(Here I am. I really like myself who writes so fast, hahaha!)

When Chu Lian awkwardly got up from the ground by Eunuch Sun, she turned her head and looked back. Prince Jin was still standing on the steps. His blue eyes weren't looking in her direction. Chu Lian strangely seemed to find an imperceptible smile in his eyes.

After tidying up her clothes, Chu Lian stamped her foot lightly in annoyance. She didn't dare to turn her head back to look, afraid that she would fall again. This time, she obediently followed behind Sun Gonggong and walked slowly.

Prince Jin turned around, and at an angle that Chu Lian couldn't see, he couldn't help but slightly raise the corner of his mouth.

With Chu Lian's temperament, he suddenly didn't believe that she would have a secret meeting with Xiao Bojian.

Could it be that her good friend, He Sanlang, had misunderstood her?

Eunuch Sun brought Chu Lian to the Rain Admiration Pavilion in the imperial garden.

He only heard him say: "Your Majesty, Jinyi Village Lord has arrived."

Eunuch Sun reported and retreated to the side, giving the space to Chu Lian.

Chu Lian tactfully lowered her eyes and knelt down to pay her respects to Emperor Chengping of the Great Wu Dynasty. "Chu Lian pays her respects to Your Majesty."

Suddenly, there was a burst of laughter that sounded like silver bells, "The Lord of Jinyi Village that His Majesty has just conferred is quite courteous."

Emperor Chengping, who was above her, also laughed. His voice was deep and magnetic, with a hint of authority. Chu Lian heard Emperor Chengping say, "Alright, Imperial Consort, stop teasing this girl."

Chu Lian lowered her head, but her eyes flashed. Imperial Consort?

Noble Consort Wei?

Chu Lian's face immediately turned bitter. She hadn't thought about it, but it had happened. Princess Leyao didn't like her, and the next thing she knew, she saw Princess Leyao's birth mother, Imperial Consort Wei?

Was he sure he wasn't messing with her?

"Get up, raise your head and let us have a look."

Emperor Cheng Ping seemed to be in a good mood today, and there was a hint of leisure in his tone.

Chu Lian got up and slowly raised her head to look at the two people sitting upright.

Emperor Chengping was dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe. He was middle-aged, but his figure was not out of shape. He had a pair of unfathomable eyes.

Beside him was a beautiful woman in a gorgeous purple palace dress. She was in her twenties. She was tall and slender, and the high-waisted palace dress accentuated her full breasts, making her proud and tall.

This was His Majesty's most beloved Concubine Wei. Concubine Wei's makeup was exquisite, and she applied bright red lipstick. She had the bearing of a phoenix, and the corners of her eyes were slightly raised. When she looked at Chu Lian, it gave people the feeling that she was looking down on her.

Chu Lian only raised her head to glance at the two people high up in front of her before lowering her head again. Because her movements were too fast, she didn't even clearly see the expressions of Emperor Cheng Ping and Consort Wei.

Di Pinghe was slightly startled when he saw Lian's face. His pair of deep eyes flickered slightly, then instantly covered the different expression on his face. It was as if the shock he had just experienced did not exist at all.

Wei Guifei chuckled as she pulled on Emperor Chengping's strong arm. She purposely rubbed her chest against his arm and said with a tender smile: "Ben gong did not expect that the girls from the Ying Gong fu are not only good at giving birth, their appearance is also not bad. He Jia's San lang is really lucky."

After saying that, she giggled again.

Chu Lian lowered her head and frowned slightly. In the eyes of a bystander, Concubine Wei's words might not have been a big deal, just a harmless joke.

But Chu Lian heard the sarcasm in her words.

Which noble daughter of a noble family would want to be spoken about with her belly? If it wasn't for the fact that the Ying Gong fu was in decline, no one in Shengjing would dare say such things in front of the Chu family's daughter.

Emperor Chengping stared at the girl with her head lowered and suddenly furrowed his brows.

"Jinyi, I heard that you know how to make longevity peaches, and that the longevity peaches are different from the ones you made in the past. You can pass off the fake as the real thing. Today is a festival. Why don't you make a plate of longevity peaches in front of us to add flowers to brocade?"

Chu Lian hadn't expected Emperor Chengping to make such a request, but when she thought about it, it wasn't strange.

That day at the Marquis Dingyuan fu, that plate of longevity peaches had slapped the wife of Marquis Dingyuan's heir in the face. She had also received praise from the Duke of Longevity, Marquis Dingyuan. It wasn't strange for it to spread among the wealthy circles of the capital.

Chu Lian agreed without a moment's hesitation. When Eunuch Sun heard this, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked about the ingredients Chu Lian needed.

Emperor Chengping was momentarily shocked. He hadn't expected the girl to agree so quickly. People of the time valued secret recipes very much. Obtaining a secret recipe was equivalent to obtaining a fortune.

Chu Lian making longevity peaches in front of so many people in the Rain Admiration Pavilion meant that so many servants had seen it. The secret recipe would definitely be leaked. Did she not care at all?

Emperor Chengping seemed to be a little satisfied with this rather generous girl.

