Chapter 11: A Cup of Milk Tea Astonishes the Empress!

Before the last glow of twilight faded over the imperial city, the wooden gate to the Imperial Kitchen’s backyard creaked open a crack once more.

Su Mu tossed a freshly made bamboo canister lightly in his hand, looking at the two sisters peeking around the doorway with unconcealed impatience.

“Last time.”

He shoved the bamboo canister into Li Lizhi’s arms.

“If your father intercepts it again, I won’t have any left in stock, even if you cry until the Great Wall collapses^[1].”

This was brewed from the leftover scraps he had painstakingly scraped together.

Li Lizhi had learned her lesson this time. Taking the canister without daring to utter a word, she stuffed it deep into her sleeve, clutching her cuffs tightly with both hands as if wishing she could embed the bamboo into her very flesh.

Xiao Sizi, on the other hand, was in no rush to leave.

Clinging to the doorframe with both chubby hands, her bright, clear eyes darted all over Su Mu before finally settling on his slender hands.

“Big bwother…”

Xiao Sizi stood on tiptoe, making her request in a sweet, childish voice.

“Can I come back tomowwow mowning?”

Su Mu’s hand paused just as he was about to shut the door, his brow arching.

“Again? You think this is a breakfast stall?”

“No, pwease!”

Xiao Sizi grew frantic, gesturing with her chubby fingers.

“I want to eat dose white, fluffy buns with meat inside! De buns fwom the Bureau of Culinary Service have such thick dough, dey make me choke.”

That was a surprisingly specific request.

Looking down at the porcelain-faced little dumpling, Su Mu swallowed back the refusal sitting on the tip of his tongue.

Whatever. Even keeping a cat required food, to say nothing of a Great Tang princess who couldn’t do a thing besides eat.

“Fine. Tomorrow morning.”

Su Mu waved his hand, shooing them away.

“But let me make one thing clear: if you want good food, you’d better come early. Come late, and you won’t even get broth.”

“Mm-hmm! Sizi wakes up vewy early!”

Fully satisfied, Xiao Sizi skipped away, hand in hand with her sister.

…

Inside Lizheng Hall, the bitter stench of medicine hung heavy in the air.

Empress Zhangsun reclined against a couch, clutching a silk handkerchief in her hand as she pressed it to her lips, coughing softly from time to time.

Her dignified, gentle face was pallid with illness, and her brows were slightly furrowed, clearly oppressed by an uncomfortable tightness in her chest.

On a small side table nearby sat a bowl of pitch-black medicinal brew. Just smelling its bitterness was enough to make one’s stomach churn.

“Mama!”

Xiao Sizi blew into the hall like a gust of wind. Skipping all formalities, she fished out the bamboo canister hidden in her sister’s sleeve like someone presenting a prized treasure.

“Drink dis quick! Drink dis and you won’t feel bad anymowe!”

Empress Zhangsun summoned her energy, looking at her youngest daughter’s rosy cheeks, a faint smile gracing her lips.

“Where did you find wild berries this time?”

Her voice was raspy and her breathing unsteady.

Standing to the side, Li Lizhi felt nervous and instinctively moved to smooth her skirt, but froze mid-motion when Empress Zhangsun’s seemingly gentle yet piercingly observant gaze swept over her.

“Mother, this is… this is a clear dew gathered over there. I heard it is exceptionally good for moistening the lungs.”

Li Lizhi braced herself and lied, her palms slick with sweat.

Empress Zhangsun did not expose the lie, simply taking the bamboo canister that still held a lingering warmth.

She opened the lid of the bamboo canister.

A peculiar aroma of caramelized sweetness blended with refreshing aged tangerine peel instantly dispersed the stifling medicinal odor in the hall.

The tightness in Empress Zhangsun’s chest from coughing eased inexplicably amid the fragrance.

She took a tentative sip.

The warm liquid glided into her mouth.

There was neither the expected bitterness nor any cloying sweetness that scraped at the throat.

The cool sweetness of monk fruit, the soothing zest of aged tangerine peel, and the rich creaminess of goat milk melded together in perfect harmony under the balance of caramel.

As the liquid slipped down her throat, the dry, itching heat in its wake seemed to be smoothed away by a gentle hand.

“Cough… cough, cough…”

Empress Zhangsun coughed twice more, but this time, the thick phlegm that had been lodged in the depths of her throat for half the day loosened along with the warm stream.

Her eyes lit up slightly, and she took another large sip.

This time, she felt a profound, genuine relief.

The dull ache in her chest eased considerably, and a soothing warmth spread into her stomach, which had barely had any food all day.

“Wonderful.”

Empress Zhangsun exhaled a long breath, some color returning to her pale face.

“The taste is even smoother and more palatable than the loquat paste prescribed by the Imperial Medical Bureau.”

