zChapter 1270 - YeXi] Happiness (1/2)
Chapter 1270: [YeXi] Happiness
Han Yunxi succeeded!
After working an entire day, she changed a big pot of clear water into a small pot of concentrated soup. It was extremely fragrant and smelled tantalizing. All of the chefs were foodies and could guess the flavor of the soup just with a whiff! They were pleasantly surprised and only hoped to have a taste as soon as possible so they could analyze it for themselves.
Despite being cooks for so many years, they’d yet to make something so savory and fragrant as the empress’s soup! Han Yunxi was mesmerized by her work as well. She looked at the little bowl of soup and almost salivated. She knew the flavor was excellent without even tasting it!
However!
She still wanted a personal taste test! Carefully, she spooned up a mouthful and tried the first soon.
“Ohh…” she couldn’t help exclaiming, “Tut tut tut, it tastes amazing!”
Seeing this, all of the other cooks grew expectant. Han Yunxi drank a second spoonful, her face full of enjoyment. “Mm….the lingering aftertaste is world-class!”
The cooks couldn’t help gulping down saliva at her obvious pleasure. Han Yunxi ended up downing the rest of the soup and even licked her lips as she turned towards the kitchen staff. “It was extremely tasty, I’m not lying!”
All of the cooks fell to their knees. “Respectful felicitations to Esteemed Empress! Congratulations to Esteemed Empress on finally making soup!”
“All of you rise!” Han Yunxi grinned.
All of the cooks stood up, waiting for the empress to award them soup. But she only clapped the lid back on and began to seriously record the ingredients, quantities, and the different simmering stages of the fire.
So now that she’s succeeded in cooking, the empress won’t force us to taste the soup anymore? The half-starved cooks were about to lose it! This was more depressing than being forced to drink the failed soups!
After Han Yunxi finished recording all the relevant numbers, she quickly prepared some flour and mixed some soup stock with water to boil before cooking it all together. After months of study, she could create balls of dough with regular sizing. While they boiled, she used water to wash some fresh vegetables, poached an egg, then placed both atop the noodles, making the entire bowl of flour balls even more fragrant.[1]
Despite being an empress of a nation, Han Yunxi was actually smiling because she managed to make a bowl of doughball soup. Just what kind of joy was this? Something exclusive to women alone irregardless of status, rank, or skill. It was the happiness of cooking something for the man she loved.
After all, there was no guarantee that the best female chef could have a chance to make the man she adored a bowl of food! Afraid of the dish going cold, Han Yunxi picked up the bowl and stepped out using lightness techniques to find Long Feiye. Somehow, he’d managed to shake Rui’er off into Gu Beiyue’s hands. The boy would stay at the Grand Tutor’s estate that night. Han Yunxi ran into Long Feiye at the imperial study just as he was coming out.
Long Feiye immediately smelled the delicious scent and dropped his gaze to Han Yunxi’s bowl. He assumed the cook had made it ad she was here to deliver the food. He had no idea of her hard work in the kitchens cooking soups in the past few months.
Long Feiye wasn’t hungry and didn’t pay much attention to the bowl. But Han Yunxi was filled with expectation and placed it on the table without telling him she’d made it. “Eat it while it’s hot. Where’s Rui’er?”
“At the Grand Tutor’s.” In other words, he wasn’t coming home tonight. Han Yunxi would be a fool if she didn’t get what he was implying.
“Oh!” she sprawled lazily into a seat and picked up one of the memorials to peruse.
“Did you laugh your fill this morning?” Long Feiye asked with interest.
Han Yunxi knew he was coming to claim his debts and couldn’t help chuckling. “Emperor, do you dare to next time?”
“Looks like the empress hasn’t laughed enough.”
Long Feiye quickly walked in front of Han Yunxi with cold eyes. She didn’t fear his stare because she’d seen all sorts of cold and fierce ones. There was always a way to soften him up. However, when Long Feiye raised his hands, she grew alarmed.
“Long Feiye, you’re not allowed—”
Long Feiye moved in to trap her on the chair! This was a semi-curved seat with high armrest and an even higher back. His movements completely blocked Han Yunxi’s escape. She was afraid of being tickled! But he knew full well and went to tickle her.
Han Yunxi was stuck between laughing, begging, yelling, and resisting. “Long Feiye, enough enough!”
“I won’t laugh anymore alright? I’ll stop laughing, hahahaha…”
“Long Feiye, I plea mercy, mercy! Let go! Let go already!”
“Long Feiye, I was wrong…I was wrong!”
“Ahhh….help!”
Her voice and shouts had all of the shadow guards backing far away from the entrance. Zhao mama was about to come overwhen Xu Donglin abruptly stopped her. “Zhao mama, do you have business?”
“I’m just asking whether the crown prince is coming back,” Zhao mama said seriously.
“The crown prince went back with the Grand Tutor. Esteemed Empress just returned and will probably be staying in the imperial study tonight,” Xu Donglin said calmly.
Zhao mama gave a start before she cried, “Oh um…understood, understood! This old servant understands!”
Thus, she left cheerfully.