After her mind was read, the spoiled brat became the darling of the whole group.

Yin Ruyu's smile froze for a moment.

She bit her lip and said aggrievedly, "This is just a misunderstanding. It's Ruyu's fault. Please don't blame me, Princess."

Yin Ruyu tried to win Luo Mengfei's favor but was met with a cold shoulder, and could only leave dejectedly.

Meanwhile, in the Empress Dowager's palace.

Jun Lanjin sat beside the Empress Dowager and poured her tea. "I heard that Your Majesty is looking for my mother?"

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I've seen your mother. I was thinking of summoning her to the palace today to have a chat, but I never expected this to happen and cause Jin'er so much trouble."

Jun Lanjin placed the teacup he had poured on the Empress Dowager's side and said, "My mother has been staying in the Buddhist hall lately and has never been involved in worldly affairs. She has recently caught a cold and is unable to enter the palace. Please forgive her, Your Majesty."

"Hmm? You've caught a cold?" The Empress Dowager's expression changed slightly.

She sat up straight and said with concern, "Then the imperial physician must take a good look at her. Your mother has always been kind and benevolent. Since your father died, she has been praying and chanting scriptures for the Jun family every day. She must not harm her health."

Jun Lanjin lowered her eyelashes and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I have already had the imperial physician examine her."

The Empress Dowager took a sip of tea and glanced at Jun Lanjin.

Jun Lanjin's complexion looked much better than before. After thinking for a moment, the Empress Dowager said, "You are the only male heir in the Jun family, and you are not young anymore. It is time for you to find a princess for yourself."

"I see you treat that little girl from the Xie family with special favor. Do you really not want to marry her as your princess?"

Jun Lanjin said, "The court is in turmoil now, and it is not the time to ask His Majesty for a marriage decree."

The Xie family had previously received imperial decrees for marriage from the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince, and now there's another imperial decree betrothing the princess to Xie Tongchen. If Xie Xing were to be betrothed to Jun Lanjin as well, the Xie family would likely become the target of public criticism during this period.

The Empress Dowager's eyes lit up.

Does Jun Lanjin's statement mean she's not denying her feelings for Xie Xing?

The Empress Dowager was now somewhat confident about the matter.

She waved with a smile, signaling Jun Lanjin to leave.

After Jun Lanjin left, the nanny beside the Empress Dowager said, "It seems that Prince Jin still prefers the Xie family's young lady and doesn't seem to have any good feelings towards the Yin family's girl."

The Empress Dowager's smile faded, and she gently stroked her robes: "Whoever you like, as long as the Jun family bloodline can be continued, that is the best."

"Go to my storeroom and find some things to give to that girl Xie Xing."

"Yes."

……

In Luo Mengfei's palace.

Xie Xing and Luo Mengfei are making a barbecue.

This barbecue was Xie Xing's idea. He asked the kitchen for seasonings, then used his own homemade seasonings to skewer the meat together, and soon the aroma wafted out of the palace.

Luo Mengfei sat next to Xie Xing, resting her chin on her hand, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Xie Xing: "It smells so good, this princess can't wait to eat it."

Xie Xing smiled slightly and handed the grilled meat skewers to Luo Mengfei: "Princess, would you like to try some?"

Luo Mengfei took the skewer. The meat was grilled until it was fragrant on the outside and tender on the inside. Just looking at it made her mouth water. Luo Mengfei took the skewer, blew on it, and put it in her mouth to take a bite.

Luo Mengfei's eyes lit up when she took a bite.

She blew on the meat on the skewer and quickly finished it off.

“It’s delicious!”

"Is there any more? Is there any more?"

Xie Xing smiled slightly: "We'll have to wait a little while longer."

Luo Mengfei stood beside Xie Xing, curiously examining him. After a long while, she finally spoke up: "I didn't expect you to know so many novel tricks. You seem to know nothing, but in fact you know far more than the women in the capital."

"They are so boring. No one else would accompany me to visit brothels."

Xie Xing's face darkened.

She didn't want to either.

Xie Xing stuffed a skewer into Luo Mengfei's hand and said, "The environment in which one lives determines one's character, Princess, you can't say that."

“Gold is everywhere in Shengjing, and the secret competition among noble ladies is endless. My skills are just for novelty and practicality, but if we really put them into practice, the competition will be different.”

Xie Xing's barbecue skills are merely due to the advantage of the thousands of years of time that have passed. The food is only fresh, and it is not even as good as the professional chefs in the palace.

It's fine to eat something new at first, but you'll get tired of it if you keep eating it.

Luo Mengfei took a bite and said, "This princess doesn't care about all that. I've spent so much time with you, and I've really grown to like you. You're different from those noble ladies."

Xie Xing just smiled and didn't say anything.

next door.

Yin Ruyu had just finished writing a letter home and was about to go to sleep when she smelled a fragrance coming from the palace next door.

The aroma whetted Yin Ruyu's appetite.

She turned to the maid beside her and said, "Go and find out what they're eating next door. It smells so good!"

The maidservant obeyed the order and quickly left.

After a while, the maid returned and reported, "Miss, it seems that the Fifth Princess and the others are having a barbecue in the palace."

"Barbecue?" Yin Ruyu's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

The maid said, "It was baked by the young lady from the Xie family. I don't know how she made it, but it smells wonderful."

Yin Ruyu thought about it and decided to go and take a look.

She didn't come to the palace to make enemies. Judging from their interactions during the day, the Fifth Princess was favored by the Empress Dowager, who was also exceptionally kind to Xie Xing, especially Prince Jin's attitude towards Xie Xing...

Yin Ruyu said, "Let's go take a look."

The maid hesitated for a moment, then looked at her mistress and said, "Miss, the Fifth Princess and Miss Xie don't like you. If you go over there, you'll probably just be met with their indifference."

Yin Ruyu gently shook her head: "It's alright."

“We came to Shengjing not to make enemies of the Yin family. If we can build a good relationship with them and get some information through them, even if it's a cold shoulder, it will be worth it.”

"Let's go."

The maidservants had heard Yin Ruyu say this, so they had no choice but to agree.

In the neighboring palace.

As soon as Luo Huaichuan stepped into Luo Mengfei's palace, he smelled the aroma of roasted meat. He quickly walked towards the palace and asked, "What are you doing? Why does it smell so good?"

Luo Mengfei was enjoying her meal when she looked up and saw Luo Huaichuan approaching.

She rolled her eyes at Luo Huaichuan, annoyed, and asked, "Why are you here?"

Luo Huaichuan arrived uninvited, walked over to Xie Xing, stepped onto the stone bench, sat down, picked up a skewer from the table, and began to eat.

Upon taking a bite, Luo Huaichuan's eyes lit up.

"Was this made by the imperial kitchen? How come I've never eaten such delicious meat before?"

Luo Mengfei said, "You must have a dog's nose. You come over as soon as you smell something delicious."

"This wasn't made by the imperial kitchen, it was made by Xie Xing."