Exile at the start? The princess is no ordinary woman.

Chapter 313 A Twist of Fate Leads to the Encounter of Cocoa Fruit

But when it was time to eat breakfast, Cang Ling was nowhere to be found, perhaps because of what happened last night!

But no one was missing, and regardless of whether others knew or not, no one asked any questions.

Gu Nanzhi, unable to stay idle, picked up a basket and prepared to go up the mountain.

"Miss, are you going up the mountain to gather herbs?"

"Well, let's go"

Unsurprisingly, Gu Nanzhi wouldn't go up the mountain alone. Jun Yanchen, He Mobai, and Bai Zang went with her, leaving only Steward Li and Zhou Cai at home to farm, and Xia He to do housework.

Seeing the three people who wanted to follow, Gu Nanzhi felt helpless.

"Each person should bring a basket. I have a feeling that we'll have a very fruitful day in the mountains."

If they want to go up the mountain, we can't let them have it easy. Everything in the mountains can be useful. Since they want to go, they have to be the labor force and bring back some things.

They would have done it even without Gu Nanzhi saying so.

He Mobai and Bai Zang, both doctors, had their own experience collecting herbs in the mountains, so how could they not understand this?

The four of them went up the mountain together, taking any medicinal herbs they came across and collecting any wild fruits they found. They had been wandering in the mountains for over an hour, gathering walnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts, and other dried fruits.

After a quick search, two baskets were already filled.

They continued wandering in the mountains, with Jun Yanchen following closely behind Gu Nanzhi. Just as Gu Nanzhi picked a medicinal herb,

Bai Zang approached Gu Nanzhi with a fruit he had never seen before, seeking her help.

"Madam, do you recognize what kind of fruit this is?"

Gu Nanzhi glanced at what he was holding. What she saw made her serious. She took the fruit from him and checked it carefully.

Where did you pick these?

Seeing Gu Nanzhi's attitude, Bai Zang thought that this thing must be useful, and the lady even recognized it.

"Front"

"Take me to see it"

Gu Nanzhi appeared somewhat excited.

Led by Bai Zang, they soon arrived at the tree where he had been picking fruit.

"Madam, there are many more fruits on this tree,"

Looking at the tree laden with fruit before her, Gu Nanzhi's eyes revealed joy mixed with a hint of doubt.

It really is cocoa fruit?

How can cocoa fruits grow in this place?

Forget it, forget it. Even something like her transmigrating has happened, so what if she grows a cocoa fruit?

Consider it a reward from heaven; with cocoa beans, she can continue to eat her favorite chocolate.

Yes, I'm happy.

Jun Yanchen observed the changes in her expression and softly called out.

"Nan Nan"

Gu Nanzhi was so happy that she forgot to react, and then she smiled.

"Jun Yanchen, Bai Zang, this is called cocoa fruit. It can be used to make a delicious dessert. Quickly, help us pick all these fruits."

While signaling for others to help, Gu Nanzhi herself started picking fruit.

Since it was her request, the two men beside her naturally obeyed her orders and helped, and soon all the fruit on the tree was picked.

The fruit tree was about seven or eight meters tall and bore a total of forty-seven fruits. Looking at these fruits, Gu Nanzhi was already imagining what they would look like as chocolate.

"Mark this spot and remember it. Our baskets are all full for today. We'll come back another day to see if there's any left. Let's go home now."

"it is good"

The group obeyed Gu Nanzhi's orders completely; if she said to go home, then they went home.

This truly lived up to Gu Nanzhi's words before she set off: she had a premonition of a bountiful harvest today, and indeed, she had reaped a rich harvest.

"Master, Madam, you're back! You've gathered so much stuff!"

"Bai Zang, what kind of fruit is this? I've never seen it before."

They brought back a lot of things, and the people left at home were full of curiosity, so they quickly came forward to take the baskets from their masters.

"The lady said this is called cocoa fruit, and it can be used to make desserts,"

"Cocoa fruit?"

She had spent the whole morning exploring the mountain, but thanks to the discovery of cocoa beans, Gu Nanzhi didn't feel tired at all. She put down her things and immediately began preparing to start making them.

Jun Yanchen felt sorry for her and pulled her to the pavilion to sit down and rest.

"Nan Nan, there's no rush. Take a break and have a cup of tea."

After he said that, Gu Nanzhi realized she was thirsty, so she sat down as he suggested.

"Jun Yanchen, do you remember the black sweet I gave you on the road before?"

She had sat down, but Gu Nanzhi's delight at the cocoa fruit remained undiminished, because she loved chocolate.

In her past life, she practically never stopped eating chocolate.

But there was only a little bit of stock left at home, and it had all been gone long since she arrived. She only ate one piece after a long time, reluctant to part with it.

I thought I'd never get to eat it in my life, but then things took an unexpected turn for the better.

How could Jun Yanchen possibly forget?

Back then, Nan Nan, walking at the very back, secretly shared a piece with that little maid. When he discovered it, she pretended nothing had happened.

Later, she gave him a piece to eat, saying it would melt...

Thinking of these things, Jun Yanchen's lips unconsciously curled upwards slightly.

"Remember"

"So it's made from cocoa beans?"

He was certain that only Nan Nan possessed that thing; it had never been seen before in the world. Yet, even so, his feelings towards Nan Nan now weren't suspicion, but simply curiosity.

I was curious how that fruit could become that melt-in-your-mouth delicacy.

"Yes, that's called chocolate. Cocoa beans are the raw material for making chocolate. I thought I'd never be able to eat chocolate again, but I never expected to make this unexpected discovery today."

Gu Nanzhi readily admitted it, which shows how much she liked the chocolate she was talking about.

She even shared the things she liked so much with him.

"Okay, I'll help you make it in a bit,"

"It takes many steps for this to turn into chocolate; it won't happen quickly,"

Fermentation, drying, roasting, grinding...

The main issue is that she hasn't made it herself before; it still requires an experimental process...

Thinking about all this, Gu Nanzhi's brows furrowed with worry again. Fine, for the sake of that mouth, she'd have to do it.

Gu Nanzhi got up to get the fruit, and Jun Yanchen followed to help. He Mobai and the others also wanted to come and help.

"Hey, no need for help. I'll make a few to try first, so they don't go to waste if they fail."

Gu Nanzhi stopped them from taking action; this time, she planned to use five as test subjects first.

"Madam, have you never used cocoa beans to make desserts before?"

However, her words gave Bai Zang an opening. What seemed like simple concern made Gu Nanzhi's heart skip a beat. She remembered that Jun Yanchen had eaten it, so she hadn't made it...

But so what?

"Oh, I forgot before. I only roughly know how to do it, so I'll just try it out with a few."

"I see"

"If you need any help, please feel free to ask."

"Okay, you guys go and process the walnuts and hazelnuts, I'll do this myself,"

Gu Nanzhi chased everyone away, then quickly found a container, opened five cocoa fruits, and started fermenting them.