I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 380 Unpretentious
“Master is tired and ordered me to escort Miss out.” Pingxuan glanced at the box she was holding. “Miss’s request is in the box, so please hold it carefully.”

Is the box filled with love potions?

Huang Ting was startled. Without thinking about why she had suddenly arrived at the door, she instinctively gripped the box tightly, so hard that her fingertips turned white.

She paid a heavy price for these love potions; if they escape, there will never be another pair.

“Miss, please come downstairs with me.” Pingxuan gestured for her to come down. “I’ll show you how to use this little thing.”

His kind attitude and outstanding appearance drew Huang Ting's attention, and she gave a slight bow, saying, "Thank you."

"Let's go." Pingxuan lifted her foot and walked forward.

Huang Ting quickly followed, and under his explanation, she firmly memorized the method of planting Gu.

At the entrance of the inn, Ping Xuan watched Huang Ting leave, then put his left hand behind his back and instructed the air, "Follow her, and report to that young master Wang immediately when you see him."

As soon as he finished speaking, a white shadow flashed by and disappeared.

Meanwhile, in the military camp, Chu Liuzheng fed Xiao Jingfan his medicine, watched him fall asleep, and then carried the medicine bowl out of the tent.

Seeing her come out, Zhou Yuande, who was guarding the door, glanced into the open curtain and asked in a low voice, "Is His Majesty asleep?"

"Hmm." Chu Liuzheng also lowered his voice and lowered the curtain. "Your Majesty ate little for lunch. You should have some snacks when you wake up. I'll go to the kitchen to see if we can make some fresh."

[Sigh, all that effort I put into raising these little morsels has vanished in the blink of an eye after this trip out of the palace. If I go back like this, I'll be lucky to avoid punishment, let alone a reward from the Empress Dowager.]

Chu Liuzheng felt like the New Year was approaching, but the pig he was raising was getting thinner and thinner, and he had to do some emergency rescue before returning to the palace.

Since the food prepared by the kitchen didn't suit the boss's taste, she decided to cook it herself and figure out how to get him to eat a few more bites.

Zhou Yuande was naturally pleased that she could focus her attention on Xiao Jingfan.

The head eunuch, hands clasped in his pockets, smiled kindly: "Please go ahead, young lady. We'll take care of His Majesty's affairs."

"Thank you for your trouble, sir." Chu Liuzheng curtsied and carried the medicine bowl to the kitchen.

The kitchen was located in the northwest corner of the military camp, not far from a stream about three zhang wide. Chu Liuzheng squatted by the stream, washing the medicine bowl clean, and stared at the flowing water for a while.

Wow, another big fish! How come there are so many fish in this stream? They're quite plump; they'd be delicious grilled.

Hmm... the kitchen has pickled cabbage; making pickled cabbage fish would be quite good. While you're at it, chop off the fish head, fry it in lard, and make a fish head soup—perfect for this tyrant's sick man.

Frying, stir-frying, cooking... Several fish-related delicacies flashed through Chu Liuzheng's mind, and he couldn't help but drool, successfully making himself crave them.

Just then, two cooks came over carrying vegetable baskets to wash vegetables. The two had met Chu Liuzheng yesterday and knew that she was someone close to the emperor, so they took the initiative to greet her and were very respectful.

Chu Liuzheng stepped aside to make it easier for them to wash the vegetables and asked with a smile, "Brothers, do you have any nets for catching fish and shrimp in the kitchen?"

When she was still in the village, she often went fishing and shrimping with her friends in the stream. When it rained and the water rose, they could catch quite a lot. Although they were just small fish and shrimp, they would bring them home to her mother, and then there would be an extra fragrant meat dish on the dinner table.

Hearing Chu Liuzheng ask this, the round-faced cook on the left said, "Does the young lady want to eat fish?"

Chu Liuzheng nodded.

"Old Wu's fish-cooking skills are not good." The taller cook winked at Chu Liuzheng and whispered, "Nobody likes his fish. It has a fishy smell and lots of bones. I advise you not to try it, young lady."

