After transmigrating, Su Taoyao became the destitute owner of a noodle shop in Peach Blossom Alley, buried in debt.
So poor she could barely put food on the table, she picked up a stunningly handsome man who had collapsed outside her door and forced him to work as a free waiter to pay off his debt!
The handsome man was quiet and breathtakingly beautiful. Noblewomen across the city were clamoring for him, yet he let her tease him, take liberties with him, and order him around as she pleased.
With her looks-obsessed heart taking over, she treated handsome men like ingredients. A bowl of scallion-oil noodles or a plate of homestyle cooking could amaze the world and bring her rundown noodle shop back to life.
But nobody knew that this obedient, capable mute waiter was Xiao Jingheng, the regent who had lost his sense of taste to a deadly poison and held power over the entire court.
He had hidden himself among the common people, all for a home-cooked meal from her and a chance to savor life again.
At the cooking god competition, she transformed scraps into a feast. One bowl of plain noodles stunned the emperor, and she rose to fame against all odds.
At the victory banquet, his identity was exposed: the humble waiter instantly became a prince known as the Nine-Thousand-Year-Old!
From then on, the streetwise cook entered the imperial palace, using her delicious dishes to face-slap those who gave her a hard time, win over the powerful, and defuse crises at court.
He welcomed her with an extravagant wedding procession stretching ten miles and announced to the world: “My princess consort is only responsible for amazing the world, not for putting up with mistreatment!”
A meeting of humble comforts and imperial power, a love sealed by fine food. Three meals a day, four seasons a year, and sweetness in every passing year.