Despite Zhenzhen's polite refusal, Zhao Ai insisted on escorting her back to the small kitchen of Phoenix Arrival Pavilion. The banquet at Yan Gui Pai Dang had not yet ended, and it seemed no one from the pavilion had returned. The pile of chaff ash in the floor stove remained untouched, indicating no one had been there.
Zhenzhen then invited Zhao Ai to wait a moment while she retrieved the taro from the ash heap to share with him.
Zhao Ai was also quite intrigued by the taro wrapped in wine-soaked paper. Before Zhenzhen could unwrap it, he reached out to touch it and immediately recoiled, having burned his fingers.
Just then, a noblewoman entered through the door, hurried over to Zhao Ai, and asked with concern, "Did you burn yourself?"
Upon seeing her, Zhao Ai smiled and replied, "Sister, it's nothing serious."
Zhenzhen looked closely and realized it was Consort Li. She quickly rose to bow in greeting. Consort Li examined Zhao Ai's hand, confirmed he was unharmed, and then turned to Zhenzhen, saying gently, "You may rise."
Consort Li glanced at the taro by the floor stove, surveyed the surroundings, quickly located the kitchen towels, selected a clean one, and found a pair of silver chopsticks. She then draped the towel over the lower half of a taro, pressed it down with her left hand, and used the chopsticks in her right hand to peel away the wrapping paper. She extracted the clean taro and handed it to Zhenzhen, instructing her to peel it.
This series of actions was executed with fluidity and speed. Zhenzhen watched in astonishment, completely forgetting that etiquette required her to step forward and offer to assist. It was only when Consort Li spoke, ordering her to peel the taro, that she snapped out of her daze.
"Where did you two go earlier?" Consort Li then asked Zhao Ai, her tone quite gentle, without any hint of reproach. Her gaze toward him was affectionate, filled with care.
"I happened to pass by and saw her alone here roasting taro on such a festive occasion. Feeling sorry for her, I took her to Moon Rock to admire the moon," Zhao Ai explained.
Consort Li nodded, looked meaningfully at Zhenzhen, and said to Zhao Ai, "The banquet hasn't ended yet. I felt a bit weary, so I asked The Emperor for permission to retire early. Passing by the kitchen, I saw the two of you entering together, so I came to check... Second Brother, though you are still young and not yet of age to establish your own residence, living in the palace, you must still exercise caution. If someone with ill intentions witnessed today's events, they might fabricate rumors, saying you secretly met with a palace attendant at night. If such talk reached The Emperor's ears, it would be unfortunate."
Zhao Ai lowered his head, indicating he would heed her advice and not act recklessly in the future. Consort Li then smiled again. "Though you are livelier than your elder brother, I know you are actually very sensible. Many things need not be said repeatedly; you will remember them in your heart."
Zhao Ai nodded. "All these years, I have relied on your care and guidance, Sister. I am deeply grateful."
Consort Li smiled reassuringly and added, "I have ordered several palace attendants to guard the pavilion entrance, forbidding outsiders from approaching or spying. You may rest assured and taste this taro. Judging by the aroma, it must have been roasted wrapped in wine lees. It smells wonderful, and I doubt you've ever tasted anything like it before. Once you've finished, I'll have someone escort you back."
By then, Zhenzhen had peeled one taro, cut it into several pieces, arranged them on a plate, and presented it to them. Zhao Ai invited Consort Li to taste first. After declining twice, she saw that Zhao Ai would not touch his chopsticks unless she ate first. She then picked up a piece and tasted it. A look of delight appeared between her brows as she said, "It is indeed sweeter and more delicious than the usual kind."
Zhao Ai promptly tasted a piece as well and praised it profusely.Seeing their reactions, Zhenzhen was visibly delighted and peeled the remaining taro to offer them. However, Consort Li pulled her to sit beside her, saying, "You've worked hard all day, poor thing, without tasting any of the banquet delicacies. Now you'll have to make do with eating this taro with us. Later, I'll speak to Director Hu about it. In the future, during festivals and events, you mustn't be left alone in the kitchen to find your own food."
