Village cook Chu Xu transmigrates. Rain drips through the roof, her mother is gravely ill, and even the mice can't be bothered to visit the kitchen.
Luckily, a neighbor introduces her to a job as a cook at the Court of Judicial Review. The pay is pitifully low, but she needs money for her mother's medicine, so she'll take it for now.
The kitchen manager gives her a hard time and cuts her budget? Chu Xu serves liangpi, rice noodles, and hot-and-sour noodles. You think that's a challenge for a twenty-first-century wage worker who knows how to stretch every penny? Ever heard of ordering a combo meal?
The Court has so many officers, all with different tastes? Chu Xu fries chicken, shrimp, and mushrooms, coating them in her own homemade breadcrumbs. No matter who they are, they'll be drooling. The allure of fried food and carbs is irresistible!
The cold-faced Assistant Minister of Justice is picky and hard to please? Chu Xu threads lamb, chicken, and pork belly onto skewers and grills them until they're sizzling with oil. The Assistant Minister comes to the kitchen as soon as he smells them. Only he knows how spicy, savory, and delicious they are.
Later, the corrupt manager is driven out, and Chu Xu's salary increases tenfold.
The Ministry of Punishments next door tries to poach their cook, but the Court's officers block the door and stop them. Some even declare that stealing their cook is utterly unconscionable!
As for the cold-faced Assistant Minister, he's already considering bringing the betrothal gifts to the little cook's home.
Ministry of Punishments: A handsome man should do the trick? We've got Vice Minister Cui too!
Qin Jingyao, Assistant Minister at the Court of Judicial Review, solves cases with uncanny skill and is sternly impartial. He never cared much for food, and could eat tofu stewed with tangerines without changing his expression, until the Court hired a new little cook.
Only then did he learn that food could be so full of flavor.
A bowl of steaming wontons on a freezing night warmed the heart he had kept frozen for years.
Bonus scene:
Late at night, a woman in fine clothes scolds her husband: "It's all your fault. You agreed to let him work at the Court of Judicial Review, and now he has to do miserable work every day and still can't come home."
As soon as she finishes speaking, her son returns with food packed up from the Court. The woman rushes over, wiping away tears as she hugs him. "My boy, forget this lowly job at the Court. I'll find you an easier position. Look at how thin you've gotten... How did you get so bloated instead?"
What's going on? He's gained so much weight. Hasn't the food at the Court always been terrible?
Chu Xu: Hehe, I may be modest, but that's all thanks to me.
Reader's guide: One-on-one romance, both leads are sexually inexperienced.
1. A fictionalized Tang dynasty, so don't take the historical details too seriously. Mostly inspired by the Tang dynasty, with a few other influences. Food and mystery-solving.
2. The romance develops slowly. A warm and sweet story.
Theme: Perseverance and self-reliance
