Rongrong immediately understood what Feicui meant.

In Feicui’s view, the reason why Jingrong encountered trouble back then was because Feicui, who was supposed to protect her closely, was lured away.

If Feicui hadn’t been distracted, no matter how well-prepared the opponent was, their plan could never have succeeded.

Although Yu Jingming wasn’t the mastermind, he was the one responsible for luring Feicui away.

Rongrong stepped forward, intending to help Feicui up.

But Feicui refused to get up.

Rongrong took Feicui’s hand and looked at her severed fingers. The wounds had long healed, leaving thick and hard scars.

“Does it still hurt?” Rongrong asked.

Feicui was taken aback and looked up at Rongrong.

She saw tears in Rongrong’s eyes.

Feicui quickly said, “It doesn’t hurt, it hasn’t hurt for a long time.”

“Was it Liu Zhen who punished you?” Rongrong asked.

Feicui shook her head. “It wasn’t the master who punished me, it was… it was me… myself…”

That finger—Feicui had cut it off herself!

“Feicui, the Noble concubine’s death wasn’t your fault, nor was it Yu Jingming’s. The true criminal is the mastermind behind it all. You’ve already punished yourself by cutting off a finger, and Yu Jingming is stuck in prison, unable to be free. In my opinion, these punishments are enough.”

“No, it’s not,” Feicui said, unable to believe Rongrong would say so much to her.

She thought about the past and couldn’t help crying along with Rongrong. “You don’t know, the master originally intended for Liuli to protect the Noble concubine, but I… I volunteered to challenge Liuli.

My martial arts and lightness skills were better than Liuli’s. But… but if it had been Liuli protecting the Noble concubine, she would never have been lured away by Yu Jingming.

With her personality, she would have stayed by the Noble concubine’s side without leaving.”

Back then, Feicui was naturally talented and extremely perceptive.

At a young age, she had already become one of the top warriors in the Crown Prince’s secret guard.

It was this overconfidence that led her to believe she could capture Yu Jingming as soon as he appeared.

But she didn’t expect his lightness skills to be so extraordinary.

Out of pride, she chased him out of the Eastern Palace, leading to a great tragedy.

“If Liuli were here, maybe she wouldn’t have been distracted by Brother Yu. But the mastermind’s target was the consort, and if one plan fails, they’ll just come up with another. Even if you’re guilty, losing a finger is punishment enough,” Rongrong gently held Feicui’s hand, comforting her softly. “The Noble consort won’t blame you, trust me.”

Feicui was slightly stunned and looked at Rongrong, feeling a bit dazed.

She remembered a recent conversation with the Crown Prince, where they both remarked how much Rongrong resembled Jingrong—not in appearance, but in spirit.

“Miss…” Feicui stared at Rongrong, trying hard to find something on her face.

Sensing Feicui’s thoughts, Rongrong lowered her eyes and smiled. “I believe the Noble consort is reasonable and knows that the real culprit should be blamed. She won’t blame you.”

“You’re right, Miss. The Noble consort, like you, is very kind.”

Rongrong was about to persuade Feicui to stand up when she saw Liuli walking up the stone steps from behind.

Liuli bowed to Rongrong and gave Feicui a brief glance.

Feicui lowered her eyes and silently stood up from the ground.

“Liuli, did he talk?” Rongrong asked.

Liuli nodded. “Thanks to you, Miss, the villain finally confessed. This matter is very important, so I will report it to the master in the study.”

“Is what he said useful?” Rongrong asked worriedly. If what Yu Jingming said wasn’t useful, Liu Zhen might not let him off to redeem himself.

“Rest assured, Miss, it is very useful.”

The huge burden in Rongrong’s heart was finally lifted. “That’s good.”

She watched Liuli leave and then turned to Feicui, giving her a smile.

Feicui was momentarily stunned but then smiled back at Rongrong and said, “Thank you, Miss.”

“Yuanbao is fishing. Would you like to come and watch with me?”

“Yes.”

“Since you’ve returned to the Eastern Palace, you might as well stay here and serve. Su Xin is meticulous, but I still feel more comfortable with you by my side.”

“But…” Feicui was initially overjoyed but then frowned, lowering her voice, “I am now a disabled person, not suitable to serve a noble.”

