Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

The eldest princess arrived early today.

She made thorough preparations, determined to invite Shen Qing to the princess's residence to cook a meal for her deceased daughter.

As soon as the restaurant doors opened, she excitedly rushed to Shen Qing's side.

"Lady Shen, this list contains all the rare and precious treasures I've collected. Just cook one meal at the Princess's residence, and I'll give you all of these. I can even go to the palace and petition the Emperor to bestow upon you the title of Princess or County Princess. All you have to do is cook one meal!"

The princess's eyes were filled with pleading. After returning home yesterday, she racked her brains and made a list of all the treasures she could offer.

Her daughter had a hard life, and she wanted her daughter to taste Shen Niangzi's cooking even in the afterlife.

Shen Qing didn't even glance at the list; the moment the Princess appeared, she looked at Gu Qionghua.

Gu Qionghua's gaze remained fixed on the eldest princess, her eyes filled with anticipation, excitement, and intense longing.

She desperately longed for the princess to notice her and feel sorry for her.

But no, the princess's expectant and excited gaze was all on Shen Qing.

"Lady Shen, besides these, what else do you want? I'm begging you..."

"We don't need these things," Shen Qing interrupted the princess. "I agree."

"You agreed??" The eldest princess was taken aback.

She thought it would take a long time, but she achieved her goal very easily.

This rendered her carefully prepared explanation useless.

"Yes, after the restaurant closes today, I will go directly to the princess's residence."

Hearing Shen Qing's affirmative answer, the princess was completely relieved and burst into tears of joy: "Thank you, thank you so much."

"My Zhaohua will definitely thank you, Lady Shen, you are such a kind person."

"I wouldn't call myself a super nice person," Shen Qing chuckled. She didn't elaborate, instead asking, "Would you like a serving of today's new spicy hot pot?"

"Here, have one. I could smell the aroma from outside!"

The princess's eyes were filled with joy; with no more worries, all she could think about was her craving.

Shen Qing worked swiftly, and in no time, a fragrant and spicy hot pot was served to the princess.

A spicy and savory aroma, mixed with the savory scent of stir-fried meat, wafted into the nostrils, quickly capturing everyone's attention.

Even someone as calm and composed as the eldest princess was stunned at this moment.

Vibrant green cilantro, deep reddish-brown slices of meat, slightly charred potato slices...

All the ingredients were soaked in chili oil, and white sesame seeds were scattered everywhere.

"Sparkling drinks are refreshing and can help relieve the spiciness. I suggest you buy one; it goes perfectly with the spicy hot pot," Shen Qing kindly advised.

After all, Gu Qionghua had been eyeing the Princess for quite some time.

"well!"

The princess couldn't control herself at all. She agreed verbally, but her body betrayed her by carrying the spicy hot pot to a table on the side.

They couldn't wait even a moment and started eating right away.

In this bowl of spicy hot pot, the most eye-catching ingredient is the prawns.

The shrimp shells were soaked in red oil, glistening and translucent, like the orange-red hue of a sunset.

The shell on the back of the shrimp is slightly cracked, and the exposed shrimp meat is covered with red oil.

Pick up a shrimp and gently bite it with your teeth.

click-

The shrimp shells broke almost effortlessly.

The red oil oozes out, the spiciness spreads across the tongue, the shrimp meat is firm and elastic, and a sweet taste appears in the mouth, mixing with the numbing spiciness, making it irresistible.

"It's numbing, spicy, and fragrant—no wonder it's called Mala Xiang Guo (Spicy Hot Pot)." The princess squinted her eyes, enjoying the experience while exclaiming.

Yesterday she thought pizza was the best food in the world.

But today, this spicy hot pot has directly replaced pizza.

No, that's not right. It can't be said to replace it; it's in the same place as pizza.

This Lady Shen is truly remarkable.

I couldn't resist taking a few more bites.

It's spicy and numbing, and I feel a bit thirsty.

Remembering Shen Qing's recommendation, the princess stood up and walked towards the sparkling drink stall.

Gu Qionghua tensed up immediately, and her hands became somewhat flustered.

The task Xiao Mo assigned her was not difficult; it was simply washing lemons and peaches.

But at this moment, the lemons and peaches in the basin seemed to have grown legs, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hold them.

"One peach oolong sparkling drink." The princess's voice rang out from above.

Gu Qionghua subconsciously lowered her head even further, staring intently at the fruit in the basin while haphazardly washing it with her hands in the water.

She desperately wanted the princess to see her, but the more she hoped, the less she dared to look up.

Wouldn't her mother be shocked? Wouldn't she wonder why she came here, and would she ask her with concern?

What should she say then?

She could admit her mistake first. Yes, she should admit her mistake. She shouldn't have compared herself to her deceased sister, and she shouldn't have touched a raw nerve with her mother.

Then she would tell her the whole story about the transaction, and her mother would surely pity and feel sorry for her...

"Your peach oolong sparkling drink." It was Xiao Mo's voice.

"Thank you." It was the eldest princess's voice.

Immediately afterwards, footsteps sounded.

"Honey grapefruit sparkling drink, I want honey grapefruit sparkling drink!!" came the voice of an unfamiliar man, filled with excitement and anticipation.

Mother...is gone?

Gu Qionghua slowly raised her head and only saw the back of the eldest princess.

She took her sparkling drink, sat back down, and sipped the spicy hot pot in one go, seemingly thoroughly enjoying herself.

So...her mother never noticed her.

She stood right in front of her mother, but her mother didn't recognize her.

Although she had changed her clothes and abandoned her flamboyant and glamorous makeup, her whole body was covered in dust, a stark contrast to her usual image.

But that's her mother. What mother wouldn't recognize her own daughter?

Large tears rolled down and fell into the basin of water.

Gu Qionghua vigorously rubbed the peaches in the basin of water, so hard that she even crushed them.

It was as if she was venting all her grievances and pain on the peach in her hand.

Her mother didn't care about her.

Or rather, her mother never cared about her at all.

That's why her mother didn't recognize her at that moment.

Ironically, she had been nervous for a long time, imagining her mother's reaction after recognizing her.

Even her mother might not have noticed that she hadn't returned home last night...

Because I don't love her, I don't care; because I don't care, I don't care what she does.

"Don't wash anymore, go and rest in the back," Xiao Mo said quickly upon seeing this.

Oh, peaches, sweet and fragrant peaches, the peaches have rotted!

She couldn't possibly use rotten peaches to make drinks for her guests.

Looks like I'll have to cut down on another peach oolong sparkling drink today.

Oh well, this princess is pitiful.

......