Luoyang, Prince Mu's Mansion, in the study.

The moonlight was hazy and the breeze was gentle. Prince Mu lowered his eyes and played with a shiny jade porcelain vase.

Princess Mu beside him clenched her fingers after reading the letter and frowned, "Is this really a letter from Chang'an?"

Prince Mu said "hmm" faintly.

Princess Mu frowned even more tightly, and couldn't help muttering, "Why does the Third Prince want to target the Crown Princess? She's just a young lady. At the banquet a few days ago, she seemed to be a simple-minded person..."

If the Third Prince wanted to deal with the Crown Prince, she could still understand it. But this time he came to her house to set a trap for the Crown Princess, which was a bit puzzling.

"Since he has asked for this, then we should fully cooperate. You haven't had a detailed contact with the Crown Princess, so don't jump to conclusions. Maybe she just looks innocent, but in fact she has deep intentions."

"What do you mean?"

"The Crown Prince has taken in the Yu sisters for four days, but he has never summoned them to his palace, and he has not even met them. He only stays at the Crown Princess's place every night. He does not even attend the banquets held by Sun Zhengguo at night. He returns to the palace as soon as the sun sets. Although the Crown Princess is beautiful, she is not a peerless beauty who can move a country or a city. If she didn't have some tricks, how could she have charmed the Crown Prince to this extent?"

“…”

When Princess Mu heard this, she was extremely jealous and even wanted to find an opportunity to talk to the Crown Princess to find out what tricks she had used to trap a man like this.

Prince Mu slowly put down the porcelain bottle, took the letter from Princess Mu's hand, and threw it into the rosewood-based enamel and beast-ear burner on the side.

He watched the letter burn out in the stove before he closed the stove lid again.

"The letter said that they don't want her life, but just want her to be cleared of all charges and have no face to continue being the Crown Princess. Princess, you should think carefully over the next few days and figure out how to make the arrangements foolproof," he said in a deep voice.

Princess Mu was startled, and an unnatural smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "My Lord, how should I arrange this matter..."

Prince Mu raised his eyes, stared at the princess dimly, and laughed sarcastically, "Princess, you and I are husband and wife, and I have known many things for a long time, but I am unwilling to intervene, so as not to hurt the harmony between us. Didn't you handle those concubines in my backyard who died of illness, went crazy, or had accidents very well? It is most appropriate for women to take action when dealing with women."

As he spoke, he walked up to Princess Mu, raised his hand and patted her shoulder, as if entrusting her with an important task, and said in a deep voice, "I leave this matter to you. I am at ease. Please don't let me down."

After saying that, he stroked his beard and strode out of the house, saying, "I will stay in Yingxiang Courtyard tonight, and the princess should also go to bed early."

Princess Mu's face was stiff, then pale, and her no longer young eyes were filled with complicated emotions.

Husband and wife as one? Harmful to the relationship? How can there be any harmony?

It's just that they have been tied together for most of their lives, and their interests are too deeply tied to each other to be severed. They can only become collusion and decay together.

The hands hanging by the edge of her skirt were clenched for a long time, and finally loosened. When she raised her head again, a sharp chill flashed in her eyes.

………

In the Luoyang Palace, a strong aroma of meat mixed with the elegant fragrance of tea wafted slowly out from the kitchen.

When the palace servants on duty outside the kitchen smelled this smell, tears almost flowed from their mouths.

"It smells so good! It smells so good!"

"It's different when the Crown Princess cooks. I haven't been this hungry for several days."

"I don't know what the Crown Princess made today. I smelled chicken? There seemed to be a halogen smell..."

"Hehe, I sneaked in to take a look just now. The Crown Princess cooked several dishes today. But this aroma should be the smell of salinated chicken legs!"

When these words were spoken, the palace servants immediately imagined a plate of tender, salty, shiny and bright yellow halved chicken legs, and they couldn't help but drool even more.

In the kitchen, Tao Ti was humming a little tune and happily cooking food.

