Chapter 23: Big News

Yun Dou didn’t know how to respond to that.

Her eyes darted about for a bit, then she asked another question. “Lady Lin of Decorous Service called you over last night, right? Did anything happen?”

“That’s none of your business,” replied Yun Dai.

Yun Dou got a little angry. “Why are you so unaccepting of others’ kind intentions?”

Yun Dai said, “Are you asking out of kindness, or do you just want to laugh at my misfortunes? You know the answer, and so do I.”

Yun Dou’s face started to turn red from anger.

To the rest of the women in the kitchen, it seemed completely normal for Yun Dai and Yun Dou to have arguments as they were both assigned to the Red Counter. They were competing.

But Yun Dai never saw Yun Dou as a rival at all.

To put it plainly, Yun Dou wasn’t good enough to compete with her.

Especially when it came to cooking.

Mi Dou quickly helped to resolve the tension. “Sister Yun, I’m so hungry. Are you still going to make those crystal dumplings you talked about yesterday?”

“Yes, I’ll make them.”

“Then teach me how please.” Mi Dou’s eyes were shining brightly. “I’m in charge of the steamed buns and snacks, but the royals don’t like what I make. They would rather eat the snacks from the main palace kitchen instead…”

She rubbed her slightly plump cheeks a little sadly.

Yun Dai smiled and said, “I know how to make two types of snacks. We’ll study them carefully another day, all right?”

“Really? Sister Yun, you’re willing to teach me?”

“Of course,” replied Yun Dai with a smile. “We’re all working together here, so if you do a good job and the royals reward you, then I’ll benefit too, right? If you get punished, then what benefit would I get?”

These words seemed to be aimed at Yun Dou.

They were all fellow workers in the same kitchen. If one person did well, they would all benefit. If one person did badly, they would all suffer together.

There was no point in pulling dirty tricks.

Yun Dou continued washing the rice quietly. Yun Dai had no idea if she understood what she had been implying or not.

After a while, Mo Chun arrived. She walked around the kitchen and stopped where Yun Dai was. She saw that Yun Dai was making some snacks, and she was a little surprised. “You know how to make snacks too?”

“I know a little,” replied Yun Dai very humbly.

Mo Chun nodded, then dropped her voice to a whisper as she said, “After the banquet at Cloud Light Court last night, I heard that Consort Chen felt very unwell after eating…apparently it was because of the pig intestines.”

Everyone else pricked up their ears when they heard what Mo Chun had said.

Mi Dou got a little panicky. “Weren’t the pig intestines prepared by Sister Yun? What problem could there be?”

Nobody answered her.

To these nobles living in the palace who were used to living a life of luxury, just the idea of eating pig intestines itself was problematic.

Only the ignorant Mi Dou could be puzzled by this.

To her, as long as it tasted delicious, it didn’t matter what ingredients were used. They were all yummy to her.

Mo Chun had been very worried at first, but the crown prince didn’t say anything at all. He didn’t compliment the kitchen, but he didn’t punish them either. So Mo Chun didn’t know what to think.

She asked Yun Dai, “Yesterday, Lady Lin of Decorous Service asked you to come over. Did anything happen?”

“No, nothing happened,” replied Yun Dai. “Lady Lin of Decorous Service thought that the pig intestines were delicious, and she complimented me.”

Yun Dai didn’t even flinch as she said this.

As long as Zhao Yuanjing hadn’t said anything about the pig intestines, there was no way Lin Yueniang would dare to say that the pig intestines were awful.

Yun Dou felt jealous and frustrated after hearing this.

Ever since this woman had appeared, she hadn’t gotten any rewards from the royals.

She clenched her teeth as she boiled the porridge.

The people in the palace were used to eating something plain in the morning.

Yun Dai didn’t need to prepare any fish or meat, so she made a few new snacks with Mi Dou for the royals to eat along with their porridge.

The kitchen was busy with cooking when the palace maids who had come to pick up the food shared a really shocking piece of gossip they had heard.

They had heard that this morning, when the crown prince returned to his palace to sleep, his clothes were in a huge mess.

And he had an extremely unnatural look on his face…

Anyone who was observant would have known that there was something abnormal about his expression.

Didn’t the crown prince stay the night before with Lady Lin of Decorous Service after her birthday dinner?

Now, everyone guessed that the crown prince had slept with Lady Lin of Decorous Service the night before.

Lady Lin of Decorous Service had come to the East Palace six months ago, and this was the first time the crown prince had ever slept with her.