Royal Palace.

Kunning Palace.

In the main hall, Queen Ma was sewing a child's clothes with her head down, her face kind and her eyes focused.

Four maids stood on both sides, looking respectful.

At this moment, there was a slight sound of footsteps, and an old eunuch slowly walked in.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is here and is asking for an audience outside the palace."

The old eunuch bowed and said respectfully.

Empress Ma's eunuch is often far away.

"Oh? Let him in quickly."

When Queen Ma heard this, her face showed a look of joy, and she waved her hands and said.

Soon, Prince Zhu Biao walked into the hall carrying a food box.

"My son, I have met my mother."

Zhu Biao bowed respectfully and said softly.

"Get down quickly, why are you here?"

Queen Ma waved her hands and asked with a smile, her eyes full of love.

"My son recently ate a new delicacy and thought it tasted good, so I specially sent it to my mother to taste it."

As Zhu Biao spoke, he stood up and carried the food box to sit next to Queen Ma. Then he saw the baby clothes that Queen Ma was holding in her hands.

"Is the queen mother busy with needlework again? This is a troublesome matter, so just let the people below do it. If you have time, why not go for a walk in the imperial garden to relax."

Zhu Biao looked at Queen Ma and said with concern.

"It doesn't matter. The Queen Mother can do this little thing. Besides, she has become accustomed to it over the years. Hasn't the clothes of you children been sewn by the Queen Mother herself since you were young?"

"The dress I made for Yunwen last time was a little too small. My mother has nothing to do, so I can change it and wear it."

Queen Ma smiled and said.

"My mother is worried about her because of her hard work, and her children and ministers are frightened."

Zhu Biao cupped his hands and said gratefully.

"What are you talking about? The Ai family is Yunwen's grandmother, and it is natural for you to care about him. But you should pay more attention to your own body."

Queen Ma shook her head and said.

"Yes, Queen Mother."

Zhu Biao nodded and responded with a smile.

"By the way, mother, please rest for a while and taste the delicacies brought by my son."

Zhu Biao opened the food box as he spoke.

"What is this?"

Queen Ma nodded, then looked up and saw the self-stimulating pot in the food box, and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"This thing is called Changsheng Pot. It has become popular in the capital recently. It tastes very good. You will know after your mother tastes it."

"Go get some cold water."

Zhu Biao explained to a maid next to him.

“So this is a long-lasting hotpot?!”

When Queen Ma heard this, she immediately became interested and asked in surprise.

"Has your mother ever heard of this?"

Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment and asked with a smile.

"That's natural. Although the Ai family has lived in the palace for a long time, there have been widespread rumors inside and outside the palace recently. Naturally, it has spread to the ears of the Ai family. I heard that this thing was developed by that dandy son of Prime Minister Hu?"

Queen Ma nodded and asked.

"Yes, but this boy may not be as dandy as the rumors say. At least he is quite intelligent in the business world. First, Hong Bin Tower, and then the Chang Sheng Guo, both caused a lot of commotion, and even already

It spread outside the capital."

Zhu Biao smiled and said with some emotion.

"The Ai family has also heard the name of Hong Binlou. It seems that this boy does seem to have some abilities. Prime Minister Hu must be very pleased now. He hopes that this boy will soon be able to get rid of his reputation as the number one playboy in the capital."

Queen Ma nodded and said.

Zhu Biao nodded and said yes.

Soon, the maid brought cold water and poured it into the long pot under Zhu Biao's instructions.

After half a stick of incense, Zhu Biao opened the lid, and then a burst of fragrance hit his face and quickly filled the entire hall.

"Well, it smells really good."

Queen Ma nodded and said with some surprise.

"This dish is called Guobao Pork. It comes from Hong Bin Restaurant and was developed by Hu Fei himself. You can try it first."

Zhu Biao smiled and handed the chopsticks to Queen Ma's hand.

Queen Ma nodded, picked up the chopsticks, and started eating.

It didn’t matter what I ate. The more I ate, the more delicious it became. It didn’t take long before I had finished the entire pot.

"Mother, how do you feel?"

Zhu Biao looked at Queen Ma expectantly and asked with a smile.

"Very good! Very good! The rumors are indeed true. I didn't expect that this small paper box can actually make such delicacies with a bowl of cold water. It's really unheard of."

Queen Ma said happily while thinking about it.

"My mother doesn't know that this is just one of the dishes listed in Hong Bin Restaurant. It is said that there are many delicacies in the restaurant that are unheard of. It is difficult to find a second restaurant that can prepare each dish."

"I heard that there is also a nourishing porridge called preserved egg and lean meat porridge. Thousands of bowls of it were sold in one day, which shocked the entire capital!"

Zhu Biao seemed to be interested and said excitedly.

"It seems that this child does have something extraordinary. If he really has talents that ordinary people don't have, it would be better for the prince to get closer to him and use him as his own."

Queen Ma said thoughtfully.

"My mother has learned clearly that my son and minister have this intention."

Zhu Biao nodded and said with a smile, thinking of getting to know Hu Fei.

From then on, Empress Ma was very fond of Changsheng Pot. She often ordered people to go out of the palace to buy it, and even gave it to the maids and eunuchs to eat. The news soon spread to other concubines, and everyone began to follow suit.

...

Hu Mansion.

That evening, Hu Fei returned home with two boxes of self-heating pot. He wanted to give them to Hu Weiyong to taste, but found that Hu Weiyong was not at home, so he called for the housekeeper Qin Hai.

"Where did the old man go?"

Hu Fei looked at Qin Hai and asked with a frown.

He said he was a little depressed. Hu Weiyong had never been to Hongbin Tower since it opened. Although the food at Hongbin Tower fascinated everyone in the capital, it failed to keep Hu Weiyong's stomach.

I originally thought that I would bring two boxes of self-heating pot back today for Hu Weiyong to try, but in the end I was in vain.

"Back to the young master, the master was summoned to the palace by His Majesty not long ago. It is estimated that he will not come back until later."

Qin Hai bowed and said respectfully.

Hu Fei hasn't been home much recently. He didn't know that Hu Weiyong would be summoned to the palace almost all day long and would return home very late every day.

"What happened? What are you doing in the palace at night?"

Hu Fei frowned and asked doubtfully.

"I heard from the master that it seems that because the new year is approaching, the Ministry of War has not been going smoothly in hoarding military rations. In the past two years, famines have occurred everywhere, and civilian food production has dropped sharply. Your Majesty is considerate of the people and does not want to force conquest. However, the Northern Yuan Dynasty has not been destroyed, and the surrounding countries have

The tiger is watching with eager eyes, and the army must be without food. Your Majesty is deeply worried, so in the past few days, he has often called me into the palace to discuss countermeasures."

Qin Hai paused and told the truth what he heard from Hu Weiyong.

After listening to Qin Hai's words, Hu Fei frowned at first, then a light flashed in his eyes, and he had an idea.

"I understand. Since the old man is not here, I will go back to Hong Bin Building."

Hu Fei nodded and said thoughtfully.

"Okay, Master."

Qin Hai said while cupping his hands in salute, but his eyes kept glancing at the two boxes of self-stimulating pot in Hu Fei's hands.

"What? You look greedy?"
To be continued...