Chapter 266: See Through But Say Nothing, Husband and Wife Carry On

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"Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was invented in the Qing Dynasty—how could people in the Song Dynasty possibly know about it?!"

The key is, making Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in this era is nearly impossible. Its creation depends on the mature sea product trade, dried goods processing techniques, clay pot stewing methods, and the extreme pursuit of mountain and sea delicacies in culinary culture—all of which were absent in this era.

Thus, even though Yuan Qingcheng, as a transmigrator, knew the full cooking process of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, it took her twelve years of preparation to recreate this famous dish.

Yuan Qingcheng originally planned to surprise Zhao Yu, letting this unworldly native taste what true earthly delicacy meant.

But Zhao Yu had recognized Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at a glance—and seemed almost indifferent to it.

That's not the reaction of someone utterly unfamiliar with Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

"Could the Emperor also be a transmigrator? Did he eat Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in his previous life?"

Yuan Qingcheng didn't want to think this way, but apart from this, she truly couldn't find any reasonable explanation.

Once this thought appeared in Yuan Qingcheng's mind, it spread like wildfire, burning through her thoughts and leaving her agitated.

In truth, Yuan Qingcheng had long carried a fog of confusion in her heart.

Zhao Yu was not a man easily swayed by others' words, nor was he lacking in wisdom or incapable of independent judgment—this was evident in how he handled both internal and external affairs: when he needed to reject, he rejected; when he needed to decide, he decided; when he needed to act, he acted—never hesitating, never dragging his feet, even decisive in execution.

Moreover, Zhao Yu was not a superstitious man.

For example, he enjoyed practicing Daoist health cultivation to strengthen his body, yet he adamantly refused to touch the spirit pills brewed by Daoist Priests—even as Daoism evolved and the main ingredients of alchemy shifted from the heavy metals like lead and mercury of the Wei-Jin and Tang periods to today's ambergris, making them far less lethal, Zhao Yu still refused to take them; he believed only regular living and moderate physical exercise were the surest paths to health and longevity.

There were many such instances—for instance, when some ministers tried to persuade Zhao Yu with tales of ghosts and spirits, he would simply reply, "The Master does not speak of the strange, the violent, the chaotic, or the divine," and send them packing, leaving them never again daring to deceive him with ghost stories.

Clearly, Zhao Yu leaned toward materialism: though he respected ghosts and spirits, he fundamentally did not truly believe in them.

Yet precisely, Zhao Yu believed the nonsense that Zhang Chun was skilled in prognostication, and followed her every word.

Not only Zhang Chun's nonsense—Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun, even herself and Ma Xiao Jiao—had all used similar tactics to deceive Zhao Yu.

For instance, their abilities were all learned through Dream Entering the Divine Machine.

And Dream Entering the Divine Machine, in plain terms, meant they learned it in their dreams—obviously unreliable.

Yet Zhao Yu believed it.

Moreover, no matter what the five of them said, Zhao Yu believed them utterly.

Thus, Zhao Yu allowed Zhang Chun, a woman with no great political acumen, to use his hand to grasp politics, heavily appointing everyone she recommended and adopting most of her strategies.

By normal standards, women in this era could never touch military affairs, let alone a palace consort confined within the inner court? Yet Zhao Yu went to extraordinary lengths, letting Li Lin build the Divine Machine Army for him, letting Li Lin develop firearms, and even letting Li Lin become the hidden hand controlling the Divine Machine Army! Now, Li Lin routinely impersonated eunuchs to oversee training, inspections, ideological indoctrination, and to teach the Divine Machine Army's soldiers military concepts and tactics foreign to this era.

As for Ye Shi Yun, it goes without saying—though she appeared lazy, spending her days eating, drinking, and amusing herself, she held the Song Dynasty's economy in one hand and its medical system in the other; in both, especially the former, Zhao Yu obeyed her without question, leaving even Cai Jing and others in the dust.

As for Ma Xiao Jiao, she was Zhao Yu's absolute favorite—he gave her whatever she wanted, never once saying "no" to her.

And she was the same: though land in Dongjing Bianliang was worth its weight in gold, Zhao Yu had forcibly given her the very site historically used by Zhao Ji to build Genyue and Your Majesty Mountain as her agricultural base.

Moreover, when she said she wanted to develop high-yield grain, Zhao Yu handed her the "Ministry of Agriculture" to command, letting her tinker anywhere in the Song Dynasty.

She had developed so many high-yield grains, so many fruits and vegetables—others all assumed she was brilliant, but only she knew: without Zhao Yu's full, unreserved backing, his willingness to spend lavishly on her, she could never have achieved what she had.

But wasn't Zhao Yu too bold?

The key point is, Zhao Yu trusted her abilities far too much—if she had no talent, if she produced no results, how would he explain himself to his subjects?

Most crucially, who didn't know Zhao Yu was famed for his wisdom, foresight, and flawless strategies?

Could such a Zhao Yu be fooled so completely by the five of them?

Yuan Qingcheng secretly observed Zhao Yu, trying to catch even a trace of behavior foreign to this era.

Yet Zhao Yu's expression was ordinary, his demeanor radiating the dignified splendor of the Song Emperor—there was not the slightest anomaly.

Yuan Qingcheng wanted to test Zhao Yu—perhaps ask him when he had eaten or seen Buddha Jumps Over the Wall before?

But she knew Zhao Yu too well—she was certain he would say it was Zhang Chun, Li Lin, Ye Shi Yun, or Ma Xiao Jiao who told him, just as he always did when mentioning things foreign to this era.

Indeed!

Yuan Qingcheng was right.

At dinner, Zhao Yu, perhaps realizing he had never tasted Yuan Qingcheng's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, casually added: "This Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is indeed as tender and soft as Shi Yun described—rich, savory, yet not greasy, layered in flavor—Your Majesty's skill is truly exceptional."

Seeing she had guessed correctly, Yuan Qingcheng did not ask Zhao Yu how Ye Shi Yun had described Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, leading him to recognize the dish even before the clay pot's lid was lifted; instead, to deceive Zhao Yu, she did as always—defended Ye Shi Yun: "When I Dreamed Entering the Divine Machine, I prepared this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall for them; among them, Shi Yun ate the most. She must remember it vividly, which is why she mentioned it to Your Majesty. Then again, I'll cook another pot and send it to that greedy cat."

As always, when they five couldn't explain something, they blamed it on Dream Entering the Divine Machine—and Zhao Yu believed it.

But this time, though Zhao Yu believed again, Yuan Qingcheng's suspicions rose sharply.

Nightfall.

Yuan Qingcheng could no longer endure Zhao Yu's exertions, so she sent Xu Poxi to summon several palace attendants to take her place.

Yuan Qingcheng retreated to the side, panting as she rested, watching Zhao Yu tire out Xu Poxi and her palace attendants.

"The more I think about it, the more terrifying it becomes—I never realized how many inconsistencies there are in His Majesty."

"If His Majesty is also a transmigrator and knows our original situation, then everything becomes explainable."

"But for the five of us to transmigrate together to this era was already absurd—how could it be possible for six of us to transmigrate together?"

Yuan Qingcheng recalled, thinking: "The five of us transmigrated together because we were in the same car during the same accident. Even if His Majesty is a transmigrator, he shouldn't have transmigrated to the same era as us—unless he was in the car too? Where? In the trunk? But Li Lin was driving an SUV—there was no trunk."