Chapter 23

The imperial prison was eerie, and even the kitchen was filled with a lingering chill and smell of blood.

Wen Weili plays a spoiled and arrogant spinster named Huixin. Although Wen Weili is not afraid of the bloody smell in the imperial prison, she still covers her mouth and nose and looks at Aunt Zhou with displeasure.

Aunt Zhou smiled awkwardly, knowing that the jailers who were cleaning were lazy again. They were used to the smell of blood and didn't pay much attention to cleaning. It was normal for a distinguished guest like Huixin to show disgust when she suddenly smelled it.

She coughed lightly twice and could only comfort Huixin with a few words, "Miss Huixin, those guys didn't clean up the place carefully today. You stay busy here first, I'll go find them and clean up."

When Huixin heard Aunt Zhou go find someone to clean up, her tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly. She nodded and said, "Thank you, Auntie."

"You're welcome." The fine lines on Aunt Zhou's face became more obvious as she smiled. "Well, I'll leave today's meals to Miss Huixin. Something cheaper, with some meat."

"Of course," Wen Weili looked at the two large baskets of eggs in the corner of the kitchen and asked as if to confirm, "Can we use eggs?"

Aunt Zhou thought her attempt to steal someone's skills had been discovered, so she pretended not to know. "Miss Huixin, please feel free to do as you please. However, the red persimmons for the red persimmon scrambled eggs are out of stock lately."

Wen Weili thought to herself that the Imperial Prison must have been feeding the prisoners fried eggs with red tomatoes these past few days. However, eating too many red tomatoes would cause diarrhea, and the Imperial Prison realized the consequences, so they stopped buying red tomatoes.

This matter was over, but was Huixin such a pushover? How could she let someone steal her recipe? Wen Weili snorted and said, "I'm afraid you're blaming me for not telling you that eating too many red persimmons can cause diarrhea. It's making it harder for you to buy vegetables."

"Miss Huixin, what are you talking about?" Aunt Zhou was also very helpless. This Miss Huixin was really the one who refused to give in even when she was right. She shook her head and said, "Miss, please stop making fun of me. This is my fault. I have to compensate you..."

Upon hearing this, Hui Xin quickly interrupted Aunt Zhou's apology and glanced at her with a haughty look, "Auntie, you are my senior. I cannot accept this apology. I have only one request: from now on, I will buy the meals I cook myself."

"This..." Aunt Zhou was a little embarrassed, but she was not incapable of compromise. She only considered it for a moment and said, "Let me discuss it with the prison warden. Miss, don't..."

"I won't," Hui's heart twisted. "I won't spend money on shopping. I just need to keep track of the bills for our prison. There's nothing difficult about that. I'll do the shopping and I'll definitely be able to make cheaper and more delicious dishes."

Hearing Huixin say that she didn't need to pay, Aunt Zhou was relieved. She smiled and said, "That's not difficult. If the jailer heard that it would save more money, he would definitely be very happy."

Aunt Zhou looked at the sun outside and said, "Young lady, go do some shopping. I'll let the jailer know and ask a foreman to accompany you. I'll give you the sign later."

"That's more or less right." Huixin was satisfied. As long as it achieved her goal, she would follow Aunt Zhou's arrangements. She didn't refuse the leader who accompanied her. This not only showed that Huixin was from the imperial prison, but also meant to monitor her. However, Wen Weili pretended not to know and agreed with a smile.

Aunt Zhou hurriedly found the jailer and told him what had happened.

Zhang the jailer was reluctant at first, but when he heard Huixin said that she would not pay in advance and would save more money, he immediately agreed.

"That's not difficult," jailer Zhang said with a cheerful laugh. "She's a clever girl, so how can we not support her? We'll do as you say. However, if you spend too much money, I'll hold you accountable."

"How could I be wrong? This girl Huixin looks arrogant." Although Aunt Zhou said this, she still invited Huixin's relative, the jailer.

"You have guaranteed your cousin. If she really runs away, I will kill you." Aunt Zhou said fiercely.

"No," the guard disguised as a jailer said firmly, "She has already left home. Where else can she go except to seek refuge with me?"

That made sense. Both Zhang the jailer and Aunt Zhou were relieved. Where could a helpless girl run to? They were completely relieved.

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Wen Weili certainly wouldn't take the money and run away. She wasn't here for the money, so she behaved very obediently. She walked to the West Market with a jailer, comparing prices at various stalls, and occasionally exchanging a few words with the jailer.

The jailer who accompanied her out was about thirty years old and had a small beard. Although he was called by Aunt Zhou to look after Miss Huixin, he also fulfilled his duty of helping seriously.

He refused to tell his name, and only asked Wen Weili to call him "big brother". From him, Wen Weili learned that the imperial prison was usually divided into three shifts. Before each shift, they would patrol the prison. They would take roll call and draw circles before and after the morning and evening shifts. There were only two meals a day in the imperial prison, and the jailers on the morning and evening shifts would pack the meals in baskets and bring them over for distribution.

"Brother jailer, so I should make less soup, right?" Wen Weili asked.

"Yes, soup is not easy to get, but when the weather is too hot, we will cook a jar of mung bean water and distribute it to the prisoners. However, there has never been a record of heatstroke in our prison." The jailer was very proud.

What is there to be proud of? Wen Weili thought of the imperial prison surrounded by yin energy, dark and deep. If someone could get heatstroke, how hot would it be outside?

"Thank you, brother jailer. Let's buy these today." Wen Weili understood a little and stopped asking questions. She went back honestly.

