The sun was setting in the west.

Yun Chu had finally finished pulling all the weeds from the field.

At this time, Ouyang Ye also returned carrying a small crucian carp the size of a palm.

Seeing Yun Chu just rising from the field, surprise floated in Ouyang Ye’s eyes. “Why hasn’t the Empress Dowager left yet?”

“If the weeds aren’t removed, how can the cabbage grow?” Yun Chu patted the dust from her sleeves. “I just looked around—there are no servants in this courtyard. Does Master Ouyang plan to make the fish soup himself?”

Ouyang Ye stroked his beard. “What, can the Empress Dowager cook soup?”

“I couldn’t before, but after having children, I learned some.” Yun Chu stepped forward. “Right now I’m not the Empress Dowager, just a young woman asking for a favor. Please give me a chance, Master Ouyang.”

By directly revealing her purpose, she instead earned a trace of appreciation in Ouyang Ye’s eyes.

He tossed the small crucian carp onto the counter. “Then I’ll trouble the Empress Dowager.”

When Yun Chu was at the princely residence, she occasionally cooked—making osmanthus cakes, pumpkin soup, fish soup, chicken soup, and such were not difficult for her.

She gutted the fish, cleaned it thoroughly, pan-fried it in a pot, then added water and boiled it into a milky white rich soup.

She called out, “Qiutong, go to the village and see if any household has tofu.”

While Qiutong went to buy tofu, Yun Chu began steaming rice.

But she didn’t quite know how… because she had never steamed rice before and had absolutely no idea how to proceed.

She added rice, added water, covered the pot… that should be about right.

When Qiutong returned with tofu and added it to the fish soup to stew together, the aroma filled the air.

Ouyang Ye was drawn by the fragrance and walked to the edge of the kitchen. “I truly never imagined that the dignified legitimate eldest daughter of the Yun family, Crown Princess, Empress Dowager—a person of such precious status—could actually cook.”

“You praise me too highly, sir.” Yun Chu ladled up the fish soup and brought it to the table, then took a rice bowl to serve the rice.

But when she lifted the pot lid, she was instantly dumbfounded.

The rice clearly wasn’t cooked—it looked half-raw.

“The Empress Dowager added too little water.” Ouyang Ye came over for a glance. “Cooking rice is like teaching and educating people. With too little water, it comes out half-cooked. With too much water, it becomes thin congee. Neither too much nor too little—one must grasp the proper measure.”

“Yes, one must grasp the proper measure.” Yun Chu sighed. “But how many people in this world, like me, cannot control this measurement? And there are even those who deliberately use the wrong measure to educate students.”

Ouyang Ye said nothing more.

He walked to the dining table to drink the fish soup. He had to admit, crucian carp stewed with tofu was truly delicious—before he knew it, he had drunk it all.

Yun Chu stepped forward, took the soup bowl away, and washed it clean.

Then she put it in the cupboard.

She walked to the door and said, “Master Ouyang, I’ll take my leave now.”

“Eh, leaving just like that?” Ouyang Ye scratched his white hair. “Won’t you say a few more words?”

Yun Chu knew the other party had already been moved.

If dealing with an enemy, this would be the time to press the advantage.

But what she was seeking now was an ally. Sincerity was most precious.

She smiled and said, “If Master Ouyang doesn’t mind, I’ll come again tomorrow.”

She turned and, taking advantage of the twilight, left the small courtyard. She found an inn in the nearby city and stayed there.

The next day, before the sun had even risen, Yun Chu arrived. She saw Ouyang Ye picking chrysanthemum petals in the courtyard, then spreading them out to dry in the yard before making them into chrysanthemum tea.

There was also another person in the courtyard, also an old man with a full head of white hair, about sixty or seventy years old.

From this person’s appearance, one could tell he should be Ouyang Ye’s eldest son. Previously he had been the magistrate of this nearby city, and after growing old, he had left office.

“Father, we’re truly worried about you living here alone. Come back with us.” The old man in his sixties kept sighing. “It’s inconvenient to buy things, inconvenient to see a doctor—what’s the point of living here?”

“You little brat, are you cursing your father to get sick?”

Ouyang Ye was furious and raised his hand to slap the back of his son’s head.

“Ow, I’m so old and you still hit me…”

A nearly ninety-year-old man chasing a sixty or seventy-year-old man around the entire courtyard.

Only when they saw Yun Chu enter did the two finally settle down.

Magistrate Ouyang, seeing an outsider, was embarrassed to death. He coughed and said, “May I ask who this lady is?”

“This is none other than the current Empress Dowager.” Ouyang Ye snorted. “Your father here is planning to move into the palace. Then everything will be convenient. You little brat—does that work for you?”

The phrase “little brat” made Magistrate Ouyang even more embarrassed, though at the moment he couldn’t worry about embarrassment.

“So it’s the Empress Dowager.” He hurriedly cupped his hands in salute. “If the Empress Dowager wishes to invite my father to the palace to serve as imperial tutor, the Empress Dowager has truly found the right person. My father simply cannot sit idle… Back when I forcibly closed the Thatched Cottage Academy, Father got upset and moved here alone to live…”

“Who got upset?!” Ouyang Ye was so angry his beard stood up.

Magistrate Ouyang ignored his old father and continued speaking to Yun Chu. “Ever since the academy closed, he’s been like a headless fly, idle and restless all day. Who knew the old man would still have such vigorous energy at his age? I regret it too—I shouldn’t have closed the academy. Sigh… Empress Dowager, look at the vegetables in this field—he plants them and they die, they die and he plants again. They’ve never once grown properly… And also, if I didn’t put fish in the pond every few months, he wouldn’t be able to catch a single fish…”

Yun Chu: “…”

This… was really quite different from what she had imagined.

“Get out, get out, get out!” Ouyang Ye felt his old face had lost all dignity. He kicked his son’s bottom. “You have no more business here. Scram!”

“I haven’t finished yet…” Magistrate Ouyang continued. “I come to visit him every three days. Every time we meet, he talks to me about court affairs. No matter how chaotic the situation, my father can analyze everything crystal clear! Don’t be fooled by his eighty-nine years—he’s not inferior to those young people at all! The Empress Dowager has truly asked the right person! I’ll pack things right away and escort my father into the palace!”

Going to the palace was wonderful—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation would all be attended to. Most importantly, the entire Imperial Medical Bureau would be on standby at all times, so he wouldn’t have to worry about his old father’s health.

Ouyang Ye: “…”

He had originally wanted to maintain some dignity, but this little brat had ruined it all!

He coughed and put on airs. “These chrysanthemums in the courtyard—I must personally dry them. I’ll enter the capital tomorrow.”

“Very well.” Yun Chu immediately agreed. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll arrange for people to come collect you.”

When she left, standing on the carriage, she could still see the father and son chasing each other.

A smile involuntarily appeared on her face. She said, “Qiutong, arrange for some secret guards to secretly protect the Ouyang family.”

She couldn’t let the Ouyang clan members become a handle for Chu Rui to threaten Ouyang Ye with, just like Grand Preceptor Xu.

The carriage slowly drove toward the capital. By afternoon, they had arrived in the capital.