Chapter 2: Xiao Sizi Must Keep It a Secret!

Su Mu instinctively wanted to carry this little pink dumpling outside.

This was the imperial palace. Even if it was an abandoned, dilapidated woodshed, it was not a place where just anyone could barge in.

Yet looking at the little girl before him, she appeared to be only three or four years old. Though she was dressed in casual attire, the fabric was top-grade Shu brocade, and the jade pendant hanging at her waist was absurdly translucent.

On second thought, who else could run around freely in the palace like this aside from Princess Jinyang, who was showered with boundless favor?

She was the apple of Li Shimin’s eye and Empress Zhangsun’s very lifeblood.

If she upset her stomach eating his food, his hundred-odd Jin^[1] of flesh wouldn’t be enough to pay with his head!

“Shoo, shoo.”

Su Mu did not get up. He merely held the bowl of fried rice higher, as if teasing a cat. “Go back where you came from. This stuff is too greasy; a kid won’t digest it well.”

Xiao Sizi grew anxious.

That overpowering aroma wafted right beneath her nose; it was nothing short of torture. She stood on tiptoe, flailing her chubby little hands in the air as she tried to reach the bowl.

“No… big bwother…”

Xiao Sizi pouted, her eyes instantly reddening. Those large eyes, dark as grapes, filled with tears at once, yet she stubbornly held them back, letting them pool without falling.

“Tummy hungry… tummy hurts…”

She did not try to snatch it by force. Instead, she clutched her tummy pitifully, her voice soft and sweet with a toddler’s slight lisp. “Pwetty big bwother, can Sizi have just one bite, pwease? Just one bite…”

Pwetty big bwother?

Su Mu’s eye twitched.

That form of address… though a bit mushy, sounded surprisingly pleasant to the ear.

In this life or the last, who could refuse an adorable human toddler carved of jade who called you “pretty big brother”?

Besides, this little cub really seemed starving, her little belly chiming in with a series of rumbling thunderclaps.

“All right, all right, call off your magic.”

Su Mu sighed, unable to harden his heart after all.

He was a chef, and the hardest thing for him was seeing someone go hungry, especially such a tiny child.

“Just one bite, no more!”

He found a clean little wooden bowl and portioned out about two spoonfuls. This fried rice was heavy on oil, and the child looked frail; eating too much would easily give her indigestion.

The tears in Xiao Sizi’s eyes vanished in an instant, her mood shifting at a staggering speed. She took the rough wooden bowl in both hands, as if holding a priceless treasure.

There was no spoon.

But that was no obstacle for an esteemed princess of the Great Tang.

Xiao Sizi dug right in with her hands.

The moment her fingertips touched the rice, the heat made her flinch, but the irresistible aroma made her ignore it completely.

Enduring the heat, she scooped up a small pinch of golden rice grains and stuffed them eagerly into her mouth.

Boom!

Xiao Sizi froze instantly.

In that moment, no golden dragons danced through the sky, nor did heavenly maidens scatter flowers.

There was only the purest, most intense bliss!

It was the fierce Maillard reaction produced by rendered fat and carbohydrates stir-fried over roaring heat.

The savory crispness of the pork leaf fat domineeringly seized her entire mouth, the tender egg danced on the tip of her tongue, and every grain of rice seemed like an enchanted sprite, bouncing and bursting beneath her chewing teeth!

There was no gamey tang of mutton, no mushy blandness of stewed dishes, and no bitterness of medicinal cuisine.

There was only aroma!

A pure aroma that made one want to swallow their own tongue!

“Mmmph!!!”

Xiao Sizi’s eyes went wide, her cheeks stuffed full, completely reluctant to swallow.

At that moment, she felt everything she had eaten in the past had been a lie. The food made by those grandpas in the Bureau of Culinary Service^[2] was practically pig slop!

“Mama lied!”

