Better to Remain a Foodie

Mrs. Hu scrambled to her feet in embarrassment and left.

All the way out, she kept wondering—how did she even fall just now?

Twice now she'd fallen for no reason. Was she haunted or something?

......

Servants had already come to clean up the spilled porridge.

Grace thought it over and decided not to expose the truth about the porridge in front of her father.

She’d just proven she wasn’t Bai Xiaoyu, but if she suddenly became a medical expert, knowing things even her father didn’t—wouldn’t that be asking for trouble?

The original Grace was clueless about everything—a total scatterbrain. It’s better to stick to her scatterbrain persona for now...

As for the snow ginseng, she could just talk to Aunt Xueying privately.

After Mrs. Hu left, Grace’s mother seemed a bit tired too.

Aunt Crystal helped Grace’s mother to the inner room to rest, and Grace told her father she had something to discuss with him privately.

Her father agreed.

Once everyone else was dismissed, Prime Minister Zhu asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

Grace took the jade spirit ring from her pocket and placed it in front of her father. "Dad! Take a look at this—what do you think it is?"

Zhu Minghan’s expression changed. He picked it up, examined it closely, and asked, "Isn't this your grandfather's ring? Why do you have it?"

Qingluan said, "Xiao Yan gave it to me."

"What? Xiao Yan?" Zhu Minghan looked at her suspiciously.

"Here's what happened: Somehow he found out I was at Shuiyue Nunnery and came looking for me. I thought it was odd, so I pretended to be Xier and had Xier pretend to be me. We met through the curtain, and he said he wanted me to give this to you without anyone else knowing." Qingluan had already made up her story.

"Dad, will you go meet him in secret?" Grace asked tentatively.

"I took the ring, but honestly, meeting a man late at night made me nervous, so I didn’t ask too many questions and sent him away. Later, I kept thinking about it and found it even stranger, so I disguised myself as Xier again and went to the general’s mansion to look for him."

Grace looked a little embarrassed and kept up her story: "So, when Chen Er said he saw me leaving the general’s mansion this morning, he probably really did see me. That’s why I pleaded for him and asked you to let him go."

"Is that so?" Zhu Minghan suddenly felt enlightened.

"Mm-hmm." Grace nodded honestly, looking very earnest.

"So, when you went to see him, what did he say?"

"He said he wants to meet with you in secret. He has something important to tell you."

"What is it?"

"He wouldn’t tell me. He said he’d only tell you."

Zhu Minghan stared at the ring in his hand, deep in thought.

"Dad, will you go meet him in secret?" Qingluan asked tentatively.

Zhu Minghan nodded. "Mm."

Grace finally relaxed and whispered, "Xiao Yan said you must be absolutely secretive—otherwise, our Zhu Family could be wiped out."

"Wiped out?" Zhu Minghan’s expression changed.

Qingluan nodded.

"Alright!" Zhu Minghan put away the jade spirit ring. "I’ll figure out how to contact Xiao Yan for a secret meeting."

"Wait! Dad, if he mentions me when you meet, please cover for me. The person he met was Xier—not your daughter. He’s never seen your real daughter’s face!"

"Alright," Zhu Minghan replied, not really concerned. "I’m heading out."

"Dad! Wait a sec," Grace called after him again.

"What is it now?"

"After you meet him, will you tell me what he wanted? Please?" Grace’s big, fluffy eyes sparkled with anticipation.