Chapter 26: Li Shimin’s “Incognito Visit”!

Su Mu took a knife and cut the round pancake into diamond-shaped pieces.

Crunch! Crunch!

The sound of the knife slicing through was incredibly crisp, making one’s ears tingle with delight.

“Eat up.”

Xiao Sizi didn’t need to be told twice. She grabbed a piece from the edge, not caring how hot it was, opened her mouth wide, and took a big bite.

Crunch!

That single bite made a startlingly loud crunch.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo!” Sucking in frantic breaths from the heat, the little girl still couldn’t bear to spit it out.

The outer starch crust was crispy enough to shed crumbs, while the corn kernels inside burst with juice at the first bite. The scalding juice exploded across her tongue: sweet! Truly sweet!

It was a natural, clean sweetness carrying the taste of sunshine, and paired with the layer of half-melted white sugar on the surface, it delivered a double hit of pure sweetness.

“Sho good! Deese beans pop wif juice!” Xiao Sizi shouted indistinctly while crunching away noisily. “It’s so shweet my teef are gonna fall out!”

Li Lizhi looked at the golden piece and hesitantly reached out her hand.

Her fingertips still carried the faint, grassy scent of the juices from husking the corn earlier.

She picked up a piece and blew on it gently.

She bit off a corner.

Crisp!

Utterly, exquisitely crisp.

Right behind it came the tenderness.

The unique, fresh fragrance of the corn instantly filled her mouth, entirely free of greasiness from the lard, leaving only pure, fresh sweetness.

Li Lizhi felt that her hour of hard labor had not been in vain.

How could this… be so delicious?

It was clearly just a simple grain, without any expensive seasonings or even a bit of meat.

Yet in her mouth, the sense of satisfaction was even greater than eating an entire roast goose.

“This is… what we husked earlier?” Li Lizhi swallowed the food in her mouth, looking in disbelief at the half piece in her hand.

“What else would it be?” Su Mu leaned against the stove, chewing on a piece of his own. “‘Every grain comes from bitter toil^[1],’ don’t you know? Doesn’t it taste better when you husk it with your own hands?”

Li Lizhi was taken aback.

Indeed.

If the Bureau of Culinary Service had served this on an ordinary day, she might have merely found it novel.

Yet now, every single kernel of corn had passed through her hands. She knew how tough the husks were to strip, and how stubborn the cobs were to snap.

That sense of participation seemed to make the sweetness in her mouth feel even richer.

“Mm.”

Li Lizhi nodded, dropping her royal airs for once as she said in all earnestness, “It really does taste better.”

She finished her piece in two or three bites and reached toward the basket again.

Her fingertips brushed against another chubby little hand.

Xiao Sizi was guarding the last two large pieces, eyeing her elder sister warily.

“Elder Sister, you awweady ate fwee pieces!” The little girl’s mouth was covered in sugar crumbs, looking just like a kitten caught stealing fish. “Leave a widdle bit for Daddy!”

Li Lizhi’s hand froze.

Uh-oh, I completely forgot about Imperial Father.

She looked at the huge food box beside them, then at the few battered remnants left in the basket.

Wasn’t it a pretty big pancake just a moment ago? How had it vanished in the blink of an eye?

Su Mu watched the two sisters staring wide-eyed at each other and shook his head helplessly.

“All right, stop fighting over it.”

He pointed at the half basin of corn kernels remaining on the counter.

“I’ll pan-fry another one for you to take back to that poor father of yours.”

Li Lizhi let out a breath of relief, pulling back her hand with a touch of embarrassment.

“Um…”

She glanced at Su Mu, hesitating before asking, “This saltpeter ice-making method… can I tell Imperial Father when I go back?”

Even though Su Mu had said he wouldn’t keep it a secret, it was his exclusive craft after all.

Su Mu poured another ladle of batter into the pan, and the sizzling sound rose once more.

“Tell whoever you want.”

He didn’t turn his head, his tone lazy.

“Just make sure you tell your dad that while the ice is good, this corn pancake is even better.”

“If he wants to eat it, tell him to come husk it himself next time.”

Li Lizhi: “…”

She pictured her imperial father, clad in dragon robes, sitting on this tiny stool and wrestling with corn husks.

