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

The clumsy, heavy kitchen knife became light in her hands, and the sound of the blade striking the cutting board was quick and muffled.

The knife flew so fast it was like a blur, and the potato in her hand was transformed into fine, even strands of hair.

Zhao Ye watched intently, studying A Man's techniques frame by frame.

"Everyone's like this at first, you'll get better with practice." He thought Ah Man would definitely laugh at him, a pampered prince, for not even knowing how to cut potato shreds.

But Ah Man will only teach him more patiently.

"Ah Man, is this okay?"

Zhao Ye carefully chopped the vegetables, then eagerly awaited Aman's inspection, even more so than when he had previously achieved something and waited for his father's praise.

He used to always think that he should work harder, and even harder.

He was the crown prince, the head of all the princes, and all the eyes of the world were on him, so he could not disappoint his father.

Only by achieving results that the world can see will his father be satisfied with him as the crown prince.

With the Emperor satisfied, the Empress Dowager's life became easier.

But now Zhao Ye feels that everything he did before was a joke. After the busy days returned to calm, he suddenly stopped reminiscing about the past.

Instead, she wanted to cherish the present moment and every day she spent with Aman.

He thought this must be one of the reasons why Ah Man went to such lengths to keep him alive; it turns out that there are so many things to look forward to while one is alive.

Wow, you're amazing! You learned it so quickly!

"I believe that even if you don't become the crown prince, you'll definitely become an excellent chef!"

"Yeah?"

Zhao Ye lowered his head and smiled faintly, his hair sliding down his neck to his chest, a spark of joy and delight igniting in his heart.

"Of course! I used to think you were only good at being a prince, but now you can dig and plant crops, and you can distinguish between seeds and vegetables."

"You can even start a fire and cook rice. You know when the rice is cooked and how much salt to add when stir-frying vegetables. Compared to those pampered young noblemen who can't even distinguish between grains, you are so much better."

Ah Man always gives the highest emotional value.

Even if Zhao Ye had a lot of unhappiness in his heart, hearing A Man's words always dispelled the gloom that shrouded his heart.

"Ah Man, thank you."

In the small space, a bright flame rose from the stove.

Zhao Ye was dressed in plain clothes, with his twisted little finger hidden in his sleeve, but his eyes were exceptionally dark, bright, and deep.

He said, "I never knew that someone as broken as me could be so wonderful in your heart."

Ah Man's praise made him even happier than his father's.

He had no idea how much effort Ah Man would have to put in to mend and repair him completely.

A-Man has always worked very hard, and Zhao Ye knows this in his heart.

But he hated his broken body and crippled legs, and he hated that he had fallen into a ditch and dragged Ah Man down with him, making her suffer.

"What are you babbling about?"

Aman plans to make some egg and scallion pancakes for dinner. The scallions were dug up from the fields outside. She dug up quite a lot today, and many of them were soaking in the yard. She plans to clean them all out later and take them to the county town tomorrow to make delicious food and sell them.

"Hey, crack all these eggs in and mix them with the flour until well combined."

"Chop the wild onions and throw them in too."

Zhao Ye: "..."

"Ah Man, did you hear what I just said?"

"I heard you." Ah Man was busy pounding chicken feet, and she even put some rice noodles in to pound together.

"You're such a weirdo. It's just that you've lost two legs. It's not like you're going to be crushed to pieces and die."

"Do you not believe me, or do you not believe the old doctor?"

Ah Man pounded with all her might; it didn't feel like she was pounding chicken feet, but rather like she was pounding Zhao Ye into the mortar.

"You have to make me proud. My hopes are all on you. If you don't get better, I'll never get better in this life."

"..."

Ah Man has never been an emo person. She doesn't dwell on things like being sentimental or melancholic. It's all about cherishing the present moment. If you're constantly overflowing with negative energy, your magnetic field around you will drop, and you can't expect any good luck to come your way.

"understood."

Zhao Ye obediently went to crack the eggs.

He realized that Ah Man was truly impervious to reason.

Actually, he wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk with Aman, but Aman forcibly closed his heart to him.

Zhao Ye sighed inwardly. Oh well, there's still a long road ahead. We can take it slow.

The iron wok was scalding hot, sizzling as it fried the egg batter. Zhao Ye rolled up his sleeves and, imitating A Man's old ways, clumsily but earnestly used a wooden spatula to spread the egg batter evenly, bit by bit.

The aroma of eggs, combined with the unique spiciness of wild onions, wafted through the small room.

The flickering lamplight illuminated his face, and Zhao Ye suddenly paused: "Aman, it's burnt."

Ah Man: "If it burns, you can eat it yourself!"

Zhao Ye: "..."

"How was it? The wild scallion and egg pancakes you made yourself were delicious, weren't they? This is the fruit of your labor!"

Zhao Ye held his chopsticks and stared silently at the dark, murky egg pancake in front of him.

Then look at what's in front of Aman. It's golden and bright in color, garnished with spicy and green wild onions to enhance the flavor. Take a bite and Zhao Ye's face contorts.

The savory taste fermented in his mouth, and he swallowed it with difficulty.

Ah Man pretended not to see, and while eating her egg pancake, she piled vegetables into his bowl, saying, "Eat more, eat more, the more you eat, the faster you'll recover."

"You're too thin now."

"Aman..." Zhao Ye looked at her with clear, gentle eyes, "Can... I not eat?"

It really doesn't taste good at all.

Ah Man raised an eyebrow: "You think your own cooking doesn't taste good?"

"Hmm, it doesn't taste good at all. I think I put in too much salt."

He acted like a child who had done something wrong: "I won't make this mistake again next time."

Next time, he'll definitely make egg pancakes that taste and look just as good as Ah Man's.

"If it doesn't taste good, then don't eat it. Do you think you can just eat it because I tell you to?" Ah Man said with a laugh, "You can't just obediently listen to whatever I say and do it."

"You used to be the crown prince, able to decide someone's life or death with a single order."

Now look what's happened! Even though he knew it was burnt, bitter, and extremely salty, he forced himself to eat most of it before asking her if he could stop eating.

Zhao Ye's ears burned, and he looked away from Aman.

His voice was low and muffled: "I'll listen to Ah Man. Whatever Ah Man says goes."

"..."

Aman nearly choked on her own saliva. She felt that Zhao Ye was somewhat strange, strange in a way that was hard to describe.

"You don't have to listen to me in everything, and what I say isn't always right."

"You should also have your own thoughts and opinions. We're relying on each other now, so we should try to communicate and discuss things together as much as possible. That way, life will be easier, don't you think?"

Zhao Ye remembered it.

He remembered those words for many years to come.