I'm the Foil in the Imperial Kitchen

Please add my upcoming novel, The Emperor Is No Match for Me, to your reading list!

Blurb for this story: [A sly little cook playing dumb x a younger, clingy, devious prince]

Food blogger Xie Tang transmigrates into the body of a junior palace maid in the Imperial Food Bureau and gets bound to a street-food System.

Whenever she completes an entry in the System's snack encyclopedia, she receives a variety of ingredients as rewards.

So, at the food competition hosted by the Imperial Food Bureau,

while everyone else makes Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and chicken roasted in a pot,

Xie Tang makes stinky tofu.

While others prepare pork ribs steamed with fermented black beans and eel with shrimp,

she rolls up her sleeves and starts experimenting with river-snail rice noodles.

At first, everyone looks down on her. "What is that? Even a dog wouldn't eat it!"

The imperial relatives declare, "I'd rather starve to death or die outside than eat a single bite of that stuff!"

Later, stinky tofu is served to the Emperor, and palace servants queue up at the Imperial Food Bureau every day.

"The stinky tofu is sold out again! Tomorrow, we have to get here early!"

"The river-snail noodles are gone too! What has Tang Tang been busy with lately?"

Busy with what? Obviously, she's busy making jianbing!

As a prince, Liang Yu is kept under house arrest because of his mother's misfortune. The palace servants fawn over the powerful and bully the weak, leaving him without a reliable meal.

Until one day, he realizes something strange is happening.

When he's so hungry he's dizzy, a line of black text floats before his eyes.

[The Imperial Food Bureau is just on the other side of that wall!]

Liang Yu: ?

[There's delicious stinky tofu in the bushes by the back gate!]

Liang Yu: ?

Later...

[Tang Tang made jianbing. Hurry up and go get some!]

[The sizzling tofu is ready!]

[Does he somehow know again that Tang Tang just made roasted sweet potatoes?]

Following the spoilers in the comments, Liang Yu puts on a eunuch's uniform and climbs over the wall to the food bureau every day to "find" something to eat. At last, Xie Tang catches him red-handed.

Seeing the skinny little eunuch, Xie Tang takes pity on him and starts feeding him.

As the little eunuch grows taller day by day and gradually fills out, looking more and more handsome, she takes joy in watching him grow.

*

At the New Year's Eve banquet, Xie Tang's hot pot delights the Emperor.

The Emperor looks at her with a smile. "What would you like? I can grant you anything."

To his surprise, Xie Tang drops to her knees and says with forceful conviction, "Your Majesty, I beg you to allow me to leave the palace."

Liang Yu, who usually acts sweet and pitiful in front of her, has nothing but murderous intent in his eyes. The precious folding fan in his hand snaps in two.

[Reading Guide]

1. The main couple are both virgins.

2. The characters' values do not necessarily reflect the author's.

3. All the snacks are based on information from Baidu, 360 Search, Bilibili, and Xiaohongshu, combined with my own experiences.

[Upcoming Novel] I Woke Up as the Empress Dowager: I switched souls with my mother-in-law.

[Bright, flamboyant, drama-loving noble consort x short-tempered and sharp-tongued in public, tongue-tied and clingy in private emperor]

Shen Ying Ying is a noblewoman from a prominent family. Forced to enter the palace for her family's sake, she suppresses her nature and becomes the favored Consort Shen, yet never abuses her favor. She knows how to advance and retreat, and where to draw the line.

Because she doesn't love the Emperor, and doesn't dare to.

She thought she would wear a mask for the rest of her life.

Until one day, she catches the Empress Dowager and the Marquis of Zhenbei having an affair by the rock garden.

In the ensuing struggle, Shen Ying Ying and the Empress Dowager both fall into the water.

When she wakes up, she hears Liang Huai Jin call out in her ear, "Mother..."

--

Liang Huai Jin thinks his mother has changed.

She used to have a terrible temper and could beat ten people with one punch. Now, there's less of a fiery edge to her words.

Most importantly, when he used to mention the Consort in front of her, his mother would look at him with an exasperated expression, as if he could never live up to her expectations.

But now, she lies on her side on the chaise longue, looking indifferent, and points at the pastries on the table. "I'm hungry. Get those for me."

Liang Huai Jin: ???

Shen Ying Ying, who woke up as the Empress Dowager: I should take advantage of this while I can and order my good son around. I won't get another chance later.

Liang Huai Jin: I just wanted Mother to give me a hint about how to pursue my wife...

Theme: Good food should never be wasted