Upon hearing Ningyuan Hou's words, the Prime Minister immediately became wary: "You want me to help you murder the Crown Prince?"
"Plotting murder? Ha, Prime Minister, don't judge a gentleman by your own petty standards. I have other dealings with the Crown Prince. As long as you can bring the person in for me, you will know the whole story." As soon as Marquis Ningyuan finished speaking, a woman gracefully entered.
The Prime Minister could clearly see that this person was from the Kingdom of Dark Moon.
Before he could even ask a question, Marquis Ningyuan spoke up again to remind him: "Prime Minister, don't ask what you shouldn't ask now. You will naturally find out in the future."
After saying that, the person left.
Ah Qi became increasingly adept at navigating the palace and gained more and more favor from the Emperor. It would be a lie to say that the other princes and princesses weren't jealous, but they could do nothing about it.
Before they knew it, Ah Qi's birthday was fast approaching. This was the first birthday he had celebrated since returning to the palace. The Emperor personally took the lead in overseeing the celebrations, and dozens of plans for the event were piled up on the Emperor's desk. This showed how much the Emperor valued Ah Qi.
Xu Yuehuai also received an invitation and accepted the invitation to attend.
Before setting off, she decided to prepare a big surprise for Ah Qi.
Without hesitation, Xu Yuehuai went to prepare the ingredients after deciding to make a cake for Aqi, seemingly planning to go all out.
Unlike in modern times, many materials are unavailable here, but that doesn't stop her; she can make cakes even without technology.
I saw her take a few basins, boil them in hot water to sterilize them, and let them dry. Then she put on an apron and prepared to cook. First, she separated the egg whites and yolks for later use, and then she lit the fire in the stove.
Then I took a few chopsticks and kept whisking the egg whites. After about fifteen minutes, I added sugar and continued whisking. I repeated this process several times until the egg whites were whipped enough that they wouldn't fall off when the bowl was turned upside down.
Then I sifted the flour through a small sieve two or three times, then whisked the egg yolks, adding the flour and egg whites in small amounts several times until they were all mixed evenly. After that, I turned up the heat and prepared to steam them.
She picked up the basin and tapped it to release the steam. Then she put a plate upside down on top to prevent steam from escaping during steaming, but it didn't seem to work. So she found a piece of cloth, soaked it in water, wrung it out, and used it to seal the gaps before putting it into the large pot to steam.
Although Xu Yuehuai was very confident in herself, she was afraid of failure because of the shortage of materials and the lack of tools.
She sat there, tending the fire, and fetched milk and sugar. She planned to make some cream first, so she took three egg whites and whipped them all. Then she added sugar and egg whites to the milk in small amounts, whipping them together.
The cream turned out great, but I wonder how the cake turned out. Xu Yuehuai went to wash the fruit but was still thinking about her cake.
She was sitting by the stove, waiting for her cake to come out of the oven. Suddenly, she had a brilliant idea. She took a large iron spoon, put some sugar in it, and held it over the fire to bake. She wanted to make some fondant patterns.
Finally, the moment of revelation arrived. She opened the pot, took out the basin, and carefully unwrapped the cloth covering it. The moment she removed the plate from under the lid, Xu Yuehuai was overjoyed. She knew she was a genius, and sure enough, she succeeded on her first try.
As she thought about it, she poured the cake out and placed it on the table to cool and set. "Okay, it's 90% done. Now I just need to do some decorating and it'll be finished."
Xu Yuehuai swiftly chopped up the fruit she had just washed, creating slices and chunks of fruit—a beautiful mix of red and green.
Now you can assemble it. Put a cake base, then add some chopped fruit, spread cream, and then stack the next layer. Repeat this process twice and it's done.
Then, spread cream all over the cake and decorate it with fruit slices and fondant petals that you just made. It looks absolutely beautiful, like a work of art.
Ta-da!
Everything is ready, except for the east wind.
Xu Yuehuai knew that Ah Qi's status was different from before, and he needed to pay more attention to his diet. It was at this moment that she thought of Tie Xiong.
So she used Tie Xiong to send the cake into the palace first.
Although this kind of cake was a novelty, not everyone would want to eat it. Just in case, she only asked Tiexiong to give it to Aqi.
Just as Ah Qi excitedly opened the cake, the Third Princess arrived with the Prime Minister's daughter and the person from the Underworld Moon Kingdom.
The Third Princess hurriedly instructed, "Zhao Min, Father will be calling him over soon, so you must act quickly."
After saying that, she went outside to keep watch.
Ah Qi frowned deeply, preparing to take action.
But then the man from the Dark Moon Kingdom took out a small silver ring and waved it in front of him.
Ah Qi's mind was a complete blank; the events of the past flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.
Zhao Min didn't know what was going on, but since her father had given the order, she had to do as he said.
A moment later, Ah Qi's mind cleared up.
He looked at the people from the Underworld Kingdom again, his eyes suddenly turning icy cold, even carrying a hint of kingly demeanor. He curled his lips into a mocking smile: "High Priest, you're a little late."
"Your Highness, please forgive me. I have been traveling throughout the Central Plains for years, but unfortunately I have not been able to find your whereabouts. I only received news of you a few days ago, which is why I had Maimaiti come to the Central Plains under the pretext of seeking peace." The High Priest immediately knelt on the ground and begged for forgiveness.
Zhao Min couldn't help but gasp: "What's going on? Aren't you the Crown Prince? Don't you know that confusing the royal bloodline is punishable by beheading?"
Her hands trembled uncontrollably. She knew that if Ah Qi was not of royal blood, then the Prime Minister's Mansion would be complicit and would definitely be implicated.
The high priest glanced at her indifferently. If she didn't need to use the Prime Minister's mansion in the future, she would never have bothered to associate with such a fool.
"How can you be sure I'm not of royal blood?" A cold smile curled at the corner of Ah Qi's lips. The next moment, he gripped Zhao Min's neck tightly, his eyes filled with bloodthirsty killing intent. "The position I hold is one that even the missing crown prince could hold, and so can I."
It turns out that Ah Qi is not the Crown Prince.
However, it doesn't mean that the royal bloodline has been confused; he himself is of the current emperor's bloodline.
The banquet was lavish, with everything befitting royalty, but Xu Yuehuai felt extremely uncomfortable, far less enjoyable than dining at Tianxiang Restaurant.
Xu Yuehuai couldn't explain what was going on. Seeing that all the civil and military officials were surrounding Aqi and toasting him, and that no one was paying attention to her, she secretly ran out of the banquet hall for some fresh air.
After arriving at the Imperial Garden, basking in the sun, smelling the flowers, and listening to the birdsong, Xu Yuehuai's mood gradually calmed down, and she was no longer as agitated as before.
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