Night Rain immediately waved his hands. “Not picky! We’re not picky at all!”
The prince picked up a slice of meat with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth. The meat was extremely tender and smooth, and the rich, numbing-spicy flavor instantly filled his taste buds—so intense and satisfying that it left a lingering aftertaste.
Seeing him eating so eagerly, Mu Jianxi said awkwardly, “Originally, this water-boiled pork should be eaten with rice. I just forgot to cook any.”
He immediately ordered, “Night Rain, go back to the residence and bring cooked rice here.”
“Yes?!”
Mu Jianxi only saw the man leap onto the wall and disappear over it. She couldn’t help but admire inwardly: ancient lightness skill really is amazing.
Seeing her gaze fixed in that direction, he asked, “Miss, you don’t seem to be from this country, are you?”
“I’m indeed not from here. I just arrived today.”
From the moment he entered, he had been observing her. Her features were like a painting—exquisite and refined, with a deep, captivating beauty. Her eyebrows were delicate like willow leaves, graceful and elegant, while her eyes were bright like stars, filled with determination and confidence.
“Let’s formally introduce ourselves. My name is Mu Jianxi—‘Jian’ as in simple, and ‘Xi’ from the line ‘mountains have wood, wood has branches, and that is Xi.’”
Hearing her playful introduction, he paused for a moment. His gaze met her eyes filled with scattered starlight, and he unconsciously replied, “My name is Gu Ruizhe, taken from the phrase: ‘With foresight and virtue, blessings reach far and wide; the vast sea is calm like a mirror.’”
“What a beautiful name,” she said.
At that moment, Night Rain also returned carrying the rice. He overheard their conversation and said, “Miss Mu, just call me Night Rain.”
“Alright, Night Rain.”
He loosened his grip and served each of them a bowl of rice before sitting back down. He pointed at the dish with a slightly strange smell. “Miss Mu, this dish… why does it smell a bit strange?”
“This is snail rice noodles. It smells strong but tastes delicious. You can try it, but don’t force yourself if you can’t get used to it.”
Night Rain picked up a few strands and slurped them into his mouth. His eyes immediately lit up. Just as she said—smelly but delicious.
Gu Ruizhe also curiously tried it. The chewy texture instantly made him fall in love with it, and he couldn’t help but start eating enthusiastically.
Before long, all the dishes on the table were completely finished—only a bit of soup remained. Even Gu Ruizhe, who was usually extremely picky, ate two full bowls of rice with the dishes.
Seeing that it was getting late, he stood up and said, “Thank you, Miss Mu, for your hospitality. It’s getting late—we should take our leave.”
The master and servant then left immediately.
Mu Jianxi still didn’t know that after entertaining these two today, her peaceful days would soon be over—they would frequently come back just to “mooch meals.”
Bao Bao excitedly reported, “Master, I didn’t expect that the water-boiled pork you made today actually gave me quite a lot of energy. Keep it up!”
Remembering what it had said earlier, she asked, “Didn’t you say only designated dishes would generate energy? Why did I still generate energy from random cooking?”
Bao Bao answered honestly, “I’m not sure either, but I definitely received energy.”
“Alright then.”
“Then I’ll leave the kitchen and dishes to you. I’m going to take a shower.”
“No problem, Master.”
On the other side, after Gu Ruizhe and Night Rain returned to the manor, he coldly ordered, “Night Rain, go stand in horse stance immediately. Without my order, you are not allowed to get up.”
Night Rain felt as if he had swallowed bitter medicine—unable to complain or understand what he had done wrong—and could only obediently go to his punishment.
After bathing, Mu Jianxi asked Bao Bao to give her pen and paper, planning out her next steps.
She decided that since she was unfamiliar with this world, she would first try selling snacks to test market acceptance. Tomorrow she would go to the streets to see what ingredients were available. She marked this as Plan One.
As for baked goods, she would often need baking tools, but there were no ovens here. So she would need to hire craftsmen to build several baking stoves in her courtyard. She marked this as Plan Two.
For now, she only wrote these two plans, planning to add more later.
She took out a fresh sheet of paper and recalled how to construct a baking stove, sketching it carefully and labeling all important details.
Dawn slowly lifted the curtain of night, bringing another bright and beautiful morning into the world.
Today, Mu Jianxi deliberately changed into local clothing. However, styling her hair completely stumped her, so she simply used a hairpin to pin it up.
On the way, she asked for directions and soon found a workshop for craftsmen. She walked in and called out, “Hello, is anyone here?”
An old man walked over and looked at her curiously. “Miss, are you here to have something made?”
She took out the blueprint she had drawn the night before from her sleeve and handed it to him with a smile. “Old sir, please take a look and see if you can build this.”
It was the first time the old man had seen such smooth, white paper. He carefully took it with both hands. It even felt slightly firm to the touch. When he examined the drawing closely, he was shocked, his mouth opening wide. “Miss… did you draw this?”
“Yes, sir. I also hope you can come to my home to build it.”
He looked at the blueprint again and praised it sincerely. “I never expected your drawing skills to be this extraordinary—truly exquisite! Even the annotations are so clear. It’s wonderful, I can’t put it down.”
“I’ll take this job. Leave your address; I’ll bring my workers over shortly.”
“Thank you, sir.”
After leaving her address, she departed. The old man immediately called his apprentices, gathered their tools, and prepared to head to her home to start construction.
Next stop was the market. Mu Jianxi began browsing around and soon saw an elderly woman with a basket in front of her. Inside were roses—fresh, vibrant, and dewy—but no one was buying them. She immediately thought of rose pastries.
She walked over and examined them carefully, confirming they were edible roses. “Grandma, how much are these roses? I’ll take them all.”
Hearing this, the old woman looked up in shock and gratitude. She had been selling here for three days with no customers—people only looked and left.
“Miss, twenty copper coins in total.”
“Alright. Can you deliver them to… this address?”
“Yes, I can.”
She handed over twenty copper coins from her sleeve.
Watching her leave, the old woman felt deeply grateful and immediately packed up her things, heading to deliver the flowers.
Mu Jianxi also bought some other items before finally arriving at the meat stall.
“Boss, I want five jin of lard and two jin of pork belly. How much is it?”
“Miss, just one tael of silver,” the butcher replied while cutting the meat.