My Emperor Father Can Read Minds
Chapter 39

After Consort Xian left, Emperor Wei looked toward Xiao Anzi.

“Why didn’t the Ninth Prince come in person?”

It was Xiao Anzi’s first time facing the Emperor directly, but he managed to remain composed.

“Replying to Your Majesty, His Highness the Ninth Prince has been busy these past few days drawing blueprints for the Fourth Prince, which is why he hasn’t had time to come.”

Though his master was lazy, Xiao Anzi still had to find a way to cover for him.

Emperor Wei heard Xiao Anzi’s underlying thoughts and knew that Wei Yu was just slacking off and unwilling to come. He let out a snort inwardly.

The little brat had only been diligent for two days, and now he was already getting lazy again. He really couldn’t understand how someone could be so disappointing!

Thanks to this unfilial son, Emperor Wei’s good mood from receiving the recipe dropped a few notches, and the thought of rewarding Wei Yu vanished as well.

He put the recipe back into its box and casually asked Xiao Anzi, “What kind of blueprint is the Ninth Prince drawing for the Fourth Prince?”

The Fourth Prince had been busy preparing a new kiln factory these past few days, so he hadn’t had the chance to mention the “clubhouse” idea to Emperor Wei. As a result, the Emperor didn’t know that Wei Yu was helping the Fourth Prince design glass features for it.

Xiao Anzi replied honestly.

After listening, Emperor Wei raised his brows, clearly interested in the glass ornaments Wei Yu had described.

The details were so specific that they couldn’t have been imagined on the spot—it was obvious the brat had seen them in the future.

But… could glass really only be used for decorations?

Were there no other uses?

Emperor Wei was skeptical, but without evidence, doubt alone was useless.

For now, he decided to set it aside and instead summon senior ministers from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of War to discuss the recipe.

–

The long-awaited trip out of the palace to inspect the residence finally happened on the day of the Qixi Festival.

This rare opportunity to leave the palace was different from the last time, which had been rushed and chaotic. This time, Wei Yu leaned excitedly against the window of the carriage, gazing at the streets of the capital alongside his Eighth Brother, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Wow, so the capital is this lively during the Qixi Festival?”

The streets were packed with people—mostly young men and women—laughter and celebrations echoing everywhere.

Wei Yu didn’t have even a hint of adolescent infatuation on his mind—what he was thinking about were all the fragrant snacks!

“Ah—this smell!”

He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of meat that drifted by, his face full of bliss. “Braised pork! That’s definitely authentic braised pork—golden brown, glistening with oil, melts in your mouth, rich but not greasy, savory and flavorful—it must be delicious!”

Wei Yu’s description was so vivid that the two others in the carriage were rendered speechless.

The Fourth Prince, dressed in plain blue robes, sat in the center and chuckled as he looked at him. “You didn’t even get a look at it and you’re already describing the taste—did you eat it in your dreams or something?”

The Eighth Prince didn’t even bother looking at Wei Yu. He exposed him directly. “That’s exactly how you described the roast goose served by the Imperial Kitchen last time.”

He’d used the same description on seven or eight different dishes—no one could tell if he truly lacked education or if he was just bad at describing things.

Wei Yu lowered the curtain to block the curious gazes of passersby, then smiled at his two older brothers. “It’s not important, none of that’s important. What’s important is… your younger brother is hungry.”

They had just had breakfast before heading out, and he was already hungry again. The Eighth Prince didn’t even know what to say.

The Fourth Prince didn’t mind at all. Knowing how rare these outings were for them, he naturally wanted his younger brothers to enjoy themselves.

With a lifted tone, the Fourth Prince instructed the driver outside, “To Jufu Restaurant.”

Jufu Restaurant was the biggest restaurant in the capital, frequented mostly by high-ranking officials and nobles.

When Wei Yu got off the carriage and saw the three-story building for the first time, he was instantly envious of its booming business.

People were coming and going at the entrance, horse carriages were lined up nearby, and even from outside, he could hear the shouts from inside the restaurant.

Wei Yu quietly sidled up to the Eighth Prince and whispered into his brother’s ear, “Eighth Brother, how much silver do you think Jufu Restaurant makes in a day?”

The Fourth Prince had already gone inside, but when the Eighth Prince heard Wei Yu mention silver, he stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him. “What are you up to? Don’t tell me you want to open a restaurant too?”

Wei Yu had only asked the question on impulse, but upon hearing the mention of opening a restaurant, he stroked his chin.

“Well… it’s not entirely impossible.”

The key to the restaurant business was whether the food tasted good, right?

In this era, chefs kept their recipes secret and only passed them down within families. A single signature dish could attract gourmets from far away. And what did he have?

Modern recipes that had been shared by countless people—everything from the eight great regional cuisines, to Western and Chinese dishes, desserts, milk tea… even palace recipes, he could dig them up!

The more Wei Yu thought about it, the brighter his eyes became.

Not because he thought he’d get rich—but because he was thinking of all those delicious and mouthwatering dishes!

No matter how good the food in Great Wei was, could it really compare to famous dishes that had been passed down and improved over generations?

He couldn’t even find hotpot or barbecue here!

In Great Wei, there weren’t even any chili peppers to begin with. The only sources of spicy flavor came from Sichuan peppercorns, evodia fruit, black pepper, and ginger. And those seasonings were all just pungent—they weren’t truly spicy at all to Wei Yu!

Infuriating.

As his thoughts spun off again, Wei Yu sat in the private room staring at a table full of signature dishes, completely without appetite.

There wasn’t even a hint of red. Everything was bland to the point of death.

Wei Yu’s eyelids drooped, his shoulders slumped, his whole face full of misery.

The more he thought of hotpot and barbecue, the more he craved them—and the more he craved them, the more he remembered just how much he wanted to eat hotpot and barbecue… but there was none! Life wasn’t worth living.

Back in the palace, even though the dishes had been the same for ten years—tepid, sticky, and bland—everyone ate the same food, so Wei Yu could endure it.

But now that he was out of the palace and no longer under that unspoken restraint, a bit of his repressed personality began to show.

He just wanted to eat something spicy!

Really!

Before coming in, he’d been shouting that he was starving and wanted to eat. But once the food was laid out, he sat there looking like he was half-dead. The Fourth Prince and Eighth Prince exchanged glances, not understanding his mood at all.

The Fourth Prince asked, “Ninth Brother, why aren’t you eating? Is it that the dishes at Jufu Restaurant don’t suit your taste?”

Wei Yu lazily lifted his eyelids and replied weakly, “Ah, no. It’s just that I suddenly felt like eating something spicy.”

“Spicy?”

That term was unfamiliar. They’d only ever heard of “pungent.”

The Fourth Prince furrowed his brow and nodded thoughtfully. “Spicy… do you mean something with stronger flavor? How about we ask the kitchen to add more evodia?”

Wei Yu’s face drooped even more.

What use was evodia? He wanted chili peppers!

Suddenly, Wei Yu’s eyes lit up. He sat up straight and asked the Fourth Prince, “Fourth Brother, do you know of a kind of plant… its fruit is pointy and long, it blooms with little white flowers, starts out green and then turns red…”

Wei Yu began describing the appearance of chili peppers to his fourth brother.

After all, sometimes in ancient times, people had discovered new plants—but because they didn’t understand them, they often misclassified them as poisonous or useless ornamental flora.