Chapter 112: Worlds Apart

“This is braised fish fin with yellow sauce. It helps to tonify the middle, boost qi, and strengthen muscles and bones. It’s very effective for your recovery.”

“And this is roasted deer tendon... You know, deer tendon strengthens muscles and bones, replenishes energy, and is also very beneficial for your health.”

She enthusiastically introduced each dish one after another. Lie Chang’an, immersed in the clarity of her voice, thought to himself, no wonder this is imperial cuisine—meticulously crafted, delicious, with an unforgettable aftertaste.

Take this roasted deer tendon, for example. When he was in the military camp with his men, if they were hungry, they’d hunt deer in the woods, then after skinning and deboning, they’d just roast the meat over a fire with some cumin and eat it in big bites. It was never this refined. The deer tendon here was incredibly elastic; after being stewed with radishes and apples, it was fresh and clean, completely free of any gamey smell, rich and fragrant, fatty but not greasy.

He had never tasted such noble and delicate palace dishes before.

Not to mention his childhood with his grandmother, when they lived in poverty and couldn’t even afford a few ounces of pork. Even after he returned victorious from battle and was granted a mansion by the emperor, hiring servants to ensure a better life for his grandmother, she was so used to frugality that she never indulged in extravagance.

He remembered the day they moved into the Lie estate. The emperor had bestowed various gold, silver, jewels, brocades, and silk, which arrived shortly after.

He knelt with his grandmother to express their gratitude.

After the eunuchs left, his grandmother gazed at the gold and silver treasures, the jade hairpins, for a long, long time, tears streaming down her face not long after.

At the time, Lie Chang’an thought she cried tears of joy. But reflecting later, he felt those tears carried so many complex emotions that he could not decipher, though he was certain joy was not among them.

He had thought his grandmother would wear those jade hairpins and adorn herself with the gold and silver, but she only used the brocade and silk to make a few dresses. Besides the jade bracelet she always wore on her wrist, she never wore any other ornaments.

Even their meals followed this simplicity. At the mansion, their meals usually consisted of four dishes and a soup. Although the ingredients were not rare, the food was delicious. Having endured hardship, both he and his grandmother considered such meals exquisite and were content.

Now, after tasting these rare and sumptuous dishes, he realized the meals he once had at home might not even be fit to serve publicly.

Thinking of this, a bitter feeling welled up in Lie Chang’an’s heart.

Sitting across from him was the empire’s most esteemed princess. For anyone else, this would be a blessing that could never be earned in eight lifetimes. Yet, he felt as if needles were pricking his heart.

She was born to privilege, pampered and adorned in silks and jewels.

He was but a military man from humble beginnings, used to coarse tea and simple meals.

They were worlds apart.

There was no harmony between them.

Noticing his silence, Gu Li thought perhaps he found her too talkative. Remembering Ji An’s gentle and quiet nature, she quickly fell silent.

“Eat without speaking, rest without talking,” as the saying goes.

But Gu Li cherished every moment with Lie Chang’an, and it would be a pity if they could not speak more.

Just as she searched for a topic, Lie Chang’an smiled faintly.

“No wonder these are imperial dishes, all so delicious. In my humble opinion, only the noodles my grandmother makes can compare—truly a delicacy of this world.”

“Your grandmother makes noodles?” Gu Li heard him mention his family for the first time and, eager to know more, asked, “Does your grandmother often make noodles for you?”