"Does this mean Master doesn't look well?!" Fourth Master thought to himself: She's a sensible girl; when she's wronged, her first thought is to avoid misunderstandings between her brothers. But seeing the little princess's expression, he couldn't help but deliberately try to tease her.
"Hmm, Master's stern face is so scary!" Lan Qin pouted, her big eyes wide open, looking incredibly silly and adorable. This was an expression Lin Mengyao could never have made before, but now that she'd transmigrated, she was going to completely change things up!!
"Little thing, is this alright, Master?" Fourth Master's originally serious face suddenly changed completely, turning into a forced, amused, and slightly smirking face, which really made Lanqin laugh.
"Haha, Master, you really make people feel more approachable when you laugh like this." Lanqin sat down next to Fourth Master, took his arm, and laughed heartily.
“Little one, I plan to take Honghui and Hongwei to the estate for a few days tomorrow. You and Lady Yin can come along too,” the Fourth Prince said. This “few days” wasn't a real number; it could be several months. Because Emperor Kangxi was relatively free lately, he had entrusted the Third Prince, Yinzhi, with the compilation of books, leaving the other princes with little to do. The Fourth Prince wanted to take his eldest son to the estate to relax; the boy's temperament was too much like his primary wife's—rigid and self-centered—which worried him. The Third Prince, Hongwei, was also spoiled by Lady Li. Although Lady Yin's child wasn't yet born, he was still worried and wanted to keep him close for safety. His primary wife and concubines had both given him a warning, which should have served as a reminder: don't be jealous; who the Emperor favors is his decision! His child is not a bargaining chip for your rivalry!!
"Yay!! Are we going tomorrow?" Lanqin cheered. It would be great to be able to go away for a while. The atmosphere in this mansion has been too tense lately. First it was Consort Li, and now it's the First Consort, both of whom have been confined to their quarters by the Fourth Prince. Although Lanqin didn't instigate them, it seems that she is involved in both of them.
She really didn't want to offend either of them!
Coo coo coo...
Fourth Master was about to call someone in to get water to wash her up when he suddenly heard Lanqin's stomach make an unpleasant noise.
The Fourth Prince was stunned for a moment, but then immediately smiled and said, "Little Princess, your belly is really big. Didn't you eat your fill at the Third Prince's residence?"
"How can I possibly get enough to eat there? Every dish gets cold, and I have to be mindful of my appearance, lest people laugh at me! So, how can I possibly get enough to eat?" Lanqin said honestly. The wives of the various households were sitting not far away, and the princesses of the various households didn't know each other very well. With a bunch of unfamiliar people under the noses of their mistresses, they naturally had no choice but to maintain their composure and eat on empty stomachs.
"Let's order a meal. Now that you mention it, I think I'm getting hungry too." Fourth Master had been drinking for most of the day, and his stomach was full of water, so he was indeed a bit hungry.
"You're so kind, sir! I want to eat hot pot, sir? Do you want some?" Lanqin hadn't had Chongqing hot pot near her school for months, and now she was really craving it. But did Chongqing hot pot even exist in the Qing Dynasty? Probably more like the old Beijing hot pot.
"It's almost summer, why are you thinking of eating hot pot? We'll be sweating buckets later." Although Fourth Master said this, it was already considered an agreement.
Although eating hot pot in the summer is a bit out of place, the air conditioning is just as good, and with an ice-cold Coke, it's absolutely refreshing!! But, where in the Qing Dynasty was there any air conditioning?! There wasn't even Coke.
"Sir, it is true that that is a bit hot, but your stomach, which has been full of wine, needs a piping hot hot pot to warm it up!"
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master also felt that there was some truth to it!
So, Lanqin started ordering the hot pot menu she knew by heart, beginning with beef and lamb, and continuing all the way to vegetables, ordering a total of 30 items.
Several dishes.
"Look at you, you really know how to eat!" Fourth Master exclaimed in amazement at how the little princess could remember so many dishes.
"Of course, I'm a typical foodie!" Lanqin was so happy that she let slip a new 21st-century term.
"A foodie?!" Fourth Master smiled slightly, thinking that there was actually some truth to it.
So, the Fourth Prince called Su Peisheng in and told him to go to the kitchen to order food immediately. At that moment, the eunuch Huang in the kitchen was about to check everything and then close the door to go back to sleep when he saw Su Peisheng's apprentice, Zhao Quan, arrive.
Ugh! It's that Princess Niu again, what are we going to eat this time?!
Huang, the eunuch, had been the chief eunuch of the Fourth Prince's kitchen for several years. He had never seen a princess pay so much attention to food and drink, nor had he ever seen his master be so accommodating.
He didn't dare complain about the trouble now, since it was the Fourth Master's eunuch who came to order the meal, and he was trying his best to curry favor with him! If his master ate well, he would also feel proud.
The kitchen is the place where they serve food based on who you serve. In the past, they dared to have Lanqin's maid bring back pork lard dishes, but now! They couldn't wait for this Princess Niu to order the food. In short, whenever she ordered, the Fourth Master seemed to be satisfied with the food, and he would even receive tips from time to time.
Zhao Quan reported the Fourth Prince's meal to Eunuch Huang. Upon hearing this, Eunuch Huang thought to himself: This is simple. The hot pot broth is ready-made, made from beef bones. All the other meats are available; it just requires some knife skills. The vegetables can be washed. After arranging for the eunuchs in the kitchen to prepare the hot pot, Eunuch Huang smiled and handed Zhao Quan some yogurt that Lanqin had asked him to make a few days ago, saying, "Eunuch Zhao, you've had a hard time making this trip. This is something new that Princess Niu asked me to try out, called yogurt. Please try it!"
To be honest, Zhao Quan's position was actually lower than that of Eunuch Huang, but he was the apprentice of Su Peisheng, the head eunuch of the front courtyard, so naturally people had to curry favor with him.
While eating hot pot, the Fourth Prince tasted his first cup of yogurt. Lanqin had been craving yogurt a few days earlier, and since yeast and milk existed in ancient times, making yogurt would be a piece of cake. So, she had Huanbi take her written yogurt recipe and some silver to Eunuch Huang.
Sure enough, last night, Eunuch Huang finally succeeded in his experiment. He tasted it himself and found it delicious.
Eunuch Huang began to admire Lanqin. This princess not only knew how to eat, but also how to invent food. He immediately felt a desire to curry favor with Lanqin.
"Is this made from milk?" Fourth Master asked.
"Yes, add some yeast to the milk, put it in a sealed container, and keep it at a certain temperature outside, and it will turn into yogurt." Lanqin explained the principle of the "Little Bear Yogurt Maker".
"This can aid digestion?" Fourth Master asked incredulously.
"Yes, because... I eat it often, so I'm very slim." Lanqin felt she couldn't continue. Did she really want to tell the Fourth Master from three hundred years ago about the discoveries of modern industry and the progress of science and technology?
"Where are you slim?" Fourth Master teased her again.
"Master!" Lan Qin said emphatically.
That evening, although Fourth Master, who had eaten yogurt, did not take Lanqin out to digest, poor Lanqin was still quite exhausted by Fourth Master!
Fourth Prince held Lanqin, turning her over and over until the little princess whimpered, only then did he feel a little guilty.
"Alright, alright, my little princess, stop crying. It's all my fault." Fourth Master withdrew from Lanqin's body and gently soothed her by stroking her back.
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