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

Ye An'an's "compressed biscuits" achieved unprecedented success in the Imperial Study.

After personally tasting and experiencing the miraculous feeling of fullness that "a small piece lasts a day," Emperor Xiao Yuanzheng was so excited that he immediately ordered the establishment of a special "Military Rations Department," headed by Ye Feng and with Ye An'an serving as the "Chief Technical Advisor," to be fully responsible for the mass production and promotion of this new type of military ration.

In an instant, the name of Ye An'an, the Crown Prince's concubine, resounded throughout the entire court once again.

This time, it wasn't because of her novel dishes, nor because of the Crown Prince's favor towards her.

Rather, it was because of her extraordinary talent, which was enough to change the fate of the nation.

Everyone began to re-examine this crown prince's concubine, whom they had once considered "the daughter of a vulgar warrior."

They discovered that this woman was far more unfathomable than they had imagined.

Ye An'an's prestige in the court reached its peak. Her position in the palace also became increasingly secure.

However, while some are happy, others are sad.

Inside the Prince Jing's residence, Princess Jing, listening to the increasingly fantastical rumors about Ye An'an outside, became so angry that she smashed another set of her most beloved teaware.

"Compressed biscuits? New military rations? Who does she think she is? A lowly woman who only stays in the kitchen, dares to talk about matters of national importance?"

Princess Jing's face was filled with jealousy and resentment.

Ever since she was publicly humiliated by Ye An'an at "Wenxianglai", she has become the laughing stock of the entire circle of wealthy women in Beijing.

She shut herself off from visitors for a long time before gradually suppressing the matter.

But now, the name Ye An'an has once again appeared in everyone's mouths in a way that she could never hope to reach.

How could she possibly tolerate this?

"I just don't believe it! What could a woman like her know about military rations? It must have been a lucky accident!" Princess Jing said through gritted teeth.

Her dowry maidservant quickly stepped forward to advise, "Your Highness, please calm down. That Lady Ye is currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, and His Highness the Crown Prince protects her like the apple of his eye. We...we'd better not provoke her lightly."

"I can't swallow this!" Princess Jing's eyes flashed with resentment. "Isn't she good at cooking? Didn't she win over the Emperor and Empress with a few lowly dishes? I'll see just how amazing her cooking really is!"

"If she can do it, why can't I?"

A crazy idea popped into her mind.

She wants to imitate!

She wants to create dishes that are even more delicious and refined than Ye An'an's!

She wanted everyone to know that she, the proper princess, was a hundred times better than Ye An'an, that lowly concubine, in terms of both status and talent!

She remembered the most popular dish in the palace recently, which was said to be "braised chicken feet" that even the emperor secretly ate.

"It's just a chicken foot, isn't it? How difficult can something that only the lower classes eat be to make?"

A look of disdain appeared on Princess Jing's face.

She immediately summoned the best chefs from her palace.

"From today onwards, you don't need to do anything else. Just research one thing—braised chicken feet!"

She told the cooks all the descriptions of braised chicken feet that she had learned from the palace.

"I don't care what methods you use, within three days you must make me, the princess, the same as, no, even better, braised chicken feet in the palace!"

"If you do a good job, I, the Princess Consort, will reward you handsomely! If you don't, you're all fired!"

The cooks looked at each other, their faces showing a troubled expression.

Brine?

They had never even heard of it.

But the princess had given a strict order, and they dared not disobey, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

For the next three days, chaos reigned in the small kitchen of Prince Jing's residence.

Those cooks racked their brains.

They didn't know what "zhaolu" was, so they assumed it was "braised with wine".

So they found the best Daughter's Red wine and the best Zhuangyuanlou wine, poured them all into the pot, added various spices, and started braising chicken feet.

As a result, the braised chicken feet had an overwhelming smell of alcohol, were bitter and astringent, and were so unpalatable that they could kill a person.

The first attempt failed.

They wondered if they should marinate the chicken feet in wine lees first.

So they found a lot of fermented grains, buried the chicken feet in them, and marinated them for a day and a night.

As a result, the pickled chicken feet were so sour they made your teeth ache, and they also had a rancid smell from over-fermentation.

