"Little Zhu, now they're arguing over such a trivial matter.

Little do they know that ten years later, this Minister Zhao will flee south with his family after the city is breached and finally freeze to death on the run.

It seems that at the moment of his death, he was still clutching a small piece of uneaten cornbread in his hand. Did he regret wasting so much precious time arguing with his colleagues over trifles instead of doing something meaningful or having a good meal?

This Minister Gu will have an even more tragic end. He and his family will be trampled to death by the enemy's horses. His granddaughters will be captured, and his grandsons will be thrown into a cauldron and become someone's meal.

Tsk tsk tsk tsk! How tragic!"

Gasp!

Pu!

The truly tragic Zhao Zhifeng managed to hold on and not faint, but the even more miserable Minister Gu Yutong couldn't take it anymore and fainted right away.

His colleagues quickly rushed to help. Some pinched his philtrum, and some fed him water. Finally, they managed to wake him up in no time.

Although everyone sympathized with their future fates, it hadn't happened yet.

They still had a chance to change it. So someone whispered softly in his ear, "Minister Gu, please accept my condolences. The event hasn't occurred yet. As long as Dayan exists, we will surely not end up in such a situation. Please calm down and don't let that person suspect anything."

During the court session, they always referred to Yue Fuguang as "that person."

Gu Yutong was a tough guy. He quickly recovered from this great sorrow. After his emotions stabilized a bit, he could quickly make up an excuse for his sudden fainting.

He apologized to Emperor Mingxi, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't eat or drink anything this morning. Just now... I got too excited during the argument with Minister Zhao and suddenly felt dizzy, which led to my fainting.

Now I'm fine. Regarding the proposal I made just now, I still need to discuss and improve it with Minister Zhao Zhifeng before submitting it to Your Majesty. Please grant your approval."

Emperor Mingxi nodded slightly and said, "What you said makes sense. Approved!"

"Little Zhu, speaking of food, are the vegetables I planted ready to eat?"

[Master, they are indeed ready. How would you like to cook them?]

"The weather is getting colder. How about having a hot pot today? There's mutton in the mansion. Get me some wagyu beef too. It's delicious. Use the vegetables from the garden for the greens."

[Sure! I'll get you plenty of beef! These people here are so pitiful. They still rely on cows to plow the fields and are reluctant to eat beef.]

"Isn't my grandfather in the Ministry of Works? Find the blueprint of the curved plow that can be pulled by one person for me and give it to grandfather when I get a chance."

[Should I give other advanced tools too? I have a lot here.]

"Just bring that plow first. If they can't even handle this, arguing over such a trivial matter like today and being so inefficient in handling affairs, this court is really hopeless.

There's no need for us to care anymore. After all, it's their country that will perish, and it's their own and their descendants' lives that will be lost. One by one, they'll end up so miserably. Even those who surrender in the end won't have a good death. Tsk tsk tsk tsk! How sad! How lamentable!"

All the ministers were so frightened by Yue Fuguang's tsk - tsk sounds that they lowered their heads more and more. Looking from above, half of them were lowering their heads like quails.

Some who were still in the dark saw that everyone started to lower their heads and pretend to be dead. Although they didn't know what was going on, their animal instincts told them to follow suit, or they would really die!

Emperor Mingxi squinted his eyes slightly, exuding a cold and menacing aura, hiding his murderous intention.

They had agreed to work together as monarch and ministers and try to gain some favor from the junior master so that she would show some mercy to Dayan.

But these people were good. They forgot about it after just a few days!

'My sword hasn't tasted blood for too long, and these court officials have forgotten how I, Xie Fei, fought my way to the throne!'

Yue Fuguang ignored the eager looks of the Dayan monarch and his ministers for the new tools. Looking up and seeing that it was getting late, she said to the little eunuch following her, "Little Fuzi, go to the Empress Dowager's palace and tell her that I have something to do today and will go back to the mansion first. Tell her not to wait for me for dinner."

"Yes, Your Highness. I'll go right away." Little Fuzi immediately nodded in agreement.

He still remembered what his godfather, Eunuch Qian, had quietly told him, 'When serving this person, just treat her like your own ancestor, be obedient, do as she says, and be loyal.'

He got this job because his godfather begged the emperor for it. Naturally, Little Fuzi cherished it very much and never forgot his godfather's words for a single day.

As for who he should be loyal to, his godfather didn't say, and Little Fuzi was smart enough not to ask.

Judging from the attitudes of the ministers and the royal family towards this little ancestor, he knew who he should be loyal to.

After Yue Fuguang returned to the mansion, she ordered people to prepare a hot pot. She wanted to have a double - boiled hot pot today.

When she came to the greenhouse in the backyard, wow! She had only been away for two days, and these vegetables had grown so big?

The red strawberries were filled with sweet juice. Even from a distance, one could smell the rich fragrance emanating from their plump bodies.

Yue Fuguang had planted three rows of strawberries, and the total yield during the picking season was actually several dozen catties.

She picked some more vegetables and strawberries and sent them to each courtyard in the Yu Mansion. Then she ordered people to send some to the palace as she had promised earlier.

As for whether the royal family dared to eat the foreign - style food, it was not within her consideration.

At this time, Yue Fuguang had just prepared her dipping sauce, and the meat hadn't been put into the pot yet when a maid came to report that the emperor, the crown prince, and several ministers were coming.

As soon as Yue Fuguang heard this, she knew that these people were coming to her place to mooch off a meal.

Well, she ordered people to get a few more hot pots. Before the soup in the pot had even heated up, a group of people rushed in.

Led by Emperor Mingxi, the crown prince followed behind him, and behind the crown prince were her grandfather and a group of ministers. Old Master Wang, Wei Ping, Lu Qi, and other old acquaintances were all there.

Her new father, Old Yu, and her third uncle, Yu Qinchun, were squeezed to the back.

Yue Fuguang thought, oh, these dozen or so people would have to be seated at two tables.

Anyway, she didn't care whether these people usually ate at separate tables. Once they were in her place, they had to follow her rules.

It was okay to put two hot pots on one table. She didn't have any more hot - pot basins anyway.

Seeing the people come in, Yue Fuguang smiled and symbolically greeted them, saying, "Your Majesty, you've come just in time. I'm about to have a hot pot. Would you like to join me?"

Well, for the sake of a meal, they had come all the way out of the palace. Give him a way out.

"Hahaha, good. I heard from Minister Yu that your vegetables have grown. Since I had nothing to do today, I brought the crown prince and the ministers here to have a look.

Unexpectedly, we're really lucky to catch up with you having a hot pot.

You ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌‌‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‍know, smelling the soup in your pot, I'm really a bit hungry. Your hot pot is different from what we usually eat. Why is this side so red?"

Emperor Mingxi saw that the big hot pot was divided into a yin - yang shape, with one side red and the other white. The steam rising from it rushed straight to people's noses, carrying a pungent and unfamiliar aroma.

"Your Majesty, this is a double - boiled hot pot. The milky - white side is the chicken - soup flavor you usually eat, and the red side is the spicy flavor.

"Later when we start eating, Your Majesty and all the lords should be careful. The spicy flavor can be a bit overwhelming for those who can't handle spicy food."

Then, the person taught everyone how to prepare the dipping sauces. Just like Yue Fuguang, each person had a plate of sesame sauce dipping sauce and a plate of chili sauce dipping sauce in front of them.

Spicy food is really unbearable for those who can't eat it, but it's incredibly delicious for those who can!