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"I have never understood why you want to marry me?" Xiao Yao asked curiously. "As far as I remember, it seems we haven't even met before?"
"And," Xiao Yao paused and continued, "even if it's because my brother became the Top Scholar, or because of the Sovereign, there are plenty of eligible women in the capital. Why did you specifically request to marry me?"
This question had been lingering in Xiao Yao's mind for a long time, but He Yu hadn't brought it up, and she had never mentioned it either. Now, taking this opportunity, she decided to ask.
Although He Yu had explained it to her before, it always felt vague and unclear, as if there was something separating them.
She thought He Yu would answer today, but unexpectedly, he just smiled and patted Xiao Yao's cheek. "You'll know in the future; for now, don't worry about it too much."
Could there really be other reasons? Xiao Yao pondered silently. He Yu seemed to see through her thoughts. "Alright, stop overthinking. The reason I married you is simply that I had to marry you. You can rest assured that this has nothing to do with any external factors. You must believe that I married you because I truly love you. As for other reasons, let's not think about them for now; just focus on being my Consort Xuanping."
"…Okay." Xiao Yao nodded obediently. She was already married; what else could she do? He Yu was right; worrying too much was pointless; living a good life was what mattered.
"Alright," He Yu didn't intend to give Xiao Yao another chance to continue this topic. "I left home this morning without even having breakfast. What's for lunch?"
"What?" Hearing that He Yu hadn't had breakfast, Xiao Yao immediately stood up. "You didn't have breakfast? It's been several hours this morning! Aren't you hungry?"
Actually, He Yu had always been accustomed to this routine. However, he seemed particularly fond of seeing Xiao Yao worry about him, so he feigned ignorance. "Of course I'm hungry; I'm not made of iron! How could I not be hungry after several hours like you?"
"You... you should take care of yourself!" Xiao Yao pulled He Yu up and walked toward the Warm Pavilion. "Your body belongs to you! Why don't you cherish it? I thought you only left after having breakfast!"
"I have to get up at the third watch every day; when would I have time for breakfast? I need to attend court at the fourth watch." He Yu shook his head with a wry smile. This was indeed true; in the past, he would just grab some dry snacks to fill his stomach. But after resting for a few days and having his delicate wife by his side, he lost track of time and ended up rushing out in a hurry the next morning.
"..." Hearing this from He Yu, Xiao Yao couldn't help but want to scold him for being ridiculous. Who was he attending court for in the morning? Wasn't it enough to torment people without even having time for breakfast?
However, even with He Yu's indulgence, she wouldn't dare voice such rebellious words out loud, fearing that walls might have ears. If someone overheard her, it would be disastrous for He Yu—oh right, it would be disastrous for her too now.
Xiao Yao pulled He Yu to the Warm Pavilion and said to Yun Zhu, "I remember there should be some snacks in the kitchen that I instructed to prepare. It's just right to bring them over for the prince to have a bite."
"Yes." Yun Zhu accepted the order and headed to the kitchen.
The Xuanping Prince's Mansion has two kitchens. The one in the Central Courtyard is exclusively for the princess and the prince, and it is usually used for their meals.
There is also a large kitchen that serves the other Consorts and the servants. If there are banquets, this kitchen is also used to prepare the dishes for those events. In short, this large kitchen is spacious and has many people, but the skills are not as refined. The smaller kitchen has fewer staff, but each one possesses fine culinary skills.
Especially the head cook of this kitchen, Li Pei, who is responsible for preparing meals for the prince and princess. He rarely goes over to the large kitchen. However, he holds significant power; he is solely in charge of the Storage Room and procurement for this kitchen. Even during He Yu's wedding when there was a grand banquet, Li Pei calmly prepared a bowl of peanut lotus seed soup for the prince and princess.
As for the dishes served at the banquet, they were mostly prepared by his few apprentices.
Li Pei was wandering around the kitchen with a piece of steamed bun in his mouth. From a distance, he saw Yun Zhu approaching and immediately spat out the bun crumbs into the stove, personally welcoming her with a smile, "Miss Yun Zhu, does the princess have any instructions?"
"Master Chef," Yun Zhu greeted Li Pei with a smile. Although Yun Zhu, as the princess's head maid, held a higher status than Li Pei in terms of rank, she knew better than to offend anyone in this household. She smiled sweetly and said, "The princess heard that the prince did not have breakfast this morning and felt quite concerned. She instructed me to come check if yesterday's snacks were ready."