Chewing rapidly, Xiao Sizi mumbled around her full mouth, a grain of golden rice still stuck to the corner of her lips. “Mama said the food in the Imperial Kitchen wasn’t yummy before… It tuwns out pwetty big bwother hid all the yummy food hewe!”

This was way too yummy!

She felt every pore across her body open up, and the cold, gnawing hunger in her belly was instantly smoothed away by this mouthful of hot rice.

Two spoonfuls of rice was barely two mouthfuls for an adult.

But for Xiao Sizi, this was the most delicious meal she had ever eaten in her life!

She ate at lightning speed, clearing it like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds.

Her chubby little hands were glistening with oil. After finishing everything in the bowl, still craving more, she stuck out her tiny pink tongue and carefully licked around the rim of the wooden bowl, eager to lick the wood grain itself clean.

“More…”

Xiao Sizi held up the empty bowl, looking at Su Mu pitifully.

“All gone.”

Su Mu refused curtly, casually moving his own large bowl further away. “This stuff was blasted with high heat and heavy oil. With your tiny frame, eating too much will give you an upset stomach tonight.”

Xiao Sizi pouted, on the verge of crying again.

Su Mu, however, was already prepared.

The system’s beginner gift pack had included an assortment of basic seasonings and ingredients, among which was a jar of preserved honey pomelo tea.

In his past life, this was an everyday beverage found everywhere, but in the Great Tang, it was a miraculous cure to ease digestion and cut through grease!

He took a coarse porcelain cup, scooped a spoonful of thick pomelo honey, and poured in warm water.

“Drink this.”

Su Mu handed the cup over. “It’s to help your digestion. Once you drink it, no more crying. If you cry again, I’ll toss you out.”

Xiao Sizi sniffled, looking suspiciously at the pale yellow liquid.

Do I have to drink medicine again?

She hated drinking liquids the most; they were always so bitter.

But seeing the confident look in the handsome older brother’s eyes, she cautiously leaned in, tentatively sticking out the tip of her tongue to take a lick.

Sour.

Followed immediately by sweetness!

That fresh, fruity sweetness instantly washed away the lingering greasiness in her mouth.

The warm liquid slipped down her throat, instantly soothing her stomach, which had felt bloated from eating too quickly.

“Wah!”

Holding the cup with both hands, Xiao Sizi gulped it down, her eyes curving into two crescent moons.

“It’s sweet! So yummy!”

Having drained the cup, Xiao Sizi let out a contented burp and slumped onto the small wooden stump beside the woodpile, rubbing her round little belly with a look of utter satisfaction.

Now this was truly the life!

Watching the little girl’s blissful expression, Su Mu felt strangely pleased.

It was probably a common trait among cooks; seeing a diner completely won over by his culinary skills brought a sense of accomplishment greater than being offered an official post.

Still, as gratifying as it was, he had serious business to attend to.

“All full?”

Su Mu squatted down, bringing his eyes level with Xiao Sizi.

“Mm-mm!” Xiao Sizi nodded vigorously, her cheeks rosy pink.

“Then you have to promise me something.”

Su Mu straightened his face, deliberately putting on a stern expression. “You are not allowed to tell anyone about the food you ate or the drink you had here today when you go back. If your father and mother find out…”

He drew a finger across his throat. “I’ll be thrown out of the palace, and you’ll never get to eat such yummy food or drink such sweet water ever again.”

Hearing that she wouldn’t get to eat it anymore, Xiao Sizi turned pale with fright.

She hurriedly hopped down from the wooden stump, clamped both little hands tightly over her mouth, and shook her head like a rattle drum.

“Won’t tell, won’t tell! Sizi won’t tell!”

She released one hand, raised it over her head, and made a solemn vow, her little face extraordinarily serious. “Sizi’s lips are super tight! Even if Daddy asks me, I won’t tell! Sizi def’nitely doesn’t know pretty big bwother, and def’nitely doesn’t know big bwother is hiding in the woodshed making yummy food!”

Su Mu: “…”

He suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Did this girl really understand what it meant to keep a secret?