“Who made that rule?” Rongrong laughed. “There are many disabled people in the palace. Why can men serve the nobles with disabilities, but women can’t?”

Feicui was immediately amused by Rongrong’s words and covered her mouth with a smile. “Thank you, Miss.”

She was about to kneel again.

Rongrong quickly pulled her up. “Don’t kneel anymore. Come with me to see the Phoenix Pond.”

Feicui accompanied Rongrong as they walked towards the Phoenix Pond, and Rongrong couldn’t help but feel a sense of time passing and things changing.

In the past, when she was pregnant with Yuanbao, Feicui had accompanied her like this, walking around the Eastern Palace, telling jokes, and encouraging her to avoid worrying too much and focus on a healthy pregnancy to deliver the royal grandson.

The two walked in silence but felt very comfortable.

Before they even reached Phenix Pool, they saw Yuanbao and Old Duke An crowded at the edge of the plank road, not sure what they were doing.

Rongrong immediately felt worried and hurried over to the plank road.

“Yuanbao, did you catch any fish?”

Hearing Rongrong’s voice, Yuanbao turned around, threw the fishing net, and bounced over to Rongrong, hugging her and pouting. “I caught some, but Great-Grandpa wanted to take the fish, and he accidentally let them fall back into the pond.”

Hearing Yuanbao’s complaint, Old Duke An’s face turned awkward, and he cleared his throat a few times.

“It’s fine, we’re not having fish for lunch anyway.”

Yuanbao’s eyes lit up. “Auntie, are you making lunch today?”

“Do you want to eat what Auntie cooks?” Rongrong gently pinched Yuanbao’s cheek and asked affectionately.

Yuanbao nodded repeatedly. “Yes, I really want to eat what Auntie makes.”

“But there’s only a little time left before lunch. It might be too late to prepare. How about I make something delicious for you for dinner instead?”

Yuanbao tilted her head and frowned. “What should we do then? I already told Great-Grandpa that your cooking is very delicious. Great-Grandpa said he can’t wait to try it!”

Old Duke An?

Old Duke An was the elder of the Crown Prince and Yuanbao, so Rongrong naturally respected him.

Hearing Yuanbao’s words, Rongrong said, “How about I see if there’s anything ready in the kitchen and add a dish for you?”

Old Duke An waved his hand. “Don’t bother too much. Just make something simple, even a bowl of noodles will do. I don’t want Liu Zhen to come and cause trouble again.”

For some reason, hearing Old Duke An’s somewhat grumbling words made Rongrong feel inexplicably sweet.

Would Liu Zhen really stand up for her if she was bullied?

“Eat noodles? Alright, Auntie, can you make Yangchun noodles? I’m sure they’ll taste better than the ones at the stall we usually go to!” Yuanbao referred to the Yangchun noodle stall he and the Crown Prince often visited.

Although Yuanbao thought the stall’s noodles were better than those made by the Eastern Palace’s chefs, he believed Rongrong’s Yangchun noodles would be even better.

Old Duke An frowned. “Yangchun noodles? What’s so good about plain broth and noodles?”

“Then, how about I make you beef noodles?”

“Beef noodles?” Yuanbao turned to Old Duke An. “Great-Grandpa, do you want to try beef noodles?”

“Beef?” Old Duke An thought for a moment. “I’ve had steamed, stir-fried, and fried beef, but I’ve never had beef noodles. Let’s give it a try.”

“I’ll go prepare it now, but beef noodles take longer than Yangchun noodles, so you’ll have to wait a bit.”

“We don’t mind waiting,” both Old Duke An and Yuanbao replied in unison.

After saying this, they exchanged a glance and burst into hearty laughter.

Hearing their cheerful and contrasting voices, Rongrong felt her heart soften.

She turned and headed to the kitchen.

Cattle were very important to common folk, so beef was rarely eaten by ordinary people.

However, at grand feasts in the palace, beef was an essential dish.

According to Li Shizhen’s “Compendium of Materia Medica,” southerners use water buffalo as cattle, while northerners use yellow cattle and black cattle.

Different kinds of cattle have different uses. Beef, heart, spleen, tongue, marrow, liver, and kidneys all have nourishing effects.

