Chengyu: "Tell me, what kind of trouble are you running into now?"
Feng Jiu sighed: "My dad told me that if someone shows you kindness, you must repay it, but he didn't tell me how."
Chengyu: "That's easy! Do you know what the most important part of repaying a kindness is? It's providing help precisely when it's needed most!"
Siming stood nearby, silently repeating the phrase "providing help precisely when it's needed most" with a look of utter disgust. He thought to himself: *Great! They haven't even managed to persuade the main person to go back, and now an accomplice has shown up. Life is hard,* Siming sighed.
Chengyu continued: "Since ancient times, adding flowers to embroidery has been completely meaningless. You have to share the Emperor's burdens—that's the only way to match his kindness."
Feng Jiu nodded vaguely from the side, half-understanding. "Sharing the Emperor's burdens... Well, how do you share the Emperor's burdens?"
Chengyu: "Isn't it just like what they write in storybooks?"
Hearing Chengyu's words, Feng Jiu looked at Siming doubtfully. Since Siming was in charge of mortal destiny ledgers, he ought to know more about the things in storybooks... Yet Siming was looking at Chengyu with an expression that defied description, a terrible premonition rising in his chest. He just knew that whatever came out of this ancestral auntie's mouth next was bound to be a terrible idea!
Seeing Feng Jiu's uncomprehending look, Chengyu went on: "A dashing young gentleman falls into hardship, and a young lady rescues him! Then..."
After listening, Feng Jiu gave a vague "Oh."
By this time, however, Siming had truly donned the mask of agony. *Today isn't just two ancestral deities taking turns to end my life,* Siming thought. *There are practically three of them!*
As Chengyu and Feng Jiu talked, they both broke into smug smiles, as if victory was already within their grasp.
Feng Jiu: "I remember my Auntie telling me that storybooks are written this way. As expected, Lady Chengyu really knows a lot more!"
Chengyu said smugly: "Of course! If there's anything you can't handle, don't be afraid—just run straight to my manor, and I've got your back!"
Feng Jiu: "Mm-hmm!"
Seeing that if things continued this way they would completely spin out of control, Siming hurriedly spoke up to stop them: "You really shouldn't have her back anymore. She's already audacious enough as it is. If you give her any more..."
Before Siming could finish, Feng Jiu shoved him aside with her hip.
Feng Jiu: "Lady Chengyu, you're the best to me." As she spoke, she shot Siming a sideways glance.
Suddenly remembering something, Chengyu chimed in: "Siming, I haven't settled accounts with you yet. Who leaked my business to Liansong?"
Siming felt utterly wretched inside. Just as he was trying to figure out how to answer this question and hadn't even organized his words yet, Feng Jiu interrupted him.
Feng Jiu: "Liansong is the most malicious person. He even said he was going to turn me into a fox stole to wear on his shoulders—I almost showed my true form and got into a huge brawl with him."
Chengyu: "A playboy like that—stay far away from him. He's the kind of guy who gets close to you with a belly full of bad intentions, desperately trying to get you to offend him so he can seize the opportunity to offend you back tenfold."
Listening, Feng Jiu nodded with a vague understanding: "How truly evil!"
Siming felt wretched inside, and standing to the side, he couldn't help chiming in: "Exactly!"
Having finished venting about Liansong, Feng Jiu circled back to the main topic, pulling Chengyu aside to secretly and covertly conspire about how to repay the kindness, refusing to let Siming hear. Watching the two of them whispering together conspiratorially from the sidelines, Siming was sweating profusely.
Taichen Palace Kitchens
At this moment, all the palace maids in the kitchen were on high alert. Xiao Jiu had just returned and witnessed this silent and cautious scene. Seeing Zhihe sitting inside the kitchen, she seemed to understand why everyone was acting this way, and she also understood that she was in trouble again!
Feng Jiu walked in with a look of resignation.
Feng Jiu: "Princess, this maid knows her wrong. This maid will never dare do it again, and hopes the Princess will forgive her." Back when Xiao Jiu had been punished, Zhihe had stated that she was not allowed to take half a step out of the kitchen. But this time when she went out, she had been caught red-handed by Zhihe, leaving Feng Jiu with no choice but to admit her fault first.
This time, Zhihe really wasn't here to quibble with her about this matter. Putting on a haughty airs, she said: "That last pastry was made by you?"
Feng Jiu: "Indeed. Because the pastries were accidentally knocked over, I used pastries from my hometown as a replacement. It will never happen again."
For once in a rare mood of delight, Zhihe praised Feng Jiu: "Well done."
Feng Jiu thought to herself: *Hmph~ Of course it was well done! It even won praise from the Emperor.*
Zhihe: "You must teach me every single detail of how that pastry is made."
Feng Jiu: "Huh?"
Zhihe: "Since Elder Brother praised me, I must make them just as well every single time."
Seeing Feng Jiu standing there without reacting, Zhihe unhappily demanded: "What are you staring blankly for?"
Feng Jiu: "...Oh."
After a while, Feng Jiu brought out two plates of finished pastries.
Zhihe stepped forward and said: "Is it done already? Where is the flower core? Where is the filling?"
Feng Jiu: "The Wuyou flower is naturally used for the outer skin of the Wuyou Pastry. Since it is called Wuyou Pastry, its filling can only be completed by the thoughts of the person wielding the ladle."
Zhihe: "Thoughts?"
Feng Jiu: "Since it is called Wuyou Pastry—Wuyou, Wuyou, meaning 'free from worry'—it must be tailored to the specific condition to be effective. As for the flower core, you can just use whatever core the Princess herself likes."
Zhihe: "Then I'll use Elder Brother's favorite tea. Quick! Bring tea."
Yuru: "What tea would the Princess like served?"
Zhihe: "Serve all of them."
Yuru: "Yes."
Watching Zhihe's joyful and smug face, Feng Jiu smiled inwardly as well. Because she hadn't told Zhihe the correct way to make the Wuyou Pastry, knowing that Zhihe wanted to take credit for herself in front of the Emperor, and she certainly wouldn't let her succeed. Zhihe thought she could win the Emperor's favor, little knowing that Xiao Jiu had already dug a pit waiting for her to jump in.