Chapter 345 - Assisting with the Treatmen (2/2)

Zhu Junyang saw that there was not a trace of reluctance on her face and smiled, saying, “You dare mention that? In Dongshan Village, this prince ordered ten dishes but it’s already considered good enough if you made me two! Only you have the guts to fool me!”

Yu Xiaocao stuck out her tongue at him. Her eyes gleamed with mischief as she said, “This commoner girl was born into a farmer’s family, and only knows how to cook some common dishes. The sea cucumber and abalone dishes that you ordered all required expensive ingredients. Even if we caught them, we would rather sell them for money, how could we be willing to try them? Be smarter the next time and order some more ordinary dishes, only then can I guarantee to satisfy you!”

Xiazi looked even more astonished. ‘Who can tell me whether this man, who’s smiling and whose gaze is filled with affection and indulgence, is actually the cold royal prince who everyone in the capital shied away from? He wouldn’t have been possessed by something, right? Also, the little miss of the Yu Family, you don’t take the royal prince seriously, do you? You actually dared to use such a casual attitude to talk with the moody prince? Are you seeking an early death?’

The thing that made her jaw drop even more was that the cold Royal Prince’s expression was not cold at all. His face lit up with a smile and his voice was gentle as he said, “Alright! In the future, I will order only the dishes that you can cook!”

The moment they entered the imperial kitchen, Zhu Junyang could smell the strong fragrance of braised meat wafting in the air. “Xiaocao, you braised pig's head this afternoon? If so, I must find an excuse to stay, I want to eat the pig's ear strips with chili oil that you made.”

“You brat! The braised pig's head was requested by me, your grandfather—it’s all mine, don’t even try to snatch it from me!” Ever since the braised pig's head had gone into the pot, the emperor emeritus had been loitering around the imperial kitchen. When he smelled the fragrance, he could not help but come inside and have a look, but when he heard that Zhu Junyang was about to steal his pig's ears, he felt unhappy and began to protect his food.

However, Zhu Junyang was not afraid of his imperial grandfather, and immediately began to bicker, “Imperial Grandfather, it’s such a big pig’s head, can you finish it all? Aren’t there two pig's ears? You’re so generous, wouldn’t you give your grandson one?”

Zhu Huaiyong scrutinized his little grandson, feeling that he was different from before. Previously, he would only scowl and leave, how would he say these words that sounded like he was acting cute? Also, his cold gaze was comparatively livelier than before. Had his grandson’s illness been controlled? Which divine doctor was so skilled?

To avoid provoking his little grandson, the emperor emeritus made a pained expression and hardened his heart, “Alright! Seeing as you’re so well-behaved today, I’ll award you one pig’s ear…”

Zhu Junyang pressed on, “Imperial Grandfather, this grandson also likes to eat pig’s snout...”

“No! You can only have one pig’s ear. I won’t give any more! If you say any more, you won’t even get the pig’s ear!” The older the emperor emeritus was, the more childish he became. The attribute of protecting his food also increased in vigor with his age.

Yu Xiaocao saw that these two were fighting over a pig’s head until their faces turned red, so she hurriedly advised, “If you think one pig’s head isn’t enough, you can tell the imperial kitchen to prepare a few more pig’s heads. We can stew the meat in braising sauce overnight, so you can thoroughly enjoy your meal tomorrow. Although, the weather is quite warm nowadays, so the braised dishes shouldn’t be kept overnight. If you can’t finish it, just award it to others!”

The emperor emeritus was full of reluctance and mumbled, “I have an icehouse in my temporary imperial residence, if I can’t finish it, I’ll just keep it frozen there and reheat it whenever I feel like eating it! …Little girl, how long do you plan to stay in the capital? I want to eat vermicelli pork stew, chicken and mushroom stew, and northeastern mixed stew!”

In his previous life, Zhu Huaiyong was a true man from northeast China. Since his transmigration, he had rarely been able to eat authentic northeastern dishes and had missed them quite dearly. Even in his dreams, he dreamed of eating those northeastern signature dishes.

Yu Xiaocao thought about it, then said, “I will probably have to stay in the Imperial Palace for a few more days to ensure that the little prince is fully recovered before I can leave. For these few days, just tell the imperial kitchen to prepare the ingredients for the dishes that you, Emperor Emeritus, want to eat and I will make them for you. It’s just that, this commoner girl isn’t sure that my cooking will suit your taste.”

“Of course, it’s to my taste! With your skills in making braised pig’s heads, how can any of the dishes you cook be bad?” The emperor emeritus grinned and nodded. In his heart, he thought that he would stay in the Imperial Palace for these few days, so he gave the order to stay in Ningshou Palace tonight.

The old eunuch, who had served the emperor emeritus for decades, already knew the emperor emeritus’s thoughts. Inwardly, he said to himself: ‘Ever since the emperor emeritus abdicated his throne, he was either travelling and sightseeing, or he stayed in the temporary imperial residence in the outskirts of the capital; not one day did he stay in Ningshou Palace, which had been prepared for him for seven to eight years. Who could have thought that he would be willing to remain in the Imperial Palace for an ordinary meal? The allure of good food must not be underestimated ah!’

Yu Xiaocao began preparation to make the razor clam seafood porridge. The few old imperial cooks of the imperial kitchen shooed away those eunuchs who acted as assistant cooks and came up to her to assist her. They were obviously trying to covertly learn her recipes while watching from the side! However, Yu Xiaocao had not planned to keep the recipes of the seafood porridge, braised pig’s head and northeastern dishes to herself. She was only going to stay in the capital for a few days, and in her opinion, the emperor emeritus was quite interesting. He was intimate with the people and did not carry himself in a haughty manner. Thus, she was quite willing to leave the recipes of some of his favorite dishes to him.