Chapter Ten: Do You Need My Help?

When Anqi heard Li Yanhe's words, his expression immediately turned grave. He said to Li Yanhe, "His Majesty has thoroughly investigated this matter. This time, Yuan Sihan has been appointed as the overseer, and the Third Prince as his supervisor."

Li Yanhe glanced at the trees Yang Fugui had planted in his yard and asked Anqi, "How are things at Daankou?"

Although the imperial clan held respectable titles and enjoyed high status—anyone who met them would have to pay their respects—they were not as influential as the officials of the Six Ministries. The reason was simple: the Six Ministries wielded real power, while these idle princes and nobles had nothing of substance. Sometimes, even when they needed something done, they had to look to the officials for favor. Li Tai'an had no desire to become such a man.

But to rise above others, the obstacles ahead were numerous. The Third Prince, Li Tai'an, looked into the distance. Autumn had already begun, yet the main general stationed at Daankou was nowhere to be found.

"Second Brother, I wish you good luck," Li Tai'an said, his lips curving into a gentle, refined smile.

Xiao Gexu simply stood quietly by Li Tai'an’s side. Li Tai'an seemed a bit weary; he buried his head into Xiao Gexu’s arms like a child, acting spoiled as he said, "Cousin, my head aches... I feel a little dizzy."

A soft smile appeared on Xiao Gexu’s jade-like features, and he gently massaged Li Tai'an's head, embodying the very image of a gentleman.

Meanwhile, General Yuan Sihan was nothing like the Third Prince. He spurred his horse relentlessly, racing toward Daankou with all possible speed. Many horses collapsed and died along the way, but Yuan Sihan dared not relax, as the disappearance of Daankou’s commander made this a most critical moment.

Li Yanhe looked at the child Lin Miao-miao before him, who was clearly famished. While Lin Miao-miao slept, Li Yanhe and Yuan Sihan took the bows and arrows from Yang Fugui’s house and went up the mountain to hunt. It was already autumn, and many animals had gone into hiding, so Li Yanhe and Anqi managed to bring back only a rabbit and a pheasant.

Lin Miao-miao had been known in her modern life as a difficult person to please—particularly when it came to food. So when Li Yanhe brought back the feathered pheasant and rabbit, Lin Miao-miao eyed the animals and quietly asked, "You're not expecting me to clean these, are you?"

Li Yanhe glanced at the rabbit and pheasant in his hands, and for some reason, a smile tugged at his lips. Anqi watched them silently from behind, knowing that his master was in excellent spirits—thanks to Miss Lin.

Li Yanhe asked Lin Miao-miao, "Do you know how to clean them?"

Hearing Li Yanhe's voice—low and cool—if not for her own carefree nature and familiarity, Lin Miao-miao might have thought him unapproachable.

Rolling her eyes, she lifted her chin and retorted, "Absolutely not! Even if you paid me, I wouldn't do it. I'm so delicate and helpless I can't even bring myself to step on an ant, and you expect me to kill a chicken and a rabbit?"

She widened her round eyes and gazed at Li Yanhe, her look so pitiful that for a moment he felt she and the rabbit overlapped in his vision.

"Hmph! Rabbits are so cute, how can you eat them? Li Zhong, you’re such a villain!"

Imitating a famous actress’s coquettish tone, Lin Miao-miao, with her fair cheeks and big, almond-shaped eyes, made Li Yanhe wonder if she had bunny ears hidden somewhere.

A smile once again broke through Li Yanhe’s stern demeanor. He stroked Lin Miao-miao’s head and said softly, "Enough, don't make such a fuss."

Lin Miao-miao was caught off guard by his indulgent tone and deep voice, and she blurted out, "Oh my, you’re so charming! Whose young man is this? Oh wait, I forgot—it’s Miao-miao’s!"

She rambled on in a comic monologue, nodding and shaking her head as she spoke, even making the usually impassive Anqi smile.

"Yes, Miao-miao’s young man," Li Yanhe replied. As Lin Miao-miao watched him pluck the feathers and gut the chicken, she suddenly found his charm irresistible.

