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

When Granny Gui arrived at Tinglan Water Pavilion with the Empress's "decree," Ye An'an was showing Xiao Jingshi her "spoils of war"—two large jars of golden crab roe sauce.

"Your Highness, look, this took me all afternoon to make. All the essence is in this!" She patted the earthenware pot with pride. "With this, even eating tree bark will taste like the finest delicacies, let alone plain rice!"

Looking at the golden, glistening sauce and smelling its exquisite aroma, Xiao Jingshi was once again deeply moved.

He knew crabs were delicious, but he didn't know that the deliciousness of crabs could be condensed into something like this.

This woman always manages to create the most incredible miracles using the most common ingredients.

Just then, Granny Gui walked in.

She relayed Empress Wei's meaning verbatim.

"You want the recipe?" Ye An'an blinked after hearing this, then smiled. "If Mother Empress likes it, just tell me directly. There's no need for all this trouble. I've already prepared a portion of this sauce for Mother Empress. As for the recipe..."

She deliberately dragged out her words and glanced at Xiao Jingshi.

Xiao Jingshi immediately understood what she meant.

He spoke calmly to Granny Gui, "Go back and tell the Empress Dowager that this sauce is made through a complicated process. If it's not made by An'an herself, the taste will be vastly different. The people in the Imperial Kitchen can't make it taste like this. If the Empress Dowager wants to eat it in the future, just have An'an make it and send it to her."

His words both protected Ye An'an and gave the Empress a way out.

After all, this exclusive recipe is the future cash cow of "Wenxianglai," so how could it be easily passed on to outsiders?

Granny Gui was a shrewd woman, and she immediately understood the Crown Prince's implied meaning. She smiled and agreed, then, carrying a large jar of crab roe sauce that Ye An'an had prepared beforehand, she returned to Fengyi Palace to report back, completely satisfied.

Having dealt with the Queen, Ye An'an's "Love Baggage" plan has entered its final and most "explosive" phase—making instant noodles.

In an era without industrialized production lines, it would have been virtually impossible to make instant noodles with the same texture as modern ones.

But who is Ye An'an? She's a gourmet with a modern soul!

She decided to make a handmade version of "instant noodles".

She instructed the kitchen to use the finest high-gluten flour, add salt and a little alkali, and knead it into a very stiff dough.

Then comes the most physically demanding step – pressing the dough.

Without a dough press, she had two strong young eunuchs repeatedly roll and fold the dough with a huge rolling pin.

This process lasted for nearly an hour.

Until the dough became incredibly smooth, firm, and elastic.

Next, she cut the dough into evenly sized pieces and then used a regular rolling pin to roll them out into paper-thin sheets.

Then use a knife to cut it into thin noodles.

The cooked noodles cannot be put directly into the pot.

She asked the kitchen to boil a large pot of water, put the noodles in the pot, cooked them until they were about 70-80% done, and then quickly took them out and rinsed them with cold water.

The purpose of doing this is to make the noodles more chewy and springy.

Finally, and most importantly—deep-frying.

She drained the noodles after rinsing them in cold water, then rolled them into round "pancakes" and fried them in boiling oil until golden brown and crispy.

The deep-frying process not only sets the shape of the noodles, but more importantly, it dehydrates them, thus allowing them to be preserved for a long time.

When the first golden-brown "instant noodle cake" was scooped out of the oil, everyone in the kitchen was stunned.

"Your Highness, what... what is this?" Fuyun looked at the fragrant and crispy flatbread with a curious expression.

"This is called instant noodles." Ye An'an proudly picked up a piece, broke it in her hand, and made a crisp, pleasant "crack" sound.

Just from the sound, you can tell that this stuff must be delicious.

The noodles alone are not enough; the soul of instant noodles lies in the seasoning packet.

Ye An'an also prepared three small dishes.

One of them contained a "powder packet" made by her mixing and grinding chicken broth, salt, pepper, and various spices.

One of them contained a "vegetable pack" made by chopping up and drying carrots, greens, and other vegetables.

The last one is an "oil packet" made by simmering scallion whites and spices.

Everything is ready.

Ye An'an decided to personally demonstrate this groundbreaking delicacy to Xiao Jingshi, her "Chief Product Experience Officer".

She invited Xiao Jingshi to the small kitchen and, in front of him, placed a piece of bread into a large bowl.

Then, tear open the three seasoning packets one by one and sprinkle them on the pancake.

Finally, she picked up a kettle of boiling water that had been simmering on the stove next to her and poured it over the pot.

"Sizzle—"

The moment the hot water was poured in, the aroma of the seasonings was instantly released, and a rich, savory fragrance of chicken broth and scallion oil wafted up.

Ye An'an found a lid and covered the large bowl.

"Alright, Your Highness, now, let's wait quietly for three minutes." She held up three fingers, looking mysterious.

Xiao Jingshi looked at her series of strange and illogical actions with a face full of confusion and bewilderment.

He simply couldn't understand how a dry, fried dough could become edible after being soaked in boiling water.

This is simply unheard of.

Three minutes passed quickly amidst Xiao Jingshi's doubts.

Ye An'an took a deep breath, as if she were about to unlock some treasure, and slowly lifted the lid of the bowl.

A miracle happened.

In the bowl, the originally dry and hard dough had completely softened and transformed into a bowl of golden-yellow, steaming, and fragrant soup noodles.

The noodles were distinct and stretched out in the soup, with red carrot cubes and green vegetable leaves floating on top.

The rich aroma was even more overpowering than before.

Xiao Jingshi stared at the bowl of noodles in front of him, completely frozen.

For the first time, his usually calm and collected face showed an expression that could only be described as "shock".