After returning to the palace, Xiao Chuchu began her monotonous days of being able to eat supplementary foods like millet porridge.
With only bland tastes in her mouth, she longed even more for various delicacies.
Every day in her dreams, she saw fried chicken, milk tea, beer... The next morning she would wake up drooling.
Liu Chaniang was at her wit's end, working with Zhang Jia to concoct different supplementary foods the child could eat, while also having the imperial physician check the baby's pulse.
"Our Chuchu is just craving food. I see no problems with her digestion," Consort Min said confidently.
"This morning when I was eating longan buns, her big eyes were staring fixedly at the bun in my hand."
Consort Min understood all too well. When she used to eat vegetarian, her eyes would water at the mere sight of meat!
[Ah, Auntie Min understands me.]
Xiao Chuchu cooed.
"Come, Chuchu, want to try some goat's milk? Hm?"
"Is it because there's no flavor in your mouth, you poor dear~"
Consort Min teased her, about to let her lick some goat's milk from the spoon. Suddenly, Xiao Chuchu's eyes lit up. She pushed the spoon in Consort Min's hand to the side, sending it tumbling into Liu Chaniang's cup of Dragon Well tea.
With a splash, the milky white goat's milk instantly mixed with the fragrant, pale green tea!
Xiao Chuchu glanced at it. [Oh my, there's not quite enough milk, but I've heard goat's milk is suitable for everyone and can be used to make milk tea.]
Is this milk tea?
Liu Chaniang froze, looking at her teacup.
"Oh dear, Chuchu, be good. We mustn't make messes~" Consort Min gently cooed, about to move her farther from the teacup.
But Liu Chaniang picked up the small amount of now slightly milky tea and tentatively took a sip.
"Hey Chaniang, let Qiu Li pour you a fresh cup," Consort Min said, slapping her thigh. "That goat's milk got in there!"
But the next moment, Liu Chaniang's eyes brightened.
Because Consort Min disliked the gamey taste of goat's milk, she always added sugar when drinking it.
Now mixed with the Dragon Well tea, the strong milk flavor and the tea's clear, slightly bitter taste balanced each other out perfectly.
Milk tea — milk and tea, sweet and bitter, creamy and clear, achieving a delicate equilibrium.
Delicious!
Liu Chaniang even thought it could use a bit more sugar and goat's milk.
Her expression as she drained the cup in one go and licked her lips to savor the aftertaste caught Consort Min by surprise.
"This is edible?" Consort Min couldn't believe it.
Liu Chaniang saw her shocked expression, then looked down to see Xiao Chuchu in Consort Min's arms, staring intently with a slightly dazed expression.
Liu Chaniang couldn't help but smile. "You try it, sister Min."
"!"
Consort Min was skeptical. "Don't trick me. You know I can't stand bitter or gamey flavors. I can't even drink strong tea."
"Really now, don't team up with your precious daughter to fool me..." Despite her words, Consort Min doted on Xiao Chuchu no less than Liu Chaniang did.
She promptly scooped another spoonful of goat's milk, pretending to bring it to Chuchu's mouth. "Little Chuchu, will you make this goat's milk tea for me too? Hm?"
Goat's milk tea!
Liu Chaniang's eyes lit up. What a good name.
Xiao Chuchu's eyes widened too. [My Auntie Min does have a bit of cleverness about her.]
Of course she was happy to play along. She couldn't make other complex dishes as a small infant.
But milk tea? No problem.
At once, she stretched out her little arms again, and with a splash, pushed the spoonful of goat's milk into the teacup in Consort Min's other hand.
"Oh my! How clever our Chuchu is~" Consort Min lowered her head and planted a big kiss on her.
"Our Chuchu knows I've been busy with palace affairs lately and lost a lot of weight. She wants me to have more nourishment, to drink all the goat's milk instead of tea. Isn't that what you mean?"
[...]
Liu Chaniang wanted to speak but held back.
But Consort Min thought everything the little princess did was right. She immediately took the tea she didn't usually like drinking, plus a spoonful of the goat's milk she hated, combined into a terrifying concoction, and downed it all at once like facing an execution, eyes closed.
"My precious Chuchu~"
"No matter how awful it tastes, if you bring it to my lips, I'll drink it without a second thought!"
Consort Min was bold. Without further ado, she clenched her teeth and gulped it down, forcing a smile. "No matter how awful..."
But halfway through her sentence, she stopped.
She smacked her lips, and her expression of endurance grew increasingly strange, increasingly complex...
It's... it's quite tasty?
Huh???
