Xiao Xun looked at Mu Jiahe. "My Queen, if you haven't had enough to eat, let's go back right now. I'll make you something delicious, how about it?"
Mu Jiahe refused. "If we go back now, it will be morning. I'm too tired today and haven't rested enough. Besides, I just had dinner, and I don't know if there will be other matters."
Seeing Mu Jiahe's worried look, Xiao Xun thought: being an emperor is really hard work.
"Then how about this! I'll go get you something to eat, how about it?"
After Xiao Xun said this, Mu Jiahe thought about it, then nodded with a smile, and said in a sweet, childish voice, "That's fine. Now that you are a Marquis of the country, you can move freely within the castle. Go on, Pikachu..."
Xiao Xun almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. A dignified, elegant, and high-ranking empress suddenly acting cute was unbearable for anyone.
It was like his high school homeroom teacher, with short hair and black-rimmed glasses, suddenly making a heart gesture and saying, "Keep up the good work!"
Xiao Xun left the Empress's bedroom and went down to the first floor by elevator, then entered the kitchen area.
The kitchen had a so-called Head Chef, a Master Chef, a Sous Chef, a roast master, a dessert chef, a salad chef, and a bunch of slaves helping out.
That's right, this country had slavery.
They were tidying up after the evening banquet, then leaving what they needed to eat and sending the remaining dishes to a specially designated palace welfare home.
Seeing Xiao Xun enter, everyone stopped their work and bowed respectfully. "Lord Swain, good evening."
This respect was from the heart, because they all knew that this man was very likely to be one of the future masters of this castle. The hierarchy was orderly, and they absolutely dared not overstep their bounds.
Xiao Xun was clearly a little unaccustomed to this respect. He smiled and waved his hand. "Hello, do you have a refrigerator here?"
The Head Chef shook his head. "No, sir, but we have a cold storage room and a freezer. May I know what you need?"
Xiao Xun looked around but didn't see what he wanted. "Open the cold storage room and let me take a look."
The Head Chef personally led Xiao Xun to the cold storage room, which was filled with all sorts of fresh vegetables and fruits. Xiao Xun nodded.
He picked a few leafy vegetables and then chose some beef and lamb from the freezer.
"Who here has the best knife skills?"
Everyone looked at the Master Chef. The Master Chef bowed. "Sir, please instruct me."
Xiao Xun gestured with his hand. "Slice all this meat thinly, as thin as possible."
Although they didn't know Xiao Xun's intentions, no one dared to ask, nor could they, so they could only do as they were told.
Xiao Xun walked around the kitchen again. "Do you have a small stove here, a very small one, preferably one that can be placed on the table?"
Everyone looked at each other. A slave raised his hand. "Sir, would a stove for heating be alright?"
Xiao Xun nodded. "Bring it here and let me see."
The slave turned and ran down to the cellar, returning shortly with a stove that looked like a small bucket.
When Xiao Xun saw it, he clapped his hands. "That's right, this is what I want."
He also prepared a small copper pot, requested a bucket of mountain spring water, and had them send what he wanted to the entrance of the Empress's bedroom.
Xiao Xun looked at the seasonings and prepared salt, chicken fat, chili peppers, pepper, and some seasonings he couldn't name but smelled fragrant, putting them into a small bowl.
There was no sesame paste here, but there was peanut butter.
He prepared two sets of tableware and personally carried them up.
When they reached the second to last floor, these people absolutely dared not go any further, because Her Majesty the Empress had ordered that only the Prime Minister, the High Priest, and a few specific maids, as well as Xiao Xun, were allowed. Anyone else who wanted to go up, or expressed the intention to go up, would be directly killed by the guards on the second to last floor who would draw their swords.
There was no choice, so Xiao Xun had to take these things up himself.
He moved a small table and two chairs. A fire stone ignited with a touch and could generate heat for five hours.
Soon, the pot began to boil, and the aroma wafted everywhere. The guards downstairs remained motionless, but the 'grumbling' of their stomachs could not be controlled at all. They had never smelled such a scent.
The bedroom door opened, and Mu Jiahe walked out, following the smell. Seeing the things on the table, she almost cried out excitedly, "Hot pot!"
But she still sat in the chair and looked at Xiao Xun. "You really are my little genius. How could I not have thought of having hot pot here?"
Xiao Xun prepared the dipping sauce and put his index finger to his lips, making a "shhh~" sound. "My Empress, can you keep it down a bit?"
Mu Jiahe smiled, picked up chopsticks, and picked up a slice of beef as thin as cicada wings, placing it in the pot. "How did you slice the meat so thin?"
"How could I have that skill? Your Master Chef sliced it. I must say, the royal chefs are truly amazing. They cut faster than machines, and they're thin too. You can basically eat them after a quick dip."
Hearing Xiao Xun praise the royal chefs, Mu Jiahe nodded. "Indeed, their skills are impeccable in this world. Perhaps it's due to different dietary habits. Tastes vary, and I can't make them change just because of my preferences."
After eating their fill, the two returned to the bedroom. Xiao Xun looked at the bright moon outside the window. "The moon here feels so close! It's so big and round, and the moon emits a light blue glow. Everything seems like it's in a fairy tale."
Mu Jiahe snorted. "If you had read our country's fairy tale books, you wouldn't say that just now."
When Xiao Xun heard her mention fairy tales, he immediately remembered Otis Fen. Zhen, who called himself a best-selling author, 'Ando Village.' "In your country's fairy tales, how many of them don't have ten or more people dying? I've experienced it."
Mu Jiahe laughed. "You really have a childlike heart. You were asked to go to the library to read books on magic, but you went to read children's books instead."
Xiao Xun looked wronged. "I was thinking that as a 'legal illiterate' with zero foundation, I would learn from the most basic children's books. Who knew that children in your country don't learn magic from books at all!"
Mu Jiahe laughed even louder, not even covering her mouth. She was too arrogant, not treating Xiao Xun as an outsider at all.
"Your Majesty, can you be more reserved? Where is your cool demeanor as the head of the Holy Roman Empire? You need to maintain it."
With a little time left, Mu Jiahe asked Xiao Xun to find a place to rest and then wake her up when it was time.
Mu Jiahe took off her jacket and went to the big, soft bed to sleep.
Xiao Xun sat speechlessly on the steps next to the bed. After a while, he began to doze off.
Mu Jiahe looked at Xiao Xun's appearance and feared that he would fall asleep and miss the time. She patted the spot next to her. "Come here, tell me a story."
Xiao Xun yawned and stood up. "Your Majesty, I'm not Scheherazade; I don't have that many stories to tell."