I started as a concubine, and I made the crown prince cry with my delicious food.

The hot pot was a hit with everyone in the Eastern Palace.

That day, Fuyun held Hotpot tightly, carefully grooming its fur: "My lady, look at Hotpot's fur, it even shines in the moonlight."

"That's right," Chenzhu leaned closer and gently poked the little paw pad of the hotpot with her finger, "and it has a really good temper, it never scratches people randomly."

Ye An'an sat to the side, watching the two maids bustling around the hot pot, and felt a sense of comfort in her heart. She thought of the cats in those modern videos; although they were all cute, their tempers were anything but good. They would get angry at the drop of a hat and even do parkour in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, her cat, Hotpot, is not only adorable but also has a wonderfully good temperament. It never plays or meows while the cats are resting or sleeping, making it a truly exceptional cat.

"Oh, right," Fuyun suddenly remembered something, took out a few hairpins and trinkets from her dressing case, and placed them on the table, "My lady, I've discovered that the hotpot is particularly clever, look—"

She pointed at the objects and said to Hotpot, "Hotpot, bring me that pearl hairpin."

Ye An'an didn't take it seriously at first, but to her surprise, the hotpot actually tilted its little head and looked at it, then walked gracefully to the table and precisely picked up the pearl-encrusted hairpin.

"My God!" Chen Zhu exclaimed in surprise, "It really understood!"

Ye An'an was also stunned. She quickly said, "Hotpot, bring that jade pendant over here."

The hotpot meowed and accurately picked up the jade pendant, placing it beside Ye An'an.

"This..." Ye An'an's eyes widened. "This is too clever!"

Fuyun and Chenzhu exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with surprise: "Your Highness, our Eastern Palace has raised a treasure! I've heard that the cats kept by the noble ladies in the palace can't even recognize their own names, let alone recognize objects."

Ye An'an stroked the little guy's head, feeling a sense of wonder. Could this little guy also be from another time? Otherwise, how could he be so intelligent and understanding?

Such a clever kitten certainly deserves to be fed well.

Looking into Hotpot's round eyes, Ye An'an was already planning what delicious food to make for it. She couldn't make modern cat food or canned food, but in her past life, she was a seasoned foodie who had studied all kinds of cuisines, so making a nutritious cat meal for Hotpot was a piece of cake.

"My lady, where are you going?" Fuyun asked hurriedly when she saw Ye An'an get up.

"Go to the imperial kitchen and get some good food for Hotpot," Ye An'an said, bending down to pat Hotpot's little head. "This clever little guy deserves a good reward."

Hotpot seemed to understand, meowed, and rubbed its little head against her palm.

"Oh dear, Hotpot is being coquettish!" Chenzhu covered her mouth and laughed. "My lady, shall I accompany you?"

The three people and the cat headed towards the imperial kitchen. Before they even entered, they heard a commotion coming from inside.

"What kind of monster is this? It has eight legs covered in suckers!"

"I heard it was brought as tribute from the East Sea, called 'Shiju,' and that its meat is said to be delicious, but look at it..."

"The imperial chefs are all stumped. This stuff is both fishy and slippery; they have no idea how to prepare it!"

Ye An'an's curiosity was piqued, and she quickly entered the imperial kitchen. There she saw several eunuchs surrounding a large wooden tub filled with water, in which several grayish-brown creatures swam slowly.

She leaned closer to take a look, and her eyes widened instantly—this wasn't some strange stone dwelling at all, it was clearly an octopus with bouncy, incredibly delicious flesh!

"My God!" Ye An'an exclaimed excitedly, almost jumping up and down. "This is amazing!"

The young eunuchs were startled by her reaction and quickly bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Princess."

"Your Highness, do you recognize this stone house?" an older imperial chef asked cautiously. "We're having trouble figuring out what to do with it. It has a strong fishy smell, and it gets tough after cooking, it's really..."

Ye An'an's eyes gleamed with excitement: "Fiery? That's because you don't know how to make it!"

"I'm taking this bucket of stone with me!" Ye An'an waved her hand and hurriedly returned to the East Palace with the ingredients.

Back in her bedroom, Ye An'an lay on the table drawing the specially made lotus-shaped baking tray. Xiao Jingshi was sitting beside her reading a book. Seeing that half of her body was almost pressed against him, and smelling the faint fragrance of herbs and trees emanating from her, he unconsciously tightened his grip on the book.

"What weird thing are you drawing now?" Xiao Jingshi put down his book and casually leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against Ye An'an's ear.