She let Zhenzhen and Zhao Ai continue eating the taro while she herself set down her chopsticks and stopped eating, simply smiling as she watched them. Touched by her caring words, Zhenzhen felt deeply grateful and went to her room to fetch some Blooming Wintersweet Tea for the consort to drink.
Consort Li was delighted to see the preserved wintersweet blossoms gradually unfurl in the hot water, and the floral fragrance released by the tea suited her taste perfectly. After taking a sip, she praised it highly, saying, "Drinking this flower tea feels like being in a plum grove—it lifts one's spirits."
Once Zhao Ai finished the taro, Consort Li ordered the eunuch outside the door to escort him back. She herself remained in the kitchen, instructing Zhenzhen to extinguish the chaff fire to prevent any nighttime accidents. Then, she found Director Hu's silver-sleeved apron, tied up her wide sleeves, and proceeded to gather the dishes and teacups they had used, intending to wash them herself.
Startled, Zhenzhen immediately stepped forward to stop her, saying this was her own duty. Consort Li shook her head and replied, "If I help, we can finish sooner, and you can rest earlier. Besides, I've just eaten and need to move around a bit to aid digestion."
Despite Zhenzhen's protests, she insisted on washing the dishes and teacups herself, handling them skillfully and cleaning them thoroughly. When Zhenzhen took them back to put away, she couldn't help but admire the gleaming brightness of the dishes.
Noticing her expression, Consort Li untied her apron and smiled faintly. "You didn't expect me to do these things, did you?"
Zhenzhen, not one for polite flattery, honestly shared her thoughts: "Consort, you're as capable as my mother."
Consort Li's smile deepened instantly. "Thank you for comparing me to your mother."
As she was about to leave the kitchen and return to her quarters, Consort Li glanced back at Zhenzhen and told her, "I was once a palace attendant too."
Later, without Zhenzhen deliberately inquiring, a palace attendant from the Bureau of Palace Provisions mentioned in casual conversation that Consort Li had originally been a maid to the Empress Dowager. She was given to the current emperor when he was still a prince. Initially, the emperor was deeply devoted to his first wife and paid little attention to Consort Li, but she unexpectedly gained great favor when the wife fell critically ill. After the emperor ascended the throne, he posthumously honored his first wife as Empress Anshu, while Consort Li was promoted several times to become a consort. Due to his birth mother's circumstances, the Crown Prince disliked Consort Li and avoided all contact with her except for necessary formalities. In contrast, the second prince, Zhao Ai, was raised by Consort Li after his own mother passed away. Having no children of her own, Consort Li treated Zhao Ai as her own son, doting on him deeply. Zhao Ai, in turn, regarded her as a mother and addressed her as "sister," following the convention by which princes and princesses referred to their birth mothers among the consorts. Whenever he was in the palace, he never failed to pay his respects to her morning and evening.
Thus, Zhenzhen understood why Consort Li had gone to great lengths to cover up her interactions with Zhao Ai on the Mid-Autumn Festival night and, by extension, showed her such kindness.
Perhaps due to Consort Li's instructions, Director Hu began to value Zhenzhen more than before and started assigning her to prepare dishes for the consort.One day, Zhao Ai went to the Yujin Garden in the southern suburbs for archery practice and happened to shoot down a few turtle doves. Upon returning to the palace, he sent them to Consort Li’s kitchen. After the turtle doves were cleaned by Hu Dianshan, she prepared to add some nourishing herbs to make a soup.
Over the past two years, Consort Li had gradually gained weight, yet her body remained very weak. Even the imperial physicians could not determine whether she was ill, only recommending dietary therapy and gentle nourishment. Hu Dianshan often prepared medicinal dishes using herbs and meat or poultry, but Consort Li ate less and less, growing increasingly fatigued and often lying listlessly in bed.
After seeing the medicinal dishes Hu Dianshan prepared, Zhenzhen thought to herself that if she had to eat such food every day, she would likely find it tiresome as well. So, she tentatively suggested to Hu Dianshan, “If turtle doves are used for soup, only the parts with bones are needed. The breast meat of the turtle dove is tender and boneless—why not cut it off and make a separate dish?”