Hearing her mother’s praise, Xiao Sizi clapped her hands in delight.

“See, see! I told you it was yummy! Dat pwetty-mph!”

Li Lizhi reacted swiftly, clapping a hand over her sister’s mouth.

“As long as Mother likes it, that is… that is Sizi’s blessing.”

Holding the bamboo canister and drinking slowly, Empress Zhangsun let her gaze drift past it to Li Lizhi’s priceless Shu Brocade celestial dress^[2].

Near the hem of the dress, right above her shoes.

Several inconspicuous specks of wood shavings and a trace of dark gray dust clung to the fabric.

Those were not things found in the Imperial Garden.

Only unkempt, decrepit places or a woodshed piled high with scrap timber would produce such aged wood shavings.

“Lizhi.”

Empress Zhangsun set down the bamboo canister, her voice soft and devoid of any discernible emotion.

“From which immortal did you obtain this dew?”

Li Lizhi’s heart gave a sudden thump, and she lowered her head, not daring to meet her mother’s eyes.

“It was… it was an immortal who visited your daughter in a dream…”

The lie was so outrageous that even she blushed.

Empress Zhangsun sighed softly and beckoned Li Lizhi over.

Reaching out with her slender fingers, she pinched off the small, curled wood shaving from her daughter’s hem and held it up before Li Lizhi’s eyes.

“This immortal of yours lives in quite a distinctive place.”

“Does he chop firewood as well?”

Li Lizhi stared at the incriminating evidence, her head buzzing. I’m done for!

How could she have forgotten to clean her hem!

The woodshed was filthy and cluttered; when she was squatting on the ground washing dishes, she must have brushed against something by mistake.

“Mother, I…”

Li Lizhi dropped to her knees with a thud, biting her lip and refusing to utter Su Mu’s name.

That was her promise, and for the sake of delicious food… no, for the sake of honor!

“Your daughter knows her mistake! But… but that expert truly wishes to remain unseen, and your daughter cannot break her word.”

Empress Zhangsun looked at her daughter’s martyr-like resolve, then glanced over at Xiao Sizi, who was clutching her mouth nervously, not daring to utter a word. Suddenly, the empress smiled.

A touch of amusement played upon that smile.

Since when had someone so interesting appeared in this palace?

“Rise.”

Empress Zhangsun tossed the wood shaving into the incense burner, watching as it turned to ash.

“Since this expert does not wish to show himself, I will not force the matter.”

She stroked Xiao Sizi’s head, her tone gentle.

“As long as you do not cause trouble and keep yourselves safe, Mother will pretend not to know.”

“However…”

Empress Zhangsun shifted her tone, lightly shaking the empty bamboo canister in her hand.

“If you go again tomorrow, remember to bring some back for Mother as well.”

…

In the backyard of the Imperial Kitchen, the night was as tranquil as still water.

The bustling noise from the front had long quieted down, leaving behind only the occasional drip of the water clock.

Su Mu was not asleep.

By the moonlight, he held the notched woodchopper, sizing up a thick log.

The wooden stump in this woodshed was truly murder on his backside.

As a modern soul who knew how to enjoy life, how could he possibly tolerate this quality of living?

Crack!

The blade rose and fell.

Wood shavings flew in all directions.

Applying God-tier knife skills to woodworking was nothing short of a dimensional strike.

The dense, hard log became like soft tofu in his hands, sliced, carved, sanded, and fitted together.

Not a single nail was used, relying entirely on mortise and tenon joints.

In barely an hour…

A uniquely shaped, contoured reclining chair appeared in the open space of the shed.

Su Mu lay down on it to test the curvature.

Comfortable!

His spine received flawless support. This was how a human being was meant to live.

【Ding! Detected that the host has proactively improved his living environment, aligning with the “God of Cooking’s Lifestyle Aesthetics.”】

【Quest Completed: Build a comfortable resting area】

【Reward Issued: divine pastry skill (Beginner), soup dumplings exclusive ingredient pack (unlocks tomorrow at the Mao hour^[3])】

Su Mu pillowed his head on his arms, gazing at the few stars visible through the broken skylight, a faint smile touching his lips.

Soup dumplings?

The system certainly had impeccable timing.

Hadn’t that little girl just been clamoring for buns that were “white, soft, and full of meat”?

The steamed buns of this era had rock-hard dough and dry, tough fillings, or they were loaded with so much mutton fat that they were sickeningly greasy.

Since he had promised that little foodie, he would let her see what it meant to be “lifted like a lantern, set down like a chrysanthemum^[4]“!

What it meant to burst with broth at the first bite, so savory your tongue would fall off.

“Tomorrow…”

Su Mu closed his eyes, settling into a comfortable position on the reclining chair.

“I’ll have my hands full.”