“Alright, this old servant will go at once.” The steward did not dare to show anger or speak out, even though the “meat in hand” had flown away.
When Leng Yi Chen first tasted the tea egg, Leng Yun Mo had already eaten two.
“This tea egg is soft and smooth when eaten, with a unique fragrance. Both the egg white and yolk are fully flavored,” Leng Yun Mo said, still wanting a third one and reaching for it.
“Stop. Didn’t you hear what the steward said?” Leng Yi Chen glanced at him with his dark, gleaming eyes.
“I have a good appetite; I won’t get indigestion.”
“Only one more.”
“…Alright.” Leng Yun Mo backed down.
Soon, the steward brought over a bowl of braised pork offal. Inside were pork intestines, liver, ears, head meat, and heart.
After tasting a piece of each, Leng Yi Chen’s eyes flickered.
He was born into the imperial family and had tasted all kinds of delicacies since childhood. Yet in these past two days, the food she cooked—and even the snacks before—were the most to his liking.
Seeing him pick up pieces faster and faster, Leng Yun Mo, who had originally been somewhat disgusted by the offal, also began eating, picking up a piece of pork head meat.
“Mmm—fragrant but not greasy. This pork intestine has a nice chew. Delicious.”
“Weren’t you disgusted earlier?” Leng Yi Chen said, then pulled the bowl of braised offal toward himself.
“I was wrong. I’m not disgusted at all.”
Leng Yi Chen ignored him. Although he had no appetite originally, tonight he ate two tea eggs and, with the braised offal, finished two large bowls of rice.
On the side, the guard Leng Feng watched them—especially Leng Yun Mo. His eating style hardly looked like that of a dignified, powerful general.
Are these tea eggs and braised offal really that delicious? I should go check in Yanyu Pavilion later… and try not to steal.
In Yanyu Pavilion, the servants each received a five-spice tea egg, and the princess consort also gave them a bowl of braised offal to share.
Qiuyu had an excellent appetite tonight—she ate two tea eggs and could still manage three bowls of rice. After all, her young lady’s cooking was too good.
Seeing a little braised offal left, Qiuyu wanted a fourth bowl of rice, but Su Lele stopped her.
“Save the rest of the meat and sauce for noodles tomorrow morning. If you keep eating, you’ll suffer for it.”
“Alright…”
But the leftovers didn’t even last until morning—someone sneaked into the kitchen at night and finished it.
The Next Morning
Early in the morning, Su Lele was awakened by a shouting voice.
“Which damn bastard stole the braised offal?! Not even the soup is left! If I catch you, I’ll deal with you properly!” Qiuyu shouted angrily while waving her fists.
“Qiuyu, what’s wrong?”
“Miss! We can’t have braised offal noodles anymore! Someone stole everything clean—even washed the pot!”
“This thief… has a bit of conscience, but not much,” she muttered.
Seeing Qiuyu so upset, Su Lele comforted her:
“Alright, I’ll make it again next time. There will be plenty of good food later.”
“You’re the best, Miss!”
“Miss, today you should return to the Su residence with the prince. The family has been waiting for you,” Qiuyu reminded her.
Su Lele suddenly remembered the custom of returning to one’s natal home three days after marriage.
“Go ask the steward whether the prince is going to the court today.”
Soon Qiuyu returned.
“Miss, the steward said His Highness received a secret order in the middle of the night and left early this morning. He won’t be back for at least four days.”
Since the prince was on official duty, she would have to return home alone.
Before leaving, the steward came to report:
“Princess Consort, His Highness instructed this old servant before leaving to prepare some premium medicinal herbs, fabrics, and other gifts for you to bring to the Su residence.”
It seemed Leng Yi Chen handled etiquette very properly—even if he wasn’t present, the gifts were.
“Alright.”
The Su residence was lively when she arrived. The whole family was waiting at the gate.
“Grandfather, a carriage is coming! It must be Second Sister!” Su Tongtong called out.
Su Lele stepped down from the carriage alone. Seeing the whole family waiting for her, she felt warm inside.
“Grandfather, Father, Mother, I kept you waiting.”
“This…”
Seeing their hesitation, Su Lele said:
“Let’s go inside and talk.”
“The prince is away on official business. He instructed the steward to send many gifts.”
After hearing this, the family said nothing more. After all, the prince held important positions in the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple, so he was busy.
“His Highness is thoughtful,” Su Qinghe said.
“My dear granddaughter, I really enjoyed the tea eggs and braised offal you sent yesterday. If I could eat them often, that would be wonderful,” Grandfather Su Dong said affectionately.
“Don’t worry—even after I’m married, you won’t miss out on good food,” she replied with a smile.
After lunch, Su Lele returned to the prince’s mansion, bringing snacks from the Su residence. She also sent portions to every servant in the mansion, earning praise from all and winning many hearts.
But she couldn’t win the prince’s heart…
Because today, he hadn’t accompanied her back home. Rumors in the capital quickly spread that the princess consort was not favored and that the couple was merely a formality.
Many people were watching the drama unfold. When Yun Zhishu heard the news, she, who had been gloomy and unwell, immediately looked radiant, praying they would divorce soon.
Su Lele, however, ignored the rumors completely. She was busy developing a new snack—pork jerky.
One hundred jin of pork had already been chopped into mince by strong young servants. She added soy sauce, wine, salt, sugar, pepper, and other seasonings, mixing until the meat became sticky and well-marinated.
She spread oil paper over a large iron tray, pressed the meat into a flat rectangle using a rolling pin, then chilled it for half an hour.
After that, she baked it for fifteen minutes, brushed it with honey, and finished making honey-glazed pork jerky.
She cut it into small pieces and packed them—half a jin per bag. In total, she had 125 bags.
Normally, the first batch of new products was not sold immediately. She first let family and close acquaintances try them.
20 bags for the Su residence, 10 for the Crown Prince’s residence, 20 for the imperial palace, 10 for Leng Yi Chen, and one each for the steward and Qiuyu.
The remaining 60+ bags were used for sampling. She would cut them into small pieces and place them in the Su residence for customers to try. If they liked it, they could come to the prince’s mansion to buy more, since the Su residence was too small to serve as a proper shop.
The prince’s mansion, however, had plenty of space.