A Nineteenth-Century Kitchen Maid

[The full novel has undergone major revisions. I'm not responsible for pirated copies.]

After transmigrating to the English countryside at the end of the nineteenth century, Shen Amber became the Wilson family's third daughter, a taciturn, awkward girl.

Caught between her two older sisters and two younger sisters, she carefully worked to save money, hoping to change the course of her life.

An unexpected accident shattered the family's outward peace and happiness.

With nowhere else to turn, the six women in the family were forced to leave home and make their way in London. Amber had no choice but to pick up the skills from her previous life and shoulder the burden of supporting the whole family...

Thanks to a letter of recommendation she happened to obtain, Amber accidentally got into an elite private boys' school frequented by the nobility. In her hands, ordinary ingredients became extraordinary dishes that filled the tables of the arrogant aristocrats

Crystal-clear shrimp dumplings, tender and fragrant rice rolls, sizzling clay-pot rice;

Glossy, red char siu, fragrant braised meats, and rich Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup;

Tender, springy white-boiled shrimp, silky white-cut chicken, and crisp, juicy roast pork. From then on, Chinese cuisine became famous far and wide...

Two years later, she finally opened her own restaurant in London.

But even when she longed for peace, trouble kept finding her. To survive, she entered the fray, completed every university course, and climbed step by step until she stood by the queen's side as her lady-in-waiting. She also became the next queen's most valuable pawn.

So what if she was born low? So what if people looked down on her?

She had never intended to be just a humble cook.

From the countryside of Liverpool to the royal court in London, and then to New York, America;

From kitchen maid to head chef, and then to preparing meals for the royal family;

From illegitimate daughter to noblewoman, and then to lady-in-waiting;

A journey of struggle spanning half a century begins.

[Story setting: A fictionalized late-Victorian era in the nineteenth century]

[The male lead is a Duke of Bavaria. His title is fictional, and no such person existed in history. There is no war.]

Blurb written on 2025.2.20

Read before you begin:

1. This is a slow-burn, steady-paced story, with the heroine leveling up as she goes.

2. The story has romance. If that's not your thing, try a no-romance novel instead. It leans a little Mary Sue. The heroine has several suitors, but the male lead is definitely the best. He gets a moderate amount of page time and appears in chapter 46. The main focus is still her career.

3. The marriage between the heroine's parents is not recognized, but neither parent has another legal spouse, so she is an illegitimate daughter early in the story.

4. A food-focused romance featuring cuisines from several countries, with Chinese food as the main focus whenever possible.

5. This story does not involve any classic novels. It is entirely fictional and merely reuses real place and country names because the author was too lazy to come up with new ones. British history has been changed drastically.

6. This story focuses on women's growth, not just the heroine's, but also the girls around her. They will make mistakes and may be annoying, so please be gentle with your criticism.

Theme: Chinese cuisine goes global