Chapter 34
Mu Yulu pursed her lips in annoyance. She suddenly remembered that Mohe was the kitchen helper, so she guessed that Mohe had seen her practicing cooking in the kitchen a few months ago.
How can I explain to her that just a few months ago I was blowing up the kitchen, but now my cooking skills have improved so much that I can suddenly make this whole table of delicious food?
Seeing that Mohe was staring at her with great curiosity, Mu Yulu had no choice but to bite the bullet and make up a lie: "Actually, cooking is the same as practicing martial arts; it all requires comprehension."
Mohe let out a long "oh" and nodded in agreement.
Mu Yulu continued to make up: "Some people practice martial arts for ten years and still don't make any progress, while others may have only been practicing for half a year when they suddenly have an epiphany, as if they have opened up their Ren and Du meridians and suddenly become martial arts masters."
To be honest, she didn't believe these things herself, but what else could she do but grit her teeth and keep making them up? "It's the same with cooking. A few days ago, I suddenly had an epiphany. Now, as long as I have a recipe, there's no dish I can't cook."
Fortunately, Mohe was an honest person, just like Xinyun, and believed Mu Yulu's nonsense. She suddenly realized and ate a few bites of noodles, savoring the taste as she ate: "Miss, your sudden realization is truly profound."
She took another sip of noodles: "You actually figured out the taste of the best restaurant in the world."
It just so happens that Mu Yulu threw a bridal bouquet at the No. 1 Restaurant in the world to choose a husband. Mu Yugang invited many high-ranking officials and dignitaries. In order to show the Mu family’s wealth in front of them, he also specially prepared more than a dozen tables for servants so that the servants of the Mu family could also sit at the table and eat.
Mohe first tasted the dishes of Tianxia Diyi Lou on that day. Tonight, after tasting the warm noodles made by Mu Yulu, he was surprised to find that the noodles tasted very similar to the flavor of Tianxia Diyi Lou.
How can this be explained?
Mu Yulu laughed awkwardly.
Besides saying it's a coincidence, what other explanation is there?
But in fact, her cooking methods are similar to those of the famous chefs at the Tianxia Diyi Lou restaurant, and she is also related to Mu Qinhan.
Mu Qinhan's favorite dish is made by the famous chef at the No. 1 Restaurant in the world, which is common knowledge in the capital. In her previous life, Mu Yulu, in order to please him, used her meager dowry money to go to the No. 1 Restaurant in the world to learn cooking skills from that famous chef after marrying into the Mu family.
However, the renowned chef was very professional and resolutely refused to accept Mu Yulu's money.
The famous chef was very considerate of his employer. What if Mu Yulu learned his skills and then opened the Second Best Restaurant in the World right across from the First Best Restaurant?
Mu Yulu made several sincere trips, repeatedly stating that she was not learning the craft to open a restaurant, but to cook for her beloved.
However, the famous chef was unyielding and refused to budge. In the end, Mu Yulu was able to learn cooking under him thanks to Qi Zhizhi, the young master of the No. 1 Restaurant in the world.
It's unclear whether Qi Zhizhi was moved by Mu Yulu's sincerity in visiting him three times, or whether he saw how difficult it was for a woman to run around the restaurant's kitchen every day. In any case, he personally intervened and had the chef take Mu Yulu as his apprentice.
Mu Yulu became an apprentice under that famous chef, spending half a year assisting him until she finally gained his approval and began to be taught the craft seriously.
However, before she had completed a full year of study, her academic journey was forced to a halt.
When Mu Qinhan learned that Mu Yulu had gone to work as an apprentice at the No. 1 Restaurant in the world, he flew into a rage in the manor, accusing her of showing her face in public and disrespecting her wifely virtues, and scolding her for disgracing the Mu family by associating with the kitchen staff.
In fact, Mu Yulu knew very well that the reason Mu Qinhan was so angry was simply because he didn't like her.
If he were truly such a pedantic person, he wouldn't have taken a liking to Liu Wenshuang, a female physician, and insisted on bringing her into his household as his principal wife.
Before marrying into the Prince's Mansion, Liu Wenshuang made a living by practicing medicine. Mu Qinhan was worried that she would not be used to it after marrying into the Prince's Mansion, so he specially opened a small clinic across the street. If Liu Wenshuang wanted, she could freely enter and leave the Prince's Mansion every day, and even go to the clinic across the street to consult doctors and get medicine without any problem.
Why doesn't Mu Qinhan blame her for showing her face in public every day and not adhering to traditional wifely virtues? In the end, it's just a matter of love versus not love.
He did indeed raise Liu Wenshuang very well. Before marrying into the royal family, Liu Wenshuang had no hobbies. Later, after being pampered by Mu Qinhan for a long time, she came into contact with music, chess, calligraphy, painting, tea tasting, and flower arranging. She had endless interesting things to do every day.
Of all these things, the one she was most interested in was dancing.
You should know that dancing is not a refined thing in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom. Women from noble families are absolutely not allowed to learn to dance. If a family's daughter learns to dance, people will laugh at them, and their parents will also be pointed at and ridiculed for not raising their daughter properly and letting her learn a lowly skill.