A few days ago, Pei Yan didn't know where he heard the words "If a woman doesn't rest well during her menstrual period, it will be very harmful to her body and affect her life span", and he believed it very much. He repeatedly reminded her to lie down and rest, not to run around, and not to cook.

Tao Ti had no choice but to stay quietly in the Jixian Palace and lie down, thinking about the business plan for the snack shop.

The chef in the kitchen followed the Crown Prince's instructions and prepared nourishing dishes for the Crown Princess that avoided spicy and greasy ingredients.

After eating light meals for four days in a row, Tao Ti dreamed of boiled pork slices, spicy chicken, braised chicken wings, spicy crab, and stir-fried snails. So as soon as she felt better, she ran to the kitchen and planned to make up for her stomach.

Today she made boiled pork slices, fried green peppers with poached eggs, and spicy chicken. Thinking that Pei Yan's appetite had obviously decreased in the past few nights, she also made a few elegant and delicious tea-leaf dishes.

A dish of Longjing shrimp, a dish of green tea mixed tofu, a dish of steamed sea bass with black tea, plus a pot of fragrant tea-flavored braised chicken legs.

Any one of these dishes is delicious, but none of them can compare to the salty aroma.

Seeing the palace servants drooling with delight, Tao Ti took out the tea-flavored brined chicken legs and said to the chef kindly, "The remaining brining juice can still be used to brine a lot of things. You can brine some eggs, dried tofu, pork cubes, etc. to make a meal for everyone."

Chef Yu had been craving for it for a long time. He originally wanted to wait until the Crown Princess left and then secretly use the brine to make something. But now that the Crown Princess had given the order, the way out was clear. He was so happy that he agreed without hesitation.

The palace servants in the kitchen also said in unison, "Thank you, Crown Princess!"

Seeing their grateful faces, Tao Ti felt embarrassed. It was just a pot of brine, but they acted as if she had done a great good deed.

…

After leaving the kitchen, Tao Ti just walked to the door of Jixian Hall and met Pei Yan face to face.

"Your Highness, you're back." Tao Ti greeted him cheerfully, "You came back earlier today than yesterday."

"Well, today's business is light."

Pei Yan responded and glanced behind her calmly, "You went to the kitchen again?"

Tao Ti nodded, smiling, "I made a lot of delicious food today, you are in for a treat! Come on, let's go inside first."

Seeing her so happy, Pei Yan swallowed the words "You don't have to work hard in the kitchen" in his throat, nodded gently at her and said hello.

The two of them entered the hall together, and after washing their hands, they found that the rosewood table was already filled with sumptuous and tempting dishes.

"Boiled pork slices, fried eggs with tiger skin green peppers, and spicy chicken. These spicy dishes are mine."

"Longjing shrimp, green tea with tofu, and steamed sea bass with black tea. These teas are light and fragrant, nourishing and nourishing to the stomach. They are yours."

"This tea-flavored halved chicken drumstick is not spicy, but has a strong flavor. It can be eaten as a snack."

After Tao Ti announced the names of the dishes, she raised her chin with a little pride, like a kid who had received a red flower in kindergarten and was waiting for praise from her parents. Her bright black eyes looked fixedly at Pei Yan.

Pei Yan understood her thoughts at a glance and praised her seriously, "Ati is really amazing."

She was very confident when asking for compliments, but felt a little embarrassed when she was actually praised, "It's OK, it's OK, just average."

Hearing this, everyone in the palace tried to hold back their laughter, even Pei Yan laughed softly, and the atmosphere in the air became relaxed.

Taoti picked up a tea-flavored halved chicken leg and started chewing it with enjoyment.

The big chicken legs are tender and meaty. They smell good and taste even better. When you take a bite, layers of tender chicken mixed with salty and slightly sweet juice burst between your lips and teeth. The aroma of chicken and tea leaves blend perfectly. It is tender and sweet, fat but not greasy. It is so delicious that it is hard to describe. It makes people completely unable to control their mouths. After swallowing a big mouthful, they can't wait to take a second and third bite.

