I started as a concubine, and I made the crown prince cry with my delicious food.

The atmosphere inside the simple inn was quite awkward for a time.

Xie Zhao and Lu Chengyuan, two young talents who usually commanded respect in the court, were now like two roosters guarding their food, glaring at each other and neither willing to let go.

Their hands were clinging tightly to the earthenware jar containing the mushroom and meat sauce.

"Xie Zhao! Let go! His Highness said that only one spoonful is allowed per person. Are you going to disobey the imperial decree?" Lu Chengyuan lowered his voice, his face turning red.

"Bullshit! You're the one talking, aren't you holding on tight too?" Xie Zhao retorted, refusing to budge. "I don't care! Even if I'm disobeying the imperial decree, I still need another spoonful! This pancake is awful; I can't swallow it without the sauce!"

"No way! There's a first-come, first-served rule. If anyone's going to eat, it's me first!" Lu Chengyuan was getting impatient. Beneath his refined exterior lay a primal craving for delicious food.

Changting stood aside, watching this bizarre scene that could be described as "the pillars of the court turning against each other for the sake of soy sauce," wanting to laugh but daring not to, trembling all over from holding it in.

The instigator of all this, Crown Prince Xiao Jingshi, was leisurely sipping his tea, a hint of amusement playing on his cool face.

He felt a strange sense of pride.

See? This is the sauce made by his concubine; it has such great magic.

Watching his two best friends nearly come to blows over a bite to eat, the unease he felt about his impending departure actually dissipated considerably.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's voice, Xie Zhao and Lu Chengyuan both froze, but their hands remained firmly in place.

Xiao Jingshi slowly put down his teacup and said calmly, "Changting."

"Your servant is here." Changting quickly bowed.

"Put the sauce away..."

Xiao Jingshi's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap, exploding in Xie Zhao and Lu Chengyuan's ears.

"what?"

"Your Highness!"

Both of them let out a wail at the same time, their faces filled with despair.

Should we put it away?

This is worse than killing them!

"Your Highness, please stop!" Xie Zhao was the first to react. He immediately let go of Xiao Jingshi's hand, ran to him with a fawning expression, and said, "Your Highness, I was wrong! I will never dare to do it again! Please, just one more small bite!"

Lu Chengyuan quickly let go as well. Although he wasn't as dramatic as Xie Zhao, his pleading eyes said it all.

Xiao Jingshi glanced at them, said nothing, and simply picked up his teacup and took another sip.

The meaning is clear: No way.

Xie Zhao and Lu Chengyuan exchanged a glance, both seeing deep regret in each other's eyes.

If I had known better, I wouldn't have argued. Now look what happened, nobody gets to eat.

The two could only grimace as they picked up the remaining hard, dry pancakes and began to eat them with a bitter taste.

With each bite, he would glance at the earthenware jar on the table, which Changting had resealed, and then let out a long sigh.

Compared to the meat sauce, this pancake was practically harder to swallow than a rock.

Looking at their utterly hopeless expressions, Xiao Jingshi felt inexplicably better.

He slowly finished his portion and then stood up.

"It's getting late. Let's rest for an hour and then continue our journey."

After saying that, he went straight back to his room.

Changting immediately grabbed the precious pottery jar and followed closely behind.

Inside the room, only Xie Zhao and Lu Chengyuan remained, staring at two half-eaten pancakes, speechless, tears streaming down their faces.

……

The journey became increasingly difficult in the following days.

In order to take shortcuts, they took some remote paths, and sometimes they couldn't even find a proper post station and had to camp out in the wilderness.

The food naturally got worse and worse.

The dry rations were so hard they could be used as weapons, the rice was undercooked, and the water had an earthy smell.

Mealtimes were the most painful time for Xie Zhao and Lu Chengyuan.

The two of them always looked at Xiao Jingshi with longing eyes.

However, Xiao Jingshi seemed to have forgotten about the jar of meat sauce, eating the same thing with them every day without even frowning.

This filled the two with both admiration and a deep sense of despair.

They even began to suspect that His Highness was keeping that jar of sauce as a family heirloom and had no intention of eating it again.

That evening, they rested in a dilapidated temple.

The continuous heavy rain made the roads muddy and impassable. Everyone was soaked to the bone, cold and hungry, and morale was at its lowest point.

Dinner was, as usual, cold dry food.

Xie Zhao held the dry rations, but the musty smell made it impossible for him to swallow them.

He sidled up to Xiao Jingshi, pleading pitifully in a low voice, "Your Highness... my dear Your Highness, please have mercy! If this continues, I'll starve to death on the road before I even reach Jiangnan. Just a small spoonful—no, half a spoonful! Half a spoonful of meat sauce will do!"

Xiao Jingshi glanced at him, then looked at the other guards around him who also looked pale and sickly, and remained silent for a moment.

He knew he couldn't go on like this.

If this continues, his own forces will collapse before he even sees the disaster victims.

He nodded toward the pavilion.

Changting immediately understood, turned around and took out another... even larger food box from the carriage.