Liu Boyan ignored her.
"..."
Ji Pingxi's flushed face gradually turned pale.
She was a clever woman, and after a few exchanges, she guessed Yu's mother's thoughts pretty well. Holding a soup spoon, her eyes were fixed on the soup that was almost ready to cool her down: "I dare not lie to my mother-in-law. Before I fell for her, I actually liked Zhizhi. If I didn't like her, why would I have taken a liking to her at first sight?"
"You like her color."
The woman's words hit the nail on the head.
"He is lustful." She did not refute this point.
"How can love between women be so innocent? I'm certainly not innocent. If I weren't attracted to her lust, why would I have gone through all this trouble to fall for her as a person?"
"Sometimes falling in love happens in an instant, and sometimes it takes a long time."
“I have never mistreated her during the process of her realizing and falling in love. If my son-in-law intends to humiliate and torment her in every way, how can he have the face to stand here and plead with his mother-in-law?”
"Though I am dissolute, I know when to advance and when to retreat."
The brewed plum juice was poured into a small porcelain bowl, sprinkled with a pinch of osmanthus flowers, cooled, and then sent to the ice cellar by servants.
Liu Boyan remained silent for a long time, and Ji Pingxi dared not disturb her at this moment, so he kept quiet.
"Alright, let's learn how to pick vegetables first."
"..."
In the sweltering heat of July, the capital city felt like a giant oven. The hot weather and the pain of unrequited love caused Yu Zhi to lose her appetite and sleep poorly; her already small face appeared even thinner.
She sighed countless times, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief: "Is Xi Xi still squatting outside?"
Having grown accustomed to serving her, Jinshi and Yinding shamelessly entered the mansion crying and begging for forgiveness. Liu Boyan could stop her son-in-law from entering, but she couldn't stop the loyalty of her two maids.
An hour ago, the lady led the prince to the kitchen. This matter could not be kept from the two of them. Jin Shi opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the maidservant beside the lady knocked on the door outside: "Miss, I have been ordered by the lady to bring you some cooling soup."
"I don't want to drink it, please thank my mother for me."
"Young Madam," Jin Shi whispered to her.
Soon, Yu Zhi's eyes regained their captivating charm, and with a joyful expression, she suppressed her excitement and instructed, "Come in."
A maidservant brought in chilled plum juice and then withdrew shortly afterward.
Yu Zhi stared at the bowl of steaming soup: "You said Xi Xi made this?"
“It’s probably not much different!” Silver Ingot blurted out, “This quality doesn’t look as good as what Madam makes at all. It’s probably His Highness who cooked it! Her cooking skills are terrible!”
A seemingly unremarkable bowl of soup instantly became the beauty's favorite. Yu Zhi held the small porcelain bowl, reluctant to drink it: "Why is she making soup for me on such a hot day?"
Jin Shi saw that although she was complaining sweetly, she was actually overjoyed inside. He smiled and said, "Young Madam, please drink up. This is all His Highness's way of showing his affection for you."
Once this matter is settled, she and Yin Ding will rise in status and become the princess's trusted confidantes!
Your Highness must work even harder and strive to become the good son-in-law in Madam's heart as soon as possible!
Yu Zhi's face flushed pink, she pursed her lips slightly, and her willow-leaf eyes curved into crescents: "So sweet."
...
In the kitchen, Yu's mother was also holding a porcelain bowl.
After tasting the plum juice made by her son-in-law, Liu Boyan frowned, feeling nauseous. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the princess looking at her anxiously. She forced herself to swallow the sour plum and dried tangerine peel.
"mother in law?"
Ji Pingxi, sweating profusely, asked, "Is it good?"
"..."
Liu Boyan didn't want to discuss this topic with her.
I made sure all the steps were correct, so how did I end up with something so hard to swallow?
She suddenly remembered something: "Did you add sugar?"
Princess Changyang's expression changed slightly: "You...you want to add sugar? This..."
She took out the recipe from her sleeve pocket and checked it again and again: "It doesn't say to add sugar."
She stared intently at her beautiful and kind-hearted mother-in-law, looking as if she had done something wrong: "Is it hard to drink?"
...
"It tastes good."
Yu Zhi used to prefer sweets, but after eating too many sweets, she started to like sour foods. If plum juice isn't sour, it won't be as refreshing in the summer.
She and her mother had different tastes. Her mother preferred a mild and mellow sweet and sour taste, while she preferred a sour taste that made her skin crawl.
Ji Pingxi, a complete novice at making soup, stumbled upon the right path. After a bowl of plum juice, Yu Zhi's eyes and brows brightened with a captivating radiance.
"Do you think Mother won't make things difficult for her?"
Jin Shi Yin Ding secretly thought to himself: How can I vent my anger if I don't make things difficult for her? But with Madam's gentle and kind nature, even if things are difficult for her, His Highness can handle it, right?
