Chu Nian raised an eyebrow.
The way everyone looked at Lianhuan unconsciously revealed a strange look.
Lian Xi laughed, "I never thought our Empress would be so prescient one day." But as soon as she turned her head, she saw the two dishes of pickled vegetables, which were already stale and had obviously been left for many days. She was furious again.
Lianhuan said, "Your Majesty, could you... could you make do for now..." She was genuinely afraid this woman would chop off her hand, because this woman was always unscrupulous in her actions, and few in the palace dared to defy her. Lianhuan had followed the original owner of this body and had witnessed her bullying others countless times.
Actually, she was overthinking it. If it were the original owner of this body here today, she would never have chopped off her hand. The original owner still remembered the bond between them, having grown up together and served her for many years.
But now that it's Chu Nian, things might be different!
Chu Nian had no desire to eat these things, so she stood up abruptly and said, "I'm not eating anymore, you can have them." With that, she flicked her wide sleeves and walked outside.
"Your Majesty, you've just returned, where are you going again?" Lian Xi asked anxiously, wanting to follow.
Chu Nian waved her hand and said, "I'm just going out for a walk, no one needs to come with me."
Lian Huan said, "Your Majesty, you are currently under house arrest..."
"I know," Chu Nian said. "Even if I'm under house arrest, I can still wander around the courtyard of Xukun Palace, right?"
Outside, it was already dark. Chu Nian felt that the time had come; it was a dark and windy night... Heh...
The next moment, Chu Nian appeared in the imperial kitchen.
Although it was dark, the imperial kitchen was still busy, as the emperor, the regent, and many of the emperor's and princes' concubines were having a late-night snack.
But now, it's incredibly easy for Chu Nian to get in here! What really annoyed her was that when she slipped into the kitchen, she discovered that the best dish there was the braised pork knuckle in salt water—the oil hadn't even been steamed yet, and it looked greasy.
Is this all the chefs in the royal kitchen of the Great Yu Kingdom are capable of?
In fact, there were few ingredients and cooking methods in ancient times, so it was probably not so easy for Chu Nian to have a grand meal.
She refused to believe it and drifted out of the palace, visiting several famous restaurants in the capital city that the original owner remembered, only to return disappointed—was salt the only seasoning in this world?
Fortunately, she found some seasonings that were not even available in the palace at the only restaurant run by people from the Western Regions. She casually picked up some Sichuan peppercorns, chili powder, and other seasonings that were not widely used in ancient Central China.
Sigh, I want to eat roasted lamb leg, drunken crab, and desserts that can make me happy... Chu Nian's stomach and mouth were churning with all sorts of cravings, and she felt like she was sleepwalking back to Xukun Palace.
The kitchens of the palace and restaurants had nothing that caught her eye. Just how backward was the food culture of this world?! Chu Nian was so angry she wanted to bite someone.
She suddenly remembered that after the original owner of the body jumped into the lake, she did not immediately lose consciousness. While struggling in the lake, she saw many carp and turtles, which terrified her.
Immediately afterwards, Chu Nian recalled the chickens, ducks, and pigs she had seen in cages in the imperial kitchen, and even some wild game...
Unfortunately, the chefs' skills were limited, and the food they made didn't quite suit Chu Nian's modern taste. She had observed the imperial kitchen and the kitchens of many famous restaurants here, and the food they made tasted very different from what she had learned in later generations; the difference must have been in the seasonings.
Chu Nian then pondered how to obtain some more seasonings. In fact, many of the seasonings available in later generations already existed in ancient times, but had not yet been discovered and utilized by humans. Of course, some seasonings required specialized techniques to manufacture.
Thinking about this, Chu Nian felt a little resentful. She remembered the transmigration novels she had read in her previous life, where the female protagonists either had a system or a spatial ability, so why did she have nothing?
Having a system would allow you to search for information about seasonings, find seeds, or manufacturing methods; having a space would be even better, as you could directly store all kinds of seasonings from the modern world into your space, so that you would never lack seasonings no matter what time or space you travel to.
As Chu Nian rambled on, she realized that as a fellow time traveler, her life was rather miserable: she had traveled through several time periods but hadn't acquired any hardware or equipment.
It was late at night, and all the palace servants were fast asleep. Chu Nian was filled with deep emotion, so he leaped to the highest point of the palace: the roof of a palace called Yanlan Hall.
This hall has five stories, reaching a total height of one hundred feet, and was mainly used by emperors and high-ranking officials to ascend and enjoy the view. Of course, only those of sufficient status were allowed to enter this hall.
As for the roof of the palace, those who are capable of climbing up can be stopped by ordinary guards, so whether one's status and rank meet the requirements is not so important.
Sitting atop the palace roof, Chu Nian saw the bright moonlight and equally luminous stars, and felt an exceptionally comfortable comfort in the air she breathed in, which quickly dispelled her gloom. She leisurely lay down, resting her head behind her head, crossing her legs, and her mood grew increasingly cheerful, unconsciously humming a song again.
"...Moon, moon, don't sleep, the lost soul is already drunk. The one he longs for is no longer here, life is nothing but a pile of memories. Moon, moon, don't sleep, get through these difficult days..."
At this very moment, in the deep, secluded corner of the first floor of the Eaves Blue Palace, a pair of beautiful women were whispering to each other.
The woman said, "I didn't expect that Consort Lian would survive jumping into the lake. Otherwise, the prince could have used her death to make a big deal out of it and perhaps even seized the military power from the Lian family."
The man said, "Not only did that woman not die, she's also started causing me trouble."
The woman asked in surprise, "What?"
The man said, "I heard from the guards watching over her that the imperial kitchen downgraded her food rations. She was unhappy about it and sent a message to our men to tell them that she wanted to eat better food. She also said that if they didn't satisfy her, they would chop off one of our men's hands."
The woman was even more shocked: "That Lianhuan? So she already knows that Lianhuan was... "
"Silence!" the man suddenly interrupted her, listening intently.
The woman's expression changed slightly, and she lowered her voice even further: "What? Is someone eavesdropping?"
"Shh!" The man gestured for her to be quiet, but continued to listen intently. After a moment, he said, "It sounds like someone is singing on the roof of the palace."
The woman was very surprised, and after a moment of silence, she asked, "Can the other person hear us?"
The man shook his head helplessly and said, "I don't know." After a pause, he added, "Let's stop here for today. We can talk again another day if we have any news."
The woman nodded.
The man was the first to leap out of the window silently, demonstrating his exceptional agility.
But he did not leave the palace there. Instead, he went to the roof of another nearby palace, from where he could see the roof of the Eaves Palace. Upon looking at it, he was quite surprised.
On the roof of the palace, a beautiful woman lay on her back with her hands behind her head, her legs crossed, and her toes swayed back and forth to the tune she was humming.
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