Chapter 29 Consort Yu's Birthday Gift

"Alright, you're her son. If you say it's okay, then it's okay."

When it was almost time, Little Swallow went back to her room to sleep.

With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Kitchen were extremely busy.

Meanwhile, Yongqi and his classmates were still suffering through their classes.

Until the fourth day of the fifth lunar month, on Consort Yu's birthday, Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi received special permission from Emperor Qianlong to attend only half of Ji Xiaolan's morning class.

Yongqi was overjoyed and grabbed Xiaoyanzi, running outside. "Xiaoyanzi, come on, let's go to the imperial kitchen and see how I show off my skills!"

"Great! I can finally watch you cook!"

To maintain an air of mystery, Yongqi hasn't cooked in front of Xiaoyanzi these past few days, so Xiaoyanzi hasn't had the chance to see him cook.

She was very happy to see Yongqi making longevity noodles for Consort Yu.

"Greetings, Fifth Prince!" When Yongqi arrived at the Imperial Kitchen with Xiaoyanzi, Chef Zhuang rushed over without stopping. "Fifth Prince, the ingredients you requested are ready!"

"Well done, Little Swallow, let's go!" Yongqi called to Little Swallow and went to the seat they had reserved for him to make his longevity noodles.

This time, Yongqi didn't ask anyone for help. He did everything himself from start to finish, and after more than an hour, the edible product was finally ready.

One bowl was for Xiao Yanzi, one bowl was for Consort Yu, one bowl was for himself, and there were other leftovers. Some were given to the eunuchs and maids of Yonghe Palace, and some were left for the chefs of the Imperial Kitchen to enjoy.

Master Zhuang and the noodle chef who taught Yongqi praised, "Fifth Prince is truly amazing! Not only is he skilled in both literature and martial arts, but he can also cook longevity noodles for Consort Yu!"

"That's all thanks to everyone's help. If you hadn't gone to the trouble of teaching me, I wouldn't have been able to do it!"

"No, no, it's mainly because the Fifth Prince has a strong understanding!"

Little Swallow smiled helplessly, "Alright, stop praising each other. It's because the master is amazing and the apprentice is clever that you have such delicious noodles!"

"Yongqi, let's go back quickly. If we take any longer, the noodles will get cold by the time we get to Yonghe Palace, and they won't taste right!"

"Don't worry, young lady, we have insulated food baskets that will keep the food warm. It won't get cold when we get to Yonghe Palace!"

"I see..." Little Swallow seemed to understand. No wonder the food from the Imperial Kitchen was still hot when it arrived at Yonghe Palace.

Once again, Yongqi casually took away the pastries from their imperial kitchen, and then, with a thermal food basket in his other hand, he walked step by step toward Yonghe Palace.

Little Swallow walked alongside, saying, "I really didn't expect that you, my brother, are so capable!"

Yongqi smiled slightly and sighed, "I'm afraid you'll be even more capable and popular than me in the future!"

"Whether you're better or I'm better, we're still the better ones!"

"You're right!" The two chatted idly for a quarter of an hour before returning to Yonghe Palace.

"Yongqi, why are you carrying it yourself? Didn't Xiaoshunzi and Xiaoguizi help you?"

"They're still behind us, and they've taken even more than me!" He only needs to take what's for himself, Xiao Yanzi, and Consort Yu, but Xiao Shunzi and Xiao Guizi have taken even more!

"Mother, hurry up and eat it while it's hot..." Yongqi took out all the noodles and placed them in the dining room. "I think Mother will like it!"

Consort Yu looked at the longevity noodles in front of her with a smile, then looked at Yongqi and Xiaoyanzi sitting opposite her, and was very moved. "Yongqi, you have learned to make noodles in such a short time. It must have been very hard work."

"As long as Mother likes to eat, then it's not hard work! Besides, Mother raised me to adulthood, that was really hard work!" For the princes living in the harem, only they themselves know how difficult it was to survive to adulthood!

Consort Yu's feelings of gratitude deepened even further. She then silently picked up her chopsticks and began to eat the noodles.

Yongqi looked at Consort Yu expectantly and asked, "Mother, how does it taste? It should suit your taste, right?"

Consort Yu smiled and nodded, "Delicious, so delicious! Mother is so happy!"

Her son is growing up and becoming more and more caring!

Of course, she might just be one of those who came along by chance!

But that doesn't stop her from being happy!

"It's good that Mother is happy with the food. In the future, after your son has researched more delicious recipes, we'll cook them in our own little kitchen!"

"Alright, alright, you're in charge!" Consort Yu nodded quickly.

Xiao Shunzi and the others were also quietly eating noodles outside, all expressing their gratitude. They were so touched to have such a wonderful master who personally cooked noodles for Consort Yu and even shared them with her!

After Xiao Shunzi and the others finished eating, they all rushed to the dining room, knelt on the ground, and said, "This servant thanks Fifth Prince for his reward!"

The palace maids and eunuchs knelt on the ground, tears still welling up in their eyes.

Yongqi quickly told them to get up, "Everyone, get up. You all work so hard to take care of us every day. What's a meal for you?"

"I only hope that in the future, you can all unite as one and continue to do your jobs well. When that happens, you will certainly reap the rewards!"

The crowd responded in unison, "This servant/This servant understands!"

After Consort Yu finished eating, Xiao Yanzi slowly took out her gift. "Your Highness Consort Yu, this is a purse I'm giving you. I hope you won't find it offensive!"

Because Xiaoyanzi is a beginner, she can't embroider anything too complicated yet, so she can only embroider the character "安" (peace/safety).

Originally, she wanted to embroider the character "愉" (yú), but because the character "愉" has too many strokes, she simply couldn't embroider it in such a short time, so she had to choose the character "安" (ān) instead, hoping that Consort Yu would be safe and sound.

Xiao Yanzi only dared to present this purse to Consort Yu after Mei Zhu had inspected it and confirmed that there was no problem with it.

Consort Yu took the purse handed to her by Xiao Yanzi and smelled the medicinal herbs inside. She looked at Xiao Yanzi curiously.

Little Swallow explained, "I heard that Your Majesty doesn't sleep very well at night, so I thought of this. I got the medicinal herbs from Physician Chang at the Imperial Pharmacy..."

Consort Yu nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Xiao Yanzi's tightly clasped hands and suddenly said, "Let me see your hands..."

Before Consort Yu got married, she had worked as a maid at home, so she naturally knew that dealing with needles and thread inevitably caused pain to the fingers. Little Swallow was a beginner, so she must have suffered as well.

Xiao Yanzi hesitated for a moment before offering her hands. Consort Yu asked softly, "Does it hurt? Have you applied any medicine?"

Upon hearing Consort Yu's concern, Xiao Yanzi almost couldn't hold back her tears. "Actually, it didn't hurt at first, but your concern made it start to hurt..."

Consort Yu took her hand and gently blew on the pricked hand. "You must take good care of your hands, otherwise, these outsiders will start saying all sorts of nonsense again..."

"We certainly don't mind, but your future will face many trials, understand?"

Little Swallow nodded, "I understand, I'll definitely make sure my hand heals as soon as possible!"