Burdened with bad debts from the start, Wen Zhi is cornered by thugs demanding repayment and threatening to take her away. Undaunted, she sets up an iron griddle, lights the charcoal, and fills the air for miles with the aroma of griddled tofu and grilled cold noodles. She makes a fortune and catches the attention of Xiao Che, the King of Qi, who suffers from an eating disorder and starts showing up every day. Wen Zhi only wants to run a quiet business, but a palace conspiracy brings the two together by accident. She tosses him a tael of silver and walks away without a backward glance, but Xiao Che turns red-eyed and becomes obsessed with throwing himself at her. When the Empress Dowager arranges a marriage and bestows a secondary consort title on her, Wen Zhi leaves without hesitation, takes the baby in her belly, and heads straight for Jiangnan to open a grand restaurant. Six months later, on the day her new restaurant opens, the once all-powerful King of Qi dismisses every spy in his household and, with empty hands, corners her against a wall. “I’m completely broke. Would you be willing to keep me for the rest of my life, Boss Lady?”