The jailer was very satisfied with Miss Huixin's honesty. It seemed that she was not lazy or slacking off. However, he still asked, "Is that all? I'm afraid it's not enough."

"That's enough, big brother, just trust my craftsmanship."

Seeing that Miss Huixin was very confident, the jailer ignored her and helped her lift the basket, saying to the shopkeeper, "The bill will be recorded in the imperial prison."

The shopkeeper was so frightened that he dared not ask for money from the imperial prison. He knelt down tremblingly and said, "Sir, please spare my life. How dare a lowly person ask for money from the imperial prison?"

"No."

The shopkeeper heard the woman's comforting words and looked over for help.

"Just write it down. When the time comes, just report Miss Huixin's name and say it's money for shopping." Wen Weili said with a smile.

The shopkeeper was a bit convinced, and seeing the jailer nod in agreement, he felt relieved. He immediately leaned forward and kowtowed, "Thank you, young lady, thank you, sir!" The shopkeeper kowtowed twice, startling Wen Weili so much that she quickly helped the shopkeeper up.

After leaving the shop owner's constant stream of thanks, Wen Weili breathed a sigh of relief and said with emotion, "The Imperial Prison has such a prestigious reputation."

The jailer laughed heartily. "That's nothing! The uncle who used to do the shopping would have to pay for it. If it weren't for the Crown Prince being the regent, people would be panicking, and business wouldn't be booming, so naturally there wouldn't be any profit. Wouldn't the jailer be trying to save some money?"

"I see." Hui Xin couldn't help but show some interest, and asked in a low voice, "Brother jailer, what about the benefits in the future?"

"Hehe," the jailer smiled knowingly upon hearing Miss Huixin's interest in silver. "Of course there's plenty. Our Imperial Prison is much more comfortable than other places. It's just that others find it too hard and tiring."

"Thank you very much." Huixin nodded to the jailer, indicating that she would remember the favor.

The jailer was also happy. It was great that the one who came was not an innocent little girl. In the past, the cooks who came either thought that the imperial prison was dirty or looked down on them. Miss Huixin looked arrogant, but she was not an inflexible person at heart. She was exactly the type of person who could work in the imperial prison.

Of course, the jailer didn't know that there was no such person as Miss Huixin. Even Huixin's character and greed were deliberately created by Wen Weili just to reassure them.

Looking back, Miss Huixin's personality had indeed lowered the guards of the Imperial Prison. Even the jailer was delighted after hearing the jailer's report. Such a flexible and cost-effective cook was truly rare.

As the sun shone down, Wen Weili began to prepare food in the small kitchen of the Imperial Prison. The weather had been hot recently, and it was the time for flowers to bloom, so Wen Weili had chosen jasmine flowers as her ingredient.

Jasmine flowers are incredibly easy to pick. Little girls, young women, and elderly women, no taller than a foot, can pluck them from the blossoms. Because of their rich fragrance and the ease with which they grow, they grow abundantly throughout the mountains and fields. They're often picked for home use as incense or sold for a small profit. While one person might not earn much, it does take some effort, so specialized flower vendors gather them and sell them in large quantities.

Wen Weili took the opportunity to buy a lot, and because of his status as an imperial prison official, he was able to get them at basically the purchase price.

And tonight, Wen Weili is going to make jasmine fried eggs, also known as Snow Falling Floating Gold.

This dish is simple to prepare. First, bring a pot to a boil over high heat. Remove the stems and leaves of the washed jasmine flowers and blanch them in water. Remove and set aside. Then, beat the eggs and add the blanched jasmine flowers. Add a pinch of salt and stir well in a bowl. Heat oil in a pot and add the beaten eggs and jasmine flowers. Fry until golden brown.

Wen Weili took out the jasmine scrambled eggs from the pot and asked Aunt Zhou to taste them first.

Aunt Zhou watched Miss Huixin stir-fry a meat dish with cheap jasmine flowers and could not help but be amazed at Huixin's brain. This way of eating was really rare. Ordinary people might stir-fry jasmine flowers for the sake of freshness but would think it was a waste of oil and salt. Rich families would not be willing to eat this flower. But in their prison, where they wanted to save money and satisfy certain prisoners, it was perfect.

As for the taste, Aunt Zhou took a deep breath of the egg fragrance in the air, and she felt anticipation when she thought of the fried eggs with red persimmons. She believed that the fried eggs with jasmine flowers would definitely not disappoint her.

Aunt Zhou picked up an egg and put it in her mouth, chewing it carefully. The jasmine scrambled eggs were not as moist as the red persimmon scrambled eggs, but had a unique fragrance. Even though it was a bit dry, the crisp fragrance of the egg became more intense in the dryness, and the fragrance made people drool.

She picked up a few more jasmine flowers, and as soon as she took a bite, she could smell the unique sweet fragrance of jasmine flowers. The jasmine flowers that were usually placed in the house seemed too smoky, but after being combined with the eggs, the greasy fragrance was reduced and the peaceful meaning of the eggs was added. It tasted just right and made people want to eat a few more bites.

Putting down her chopsticks, Aunt Zhou sighed, "Hui Xin, how come your little brain is so smart?"

Wen Weili's face was calm, but her tone was proud, "My Huixin's cooking skills are not exaggerated."

Aunt Zhou was also convinced. She handed the prison sign to Huixin and said, "Here, take this with you when you go shopping."

Wen Weili took the sign, said thank you, and continued to cook. There were many prisoners in the prison, but one pot was not enough, so she had to cook a few more pots quickly.

Aunt Zhou saw her busying around and said with a smile, "Good girl, the prisoner only deserves a dish and a meal. It's still early for the shift change, so there's no need to rush."