Old Wu was the head chef in the kitchen; he could cook delicious big pot dishes, but his fish and meat dishes were just so-so.

When General Huang first ate the fish cooked by Lao Wu, he claimed that he saw the Black and White Impermanence, who came to collect souls.

In short, it was terribly awful. Old Wu was greatly discouraged by this, and then, adhering to the principle of "eat as much as you can, even if it doesn't kill you," he would cook fish every few days, and it was always just fish. Everyone ate it until they were in a daze, the effect being comparable to mass poisoning.

In the end, General Huang couldn't stand it anymore and issued a military order, strictly forbidding Lao Wu from cooking fish in the military camp, otherwise he would be dealt with according to military regulations.

Old Wu finally calmed down.

Chu Liuzheng had never tasted the fish that Lao Wu cooked before, and was initially curious. But after listening to the tall man's story, he suddenly realized that not everything in life needs to be tried.

She couldn't imagine how a chef who could cook other dishes well could make fish, an ingredient that could be eaten raw with a squeeze of lemon juice, taste so bad to everyone.

In this respect, Lao Wu is quite remarkable in another sense.

"Thank you for reminding me." She thanked him earnestly, then lowered her voice, "I didn't let Lao Wu make it; I made it myself."

"Okay then." The tall man breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as everyone doesn't have to eat Old Wu's fish, Chu Liuzheng can do whatever he wants.

He looked at the round-faced man and said, "Fourth brother, go down and catch a few fish for Miss Chu."

"Okay." Ge Laosi agreed, sat down and took off his shoes.

The two still had work to do, and Chu Liuzheng felt bad troubling him to go down and catch fish, so he quickly waved his hand, saying, "It's inconvenient to trouble you, I can use the net myself—"

“Don’t be so polite with me, young lady,” Ge Laosi interrupted her with a smile. “Yesterday, my daughter and my third brother’s son received the candy and snacks you gave them, and they were still happy this morning. My wife specifically told me to make sure to thank you, young lady.”

Tall Tang Laosan nodded in agreement, meaning that his wife had said the same thing.

Chu Liuzheng blinked.

Last night, when she went to the kitchen to ask for hot water, she saw several children dressed as generals with tree branches. Their faces were covered in ash, making them look like clown cats, which was quite adorable.

Coincidentally, she had some food left in the cloth bag hanging from her waist, so she took it out and shared it with the children.

I never imagined that these two people's child would be inside.

In the brief moment she was stunned, Ge Laosi had already skillfully rolled up his trouser legs, tied the hem of his clothes to his belt, and gone into the water.

The stream was gentle, and the water on the side was an inch above his knees, getting deeper as he walked further in.

Chu Liuzheng didn't know how well he could swim, so he kept telling him to be careful while keeping a close eye on him, afraid that he might fall.

Seeing her worried expression, Tang Laosan comforted her, "Don't worry, girl. When Lao Si was a child, he lived by the sea with his parents. He is an excellent swimmer and can hold his breath for half an hour. Just wait for him to catch a big fish for you."

It doesn't need to be too big.

Chu Liuzheng felt that a fish weighing two or three pounds was best for making grilled fish.

Worried that Ge Laosi might actually try to catch a big fish weighing seven or eight pounds for her, she quickly said, "No need to catch a big fish. Whatever you catch is fine. Three or four fish will do. Safety first."

Ge Laosi agreed, looked around, and walked downstream along the stream for a while.

Tang Laosan then began washing the vegetables, saying to Chu Liuzheng as he did so, "Miss, just go ahead and do what you need to do. Once we've caught enough fish, we'll kill them and send them to the kitchen. We'll let you know then."

Chu Liuzheng thought it was nice that he didn't even have to kill the fish himself, as this simple and unpretentious way of expressing gratitude was quite good.

She smiled and thanked them, planning to go to Doctor Feng's place later to scavenge some snacks for the two of them to take back to their child.

(End of this chapter)