away unnoticed. If he waited until tomorrow, those people would definitely send someone to search the mountain, making things troublesome then. Fortunately, he had entrusted his belongings to someone...The Sixth Chapter: None of the Empress Dowager's Favorite Dishes

"As expected..." Qi Lintuo was looking at a dish that had hardly been touched. On the other side, there were only a few leftovers on the dessert plate.

After a month of observation, she realized that it wasn't just coincidence. The Empress Dowager didn’t have much appetite for meals, so many desserts would be eaten up—though they could also have been given to the servants.

"Master Zhao is still busy." Now Qi Lintuo wanted to find out more about Master Zhao De’an, who was rumored to be the most famous pastry chef in the country and even had the emperor asking for his desserts specifically.

She handed over a bag of elm tea leaves, which was her favorite flower-scented tea. It needed morning dew to make it taste fresh and delicious; she usually saved them up to enjoy on special occasions.

But you can't catch wolves without using bait.

"Haha, our pastry chefs are different from other craftsmen." He took a sip of tea and was clearly satisfied. "The Empress Dowager might want to eat at any time, but desserts taste best when they're fresh, so we mustn’t slack off."

Qi Lintuo nodded; it really was hard work. She wondered if the pastry chef had secretly cursed her for asking for pastries without regard for timing.

In front of her appeared a cute little cat-shaped dessert. "So adorable, this one is for me"

Zhao De’an nodded. "This tea isn’t cheap, and I’ve never tasted such fragrant tea before; you really have good intentions."

Qi Lintuo kept smiling while waiting to hear more.

"But the skills of my Zhao family are passed down through generations but not to women. It’s an internal secret, not shared with outsiders."

Qi Lintuo smiled slightly; she knew very well about this custom, like how chefs in modern times wouldn’t share their recipes.

Her intention wasn't actually to learn the pastry-making techniques but merely to prove something.

She took a bite of the dessert and savored its rich sweetness. Presumably they used jasmine honey; there was also an added touch with some almond, to avoid it being too cloying.

To combine these two so perfectly wasn’t easy. She had no knowledge about pastries and couldn’t fathom their secrets.

"Sizzling..."

Qi Lintuo was brought back to her senses by the sound of something being fried in a pan, which she saw belonged to Master An who was an efficient woman. She was pouring lots of sugar into a pot where pork ribs were cooking at just the right temperature; it seemed they were making sweet and sour pork.

"Gurgle..." Qi Lintuo’s face turned hot, having forgotten breakfast while gathering morning dew. Now her stomach started protesting.

Zhao De’an smiled slightly and brought over two remaining dessert plates from earlier to Qi Lintuo. "Take these to eat; there's nothing else for us to do right now. Just don’t let Xiao Miao catch you."

Seeing the beautifully crafted animal-shaped desserts, Qi Lintuo’s eyes lit up as she quickly took them and thanked him.

Taking advantage of her free time, she ran behind the imperial kitchen to a small hill area rarely visited by others; it was also one of her must-use routes when investigating.

And there was still something she firmly believed in.

Place the snacks down and sit on the floor, softly saying, "If you're here, come out. It's rare to have some time to sit."

A moment later, a breeze swept by, bringing with it a faint aroma of tea. Qi Lin smiled slightly—indeed.

"I thought you wouldn't show up." After all, it was broad daylight. Looking at Ah Piao's handsome brows, Qi Lin believed that he never left her side.

Ah Piao didn't mind Qi Lin's scrutiny; he simply sat beside her and picked up a snack to eat.

"Not bad—getting smarter." No longer was she surprised by his presence. She even called him over proactively.

Qi Lin, with a faint tone while munching on the sour-sweet snacks, asked, "Why do you always follow me Is it Zi Yin's order"

Ah Piao crossed his hands behind his head and leaned against a rock formation, closing his eyes to enjoy the rare sunlight. He slowly spoke up, "None of those."

