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Indeed, her dutiful little imperial uncle was bringing her food again.

In the depths of autumn, overnight, the ground was covered with golden-yellow leaves.

Palace Maid

Shen Chuwei, dressed in a moon-white fox fur, walked with the assistance of Chun Xi.

After two rounds, she heard a cat’s meow.

Shen Chuwei looked up at the courtyard wall and saw a person and a cat perched on a tree.

It was Xiao Jinyu, who was ceaselessly waving at her.

The cat Xuetuan, after meowing, enjoyed the dried fish that Xiao Jinyu rewarded it with.

Shen Chuwei gestured an OK sign to Xiao Jinyu.

"Chun Xi, I feel a bit thirsty, the taste of Lemon Passion Fruit Tea is quite nice."

Chun Xi supported Shen Chuwei to sit on a rock, feeling a little worried about letting her walk alone with her eight-month-old belly.

"My lady, you rest here for a while, I’ll go prepare."

Shen Chuwei obediently nodded, "Mmhmm, I’ll wait for you here!"

Seeing how well-behaved her little mistress was today, Chun Xi hurried off to prepare the tea, but after she left, she wondered if her mistress was being too well-behaved today?

Maybe she was scared by today’s constipation?

Once Chun Xi was gone, Shen Chuwei lifted the hem of her dress and ran behind the artificial hill.

That’s right, she ran.

If Chun Xi had seen it, she would have been scared out of her wits.

Xiao Jinyu saw it and rushed over in a mix of running and hopping to support Shen Chuwei.

"Sister-in-law, be careful. If you fall, I will become a sinner through the ages."

"Don’t worry, I know my limits." Despite her more than eight-month-old belly, Shen Chuwei was still quite nimble. After all, she had to exert all her strength even when feeding for the sake of tasty treats.

Xiao Jinyu helped Shen Chuwei sit down on a rock behind the artificial hill and then opened the food box, taking out his home-brought delicacy and placing it in front of her.

As soon as the lid was lifted, the aroma wafted through the air.

"Sister-in-law, look, this is the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall that I reserved from the Eight Treasure House. Try it and see how it tastes," he said.

Shen Chuwei had never eaten Buddha Jumps Over the Wall before and was enticed by the fragrance; she eagerly took a spoonful and tasted it.

It tasted even better than she had imagined, and since it was her first time trying it, she couldn’t help but eat a bit more.

Seeing Shen Chuwei’s craving expression, Xiao Jinyu felt a bit sorry for her. Ever since she got pregnant, she had to sneak around even to eat.

"My brother probably won’t return tonight."

Shen Chuwei asked with her cheeks puffed, "Why not?"

Xiao Jinyu replied, "The Qinghe Town outside the city is suffering from an insect plague. The Emperor has assigned my brother to deal with it, but no solution has been found yet."

Shen Chuwei, while eating the delicacy, realized why Xiao Jinyan had been coming back late these days—he was busy with these matters.

"Couldn’t it be locusts?"

Xiao Jinyu shook his head, "No, it’s insects in the rice fields, there are too many of them, and they’ve almost completely destroyed the wheat."

It was deep into autumn now, what kind of insects could be in the water?

Shen Chuwei asked further, "What do these insects look like?"

Xiao Jinyu described as he recalled, "Their bodies are dark red, with long whiskers, and they have pincer-like claws that hurt a lot when they pinch people."

As Shen Chuwei listened to Xiao Jinyu’s description, the thought of stir-fried crayfish and spicy crayfish suddenly flashed through her mind.

She had been longing for crayfish for several months without getting to eat any. If they really were crayfish, wouldn’t she be able to satisfy her craving?

Looking forward to it, she asked Xiao Jinyu, "Can you catch one for me to have a look?"

Xiao Jinyu earnestly said, "Sister-in-law, that thing is not fun to play with. If it pinches you and you get hurt, my brother will definitely get angry."

Shen Chuwei affirmed, "Who wants to play with it? I want to eat it!" She inadvertently blurted out what she was really thinking.

Xiao Jinyu was startled and then advised, "Sister-in-law, no matter how much you crave it, you can’t eat that thing. What if it’s poisonous?"

Shen Chuwei tempted and threatened, "Bring me a few pounds of them, and I’ll give you the Fetal Education Book."

Xiao Jinyu had always wanted the Fetal Education Book, but Shen Chuwei never gave it to him, saying he wouldn’t need it for a while.

"Really?"

Shen Chuwei swore, "A gentleman’s word, a carriage can’t catch up!"

Xiao Jinyu hi-fived her, "It’s a deal!"

Xiao Jinyu neatly hopped over the wall carrying the food box.

Shen Chuwei was already looking forward to it, hoping it was crayfish so she could satisfy her craving.

Xiao Jinyu didn’t lie to her; Qin Xiao relayed the message that the Crown Prince wouldn’t be back tonight and advised her to finish her dinner and rest early.

"Tell His Highness, I will obediently go to bed early," she said.

After Qin Xiao left, Shen Chuwei dutifully had her meal and went to rest early.

The following day, Shen Chuwei started to look forward to Xiao Jinyu’s arrival.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that she saw Xiao Jinyu jumping down from the wall with a wooden bucket.

"Sister-in-law, take a look, this is what I had people catch in the fields," he announced.

Shen Chuwei glanced inside the bucket and that one look was enough to confirm that these were the crayfish she had been yearning for.

She was overjoyed and tearful, "Little imperial uncle, we can have a feast now."

Xiao Jinyu looked at the insects in the bucket and got goosebumps, "Sister-in-law, are you really going to eat them?"

"Of course, just wait and you’ll get to eat," Shen Chuwei instructed Chun Xi, "Clean them thoroughly, and then we’re going to stir-fry them later."

Chun Xi was scared just looking at the insects, let alone cleaning them.

"My lady, how do I clean these?"

Shen Chuwei smiled slightly, "I’ll teach you."

Chun Xi trembled.

"Sister-in-law, they bite..."

Xiao Jinyu watched as Shen Chuwei skillfully grabbed the insects and began thoroughly washing them.

What happened to being weak and helpless?

Seeing Shen Chuwei’s actions, Chun Xi gained courage. She was afraid of getting bitten at the start, but soon she became quite adept.

Subsequently, under Shen Chuwei’s guidance, the garlic spicy crayfish was ready.

A full pot was sent by Shen Chuwei for the Empress to taste.

With the rest, they put on disposable gloves and, following Shen Chuwei’s verbal instructions, enjoyed their very first crayfish feast in history.

ps: Seven updates