Mid-morning

The weather is sunny during this period, but the autumn breeze is cool and not hot.

But Yan Qiushu was dizzy and had to blink twice before she could barely open her eyes.

"Girl, are you feeling unwell? Why don't you ask a doctor to come and see you?" Shui Yu was very worried. She looked a little haggard.

Yan Qiushu yawned and shook her head: "No, I'm fine."

I just stayed up late last night.

It's not that she stayed up late on her own initiative, but she had been thinking all night about how to prevent Xiao Waiting from dying and the Xiao family from being destroyed.

Yan Qiushu couldn't figure it out. She hadn't experienced the various struggles in ancient times. Her original world was too peaceful. At most, she had experienced the palace intrigues in the office, but compared with this era, that was simply child's play.

She felt helpless and thought of many ways in her mind, but all failed. She fell asleep like this, and who knew that what she thought about during the day would appear in her dreams at night. She dreamed of the moment when Xiao Waiting died.

The scene in the dream was very unreal. There was only the handsome young man, wearing armor. His handsome face was so thin that his cheeks were sunken. His eyes seemed unruly, but they hid despair. Facing countless arrows stabbing at him, he struggled to swing his sword to block them, but ultimately failed. He was stabbed, his body trembled, and blood began to stain his chest red...

Yan Qiushu was so frightened that she closed her eyes tightly and woke up. But when she opened her eyes, she couldn't fall asleep anymore.

Birth, aging, sickness and death are the norm for human beings, but she had never come into contact with anyone who died young in her previous life, except for her own bad luck and the car accident.

After waking up, Yan Qiushu didn't fall asleep again.

I kept my eyes open until dawn.

Having died once, she still cherished her new life, so when she couldn't sleep, she got up and made breakfast.

If you don’t eat breakfast, you will get gallstones!

Especially since she had the important task of taking care of Mrs. Xiao's health, she made some noodles and had someone deliver them to Mrs. Xiao. After she finished eating, she went back to sleep.

After cooking, Yan Qiushu's mood stabilized and she didn't feel so uncomfortable anymore. This time she fell asleep.

But yesterday she had promised Dongdong that she would make him a lunch box, so at 9:30 she asked Shuiyu to wake her up. She didn't get enough sleep and looked listless, which made Shuiyu think she was sick.

Yan Qiushu washed her hands, patted her face with cold water to wake herself up, then rolled up her sleeves and tied up her long hair with a hairband, revealing her whole face with a refreshed look, ready to cook!

She first inspected the kitchen preparation area to make sure that the dishes and seasonings she was about to use were ready, and then began cooking.

Teriyaki chicken drumstick rice is actually very simple to make. Debone the chicken drumsticks in advance, break them up with the back of a knife, and marinate them. Heat oil in a pan, and when it's almost cooked, put the chicken drumsticks in. Fry the side with the skin until it's golden brown, then turn it over and fry it for a while.

When it’s almost done, add the prepared black teriyaki sauce and simmer for a while.

It’s a pity that there’s less oil, but it’s not bad since it has pure natural honey to enhance the flavor.

In addition to teriyaki chicken legs, Yan Qiushu also prepared blanched carrots and cabbage.

When everything was ready, Shui Yu took out the food box.

A big chicken drumstick was placed in the lunch box, covered with a layer of thick sauce. Next to it was a grid filled with fresh carrot slices and Chinese cabbage, and in the front was white rice.

In this era, the lunch boxes of wealthy people actually have insulation functions. The bottom is padded with cotton wool, a hot water kettle is placed on top, the middle compartment is for food, and cotton wool is placed on the top again. This will greatly reduce the heat dissipation rate.

When everything was ready, a servant came to take it away.

Yan Qiushu didn't need to worry about the rest. She was only responsible for delivering a few portions to other courtyards, taking one portion for herself, and leaving the rest for Shui Yu and Nanny Xu.

Imperial College Enlightenment Class

There are eight students in this class, all of them are five-year-old boys, each of them is dressed in gorgeous clothes, and one of them even has clothes that are light gold in color.