Qi Lin looked at Ah Piao with puzzlement, her brow furrowing slightly, "So you came here for sightseeing"

"To see a beauty." Even though he kept his eyes closed, he could still clearly sense Qi Lin's accelerated heartbeat and the blush on her cheeks.

Feeling a breeze beside him, Ah Piao opened his eyes to find Qi Lin tidying away grass from her clothes. She was blushing deeply as well.

"I have to go back." Even though she kept reminding herself not to trust his words, her heart betrayed her first.

She hadn't figured out how to handle the situation and could only leave in a hurry...

After Qi Lin left, Ah Piao gave a light smile. He glanced at Empress Dowager's residence before vanishing with several leaps.

In Xiao Ran's palace, servants were kneeling neatly beside him, not daring to make a sound.

The imperial physician frowned slightly as he carefully took Xiao Ran’s pulse.

Feng Changqing sat by the side, idly sipping tea but found it tasteless.

"Report to His Majesty." The imperial physician finally confirmed his diagnosis and hesitantly looked at Feng Changqing before saying, "The Empress is merely suffering from an upset stomach due to irregular diet recently. There’s nothing serious."

"Are you sure" Xiao Ran clearly didn’t believe him. Her sudden question was inappropriate; she quickly lowered her head, "Your Majesty, I’ve been...

Before she could finish, Feng Changqing lifted her chin up, causing her to shamefully lower her gaze.

"Everyone can leave now." Feng Changqing waved his hand and only let go of Xiao Ran after everyone was gone.

Gazing into Xiao Ran’s large eyes filled with tears, he pulled her into an embrace, softly saying, "My beloved needn’t blame herself. This kind of situation cannot be rushed."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Xiao Ran's face flushed; she had been vomiting recently and hadn't seen a period for two months. She thought it might be a sign of pregnancy when Feng Changqing was out of the palace previously but realized that her worries were unfounded.

Still, to receive such tender care from him, she could have an imperial physician prescribe a formula to conceive later; having a child would just be a matter of time.

After comforting Xiao Ran, Feng Changqing walked alone to the Imperial Garden and dismissed everyone else.

"Speak," he said indifferently, as if addressing the air.

A figure emerged from behind the rockery; it was indeed the imperial physician who had spoken earlier.

"Your Majesty, the Empress is indeed two months pregnant."

Feng Changqing's brows furrowed slightly. Closing his eyes slowly, he said coldly, "Do it thoroughly."

"As Your Majesty commands. I take my leave," the imperial physician respectfully withdrew.

Feng Changqing looked up at the azure sky and suddenly felt an icy chill run through him.

He drew a black flexible sword from his waist; it was a weapon he used for self-defense, and usually, it appeared like a belt with his dark-colored attire.

He began practicing swordsmanship alone in the imperial garden.

Suddenly, he turned his longsword and slashed directly at the rockery.

"Ah..."

"You foolish girl, do you want to die"

Qi Lin was stunned, her raised foot hanging in midair. Despite the sweet aroma in the air, she could sense intense killing intent and anger.

Lifting her head, she saw Master An, who at that moment was glaring fiercely at a maidservant; if looks could kill, the maid would have died countless times over already.

Below their feet, not far away, were steaming delicacies. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be sweet and sour ribs, looking delicious but overly sweet.

Qi Lin guessed what had happened as she tiptoed into the scene without wanting to intervene.

"Master An, forgive me, Your Excellency. I didn't mean it; please spare my life," the maid sobbed and knelt down pitifully.

"After all this hard work, you ruined it. Can you compensate for that" Master An's brows furrowed as she pinched the maidservant lightly, but with a gentler touch at contact.

The maid wept and kept bowing her head in apology.

When Qi Lin saw that the maid had磕破了額頭，she couldn't bear to watch any longer. To take someone's life over a dish seemed excessively cruel, even if she'd seen it on TV before.

