Chapter 541 - 544: Culinary Skills
The city’s officials had long received word that the Regent King would be coming for an inspection, and were waiting for him near the city gates ahead of time.
The moment they saw the Regent King’s carriage, they rushed forward to greet him with great enthusiasm.
"This humble official greets the Regent Prince!"
Thanks to the enthusiastic hospitality of the local officials, Hua Manman and Li Xun ate their fill.
That afternoon, they followed Li Ji to inspect the city.
Li Ji had come to Tianjing primarily to check whether the items needed for the capital relocation ceremony were ready.
Hua Manman learned a great deal just by following along.
The sun was about to set, but Li Ji still showed no signs of wanting to return.
Hua Manman couldn’t resist asking.
"Aren’t we going back yet?"
Li Ji seemed to have only just remembered about returning. He glanced at the color of the sky, then said.
"It’s so late. If we go back now, I’m afraid the city gates will already be closed.
Why don’t we just stay here tonight? It’s all the same if we return tomorrow."
Hua Manman said quickly, "But I already told Jiao Gui I would be back tonight. If she doesn’t see me, she’s sure to get anxious."
Li Ji said, "No matter. I will have someone ride back by express horse to send a message, telling them you’re staying overnight in Tianjing."
Since he had put it that way, Hua Manman could find no reason to refuse and had no choice but to accept his proposal.
After the inspection was over, Li Ji declined the officials’ invitation to a banquet.
He took his wife and son to the new Regent Prince Mansion.
When Tianjing was built, the Regent Prince Mansion was constructed along with it. Now, the mansion’s facilities were all in place, and servants cleaned it daily. It was truly move-in ready.
Hua Manman thought the Regent King was going to have the mansion’s cooks make them a delicious meal.
But as it turned out, the Regent King intended to cook himself!
This completely shocked Hua Manman.
She watched the Regent King roll up his sleeves, eager to give it a try, and couldn’t help but attempt to persuade him otherwise.
"Perhaps we should just let the cooks do it?"
Li Ji lifted his gaze to her and asked coolly.
"What? You don’t have faith in my culinary skills?"
Hua Manman really wanted to ask, ’Regarding your cooking skills, don’t you have any self-awareness?’
But she didn’t dare say that out loud.
She could only force a smile.
"How could I dare not trust you? It’s just that cooking is so smoky, I’m worried you won’t be able to stand it."
Li Ji said dismissively, "A little smoke and oil is nothing to me."
What hardships hadn’t he endured during his past military campaigns?
How could merely cooking a few dishes possibly be difficult for him?!
Seeing how full of confidence he was, Hua Manman didn’t feel it was right to keep dampening his spirits, so she silently closed her mouth.
Just then, Li Xun came looking for her, holding his homework book.
He asked, full of anticipation.
"Mother, there are a few problems I can’t do. Can you teach me?"
Hua Manman asked cautiously.
"What kind of problems?"
Li Xun said with a serious expression.
"I’ve been trying to learn how to write poetry lately, but I can’t seem to get it right. Could I ask Mother to help?"
Li Ji, who was busy in the kitchen, heard this and couldn’t help but let out a cryptic laugh, his lips curling slightly.
Li Xun’s senses were extremely sharp.
The moment he heard the laugh, he immediately turned his head to look at Li Ji.
"What are you laughing at, Father?"
Li Ji didn’t answer, instead asking, "Why do you think I’m laughing? Don’t you already know?"
Li Xun felt a little guilty.
He didn’t actually like reading at all, and he had never done his homework in the past.
The reason he had taken the initiative to ask his mother for help with his schoolwork today was that he wanted to use this opportunity to grow closer to her.
To put it bluntly, he was just putting on an act and didn’t really want to do his homework.
In truth, Hua Manman felt just as guilty.
She didn’t know how to compose poetry at all.
But seeing the child so diligent and eager to learn, she really couldn’t bring herself to refuse, so she had no choice but to brace herself and agree.
"Alright."
Afraid his father would expose him, Li Xun quickly grabbed his mother’s hand and urged her.
"Let’s go to the study; there’s a brush and ink there."
He pulled Hua Manman away to the study.
Li Ji was curious. ’What kind of little underachiever would a big underachiever manage to tutor?’
He deliberately called out to their retreating backs.
"Show me your homework when you’re done!"
Li Xun pretended not to hear, pulling his mother along at a faster pace.
Once they were gone, Li Ji was the only one left in the kitchen.
As for the servants who had originally been working in the kitchen, they had all been shooed out by Li Ji.
’Doesn’t Manman love to eat?’
’I’ll cook a delicious meal for her with my own two hands tonight.’
’She’ll surely be touched. Maybe she’ll even remember some things from the past because of it.’
Filled with motivation, Li Ji surveyed his surroundings.
’What should I do first?’
’I should probably cook the rice first.’
He lifted the lid of the rice container and scooped out two large spoonfuls of rice.
Then he thought, ’That’s not enough.’
’Manman has such a big appetite, and that brat and I eat a lot too.’
’This little bit of rice definitely won’t be enough.’
So, with a few quick scoops, he added three more big spoonfuls of rice.
Next was cooking the rice.
Although Li Ji had never personally cooked rice before, he knew that water had to be added.
But he had no idea how much water he should add.
He pondered for a moment. ’I can’t add too much water, or it will turn into porridge.’
So, he added only a single spoonful of water.
He was quite skilled at starting fires.
He had a fire going in just a few moments.
The inside of the stove glowed red-hot.
Li Ji was very satisfied with his masterpiece.
He stood up, satisfied, and began to select ingredients.
He remembered Manman liked shrimp. ’I’ll make some stir-fried shrimp, then a meat stew, a green vegetable dish, a soup, and a cold dish. That should be about right.’
By the time he finished preparing the entire meal, Li Xun’s homework was also nearly done.
Li Ji personally carried the results of his efforts to the dining hall.
He served a bowl of rice and placed it in front of Hua Manman, then picked up a pair of chopsticks, pushed them into her hand, and urged her.
"Hurry and taste my cooking!"
The few dishes on the table looked quite normal.
Hua Manman figured they couldn’t be that bad.
She casually picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth.
The moment she chewed, her expression instantly turned strange.
Li Ji asked, full of anticipation.
"How does the dish taste?"
Hua Manman managed to swallow the piece of meat with difficulty, then said in a hoarse voice.
"It’s fine. The salt is cooked nicely... and it has a hint of food flavor."
Li Ji was speechless.
He asked in astonishment, "Is it very salty? I didn’t add that much salt."
With that, he picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks.
The moment he tasted it.
He discovered it wasn’t just salty—it was unbearably so!
To counteract the saltiness, he quickly shoveled two mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.
Only to discover that the rice was undercooked!
Li Ji hurriedly spat out all the food in his mouth.
PTUI! PTUI! That’s disgusting!
His expression was awful.
Hua Manman silently handed him a cup of water and comforted him.
"It’s alright. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. The Prince is already so capable in other areas, so it’s understandable that cooking isn’t one of them."
Li Ji tilted his head back and drank all the water.
He quickly had someone clear away all the food and ordered the cooks to make a new meal.