If you want to survive after transmigrating, become the male protagonist's new mother.

Gao Gao kept chirping in the bag on Pei Yuening's chest.

"Master, you smell so good! It's a very pure scent."

"Huh?" Pei Yuening lowered her head and sniffed. "No, but it's probably because I've been holding that unicorn the whole time."

"Unicorn!! I want to pet a unicorn too!!"

"Next time I take you, you're not allowed to scare them."

"How could I possibly scare anyone! I'm a flower fairy loved by everyone, admired by flowers, and even chased by cars!! I'm the most popular person wherever I go!!"

Pei Yuening's head was buzzing from her noise: "Ah, yes, yes, yes, ah, right, right, right."

He turned to look at Ye Jiyun.

Ye Jiyun leaned against the other side of the carriage, her profile bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun outside the window.

The contours of her eyebrows and eyes are still so beautiful.

But Pei Yuening suddenly noticed that Ye Jiyun seemed a little tired in his eyes.

I haven't been sleeping well these past few days.

Pei Yuening was puzzled, so she tilted her head and said, "Brother."

"Um?"

"Didn't you get enough rest?"

Ye Jiyun paused slightly, then smiled and said, "Really?"

"Yes," Pei Yuening frowned, "Your eyes are all dark circles."

Ye Jiyun raised her hand to touch the corner of her eye and said casually, "I guess I haven't had enough sleep these past few days because I've been so busy."

"What matter?" Pei Yuening pressed.

Ye Jiyun glanced at him, seemingly considering how to answer.

"There are some things to take care of at the Privy Council," he said. "They're not big things, just trivial and troublesome."

Pei Yuening stared at him for two seconds.

Ye Jiyun spoke as usual, and her smile showed no flaws, but Pei Yuening felt that something was off.

Ye Jiyun in the original novel didn't seem to be this busy, did he?

And what about the Privy Council?

In the original novel, Ye Jiyun didn't have much interaction with the Privy Council.

He thought about it and realized that he really couldn't remember what Ye Jiyun was busy with at this stage in the original work.

Because Ye Jiyun's role in the original novel was already small, aside from appearing "heartbroken" when Pei Yuening was sentenced to hanging and saying a few words when he was humiliated, he was basically just a background character.

Ye Jiyun says he's currently busy with matters concerning the Privy Council.

The Privy Council, isn't that directly under the emperor's command?

He's in a very high position and has a lot of power...

Pei Yuening: "...Oh."

He didn't ask any more questions.

Ye Jiyun couldn't say, so he didn't ask.

Everyone has times when they can't speak, and he understands that.

The carriage continued forward, its wheels making rhythmic sounds as they rolled over the stone pavement.

Gao Gao had quieted down at some point, nestled in Pei Yuening's pocket, her little head nodding as if she were about to fall asleep.

Pei Yuening looked at the street scene flashing past the window and suddenly asked, "What would you like to eat for dinner, brother?"

Ye Jiyun turned her head to look at him: "I'll eat whatever you make."

"You don't have much of an appetite today, do you?" Pei Yuening said.

Ye Jiyun paused for a moment.

"I feel your cheeks have gotten a little thinner, though you're still handsome, right?" Pei Yuening said. "But really, something's not right."

Ye Jiyun was silent for a moment, as if she hadn't expected Pei Yuening to notice this.

"...Perhaps a little," he said.

After eating Pei Yuening's cooking, the meals that were sent to their homes out of compassion from the palace... were really hard to swallow.

Ye Jiyun even suspected that Qin Shuxing might have done it on purpose.

Pei Yuening: "Then I'll take another look tonight and make you something refreshing and appetizing."

Ye Jiyun smiled and said, "Okay."

In fact, Pei Yuening can make anything; as long as it's made by him, Ye Jiyun knows it will definitely taste good.

It wasn't completely dark when we returned to Winster Manor.

Pei Yuening changed her clothes and took Gao Gao into the kitchen, while Ye Jiyun went to the study to rest.

"Your Grace, please take a short nap so you can be in the best possible condition to enjoy my delicious meal."

