She transformed the entire west wing into a simple kitchen, fully equipped with all sorts of cooking utensils and stoves. Usually, people from the imperial kitchen would cook there, but Xia Yixin would occasionally cook herself to make a small improvement to the meals.
She has the culinary genius cheat code; even a simple scrambled egg is better than what the imperial chef makes. The reason Xia Yixin is itching to cook today is because she obtained a particularly good ingredient—bamboo fungus!
This is a plant that looks like a white net, growing under bamboo. It is very precious, but it has strong edible and medicinal value, and can lower blood lipids and reduce the three highs (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol). She used the medicinal materials she got from the Imperial Pharmacy and a freshly killed chicken to stew a pot of chicken soup.
Since she started learning medicine, she could openly take various precious medicinal herbs stored in the palace from the imperial physicians. Although the imperial physicians were reluctant to accept them and were afraid that she, as a "beginner," would waste them, His Majesty and Prime Minister Xia did not say anything, so they could only reluctantly send them over.
In reality, Xia Yixin used a small portion of it to make medicinal cuisine, but she secretly processed most of it into various pills for emergencies.
The chicken soup wasn't even ready yet, but its aroma had already wafted far and wide.
When she saw that the food was almost cooked, she had the palace maids serve it up. As she returned to her room, she unsurprisingly saw another uninvited guest.
Qi Yu didn't mince words, "What did you do today?"
"Bamboo fungus and chicken soup, Your Majesty, how come you're always so punctual?" Xia Yixin silently complained, thinking, "He's trying to steal my food again."
Qi Yu didn't seem to care at all, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
The palace maids and eunuchs around them were already used to it. They didn't know when it started, but the way the emperor and empress interacted had become much more relaxed. Moreover, the two of them no longer used honorifics, and they were more like an ordinary couple... or siblings?
Anyway, I often saw the Empress looking at the young emperor with an air of "my son has grown up."
As usual, two-thirds of the food that evening ended up in the mouth of a certain teenager who was going through puberty, while Xia Yixin had already started drinking lotus flower tea to cool her body.
She knew things had succeeded when she heard the system notification that the main quest to prevent Xia Jingfeng's death had increased by 30%.
However, outwardly she still pretended not to know and asked, "Did you say those things today?" In private, the two still preferred not to use honorifics.
Qi Yu wasn't quite used to such intimate questions, and hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"That's good." Xia Yixin sighed softly, "Although you'll have to suffer a little now, things will get better later."
This was the first time Qi Yu had been told he was "wronged," and he said awkwardly, "I'm not a child."
What was with that comforting tone she used towards the child?
Xia Yixin couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, yes, it's my fault. Let's eat quickly."
Qi Yu looked at the small dimples at the corners of her lips, and his heart was stirred.
After the meal, the two dismissed everyone else and went into the study to continue studying the sand table.
Actually, Xia Yixin came up with the general idea, and Qi Yu had someone roughly put together the idea. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be quite impressive.
As for how to train an emperor, she really didn't know. Fortunately, there were quite a few books left in the palace. Qi Yu had not received a formal education before, and he learned to read from the Empress Dowager. So Xia Yixin simply used the modern teaching system to teach him.
Anyway, there are so many books in the palace, she can just throw some other books in and no one will notice. For example, among the things she looted from the Minister's mansion in the second dimension, there were quite a few works like "Qimin Yaoshu" and "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art".
Although they are all fictional, these books are simply masterpieces for the Han Dynasty, which still uses bamboo slips. In addition, there are some books that the late emperor collected and left aside, which are a treasure trove for Qi Yu. He almost wanted to stay up all night to read them.
Emperors are expected to be proficient in both literature and martial arts. Xia Yixin could only let him learn literature on his own. However, in terms of martial arts, in addition to having read many classics, Xia Yixin still had experience in military campaigns and close combat, even though she had lost her martial arts skills.
Qi Yu is also very clever, and he is a completely new person almost every day. Not to mention anything else, even the things that were said in court today were brought up by Qi Yu first.
Qi Yu's attitude towards Xia Yixin seemed to have really improved since the time the two formed an alliance. Xia Yixin liked this slightly arrogant but extremely intelligent boy even more.
However, he still lacks experience.
On the sand table, Xia Yixin's "army" once again engulfed Qi Yu's troops.
Since starting to play this kind of war simulation game, Qi Yu has lost more than he has won so far.
Xia Yixin looked at the boy who, instead of getting angry after losing, was deep in thought with furrowed brows, and explained, "Actually, having more people doesn't necessarily guarantee victory. We're currently in hilly terrain with many passes and river branches. If I were to go all out like you, it would be difficult to beat you. However, by dividing my forces and relying on the fact that there are many places to cross the rivers, I can wait for the enemy to tire themselves out and gradually erode their strength. The key is to lose a small number of cities in exchange for the majority of the benefits."
Whenever the two are alone, Xia Yixin doesn't like to use honorifics, and he feels more comfortable with her, as if he can get rid of those rules and regulations.
As she spoke, Qi Yu understood. "Miss Xia is indeed very talented."
Xia Yixin smiled and continued.
"By the way, war is not the only way to destroy a country. Now, the four countries are in a tripartite balance of power, and their military strength is actually not much different. That is why peace has been maintained for so long. The real weapon is actually merchants."
"Merchants?" Qi Yu frowned. In his education, merchants were the lowest class. Even if they were rich, their status and position might not be as good as a poor scholar.
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