Chapter 181 - The Artist Only Cares for Good Food (1/2)

The two sat at the steps, eating the roasted duck bit by bit. Yujia was always more of a wings person while Zhizhong liked drumsticks more. The two would decide how to split the rest of the duck later on, but with the current division going on at the moment, it was a perfect split of the duck.

As Yujia ate, she nodded with appreciation. ”This tastes pretty good,” she noted.

Zhizhong grinned brightly. ”You like it? I put a lot of effort into roasting it.”

”You cooked this yourself?” she immediately exclaimed.

With marvel, Yujia turned the duck in her hand. She didn't expect Zhizhong to have good cooking skills as well. The duck that she was eating right now wasn't any worse than the roasted duck her master enjoyed eating. The skin was crispy on the outside, and the meat was juicy on the inside. It was seasoned with quite a bit of salt, but not to the point where it was unbearably salty, only flavorful and savory. The melted fat coated the meat, adding even more of its unique flavor to the duck.

Zhizhong only grinned and nodded.

Meanwhile, in his head, he was going through a terrifying flashback. It had taken seventeen practice ducks, each picked from the ducks raised by the imperial kitchen to personally fit the imperial family's standards, with just the perfect ratio of muscle and fat. It had also taken a lot of guidance from one of the chefs in order to teach him, who just seemed incapable of cooking a decent duck.

Each one always turned out wrong for some reason— not enough crispy, not enough browned, not enough salt, too much salt, completely burnt…

He messed up in one way or another until he mastered how to roast a duck perfectly.

So, just like that, seventeen perfectly fine ducks had gone to waste in order for him to just learn...

The other gifts he gave may have been far more valuable, but the roasted duck was what he put his heart and soul into. Though eating it right now, and seeing the blissful expression on Yujia's face, everything seemed worth it to him.

Yujia took another bite of duck, swallowing it before complimenting, ”Wow, you really are talented.”

In his mind, Zhizhong— or better put, Yushang— shed a little tear of happiness. The validation of all his hard work was really worth it!

On the outside, however, he couldn't stop grinning.

Once Yujia was done with her two wings, she looked in the room. The servants had long evacuated the area in such a silent manner that she barely even noticed. They left all the trays of gifts in her room.

She stared at them, then said, ”You're too rich for your own good.”

”Hm?” Zhizhong gnawed on one of the bones, giving her a sideways glance.

Was he too rich?

No, not in particular, especially when the whole word was destined to be his one day.

But Yujia didn't know that, so she just continued, ”If this is your apology gift, I wonder how many treasures your family has.”

”Uh— a lot,” he answered vaguely, tossing the finished bone to the side and scratching the back of his neck. ”This isn't too much to me, really, but I put a lot of thought into all the items. If you're concerned about the financial well being of the Bo Family, then you really shouldn't. You should've seen what I gave as dowry to my wife,” he followed up with a laugh.

”Oh really?” Yujia raised her eyebrows. ”How much was that? Did you gift an entire kingdom to her?”

Zhizhong shrugged, perfectly serious with his reply. ”I could've. But no, it was five hundred bolts of silk, two hundred thousand acres of land, a hundred or so sets of jewelry, and some other things I can't remember well…”