In this era, gold is the most precious color. Only the emperor can wear pure gold. Other people are not allowed to wear pure gold. Those with lower status can only wear partial gold. But even so, his status is extremely noble in the eyes of others.

At this time, the child was secretly playing with toys while other children were reciting poems.

The chubby Dongdong was sitting diagonally behind the child. He was reciting poetry with his head swaying when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the figure playing with toys. He frowned and turned his eyes away in disgust.

I really don't know why Grandpa Jiang wanted me to be his study partner.

This guy is not as good as him!

Dongdong puffed out his chest proudly and continued to recite the poem until... he growled and felt hungry.

Before he left this morning, he received breakfast from Sister Shu, but the portion was not much and he didn't eat enough. He also didn't want to eat anything else, which led to the current situation.

He rubbed his stomach and looked outside expectantly. It was almost time for lunch!

What will Sister Shu give him today?

Dongdong was so excited that his saliva started to flow out. However, he was still reciting poetry in his mouth, and his saliva made him choke, causing him to cough violently.

The teacher who had been listening with his eyes closed suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Dong Dong sharply: "Xiao Pingzhou! Stand up and recite this poem!"

As soon as the teacher opened his mouth, the other children became quiet and looked over with excited eyes.

However, this poem was just taught today and Dongdong hasn't learned it yet. His round face turned red and he stammered, unable to speak.

"Tsk~" The Third Prince's eldest son, the Second Prince Zhou Zhaoqin, uttered a mocking sound.

Dong Dong glared at him in embarrassment, and the teacher quickly tried to smooth things over: "Okay, if you don't know how to do it, just keep reciting it. We will conduct a random check tomorrow, and those who don't know how to do it will be punished by copying it!"

Then he let Dongdong sit down.

He couldn't afford to offend either the grandson of the emperor or the descendant of the Xiao family, especially since the two parties were not on good terms with each other. He didn't dare to really let the two ancestors quarrel.

Dong Dong sat down in dismay, and behaved well from then on until the class was over. The palace maids from the Imperial Academy who were specially assigned to serve them came over and took them to a special restaurant for meals.

"Young Master, the Xiao family and the Jiang family have both sent food over. Which one would you like to eat?" The palace maid put two lunch boxes together. One looked luxurious, with delicate and beautiful patterns on it, while the other was plain and not new.

The palace maid said this while she was already opening the Jiang family's lunch box.

But Dongdong took action himself: "I'll eat this."

He opened the Xiao family's lunch box.

The palace maid was stunned for a moment, then hurried to help. The two of them opened the carefully insulated lunch box and took the lunch box out. Before the lid was opened, the dining room was already filled with the aroma of various light meals. When the Xiao family lunch boxes were opened, an especially strong aroma of sauce directly covered the other smells and appeared in the noses of the eight children.

The chatter suddenly fell silent, and everyone subconsciously looked at the source of the scent.

Dongdong took a deep breath of the aroma, which was mixed with a pleasant sweet scent. He was satisfied and happy and was about to continue, but suddenly he found that everyone was looking at him. He immediately felt proud and picked up a piece of chicken leg with chopsticks. The large piece of chicken leg was cut into small pieces and drizzled with rich sauce. The small piece had an extraordinary salty fragrance, and the chicken leg was tender and juicy, with a hint of honey, which was sweet but not greasy.

"It's delicious!" Dongdong said happily. Due to proper heat preservation, it was still hot and tasted great. Taking a bite of the tender white rice at this time, the taste was just right, not salty or bland, and it went smoothly into the stomach.

Dongdong ate very fast, one bite after another, as if he was eating some delicacies from the land and the sea.

The aroma of the teriyaki sauce was so overpowering that it tempted the greedy kids to stare at it. Is it really that delicious? How is it made? They haven't tried it yet!

Dongdong noticed that he ate even harder, and he deserved it for making them laugh at him before!

The second grandson of the emperor, Zhou Zhaoqin, also took a closer look, but seeing that the other party had no intention of sharing and was deliberately eating more than they wanted, he became a little angry and pretended to be disgusted and laughed:

"You're surprised by something new! It's just some food."