Hu Dianshan turned to look at her. “How would you make it?”
“Perhaps stir-fry it,” Zhenzhen replied, thinking of the wok she had brought into the palace.
Out of some curiosity about that wok, Hu Dianshan agreed to let her try.
Zhenzhen quickly took out the wok, washed it, and sliced the breast meat of several turtle doves into shreds. She first marinated them with oil, salt, soy sauce, yellow wine, ginger, and scallions, then heated oil in the wok and briefly stir-fried the turtle dove shreds. She then added some celery shoots and continued to stir-fry.
During this process, Zhenzhen held the wok handle, her movements rising and falling as she controlled the rhythm of the flames licking the bottom of the wok. She occasionally tossed the wok, making the meat shreds and celery shoots tumble and flip inside, leaping up and falling back down in strands. The oil blended the aroma of the meat with the fresh scent of celery, filling the entire room with fragrance. Not only did Hu Dianshan and the other kitchen staff stop what they were doing to watch, but even a few eunuchs outside the door were drawn in, eagerly asking what was being cooked and why it smelled so good.
This dish was indeed a feast for the senses in color, aroma, and taste. As expected, Consort Li was intrigued as soon as she saw it and ended up eating more than half of the plate, along with consuming more staple food than usual.
“What is this dish called? Who taught you how to make it?” Consort Li specially summoned Zhenzhen to inquire.
Zhenzhen replied, “It’s called ‘Celery Shoot Slices.’ My teacher before I entered the palace once mentioned it to me, saying that Dongpo Jushi recorded: ‘The people of Shu value celery shoot slices, made with turtle dove meat.’ However, my teacher preferred vegetarian dishes and rarely used poultry in cooking, so I had never tried it before. Today, by coincidence, the Second Great King sent turtle doves, so I thought of stir-frying them this way to give it a try.”
Consort Li smiled and said, “You are very clever. To create such a delicious dish based on just one record… Now I’m in a dilemma. Should I have you cook more for me in the future, or less? If less, I’ll miss out on such delicacies; if more, I fear my appetite will increase and I’ll continue to gain weight.”
“Actually, there’s no need to worry about that,” Zhenzhen immediately recalled what Lin Hong had once told her. “My teacher said: ‘Eating when hungry will not make one fat. Weight gain comes from consuming too much food when the spleen and stomach do not need it—for example, eating for social obligations, to vent emotions, to avoid waste, or to pass the time.’ If Your Highness eats normally and on schedule, you will not gain weight. Now that Your Highness feels slightly plump, could it be because you previously forced yourself to eat too much food that your spleen and stomach did not need, all for the sake of dietary nourishment?”
Consort Li looked quite surprised, pondered for a moment, and then smiled again. “That sounds very reasonable. Your teacher must be an extraordinary and learned master… How long did you study with him?”
Zhenzhen answered, “From last winter to this spring.”"So short?" Consort Li said in surprise. "It feels like your culinary skills are already quite remarkable now."
"Because my teacher is the best I have ever seen," Zhenzhen replied, her eyes lighting up as she thought of Lin Hong, a smile unconsciously curling at the corners of her lips. "When I first started learning from him, I found it very difficult because I love sleeping in, while he rises early. I had to arrive in the kitchen before he got up. He also doesn’t like to speak much or tell me what to do or how to do it, so I had to focus intently on observing his every move, trying hard to remember every word he said. But this also helped me calm down, carefully consider the reasons and intentions behind each of his steps, analyze his techniques, and understand the sentiments he wanted to convey to the diners. In doing so, I gained many insights. As we grew closer, he gradually began to share many profound words with me. These words seemed to be about food and culinary arts, yet they went beyond that—they could also be applied to life, often leaving me with a sense of sudden enlightenment. So later, I no longer found waking up early painful. Before falling asleep each night, I would happily wonder what exquisite culinary skills I would learn under his guidance the next day, what delicious dishes I would create, and how he would inadvertently utter words rich in Zen-like wisdom... This filled me with anticipation for tomorrow every night."
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