Winter is the season for nourishing tonics. When Zhao Ai saw that the soup Feng Xian had prepared possessed excellent medicinal properties, he ordered her to prepare a bowl and personally brought her along to deliver it to Consort Li. Consort Li accepted it with a smile, and after listening to Feng Xian explain the soup’s wonderful benefits, she kept Zhao Ai to chat for quite a while. Noticing that he frequently mentioned Wu Zhenzhen, she understood his intentions and summoned Wu Zhenzhen to escort the Second Prince back.

Wu Zhenzhen escorted Zhao Ai into the Brocade Rouge Gallery. After saying “Second Prince, please walk slowly,” she was about to turn back to Phoenix Pavilion when Zhao Ai suddenly seemed to remember something. Pointing ahead, he said, “Big Brother first saw Feng Jing right there.”

Wu Zhenzhen asked in surprise, “Didn’t they first meet at Gathering Fragrance Garden?”

“You wouldn’t know about this, would you?” Zhao Ai beckoned to her. “Come, let’s walk forward and I’ll tell you what happened.”

Due to her intense curiosity about the Crown Prince and Feng Jing’s affair, Wu Zhenzhen returned to the gallery. While listening to Zhao Ai recount that past encounter under the gallery, she unconsciously followed him as he walked.

Feng Xian followed behind them. Seeing Zhao Ai speaking enthusiastically with Wu Zhenzhen without any intention of looking back at her, she couldn’t help feeling dejected. She deliberately fell back several steps, creating distance between them.

After listening to Zhao Ai’s account and imagining the elegant bearing of those two people, Wu Zhenzhen couldn’t help but sigh, “What a pity. They would have made such a wonderful pair of talented scholar and beautiful lady—even their chance collision was so beautiful…”

“This mainly depends on the person,” Zhao Ai said. “Feng Jing is an elegant and virtuous beauty, and she was in this colorfully gorgeous Brocade Rouge Gallery—she would look beautiful no matter what. So naturally their first meeting had poetic charm and artistic beauty. Unlike someone who initially rode a dirty horse, gripping a whip while coming to peek at half-naked men… Ah…”

That “Ah” was triggered by Wu Zhenzhen’s slap landing on his arm. Although Wu Zhenzhen had told Feng Xian about her first encounter with Zhao Ai, she hadn’t mentioned details like their bare-legged horse bathing. Now hearing him joke about it like this, she worried that Feng Xian might misunderstand. Both angry and anxious, she couldn’t help but strike out.

But Zhao Ai wouldn’t stop talking. Protecting his right arm that she had hit, he added, “…Both of them, too.”

Wu Zhenzhen felt her vision go dark, then her eyes blazed with fury. Both hands swinging continuously, she slapped him several more times with rapid “smack, smack, smack” sounds. Zhao Ai only laughed while parrying, completely unperturbed and unangered.

Feng Xian watched from behind, her lips bearing the flawless smile she wore when facing nobles. When their arms touched, she quietly lowered her eyelids.

Although the Emperor’s meals were nominally managed by Pei Shangshi, in recent years the Emperor had come to rely more on Liu Jieyu. The Emperor’s food was different from others’, called “imperial cuisine.” There were dozens of chefs in the imperial kitchen, managed by the Imperial Cuisine Bureau. However, the daily menu planning and pre-tasting of meals should be done by the Shangshi, but for the past two years these tasks had mostly been handled by Liu Jieyu, who often personally prepared and presented food to the Emperor.

However, now that Liu Jieyu was pregnant, the Emperor worried about her overexertion and felt it was no longer appropriate for her to continue pre-tasting imperial meals. He indicated to Pei Shangshi that she should select a young woman from within the Royal Kitchen to assist her with these tasks.

Pei Shangshi observed the various palace women and felt that Feng Xian acted steadily, had never made mistakes since entering the palace, did excellent work in Clear Flower Pavilion, and understood the principles of dietary therapy well. She intended to promote her and called her to inform her of this matter. Unexpectedly, Feng Xian refused this tremendous favor. She knelt before Pei Shangshi and said, “This servant comes from common folk. My culinary skills are not outstanding compared to the palace women, and I haven’t been in the palace long—I haven’t even learned all the rules properly. Fortunately, I was assigned to the Second Prince’s pavilion, and he treats people kindly without demanding strict adherence to etiquette details, so I’ve been able to live peacefully until now. If I went to serve His Majesty, I fear I would be anxious every day and inevitably make mistakes, which would disappoint Shangshi’s recommendation.”

Pei Shangshi tried to persuade her kindly, but Feng Xian still refused. Seeing Pei Shangshi frown, Feng Xian quickly said softly, “This servant has thought of a suitable candidate who would be ten times more appropriate than me.”

