Tang Dynasty: After living together with Chang Le, Li and his companion were dumbfounded.

The next day, in the evening.

To be precise, it was after Li Lizhi returned from the palace.

Lu Chen heard rustling sounds coming from the other side of the dividing line and knew she had returned.

He is currently heating milk in the kitchen.

Pure milk, bought from the supermarket, 3.5 yuan a carton.

He poured a box into the pot, heated it slowly over a low flame, and then picked up two kinds of medicine from the table—montelukast sodium chewable tablets and vitamin C.

Montelukast sodium is a long-term medication for controlling asthma; it can be crushed.

Vitamin C can boost immunity, and chewable tablets can be crushed.

Grind the two medicines into powder, pour them into warm milk and stir well.

There was nothing unusual about the milky white liquid.

The taste was almost imperceptible—the milk itself had a strong enough flavor to mask the slight medicinal taste.

Lu Chen carried the cup into the bedroom.

The curtains had been lifted—since last night, Li Lizhi seemed to have stopped trying to cover herself up.

She sat in front of the dressing table, having Yu Shu help her remove her hairpin.

When Li Lizhi saw Lu Chen walking over, her gaze first fell on the cup in his hand.

"What is it?"

"It's hot, drink it to warm yourself up."

Lu Chen walked to the dividing line.

He hesitated for a moment, then tried to hand the cup over there—

The arm crossed the dividing line smoothly.

People can pass away, and things can pass away too.

it is good.

"Yu Shu, you may leave now," Li Lizhi said to her maid.

Yu Shu glanced in that direction, but the screen and curtains blocked her view, so she couldn't see anything.

He bowed and left.

Once the footsteps had faded into the distance, Li Lizhi got up and walked to the dividing line.

She took the cup.

When his fingers touched the smooth glass wall, he visibly paused for a moment.

She had never seen this material before.

It's transparent, like crystal, but not quite.

It contained a milky white liquid, which was slightly steaming.

Li Lizhi brought the cup to her nose and smelled it.

A fragrance she had never encountered before—rich, full-bodied, with a unique milky sweetness.

It doesn't smell like mutton.

It didn't taste like the camel milk she occasionally drank either.

It's a completely new scent.

"What is this?"

"Cow's milk," Lu Chen said. "Cow's milk is similar to goat's milk, but we drink this more often where I'm from."

"It warms the body and nourishes it."

Li Lizhi frowned slightly and looked at him with a hint of doubt.

Then he lowered his head and took a very cautious sip.

The moment it enters the mouth—

Her eyes lit up.

It brightened to the naked eye.

The milk is warm, not scalding, just right to fully appreciate its flavor.

The rich, creamy aroma spreads in the mouth, without a trace of fishiness or muttony smell, only a smooth and delicate texture and a slight sweetness.

This warm, soothing sensation travels from the tip of the tongue to the throat and then to the stomach, leaving a pleasantly comfortable feeling.

It was unlike anything she had ever drunk before.

Li Lizhi's eyelashes trembled slightly.

She lowered her head and took another sip.

This bite was significantly larger than the first one.

Lu Chen could see it clearly; her Adam's apple moved slightly—she swallowed.

"How is it?" he asked.

Li Lizhi removed the cup from her lips, her expression returning to calm.

"That's all there is to it."

His tone was indifferent.

Then she turned around, holding the cup, and walked back to the dressing table.

She sat down with her back to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen remained silent.

He simply stood beside the dividing line, watching Li Lizhi's back.

Watching her sit gracefully before the dressing table, her posture dignified and her demeanor exquisite.

I watched as she lowered her head and took a sip every few seconds.

He never looked back from beginning to end.

But not a drop of that milk was left.

Towards the end, Li Lizhi even tilted her head back slightly and poured the last bit of the drink into her mouth.

Then she put down the cup.

It's very light.

Lu Chen's lips curled up slightly.

"That's all there is to it."

Not a drop was left.

"Just leave the cup there, I'll take it back to wash it tomorrow."

"I understand."

Her voice came from behind the curtain.

It's just ordinary.

But Lu Chen noticed that she had placed the empty cup in the most convenient spot on the dressing table.

It was as if they were afraid of forgetting to return it.

It's like waiting for the next cup tomorrow.

Lu Chen turned around and went back to his room.

……

Outside the sleeping quarters.

Yu Shu stood at the door and suddenly wrinkled her nose.

A smell wafted out from under the door of the sleeping quarters.

It's very light.

But Yu Shu has a keen sense of smell.

It was a fragrance she had never smelled before.

It smells like some kind of milk, but much richer than goat's milk, with a unique sweetness.

"What's this smell...?"

Yu Shu muttered to herself, then leaned closer to the crack in the door and sniffed again.

It definitely came from the princess's bedroom.

But Her Highness did not order any food from the imperial kitchen today.

Yu Shu frowned slightly, her face full of doubt.

He wanted to push the door open and go in to ask, but then he remembered Li Lizhi's increasingly strict rule these past two days—no one was allowed to enter the bedroom without permission.

