The two of them received the order and quickly vanished in a flash. Mu Jianxi watched in amazement—if only she had such lightness kung fu herself.
She looked up at the sky; it was still early. After sitting in a carriage all day, her backside was sore. She decided to wander around nearby and see if she could get lucky and find some ingredients.
Just as she was about to leave, someone grabbed her collar. Turning around, she saw Gu Ruizhe.
“Where are you going?”
“Hey, let go of me first!”
He immediately released her.
“It’s not even dark yet. I’m planning to walk around and see if I can find any ingredients or spices,” she explained.
“This prince is going with you.”
“What are you going for? Do you even recognize those things?”
“As long as you’re there, that’s enough.”
What was supposed to be a solo trip turned into a group of four. Mu Jianxi puffed up her cheeks in obvious displeasure.
They arrived at a lakeside. Mu Jianxi suddenly spotted something and ran over excitedly. She pulled up the plant, took out her small knife, and skillfully peeled it clean, leaving only the stem.
“Wow, this really is water bamboo! We’re in for a treat!”
Gu Ruizhe immediately ordered the two men, “You two go dig as well.”
“Yes!”
Not long after, Mu Jianxi spotted two more unexpected things on the other side and rushed over excitedly again to dig them up. Fortunately, the soil near the water source was soft, and she pulled them out easily.
She shouted excitedly, “These are potatoes! Then these must be sweet potatoes too!”
Sure enough, she pulled out two tubers. She broke one open and saw it was yellow inside. Instantly, she started craving roasted sweet potatoes—yellow-fleshed ones were the best when roasted.
Seeing her so happy digging, Gu Ruizhe also started helping. Before long, all the potatoes and sweet potatoes were dug up into two small piles.
She washed some of them by the lake, planning to roast them directly since there was no pot. The rest would be taken along for later use.
When they returned, Ye Li and Ye Han had already hunted quite a few wild chickens and rabbits, all cleaned and prepared. Mu Jianxi gave them a big thumbs-up, then sighed, “If only we had a pot, these chicken and potatoes would make the perfect big pot chicken.”
At that moment, Ye Yu magically pulled out a large iron pot from behind the carriage, dazzling everyone.
The other three immediately questioned him: “When did you bring this pot? How did we not know?”
Ye Yu recalled that after hearing Ye Li mention yesterday that Miss Mu would be coming along, he had gone to the palace kitchen before dawn, scrubbed a pot until it was spotless—so clean it didn’t even have a trace of soot—just so he could bring it and ensure she could cook on the road.
Meanwhile, in the palace that morning, the cook stared at the empty stove in shock and screamed, “Where is my pot?! My huge pot?!”
The four dark guards worked in perfect coordination: building a stove from stones, chopping meat, and starting the fire. Even the coachman was pulled into helping.
Meanwhile, Mu Jianxi quietly returned to the carriage and had Bao Bao take out seasoning and prepared ingredients, placing everything into a storage box.
She began by marinating the rabbit meat. In a bowl she mixed scallions, ginger, garlic, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chili powder, cumin, and pepper powder. She added the rabbit meat and massaged it evenly until fully coated, then set it aside.
The chicken was cut and blanched. She added rock sugar to a pot to make caramel color, then stir-fried the chicken until evenly coated. She added prepared spices, poured in a splash of white liquor, then added oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, dark soy sauce, and dried chili powder. After stirring evenly, she poured in enough water to fully cover the chicken and let it simmer.
It was the first time they had seen Mu Jianxi cook, and they finally understood why her food was so delicious—she used so many seasonings.
As it simmered, the aroma gradually spread, making everyone’s mouths water uncontrollably.
Halfway through, she added cubed potatoes and wide noodles, then continued simmering until done.
During this time, she had them skewer the rabbit meat for roasting. To prevent burning, they brushed it with black sesame oil, and after grilling, she sprinkled a mix of cumin, pepper powder, chili powder, and other spices.
As night fell, the seven of them gathered around the pot and began eating.
They took big bites of roasted rabbit—delicious, incredibly delicious. Unlike their usual dry, bland, and fishy roasted meat from missions, this was savory, juicy, and perfectly seasoned, with crispy golden skin.
Then they ate the big pot chicken: tender chicken, rich broth, soft potatoes, and chewy noodles soaking in sauce—absolutely unforgettable. If they had rice, they probably would have wiped the bowl completely clean.
Even the coachman ate happily, amazed that he could enjoy such food while dining with the prince.
Ye Yu then asked curiously, “Miss Mu, aren’t you going to cook the water bamboo?”
Mu Jianxi replied, “Water bamboo tastes best stir-fried with pork belly. Besides, with such a big pot and a whole roasted rabbit, isn’t that enough for you? Do you really have such a big appetite?”
He thought about it and agreed, continuing to eat.
After dinner, the five of them went to wash the dishes by the river, leaving Mu Jianxi and Gu Ruizhe alone at the site.
She wasn’t idle. Using a wooden stick, she uncovered the burning charcoal and buried sweet potatoes inside before covering them again.
Gu Ruizhe stood beside her, watching quietly. Even he didn’t know why bringing her along made him feel unusually at ease.
After finishing, Mu Jianxi leaned against a tree, not closing her eyes, lost in thought.
Gu Ruizhe sat beside her.
“Mu Jianxi, I pride myself on understanding people, yet I cannot see through you. You always give me a feeling that is neither entirely good nor bad. What exactly are you trying to do in this country of Qiyuan?”
She replied without hesitation, “What else? Didn’t you already see? I just want to cook all kinds of food and open a shop. I want to get rich and become a little rich woman.”
“And why would I kill you? I have no grudge against you. If I wanted to kill you, you would’ve already died after eating so many of my meals. Would you still be here questioning me?”
“I can’t kill people. I just want to make money and become rich.”
In her mind, she was already imagining her future life as a wealthy woman—maybe even keeping a few handsome ancient men as companions. Life would be absolutely blissful.