Ye An'an shrank her neck, turned her head and smiled, "Your Highness, this is called takoyaki. I guarantee you'll want to swallow your tongue when it's made." Because of her excitement, she placed her small hand directly on the back of Xiao Jingshi's hand. The coolness of her fingertips made Xiao Jingshi's heart tremble, but he turned around and wrapped that small hand in his palm.

Ye An'an shrank her neck, turned her head and smiled, "Your Highness, this is called takoyaki. I guarantee you'll want to swallow your tongue when it's made." Because of her excitement, she placed her small hand directly on the back of Xiao Jingshi's hand. The coolness of her fingertips made Xiao Jingshi's heart tremble, but he turned around and wrapped that small hand in his palm.

"I'll wait here." His voice was deep, with a hint of barely perceptible doting.

The most crucial element in making takoyaki is the special baking pan with its individual semi-circular grooves.

Ye An'an was engrossed in writing at the table, while Xiao Jingshi sat beside her, one hand supporting his chin as he watched her draw, the other hand occasionally reaching over to tuck stray hairs behind her ear.

"Your Highness, please stop fooling around." Ye An'an glared at him reproachfully.

"I just think that the way you look so serious..." Xiao Jingshi paused, his ears turning slightly red, "is very attractive."

Ye An'an felt a surge of sweetness in her heart, but pretended to remain calm and continued drawing: "Then please watch quietly and don't disturb me."

Once the blueprints were finished, Ye An'an immediately summoned the head craftsman from the Eastern Palace. He was a master craftsman in his fifties who had worked in the palace for thirty years and had seen all sorts of strange and unusual objects.

But the moment he took the blueprints, he was completely stunned.

"This...this is..." The old craftsman's fingers trembled. "Your Majesty, I've never seen this object in your drawings before! What are these semi-circular grooves for?"

"For making delicious food." Ye An'an blinked. "How about it? Can I make it?"

"It's possible..." the master craftsman hesitated, "but the curvature of these grooves requires extremely high precision; each one must be exactly the same, and the finest copper must be used..."

Xiao Jingshi said calmly, "Do your best."

During this break, Ye An'an brought Fuyun and Chenzhu to the small kitchen.

The kitchen staff quickly helped Ye An'an prepare.

Ye An'an scooped a medium-sized octopus out of the wooden bucket and skillfully began to process it. She first scrubbed the octopus's surface repeatedly with coarse salt to remove the slime, then cut off its eyes and mouth, and removed its internal organs.

"Your Highness, there's still ink in Shi Ju's head!" a maid exclaimed.

"That's an ink sac, you can make squid ink pasta... cough, anyway, it's a good thing." Ye An'an almost let slip, but quickly changed the subject, "But we don't need it today, let's leave it for now."

She cleaned the octopus, cut it into small pieces, and then boiled a pot of water, adding ginger slices and cooking wine.

"Remember, the water for boiling the octopus must be brought to a boil over high heat. Then put the octopus in, count to thirty, and take it out immediately. If you cook it for too long, the meat will become tough."

As Ye An'an demonstrated, she explained the process, and the maids all gathered around, afraid of missing any details.

Thirty seconds later, the octopus was scooped out. Its originally limp octopus legs curled up naturally, making it look very appetizing.

"Now comes the crucial part." Ye An'an took a chicken breast, a few carrots, and a bunch of greens from the ingredient shelf. "When cooking for cats, a balanced diet is the most important thing."

She cooked the chicken breast and shredded it into thin strips, diced the carrots and steamed them until soft, blanched the greens and chopped them, then cut the octopus meat into small pieces. She mixed all the ingredients together and finally drizzled a little fish broth on top.

A delicious and visually appealing bowl of cat food is ready.

"Hot pot, come and try it!"

The hotpot, which had been waiting patiently nearby, was immediately brought over, and the little one buried their head in the bowl and devoured it. The way they ate was as if they hadn't eaten in three days.

"Meow~ Meow~" The hotpot ate while making satisfied meows, its little tail wagging like a rattle.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a large bowl of cat food was completely devoured. Hotpot was still licking the rim of the bowl with lingering relish, its round eyes looking pitifully at Ye An'an.

"That's all. Eating too much is bad for your stomach." Ye An'an patted its little head. "I'll make you something tomorrow."

Hotpot seemed to understand. Although it was a little reluctant, it obediently lay down at Ye An'an's feet, occasionally licking the fur around its mouth with its little tongue, clearly still savoring the delicious food it had just eaten.