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

Yue Li: ……

It's such a simple thing, why make such a fuss?

She's overjoyed to be able to eat what she wants without lifting a finger, just by using her mouth!

So Yue Li readily agreed, "Okay, don't worry, I promise I won't do anything later."

Hearing the princess agree so readily, You Yun was taken aback for a moment, then relaxed and quickly stepped forward, stepping aside to lead Yue Li to the main kitchen of the mansion.

The Chenxi Courtyard, where Jin Chenyuan lived, was the first courtyard after entering the inner courtyard. When the Prince Chen's Mansion was first built, there was only one master, Jin Chenyuan. Therefore, when choosing the location of the kitchen, a courtyard closer to Jin Chenyuan was chosen to be the large kitchen.

So Yue Li followed behind You Yun, and before she could even fully appreciate the scenery of Prince Chen's mansion, she had already arrived at the courtyard of the main kitchen.

It's not lunchtime yet, so everyone in the main kitchen is idle.

Suddenly, they saw You Yun, the prince's personal guard, respectfully leading a beautifully dressed young woman into the courtyard. The chefs who had been chatting under the eaves immediately stood up and greeted You Yun, asking all at once, "Guard You Yun, what brings you here?"

"Guard Youyun, does His Highness have any orders?"

"Is this the princess of our household?"

Although they were talking to You Yun, they were all secretly glancing at Yue Li.

Blocked by several people, You Yun stopped and waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet.

Once everyone had quieted down, You Yun introduced Yue Li behind him, saying, "Chef Wang is right, this is the Princess Consort of our Prince Chen's Mansion."

Upon hearing this, the chefs exchanged glances, immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said in unison, "Greetings to Her Highness the Princess."

Yue Li: ……

She just wanted to make something, why is she making such a big fuss?

However, she couldn't just watch them keep bowing without getting up, so she imitated Jin Chenyuan's usual manner and said, "Rise."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Only then did the group stand up.

After seeing that everyone had paid their respects to Yue Li, You Yun said, "The Princess Consort has come here today to prepare some new dishes. Everyone, just follow the Princess Consort's instructions."

"Princess, please give us your orders regarding any kind of food you wish to have prepared."

"Yes, yes, Your Highness, please give your orders."

Seeing that the chefs were getting lively again, You Yun frowned and waved his hand. After they quieted down, You Yun introduced the chefs in front of him to Yue Li, explaining which part of the kitchen each of them was in charge of.

After introducing everything, You Yun pointed to Chef Li and said, "The braised beef that the Princess just ate was made by Chef Li. Chef Li is very experienced in preparing meat. The Princess can just tell him what she wants to make."

“Okay, then I’ll have to trouble Chef Li.” Yue Li said, looking at Chef Li who had been called out.

Chef Li rubbed his hands excitedly and nodded repeatedly, saying, "No trouble at all, no trouble at all. Your Highness, please just tell me what you would like to eat. I just don't know what kind of food Your Highness would like to make."

"Well, I'd like to make some beef jerky to eat as a snack. I wonder if Chef Li knows how to make it."

If Chef Li knew how to make this, wouldn't it save her the trouble of even having to say anything?

"Beef jerky?" Chef Li shook his head. "I've never heard of this before."

Then he turned to the other chefs and asked, "Have any of you heard of it?"

The others thought for a moment and then shook their heads. "No."

"I don't have any either. I've only ever heard of dried fruit, not beef jerky."

Seeing that no one had heard of it, Chef Li looked at Yue Li with difficulty and said, "Your Highness, what do you think?"

Yue Li understood what he meant: if no one had ever eaten it, and no one had ever heard of it, then it meant they didn't know how.

It's alright, though; she still had some recollection of how to make dried meat. Well, she didn't remember it very clearly.

But can't they try a few more times?

If it doesn't work the first time, try again; if it doesn't work the second time, try a third time. If you try a few more times, you'll eventually be able to do it.

So Yue Li said confidently, "It's okay, I roughly know how to do it. We'll try a few more times and we'll figure it out eventually."

When everyone heard the princess say this, they thought it sounded so unreliable.

So everyone's eyes turned to You Yun.

Youyun: ...

Why are you looking at him?

He can't make decisions for the princess!

So You Yun coughed and casually said, "Since the Princess Consort has said so, Chef Li, just do as the Princess Consort says."

Chef Li: ...

You weren't the one who resorted to violence, were you?

However, Chef Li was obedient and led the princess into the kitchen, asking her what ingredients she needed as they walked.

Yue Li first listed out the materials she could remember and asked them to prepare them.

Upon reaching the kitchen door, Chef Li first moved a chair to the entrance. "Your Highness, please sit down and rest for a while. I'll have my apprentices prepare the necessary ingredients before we begin. Also, the beef is still in the ice cellar and will take a while to thaw, so please be patient."

As she spoke, she turned to Chef Wang, who specializes in making pastries, and said, "Old Wang, what about the new pastries you've been experimenting with these pastries? Bring them up and let Her Highness the Princess try them out."

Chef Wang, who was initially watching Chef Li being tormented by the Princess, somehow shifted the topic to himself.

However, he still quickly went into the kitchen, brought out two plates of pastries that had just been made that morning, and placed them on the table that had just been set up in front of the princess.

"Your Highness, please try these. These are new products that I have developed. This plate contains almond shortbread, which is crispy and crunchy. When you eat it, you first taste the slightly bitter almond flavor, followed by a full-bodied fragrance. This plate contains water chestnut cake, please try it as well."

"Oh, okay." Having just eaten, Yue Li wasn't hungry at all. However, faced with Chef Wang's enthusiastic invitation, Yue Li still took a bite of an almond shortbread. Hmm, the taste was indeed quite good.

Seeing the people surrounding her, Yue Li said, "You all go ahead and do your work, don't worry about me."

After everyone had dispersed, Yue Li put the last bit of almond shortbread in her mouth, stood up, and walked into the kitchen.

Since I arrived, these people have been so afraid of something going wrong in the kitchen that they won't even let me into the kitchen.

Looking at You Yun who followed her in, Yue Li pouted. She could cook too, okay?

Why is You Yun acting like this? She's like a little kid; we have to keep an eye on her even when she's in the kitchen.

In a corner of the kitchen, Yue Li discovered a half-bucket of white substance that looked like milk, and the bucket was placed in an ice basin.

Turning her head, Yue Li asked Chef Li, who had been following her, "Where is this?"

Looking at the half-bucket of milk, Chef Li said with a troubled expression, "This milk was just delivered to the estate this morning. It was supposed to be a whole bucket, but Old Wang used some when he was making pastries, so the remaining half-bucket is here. However, the weather is too hot now, and if this half-bucket isn't used up right away, it will definitely spoil by the afternoon."

Yue Li: ……

"So it's not spoiled now, right?" Yue Li said, leaning closer to the bucket and taking a sniff.