Consort Min's eyes lit up. "Hey, hey, Chaniang, this is good! Qiu Li, Qiu Li, quickly bring another bowl of goat's milk, add more sugar, and bring more tea!"
As she spoke, Cheng Qian and Cheng Shan arrived.
"You've come at just the right time. Quick, try this new tea Chuchu created."
Cheng Shan was stunned.
His chubby, baby-faced cheeks immediately broke into a grin. "Mother, didn't you misspeak? Don't you mean the new tea Consort Liu created?"
"Mother, you only know how to eat. Now you can't even speak clearly. Tsk tsk." Cheng Shan shook his head. "No wonder I read slower than Fifth Brother. I learned it all from you."
Consort Min: "???"
She directly poured two spoonfuls of goat's milk into the teacup and brought it to her son's mouth. "Hurry up and drink. Shut that mouth of yours!"
Cheng Shan hissed and recoiled. "What is this?! It's poisonous! My own mother wants to harm her son!"
He was about to flee, squealing like a pig.
But Consort Min was trained in martial arts. She grabbed him in one swift motion and held him tight. "The little princess isn't even six months old and she's already concocting delicious things for her mother. You're almost ten and all you do is run your mouth!"
"Ah, Chuchu really made this... It looks disgusting..." Cheng Shan took one look and flat-out rejected it.
His tastes were somewhat inherited from Consort Min; he disliked the gamey flavor of goat's milk.
Plus, being young, he didn't like the tea that adults enjoyed.
He preferred meat.
"Fifth Brother, give it to Fifth Brother!" Cheng Shan struggled to lean back. "It's his little sister's creation, let him drink it."
But in the blink of an eye, he saw that Cheng Qian had already sat down and was pouring the sweetened goat's milk into his own teacup, mimicking Consort Min.
He swirled it around and took a sip.
He finished it in two or three gulps, a look of enjoyment on his face.
"Mm, not bad. Chuchu is clever," Cheng Qian praised before even setting down his cup.
Is it real or fake?
Cheng Shan's face screamed that Fifth Brother was lying, but he couldn't help believing it.
He leaned towards the cup Consort Min offered, closed his eyes as if facing death, and took a small sip.
He smacked his lips. "It's strange... Oh, but it seems okay?"
Cheng Shan smacked his lips again and took another sip. "Let me taste it again."
"Mm... I'll try once more."
"I'll have another sip..."
Four sips later, he had finished Consort Min's entire daily portion of goat's milk.
"You ungrateful child!" Consort Min smacked her son repeatedly.
[Hahaha~]
Xiao Chuchu looked at the ground and giggled uncontrollably. [Milk tea, who could resist?]
Cheng Qian had already come over to hug his little sister.
He tried to bring a small spoon of sheep's milk mixed tea to his sister's lips.
"Would you like to try, sister?"
He knew this must be something from the celestial realm.
His sister must have wanted to eat it herself, which is why she conjured it up.
But to his surprise, as soon as Xiao Chuchu smelled the gamey odor from the spoon, she tightly closed her little mouth.
[Hmm, I still prefer cow's milk tea.]
[Big brother and the others think it tastes good because they're used to drinking sheep's milk. Today, when they taste sheep's milk that's like milk tea, they think it's better than before.]
[But my palate is already accustomed to cow's milk tea~]
[Ah, I miss my milk green tea, my full cup of red grapefruit tea, my one-liter fruit tea~]
Xiao Chuchu mused inwardly.
Her thoughts made Cheng Qian feel a bit sorry for her.
"Mother," Cheng Qian couldn't help but speak up, "Father Emperor has called us to observe the bravery of the grassland soldiers at the camp."
"I think I heard them say they also have cow's milk and horse milk. Could those taste better than sheep's milk?"
"I can see that sister doesn't like sheep's milk at all."
Xiao Chuchu's eyes lit up.
[Horse milk won't do, but cow's milk would be fine!]
[I also want to put small taro balls and sesame rice balls in my milk tea to drink together~]
[Or red beans and pudding~]
"???"
Is this edible?
Cheng Qian's eyebrows were quivering.
*
"Young miss, if the master finds out, he'll surely be angry."
At the city gate of the capital of Jing Country.
A pair of 'young men' with blackened faces, disguised as youths, jumped down from a carriage.
A round-faced maid beside them hurriedly advised.
"Little Yuan, call us young masters, don't reveal our identities. Don't worry, we've come from the academy, saying we're on a study tour. No one will suspect anything."
"That's right, the peddler at our academy's entrance said that Jing Country has recently come up with many fun and delicious things..."
"Come on, let's go try this so-called roast duck first. I heard it's sweet."
"Young miss... I mean, young master, wait for me!"
