The Emperor, with more men than women, made me his mistress.

She got out of bed, went to the closet, took out a pink undergarment and put it on, then picked out a silver-red dress embroidered with peony scrolls and put it on as well.

Jin Chenyuan hadn't come over even though I'd been up for so long; he must have been busy today. Of course, a prince like him couldn't possibly be idle and spending all his time with me.

With no one following her, Yue Li felt much more at ease.

During her hundred years living in the cultivation world, Yue Li developed a habit of being alone; in other people's words, she was somewhat of a loner. Although she enjoyed being around people, she didn't like having someone following her around all the time, watching everything she did.

Knowing that no one would be combing her hair today, Yue Li sat in front of the dressing table, casually combed her hair a few times, and tied it into a loose bun. She took a gold hairpin with tassels from the jewelry box, inserted it into the bun, shook her head a few times to make sure the hairpin wouldn't fall off, and then got up and went to the outer room.

You Yun had vaguely heard noises coming from the room, but no matter how anxious he was, he didn't dare to go in!

Didn't you see that these past few days, apart from essential matters, the master has been personally serving the princess?

However, remembering that her master had said before leaving that he wanted to go to the palace to get a few people to serve the princess personally, You Yun relaxed again.

These guards who serve their male masters are ultimately unsuitable to serve the princess.

Hearing footsteps heading towards the outer room, You Yun called out through the door, "Greetings to Your Highness, Princess. Does Your Highness wish to wash up? I'll have someone bring some hot water."

At this moment, Yue Li had already reached the door. She opened the door and saw You Yun standing outside. She said, "Have someone bring in some hot water. I'll wash up."

Where is your prince?

"Replying to Your Highness, after having breakfast this morning, the master said he was going to the palace to ask for a few personal servants for Your Highness, so he went to the palace after breakfast."

Fearing that Yue Li might be upset, You Yun continued, "However, before the master left, he instructed his subordinates to obey the princess's orders. If the princess has any instructions, please feel free to give them to your subordinates."

Yue Li: ……

She was just asking casually. You can't sleep with someone and then wake up to find yourself all alone without even asking.

"Okay, I understand." After replying, Yue Li turned and went back into the room.

Seeing this, You Yun turned and instructed one of the servants standing behind him to hurry to the hot water room and have someone bring some hot water. He then told another servant to stand guard there while he himself quickly went to the kitchen.

The princess only woke up at this hour; she must be hungry. He needed to get the kitchen to prepare the meal his master had ordered before leaving, so the princess could eat as soon as possible.

The hot water was served quickly. Yue Li had just opened the small package that You Yun had brought up yesterday, which she had packed at the inn, and after arranging the contents in order, the servants brought the hot water up.

After quickly washing her hands and face, Yue Li didn't apply anything to her face. After the cleansing and marrow-refining process, her skin was now fair and delicate, so she didn't need to apply any powder or rouge. Besides, the rouge of this era wasn't waterproof at all, and it was summer now.

If you wear rouge on your face and then sweat, well, tsk tsk, it's a disaster.

As soon as Yue Li finished washing up, You Yun led several servants into the room carrying food.

Smelling the aroma of the food and seeing all her favorite dishes laid out on the table, Yue Li began to eat heartily after everyone else had left. She was simply too hungry.

Yue Li stopped eating when she was about 80% full, and sat down to think about what she needed to do.

Actually, she wanted to leave the city and go to the mountains behind Qingshan Village outside the city to see what the spiritual energy there was like.

If it's suitable for cultivation, she'd like to hurry up and build a courtyard in Qingshan Village, so it will be convenient for her to cultivate in the back mountains of Qingshan Village.

However, considering the promise I made with Lian Xinran yesterday to go boating on Yinyuan Lake this afternoon, the trip to Qingshan Village will have to be postponed.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the plate of braised beef on the table. Hmm, I'd already eaten most of it, leaving only a few slices.

Seeing the braised beef, Yue Li suddenly thought of the spicy dried meat she used to eat. She realized that since coming to this world, the only snacks she'd had were pastries and dried fruit.

Yue Li suddenly realized that they could have one more snack to eat while boating on the lake tonight.

But before that, she had to ask if there was any raw beef left in the house.

After rinsing her mouth with the tea beside her, Yue Li got up and went to the door.

You Yun had been waiting outside the door. When he saw Yue Li come out, he immediately bowed and said, "Your Highness, have you eaten well?"

"Yes, I've already eaten. You can have someone clean up the mess."

Upon hearing this, You Yun immediately waved his hand behind him. Then, the servants who had served the dishes walked out of the room one after another, took away the leftover food on the table, and left Chenxi Courtyard.

Watching this well-trained scene, Yue Li clicked her tongue in amazement. This life of being waited on hand and foot is truly the most corrupting thing for ordinary people.

Seeing Yue Li staring blankly at the entrance of Chenxi Courtyard, You Yun respectfully asked, "Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"

"Oh, that's right."

Remembering her purpose, Yue Li asked, "Does your household still have any raw beef?"

Raw beef?

Although You Yun was puzzled as to why the princess asked about raw beef, she still answered truthfully, "Yes, on the estate in the manor, a cow is slaughtered every once in a while. Because the weather is too hot now, the beef cannot be eaten all at once, so it is stored in the manor's ice cellar."

After speaking, You Yun asked, "Does Your Highness have something to ask about raw beef?"

"Well, it's just a little thing. I'd like to make some beef jerky to eat as a snack." Yue Li was a little embarrassed when she talked about her cravings.

But what You Yun cared about wasn't whether Yue Li was greedy or not; what he cared about was Yue Li talking about making dried meat.

How could the princess cook herself?

If the princess were injured while her master was away, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Without further ado, Yue Li looked at You Yun, who was standing in front of her with a somewhat conflicted expression, and said, "Where is the kitchen? Take me there quickly, let's go and try it out and see if the meat jerky we make tastes good?"

Upon hearing Yue Li's words, You Yun's handsome face almost twisted into a grimace.

Does this princess mean that she has never made dried meat before?

Is this your first attempt?

As Youyun followed Yue Li out, he thought for a moment and said, “Your Highness, there are several chefs in the kitchen. When we get there, just tell the chefs what you want to do. You don’t need to do it yourself.”

The chefs at Prince Chen's mansion used to say that since the mansion only had the prince as its master, they had no room to make a difference.

Now that's good, the manor finally has another princess, which is a good opportunity for them to make good use of their talents.

Yue Li, who was walking ahead, was thinking about what steps and ingredients were needed to make spicy meat jerky.

Hearing what You Yun, who was following behind him, said, he turned around and looked at her. Only then did he realize why You Yun looked so conflicted when he mentioned making jerky.

So that's why you didn't want to cook for yourself!