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

"Lord Yan is right." Minister of Works Xin Heng nodded. "His Majesty is already so incompetent. I dare not imagine that if the Crown Prince were to ascend the throne, the people's lives would become even more unbearable."

He simply didn't want to be forced to build palaces anymore.

The Ministry of Works had too many tasks. Besides building palaces, it also had to repair waterways, build dikes, control floods and droughts, construct border fortresses, build beacon towers, and repair roads and bridges...

Every task requires a large number of people.

However, the emperor would suddenly decide to build palaces on a whim, and even set deadlines for construction, forcing the Ministry of Works to put aside important matters and rush to build the palaces.

The palace was beautifully built, but there was absolutely no manpower or funding to do things like flood control, drought relief, and river repair.

In the end, it is only the common people who suffer, and the Ministry of Works will also be criticized.

He'd had enough of this pathetic life!

"I agree with both of you. The court is rotten to the core. For Lady Shen's sake, and for the sake of the people, we should fight to the bitter end!"

Wang Shoucheng, the Minister of Personnel, stroked his beard and said with a firm gaze.

The Ministry of Personnel is in a difficult position too. Ever since His Majesty opened the door to selling official positions for money, the Ministry of Personnel has never had a moment of peace.

The imperial court was in complete chaos, with all sorts of people getting into it.

It's absolutely infuriating.

Minister of Rites Zhou Chongdian frowned: "But...but His Majesty only has one son, the Crown Prince. If we rebel, who will succeed to the throne?"

"There's an even more important problem: all these civil officials are discussing this here, but without soldiers, it's all for nothing."

Yes, they were a bunch of civil officials; no matter how capable they were, they were useless without troops.

Yan Wenli hurriedly said, "My father-in-law is a general. With his prestige and influence, it will definitely work. He was very keen to recognize Madam Shen as his goddaughter. I'll have my wife talk to him, and we'll definitely be able to bring him into our rebellion."

"General Tao is so old, and he hasn't commanded troops for many years. Are you sure you can handle it? Don't let him get killed." Zhou Chongdian didn't think much of Yan Wenli's suggestion.

General Tao now only has the title of general and a few dozen soldiers in his mansion, but nothing else.

As for his prestige and influence, they are no longer what they used to be.

There's a reason why the current emperor, despite being so incompetent, can still hold onto his throne.

The generals on the frontier and the guards in the imperial city were basically related to the emperor, and their fates were intertwined.

More importantly, the emperor also had a hidden army that was elusive yet incredibly brave, with each soldier capable of taking on a hundred men.

In short, although the emperor indulged in pleasure and neglected state affairs, he held tight control over the military and never let go of it.

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

This is difficult, extremely difficult.

Just then, Pei Yuan spoke up: "Prince Chun is kind and honest, and the heir is intelligent and quick-witted; they are both capable of being a wise ruler."

"As for the army, the people have long been dissatisfied with the emperor. In recent years, there have been frequent uprisings and rebellions. We can contact the rebel army on the one hand and recruit soldiers in various places on the other."

"At the same time, send people to the border to spread the absurd things the emperor and the crown prince have done among the generals and soldiers, in order to win their support."

"Of course, the most important thing is the emperor's secret army. The secret army also needs to eat and needs supplies. We can follow the clues and gradually dismantle the emperor's power."

"Moreover, there are many things we civil officials can do in the imperial court..."

Pei Yuan spoke a long string of words, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

It was as if he had already made all the plans for a rebellion.

Yan Wenli stared wide-eyed: "No? Your Excellency, did you plan this all along? You weren't planning a rebellion all along, were you??"

Pei Yuan rolled his eyes at Yan Wenli: "No."

Yan Wenli: "..."

Why doesn't he believe it?

"If only Lady Shen hadn't gone to the palace, all those soldiers on the border would be drooling with envy after eating her food, and we wouldn't have had to go through all that trouble..."

"There are no 'what ifs' anymore. Let's hurry, otherwise, who knows how long Madam Shen will be locked up in the palace."

"That's right, that's right. Madam Shen must not be used to being with those palace maids and eunuchs. She probably can't even sleep well at night."

"..."

Meanwhile, Shen Qing lay comfortably on the large bed in the Treasure Pavilion.

She dismissed all the maids who served her and lay alone on the soft bed.

To be honest, the bedding in the palace is so comfortable. I don't know what it's made of, but it's so soft and smooth that you can't help but want to roll around on it.

If only her kitten were here at that moment.

Shen Qing habitually opened the system.

[Ding—Congratulations, host, for completing today's restaurant management task.]

[Ding—Congratulations, host, you have successfully unlocked a new product category: Braised Pork Intestine Noodles]

Braised pork intestines with noodles.

This is a must-have noodle dish for those who love strong flavors.

However, it seems that the people in the palace don't eat this kind of fatty intestine; only ordinary people in the city would.

Firstly, they disliked the fishy smell of pork intestines, and secondly, they felt it was not presentable enough for formal occasions.

But no matter, with her culinary skills and the seasonings provided by the system, she's sure to make these royals fall in love with braised pork intestine noodles.

[Given that the host is currently in the royal palace, the system will temporarily change the unlocking conditions for new items. A new item will be unlocked once for every two new royal members conquered.]

[In addition, the host must specifically state to outsiders that all dishes are from Zhiwei Restaurant.]

Shen Qing's eyes lit up.

This system is quite thoughtful; all the dishes come from Zhiwei Restaurant, which also increases Zhiwei Restaurant's reputation in the palace.

That's great.

One night passed.

The next day, Shen Qing still slept until she naturally woke up.

She once said that she only cooked one meal for the emperor each day, so she could get up whenever she wanted.

After slowly tidying up, Shen Qing went to the imperial kitchen.

"Madam Shen!"

"Madam Shen, you've arrived!!"

"Madam Shen, you've finally arrived!!!"

"..."

The imperial chefs' eyes lit up. Although each of them had only tasted a small bite of yesterday's fried rice, they would never forget the wonderful taste.

If I could learn even one or two of these moves from Madam Shen, I would have a skill to make a living for the rest of my life.

Of course, Sun An and Li Fuquan still didn't see eye to eye or nose to nose.

It was as if someone owed them money.

"Madam Shen, what are we going to cook today? What do we need to prepare?" Wang Erdan asked from the side.

He was incredibly excited.

As someone who works as an assistant, he might even get to eat Shen Niangzi's food today.

Shen Qing looked around and his gaze fell on the pot of pig intestines next to him that hadn't been thrown away yet.

"I'll make braised pork intestine noodles today!"