Chapter 17 Pig Feed in the Regent's Palace
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Chapter 17 Pig Feed in the Regent's Palace
With the internal traitors purged, the tense atmosphere in the Regent's Palace, which had been building for days, finally eased.
With the constant threat of losing her head gone, Tang Li thought she could finally enjoy a couple of comfortable days.
However, she soon discovered that she faced a more severe and imminent survival crisis than being "killed"—
They starved to death.
Or rather, they were so hungry they were dying of craving.
Lunchtime.
Tang Li sat at the small table below Pei Yunjing, looking at the "luxury lunch" laid out in front of her, her face turning green.
In a white porcelain bowl, there was half a bowl of clear, warm water, with two bright green vegetable leaves floating in it that were so vibrant they made one's heart race.
Next to it was a plate of white tofu, without even a speck of scallions on it, as white as Pei Yunjing's dead face.
Next to it was a bowl of plain brown rice without any toppings.
This is the food served at the Regent's Palace.
For three days in a row!
Three whole days!
Every single meal is like this!
"...Your Highness."
Tang Li couldn't hold back any longer. She swallowed hard and cautiously looked at the man in the main seat:
"Is our household... almost starving? If we're short of money, I can eat less rice, but could you... perhaps get something with some oil instead?"
Pei Yunjing is eating.
His movements were extremely elegant; even while eating this bland food, he seemed to be savoring the finest delicacies.
Hearing Tang Li's words, he lifted his eyelids and glanced at her indifferently:
"A light diet is good for self-cultivation."
Cultivating one's character and mind—what a load of rubbish!
This is clearly cultivation!
Tang Li mentally ranted and complained.
Of course she knew the reason.
Pei Yunjing's sense of taste was completely disrupted due to overload of his five senses.
Oily and salty foods tasted either nauseatingly metallic or like chewing wax to him.
Only this extreme blandness, that is, everything boiled in plain water, could allow him to barely swallow it and sustain his life.
Since the master wouldn't eat, the head kitchen, in order to save trouble and avoid mistakes, simply had everyone in the mansion eat "monk's meals."
"Gurgle..."
Tangli's stomach let out a disgraceful protest.
She's a carnivore!
She's a meat lover, a real mortal!
Just then, a mouthwatering chewing sound came from outside the door.
[Crunch! Crunch! It smells delicious!]
Tangli turned her head and saw Dabai lying under the eaves, hugging a bloody, fresh beef leg and gnawing on it with great relish.
Tang Li: "..."
She looked at Big White, her eyes gradually becoming resentful, even taking on a hint of green light.
At that moment, she was genuinely jealous of a tiger.
It even gave me the urge to go and snatch a bone from a tiger and gnaw on it.
Pei Yunjing seemed to notice her predatory gaze, his brows furrowing slightly as he said with disdain:
"Wipe your drool. If you want some raw, I can have Big White share a bite with you."
"...No need."
Tangli ate a mouthful of white rice with tears in her eyes.
She is a human being, and she has her bottom line.
She wants it cooked!
Braised!
Stir-fried!
...
After lunch, Pei Yunjing went to his study to review official documents.
Tang Li took the opportunity to slip back to her side room, closed the door, and began rummaging through drawers and cabinets.
Since we can't rely on the main kitchen, we'll have to cook for ourselves.
With enough money, one could bribe the purchasing servant to bring in two roast chickens, or have the cook secretly make her braised pork in the middle of the night.
"Money...money...where's my money?"
Tang Li turned the original owner's old, worn-out vanity box upside down and emptied it out.
"Ding-dong."
"Ding-dong."
"Ding-dong."
Three crisp sounds.
The three copper coins rolled a few times on the table, then finally fell limply to the ground.
Tang Li stared at the three copper coins and fell into a long silence.
We're too poor.
We are really too poor.
The original owner was an unloved nobody in the Tang family. When she was married off in place of another, her stepmother, Wang, took all of her already meager dowry, claiming that "the Wang family is rich and noble, and there is no need for such vulgar things."
Three copper coins.
They can't even afford a meat bun!
"ah--!!"
Tang Li slumped onto the table in despair, wailing, "I want to eat meat! I want to eat braised pork knuckle! I want to eat roast duck!"
Could it be that she, a transmigrator with a maxed-out beast language cheat, is destined to be starved to death in this incredibly wealthy royal palace?
no!
We need to make money!
Even if there are no conditions, we'll create them to make money!
Tang Li suddenly sat up straight, her almond-shaped eyes burning with a fierce flame known as "appetite".
Since we can't openly rob, then... we'll dig secretly.
She remembered the group of rats that helped her chew up Zhu Pangzi's silver notes that night.
Rats are universally hated, but they are natural-born burrowing experts and collectors.
This vast palace has stood through several dynasties; who knows what treasures left behind by our ancestors might be buried beneath it!
"Come out, you minions!"
Tangli closed her eyes and emitted a magnetic field of summoning.
rustling sounds...
A moment later, a large rat with shiny gray fur emerged from a rat hole in the corner of the wall.
It looked smarter than the other mice, and its two front paws were rubbing its whiskers.
It was that night, the "money-shredding captain".
[Squeak? Your Majesty? Do you want to bite on that fragrant paper again?]
The big gray rat looked at Tangli with anticipation.
"No biting paper today."
The pear tree looked at it with a smile, like a child trafficker trying to abduct a child:
"Today we're going to play an even more exciting game—a treasure hunt."
She pointed to the ground beneath her feet:
“This palace is so big, there must be a lot of gold and silver treasures hidden by people in the past, or antiques that no one wants. You and your brothers, help me smell it, where can I find anything that… is heavy, golden, and smells of money?”
The big gray rat tilted its head, seemingly trying to understand what "the smell of money" meant.
Suddenly, its eyes lit up:
[Squeak! I know! I know where this smell is!]
[Right under that deserted, dilapidated courtyard on the west side! The smell is so strong! It's both fishy and fragrant (metallic)! I've smelled it for years, but it's too hard to chew!]
The dilapidated courtyard on the west side?
Tang Li's eyes instantly lit up like light bulbs.
That's the abandoned west warehouse of the Prince's Mansion. I heard it used to be the residence of a corrupt official from the previous dynasty. Although it was later confiscated, there might be some undiscovered "life-saving money" underground!
"Well done!"
Tangli excitedly slapped the table and pointed at the big gray rat, bestowing upon it a name:
"From today onwards, your name will be 'Zhao Cai' (meaning 'bring wealth')!"
"Tonight at midnight, once that living devil is asleep, let's grab our shovels and go make our fortune!"
[Squeak! Good fortune! Trade for peanuts!]
In a dimly lit side room, a man and a rat made a sinful deal.
For braised pork belly, for braised pork hock.
Tonight, only insane digging!