"It's so delicious." Tao Ti finished eating a chicken leg with satisfaction and thought to herself, she is such a genius, how can she make such delicious food!

Seeing a little bit of oil on her rosy lips, Pei Yan picked up a handkerchief and reached out to wipe the corner of her mouth.

“……!”

Tao Ti froze, staring at him with wide eyes, holding a chicken bone in an unsightly manner in her hand.

Pei Yan was very natural. After wiping her, he gently withdrew his hand.

Seeing that she was still stunned, he raised his eyebrows slightly and narrowed his peach blossom eyes, "Aren't you going to eat anymore?"

Tao Ti blinked and came back to her senses, "Eat, eat..."

She quickly threw away the chicken bones, picked up the bowl and started to eat, but her heart was beating like crazy and she was in great torment.

While eating, she recalled every moment she had spent with Pei Yan since leaving Chang'an.

First, they were facing each other in the carriage every day, then he patted her head, and today he wiped her mouth...

Was he being a little... too affectionate with her?

Could it be that he likes her?

No, no, no, how is this possible? How could he like her? It’s not even dark yet, what is she dreaming!

What's more, the relationship between them is not like that at all!

I must be too sensitive.

Maybe he just does these little movements because he is familiar with it?

Just as Tao Ti was thinking, the voice from the other side interrupted her thoughts, "Why are you only eating rice and not vegetables?"

Tao Ti was startled, and raised her eyes again, meeting Pei Yan's always gentle eyes. He asked, "What are you thinking about that can be more important than eating?"

From what he had understood about her during this time, eating always came first in her heart.

What’s more, all the dishes on the table are her favorites.

Tao Ti's eyes were a little vague, "No, nothing."

Pei Yan said calmly, "Oh, so that's it."

He didn't say anything more. He just picked up a piece of Longjing shrimp with chopsticks and put it into the bowl. He lowered his head. His beautiful eyes were dark and deep, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Apart from this little incident, the meal was quite enjoyable.

Tao Ti was the main force and ate almost half of the meal. Influenced by her, Pei Yan ate one more bowl of rice tonight than yesterday.

Fu Xirui was watching with great joy, thinking that the Crown Princess was indeed capable, and the dishes she cooked were all to His Highness's liking.

After dinner, Pei Yan sat at the desk to handle government affairs, while Tao Ti lay on the couch reading a storybook.

When it was late at night, they took a bath and went to bed together.

The curtains were drawn, and a faint sweet fragrance lingered inside the tent.

In the darkness, Pei Yan said, "I have been busy on patrol these days and have no time to accompany you..."

Tao Ti was just closing her eyes and preparing to fall asleep when she heard such a nonsensical sentence. She was a little confused. When she came to her senses, she said lazily, "It's okay. You do your thing. I'll find something to do myself."

She had been having physical discomfort these days and had not been able to go out. Now that her period was over, she had planned to go out for a walk tomorrow.

She was about to report to Pei Yan when she heard the man next to her say, "I'll take you out tomorrow."

Tao Ti was stunned for a moment, "Ah, Your Highness, are you done with your work?"

"Not yet, but I'll have a free day tomorrow."

"That's great! We can go out and play together. I saw you going out early and coming back late these days, and I was worried that your body couldn't take it... Now you're fine, you can take a break, it's the right time to combine work and rest."

Although Pei Yan couldn't see her expression in the darkness, he could hear the joy in her tone.

He raised his thin lips slightly and said, "I heard that the fortune-telling at Luoyang Baiyun Temple is very effective, and the peach blossoms in the back mountain are in full bloom, and the scenery is pleasant. Shall we go there tomorrow to take a look?"

Tao Ti had also heard of the reputation of the ancient Baiyun Temple. Although she was not very interested in temples, she held the tourist mentality of "if I'm here, it would be a waste of time if I don't check in", so she was not opposed to it.

Besides, she had heard that the vegetarian food at Baiyun Temple was very good.

After thinking for a moment, she replied:

"Okay, let's go to Baiyun Temple."