The scene was too glorious to imagine.

Still…

Li Lizhi looked down at her slightly reddened fingertips, then glanced at Xiao Sizi, who was squatting on the ground picking up fallen corn kernels to eat.

Tricking Imperial Father into coming to do chores next time seemed… not entirely out of the question?

After all, as long as she framed it as “experiencing the hardships of the people,” Imperial Father would surely come running with delight.

At that thought, a sly smile curved the corners of Li Lizhi’s mouth.

“All right, I’ll definitely pass the message along.”

*

*

In the side hall of Liangyi Hall, the doors and windows were tightly shut.

Wang Dequan’s hands trembled as he held a slightly worn, teal eunuch robe, looking more miserable than if he were being sent to risk his life admonishing the throne^[2].

Li Shimin, on the other hand, was full of enthusiasm. He unbuckled the jade belt at his waist and tossed it carelessly onto the daybed.

He stared at the robes, finding them more pleasing the more he looked.

As long as he donned this disguise, he could sneak into the backyard of the Imperial Kitchen, meet that “expert” who could turn pork into culinary art, and by the way-

This was the real priority-

-snag a piping-hot, fresh-out-of-the-pan bite of that golden pancake whatever-it-was!

“Your Majesty… this… this goes against propriety,” Wang Dequan pleaded with a bitter face, trying once more to dissuade him.

Li Shimin glared and snatched the clothes right out of his hands.

“Cut the nonsense! We are going to inspect the conditions of the people, understand? What does traveling incognito mean? Moving with great fanfare is an imperial tour, which is just putting on a show for others. Only like this can We see the real truth.”

He swiftly pulled on the round-collar robe, donned the headwrap, and even took care to paste two wisps of fake mustache from who-knows-where onto his chin.

Looking into the bronze mirror, the majestic Son of Heaven was gone, replaced by a slightly plump, shrewd-looking old fellow.

“How does it look?” Li Shimin spun around.

Wang Dequan’s mouth twitched, but he gave a thumbs-up against his conscience. “Your Majesty… is wise and martial. Even if the clothes are a bit worn, they cannot hide your dragon… that imperial aura.”

“All right, stay on guard right here. Don’t see anyone. Just say We are taking an afternoon nap.”

Li Shimin tucked the jade pendant that proved his identity into his sleeve, hunched over, and slipped out through the side hall’s small door.

The sun was leaning west, but the summer heat had yet to disperse.

The bluestone flags along the palace pathway were still scorching hot beneath his feet.

Li Shimin kept his head down, sticking as close to the base of the wall as he could.

The journey had gone smoothly enough so far. He had run into two patrols of imperial guards, and both had taken him for an old servant on an errand for the Bureau of Culinary Service or the Palace Domestic Service^[3], not even bothering to spare him a glance.

This feeling of being ignored actually gave Li Shimin a strange, long-lost sense of freedom.

Once he crossed this stretch of the Imperial Garden, the territory of the Imperial Kitchen lay just ahead.

It seemed he could already catch that tantalizing, sweet aroma drifting through the air.

Li Shimin hurried forward with wind at his heels, wishing he could sprout wings and fly straight there.

Just as he rounded a moon gate, he slammed headfirst into a wall of a man.

“Ouch!”

Li Shimin clutched his nose and took two steps back. The man before him was solidly built and had not budged an inch.

Trouble.

Li Shimin’s heart sank.

That build, that rock-like stiffness, that uncompromising, upright posture.

Lowering the brim of his hat and pinching his voice into a high pitch, he did not dare look up, turning sideways to slip past. “Forgive me, this old servant was blind and offended Your Excellency.”

“Halt.”

The voice was as cold as shards of midwinter ice.

Li Shimin’s back went stiff, but his feet did not stop. If anything, he sped up a bit. “Your Excellency is busy, and this servant has an urgent errand…”

“Where is Your Majesty planning to go?”

The man made no move to give chase, simply standing where he was. His tone was utterly flat, yet it proved more effective than an immobilization spell.

The soles of Li Shimin’s feet seemed to take root in the ground.

He turned around slowly and raised his head, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying.