Chapter 9 — The Sixth Prince's Female Chef

From behind came the sound of the mother cursing in a low voice and the sound of Nguyen Thanh Duong throwing things. But we don't turn back. Tieu Dao followed behind me, her steps were as light as a bird that had just escaped from its cage. After getting on the carriage, Tieu Dao finally couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Miss, did you see my wife's face just now? She's about to go crazy!" I also curled the corners of my lips, but in my heart I understood very clearly that my mother would not give up like that. Although she did not dare to openly defy the queen's orders, she would secretly join forces with Tham Vu to think of another way. This is just the first step. The real battle is still behind. The carriage slowly headed towards the prince's palace. I lifted the car curtain and looked at the main gate of Nguyen Palace behind, getting farther and farther away, getting smaller and smaller, and finally completely disappearing around the corner of the street. In my previous life, before I got married, I sat in a large palanquin carried by eight people and married the prince of the Marquis Palace. Everyone says I'm lucky. But only I know, that Marquis Palace is like a magnificent prison cage to me. In this life, I only bring a bag and a maid, and the next place is the kitchen of the prince's palace. But I have never felt as relieved as I do now. The carriage stopped in front of the prince's palace. Mother Sun led me in through the side door, through several corridors, to a heavenly courtyard. The institute is not large but is very clean. There are three main rooms, a bedroom, a small kitchen, and an additional room used for storage. In the yard, there is a Pipa tree planted. Under the tree, there was a stone table and two stone chairs. "From now on, the lady will live here." Mother Sun said: "The kitchen utensils are complete. If there is anything missing, just tell the manager in the palace. Every day there will be someone who specializes in bringing ingredients and medicinal ingredients. The lady just needs to make the food well." I thanked her, then asked about the time and daily routine of delivering food to His Highness. Mother Sun gave clear instructions one after another. Before leaving, she suddenly turned to look at me. "Miss Nguyen." Her voice softened a bit. "This old slave has been in the palace for decades, and has met many people. You are a good lady. Just do your job well, I will not mistreat you." I was stunned, then solemnly bowed. "Thank you for your advice." After Mother Sun left, Tieu Dao began to clean up the room. I took each item in my hand and arranged it, then walked around the small kitchen. The kitchen is small, but the pots and dishes are full. The medicine cabinet is neatly arranged with all kinds of medicinal ingredients, even more complete than what we used to use at Nguyen Palace. I reached out to touch the brand new copper kettle, and my heart suddenly felt at peace. This is my kitchen. From now on, I don't need to look at anyone's face, I don't need to worry about my mother making things difficult, and I don't need to be afraid of Tham Vu getting involved. I just need to do one thing well. Take good care of that sick prince. 15When it was dusk, I finished the first meal of good food. Hoai Son Lich porridge, served with two frugal dishes and a plate of freshly made sugar pears. I brought the box of food to the front door of the Sixth Prince's palace. While hesitating whether or not to ask the little eunuch to come in and announce it, I suddenly heard a violent cough from inside. The sound was heavy, like something was pressing down on it. My heart suddenly tightened. Waiting for the cough to calm down, I asked the little eunuch to come in and make an announcement. The sixth prince let me in. He was half lying, half sitting on the bed, his face was much worse than in the morning, his lips were almost bloodless. "Are you here?" Seeing me, he reluctantly smiled. "What are you making today?" I put the food box on the table and opened the lid. The hot mountain porridge emitted a faint sweet aroma. "Your Highness is cold again this morning?" I couldn't help it.

okay to ask. The sixth prince was slightly stunned, then turned his head away unnaturally: "No. Just blown by the wind." The little eunuch standing next to him wanted to say it again. I followed the little eunuch's eyes and discovered that there were a few dark red stains on the Sixth Prince's sleeve. It's blood. My heart feels like someone is aggressively squeezing it. In his previous life, the Sixth Prince's illness lasted three years, and in the end he couldn't even get out of bed. The doctor said that if you can rest assured and rest, perhaps you can endure for a few more years. But he did not care about his body, working hard every day. "Your Highness." I scooped a bowl of porridge and brought it in front of him, my voice was softer than I thought. "Drink some porridge." He took the bowl, used a spoon to scoop a piece into his mouth. "Very delicious." He said: "Much better than Ngu Thien room's food." I watched him drink porridge. The dark red marks on the sleeves were like needles piercing my eyes. I suddenly remembered the last scene I saw of you in my previous life. It was during the queen's birthday party. He tried to support his sick body to attend, sitting in a far corner. Tham Vu brought me to pray for peace. He raised his head and looked at me, his eyes were very pale, as if he was looking at an unrelated stranger. We later learned that less than three months after that celebration party, he passed away.