Zhou Wan looked completely bewildered. How could Xu Yuehuai, such a shrewd person, keep making mistakes with Zhang Ting?
“Actually, I didn’t want to either,” Xu Yuehuai sighed and replied. “I can naturally see Zhang Ting’s character, but Princess Chuchu’s matter is still unresolved. The only person who knows the truth is Maimaiti, and if we ask him ourselves, he certainly won’t tell us.”
Xu Yuehuai paused here, pulled Zhou Wan to her side and whispered, "Zhang Ting is the only breakthrough now. Only through her can we get in touch with Maimaiti and then find out about Princess Chuchu. This matter is of utmost importance now, so we can only watch Zhang Ting cause trouble."
"I see." Zhou Wan finally understood a bit.
"Do you understand now? So from now on, you have to treat Zhang Ting better, otherwise you'll probably have to keep looking at her face." Xu Yuehuai gave Zhou Wan another few instructions.
Although Zhou Wan understood Xu Yuehuai's meaning, she still couldn't bring herself to like Zhang Ting, even if she pretended to.
Seeing that Zhou Wan remained silent, Xu Yuehuai sighed and tried to persuade her for a while before Zhou Wan reluctantly agreed.
"I know you can't do it, but how many things in life can go as planned?"
"Then I'll give it a try, but let me make this clear beforehand: if I can't do it..."
"I won't hold it against you."
"OK."
...
The little princess happily ate the shrimp dumplings, and was finally satisfied.
However, before she could even doze off, she couldn't help but worry again, fearing that if the same thing happened again, she would go hungry.
Thinking of this, she immediately went to find Xu Yuehuai.
To her surprise, she saw a group of people tidying up the house as soon as she entered.
She immediately screamed, "What are you doing?"
"Little Princess? What brings you here?" Xu Yuehuai then remembered that there was such a variable as the little princess in the matter of leaving the palace.
She quickly put down what she was holding and came forward: "I've been busy with the opening of the Tianxianglou branch these days, and I'll be working very late every night. I definitely won't be able to enter the palace gates then, so I'm thinking of moving outside the palace to live."
"In a little while, the prince and I will go out to check the courtyard. If there are no problems, we will move out today." Xu Yuehuai did not intend to hide anything.
Upon hearing this, the little princess immediately became anxious, her eyes brimming with tears.
"I disagree!" she roared. "If you leave the palace, I'll never get to eat good food again."
These words left Xu Yuehuai somewhat helpless.
She has written the recipe in great detail, so there should be absolutely no difference in taste, unless it's the little princess's imagination playing tricks on her.
Xu Yuehua hesitated for a moment, then a flash of inspiration struck her, and she had an idea.
“Little princess, every time you praise me, you have to belittle those imperial chefs. This will make me hate you…” She pretended to be hesitant. “How about you let me have a competition with those imperial chefs and see who has better cooking skills?”
The little princess naturally had no objections, as long as she could eat delicious food.
With that in mind, she nodded in agreement.
However, this meant that Xu Yuehuai could no longer visit the courtyard outside the palace.
She quickly looked at Qi Guze beside her and said, "Your Highness, why don't you and Tiexiong go and take a look at the courtyard? If there are no problems, we'll prepare to move there in a little while."
Knowing her predicament, Qi Guze immediately nodded in agreement.
Xu Yuehuai immediately went to the imperial kitchen.
The chefs in the imperial kitchen all sighed and complained when they saw Xu Yuehuai: "Miss Xu, you've finally arrived. We've been making the dishes according to your recipes, but the little princess just doesn't like them. We really have no other choice."
"Now we're going to have a competition? I think even your scrambled eggs would taste better than our delicacies."
Xu Yuehuai naturally understood their suffering.
Especially since this little princess is the most beloved by the King of Mingyue Kingdom, if they can't serve her well, they will definitely be punished.
Xu Yuehuai quickly reassured them: "Don't worry, I'm here today to solve your problems."
After she finished speaking, the cooks looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Chef Liu, could you please prepare one of your signature dishes? I'll make an exact copy of it. As for the rest, I'll tell you after I'm done," Xu Yuehuai continued.
Chef Liu had no other good options at the moment, so he could only nod in agreement.
Soon, two identical dishes were ready.
Just as Chef Liu was about to serve the dishes, Xu Yuehuai stopped him: "Wait."
"Chef Liu, you bring my dishes up, and I'll carry yours."
Chef Liu was even more confused.
Even if his skills are not as good as others, he doesn't need to cheat in this way.
He immediately shook his head and refused, saying, "Miss Xu, even if I lose, I hope I can lose convincingly. I don't want to use such tactics, nor do I deign to."
Seeing his upright demeanor, Xu Yuehuai couldn't help but chuckle softly.
“That’s not how it is,” she quickly explained. “I’ve also tasted the dishes of several of them, and their skills are actually no less than mine. I suspect that it’s the little princess’s imagination about the Central Plains that makes her palate more inclined to my cooking. So, I want to verify it.”
Chef Liu and the others were actually a bit confused, but since it didn't sound like a bad thing, he simply nodded.
...
Although the little princess had only eaten shrimp dumplings, she couldn't resist wanting to continue enjoying the delicious food.
Seeing the two of them bring the dishes up together, he immediately chose the plate in Xu Yuehuai's hand.
After she had tasted them all, Xu Yuehuai asked, "Little princess, what do you think?"
"Sister Xu, your cooking is definitely better." The little princess immediately praised, adding, "Look, if you leave the palace, I'll be starving every day."
"Then... does the little princess know which one of these I made?"
Xu Yuehuai's question left everyone present speechless.
Although the little princess didn't understand what was going on, she still pointed to the plate she had tasted at the beginning and said, "Naturally, it's the plate you brought out—this one is the best."
Chef Liu looked shocked.
Xu Yuehuai became even more convinced that the little princess's reluctance to part with him was simply a result of her own subjective imagination.
“But this was made by Chef Liu,” she said, uttering words that the little princess could hardly believe.
She continued, "Little princess, what you actually like is not the cuisine of the Central Plains, but the dishes made by the people of the Central Plains. It's just that they have already mastered the essence of these dishes, so they don't need me anymore."
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