She could only stand at the door, filled with questions.

The next two days passed uneventfully.

Li Lizhi goes to the palace to pay her respects during the day and returns in the evening.

Lu Chen sleeps and researches during the day, and cooks and heats milk in the evening.

Drinking a cup of hot milk every day has become a regular routine.

Li Lizhi never asks for anything on her own initiative.

But every time he came back, he would "casually" clear his throat behind the curtain.

The sound wasn't loud.

But just in time, Lu Chen, who was in the kitchen, could hear it.

Then Lu Chen would bring over a cup of hot milk.

Li Lizhi always says the same thing when she takes the cup.

"Okay, leave it there."

Then he drank it all, not a drop was left.

Lu Chen found it quite interesting.

On the evening of the third day, Lu Chen decided to try something different.

There are still some beef brisket and tomatoes left in the refrigerator, which I bought a couple of days ago.

When he was a pharmaceutical sales representative, he often cooked for himself—after a long day out, a bowl of noodles was the most comforting thing to do when he got home.

The more you do it, the better your skills will become.

It's not at the level of a professional chef, but it's definitely better than takeout.

Cut the beef brisket into chunks, put it in a pot of cold water and blanch it to remove the blood foam.

Dice the tomatoes and stir-fry them in oil until the oil turns red.

Add scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, and cinnamon, then pour in the blanched beef brisket and stir-fry.

Pour in enough boiling water to cover the ingredients, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook.

One and a half hours.

The entire rented room was filled with the rich aroma of tomato and beef brisket.

This fragrance is very strong.

The sweet and sour flavor of tomatoes, combined with the rich aroma of beef and the unique spiciness of star anise and cinnamon, creates a highly penetrating aroma.

How strong is its penetrating power?

It passed through the kitchen.

I walked through the living room.

I walked through the bedroom.

They crossed the dividing line.

It drifted into the palace of Princess Chang Le of the Tang Dynasty.

……

Li Lizhi returned home earlier than usual today.

Empress Zhangsun urged her to go back and rest in the afternoon.

She said she didn't look well and shouldn't overwork herself.

Li Lizhi did not tell Empress Zhangsun about her illness that had flared up the night before.

She would never say that a strange man rushed in in the middle of the night and gave her some kind of "miracle drug".

The fewer people who know these things, the better.

Upon returning to his bedchamber, he dismissed Yu Shu and the other maids.

Li Lizhi sat down in front of the dressing table and habitually glanced at the dividing line.

The curtains were half-lifted.

These past two days, she hasn't been keeping the curtains down much.

Lu Chen was not in the bedroom.

But some noise came from further away.

Ping pong.

They seem to be busy with something.

Li Lizhi didn't pay attention.

She picked up the bronze mirror, ready to check her makeup.

Then--

That smell wafted over.

Li Lizhi's hand stopped.

The nostrils twitched slightly.

A fragrance she had never encountered before was wafting in from the other side of the dividing line.

Rich, mellow, and full of layers.

It has an indescribable sweet and sour taste—not the sourness of vinegar, but a natural, refreshing tartness of fruit, which has been blended in a way that makes it incredibly appetizing.

It also has the aroma of meat.

It's not the rough, charred aroma of roasted meat from the Tang Dynasty, but a rich, mellow flavor that comes from being simmered over a low flame for a long time.

It's gentle, soft, and soothing, like it seeps into your very bones.

Li Lizhi put down the bronze mirror.

She turned her head and glanced at the dividing line.

Then it turned back.

I took another look.

She sat upright in front of the dressing table.

Not moving.

His expression was calm.

It's just that the nostrils are constantly moving.

A minute passed.

Two minutes passed.

three minutes.

Four minutes.

At the fifth minute, Li Lizhi stood up.

She walked to the dividing line.

The aroma was even stronger.

The scent was so strong that she couldn't help but sniff again.

Lu Chen happened to be carrying a small pot out of the kitchen.

The pot contained stewed beef brisket with tomatoes, the bright red broth steaming hot, and the large chunks of beef brisket tender and tempting.

In his other hand, he held a bowl of freshly cooked noodles—thin noodles that had been boiled in boiling water for three minutes and were smooth and chewy.

"Oh, you're back?" Lu Chen smiled when he saw Li Lizhi standing next to the dividing line.

Li Lizhi turned her face away.

There was a two-second silence.

"I'm hungry."

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? There's no food in the palace?"

"The food served in the imperial kitchen today is not to my liking."

She didn't look at Lu Chen when she said this.

His gaze was turned to the other side, and his expression was very serious.

An unnatural blush appeared on her cheeks.

"I don't want to eat your food," she added.

"only……"

She paused for a moment.

"But since you've already done it, throwing it away would be a waste."

Lu Chen almost burst out laughing.

I held back.

"That's perfect, I made too much, I can't finish it all by myself." He carried the pot and noodles into the bedroom and placed them on the computer desk.

"But I only have one table here, so you'll have to come and sit down."

Li Lizhi was still standing on the other side of the dividing line.

