Chapter 35: Reward. Zhou Ming walked quickly through the festooned gate, heading along the covered corridor toward the inner courtyard, his mind spinning rapidly.

The Eldest Miss had summoned him as soon as she returned. He had heard from the maidservants that she had thoroughly enjoyed her breakfast this morning.

From the looks of it, she didn't seem to be looking to punish him. It was likely about something else, but what could it be?

Last night, the Kitchen of Begonia Court had been busy until late into the night.

When Liu Sandao heard that the Eldest Miss had returned, he rolled up his sleeves without a second word and stood before the stove.

He had heard about some new dishes from Zhou Ming a couple of days ago and had been pondering how to make them ever since.

With the Eldest Miss returning to the manor, he had finally gotten the chance to fully display his skills.

He meticulously selected ingredients from the storeroom and spent the entire night experimenting repeatedly to make three new dishes.

One was Braised Deboned Chub Head, made with fresh fish caught from the Yuyang River at dawn. The fish was deboned, then braised with tofu and bamboo shoots, resulting in a thick, milky-white, flavorful soup.

Another was Honey-Glazed Ham. The ham was selected from the most evenly marbled cut, steamed with honey and sweet osmanthus for a full two shichen. Sliced thin and arranged on a snow-white porcelain plate, the amber-colored honey glaze slowly trickled down along the grain of the ham.

The last was Jade Shaomai. The dough was rolled so thin it was translucent, and the filling was mixed with freshly picked shepherd's purse and river shrimp. Once steamed, they sat in the steamer basket, each one a translucent, sparkling green.

From the selection of ingredients to the knife work and the heat control, Liu Sandao handled everything personally, refusing to let anyone else touch a thing.

This morning, before dawn, he packed the three dishes into a food box and had a maidservant deliver them to the entrance of the inner courtyard.

The inner courtyard where Empress Su Mingyue lived was the innermost courtyard of Begonia Court. Male stewards like Zhou Ming were normally forbidden from entering.

But today, the Eldest Miss had summoned him by name. He followed the messenger maid through the covered corridor and entered the small parlor of the inner courtyard.

The parlor was not large, but it was exquisitely decorated, with a red sandalwood embroidery frame placed under the window.

A landscape hanging scroll adorned the wall, and in the corner, a celadon incense burner burned agarwood incense, its smoke rising straight up before slowly dispersing in mid-air.

Empress Su Mingyue sat before a huanghuali wood table in the center of the parlor. In front of her were three opened food boxes, with only a few bites taken from each dish.

Zhou Ming stole a quick glance out of the corner of his eye. The Braised Deboned Chub Head had been touched three or four times, two slices of the Honey-Glazed Ham were gone, and one Jade Shaomai was missing.

Given Empress Su Mingyue's usual appetite, this level of consumption was already giving the Kitchen plenty of Face.

This time, Liu Sandao had truly struck gold.

"Zhou Ming," Empress Su Mingyue spoke, her voice not loud.

"This servant is here," Zhou Ming quickly stepped forward and bowed.

"Liu Sandao said these three new dishes were all your ideas."

Zhou Ming lowered his head and replied, "Replying to Eldest Miss, this servant merely mentioned a few cooking methods to Uncle Liu in passing. The actual execution is entirely Uncle Liu's credit. This servant dares not take any credit."

"His good cooking is one thing; your ability to think of them is another."

Empress Su Mingyue raised her hand slightly, and Chunlan, who was standing to the side, took out two silver ingots from her sleeve, each weighing five taels.

"These are your reward."

Zhou Ming received the silver with both hands, immediately feeling its weight in his palms.

Ten taels—a full ten taels.

Back when he snuck out of the Marquis's Manor to buy steamed buns and old clothes, he had spent less than half a tael of silver in total.

This single reward was equivalent to a tenth of his entire secret savings, matching several months of his monthly allowance.

Zhou Ming tucked the silver into his robe. The cold texture of the silver ingots pressed against his chest through the fabric, making his heart bubble with joy.