When Pei Shangshi asked who, Feng Xian replied, “Wu Zhenzhen. She comes from Pujiang like me. During the initial Royal Kitchen selection, her ranking was higher than mine—she was Qin Sishan’s first choice, which shows her culinary skills are more refined than mine. Moreover, she has exceptionally sensitive taste. Previously, she was the one who detected the strange flavor in the green salt that came to Phoenix Pavilion. Isn’t the most important quality for a Royal Kitchen woman serving His Majesty sensitive taste?”

Pei Shangshi considered thoughtfully, “Wu Zhenzhen is indeed good, but her personality is too lively and not steady enough.”

Feng Xian said, “Wu Zhenzhen is rather spirited, but in His Majesty’s eyes, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If His Majesty only liked steady people, neither Phoenix Pavilion nor Hibiscus Pavilion would be in their current situations.”

Pei Shangshi’s expression immediately darkened: “Watch your words!”

Feng Xian immediately prostrated herself on the ground: “This servant spoke inappropriately. Please punish me, Shangshi.”

Pei Shangshi didn’t make an immediate decision, but she took Feng Xian’s words to heart.

These past few days, the Royal Kitchen had ordered the older palace women to provide basic culinary training to the younger ones, around ten years old. One task was to process mushrooms and use them as dumpling filling. Most palace women simply washed the mushrooms clean, boiled them in water, then chopped them up to season the filling. However, Pei Shangshi noticed that when Wu Zhenzhen was cooking mushrooms, she cut several slices of ginger to add to the boiling water, and told the young palace woman she was teaching, “Some mushrooms are poisonous, and we don’t necessarily recognize all mushrooms. For safety, it’s best to add a few slices of ginger or garlic cloves when cooking them. If the mushrooms are poisonous, the ginger and garlic will change color.”

Qin Sishan observed this and said quietly to Pei Shangshi, “Wu Zhenzhen has indeed grasped the primary principle of palace dining—safety.”

Pei Shangshi made no comment but continued quietly observing Wu Zhenzhen’s actions.

During knife skills training, Tang Li suddenly shouted at the young palace woman she was teaching, “How many times have I told you? When cutting vegetables, keep your left hand fingers curled—don’t lay them flat on the vegetables! It’s very easy to cut your hand!”

The young palace woman was so frightened she began to cry. Qin Sishan reminded Tang Li not to raise her voice, and Tang Li agreed but couldn’t help muttering, “I’ve repeatedly warned her about this, but she just can’t remember.”

Seeing this, Wu Zhenzhen came to the crying young palace woman’s side, used a handkerchief to dry her tears, and gently comforted her. Then she picked up the young woman’s knife and smiled as she guided her: “Little sister, let me tell you a secret: this knife actually has spiritual energy. Every time you pick it up with your right hand, you instantly transform into a cat…” She then showed the young woman her own left hand. “Your left hand isn’t a hand anymore at this moment—it becomes a round, plump cat paw.”

Her left hand gathered together into an arched shape, and she playfully waved it at the young woman, then handed the knife to her right hand: “Try again.”

The young palace woman stared blankly for a moment, then faced the cutting board again. When she placed the knife on the board, she kept reminding herself “cat paw, cat paw,” and indeed her left hand fingers curled inward, no longer extending straight out when cutting vegetables.

Pei Shangshi and Qin Sishan exchanged smiles. Recalling Feng Xian’s words, they gradually felt they weren’t entirely unreasonable.

At this time, Hu Dianshan from Phoenix Pavilion submitted her resignation to Consort Li. For years, she had failed to detect the strange flavor in the green salt, leading to the consort being harmed by medicine and her health damaged. She had been feeling guilty and anxious ever since. Although Consort Li, considering their years of friendship, didn’t pursue the matter, Hu Dianshan thought it over and didn’t dare continue preparing the consort’s food as if nothing had happened. She requested to voluntarily demote herself and return to work as an ordinary palace woman in the Royal Kitchen.

Consort Li tried to persuade her to stay several times, but Hu Dianshan was determined to resign. Consort Li then asked Pei Shangshi to come discuss the matter. Pei Shangshi also said that Hu Dianshan had indeed made a mistake and shouldn’t remain in her position without punishment, as it would be difficult to warn other palace women. Demotion and return to the Royal Kitchen was an appropriate way to handle it. Consort Li then agreed to let her go.