She glanced at Lu Chen, then at the steaming pot.

The bright red broth, large chunks of beef brisket, and bright green scallions are sprinkled on top.

Even from two steps away, the heat wafted towards me, and the aroma was irresistible.

Her throat involuntarily moved.

"Am I... going to your place?"

"You can give it a try."

Li Lizhi lifted her foot and took a step forward.

Toes touching the dividing line —

That resistance still exists.

He gently stopped her.

She still can't get over it.

Li Lizhi's expression visibly faltered for a moment.

"It's okay if you can't come over." Lu Chen had already started picking up the bowl. "I'll bring it over to you."

He took a clean bowl from the kitchen.

First, I filled a bowl with noodles, poured on the tomato and beef brisket broth, and then placed three large pieces of beef brisket on top of the noodles.

Finally, I sprinkled some chopped green onions on top.

Red, white, and green colors, steaming hot.

Lu Chen carried the bowl to the dividing line, his arm passing through the invisible barrier, and handed it to Li Lizhi.

"Be careful, it's hot."

Li Lizhi accepted the bowl with both hands.

She had never seen the material of the bowl before—it was white, smooth, lighter than a ceramic bowl, but not like porcelain.

But she doesn't have time to examine the bowl right now.

Because the moment you hold it in your hand, the aroma hits you right in the head.

She looked down at the bowl.

This was a food completely unfamiliar to her.

Long noodles are soaked in red broth.

The broth was thick and glistened on the noodles.

Several pieces of dark brown meat were nestled between the noodles, stewed until tender and mushy, trembling at the slightest touch of chopsticks.

There was also some red pulp—the tomatoes had melted into the soup, but still retained some of the texture of the fruit pieces.

The bowl of noodles was steaming hot, emitting a savory aroma that sent shivers down your spine.

"What...is this?"

Tomato and beef brisket noodles.

"Tomato?" Li Lizhi had never heard of this word before.

"There's a kind of fruit, sweet and sour, that you probably didn't have back then—try it first."

Lu Chen handed her a pair of chopsticks.

Li Lizhi hesitated for a moment before taking the chopsticks.

She picked up a piece of noodles with her chopsticks first.

The noodles were stained a light red by the broth and coated with a rich tomato and beef brisket sauce.

Li Lizhi blew on it and put it in her mouth.

The moment the noodles touch your mouth—

She stopped moving.

Lu Chen watched the changes in her expression.

First came surprise.

Then came disbelief.

Finally—it's a kind of satisfaction that you try hard to control but can't control no matter what you do.

For a princess who had been eating Tang Dynasty imperial cuisine since childhood, this bowl of noodles was a complete sensory bombardment.

There was no stir-frying in the Tang Dynasty.

There were no tomatoes in the Tang Dynasty.

The seasonings available in the Tang Dynasty consisted of only a few types, such as salt, vinegar, soy sauce, and honey, and their quality was completely different from that of 1,400 years later.

Not to mention modern soy sauce, oyster sauce, cooking wine, and thirteen-spice powder.

So when this bowl of noodles entered Li Lizhi's mouth—

Sweet and sour tomatoes, rich beef, savory broth, and smooth noodles—

All the flavors explode at the same time.

It was an unprecedented feast for the senses.

Li Lizhi chewed twice.

Swallow it.

Then, without saying a word, he picked up his second chopstick.

The third bite.

Lu Chen served himself a bowl and moved a small stool to sit on his side of the dividing line.

The two were separated by an invisible line; one sat in a computer chair, and the other sat on the edge of a mahogany carved bed.

One uses disposable chopsticks.

He used the other pair of the only two pairs of bamboo chopsticks his family had.

Everyone eats their own food.

No one spoke.

After a long silence, Li Lizhi finally spoke in a muffled voice.

"What kind of meat is this?"

"beef."

"Why is it completely different from what the imperial kitchen makes?"

"The cooking methods are different, and the seasonings are different too. You don't have tomatoes where you are, nor do you have the spices I use."

Li Lizhi remained silent for a moment.

"……Um."

Then he continued eating his noodles with his head down.

She ate slowly, but she took each bite very seriously.

Not a single noodle was left.

Not a single piece of beef brisket was left.

In the end, they even drank most of the soup.

When she put down the bowl, Li Lizhi's expression was complicated.

Yes, it is satisfactory.

It was shocking.

There was also a very subtle sense of resentment.

As a princess of the Tang Dynasty, served by dozens of chefs in the imperial kitchen, this was the best meal she had ever eaten in her life—

It was made by a man of unknown origin in the tiny kitchen of a rented room.

Li Lizhi handed the bowl and chopsticks back to Lu Chen.

"The craftsmanship is acceptable."

She paused.

"If the imperial kitchen still doesn't suit my taste tomorrow..."

Lu Chen took the bowl, suppressing a laugh.

"Don't worry, I'll make more."

Li Lizhi hummed in agreement and turned to walk back to her dressing table.

With her back to him, the tips of her ears turned bright red.

…………