The Crown Prince’s move was truly ruthless!
Cui Wei suppressed a laugh, thinking to herself that it wasn’t hurtful, just infuriating.
She glanced secretly at her especially gloomy Master and hurriedly said, “I’ll send someone to Shoukang Palace to ask the Little Master to come over later.”
With that, she dashed outside—if she didn’t run, she’d laugh out loud.
When it came to schadenfreude, Aunt Cui was more skilled than a mere palace maid.
Before Fang He gave birth, she had rehearsed this many times in advance, fearing that Princess Jiujiu would be scared.
For example, while eating, Fang He would suddenly frown and say her stomach felt bloated.
Then the palace maids would quickly coax Jiujiu to go to Shoukang Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager. Â
Once at Shoukang Palace, Jiujiu would be pampered by the maids and the Empress Dowager with sweets and snacks that Fang He usually forbade her from eating, persuading her to stay overnight and then sending her back the next day.
At first, Jiujiu was a little scared; whenever she woke, she’d cry and want to return to Yanxi Palace.
But back at Yanxi Palace, Fang He would grin mischievously at Jiujiu.
“Oh dear, Your Mother thought the bloating was just from overeating, but who knew Jiujiu cared so much she wouldn’t even eat sweets? Your Mother is so touched. Come here for a kiss!”
Princess Jiujiu was only two years old and didn’t understand the difference between bloating and pain; she really thought Mother’s pregnancy was just a bellyache, like she had overeaten.
The first time, Jiujiu was utterly confused, and Mother’s kiss left her cheeks all squished.
The second time, she hesitated but still got her face squished into a duckbill by Mother.
By the third time… Jiujiu was very calm, happily staying two extra days at Shoukang Palace, sucking on sweets until her face was sticky with sugar juice—she wasn’t falling for the trick anymore.
After all, she was already three years old, a big kid who wouldn’t be fooled repeatedly or be teased by Mother.
She was the smartest Princess Jiu, wasn’t the food at Shoukang Palace just not tasty enough, or were the sisters who played with her not soft enough?
Even Chunlai knew that when it came to laziness and gluttony, the Little Master was a match for her Mother.
With Fang He’s tireless “The Wolf is Coming” stories, when her real labor pains started, Xinke immediately began winking and coaxing Jiujiu.
Having lost several days’ worth of sweets, Jiujiu was not in the slightest scared; instead, she eagerly expressed her wish to go to Shoukang Palace to fulfill her filial duty and was happily sent off.
This time, when she returned, Mother’s belly was no longer swollen, the ugly little brother was born, and Mother lay pale in bed, unable to get up.
Jiujiu burst into tears, crawling up onto the bed, clinging to Fang He without letting go, sobbing so pitifully it broke hearts.
Fang He was the one who felt most sorry for Jiujiu.
Boys might be a bit rougher to raise, but even in the palace, the roughness was limited.
Right now, Erdai wasn’t even visible to anyone; naturally, the family’s little princess had to be cared for closely.
She kept calling Jiujiu her precious treasure, holding her tight and earnestly promising, “From now on, Mother will never send Jiujiu to Shoukang Palace again. Mother will be with you every day. Whatever Mother eats or drinks, we’ll eat and drink the same, okay?” Â
Jiujiu’s eyes lit up; recalling the crystal powder that Mother never let her eat, her chubby voice suddenly gained steel resolve.
“Okay! Pinky promise, a hundred years, no changes!”
Fang He stifled a laugh and linked pinkies with Jiujiu, then, unsurprisingly, just one day later, Princess Jiu’s plump little face puckered like a steamed bun.
Her whole body—from head to toe, even her toes—was expressing regret.
Several times, she tried to run to the front gate, only to be caught by Chunlai and brought back. Â
Jiujiu cried terribly, “Wuwu… no eggs, no porridge, no mushy stuff!”
Plain boiled eggs were hardly a child’s favorite.
No matter how fragrant the millet porridge was, after three bowls, a child would still cry.
Not to mention the tasteless mashed vegetables and potato mash made from golden beans.
Fang He wasn’t unwilling to feed Jiujiu well, but… she was also greedy!
She couldn’t have Jiujiu eating while she stared longingly; if the child cried because Mother was tempted, wouldn’t that be shameless?
Children always woke up at night; when they woke and cried, Fang He was uneasy leaving them alone.
Naturally, Jiujiu had to sleep with Mother. Â
Sometimes when Fang He woke Jiujiu up, she would soothe her and then check on the baby, which made Jiujiu feel a little like her mother’s attention was being stolen.
To keep her busy, or so Jiujiu would rest better, she would spend the day in Yanxi Palace and sleep at Shoukang Palace at night.
That was why Fang He insisted on eating her confinement meals together with Jiujiu.
Before Jiujiu could insist on staying at Shoukang Palace, the Crown Prince had already given her a push in Yuqing Palace.
That brat was eating spicy sour noodles in his own palace and having someone fan the scent toward Yanxi Palace—many people had seen that huge palm fan being brought into Yuqing Palace.
After a few days of plain, tasteless food, Jiujiu smelled the incredibly mouthwatering aroma and burst into loud tears, confessing her “crimes” to Mother.
“Princess Jiujiu was wrong~ Princess Jiujiu is filial~ I miss Mama, wuwu~”
“Looking after little brother is tiring; Princess Jiujiu feels sorry for Mother. Want to sleep with Mama, don’t send me away~”
With tears still streaming, she picked up her little golden bowl and ran off, pulling Chunlai along.
