baked pine nuts together. By the way, where is your salt?”
“Thank you, Miss Mu, for your guidance.”
The two chefs searched the table and handed her a bag. She reached in—and found only fine, dark brown granules.
She frowned. “This is salt? Why are you giving me a pile of residue?”
They looked at her in confusion. “Miss Mu, this is salt. We’ve eaten this kind since childhood. Is there something wrong with it?”
“What?!”
Mu Jianxi was completely stunned.
Only then did she realize—she had been using system-provided salt all along. She had originally assumed the old salt supply was almost gone and didn’t bother asking Bao Bao to replenish it. She planned to use their salt for the recipe…
She hadn’t paid attention before.
And now, reality had hit her like a heavy blow.