She rummaged through drawers and cabinets, found the small bundle, and opened it to find a bag of white powder inside.
She was overjoyed. Now everything was ready except for the final touch, and she was just waiting for dinner.
Cui felt that these few hours had been as long as several years. She was nervous, excited, and afraid, and all sorts of emotions made her restless.
Finally, it was time to prepare dinner. Cui tied the waist pouch to her inner skirt through her apron.
She excitedly went to the kitchen, only to find Zhou Wan and San Niang there.
When Cui saw the two of them, she felt a little flustered. After thinking for a moment, she had no choice but to start a conversation: "What would you like to eat tonight? I'll cook. You've worked so hard these past few days, it's time for me to repay you."
Zhou Wan looked up at her. She looked excited. She had just rejected her at noon, but now she was acting as if nothing had happened, which was very suspicious.
Zhou Wan then glanced at San Niang, and the two exchanged a look, worried that this person might be treacherous.
"No need, you've been working hard these past few days, go and rest, we'll take care of it," Zhou Wan politely declined.
Upon hearing this, Madam Cui quickly continued, "You've already made me feel incredibly indebted for taking me in, and if you still don't let me..."
"No need." Third Sister's face turned colder, showing no mercy whatsoever: "We feel more at ease eating things we make ourselves."
Helpless, Cui could only turn and leave dejectedly, but she also understood that Zhou Wan and the others had begun to be wary of her.
The battle between Zhang Ting and Zhao Min for the room finally ended with Xu Yuehuai moving in.
The two women already harbored resentment towards Xu Yuehuai, and now they wished she would die sooner.
"See? After all that fighting, neither of us got anything."
Zhang Ting felt a surge of anger when she recalled Zhao Min's smug face as she returned to the room. Just a few days ago, Xu Yuehuai had treated her like a sister, but now she was so ungrateful, taking advantage of their fight to reserve the room.
She lay on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
She felt that Xu Yuehuai was really going too far. Not only was she trying to take men from her, but now she was even trying to take a house from her.
Zhang Ting grew angrier the more she thought about it, and decided to go find A Qi to discuss a plan and try to get rid of Xu Yuehuai as soon as possible.
Actually, today is the first day that the three of them have entered the East Palace, and all the forces are keeping an eye on them. They shouldn't have made any moves, but Zhang Ting was so angry that she didn't care about anything else.
As expected, neither Xu Yuehuai nor Zhao Min were asleep; they were both in their rooms pondering their own ideas.
She changed into a pair of light shoes, tiptoed to open the door, and planned to sneak out.
Before she could even leave the side hall, she was stopped by the high priest.
"Where are you going?" The high priest's eyes seemed to see right through Zhang Ting's heart.
"I...I need to see His Highness the Crown Prince." Although Zhang Ting had come out angrily to find the Crown Prince, she was still somewhat afraid in front of the High Priest.
She was, after all, a citizen of the Mingyue Kingdom, and naturally knew the high priest's status in the hearts of the people.
The high priest glanced at her carefully, then pulled her into the room and said coldly, "Zhang Ting, are you out of your mind?"
"What do you mean?" Although Zhang Ting was afraid of this person, she was unwilling to let anyone bully her at will.
The high priest's voice was icy, and even his eyes were filled with murderous intent: "I must remind you, do not casually reveal your direct relationship with the crown prince, understand? Otherwise, not only will you die without a burial place, but your parents and relatives will also never have a good life."
The more she talked, the more terrifying it became, to the point that she was even threatening Zhang Ting.
Zhang Ting was startled, but she couldn't wait any longer and wanted to kill Xu Yuehuai immediately, so she continued to plead: "High...High Priest, I just want to see His Highness the Crown Prince, please make an exception for me."
"I really have something important to discuss with His Highness the Crown Prince." She wished she could just kneel down.
When the priest saw that she remained unchanged, he glared at her, which terrified Zhang Ting.
"I told you, don't expose yourself, keep quiet." The high priest's voice became sharp. "From now on, don't call me high priest in the East Palace, call me Aunt Jinyue."
Zhang Ting looked up at her, and from a distance, her face looked like a ghost in the night.
She was scared and dared not move again.
Seeing Zhang Ting obediently kneeling on the ground, the high priest simply said, "His Highness the Crown Prince will not see you now, and he already has a plan."
"Just wait patiently, understand? Don't cause any trouble." After she finished speaking, she glared at her fiercely.
"Yes, yes, I understand."
Although Zhang Ting heard this, she still felt uneasy and even a little suspicious, especially the next morning when Xu Yuehuai brought a full load of food into A Qi's room.
Moreover, only Xu Yuehuai was allowed to go in.
She was filled with anxiety.
But after a short while, Xu Yuehuai came out again, looking dejected.
She busied herself in the kitchen for a while before going back into the house.
A short while later, Xu Yuehuai's sigh could be heard from inside the room.
"Your Highness, you can simply say what you want to eat. There's no need to play games with me like this." Xu Yuehuai had already anticipated that Aqi would be harsh towards her, but she never expected him to use such a disgusting method.
Using your best cooking skills to humiliate yourself, saying over and over again that you don't want to eat it.
"I really have no appetite for these dishes. Can you make something new?" Ah Qi finally feigned a pitiful state, "Oh, I really want to eat, Grandma. Father sent you to take care of me. You can't keep letting me go hungry, can you?"
This really disgusted Xu Yuehuai.
"Okay, okay, don't worry, I'll definitely make all the fancy dishes you like." Although she was resentful, she couldn't show it on her face and could only agree.
Besides, she didn't want to see him like this again.
Then she took the freshly prepared food, left Ah Qi's room, and went back into the kitchen.
Seeing the predicament on Xu Yuehuai's face, Zhang Ting felt a sense of satisfaction. She never expected that Xu Yuehuai would have a day when she would be at a disadvantage.
However, while he was feeling smug, he was also scratching his head in frustration.
Ah Qi's deliberate provocation left Xu Yuehuai in a dilemma. She sat in the kitchen, staring blankly at the vegetables and fruits.
The "no appetite" and "fancy dishes" thing was just a deliberate attempt to mess with her and disgust her.
But who is Xu Yuehuai? She refuses to believe that she can't make something for him to eat today.
She immediately decided to cook a dish that was both visually appealing and appetizing, so that Ah Qi would be proven wrong.
Xu Yuehuai quickly regained her fighting spirit and decided to get to work. But what should she do?
A variety of dishes flashed through her mind: cold noodles, roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), hot pot, milk tea, dumplings...
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