...
Ji Pingxi took a sip of her 'love soup' and wrinkled her nose, saying, "It's so sour."
She lowered her eyes in frustration.
Even if Liu Boyan was completely ignorant, she knew that her scoundrel son-in-law used to be a powerful and influential man, so she was happy to see her suffer a setback. She pointed to a lively mandarin fish in the basin and said, "Quickly, prepare the fish."
She might not be good at making soup, but killing fish is a piece of cake for her.
The world's number one martial arts master, his eyes gleaming with the aura of someone ready to duel, offered a kind reminder: "Mother-in-law, step back two steps. I'm afraid your blood might splatter on you."
"..."
Problem!
It's just killing a fish.
Liu Boyan glanced at her and stepped back, inexplicably feeling that this son-in-law was rather dull and probably difficult to teach.
It's a pity that Ji Pingxi learned everything quickly in both her lives, but cooking was the only thing that exposed the fact that she was not a perfect person.
She didn't believe in superstitions.
The woman sitting on the round wooden stool yawned: "Is the fish burnt?"
Ji Pingxi lifted the pot lid: "..."
Damn it! Who did she take after to be such a bad cook?!
Was it her father or her mother?
It must be her father, the emperor!
Inside the imperial palace, the emperor, who was accompanying the empress to admire the flowers, turned his head and sneezed twice, his eyes slightly narrowed: "Who's talking about me?"
Yan Xiu said with a doting look, "It's getting windy, let's go back."
After three hours of painstaking work, Ji Pingxi finally managed to prepare a braised mandarin fish that barely passed muster in appearance.
Her confidence suffered an unprecedented blow, and she licked her lips: "Mother-in-law?"
The intention was to urge his good mother-in-law to quickly bring over the "love fish" that she had given to Zhizhi to try.
Liu Boyan sighed, "You still have a lot to learn."
Ji Pingxi, with a humble and open mind, said, "I ask my mother-in-law to teach me."
Teach you?
Liu Boyan spent most of the day with her amidst smoke and fire, and finally saw how stupid she was. She secretly regretted letting her in, thinking that she had made a fool of herself by giving herself such a hard job.
Her thoughts were practically written all over her face. The princess's eyes reddened slightly: "Mother-in-law, please don't send me away. I will study hard..."
She sobbed, looking utterly pitiful.
By sheer coincidence, Liu Boyan found two resemblances to her daughter's usual expression on her face, and her softened heart suddenly turned cold: Why did she have to imitate her daughter's crying and whining? It's obviously an act!
"Your Highness is quite cunning."
Ji Pingxi was crying when she noticed her mother-in-law coldly scrutinizing her.
The sweltering summer heat sent chills down her spine. Suddenly struck by a flash of inspiration, she knelt down and hugged the woman's legs with both hands: "Mother-in-law! Please trust your son-in-law this once!"
Ji Rong heard someone crying from afar. When she got closer, she saw that it was her own niece hugging her woman's leg.
The sight was irritating, and she snapped, "You brat, let go of my hand!"
Chapter 89 Soft Words
Ji Yunzhang only realized today that his good niece had two faces, one in public and one in private, and his initial worries were put aside—given his niece's shameless and persistent nature, Yan'er might not be her match.
Meanwhile, Liu Boyan was so engrossed in being hugged by her cunning son-in-law that her mind went blank for a moment. Fortunately, Sister Rong arrived in time and sternly rebuked the crying princess, allowing her to escape in embarrassment. She dared not approach Ji Pingxi again.
She realized that her son-in-law would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, and had no shame whatsoever. He would cry or kneel down whenever he wanted. To put it another way, the aunt and nephew were quite alike.
Because of this resemblance, she found Ji Pingxi much more agreeable; at least he was willing to humble himself and admit his mistakes.
Ji Pingxi wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, then awkwardly looked at her aunt, who had come to 'pick a sour note,' with a look of utter disdain as if to say, 'Why are you here?'
Ji Rong was genuinely amused and exasperated: "What do you want to do if I don't come?"
She fiercely protected her beloved childhood sweetheart, glaring angrily at her niece: "Look how frightened your mother-in-law is!"
Kneeling is fine, why use your hands?
Only she can hug Yan'er's leg!
You little rascal.
She glared at the little princess.
Ji Pingxi was unconvinced, but wisely refrained from arguing with her. Her voice, still tinged with a sob, sounded both deliberate and natural. In any case, she reminded her, "Mother-in-law, it's time for dinner."
The braised mandarin fish she made would get cold if she didn't send it over soon.
Liu Boyan stood between the two, one big and one small, feeling neither angry nor ashamed. Upon hearing this, she hurriedly walked away with the food box in her hand.