The second attempt failed.

They tried countless methods—steaming, boiling, frying, stir-frying—wasting a huge amount of the precious ingredients and spices in the palace.

The food they made became increasingly unpalatable with each attempt.

Princess Jing would come to inspect the kitchen every day. Seeing the strangely shaped "failed products" and the several gloomy-faced cooks, she was so angry that she almost set the kitchen on fire.

"A bunch of useless good-for-nothings! What use are you to me, the princess?"

By the third day, the deadline was fast approaching.

A cook, having exhausted all other options, came up with a "shortcut" method.

He felt that since the flavor couldn't be achieved through braising, he might as well not braise it at all.

He boiled the chicken feet in plain water using the most traditional method, and then soaked them in ice water to make them crisp and refreshing.

Next, he used a lot of salt, sugar, spices and a little Shaoxing wine to make a sauce that tasted fairly salty and savory.

Finally, put the cooked chicken feet into the sauce and let them soak for several hours.

When he presented this "modified" version of "braised chicken feet" to Princess Jing, she took a bite.

Although the taste was far from what was rumored, it completely lacked that unique aroma.

Fortunately, the texture is still quite crisp and the taste is still fairly salty and savory.

This is a world of difference compared to those previous "culinary disasters".

"Hmm... this is barely edible," Princess Jing commented, frowning.

She knew in her heart that this was not what she wanted at all.

But now, they're in a bind.

She has already announced that she will hold a "tasting event" in her own residence, inviting several prominent princesses and noble ladies from the capital to taste her "personally developed" "secret recipe chicken feet from the royal residence".

Now, we have no choice but to bite the bullet and use this "fake" to make up the difference.

She refused to believe that those women could tell the difference between the two.

The tasting event was held as scheduled.

In the back garden of Prince Jing's mansion, guests gathered, chatting and laughing.

Princess Jing, dressed in a gorgeous gown, proudly had her "secret recipe phoenix feet" brought out.

The chicken feet, arranged on an elegant plate, looked quite presentable.

"Ladies, come and have a taste!" Princess Jing greeted warmly. "This is a unique delicacy that I painstakingly developed. It's so much better than the one in the Eastern Palace that only uses inferior ingredients."

Her words were loaded with meaning, and everyone present understood.

Several ladies who were on good terms with her quickly stepped forward and flattered her:

"Oh my, Your Highness is so skillful! Just by the smell, I know it must taste better than anything sold outside!"

"Yes, yes, anything made by the Princess is guaranteed to be top-notch!"

Amidst the praise of the crowd, a lady picked up a chicken foot and put it in her mouth.

She chewed twice, and then the smile on her face... froze.

"How is it? Delicious, right?" Princess Jing asked expectantly.

"Mmm...good...delicious..." The lady managed a weak smile, then silently put down her chopsticks.

Seeing this, the others also picked up their chopsticks and started to taste it.

Then, everyone wore the same awkward yet polite smile as the First Lady.

These chicken feet aren't exactly unpalatable.

But it's definitely not delicious.

It's just ordinary salted pickled chicken feet.

Compared to the cool, chewy, savory, and refreshing braised chicken feet they ate at "Wenxianglai," it was like heaven and earth.

This... this is something they dare to call "secret recipe"?

How dare you compare yourself to the Crown Prince?

This is simply a case of imitating someone poorly and bringing shame upon oneself!

Everyone present knew exactly what was going on, but no one dared to say it aloud. They could only stand there awkwardly, exchanging pleasantries.

Just when the atmosphere became extremely awkward.

An untimely voice came from the doorway.

"Oh my, what smells so good? Sister-in-law Jing, what delicious food are you making again? Let me have a taste!"

Everyone turned around and saw Ye An'an, with Fu Yun, walking in through the door with a smile.

She was also carrying a food box in her hand.

Today, she was ordered by the Empress to deliver some newly bestowed fabrics from the palace to Princess Jing.

Unexpectedly, they stumbled upon this massive "car crash" scene.

When Princess Jing saw her, her already embarrassed face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

What a small world!