One day, medical PhD Su Yushu transmigrates into an alternate dynasty as an orphan, only to catch the attention of the young empress Murong Hua, who is traveling incognito, with her medicinal rice balls. Su possesses the ability to “read qi and diagnose illness,” seeing the flow of vital energy through the human body. A bloated belly and yellow, turbid qi tell her the prime minister is suffering from overeating and indigestion; a red glow around the general's head points to excessive liver fire.
She uses purple rice and poria dumplings to calm the mind, and yam and glutinous rice balls to restore vitality, turning the imperial kitchen into a place where medicine is no longer needed. Anemone cakes bring a smile back to the little prince, who has lost his appetite, while the empress dowager, once obsessed with elixirs, regains her radiance after switching to Five Elements porridge. When a plague sweeps through the capital, Su reads the qi to identify the disease and sets up a hundred medicinal-food cauldrons, using honeysuckle porridge to dispel the miasma and astragalus buns to strengthen the body's defenses.
From orphan to head of the Imperial Medical Academy, Su Yushu uses food as her medium and medicinal cuisine to heal the nation. Now that she holds the imperial seal, the entire court awaits one question: what hidden ailment of the dynasty will the delicious aroma from the imperial kitchen cure today?
This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.