"You won’t eat tonight’s dinner," Master An said unsatisfiedly and left.

Qi Lin paused in her step, blinking. Was this the punishment She needn't have worried so much.

"I am relieved as long as my sister is well off."

"Will I eat her" Feng Changqing smiled slightly but his eyes remained cold.

Just now, someone was found; upon closer inspection with the sword, it turned out to be a frightened Bu Yao. The tip of the sword changed direction not because of Bu Yao, but due to Long Ye.

He himself couldn't understand why she was still here.

"Sister Hongxue is usually careless, so I have to pay more attention to her. There's no other intention behind it, please don't blame me, Your Majesty." Bu Yao had a faint smile on her lips but was actually sweating with fear inside. If she hadn't used Qi Lin's name, even if she explained the situation to Long Ye, she probably wouldn't have been able to get away.

But wasn't it said that this emperor's moods were unpredictable Why did he seem a little more... gentle when talking about Qi Lin But there was no affection in his eyes at all.

"Hmph." Feng Changqing snorted coldly and heard footsteps approaching from afar. Looking at Bu Yao, she was indeed beautiful, but the fact that she could make Long Ye lose his composure made her an extraordinary woman.

However, for some reason, he felt that Bu Yao didn't have the mutual affection towards Long Ye as Long Ye claimed. When Bu Yao looked at him, there were always hints of desire in her eyes.

"Bu Yao."

Bu Yao turned to see Long Ye approaching. Perhaps because he had been running for a while, sweat was glistening on his forehead. His anxious eyes brightened upon seeing Bu Yao and he forgot that Feng Changqing was there as well, rushing over to embrace her.

Being held tightly by Long Ye, she felt like she would be crushed in the next second. Even her bones began to creak under the pressure. Feeling uncomfortable, Bu Yao gently pushed him away.

"Your Highness, why did you not greet His Majesty" She took a step back and asked softly, "Aren't you afraid of being blamed by His Majesty"

Long Ye was slightly taken aback, then turned to see Feng Changqing. His face flushed, he scratched the back of his head, forgetting to kneel in greeting until Bu Yao gave him a push.

"No need for formalities among brothers." Feng Changqing said as he looked at Qinquan軒 (a pavilion), and remarked coolly, "The Empress Dowager's birthday is approaching. You've been working hard these days."

Long Ye had been in charge of the preparations for this event directly.

"It's my duty as a vassal to relieve Your Majesty of worries." After bowing in thanks, Long Ye continued, "My wife is visiting the palace for the first time. Missing her sister after so many days apart, she got lost out of worry and might have disturbed Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty's pardon."

Feng Changqing turned around and said softly, "If sisters are close, what crime can there be But your words sound like our brotherhood isn't as deep as it should be."

Long Ye was slightly startled and felt ashamed.

"However, whether or not she disturbed you is something only my wife would know." He coldly glanced at Bu Yao then turned to leave.

Only when Feng Changqing had completely disappeared from sight did Bu Yao feel as if she'd surfaced. She stumbled into Long Ye's arms, for a moment earlier she had sensed Feng Changqing's killing intent.

Because she had heard what she shouldn't have.

"So it is." Qi Lin muttered to herself while staring at the plate of pastries in front of her. "The Empress Dowager doesn't like overly sweet food, which explains why there are so many remaining desserts that are too sweet. But..."

Recalling when she quietly gave a small palace maid leftover pastries from lunch earlier today and discovered the leftovers were also another kind of sweet pastry—though it was delicate and fragrantly sweet, she preferred those with sour notes.

Might the Empress Dowager only eat desserts and not other dishes

That would be quite odd.

"So pastries are actually her main dish Then all the hard work done by the cooks to prepare meals isn't considered her 'dish' move at all, as if she was feeling nothing. Then he placed the other end of the vine on top of the white plum in the white jade bed before stepping back to one side.The blood flowed like a little sna...