Chapter 20: CH 9.1

Gluttonous Crown Princess Chapter 9.1

As soon as they returned to the Eastern Palace, rain began to pour.

The sky was gloomy, and even the palace was much darker as a result; before four in the afternoon, the palace was alight with candles.

Pei Yan returned to his Zixia Hall, while Tao Ti lay on the couch like a salted fish.

In her ears was the pitter-patter of rain hitting the window lattice. Her mouth bulged with the osmanthus chestnut pastries she was eating to pad her stomach a little. Without taking a break, she ate another plate of steamed sweet custard. Her hands and mouth were full of a sweet milk fragrance from all the eating.

Seeing the way Crown Princess was eating, Linglong couldn’t help thinking: Had Marquis Yong Wei not arranged for a banquet? How could they let the crown princess go so hungry?

After a moment’s hesitation, she asked respectfully, “Crown Princess, should dinner still be prepared as usual?”

Tao Ti gave an “Mm” in reply, then, after thinking about it, added, “Ask the Kitchens to prepare something heavier, my diet doesn’t need to be so light.”

Linglong was momentarily taken aback, then immediately bowed and answered, “Understood.”

About an hour later, the sky outside had gone completely dark. Exquisite palace lanterns hung along the corridors, and Pei Yan and dinner arrived at Yaoguang Hall one after another.

As the crown prince had come, the dishes tonight were still mostly light, but with Tao Ti’s instructions, there was the addition of richly-sauced braised duck wings on the table.

Rich, thick sauce enveloped the fleshy duck wings evenly; topped with a layer of tender green spring onion and coriander, the dish emitted an attractive sheen in the warm yellow candlelight, overflowing with fragrance.

Tao Ti picked up a piece and put it into her mouth. With a little bite, the duck meat melted on the tip of her tongue; even the bones have been braised till they were brittle and flavoursome. The aromatic sauce contained a faint sweetness, making the duck meat all the more tender and delicious.

Even though it wasn’t the spicy dish she was hoping for, the dish went very well with rice, and she ate two big bowls of it with just this dish of sauce-braised duck wings.

Seeing how happily she was eating, Pei Yan couldn’t help asking, “Is this dish that delicious?”

Tao Ti wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief and said, “Sauce-braised duck wings are actually not difficult to make, but one has to be able to control the heat well. This standard is already pretty good.”

Pei Yan eyebrows raised slightly, “‘Pretty good’? Have you eaten a tastier one than this elsewhere? “

When it comes to food, Tao Ti was full of energy, and even her eyes were shining, “What I make is tastier than this.”

Pei Yan was slightly stunned, “You… can cook?”

Tao Ti black eyes blinked, and her fair face bore a trace of pride, “Yup, I’ll let you try my cooking when I have the chance.”

Hearing this, the palace attendants in the hall all became a little disdainful. The chefs in the Eastern Palace were all imperial chefs carefully selected and assigned by the emperor. It was already rather impressive for aristocratic ladies like her who never had the need to touch the slightest bit of housework to be able to make a few types of pastries. She really was something else to dare open her mouth and compare herself with the imperial chefs so shamelessly.

If she’s so great, why doesn’t she just go to Heaven!

After dinner, Pei Yan read at the table with a volume in his hand. Tao Ti did not disturb him, and leaned back on the long couch, reading a storybook herself.

As spring rain fell continuously outside the window, candlelight swayed inside the room, illuminating the tranquillity and peace within.

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When it grew deeper into the night, Fu Xirui entered with the medicinal decoction as usual.

Tao Ti was originally a little drowsy from looking at the densely packed traditional characters, but as soon as she smelled the bitter medicinal smell, she got up immediately from the couch——he was about to take his medicine.

Pei Yan tilted his head and drank the medicine in one go. He was about to put down the bowl when he saw the little maiden standing obediently before him with a box in her hands.

“Finished drinking?” Tao Ti opened the box in her hands, took out a piece of honeyed kumquat, and brought it straight to his lips, “Come, open up.”

This feeding action shocked all the palace attendants; Fu Xirui said hurriedly, “Crown Princess, you...”

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the crown prince glance mildly at the candied fruit, then opened his mouth cooperatively.

The palace attendants, “!!!”

“You have to chew it to let the sweet and sour taste come out so the bitter taste of the medicine can be suppressed.” Tao Ti looked at him with a face full of concern, “How is it? It’s not so bitter anymore after eating the candied fruit, right?”

Pei Yan swallowed the honeyed kumquat in a slow and leisurely manner, then said with a smile, “Mm, it’s not bitter anymore.”

“That’s good.” Tao Ti’s brows also relaxed. She placed the box of honeyed preserves on the table and added in way of suggestion, “In addition to honeyed kumquats, there’s also candied ginger, dried preserved apples, and dried apricots... How about trying something else?”

“No need, one piece is just fine.”

Tao Ti looked at him in surprise; she rolled her gleaming black eyes upwards in thought, then asked, “Your Highness, do you not like sweet things?”

Pei Yan said warmly, “It’s usually fine, but this candied fruit is a little too sweet for me.”

Too sweet? Tao Ti looked down at the preserves in the four-compartment box, reached out and took a honeyed kumquat and put it into her mouth.

After biting down, she couldn’t help frowning. Did the sugar in the Sweet Preserves Bureau cost nothing? This thing was so sickeningly sweet, how could the refreshing sour-sweetness of kumquats be tasted at all?

Then, she tried a few other things; they were all way too sweet.

With a grimace on her little face, Tao Ti nodded glumly and said, “It is a little too sweet.”

Seeing her like this, Pei Yan comforted softly, “You’ve specially prepared honeyed preserves for me, I appreciate it very much…”

“It’s nothing much. I promised you I’d prepare it, so I won’t go back on my word.” Tao Ti pulled out a smile and reached out to close the box of preserves. “It’s better to not eat anymore, too many sweet things at night can easily cause cavities.”

While Pei Yan was washing up, Tao Ti took the opportunity to ask all the palace maids in the hall to taste the candied fruit; they all thought it tasted good, and didn’t find it too sweet.

Hearing these answers, Tao Ti gave the box of preserves to the palace maids to share, thinking inwardly, Perhaps the people of the Great Yuan dynasty liked sweet things, so the palace’s Sweet Preserves Bureau also made them to suit mainstream tastes?

As of now, it seemed that Pei Yan’s taste was quite close to her own. Mm, she had to find a way to get some preserves that were less sweet to better go with his medicine.

*****

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