[Quirky, sweet little cook x aloof, proud crown prince]
Good news: Ruan Zhuning, a food blogger with a modest following in the modern world, has transmigrated into a book!
Bad news: Her father doesn't care for her, her mother doesn't love her, and she's a pitiful little nobody with a cannon-fodder role!
From the start, her father wants to give her to a high-ranking official as his second wife in exchange for a promotion. To avoid the cannon-fodder ending where she's tortured to death, Ruan Zhuning packs her things and runs away in the middle of the night.
In this era, running away is no easy feat. Ruan Zhuning steels herself and applies for a job as a little cook at the Crown Prince's residence.
She has heard that Crown Prince Pei Yanli is a man of impeccable character, as cool and distant as the moon in the sky. He treats his servants exceptionally well, pays generously, and keeps the workload light.
Ruan Zhuning: "I love a master who pays well and doesn't make me work too hard!"
Pork ribs with preserved plums, sweet-and-sour pineapple pork, seafood salad, and eggplant with a fragrant sauce.
Eight-treasure tofu, crystal shrimp dumplings, Kung Pao chicken, and wolf-tooth potatoes.
Crab roe tofu, Coca-Cola chicken wings, shrimp paste vermicelli casserole, and deep-fried lotus root sandwiches.
Her dishes have it all: color, aroma, and flavor!
There isn't a delicacy she hasn't heard of, nor one she can't make!
After some time, Ruan Zhuning notices a young guard coming to the kitchen every day to ask for food. He claims to be Crown Prince Pei Yanli's personal guard. The crown prince is busy day and night, working for the people, so even his guard doesn't get a decent meal.
Feeling sorry for him, Ruan Zhuning always makes extra food and shares half with him. The two grow closer by the day.
One day, Ruan Zhuning asks in a sly whisper, "Since you're the personal guard of the distinguished Crown Prince, do you know if he snores when he sleeps at night?"
The distinguished Crown Prince Pei Yanli: "..."
Later, the crown prince wraps an arm around her slender waist and kisses her by the ear. "Did I snore last night?"
Ruan Zhuning: "..."
*Food story. This novel is set in a fictional world, so please don't scrutinize the historical details.
Theme: Food comes first, no matter what.