"Oh! They are ready!" Li Pei immediately beamed with joy. "After the princess left yesterday, I pondered all night. They just came out of the pot not long ago; they are perfect for eating!" He then slapped Li Da on the head beside him, saying, "Why aren't you quickly finding something for Miss Yun Zhu to take the snacks? Why are you dawdling here?"
"Yes, yes!" Li Da immediately jumped up and ran out to find something.
Li Pei rubbed his hands together and said apologetically, "This child just started working here; he hasn't developed much awareness yet. Please don't mind."
"It's alright, Master Chef; you work hard too. You have many apprentices," Yun Zhu waved her hand and smiled.
As expected of the princess's head maid; her demeanor was indeed different! Li Pei felt very satisfied.
He naturally knew what Yun Zhu was all about. This girl was originally a first-class maid by the prince's side, but later she was assigned by the prince to serve the yet-to-be-married princess. At that time, several maids were actually sought after, but none were willing to go.
What about the princess? She would also be living in the back courtyard; how could it compare to serving the prince directly?
The situation in the prince's mansion was different from that in the palace. In the palace, one might be able to walk with confidence if they were close to a favored consort. However, in the prince's mansion, only those by the prince's side truly held status; even the princess was not exempt from having to please those in Central Courtyard. So at that time, no maid was willing to leave the mansion.
Only Yun Zhu volunteered to leave and serve the princess, even taking the initiative to change her name.
In fact, Li Pei also understood that Yun Zhu had her own gamble in mind. Being by the prince's side meant that, ultimately, he was a man who would certainly value his guards more than maids. Even if a maid served in Central Courtyard, her status would still be suppressed by Zhao Hezhong and his group. But serving the princess was different; she was a woman, and those who served her were certainly maids.
If the prince valued the princess, then Yun Zhu would naturally rise with her.
Sure enough, Yun Zhu made the right move.
Now she was the head maid by the princess's side, and not just anyone in the prince's mansion knew how much Xuanping Wang cherished the princess; he regarded her as more important than his own eyes. The princess not only did not have to live in the back courtyard but also shared meals and residence with the prince.
Now, Yun Zhu had almost reached an equal status with Zhao Hezhong. With this development, who in the entire mansion could afford to offend this girl?
Yun Zhu was also quite clever; even after becoming the head maid, she did not act high and mighty and remained easygoing and natural, which made Li Pei think highly of her.
After chatting for a while, Li Da hurriedly entered with a food box. After quickly arranging several snacks into it, he handed it over to Yun Zhu. “Yun Zhu, here are some snacks as instructed by the princess. Please take care!”
“Thank you, Master Chef. I will probably need to call for lunch later. Whether it's me or Yun Yue or Yun Bi, someone will come over then, so it will still trouble you,” said Yun Zhu. Hearing this made Li Pei feel pleased; conversations like this were different! With a smile on his face, he waved his hand and said, “Look at you, Yun Zhu. Preparing meals for the prince and princess is my duty as Li Pei, so there’s no trouble at all. You’re too polite.”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yun Zhu took the food box and left.
He Yu and Xiao Yao were still talking, while Yun Zhu had already brought in the food box and placed the snacks on the table.
He Yu frowned, "I don't eat sweet things."
"I know you don't like sweets," Xiao Yao said with a smile, resting her chin on her hand. "These snacks are all savory and not dry; give them a try."
"What is this?" He Yu asked, pointing at a square white piece.
"Turnip Cake," Xiao Yao replied with a smile. "It's made from radish and has dried shrimp, lap cheong, and the like. It tastes pretty good; just try it!" Xiao Yao took the chopsticks from Yun Yue and picked up a piece to offer to He Yu. "Try it; it's really tasty!"
He Yu opened his mouth and ate the piece from Xiao Yao's chopsticks. The fresh aroma of radish mixed with the salty flavor of dried shrimp and scallops, along with the richness of lap cheong, was soft yet had some chewiness. It was indeed much better than those overly sweet snacks. He Yu nodded repeatedly, "Hmm, not bad; it's quite delicious. Did you come up with this?"
"Not at all!" Xiao Yao shook her head and laughed. "This is a snack from Fujian Minnan. I tried making it myself because I liked it before, and since the prince doesn't like sweets, I naturally thought of this."
"Pretty good," He Yu said as he picked up another piece to eat, looking quite hungry.
Seeing He Yu like this, Xiao Yao rested her chin thoughtfully and said, "It seems I need to think of some convenient foods for the prince to take with him in the morning; otherwise, he can't keep going hungry."
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