If Chu Lian knew that Emperor Chengping was just using this to test her character, she would definitely roll her eyes inside. Making longevity peaches was a secret recipe? She lacked everything, but what she lacked the most was silver. Secret recipes were the only things she didn't lack.

If Emperor Chengping wanted ten, she could write them to him without blinking.

Guifei Wei's eyes turned cold. She glanced at the personal maid beside her, her fingernails lightly tapping on the handle of her seat. The maid saw this and quietly retreated with her head lowered.

In a short while, Eunuch Sun carried in all the ingredients Chu Lian needed and placed them on a wooden table that had been specially moved in. There was a special stove at the side that could be used to hold the small steamer unique to the Imperial Palace.

There was a maid standing behind Chu Lian. She looked as though she was here to help her.

Emperor Chengping looked into the hall, his gaze falling on the maid standing respectfully behind Chu Lian. "Guifei, why does zhen feel that the maid behind Jinyi is somewhat familiar?"

Guifei Wei stilled. She hadn't expected Emperor Chengping's memory to be so good. That maid was from her palace.

Guifei Wei's expression did not change. "This maid is from this qie's palace. She usually serves this qie with soup. She is a girl with excellent culinary skills. This qie was afraid that others would not do their best so I specially found her to help Jinyi."

Emperor Chengping squeezed Guifei Wei's slender hand. "Beloved consort is thoughtful.

Jinyi, do not fail to live up to guifei's good intentions. You have to perform well. "

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Chu Lian calmly started to process the ingredients in front of her. The maid also came forward to help.

Chu Lian suspected that Guifei Wei had done something, but she thought that even if she had done something in front of Emperor Chengping, it wouldn't be so obvious. Therefore, she was very careful when processing each ingredient.

Guifei Wei looked at the orderly Chu Lian below. The corners of her lips curved slightly. She blinked rapidly and was coincidentally seen by the maid who was slightly raising her head.

Guifei Wei pretended to say: "I hadn't thought that Jinyi would be so familiar with cooking. I heard that you know how to make good pastries. Why don't you stay in the Imperial Kitchen after this and teach your skills to the imperial chefs? It can be considered doing your part for the Imperial Family."

Before Chu Lian could reply, a female voice suddenly sounded from outside the door: "Guifei Wei, isn't it inappropriate for you to say this?

No matter what, Jinyi is a daughter of a noble family and has now been bestowed the title of village ruler by the Emperor. If you have her stay to teach the imperial chefs, isn't that disgracing our Imperial Family? "

Guifei Wei's eyes stared fixedly at the bright yellow dressed matron that walked in from outside the door, a flame of anger clearly burning in her eyes.

She sneered, "Meimei greets Empress. I hadn't thought that the first time Empress saw Jinyi, she couldn't resist speaking up for her. In a while, Jinyi will have to properly thank Empress jiejie."

Empress Shen raised the corners of her lips and turned to bow in the direction of Emperor Chengping. Chu Lian had no choice but to stop what she was doing and bow to this Empress who had suddenly appeared.

The smile on Emperor Chengping's face disappeared, "Empress, why have you come?"

"This qie heard that the Emperor was summoning Jinyi and wanted to come join in the fun. Fortunately, this qie came in time. Otherwise, this qie would have missed something interesting."

"Since you have come, sit down!"

Even though Guifei Wei was extremely unwilling, the position of the Empress was still above her head. In front of the Empress, she could only resentfully move out of the position that she had originally been sitting next to Emperor Chengping and sit below Emperor Chengping.

When the two women's eyes met, there was a flash of swords and knives.

Emperor Chengping rubbed his brows and waved his hand for Chu Lian to continue. He had long lost his previous interest.

Guifei Wei suddenly smiled at Empress Shen. That smile held a hint of provocation and then looked at Chu Lian below.

Chu Lian calmed her emotions. She did not place much importance on imperial power. Even if the three heavyweights were watching her cook, she only treated them as ordinary spectators and did not have much psychological pressure.

She was serious in her work, especially when it was related to food. An old mother who had taught her how to cook in the past had once told her that the food that was made by serious people was the best.

So once she threw herself into making food, she was especially serious. People who put their heart and soul into their work would always give others a good impression. The thread of irritation that Emperor Chengping had felt because of Empress Shen's arrival was dispersed by Chu Lian's seriousness.

He looked with satisfaction at Chu Lian who was immersed in her work and a trace of appreciation rose in his heart.

Chu Lian finished mixing the dough. The maid at the side had already washed two bright and delicious peaches and placed them by Chu Lian's side.

Because there was no ready-made peach flavored juice, Chu Lian could only extract the juice from the fruit herself and mix it into the flour, so that the steamed longevity peaches would have the sweet fragrance of fresh peaches.

She picked up a handy knife, picked up the peach and began to peel and cut it into pieces.

Guifei Wei saw Chu Lian's actions and the corners of her lips curled up with ill intentions.

"Ah!!!"

In the next moment, a terrified female scream pierced through the entire Rain Admiration Pavilion in the Imperial Garden.