Pei Yuening put his hands on his hips and said, "This is respect, respect!"

Ye Jiyun stood at the kitchen door, hesitant to speak, but was eventually asked to leave by the housekeeper.

Standing on the kitchen counter, Gao Gao flapped her wings loudly: "Master, Master! I'll get you some shrimp!"

"You can't lift it."

"Then I'll peel it for you!"

"You peeled it worse than a dog chewed it."

"..." Gao Gao put her hands on her hips: "Give me another chance, I'm sure I can do it!"

"If all else fails, shall I use magic?"

"I don't want that either." Pei Yuening ignored her and started working.

The shrimp in the Duke's mansion's inventory are A-grade magical beasts; one of them is the size of a real Australian lobster.

Moreover, the shell was a bit hard. Pei Yuening stubbornly insisted for a while, but in the end, he still let Gao Gao use magic to break down the shell directly.

Gao Gao expressed her incomprehension: "Why didn't you do this earlier?!"

Pei Yuening continued to ignore her.

Peel and devein the shrimp, mash them into a paste, add egg white and starch, and stir clockwise until well combined.

He also added minced salmon and caviar (I think?) to enhance the texture.

Once they become sticky, blanch them to take shape and slide them into hot water one spoonful at a time.

Before long, the shrimp paste started to float to the surface.

Gao Gao leaned over the pot, drooling almost dripping into it.

"It smells so good!!!"

Pei Yuening pushed her back a little: "Don't fall in, or you'll turn into a shrimp-flavored flower fairy."

"What does that taste like...?"

"It smells like a flower fairy."

“…………”

A tired, overused trope.

Once the shrimp paste was cooked, Pei Yuening put it in a bowl for later use.

Next, boil water again and cook the noodles.

Actually, the instant noodles made with advanced technology are the most delicious, but now Pei Yuening can only use the leftover hand-pulled noodles that she ate one night when she was craving them.

Sometimes you just crave that one bite.

Cook the noodles, rinse them with cold water, place them at the bottom of a bowl, top with cucumber strips and a few lemon slices, and then scoop out the shrimp paste and arrange it on top.

Next, the secret-recipe hot and sour sauce.

Vinegar, light soy sauce, a pinch of sugar, chili oil, minced garlic, and white sesame seeds.

Pour on—

Finally, drizzle a spoonful of hot oil over it with a sizzling sound.

Spicy and sour shrimp noodles, done.

Pei Yuening breathed a sigh of relief.

He packed two bowls, one large and one small, into a food box and handed them to Gao Gao, while he carried the tray upstairs.

He didn't let the housekeeper wake his brother; he wanted to sleep as long as possible.

Pei Yuening knocked on the door, but there was no response.

So he gently opened the door a crack and peeked inside.

Ye Jiyun fell asleep while propping herself up on the table.

Pei Yuening was about to wake him up when she saw Ye Jiyun, whose eyes were closed, twitch her nose.

Then he opened his eyes in a second.

"So fast?"

"Brother, you're awake! I was about to go in and call you again."

Pei Yuening smiled, walked in casually, placed the tray on the table, and handed over a pair of chopsticks: "Here, eat it while it's cold."

Ye Jiyun looked down.

The shrimp paste is white and tender, the cucumber strips are bright green, the lemon slices are golden, and the aroma of the hot and sour sauce mixed with the smell of minced garlic and cilantro wafts straight into your nose.

...Sure enough, those things in the palace were all...

What?!

He picked up his chopsticks, took a shrimp paste, and put it in his mouth.

It's tender and bouncy, with a tangy and spicy flavor that whets the appetite, and when you bite into it, the fish roe bursts out.

It has an exceptionally rich flavor.

"...Delicious." That was all he managed to say.

Although her movements remained elegant, she ate the noodles without making a sound, and the soup did not splash everywhere due to her movements.

But Pei Yuening sensed an urgency in his voice.

He couldn't help but laugh, then lowered his head and took a deep, epic gulp of his bowl of wine.

Cool!!