Jiang Yanyi, feeling slightly annoyed, gave him a light punch on the chest.

Feng Shuo chuckled twice, drawing her fully into his arms.

Resting his chin on her shoulder, he closed his eyes and murmured, “I heard you gave the young lady of the An family a questionable idea?”

Jiang Yanyi, displeased, replied, “The young madam and General An have reconciled as good as new. How is that a bad idea?”

Feng Shuo sighed, “Yan Lake is deep. If something unexpected happened, it would be hard to explain to the An family.”

He lifted Jiang Yanyi’s chin with one hand, his rough fingers grazing her small, fair chin a few times. “Throwing a fit, making a scene, and threatening drastic measures — not all men in this world are swayed by these tactics. If An Yongyuan hadn’t rushed over, how would you expect their marriage to end?”

Jiang Yanyi turned her head, evading his hand, and muttered softly, “I wouldn’t dare use this method on others, but knowing General An values his wife, I thought it was worth the risk.”

Looking up, she saw that Feng Shuo appeared utterly exhausted.

She rose and moved behind him, placing her soft fingers on his shoulders, kneading firmly. “Life is but a few short decades. If they can be together, why spend that time in misunderstandings and suspicion?”

After speaking, she heard no reply from Feng Shuo. Looking down, she noticed his eyes were slightly closed as he leaned back in his chair, fast asleep.

She moved to his front, her heart aching as she touched the faint stubble emerging on his chin.

With tens of thousands of soldiers under his command entrusting their lives to him, and with supplies for the western territories reliant on the Yu and Heng provinces, along with constant pressure from the imperial court, he was indeed walking on a knife’s edge with each step.

Jiang Yanyi found a thin blanket and draped it over him, placing a gentle kiss on his lips before quietly leaving the study.

As she stepped out of the doorway, she encountered Xing Yao, who was holding a stack of documents.

Upon seeing Jiang Yanyi, he greeted her respectfully, “Miss Chu.”

Jiang Yanyi placed a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

She glanced back into the room and, seeing no signs of Feng Shuo waking, whispered to Xing Yao, “He’s asleep. Let him rest for a while.”

Xing Yao sighed, “The prince hasn’t slept for several nights.”

Jiang Yanyi’s brows furrowed. “How can he manage without rest? Even someone made of iron couldn’t bear it.”

Xing Yao replied helplessly, “He’s also been eating irregularly. With his worries recently, we don’t dare to urge him too much.”

Jiang Yanyi knew Feng Shuo’s temperament.

When he said “no,” none of his subordinates dared to speak against him.

She glanced back at the door and said to Xing Yao, “I’ll go back and make some soup. I’ll bring it over and watch him drink it myself.”

Xing Yao was overjoyed, bowing deeply. “Thank you, Miss Chu.”

---

After the Antique Soup Shop relocated to Ruyi House, Jiang Yanyi’s old shop was left vacant.

She decided to turn it into a stall selling pancakes and condiment sauces.

With its prime location and her shop’s good reputation, it quickly became a popular spot for convenient food.

Business was steady enough that Qiukui could handle it alone.

If anything came up, she only had to shout into the courtyard, and Chu Zhong would come out to help.

One day, when Jiang Yanyi was bored, she made oden in the shop, intending it for her own people.

However, the enticing aroma drew passing customers who asked if there was a new hotpot offering.

That pot of oden ended up half eaten by her own people and half sold.

With fewer pancake and sauce customers, Qiukui found herself with more idle time.

Jiang Yanyi was often at Ruyi House, and Qiukui, feeling bored, asked her if they could start selling oden.

Jiang Yanyi adapted an old hotpot recipe for the oden broth, creating a savory, mouthwatering flavor that tempted everyone’s taste buds.

Eating at the Antique Soup Shop cost a considerable amount, but a few sticks of oden were affordable for most.

Lotus root slices, potato slices, seaweed knots, and tofu puffs sold for one coin per two sticks, while coriander meatballs and stuffed fish balls sold for one coin per stick.

The income seemed small, but in a few days, it could reach a whole string of coins, with ingredient costs only a little over a hundred coins, yielding over eight hundred in profit.

Some clever street vendors started selling oden too, but their flavor couldn’t compare, so their business didn’t match Jiang Yanyi’s shop.

When Jiang Yanyi returned, Qiukui was sitting on a small stool, a charcoal stove beside her.

She was tying seaweed knots with quick fingers and snipping the small knots with scissors before threading them onto bamboo skewers to simmer in the pot on the stove.

The aroma wafted outside the shop, luring in customers every so often.

After greeting Qiu Kui, Jiang Yanyi headed straight to the kitchen.

With no hotpot sold here anymore, the kitchen ingredients were limited.

She glanced around, deciding to visit Butcher Ma to buy a chicken to make some nourishing chicken soup for Feng Shuo, and perhaps bring a bowl to Chu Yanguai as well.

However, when she arrived at the butcher’s, she learned that the chickens had sold out for the day.

“Boss, take a look — I still have two plump pigeons here. They say, ‘One pigeon is worth nine chickens.’ Pigeon soup is even more nourishing than old hen soup!”

Jiang Yanyi hesitated for a moment before saying, “Alright, please help me butcher the pigeon.”

Killing the pigeon herself would mean boiling water to pluck its feathers, which Jiang Yanyi found too much trouble.

