“You really don’t have to do this yourself. Just leave it to me.”
“If you’re not satisfied with the food I make, I can also ask the kitchen to prepare something you’ll like.”
Gan Mei watched Mu Nanyan bustling around the stove. She’d wanted to stop her. This was menial work, after all, and hardly befitting someone of Mu Nanyan’s status as Empress.
But Mu Nanyan was determined, and Gan Mei didn’t want to argue. She let her do as she pleased, while also asking the kitchen to prepare dinner and send it over. Then she watched Mu Nanyan’s every move with a furrowed brow and anxious eyes.
She watched Mu Nanyan hold the knife with an awkward grip, then clumsily splatter berry juice everywhere as she chopped.
Still, it was passable overall. Mu Nanyan looked clumsy, but only because she wasn’t used to it. Her hands were steady, and even though she was unfamiliar with each step, she did it perfectly.
How could you put it? It was as if her brain couldn’t keep up with her hands. She only needed to let muscle memory take over, but Mu Nanyan’s brain just had to get involved.
So it turned out fine overall, but up close, she looked rather clumsy.
“I’ll make it myself. It’s for Liya, so I’m sure—ow, that’s hot.”
As Mu Nanyan spoke, she accidentally touched the scalding pot beside her. The pain brought her close to tears.
After more than half an hour of clattering around, Mu Nanyan finally brought out a passable plate of tomato and scrambled eggs.
This continent didn’t have many seasonings. There was only salt and sugar—and the sugar wasn’t white and sparkling, but a rather dull-looking brown.
Luckily, this dish didn’t need any fancy seasoning. A little salt was all it took.
The berries Liya had picked were perfectly ripe and not at all bitter. That gave the dish a much richer flavor than the tomato and scrambled eggs Mu Nanyan had eaten in her previous life.
After all, they were berries from another world. If you knew how to pick the right ones, they really were a fine ingredient.
“There.”
“That’s the only dish?”
Gan Mei frowned slightly and asked without thinking.
“There’s rice too. Isn’t that enough?”
Mu Nanyan wiped her hands and looked at the tiny blister on her finger, left by the burn. There wasn’t much she could do to treat it, so she simply rinsed it with clean water and held it in her mouth.
“Your Majesty, by Demon Clan standards, as a Demon Clan princess, Miss Liya should be served 103 dishes and 56 desserts at every meal. Of those, the hot dishes should…”
“Hold it! Hold it! I don’t have the ingredients to make her 103 dishes. We’re short on supplies, so she’ll have to make do.”
Mu Nanyan spoke as she picked up the plate and started toward Liya, but Gan Mei promptly stepped in front of her.
“Make do? How could we? Your standards as Empress of the Demon Clan are even higher. You absolutely cannot settle for less. I’ll go tell the kitchen to serve the dishes now. The Demon Clan’s rules can’t just be changed.”
Gan Mei looked utterly serious. She glanced at the tomato and scrambled eggs on Mu Nanyan’s plate, of course having no idea what they were.
All she knew was that Her Majesty had chopped up some unknown berries, mixed them with eggs, and stir-fried them in a pan. She’d even burned her finger in the process.
Serving something this strange to Her Highness Princess Liya would be against the rules! If word got out, who knew how much they’d be laughed at?
“Then what about this?”
“I’ll have them serve 102 dishes. With yours, that makes 103, so we won’t be breaking the rules.”
“……”
Mu Nanyan looked at the dish she’d worked so hard to make. The Demon Clan princess sure lived in luxury.
If more than a hundred dishes were served, what chance would her tomato and scrambled eggs have? Liya would probably overlook it completely.
“I’m sure Miss Liya understands how you feel. It’s just… if you want to learn to cook, I can teach you when we have time. But this time, please listen to me.”