Zhou Ming was almost moved to tears by his own pathetic behavior. A grand tenth-layer Qi Refining Cultivator, actually shedding tears of gratitude over a mere ten taels of silver rewarded by a mortal.

Talk about pathetic opening the door for pathetic—pathetic to the extreme.

After mocking himself silently for a moment, Zhou Ming finally spoke.

"Thank you for the reward, Eldest Miss!"

Just as he was about to bow and excuse himself, Empress Su Mingyue spoke again.

She nudged a celadon teacup beside her half an inch to the side and tapped her index finger lightly on the table, as if suddenly remembering something.

"I heard from Dongmei that before we left, you were telling her some strange and bizarre stories on the Martial Arts Training Ground every day."

Zhou Ming's spine stiffened slightly as his mind raced, figuring out how to respond.

Before he could formulate his words, Empress Su Mingyue continued:

"You finished the last one about the Empress ascending the throne. Dongmei told me later that you started a new one, talking about some desert, swordsmen, and some Dragon Slaying Tale."

Her phoenix eyes lifted slightly, her gaze falling upon him, her tone as casual as if she were discussing today's weather.

"Tell another one. A new one this time."

A weight instantly lifted from Zhou Ming's heart.

If the Eldest Miss wanted to hear a story, it meant she was in a good mood today.

He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, mentally flipping through the novels, movies, and TV shows he had seen in his past life one by one.

The story of the Empress had already been told, and the Eldest Miss had specifically warned him "not to tell those rebellious stories anymore."

He had also told a part of a Wuxia story, but Dongmei had been half-distracted while listening, clearly not fully hooked yet.

So, what was left? He needed to find something long enough, exciting enough, suitable for all ages, and safe from crossing any sensitive political red lines of this era.

Then, five characters suddenly popped into his mind: "the legend of the condor heroes."

A story of country, world, and the ultimate chivalry—it would be top-tier no matter where it was told.

The key was that this story was long enough; the first part alone would take him a month or so to finish.

Zhou Ming raised his head and cleared his throat.

"Eldest Miss, this servant will tell you a different kind of story this time."

Zhou Ming cleared his throat and began with that snowy night in Niu Family Village.

Qiu Chuji came treading through the snow and met Guo Xiaotian and Yang Tiexin by chance at the tavern at the village entrance, where the three drank together and became friends.

The wives of the Guo and Yang families were pregnant at the same time, and Qiu Chuji bestowed names upon the unborn children based on the word "Jingkang."

When the Jin soldiers marched south, Wanyan Honglie was saved by Yang Tiexin's wife, Bao Xiruo. However, driven by lust for her beauty, he brought the Jin soldiers to massacre Niu Family Village.

Guo Xiaotian died in battle, Yang Tiexin fell off a cliff with his fate unknown, Bao Xiruo was tricked into entering the Prince's Mansion, and Li Ping was abducted and taken north, ending up stranded in the great desert.

The two children were born on the same day, but their fates diverged forever from that moment on.

Hearing about Bao Xiruo weeping every night in the Prince's Mansion over Yang Tiexin's old belongings, Empress Su Mingyue's fingers unconsciously tightened around the rim of her teacup.

Her Face still held that same calm expression, but Zhou Ming noticed that her hand holding the tea hadn't moved for a long time.

He went on to tell how Guo Jing grew up in the desert, clumsy yet stubborn, learning martial arts extremely slowly but never giving up.

He described Guo Jing's first entry into the Central Plains, where he chanced upon a little beggar in Zhangjiakou and treated her to a meal. The beggar ordered a whole table of dishes in one breath, and the simple-minded Guo Jing paid for everything without hesitation.

While eating, the little beggar suddenly took off her hat, and a cascade of silky black hair poured down like a waterfall...

"She was a girl?" Empress Su Mingyue suddenly asked.

Zhou Ming nodded.

Empress Su Mingyue said nothing more, but her brow relaxed ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly.