There was silence in the room as Meng Fuyao awkwardly placed her hand on Ya Lanzhu's shoulder.
"The previous year, I was grounded in Fufeng. My father and mother prepared a birthday feast to console me, and I requested for it to be as crowded and as grand as possible. On that day, amongst the crowd, I ran away again, and in such a hurry that I left my backpack behind. During midnight, I was starving, so I used a broken gold hairpin to exchange for half a stale biscuit with a farmer. Facing the lively palace, I munched on the biscuit and imagined that its taste was similar to the pork and beef whipped up in the imperial kitchen. Having smelled the aroma of those dishes somewhat means that I have eaten them…"