Although they were only five years old and in the enlightenment class, the power struggles between the families had already formed among them, and the children were influenced by them. Especially some families who wanted to support the Xiao family but were left out were very clear to the children, and as classmates, they also disliked each other.

Dongdong was also spoiled and was even less willing to give in, so the relationship between the two sides was particularly cold.

The palace maid also smelled the fragrance and was about to open her mouth to praise it. When she heard the reaction of the second grandson of the emperor, she quickly shut her mouth to avoid being displeased by the second grandson of the emperor. He silently opened another lunch box and tactfully reminded: "Young Master, you should also try this. Nanny Ji who brought it over said that you will definitely like it."

Then I opened the lunch box and found it was chicken fillet!

"I love it!" Dongdong said immediately. He didn't expect it to be this. He immediately went over to pick up a piece and put it in his mouth, but this time, he was stunned.

It looked the same as the dish, but the chicken was bland. The crust had some seasoning sprinkled on it, but it wasn't crispy, and instead was a bit hard. The texture was not good either, and it was totally different from the taste of the chicken fillet I remembered.

He gave up in disgust and continued to eat his teriyaki chicken rice.

Hmm!

Delicious, delicious!

The carrots tasted especially delicious after being dipped in the juice! Even the cabbage, which he usually disliked the most, tasted different!

The palace maid who accepted the benefit and wanted to help Jiang's family coax Dongdong back home: "..."

Is the difference that big?

Dongdong was eating hard. A thin little boy sitting in the corner of the table next to him was biting his fingers and watching him eat eagerly. He only had a half-eaten steamed bun in his hand.

Steamed buns were actually a delicacy for ordinary poor families, but in the imperial palace, some palace maids and eunuchs would disdain them.

The students of the Imperial College were either members of the royal family or important officials. Their families were wealthy, and their food was usually delivered by their families. The school cafeteria also provided food, but it also required money to buy it. Usually, parents would leave a lot of money here, and the children could just take it themselves in the future.

Only the person in front of me has a special situation.

This is the eldest son of the deposed crown prince. The current emperor said that the disaster was not as serious as his wife and children, so the deposed crown prince was imprisoned. His children are still receiving education in the Imperial Academy and can only return to their parents after school.

As for food, it is naturally not much better.

The deposed prince is a thorn in the eyes of many people. The emperor suspects that he might rebel, and the princes suspect that he might return to the position of prince. None of them wants him to live well, but because of the hostility between the several forces, they dare not take action against the deposed prince easily, but they can still teach him a lesson and make things difficult for him.

Especially since the palace maids also had to choose the right dishes according to the conditions, and with some naughty children making trouble, he usually couldn't have a full meal and had to eat sporadically, not to mention meat.

Dongdong felt uncomfortable being stared at. He looked up and saw that it was him. He felt a little sympathy. He had seen this before, but he had never seen such a burning gaze from this man.

I vaguely remember my uncle once said that if I met the child of the deposed prince, I could help him appropriately, but the Jiang family had reminded him countless times not to play with this person, so they had no contact before.

But this time...

He glanced at the extra lunch box. Although it didn't taste good, it was better than wasting it. So he pushed the lunch box over and said, "Do you want to eat it?"

Zhou Zhaoheng's eyes lit up slightly, and he seemed a little uncertain. His thin cheeks puffed up. He looked at him nervously. After confirming the signal, he carefully took the lunch box.

What he ate was what Xiao Pingzhou (Dong Dong) ate. The flavor was so strong that he couldn't even eat steamed bread. Maybe this was also very good.

He took a bite and the chicken fillet, which still retained some crispness, made a "crunch" sound. The meat inside was revealed after it was bitten open. It was not tender and a little bland, a bit thick, but it was real meat!

Zhou Zhaoheng squinted his eyes happily while eating, and a happy aura emanated from his body.

Dong Dong felt even more sympathetic and whispered, "This is not delicious. The chicken steak made by my sister Shu is the best. I'll bring it to you next time!"

Zhou Zhaoheng blinked. After the sudden kindness, he didn't expect this person to be willing to talk to him. He was a little flattered. After confirming that he had heard correctly, he blushed and nodded vigorously, whispering: "Thank you..."