Pei Shangshi then proposed to the consort her plan for personnel changes regarding who would manage Phoenix Pavilion’s food preparation: promote Feng Jing to Dianshan to replace Hu Dianshan’s work, and bring two palace women with exceptional culinary skills from the Royal Kitchen to Phoenix Pavilion to prepare the consort’s meals. As for Wu Zhenzhen, she suggested transferring her to Funing Palace to assist Shangshi with imperial meal pre-tasting.

Consort Li pondered for a long time before saying, “Having Wu Zhenzhen handle imperial meal pre-tasting would naturally be reliable, but I don’t know what she’ll think about such a sudden transfer. Previously, she rendered great service to me, so I want to discuss this with her first and ask her opinion.”

The Emperor had a habit of not eating after noon, but remembering that today was the anniversary of when he had taken Consort Li as his concubine, he came in the evening to accompany her for a few drinks and some pastries.

The two chatted about everyday matters for a long time. The Emperor seemed to have no intention of leaving yet when Consort Li glanced toward the door and suddenly called an attendant over, saying it was snowing outside. She told them to prepare His Majesty’s cloak and bring umbrellas to escort him back to Funing Palace shortly.

Thus, the Emperor had to rise and take his leave.

The attendants surrounded the Emperor as he departed. Wu Zhenzhen looked at the many remaining pastries and asked the consort quietly, “His Majesty clearly wanted to stay—why did you…”

Consort Li shook her head: “He didn’t want to stay. He just felt that tonight he owed me something, that he should stay here.”

Wu Zhenzhen found it inappropriate to say more.

Consort Li sadly drank down a cup of remaining wine and continued speaking to herself: “Initially, I was forced upon him by the Empress Dowager. He didn’t want me but couldn’t refuse, so out of filial duty to the Emperor and Empress Dowager, he accepted me… Later, when Empress Anshu fell gravely ill and Grand Tutor Qi wanted to force him to marry a daughter of his faction, he deliberately spent every night in my quarters, but most of the time he either read books all night or went to sleep early—he rarely spoke with me… After Liu Jieyu entered the palace, my place became completely cold and desolate. Now when he comes, it’s only out of guilt…”

She set down her wine cup and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. After a moment, a tear slid down from the corner of her eye: “He has never… never truly loved me…”

Hearing this left Wu Zhenzhen feeling helpless, not knowing how to comfort her. After thinking, she heated water and wrung out a face cloth to hand to the consort.

“Today Pei Shangshi told me she wants to transfer you to Funing Palace,” said Consort Li after wiping away her tears. “I didn’t immediately agree. I thought you would probably prefer to go to the Second Prince’s side.”

“Ah, no, no!” Wu Zhenzhen immediately denied. “I have no improper thoughts about the Second Prince.”

Consort Li opened her eyes in surprise: “I thought you two…”

“The Second Prince just likes to joke with me, that’s all,” Wu Zhenzhen stated decisively.

“Oh, is that so…” Consort Li was somewhat disappointed. After pondering a moment, she suddenly asked, “You mentioned your teacher outside the palace before… he should still be relatively young, shouldn’t he?”

This question was unexpected for Wu Zhenzhen. She hesitated before answering, “Yes, in his twenties.”

Consort Li said with understanding, “So you like him.”

“That’s not it either…” Wu Zhenzhen wanted to deny it, but her tone sounded obviously much weaker.

“Then why did you enter the palace?” Consort Li sighed. “The palace isn’t a good place to be. Wouldn’t it be better to live peacefully with your teacher outside the palace?”

Wu Zhenzhen was silent for a long while before finally deciding to tell the truth: “Because I need to find my mother.”

Under Consort Li’s further questioning, she told the consort everything about her family’s misfortune, how she entered the palace, and her conversation with Cheng Yuan.

“So that’s how it is…” Consort Li contemplated, then looked at Wu Zhenzhen earnestly and said, “I haven’t heard of your mother’s name either—it’s very likely an assumed name. Who she really is, perhaps only Cheng Yuan truly knows. Cheng Yuan serves Cifu Palace, and I cannot command him or force him to reveal the truth. Looking at it now, going to Funing Palace would be a good choice for you. Becoming someone close to His Majesty, Cheng Yuan would have to show you some respect, and perhaps soon when you ask him again, he’ll tell you your mother’s whereabouts.”

The matter was thus decided. Consort Li then brought up to the Emperor Wu Zhenzhen’s merits in the matters of the green salt and Feng Jing’s background, and combined with the praise Pei Shangshi had given her, suggested promoting her to Zhanshan. After Feng Jing was promoted to Dianshan, the Zhanshan position would be vacant. The Emperor readily accepted and promoted Wu Zhenzhen to Zhanshan, ordering her to assist Pei Shangshi in managing imperial meal pre-tasting.