“Wan’er, is that you?” a voice full of excitement came from outside the door.
The emperor stood there in disbelief as he looked at the empress. His heart began to race as he walked toward her with tears in his eyes. He held her hand tightly and said, “Wan’er, I remember when we first got married. You were just like this when you became my bride. More than thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye—we are both old now. I never expected that I would one day see you become the young girl you once were again.”
The empress was deeply moved, her eyes filled with tears as the two embraced each other, unwilling to let go.
Half an hour earlier, the emperor had heard that the empress and the dowager empress had gone out of the palace. Thinking they were probably going to find Mu Jianxi, he hurriedly got into a carriage and left the palace as well. When he arrived at Mu Jianxi’s home, the moment he stepped inside, he saw the empress transformed into the young girl he had cherished and longed for in his youth.
At that moment, Gu Ruizhe and the crown prince also received the news and rushed over immediately. Seeing their father and mother embracing, they were completely stunned. They carefully moved to Mu Jianxi’s side and asked, “What exactly is going on?”
“You’re asking me? How would I know? I just did makeup for the dowager empress and the empress, and then they turned into this,” she replied.
They all looked toward the dowager empress and saw her admiring herself in a mirror, and upon closer inspection, she really did look younger.
The crown prince, Duanrun Prince, and Runan Prince admired Mu Jianxi even more, silently giving her a big thumbs-up.
Seeing that it was getting late, Mu Jianxi signaled to Zhao Fuhua. He immediately understood her meaning, and the two of them headed toward the kitchen together. Gu Ruizhe quickly followed, and so did the crown prince and the others.
Since the dowager empress, the emperor, and the empress were all present, they obviously couldn’t just casually stir-fry a few dishes like before. They had to prepare a proper full banquet. Fortunately, they had plenty of helpers—why not use them?
In the next moment, the crown prince, Gu Ruizhe, Duanrun Prince, and Runan Prince were all gathered together washing vegetables. They still hadn’t fully recovered from their shock, vaguely remembering that they were royal princes who were usually treated with utmost respect. Yet here, in Mu Jianxi’s home, they had become vegetable washers.
The four secret guards were cutting meat and preparing ingredients, each focused on their own tasks. Zhao Fuhua waited to wash pots, plates, and handle the fire.
Mu Jianxi poured oil into the wok, added scallions, ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers to sauté until fragrant. Then she added doubanjiang and hot pot base, stir-frying until red oil appeared. She poured in water, removed the residue with a strainer, then gradually cooked various vegetables and meats. Everything was placed into a large bowl. The broth was also poured in so nothing went to waste. She sprinkled scallions, Sichuan pepper, and white sesame seeds on top. Hot oil was poured over dried chili peppers to release their fragrance, then everything was poured into the bowl.
……
After the three of them sat down, Zhao Fuhua brought the emperor a cup of milk tea and red bean double skin milk. It was the first time the emperor had seen such novel desserts, and after tasting them, he nodded repeatedly in approval.
An hour later, the table was filled with all kinds of dishes that made one’s mouth water just from the aroma.
The emperor couldn’t help thinking that this girl truly had amazing cooking skills. If she became his daughter-in-law, that would be even better. When would that boy finally wake up? If he personally requested a marriage, he would immediately grant it. Such a good girl must not be taken by outsiders.
When the final dish—grilled fish—was served, everyone took their seats. Gu Ruizhe naturally sat beside Mu Jianxi. The emperor looked at her kindly and praised her, saying, “I didn’t expect your cooking skills to be this good. A few days ago, I heard the Minister and Vice Minister of Works constantly talking about a dish called ‘hot pot.’ They kept talking about it until even I wanted to try it.”
“This dish, called malatang, is actually quite similar to hot pot. The only difference is that hot pot is cooked at the table by yourself, while malatang is already cooked in advance and then flavored with hot oil. You should try it,” she said.
The emperor picked up a slice of tripe. The moment he took a bite, it was crispy, spicy, and extremely fragrant. No wonder they kept talking about it.
Everyone else also started eating. Gu Ruizhe, however, used serving chopsticks to place a lot of tripe and layered tripe into Mu Jianxi’s bowl. Earlier, while washing vegetables, he had accidentally overheard her telling Ye Yu that she liked these foods, so he quietly remembered it.
Although Mu Jianxi didn’t understand his intention, she still politely said, “Thank you.”
After seeing them off, Mu Jianxi felt a slight soreness in her neck and reached up to rub it.
“Are you tired?” he asked.
Unexpectedly, such a small movement had already caught his attention. She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
The two of them sat on a lounge chair, looking up at the moon and stars. Gu Ruizhe asked, “Mu Jianxi, what kind of man deserves you? Or what kind of man do you like?”
“What kind of man? I think it’s fate. Someone I find pleasing to the eye, who is gentle to me, tolerant of me, and who stands up for me no matter what happens. Someone who loves only me for a lifetime and grows old with me.”
“But if I don’t find my other half, I won’t rush. As long as I have money, I can just keep a man with it. At least I’ll be happy.”
Gu Ruizhe’s expression was normal at first, but when he heard the second half, his face instantly darkened. Even he didn’t know why he felt unhappy, only that his chest felt tight.
“Prince, do you have time tomorrow? I plan to go to a village outside the city to see if there are duck eggs and green plums. I want to buy them in bulk to make plum wine, candied plums, and salted duck eggs.”
“Yes, I have time.”
“Alright.”
Early the next morning, Mu Jianxi got up and prepared. After giving instructions to the five of them, she went next door with Zhao Fuhua and got into Gu Ruizhe’s carriage.
They arrived at a village outside the city. Ye Yu had found out that many households here grew green plum trees, which were currently in season. Many families also raised ducks—for irrigating rice fields and also for selling duck eggs and ducks as additional income.
The group entered the village and asked for the village head’s house.
At that moment, the village head was worried, smoking his pipe anxiously.
At the village head’s door, Ye Feng stepped forward and knocked.
After a while, an old woman opened the door. Seeing the group standing outside, she could tell from their clothing that they were noble people.
“May I ask, honored guests, what brings you to our home?”
“Grandma, I would like to discuss a business deal with the village head. May we come in?”
She nodded and let them in, then turned and called loudly inside, “Old man, some honored guests are here to see you!”