Su A Tao is the least noticeable outer disciple of the Qingyun Sect. She spends three years studying the “good-for-nothing pill recipe” passed down by the founding patriarch. When she finally gets a pill furnace going, she blows up half the alchemy room. The sect rules say she should be expelled, but just then the imperial palace puts out a call for a royal chef. The sect leader slaps his thigh and sends her off, calling it “making amends through service and gaining experience.” Su A Tao looks at her hands, reeking of medicinal residue, then at the pots and pans in the imperial kitchen, and exclaims, “I’ve never heard of a career change this ridiculous, even across different servers.”
Who would have thought that although she never mastered alchemy, she would unexpectedly discover a talent for seasoning with herbs? Licorice brings out more flavor than honey, dried tangerine peel removes odors better than wine, and even mung beans, used to counteract poison, can be made into a heat-relieving soup that leaves the emperor applauding in delight. Just as she finds her feet in the imperial kitchen, she runs into Marquis Shen Jingchen of Jing’an, who is undercover investigating a case. The marquis is known as the “Cold-Faced Judge of the Capital,” yet her “medicinal cuisine” always captivates him. He also discovers that her “good-for-nothing pill recipe” is connected to the “life-extending mystery” that once shocked the court.
One is a “good-for-nothing disciple” who blew up a pill furnace and switched to cooking; the other is a “cold-faced marquis” whose investigation leads him into the imperial kitchen. Their relationship begins as “meal ticket and diner,” before they become embroiled in martial-world secrets and palace intrigue. Su A Tao uses her skill in medicinal cuisine to overcome crises, while Shen Jingchen shields her from harm. When the secret of the “good-for-nothing pill recipe” is finally revealed, they discover that what was called alchemy is actually the oldest form of food therapy, and that their fates were already entwined three years earlier, when the pill furnace exploded.