She thought to herself that being Li Yanhe's child bride wasn’t so bad after all. Even though she was a committed modern revolutionary, there was nothing wrong with admiring a handsome man! Especially since she could do so openly, given their engagement. After being single for over twenty years, Lin Miao-miao felt she owed a debt of gratitude to the matchmaker who had found her a fiancé.

Thinking of all the spices from ancient times, she cheerfully asked Li Yanhe, "Would you like me to cook?"

Li Yanhe looked at her. "You know how?"

She nodded energetically and patted her chest. "Is there anything I can't do? I, Lin Miao-miao, can manage a banquet hall or a kitchen—this is a piece of cake!"

Li Yanhe had just finished cleaning the chicken, and Anqi had skinned and gutted the rabbit. Li Yanhe looked up and asked seriously, "Piece of cake? What does that mean?"

Lin Miao-miao was about to explain when Li Yanhe added, "Also, I am older than you and your fiancé. You shouldn’t have me call you 'Sister Miao.'"

Lin Miao-miao felt as though crows were flying overhead and didn’t know what to say, so she forced a laugh and turned toward the kitchen.

Upon reaching the stove, she realized she might have been too optimistic. How was she supposed to manage the fire? The pot and spatula were enormous—she felt she might tumble into the pot herself.

Seeing her stand at the stove doing nothing, Anqi coughed softly and asked, "Miss Lin, are you cooking?"

She licked her lips and replied, "Don’t worry, Black Seven, I can handle it."

A few minutes later, Lin Miao-miao emerged from the kitchen blackened from head to toe, coughing and in tears. Thick smoke billowed from the chimney as she stood there, and Li Yanhe raised his brows at her earlier bravado.

She coughed, avoiding his amused gaze, and said, "That was an accident. If someone managed the fire for me, I’d definitely do better."

So Anqi took over the fire while she brought a stool to the stove, directing Anqi and instructing Li Yanhe to hand her salt and oil as needed.

When Yang Fugui entered the kitchen, he found two grown men and a young woman packed inside, with the girl bossing the men around. The kitchen was lively indeed. When Lin Miao-miao saw Yang Fugui, she asked, "Could you spare some rock sugar and mushrooms?"

Yang Fugui’s family had some wild goods—dried mushrooms, though not exactly what Lin Miao-miao wanted, but she made do. There was no rock sugar or white sugar—those were too precious for commoners. All that remained was a little brown sugar from his wife's confinement, which he offered.

After much effort, Lin Miao-miao finally got water on the boil and let everything simmer. Twenty minutes later, a rustic version of braised chicken was ready.

She wanted to make rice but asked Yang Fugui, "Where’s the rice?"

Yang Fugui replied, "Little auntie, ordinary folk can’t afford white rice. Only the well-to-do eat that. Poor families like ours make do with brown rice."

Lin Miao-miao nodded. "That’s fine—brown rice is supposed to be healthy anyway!"

Thirty minutes later, she finally understood the legend of brown rice—it was nothing like what she’d eaten in modern times. Staring at the coarse grains, she nearly lost her appetite. But the aroma of the braised chicken was too tempting, and Li Yanhe and Anqi polished off a whole basin of brown rice and an entire pot of chicken.

Lin Miao-miao tasted her own cooking. It was simple, the steps to remove the gamey flavor were rudimentary, but the chicken was edible. Still, she thought it was the worst braised chicken she’d ever made.

She asked Li Yanhe, "Is there any place in town that sells this kind of chicken? Or a large restaurant that serves it?"

Li Yanhe paused in the middle of his meal and replied, "No. This is the first time you’ve made it, and the first time I’ve tasted it."

He said no more. Lin Miao-miao, being small and not having a big appetite, only finished half her bowl and pushed the rest toward Li Yanhe. Li Yanhe didn’t mind—after all, she was his little one, and he was happy to eat her leftovers.

Lin Miao-miao noticed Anqi watching her, then looking at her unfinished rice. Not wanting to waste food, she handed the rest to Li Yanhe.

A faint awkwardness passed through her—was it improper to give her leftovers to him? But Li Yanhe placed a hand on her head and reassured her, "It’s fine."

Anqi watched the whole scene, feeling oddly as if he’d witnessed something he shouldn’t have. Would Heaven...