“Got it!” said Ma the butcher, taking the pigeon aside as he continued, “Since you opened Ru Yi Lou, it’s really overshadowed the old Lai Fu Tavern. Although it’s a bit further from your new location to my shop now, just let me know in advance, and I’ll deliver any meat you need straight to Ru Yi Lou. But if you’re buying meat, I hope you’ll still come here!”

A few days ago, Ru Yi Lou had been bustling with customers, and the meat supply in the kitchen was insufficient, so Jiang Yanyi’s staff had bought from nearby vendors.

She guessed Ma the butcher heard about this.

“Of course,” she replied. “We always buy our meat from you. It was just that we ran out the other day, so I sent the staff to buy from somewhere nearby.”

Ma the butcher grinned, handing her the pigeons wrapped neatly in dried lotus leaves. “I’m just hoping your business continues to flourish! Since you moved your antique shop, the whole street here by the Governor’s Office just isn’t as lively anymore.”

Jiang Yanyi smiled. “You flatter me.”

As she took the wrapped pigeons, Ma the butcher spotted a woman on the opposite street.

She was carrying bags in both hands and wore a veiled hat.

He remarked, “That traveling doctor sure has a big appetite. I see her buying a bunch of food from the market every day.”

Following his gaze, Jiang Yanyi thought the woman’s silhouette looked familiar and said, “Perhaps she has others at home to feed.”

Ma the butcher shook his head. “My wife caught a cold recently, and I heard this traveling doctor is great at scraping therapy, so I took my wife to her. I heard she’s a widow who lives alone and usually keeps to herself.”

The mention of scraping therapy reminded Jiang Yanyi of the same doctor who had once treated her.

It indeed looked like the woman who had just passed by.

Judging by the amount of food she was carrying, it seemed enough for seven or eight people.

Jiang Yanyi found this a bit odd, considering Ma’s comments.

She picked up the pigeons, intending to follow the woman and see for herself.

But in a blink, the traveling doctor had vanished into the busy market.

Remembering she had to make soup for Feng Shuo, she returned to the shop.

Truth be told, Jiang Yanyi wasn’t too fond of using the ancient fire starters.

Striking one produced a sharp smell of nitrite that was unpleasant.

Once the fire was going, she poured cold water into the pot and added the pigeons, along with a splash of baijiu to remove the odor and bring out the blood scum.

Pigeon meat is highly nutritious, beneficial for brain health, kidney function, and blood sugar regulation.

It was ideal for both Feng Shuo, who had been overworked recently, and Chu Yangui, who was engrossed in his studies.

After cleaning the pigeons, Jiang Yanyi transferred them to a clay pot, adding water, slices of ginger, and tying up some green onions to include.

She placed it on a small stove to simmer.

While waiting for the water to boil, she prepared dried red dates by removing the pits, soaked some mushrooms in hot water, and sliced up pieces of yam and astragalus root.

Once the soup in the clay pot started boiling, she added the prepared ingredients, as well as a spoonful of goji berries, a few pieces of cinnamon, and some dangshen root.

Pigeon soup is a medicinal dish, and adding these herbs not only enhances the flavor but doubles the nutritional value.

After an hour of slow simmering, she lifted the lid.

The rich aroma of pigeon meat blended with the fragrant mushrooms and herbs, making Jiang Yanyi feel as though the mere scent could extend her lifespan.

She ladled a bowl to taste.

The soup was delicious—fresh and light with a gentle richness from the mushrooms and herbs, perfectly complementing the tender pigeon meat. Enjoying such soup was a pure delight.

Pleased, Jiang Yanyi divided the soup into two containers.

She delivered one to Chu Yangui, who was being tutored by Duke Chen.

When the Duke saw the pigeon soup, he commented on his own luck to share in the meal.

The other container, Jiang Yanyi took to Feng Shuo personally.

When she entered, Feng Shuo was already engrossed in handling official documents.

He seemed to be struggling with something challenging, his brow furrowed as he scanned the papers.

Jiang Yanyi quietly placed the soup on his desk.

Feng Shuo looked up and smiled. “You came.”

As she poured him some soup, she asked, “How did you know I’d come?”

Feng Shuo set down his brush. “What is there in this house that I wouldn’t know about?”

He took the bowl and drank it down in one go.

Previously, Jiang Yanyi hadn’t noticed his weight loss, but now, after hearing Ying Yao mention it, she could see that he had become thinner.

She served him some of the pigeon meat, tender enough to fall off the bone. “Eat more and replenish yourself.”

Since pigeons often fly, their meat is firmer and more flavorful than chicken, with a fragrant taste upon first bite.

After finishing the soup, Feng Shuo felt as though his fatigue from the past few days had evaporated.

Jiang Yanyi asked him, “What’s troubling you? You seem so tense.”

Feng Shuo replied, “More and more refugees are flocking to Xizhou City. It’s becoming chaotic, and last night someone even tried to break into the prison to free Jiang Yanxi.”

Jiang Yanyi said, “If it’s a choice between two evils, maybe it’s best to close the city gates.”

Feng Shuo rubbed his brow and said, “I’m worried that the new emperor has infiltrated the city. To be cautious, take more people with you when you go out. I’ll also find a bodyguard who’s skilled in martial arts to stay by your side.”

He had rushed to propose, wanting to settle the matter and avoid others trying to introduce him to other women.

But he had underestimated the new emperor’s dedication to Jiang Yanxi.

If the new emperor was in the city, Jiang Yanyi would likely become a target.