Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Minced Meat Congee

"Get up. What are you doing?" Ming Lingyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she pulled the person up from the floor.

Yanxia: "I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime, My Lady..."

Ming Lingyi: "But aren’t I perfectly fine right now?"

"But... but you suffered so much, My Lady..." Yanxia’s eyes were still moist. "And, why did you enter the palace again today? Did the Emperor give you any trouble? What will you do from now on? I heard from the Crown Prince that you originally didn’t want to come back..."

She was a servant born into the Ming Family and had served by Ming Lingyi’s side since childhood, so she naturally followed all of Ming Lingyi’s wishes. To her, any decision her lady made was the right one. Since her lady didn’t want to return to the palace, there was nothing wrong with living out her life as a wealthy, idle commoner outside its walls.

But now, her lady had appeared in the palace.

Both Yu Yi and Yanxia couldn’t help but worry.

Ming Lingyi walked into the kitchen and noticed that the furnishings seemed completely unchanged, looking exactly as they had five years ago.

"Don’t worry about me," Ming Lingyi said. "My visit to the palace today is only temporary. I heard from Little Huachao that he is unwell, so I came to see for myself. He is Huazhao’s imperial father, after all. If he’s truly in poor health, it won’t do Huazhao any good. After all, Huazhao is still so young."

"Then... will you be leaving the palace later, My Lady?" Yu Yi asked.

"Yes."

Yu Yi concealed the disappointment in her eyes. The bond she and the others who had practically grown up with Ming Lingyi was different. If she could, Yu Yi would have wanted to leave with Ming Lingyi as well.

But for now, the Crown Prince still needed her and Yanxia to look after him. If he were left in anyone else’s care, their lady wouldn’t feel at ease, and neither would they.

Ming Lingyi seemed to sense the words that Yanxia and Yu Yi couldn’t bring themselves to say. She smiled. "Right now, I’m running a restaurant in Huaided Fang. It already has two storefronts, so it’s looking quite large. Huazhao also has a Crown Prince Mansion outside the palace. The two of you may not be able to leave the palace at the same time, but you’ll have opportunities to come out on ordinary days. When you do, you can come find me at the restaurant. It just so happens that I’m short-staffed over there, and no one else is as capable as you two."

As soon as Ming Lingyi said this, smiles bloomed on both Yu Yi’s and Yanxia’s faces.

"Really, My Lady?" Yanxia had long heard that her lady had a new maid named Xiao Chun. She would never admit that she had felt a pang of jealousy the first time she heard the name from Yu Yi.

Growing up, it was clear that she and Yu Yi were the ones her lady trusted most. Now, some little maid who had appeared out of nowhere had suddenly taken her place by their lady’s side.

Ming Lingyi: "Just come when you can. The shop has been expanding recently. I can even arrange a room for you and Yu Yi in the back courtyard."

Joy was written all over Yu Yi and Yanxia’s faces. Before they could say a word, a small, plaintive voice suddenly drifted in from the doorway, sounding rather mournful—

"Mother, what about me?"

Li Yan had run over at some point. Just as he approached the small kitchen, he overheard his mother chatting and laughing with the two attendants beside her.

Li Yan thought, ’I’ve been to Mother’s little courtyard so many times, but I don’t even have my own room there yet. How can someone else get one before me?!’

’Not even the ladies-in-charge from my own palace!’

Ming Lingyi laughed and started teasing Li Yan. "Don’t you have the Crown Prince Mansion?"

Li Yan: "..."

"So greedy!"

Li Yan: "!"

’I am not!’

It was just that, growing up, wasn’t everything he ever wanted scrambled to be delivered into his hands? Li Yan had never known what it was like to have to ask for anything. This experience of "begging" for something from someone was entirely new to him.

His eyes filled with a dazed, helpless look.

For a moment, he actually started to wonder if he really was too "greedy." He had such a large residence, yet he still desperately wanted a room for himself in his mother’s little courtyard.

Pressing his lips together, Li Yan couldn’t help but fiddle with his chubby little fingers. "Then... then can Mother come live with me? I... I’ll give the biggest residence to you! You can pick first, Mother! Can we please live together?"

Li Yan thought for a moment before saying this earnestly.

Ming Lingyi could see that he genuinely meant it. His serious little expression was enough to warm anyone’s heart.

’How could my Little Huachao be so adorable?’

Ming Lingyi couldn’t resist crouching down and kneading the Little Bun’s cheeks.

Before, the Little Crown Prince would have tried to dodge and would have been shy, but now he seemed to have grown accustomed to Ming Lingyi’s actions, even looking forward to them with faint anticipation. So, the moment he saw his mother reach out her hand, he stood there obediently, waiting for that soft hand from his memories to land on his face.

Like a little kitten sunbathing, waiting for someone to come and pet it.

Looking at this little bun letting her knead his cheeks so obediently, Ming Lingyi laughed. "How could there not be a place for our baby at home?"

The moment she finished speaking, it felt as if all the blood in Li Yan’s body began to boil, rushing furiously to his face.

Baby.

That one word made him impossibly shy, but he couldn’t help savoring it secretly in his mind.

Ming Lingyi didn’t tease the Little Bun any further. She saw that the pale little bun had suddenly turned into a crimson little peach, which was just too cute.

Ming Lingyi didn’t cook anything too complicated today.

The Imperial Physician had said that Li Yun’s digestion was weak, a result of him having thrown himself into state affairs for the past few years, forgetting to eat and rest, and maintaining an irregular diet.

Ming Lingyi made a few light and palatable side dishes.

Lotus pod fish dumplings, pea shoots stewed in chicken broth, and a stir-fried seasonal vegetable.

The porridge was a savory meat and rice congee.

This was because Li Yun disliked plain white congee and also wasn’t fond of sweet congee.

Plus, the Imperial Physician had said he needed gentle nourishment right now, which was why Ming Lingyi had thought of this meat congee.

She started by taking a lean chicken breast, boiling it in plain water until cooked, and then manually pounding or mincing it into an extremely fine paste.

Although Xiao Chun wasn’t there, Yu Yi and Yanxia were used to helping her with prep work, and they finished the task quickly after she handed it to them.

Using the high-quality clear chicken stock that the Imperial Kitchen had already prepared as a base to cook the rice saved a lot of time.

When the congee was nearly done, she added the minced meat, let it simmer for a moment, and seasoned it with a tiny amount of salt. A sprinkle of minced ginger could also be added to remove any gamey taste and enhance the flavor.

Since the main ingredient, the rich chicken stock, was provided by the Imperial Kitchen, it didn’t take much effort for Ming Lingyi to make this pot of meat and rice congee.

However, in that short amount of time, Liu Ye had already run to the small kitchen more times than one could count.

Of course, it wasn’t that he wanted to come to the kitchen, nor did he have any intention of rushing Ming Lingyi. But he couldn’t stop his master, who, having not seen the Empress return for some time, kept urging him to go take a look.

Emperor Jing’an, who had always been so composed, would now ask about Ming Lingyi’s progress after no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Liu Ye was just an errand boy. His master wanted to know how the Empress was doing, so what could he do? Of course, he had to keep running back and forth.

"Is it still not ready?" Li Yun asked with a frown when he saw Liu Ye return alone yet again.

He was starting to regret it. If he had known it would take so long to cook one meal, he would never have let Ming Lingyi set foot in the kitchen.

’With all this time, wouldn’t it be much better spent with me?’