The Empress lowered her head and mumbled, "Uh...yes..."

Nangong Jin chuckled, "If you want to stay in bed, just say so. Why pretend to be unwell?" he said, reaching out to pat her head, "Go ahead and keep sleeping, I’ll go check on Huan’er."

With that, he headed toward the West Chamber.

Watching the man’s back, Empress Tuoba felt a little deflated. Even though he allowed her to continue sleeping, she was now wide awake and couldn’t lie back down. So she called out towards the door.

Soon, the door curtain was lifted again, and palace maids carrying water basins came in one by one to assist with her washing and grooming.

Nanny Chen also came in to serve her.

"Madam, don’t do this next time. His Majesty won’t always be so agreeable."

Empress Qing Cheng stifled a yawn and nodded, clearly not taking the nanny’s words to heart.

Nanny Chen shook her head privately but didn’t dare to advise further.

It’s fine for the moment as His Majesty is willing to pamper the master, but if one day his mood changes, this could be used against her. She knew the Empress wouldn’t listen anyway, and as a servant, saying too much could upset the master, which was not good!

After washing up, she went to the outer room to prepare breakfast.

According to the ancestral system of Great Jin, the breakfast standards for the Emperor and Empress were high, with over 20 dishes, four main courses, and two types of porridge or soup.

The dishes mainly consisted of chicken, duck, fish, goose, pork, and seasonal vegetables, supplemented with mountain and sea delicacies and exotic fruits. The rice eaten by the Emperor was specially cultivated in yellow, white, and purple hues, as well as the finest "tribute rice" from various regions.

In addition, each regional head was required to submit annually an assortment of deer, roe deer, deer tails and tongues, deer tendons, bears, wild boars, wild ducks, tiger bones, geese, cured pigs, salted fish, sturgeon, perch, luan-colored fish, fermented milk, butter, bird’s nest, shark fins, and more—truly an abundance of mountain and sea delicacies.

However, when Cai Wei became Empress, the precedent of the Emperor having dozens of dishes per meal was changed.

Cai Wei believed that having enough to eat was sufficient, and making more than you can eat was wasteful. Waste is a sin, so she not only reduced her portion sizes but also issued an edict to Great Jin’s officials that meals should not exceed twelve dishes, with a penalty of demotion by three ranks for violations. Initially, many were dissatisfied and complained privately that the Empress had overstepped her bounds, but in time, everyone gradually adapted and developed the good habit of avoiding waste.

Thus, at this time, the lacquer floral dining table in the outer room only had bird’s nest hanging stove duck, bird’s nest pleurotus pot roasted chicken, shredded meat and water bamboo hot pot, deer tail sheep Wuyi platter, small bamboo knot rolled buns, spoon cake red buns, New Year cake, enameled sunflower box small dishes, enameled dish small dishes in four varieties, a plate of salted meat, buns in six varieties, wet-nurse in six varieties.

Even with these reductions according to the ancestral standards, the couple still couldn’t finish all the food. However, the leftovers were not wasted. After meals, Empress Tuoba would follow her mother-in-law’s example and distribute the remaining Imperial Meal to the palace maids and eunuchs to improve their meals. This way, nothing was wasted, and the staff below could enjoy a feast!

During meals, the couple sat face-to-face, eating and chatting. Although the ancestral teachings prescribed silence during meals and rest, Nangong Jin, influenced by his parents, disliked such solemn dining atmospheres. He preferred the warm feeling of chatting while eating with his wife, just like his Imperial Father and Imperial Mother.

"Your Majesty, has the woman who set the fire been caught?"

When Empress Tuoba asked this question, her cheeks were puffed full, and her big, watery eyes gazed curiously at her husband, her pouting mouth chewing like a cute little squirrel.

Nangong Jin couldn’t help but touch her puffed-up cheeks, smiling lightly, "The report came yesterday, she’s been caught and is being escorted to the Capital!"

"Mm-hmm, that’s wonderful."

She reached out her small hand, moving aside the bothersome big hand on her cheek, and said indignantly, "Your Majesty must not easily let go of this vicious bad woman. She didn’t even spare her own child, how cruel!"

Since giving birth to Huan’er, Empress Tuoba had developed an almost obsessive love for children, and she couldn’t forgive the woman who didn’t even spare her own child. She constantly urged to have her caught and severely punished!

Nangong Jin nodded and said, "Even if Zitong didn’t say so, I wouldn’t let her go."

After breakfast, the couple went to Shouxian Palace to visit the Retired Emperor and Empress Dowager. Upon reaching the Shouxian Palace where the Imperial Father and Imperial Mother resided, they were told that the Retired Emperor and Empress Dowager had already left the Capital to collect herbs from Kalun Mountain.

It turned out that when the Great Immortal Turtle was treating the Xiao Family, they needed a plant called ghost grass. This plant is extremely rare, with leaves that are completely white, living in needleleaf or mixed needle-broadleaf forests at altitudes of 800 meters to 3200 meters, often found in clusters or solitary. The whole plant stands 10cm-15cm tall, and through millennia of evolution, the leaves have become white, semi-transparent scales, like a layer of silk thin as cicada wings wrapped on the white stem. Its transparent multiple petals resemble a blooming rose. Due to its uniqueness and strangeness, it’s also known as the Flower of the Underworld, said to have the power to revive the dead.

Since this flower must parasitize fungi, and there are no decaying plants in Space, it is the only plant that cannot survive there.

Legend has it that this white, transparent, and crystal-clear flower holds supernatural powers, capable of killing invisibly, seen as an embodiment of evil, and even its fragrance is feared. It also goes by another name, Death Flower.

This rare flower was the key to curing the Xiao Family’s illness.

After the Old Turtle explained to Cai Wei, it happened that Cai Wei and Nangong Yi were going to Qing Luo to visit Mingzhu, so they detoured to Kalun Mountain to help the Xiao Family find this precious treasure.

With Brother Ying around, they easily found things, without having to search at all; Brother Ying directly indicated the exact location of what they needed.

On the mountainside of Kalun Mountain, Cai Wei and Nangong Yi effortlessly found ghost grass, the Death Flower, and collected it into Space.

The Great Immortal Turtle received the ghost grass and leisurely went off to concoct medicine for the Xiao Family.