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

"Your Majesty, you..." Xiao Lan was completely dumbfounded.

No? Is that right? Although she was also tempted, she wasn't so tempted that she forgot about her business.

The Empress is right, Consort Li is stupid, extremely stupid.

Consort Li couldn't stop eating, her cheeks bulging as she ate the braised pork intestine noodles. Between chews, she said, "I must say, Madam Shen's braised pork intestine noodles are really delicious."

"It's the only delicious food in the world."

"But she stole your peacock feather veil. She's definitely not ordinary. If she can steal your peacock feather veil this time, she can steal His Majesty's favor next time. You mustn't be foolish!"

Xiao Lan quickly chimed in, urging them on.

Consort Li was in a dilemma: "Yes, I almost forgot about my peacock feather gauze."

"Why does Lady Shen have to compete with me for the Emperor's favor? If only she didn't..."

She wanted to cry. She had finally gotten to eat such delicious food, but it turned out to be made by the enemy.

Why did God treat her this way?

"Your Majesty, it's alright. We can always do it again. Tomorrow, you must find fault with Shen Qing and kick him out of the palace!" Xiao Lan suggested from the side.

Consort Li, on the verge of tears, took another large bite: "But this braised pork intestine noodles is just so delicious..."

"Pork intestines are no good; they're not presentable food. Your Majesty, please don't be confused!"

"And she made you such a huge plate of heavily seasoned noodles; she definitely has ulterior motives. She wants you to gain weight, lose your current beautiful figure, and ultimately achieve her vicious goal!"

"What vicious purpose..." Consort Li raised her wet eyes, with sauce from braised pork intestine noodles still on her lips.

Xiao Lan said with a hint of exasperation, "Of course, we should make His Majesty despise you and banish you to the cold palace!!"

"I don't want to go to the Cold Palace!!" Consort Li was so frightened that she quickly put down her chopsticks and even forgot to refer to herself as "this Empress".

Xiao Lan licked her lips: "It's good that you know how serious it is. You absolutely mustn't eat this braised pork intestine noodles. I'll take it away for you."

As she spoke, she reached out to take away the leftover braised pork intestine noodles that Consort Li had eaten.

No, she couldn't resist. Once it was served, she had to try it.

Being able to look but not eat is pure torture.

"Then...then you can take it away..." Consort Li said reluctantly, but her hands held the plate tightly, showing no intention of letting go.

Xiao Lan reached out and grabbed the other end of the plate, gritting her teeth as she said, "Your Majesty, please don't pull so hard, please let go..."

"Take it away, take it away, my braised pork intestine noodles!"

"Why don't you loosen your grip!"

"I want to loosen my grip, but my hands just won't cooperate."

"..."

After much effort from both of them, Consort Li finally succumbed to her appetite.

"Fine, fine, one meal won't make me gain much weight, so I'll just eat today and indulge myself this once!"

This is entirely about comforting yourself.

Xiao Lan, standing nearby, watched longingly, drool dripping all over the floor.

Good heavens, after all that trouble, not only did we fail to fulfill the Empress's orders, but we also didn't get to eat the braised pork intestine noodles.

Why is she so unlucky?

......

Here, in Chenghua Palace.

Zhao Gou would frequently run to the palace gate to look around, his anticipation for the delicious food reaching its peak.

After looking around countless times, Wang Erdan's adorable and endearing face finally appeared before him.

"Grand Ancestor, His Majesty's lunch has arrived."

"What's today?" Zhao Gou asked expectantly.

"The braised pork intestine noodles, Madam Shen specifically instructed, are from Zhiwei Restaurant."

Fatty intestines? ??? Even the dogs in the palace wouldn't eat that.

Zhao Gou's mind was full of questions, but when he thought about Shen Qing's braised pork intestine noodles, he accepted it in just one second.

"Open it," he said urgently.

Today he will complete the poison testing outside the palace.

Otherwise, you won't get to eat it at all.

Wang Erdan was very obedient and opened the lid directly.

In an instant, a wonderful fragrance hit Zhao Gou's nose like a punch, leaving him completely stunned.

The aroma of pork intestines, the saltiness of the sauce, the spiciness of the garlic, the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns, the sweetness of onions, and so on.

There was also a faint fragrance that he couldn't identify.

Zhao Gou didn't bother to say anything and picked up his chopsticks.

Just as the chopsticks were about to touch the tempting braised pork intestine noodles, a voice suddenly rang out from inside the hall:

"It smells wonderful! I can smell it!! Has Lady Shen's lunch arrived?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gou exclaimed, "Good heavens, does His Majesty have a dog's nose? He can smell things from this far away?"

He couldn't care about anything else; all he could think about was that if he ate any later, there wouldn't be any left to eat.

He quickly picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth.

One chew, and his eyes widened instantly.

Good heavens, how could this be so amazing?

Shen Niangzi has no limits; all her dishes are top-notch!

He quickly picked up another piece of fatty intestine and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Dog!!!" the emperor shouted.

Forget about imperial dignity, he strode towards Zhao Gou's side.

"Don't touch my lunch!!!"

Zhao Gou shuddered, and the fatty intestines went into his mouth smoothly. As his upper and lower teeth touched, the sauce gushed out.

Oh my god, it smells so good.

Pork intestines can smell so good!

Turning to meet the emperor's murderous gaze, he forced a smile and mumbled, "Your Majesty, this servant is testing the poison for you."

"Do I need you to test me? I already said yesterday, cancel the poison testing, cancel it!!!"

"It's different. This is pork intestine. Pork intestine isn't exactly a proper ingredient. This servant meant well." Zhao Gou finally finished chewing and found a perfectly legitimate reason for himself.

Oh dear, it's all thanks to his sister's kindness. She must have wanted him to try it too, which is why she made braised pork intestine noodles.

He couldn't find such a good reason to make any other kind of food.

"Pork intestines??" The emperor was also stunned.

He was so busy protecting his food that he didn't even notice that the dish on the plate was braised pork intestine noodles.

"Why does the pork intestine smell so good?"

In his memory, pork intestines should be smelly and fishy, ​​so how come they smell like this now?

Zhao Gou chuckled: "Then it has to be Madam Shen who's really something."

Wang Erdan, standing nearby, couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, Lady Shen's braised pork intestine noodles are especially delicious. They're not fishy at all, and the sauce is even better—it's incredibly fragrant. You should try it; I guarantee you won't regret it."

When it came to braised pork intestine noodles, Wang Erdan couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly, looking quite pleased.

Zhao Gou's eyes widened: "You've eaten this braised pork intestine noodles before??"

"Yes, I ate a big bowl. Madam Shen said that you have to be well-fed to work well." Wang Erdan patted his round belly, feeling extremely satisfied.

Zhao Gou: "..."

want to cry.

Jealousy, oh jealousy, jealousy has turned him into a completely different person.

Wang Erdan is living too well...

He didn't want to be a chief eunuch anymore; he wanted to work in the imperial kitchen as an assistant to Lady Shen.