However, Mu Qinhan, despite such immense pressure, allowed Liu Wenshuang, the principal wife of the royal family, to do whatever she wanted according to her own will.
She loved to dance, so he invited the most famous dancer in the capital to stay in the palace until Liu Wenshuang had learned to dance.
He even built a waterside stage in his mansion, dug a lake and built pavilions, practically spoiling Liu Wenshuang rotten.
In comparison, Mu Yulu spent her own money to learn from a famous chef, all for the sake of being able to cook a good meal for Mu Qinhan one day. Every day, she had to wear a veil while lighting the fire and chopping vegetables in the kitchen, and she couldn't take it off even when she was almost suffocating. Even so, she was still scolded by Mu Qinhan for not being virtuous. It was truly a miserable situation.
Later, she was confined to her quarters. Mu Qinhan forbade her from leaving the palace to embarrass him outside. So she could only stay in the kitchen, thinking about what dishes to cook for Mu Qinhan every day.
Unfortunately, none of the dishes she prepared after a day of research ended up in Mu Qinhan's stomach. Most of the time, she would wait in front of Mu Qinhan's courtyard for half a day without seeing him. Even if she did see him, he would send her back without asking any questions.
Occasionally, these dishes would be served to him, but he would either casually give them to the servants around him or throw them out to feed the dogs.
Heaven knows how excited Mu Yulu was as she waited at the door for the servant to return the food box, but when she asked the prince if it smelled good, the answer she received was that the prince hadn't eaten any of the food she had made.
The servant comforted her, but the princess's dog seemed to be enjoying its meal.
Looking back now, what kind of human suffering was this?
Hadn't they suffered enough at the Mu residence? Why did they have to go and suffer the same hardships as Mu Qinhan?
In short, almost all the efforts she made in her previous life were related to Mu Qinhan. Now she still retains the skills from her previous life, but Mu Qinhan is about to be completely removed from her life.
After calming herself down, Mu Yulu pulled her thoughts away from the painful memories and said calmly to Mohe, "I think it's because I used the recipes from Tianxia Diyi Lou when I was practicing recently, so my cooking now has some of their flavors."
Mohe nodded, stopped talking, and focused on enjoying the delicious food.
In less than half an incense stick's time, the two of them had devoured all the food on the table, and then sighed deeply while holding their round bellies.
"I'm so full! Now that I'm this full, I can go back to sleep. I guarantee I'll fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow." This was Mu Yulu's advice based on experience.
Mohe had just said "but" when Mu Yulu covered his mouth and interrupted him: "You're not a rough maid who tends the fire anymore. You don't have to get up at dawn every day. You can sleep a little longer."
She looked up at the sky and said, "Today is the first day of my new house. According to the rules, I must go to pay my respects to Madam tomorrow, so we have about two hours to sleep."
She winked at Mohe, her tone tinged with self-deprecation: "But after tomorrow, we won't have to get up early anymore. Anyway, unlike the second and third young ladies, I don't have to go to the madam's courtyard to pay my respects every day. We can sleep in openly and legitimately."
Mohe stared intently at Mu Yulu, a hint of a smile gradually appearing in his eyes.
Mu Yulu then let go of Mohe's hand, patted her shoulder, and gently pushed her: "Alright, there are still two hours left. You don't have much time left, so go and rest."
He nodded in agreement, stood up, and took the bowls and dishes off the table to wash before leaving.
Mu Yulu sat in the chair and pondered life for a while. After she had digested the thoughts, she got up and went into the house.
However, after taking only two steps, she felt her legs ache and couldn't take another step. Then she felt her whole body stiffen and couldn't even move her head.
What's going on?
She instantly thought of a million possibilities, even the possibility that she might have accidentally added incompatible foods while cooking, leading to poisoning. The only thing she didn't think of was that she had been poisoned by someone.
It wasn't until a pair of hands touched her cheeks from behind, and at the same time a familiar voice rang in her ears, that she realized what had happened.
"I had no idea you could cook? And you're so good at it?" The voice was deep and mellow, like aged liquor, with a slightly intoxicating power. It was definitely Mu Qinhan's voice.
It was obvious that she had inadvertently fallen into Mu Qinhan's trap.
In this context, Mu Qinhan's question instantly reminded Mu Yulu of his past life when he fed the dog the meal she had carefully prepared.
She was furious and spoke rather rudely: "What does my cooking have to do with the prince? Do I need to report to the prince that I'm good at cooking?"
Mu Qinhan seemed surprised that the girl was so angry right from the start, and for a moment he didn't know what to say, even his breathing paused for a moment.
After a long while, he spoke again and asked, "How do you know who I am?"
Mu Yulu was so angry that she gritted her teeth: "Even if you turned to ashes, I would still recognize your voice."
Mu Qinhan gave a meaningful "oh": "I didn't expect you to remember my voice so clearly."
Before she could finish speaking, the person who had been hidden in the darkness stepped forward and appeared in front of Mu Yulu.
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