A Thousand Times Worse Than Torture
Lulu thought for a moment and said, "These days, I’ve been moving around the village frequently, asking around everywhere, but these villagers are all very tight-lipped. When it comes to Su Li, they only speak well of her, saying she built a school in the village and helped everyone get rich."
Princess Mingyu sneered, "Truly just country bumpkins, easily bought with small favors. Building a school doesn't cost much, so why make such a fuss? Tch! And this talk of leading everyone to prosperity—I’ve also heard it’s just to coax the villagers into buying vegetables from Su Li! They only earn a few coins; it’s not even enough for a cup of tea for this princess, yet they’re all so happy about it. It’s really pathetic."
Lulu agreed, "Who says otherwise! Country bumpkins are just country bumpkins. Princess, rest assured, I've already befriended several people in the village. I believe that after a few more days of getting familiar, I’ll use some small favors to get them to reveal Su Li’s secrets."
Princess Mingyu and her maid Lulu were talking when suddenly the aroma of food wafted in from outside, making Princess Mingyu’s mouth water so much she nearly drooled on the ground!
Originally, Princess Mingyu lived a life of luxury, never worrying about food or clothing. But ever since she stubbornly insisted on moving into Su Li’s house, despite threatening Su Li with complaints, Su Li never gave her a good face.
She was only given a few side rooms to live in, with a small kitchen inside, and nothing else.
The rest of Su Li’s family treated her like a plague, keeping far away from this wealthy young lady in their eyes.
Princess Mingyu’s meals these days were all managed by Lulu. Lulu was a personal maid and rarely cooked, so her cooking skills were, to put it mildly, terrible, making the princess’s food hard to swallow. Moreover, this was the countryside; there wasn’t even a restaurant nearby, so they had to buy snacks from Qingmiao City to make do. After a few days, the princess’s face turned green from eating too many snacks.
But Su Li simply pretended not to notice. If she was hungry, then so be it. Who told her to stubbornly move in? Starve to death then!
What was most infuriating was that Su Li clearly knew Princess Mingyu was both greedy and hungry, almost to the point of throwing up from eating so many snacks, yet every time she cooked something delicious, she deliberately carried it around, passing right in front of the princess’s room.
Whether it was Su Li or her four apprentices, the dishes they made smelled so fragrant they drifted for miles, making Princess Mingyu so tempted she wanted to snatch the plates away.
But she had to remember she was a princess and had to maintain dignity and grace in front of General Xiao, so she could only endure it.
Today, Su Li made dishes like soy sauce-flavored pork ribs and stir-fried duck tongues, rich in aroma. Passing under Princess Mingyu’s eaves, her stomach started growling in protest.
"Eating snacks all day has made me sick of them! Lulu, you useless thing, you can’t even cook properly!" Princess Mingyu irritably pinched Lulu’s arm.
Lulu trembled in fear and lowered her head, saying, "Princess, please calm down, it’s all my fault. How about I go to Qingmiao City to find a cook?"
Princess Mingyu glared and said, "Are you stupid? If I bring a cook here, it’ll prove to General Xiao that I’m living well and not suffering at all. That would be slapping myself in the face!"
Lulu knelt down in fear, at a loss for what to do: "I-I don’t know what to do either!"
Princess Mingyu sighed heavily, smelling the aroma outside and imagining the wonderful taste of Su Li’s cooking...
The experience of seeing delicious food, smelling it, hearing your stomach growl from hunger, yet not being able to eat it, was a torture a thousand times worse than any cruel punishment.