Today, there was both water buffalo meat and yellow cattle meat in the kitchen. Rongrong decided to use the yellow cattle shank.

Yellow cattle meat strengthens the spleen and stomach, benefits the waist and legs, stops thirst, and is particularly good for the elderly.

She first brought the whole yellow cattle shank to a boil, skimmed off the foam, and then cooked it with scallions, ginger, garlic, and rice wine.

Once the meat was tender, she cut it into pieces, added soy sauce, star anise, and almonds, and stirred-fried it.

Finally, she added the broth from the beef and simmered it.

After it boiled, she turned off the heat and let it rest.

While the beef stew was cooling, Rongrong prepared dough, kneaded it, and cut it into noodles.

She boiled the noodles until cooked.

By the time she finished, the beef stew was almost ready.

She served the soup and beef into four large bowls and then placed the noodles in bowls.

Since the beef stew took quite a while to prepare, by the time Rongrong brought the noodles to Suyi Pavilion, the old duke and his grandson were already very hungry.

Rongrong felt a bit embarrassed.

She had planned to make noodles quickly, but ended up choosing the more time-consuming beef noodles, causing them to wait longer.

“Old Duke An, if the noodles don’t suit your taste, I can send over other dishes from the kitchen.”

Before the Old duke could speak, Liu Zhen coldly said, “Having something to eat is good enough. Why are you being picky?”

“Auntie, it smells so good!” Yuanbao sniffed eagerly and helped the old duke with a bowl.

The Old Duke An grumbled, “At over twenty years old, he’s not as sensible as a child.”

Rongrong couldn’t help but laugh but tried to suppress it, not wanting to embarrass the Crown Prince.

She handed the Old duke a pair of chopsticks, “Please try it.”

The Old Duke An looked at the bowl of noodles.

The noodles were clear and fresh, with the beef’s gelatin partially dissolved into the soup, and the remaining beef looked translucent and appetizing.

He put aside his argument with the Crown Prince and started eating the noodles.

As soon as he picked up his chopsticks, the room fell silent.

Seeing the Old Duke and his grandson eating with such focus, Rongrong also picked up her chopsticks.

However, as soon as she tasted the first noodle, she immediately regretted cooking the noodles for lunch.

Rongrong made some noise while eating, but the elderly and the young, being royal family members, ate their noodles in complete silence.

When Rongrong ate, all three of them looked up at her.

Rongrong’s face turned red with embarrassment.

Old Duke An laughed heartily. “A bowl of delicious noodles should be eaten with sound!” As he finished speaking, he slurped a big mouthful of noodles with a loud noise.

“Great-Grandpa, your slurping is so loud!” Yuanbao laughed and said, “I can do it too.”

Yuanbao imitated Old Duke An, slurping even louder than Old Duke.

“This won’t do, I have to slurp louder than you.”

Old Duke, feeling playful, started a contest with Yuanbao, both of them slurping noodles noisily.

Amid their cheerful laughter, Rongrong buried her head in her bowl, quickly finishing her noodles.

The beef noodles were incredibly delicious.

Apart from Rongrong, the other three finished their bowls and soup completely, feeling satisfied before heading off for a nap.

Yuanbao went back to Fengyang Palace with Old Duke, while Rongrong was pulled into the inner palace by the Crown Prince as soon as she entered Yuhua Palace.

“Eating so fast, aren’t you afraid of choking?” the Crown Prince asked with a smile.

“Well, I’ve decided I won’t eat noodles again,” Rongrong said.

She had made this decision after their last street-side meal of Yangchun noodles, but today she was truly determined.

“Alright, no more noodles.”

Rongrong was surprised to hear him speak so softly to her, but she didn’t dare express her feelings directly.

Instead, she asked, “Did Yu Jingming’s information help?”

“Yes, it did. I’ll give you credit for it,” the Crown Prince said, playfully tapping her nose.

Rongrong pressed on, “So how did the mastermind find him?”

“His master has connections with the palace, which is why they targeted him,” the Crown Prince said with a gentle smile. “Since you’re so capable, I have another important task for you.”

“What task?” Rongrong wondered if she was really being used like his personal secret guard.

“Go home.”