Fang He thought, ‘Well, my daughter is so filial she wants to run away. But running off isn’t an option, and this matter isn’t something Emperor Kangxi can easily intervene in. If the Crown Prince can’t even eat something delicious or enjoy a breeze freely in his own palace, then there’s no point in being the heir apparent.’ Â
‘Compared to the Crown Prince’s sly schemes and political tricks, I’d rather ‘retaliate’ like this. After all, Kangxi can’t easily control the Crown Prince, and he certainly can’t control how I choose to get revenge!  At least Princess Jiujiu willingly goes to Shoukang Palace, comes back every day, and I make time to enthusiastically spend time with her, which actually prevents her from feeling a letdown.’ Â
During these days, whenever the aroma came from Yuqing Palace, Jiujiu knew it was mealtime.
She would quickly shower herself with kisses and smiles, then happily run out without a hint of reluctance. Â
In the first half of the month, Fang He could hold it together; with the windows closed, the smell wasn’t too strong.
But by the second half…
Fang He, tasting her bland food, began to struggle. Â
‘Had someone in the palace improved the sour and spicy noodles recipe?’
‘Why did the spicy aroma seem stronger and more tempting?’
Whenever Jiujiu smelled it, she pestered the Empress Dowager at Shoukang Palace to have some too.
The Empress Dowager, unable to resist the sweet talk and pitiful little dumpling, finally had people make a mildly spicy version of the crystal noodles a few times.
As a result, both old and young fell in love with the flavor; sweating through the change of seasons, they opened windows for ventilation, caught colds, and were forced to drink bitter medicine for a while.
The spicier it got, the more Fang He was both tempted to cry and worried about Jiujiu and the Empress Dowager’s health, cursing the Crown Prince’s entire ancestry more and more frequently.
Originally, Kangxi hadn’t planned to take the Crown Prince on the southern tour, intending to have him act as regent instead.
But he couldn’t bear Fang He’s daily mournful looks and pitiful expressions when eating and taking medicine, so he took the Crown Prince south after all.
Yet unexpectedly, even with the Crown Prince gone, someone in Yuqing Palace was still eating those noodles.
Fang He, furious, saw Cui Wei running out and her mind flooded with all sorts of irresistibly delicious summer foods, her expression cold as ice.
“Xinhua, send Eunuch Gu to Yuqing Palace immediately. Deliver my decree: if anyone dares to use the Crown Prince’s meals or fans while he’s out of the palace, they will never receive their monthly allowance again in this lifetime!”
No hesitation.
The one in charge of the outer storehouse and the distribution of the monthly allowance was Wei Zhu.
Xinhua hesitated and cautiously advised, “Master, these are people from the Crown Prince’s own palace. If this is spread around, the palace will definitely say you’re picking on the weak. Moreover, although Yuqing Palace is near Yanxi Palace, it’s considered a former dynasty’s palace. You oversee the harem, but you don’t have authority over Yuqing Palace.” Â
Fang He sneered, “Tell Eunuch Gu to tell them I am exactly picking on the weak and afraid of the strong. Do they dare confront me head-on? If I cared about face, I wouldn’t have made such a scene in the Imperial Garden.” Â
“Tell them, if the Crown Prince doesn’t mind paying for the meals himself, I’ll write to Emperor Kangxi to ask if he has money with nowhere to spend. The Qing Empire has many disaster-stricken places—why don’t we see the Crown Prince generously donating?”
She couldn’t stop the Crown Prince from eating whatever he wanted, but would she let palace maids and eunuchs bully her?
Ridiculous! Â
Xinhua thought it made perfect sense.
Seeing her Master’s insistence and with half a month of confinement left, and if the smell kept coming, the two eunuchs in the small kitchen would probably cry too.
She stopped arguing and went to find Eunuch Gu. Â
Inside the hall, Fang He grew angrier the more she thought about it.
She could already get up and move around after more than a month and paced around with hands on hips, coming up with three ways to get serious revenge. Â
She immediately told Xinzi to prepare brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to write letters to Naren and Liang Madam.
By the time the Tianya Inn received the letters, the imperial entourage had just arrived in Shandong, and Kangxi had taken his sons and ministers to Mount Tai.
Even the normally calm Naren couldn’t help but ask, “What did Guoguo write?”
She had grown up in Beimeng and spoke decent Mandarin but could only recognize a limited number of characters.
Usually, Liang Madam would read the letters.. Â
Liang Madam scanned the letter quickly, her eyes sparkling.
“Guoguo has found another delicious treat. She says we should try to find some mantis shrimp to send to the capital, and ideally raise more on the estate.”
Lin Chen, having heard Fang He’s letter had arrived, hurriedly pulled Qiao Xiaoyuan out of the kitchen.
As they entered, they saw Liang Madam swallowing hard.
Qiao Xiaoyuan asked curiously, “Mantis shrimp? I know them—similar in taste to river shrimp, a bit milder than sea shrimp. If not cooked well, they have a slight earthy fishiness, so not many eat them.”
After all, mantis shrimp have harder shells, making them less convenient to eat than normal shrimp, and they’re less plentiful than regular green shrimp.
Liang Madam handed Qiao Xiaoyuan the recipe attached to the letter.
“This is up to you. Guoguo only remembers someone saying these are especially tasty prepared this way and could even become our Tianya Inn’s signature summer dish.”
Qiao Xiaoyuan nodded knowingly and took it.
Fang He only knew how to eat, not cook.
When she was at the inn and later writing the recipe, she mainly described the general flavor and possible ingredients. Â
Qiao Xiaoyuan would then experiment bit by bit to find the best version.
It was always the task he enjoyed most. Â
Every time he perfected a recipe, including the crystal noodles, he felt a great sense of accomplishment.
Fang He received the golden grains late, but Tianya Inn had no such concerns; last year, they already planted golden beans, golden rice, and golden sweet potatoes and had long enjoyed them in various ways.