Those days when I exiled the paralyzed, deposed crown prince to farm

The unassuming copper nails on the carriage shaft were engraved with some kind of dark pattern, and when the morning light swept across, the gold thread pattern of the Shu brocade lining was faintly revealed under the tarpaulin.

Especially the calluses on the tiger's mouth of the caravan guard, and his sharp eyes that swept across like arrows, brought a chilling aura.

"Don't worry, brother. I tested it myself before I dared to bring people here."

The broker, with a fawning smile that betrayed his obsequiousness, said, "If even the young lady's cooking can't satisfy Madam's palate, I'm afraid we won't be able to find another chef in the entire Yong'an who can please her."

The carriage was surrounded by guards, and occasionally one or two pretty maids could be seen attending to it.

Although their identities were unknown, the mere fact that the lady, who had never shown herself, said she hadn't been able to eat for days was enough to make all the cooks in Yong'an tremble with fear.

Even the county magistrate would probably have to treat them with utmost respect.

A few words of conversation could be heard from inside the carriage from time to time. Then, an older woman walked up to Aman and looked her up and down.

"According to the rules, we have to search you."

Ah Man didn't understand why he had to be searched just to cook a meal.

"Alright, then let's do it your way!"

Since they come from the capital, there must be many rules. Ah Man has also lived in the capital for so many years and has seen many important people, so she has naturally seen many of their rules as well.

When other dignitaries occasionally visited the Crown Prince's residence, they would search their persons, and weapons were strictly forbidden from being brought into the residence.

At that time, she was Zhao Ye's personal maid, so no one dared to search her body.

After all, anyone who dares to search the body of the Crown Prince's personal maid would probably be asking for trouble.

"Are you also from the capital, young lady?"

As soon as Aman opened her mouth, the old woman in charge of searching her body recognized her accent.

Aman's heart skipped a beat. Not knowing the identity of the person who came, or whether they were friend or foe, she could not easily let others know her identity.

He could only quickly make up a lie: "I... I went to the capital with my parents before and stayed there for a few years, so my accent might be a bit similar."

The old woman's suspicious gaze swept over her. The search was quick; she checked that the woman was not carrying anything suspicious, and then she checked all the food she had brought.

I searched through everything carefully.

"Alright, come with me."

Aman breathed a sigh of relief and gave Zhao Ye, who hadn't come out of the dark corner, a reassuring smile.

The broker knew that she had brought Zhao Ye with her today. Aman claimed to others that he was her brother, but because Zhao Ye's face was too eye-catching, Aman simply hid him.

The middleman didn't say much to outsiders; his job was simply to act as a go-between and get the money afterward.

There were other caravans in the inn. The kitchen was divided into several sections. You could either eat the inn's food with everyone else or rent a separate kitchen and have the caravan's own cook prepare your meal.

Clearly, the caravan from the capital did not bring a cook, and they were not used to the food in Yong'an.

Zhao Ye followed A Man and carried all the ingredients inside, then lit a fire and began cooking them.

Yong'an mainly eats spicy and hot food. It was almost noon, so Aman asked the old woman about the lady's usual dietary preferences and understood.

The firewood in the stove crackled and popped, the bright firelight reflecting on his face. Ah Man rolled up his sleeves, revealing a section of his forearm.

"What are you planning to do today, Ah Man?" Zhao Ye asked, trying to start a conversation.

He had just seen the markings on the brass studs of the caravan's shafts; it wasn't an ordinary caravan.

"Do you still remember the chicken slices with egg white filling from the East Palace's small kitchen?" Ah Man said with a smile, "You used to always give them to us, and I still remember the taste."

Zhao Ye laughed along with her.

"Didn't you find it hard working in the Crown Prince's residence before?" Zhao Ye asked.

He remembered a maid who always dozed off during night duty, which was especially difficult in winter, when the maids had to stand guard outside the door in case of emergency.

So Zhao Ye had a small hut built next door, so that the maids on duty could go next door and not wait outside.

"It's not too strenuous," Ah Man shook her head.

Of course it wasn't hard work, because the Crown Prince never mistreated his servants.

However, if someone from the palace comes, they'll have to be on their toes. The palace people know that the Crown Prince is kind-hearted and are afraid that his servants will not work diligently because of this, so they come every few days.

However, since it was from the Empress's palace, His Highness the Crown Prince couldn't refuse.

Zhao Ye watched as she mixed the minced chicken with the chopped snow pear. These ingredients were prepared by A-Man long ago, as most of the free-range chickens in Yong'an were local chickens that had not been introduced.

She is small and thin, and hardly gains weight.

The chickens used to make Furong Chicken in the capital are all imported breeds from foreign countries. They are meaty and plump, and a single chicken can weigh up to four or five pounds.

The local chickens in Yong'an only weigh a little over a pound. Ah Man used several chickens to get that little bit of meat, and all of it was from the tenderest part of the chicken, the chicken leg.

As for chicken breast, it's too dry, so Ah Man doesn't plan to use it.

Next, soak the mixed pear and chicken paste in chilled jasmine syrup.

Heat the iron wok until it starts to smoke, then pour in the diced cured pork that was smoked with pine needles the night before and stir-fry until fragrant. Once the amber-colored fat has been rendered out, sprinkle on the wild chili peppers and wild onions that Ah Man found in the mountains.

The spicy aroma released by the hot oil filled the entire small kitchen, intoxicatingly delicious.

"Sizzle—" The chilled chicken slices slid into the pot, the hot oil was boiling, and Ah Man quickly poured in the broth, forming a layer of egg floss that bloomed with the chicken slices in the pot, just like a hibiscus flower in bloom.

Finally, sprinkle with candied kumquat shreds, and the dish of Chicken with Egg White is complete.

The mountains of Waguan Village not only have wild, century-old Solomon's seal, but also a lot of wild kumquat and prickly pepper, all of which are pure natural seasonings.

Aman also collected some winter melon seeds that farmers had dried, selected the plump and thick seeds, dried them, stir-fried them, and then ground them into powder.

This is a completely natural and pollution-free flavor enhancer for pastries, which is infinitely better than modern technology.

After making a few side dishes, Aman also plans to make some pastries.

She had just looked at the lady's food box and found that most of the pastries were very oily and sugary; she had only tasted one bite of each pastry.

This shows that she doesn't like those kinds of candied fruits, let alone any kind of candied fruit.

Ah Man's refrigerator contained yellow lemons that were a reward from the system. She washed the lemons, cut the peels into thin strips, and soaked them in cold water to remove the bitterness.

While waiting for the rice to soak, Ah Man used a coarse earthenware bowl to grind the white rice into powder, then added a small amount of glutinous rice flour and mixed it well.

Then she took out the dogwood fruit she had picked from the mountain and fried it with honey into powder.

His hands kept moving, and he muttered to himself, "That lady can't handle the spicy food here in Yong'an, and she finds it too sweet."

After saying that, he divided the lemon juice into two portions, mixing one portion into honey to form an amber-colored syrup, and mixing the other portion into the honey powder.