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

The sounds of string and wind instruments drifted from the Golden Palace, and the dancers' steps were exquisite.

But nobody appreciated it.

The emperor lay blankly on the soft couch, his eyes vacant.

"Madam Shen, Madam Shen, isn't Madam Shen too slow...?" he murmured unconsciously to himself.

I'm numb, I'm numb from waiting.

He'd had enough of all the singing, dancing, and games; all he could think about now was Shen Niangzi's food.

The ministers were equally infatuated, their eyes fixed on the entrance of the hall, hoping that the familiar figure would appear.

Sighs came one after another.

The entire Golden Palace was plunged into an unprecedented atmosphere of depression.

Zhao Gou wiped the sweat from his forehead, and it kept flowing down his face.

Why hasn't Madam Shen arrived yet at this hour?

Moreover, the eunuch he sent to gather information has not returned.

What exactly is going on now?

If Your Majesty doesn't get to eat Lady Shen's food today, then things have really gone awry!

Zhao Gou was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, his mind racing, but he dared not move.

The atmosphere on the field was extremely heavy. If it weren't for the decadent music playing, one would have thought that a national mourning had taken place.

Just then, a young eunuch secretly slipped up to Zhao Gou:

"Grandmother, Madam Shen has gone to the East Palace gate."

Good heavens, finally some news has arrived, although it's not the kind of news he wanted at all.

His Majesty was absolutely certain that Lady Shen would come to the Golden Palace. He had been waiting here all day. How was he supposed to tell His Majesty now?

"Sister, sister, you don't care about my life or death at all..." Zhao Gou said with a bitter face and his voice was very soft.

Under the cover of the sounds of string and wind instruments, no one could hear him at all.

In an instant, the corners of his mouth turned up again, and a smile returned to his face.

Never mind, sister, it couldn't have been intentional.

This is all His Majesty's fault. Why did he have to come up with this random stall arrangement? And even if he did it, he couldn't figure it out.

"Your Majesty." Zhao Gou walked to the emperor's side.

"What? Lady Shen is here?" The emperor jumped up again as if he had risen from the dead.

"Your Majesty, Lady Shen has gone to the East Palace gate."

"What? How is this possible? Wasn't it supposed to be unexpected? The unexpected thing should be the Golden Palace!!!" The emperor shouted, like a child questioning the rules of the game.

Zhao Gou: "..."

Sigh, there's nothing I can do, I still have to coax her.

"Your Majesty, none of us guessed this; isn't that what makes it unexpected?"

"This shows that Madam Shen is incredibly capable, even more so than expected."

"Your Majesty, I heard that Lady Shen has launched a new product today, perhaps we should..."

The emperor was extremely disappointed and even a little angry at his misjudgment.

But the moment Shen Qing's new products were mentioned, his desire for food completely took over.

What's there to be disappointed about? What's there to be angry about? Nothing is more important than enjoying Lady Shen's delicious food.

"Let's go, prepare the carriage for the Eastern Palace! Prepare the carriage for the Eastern Palace!!!"

The emperor was eager to leave, but the court officials looked miserable.

They want to eat too, who will take care of them?

"Your Majesty, please take me with you!" someone shouted.

Immediately afterwards, the voices of the ministers rang out:

"I second that proposal!"

"I second that proposal!!!"

Zhao Gou couldn't help but roll his eyes: Second what? Madam Shen only has five portions, and there are so many people, are you crazy?

"Your Majesty, we must hurry. Lady Shen has only five servings left at the East Palace gate. What if someone else buys them first..."

Zhao Gou said this in order to keep his share of food.

The emperor was completely preoccupied with food and couldn't think straight. He kept walking and muttering incoherently, "Whatever, whatever."

"Anything is fine."

Zhao Gou: "???"

The ministers: "???"

In the blink of an eye, the emperor had already rushed out of the Golden Palace.

It was obvious that he could no longer suppress his desire to eat delicious food.

Zhao Gou then jogged after him.

The ministers looked at each other, completely at a loss for what to do.

"Whatever" and "anything is fine" are two words that really make one hesitate.

"Keep up."

Pei Yuan remained calm as always, and strode out of the Golden Palace.

The ministers: "..."

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and catch up, or you won't even get a scrap!" Yan Wenli shouted and quickly followed.

Even the Grand Secretary isn't afraid, so why should he be afraid of anything?

When the sky falls, there's always someone tall enough to hold it up.

Upon seeing this, the officials immediately sprang into action.

"Wait for me!"

"I want to go too!"

"Hurry up, hurry up, even scraps will do."

"Yes, yes, maybe we can snatch one from that dead eunuch."

"..."

The court officials disregarded decorum and rushed out like a flock of sheep.

The emperor was at the very front, completely absorbed in the delicious food, his mind free of any distractions.

Almost at top speed, the group rushed to the East Palace.

Upon arriving at the East Palace, they saw:

Crown Prince Nangong Jing seemed to have gone mad, gripping Nangong Yao tightly with one hand while reaching out with the other as if trying to snatch something.

He was still shouting, "Roll up cold noodles, roll up cold noodles, roll up cold noodles, give me some rolled-up cold noodles!"

"I want to roll up cold skin noodles! I want to roll up cold skin noodles! I want to roll up cold skin noodles!!!"

Nangong Yao struggled and dodged, but Nangong Jing never managed to snatch the item from her hand.

The empress, standing nearby, was furious. She stomped her feet repeatedly, shouting, "Insolence! Insolence!"

"How dare you!!"

"What kind of behavior is this! Stop it right now!!"

Shen Qing, Su Jiao'er, and the others stared wide-eyed, their expressions clearly showing their shock.

The scene was quite bizarre, but even so, it did not affect the emperor's enjoyment of the food.

He ignored the bizarre scene before him and rushed straight to Shen Qing's stall:

"Lady Shen, I've finally found you! I want one, I want one..." He was panting heavily as he ran.

Shen Qing: "I'm sorry, we're out of food today. My stall is sold out. Your Majesty, please come back tomorrow."

"Gone? How could it be gone? I don't believe it!!!!" the emperor shouted in shock.

The shouts echoed through the sky.

Su Jiao'er and the others were stunned; they had never seen the emperor like this before.

The shout was so loud, it must have been done with all its might. After all, the emperor was in poor health, and that shout might have made someone dizzy.

Moreover, Madam Shen's composure was too remarkable. She remained expressionless, as if she hadn't heard a thing.

They were completely unafraid of being scolded by the emperor.

"That's all." Shen Qing remained calm, showing no fear whatsoever.

Setting up a stall was something the emperor enjoyed; it was normal for him to sell out, so she had no reason to be afraid.

"Yes, who!" The emperor glared, gritting his teeth, clearly ready to settle scores.

Who exactly ate all his food?

Just then, a soft, sweet voice rang out:

"Brother, please don't take it! This roll of cold noodles was reserved for Father. Please don't take it."

"The rolled cold noodles are so delicious, I'd like Father to try them too. Brother, could you have them another day?"