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Rong Shu enjoyed a peaceful night's sleep.

When she woke up, the sky had already cleared. Zhu Jun and Lan Xuan entered to attend to her grooming.

Taking advantage of the moment when they were wringing out a cloth, she glanced instinctively towards the outer hall.

Zhu Jun noticed and said, "His Highness went to the palace for the morning court session early this morning. Today is the tenth day of the month, so after the meeting, he'll have to pay his respects to Empress in the Kunming Palace. He won't be back at the Eastern Palace until noon."

Rong Shu acknowledged with a soft "Mm": "With the New Year approaching, His Highness the Crown Prince must be very busy."

Lan Xuan, hearing this, smiled and continued, "His Highness is always busy, working from dawn till dusk. Even the Emperor advises him to rest more."

He had always been like this. Back in Phoenix Alley, when he was engrossed in his work, he would often neglect meals and sleep. But whenever she brought him food, no matter how busy he was, he would pause his duties and savor every bit of what she had prepared.

Rong Shu took the warm cloth from Lan Xuan's hand and said, "His Highness has a fondness for smoked meat, particularly deer meat. The deer meat should be marinated in coarse salt for two days, then the salt should be scraped off before roasting over charcoal. Cut into small pieces and placed in a serving box, it can be enjoyed with tea or wine."

Upon hearing this, Lan Xuan felt a slight hesitation in her heart.

Would His Highness truly enjoy such humble fare as smoked meat?

His Highness is quite particular about his food.

I've heard from the kitchen staff that shortly after taking up residence in the Eastern Palace, he somehow acquired a cookbook listing dozens, if not hundreds, of dishes from the capital.

The kitchen staff then busied themselves feverishly, attempting to recreate these new recipes. Yet, no matter how hard they tried, His Highness always found the flavors unsatisfactory, leaving the kitchen crew deeply troubled.

From that point on, everyone in the Eastern Palace knew that our noble prince was not an easy person to please when it came to food.

"Does our Prince truly have a fondness for this smoked meat?" Lan Xuan couldn't help but inquire.

Gu Changjin, with a discerning palate?

Rong Shu raised her eyebrows in surprise. This was a man who could calmly finish a bowl of offal. If he were picky, then there would be no one in the world who wasn't.

The moment Lan Xuan spoke, she received a sharp glance from Zhu Jun. Her aunt was a cook in the kitchen, always urging her to learn about the Prince's preferences. Now that she had finally met someone who knew about them, she wouldn't let the opportunity slip away.

Gathering her courage, she said, "My aunt serves in the kitchen. The Prince has provided a list of dishes, and the cooks have prepared them all, yet His Highness always finds something amiss after eating. My aunt is constantly worried about how to get the taste just right. Miss Rong, perhaps you could find a time to offer your insight?"

Rong Shu indeed felt a surge of curiosity about the culinary records.

No sooner had she finished her morning meal than she held the book in her hands.

She was startled when she turned to the first page. Gu Changjin didn't have a sweet tooth nor did he enjoy sour flavors, yet many dishes listed were both sweet and sour – clearly not his preferences at all.

The one who truly enjoyed such food was her.

After flipping through every page of the culinary record, Rong Shu closed the book. Gazing at the familiar handwriting on the frontispiece, she lowered her eyes without a word.

Of course, Gu Changjin was unaware of the situation in the Purple Imperial Palace. After the morning court session, he discussed matters with Emperor Jia You in the Hall of Nurturing Heart before heading to the Kunning Palace.

Empress Qi had been staying in the Kunning Palace ever since she started taking care of Wen Xi.

When Aunt Zhu came to report, Empress Qi had just fed Wen Xi a bowl of medicine.

After half a month of acupuncture treatments by Doctor Sun, Wen Xi's condition improved, and her periods of unconsciousness shortened. Empress Qi never entrusted anyone else with feeding Wen Xi her herbal soup; she always did it herself.

Gently wiping the corners of Wen Xi's mouth clean of the medicine residue with a handkerchief, Empress Qi handed the bowl to Aunt Zhu and said, "I'll go see the Crown Prince first. Aunt Zhu, stay here with Xi'er."

In the past, when Gu Changjin came to pay his respects, he would usually leave after sipping a couple of cups of tea.

Empress Qi did wish to be closer to him, but they had no blood ties and were separated by the Qi family and Xiao Fu. Neither trusted the other, so maintaining a superficial harmony was already challenging.

Upon returning to the Kunning Palace, Empress Qi intended to serve him tea as usual, engage in some trivial conversation, and then dismiss him.

However, before she could speak, Gu Changjin said, "Mother, the jade Buddha bead you've been searching for, I've found it."

A jade Buddha bead?

Empress Qi paused.

How did he know about her jade Buddha bracelet and that one bead was missing?

The bracelet had been passed down from her grandmother to her mother and then to her. It was incredibly precious, with only one such set in existence, consisting of forty-nine jade Buddha beads, each carved with a unique Buddha image.

Back at the small Buddhist shrine in Daci'en Temple, when her child was born, the bracelet had broken, scattering the beads across the floor.

They managed to retrieve forty-eight, but one was nowhere to be found.

Empress Qi dismissed her attendants and lifted her gaze to look at Gu Changjin with a smile. "The Crown Prince, tell me, which Bodhisattva is carved on the jade Buddha bead that I've been searching for?"

Gu Changjin replied calmly, "The carving on that jade Buddha bead is not a Bodhisattva, but the Four-Faced Peacock King. It depicts one sitting, two leaning, three standing, and four lying down."

The corners of Empress Qi's lips faded into a straight line.

Indeed, the bead was engraved with the Four-Faced Peacock King – even Nurse Gui was unaware of this fact.

It seemed that the Crown Prince had truly seen the bead.

Does he mean to tell her that he knows what happened at the Great Compassion Temple all those years ago?