Prince Rui sniffed the air, then frowned.
"You've only just gotten better, what kind of weird stuff are you eating, Cheng Feng? Was it you?"
Cheng Feng, who hadn't had time to hide the braised food properly, looked embarrassed and was still holding the oil paper package in his hand. He could only apologize, saying, "This subordinate knows his sins. I shouldn't have let His Highness eat this."
"Father, Mother, this has nothing to do with Cheng Feng. That was his snack with his drinks tonight. I smelled it and suddenly felt hungry, so I forced him to let me have a bite," Xiao Yi said awkwardly.
"What is it that's tempting you?" Princess Rui's face darkened as she stared at Cheng Feng. "Show me!" Her stern tone implied that Cheng Feng had corrupted Xiao Yi.
Helpless, Cheng Feng placed the bag of braised food on the table. What had he done to deserve this? He couldn't even keep his own snack with his drinks!
"What is this?" Princess Rui asked sharply, looking at the brownish-red object.
Prince Rui examined the packet of braised food for a moment, his expression turning grim. "This is...intestines?"
"Your Highness, this is a dish of braised pork offal. I really bought it to be eaten with drinks. Even if I had the guts of a leopard, I would never let the young master eat this!" Cheng Feng said with a bitter face.
"Father, Mother, Cheng Feng is right. I forced him to take it out. Hmm, I've never eaten anything like this before. Actually, it's quite delicious."
"You can eat pig offal?" Princess Rui's face was extremely ugly. As the heir of Prince Rui, he actually ate pig offal!
"Father, Mother, after months of inspecting the disaster area, the people were homeless, and the worst off were eating tree roots and clay. There were starving corpses on the roads, and I myself was in danger several times. I have eaten not only pig offal, but also rice bran!" Xiao Yi said solemnly.
"Food itself has no inherent hierarchy; as long as it's cooked to perfection, it's equally delicious!"
Prince Rui and Princess Rui looked stunned. Princess Rui felt sorry for her son because this job was so demanding, but Prince Rui looked at his son with approval.
“Come, let me try some. Speaking of which, I once went to the border to inspect the area and saw the barbarians who ate raw meat and drank blood. At least these are cooked.”
Prince Rui asked, "What kind of flavor could make even your son crave it?"
The attendant quickly brought bowls and chopsticks. Prince Rui stretched out his chopsticks, placed them on the small intestine, thought for a moment, then moved them aside, picked up a piece of tripe and put it in his mouth.
"Hmm, it's quite crispy, a little sweet. Hmm, not bad. What's this called? Braised food? Cheng Feng, where did you buy it?"
“It’s the family that saved me in Shanhai Prefecture. They came to the capital and opened a restaurant there. I asked Cheng Feng to go and take a look,” Xiao Yi replied. “That Sister Tao’s cooking skills have always been quite good. I also tried her wontons when I was in Shanhai Prefecture.”
"Sister Tao!" Princess Rui keenly caught the way Xiao Yi addressed her. Her son was a jinx to women, always avoiding them, yet he could casually mention a woman like that.
"So this is the restaurant owned by the family that saved you. Your father and I should go and express our gratitude," said Princess Rui. "Where is this restaurant again? Shall we go with our father?"
"No, you two going might scare people!" Xiao Yi immediately advised. His father had an air of nobility, and his mother was also elegant and graceful. He wasn't worried that Tao Wanniang would be frightened, but rather that her carefree attitude might offend his usually strict mother!
So concerned! Princess Rui felt she had to go and see this Sister Tao.
"Although Sister Tao's restaurant is small, it is clean and tidy. However, it has not officially opened yet. There are only two people in the restaurant, her and Miss Bai. There is also a notice posted at the door that only accepts ten meals a day. It seems that if there are too many people, she will close the restaurant."
Before Cheng Feng could tell Xiao Yi about the situation there, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and tell him when he saw that Prince Rui and Princess Rui were going there.
"So strange?" Princess Rui said in surprise. "What's this woman's background? She sounds rather unusual!" It would be best if she had a unique destiny that could resolve the fate of her son bringing misfortune to his wife.
“Mother, you’re paying too much attention to my savior. What Sister Tao said is indeed very interesting. Both of her sons are already married, and although her grandchildren are still young, Sister Tao is not old, yet she has three generations living together!”
As soon as Xiao Yi saw that his mother had taken notice of Tao Wanniang, he immediately teased her, and as he had hoped, he saw Princess Rui frown.
She's completely insane! How could she possibly have designs on a woman of her grandmother's age!
Princess Rui despised herself in her heart, but looking at the handsome Xiao Yi, she couldn't help but feel bitter.
Prince Rui, who was standing to the side, ate most of Cheng Feng's snacks with his chopsticks. When he was thirsty, he ordered someone to serve tea.
"Don't worry about who you are, just go buy some of this braised food and have a taste. It's true that the best things are found among ordinary people. Yi'er, your benefactor must have extraordinary skills!" Prince Rui's expression softened considerably. He couldn't blame his son for wanting to eat it. The taste was novel and extremely fragrant. Once you tasted it, you wanted to eat it again and again.
Cheng Feng glanced at Prince Rui furtively, his eyes filled with resentment.
"You're enjoying this pig offal so much? Don't even think about coming into my room today!" Princess Rui's mood soured. She glared at Prince Yu and turned to leave.
"Oh, Your Highness, please don't!" Upon seeing this, Prince Rui no longer cared about his son and immediately chased after the princess.
Xiao Yi was already used to this. "You said Sister Tao only serves ten meals a day, why is that? Isn't she running a restaurant to make money?"
"I don't know, and that area isn't the busiest. I wouldn't have found it if I hadn't specifically looked for it," Cheng Feng said truthfully. "The people I ran into today were all acquaintances!"
Xiao Yi thought for a moment and instructed Cheng Feng, "Is that so? You can have Lin Da and the others take turns patronizing Sister Tao's business. They can come to me for payment as long as they eat."
“Young Master, isn’t this too obvious?” Cheng Feng said hesitantly. “Besides, it’s only one or two taels of silver. It’s not worth the Young Master spending that much money. After all, Sister Tao’s cooking is indeed quite delicious.”
"Then find some unfamiliar faces to ensure Sister Tao has ten meals a day, at least not missing one," Xiao Yi insisted.
"Alright, Your Highness, don't worry, leave this to me!" Cheng Feng glanced at the reeds that were no longer suitable as a side dish, feeling quite resentful. He was about to clean up the mess when Xiao Yi stopped him.
"You don't need to pack anymore, just leave the rest!"
"Hmm? Young Master, this... isn't that a bit inappropriate? If you want to eat it, how about I go to Sister Tao's and buy another serving?"
"You just want to eat it yourself, right?" Xiao Yi teased. "Go ahead!"
Cheng Feng was stunned for a moment. Should he leave, or go to Tao Wan Niang's to buy more? Oh well, he'd just consider it buying another serving, since he still needed some snacks to go with his drinks!
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