The physician advised him that the first three months of his wife’s pregnancy would be particularly difficult. Morning sickness could be quite tormenting. When it came to food, it wasn’t enough to focus solely on nourishing tonics; it was equally important to prepare dishes she liked.
Pei Huaijin was worried about this matter.
Since a few days ago, Shen Youran had lost her appetite. Sometimes she would barely drink half a bowl of plain rice porridge during a meal, leaving almost all the other dishes untouched.
Now even he dared not ask her to eat too much. Shen Youran had lost a lot of weight, her once round, plump goose-egg face now sharp and slender.
Every day, nutritious soups arrived from both the Chunxuan Hall and the Haitang Courtyard, but Shen Youran refused to drink a single drop, pushing it all away onto him.
The meals sent from the kitchen were not to her liking either, so Pei Huaijin set up a small kitchen in their courtyard. Whenever she wanted to eat something, the kitchen could prepare it at any time.
He also kept Qingfeng in the household at her disposal. If she wanted something from outside, Qingfeng would be sent to buy it for her.
Even so, she still ate very little.
One night, Shen Youran woke up again from hunger, clutching her belly and tossing restlessly, sighing deeply.
Pei Huaijin woke up alongside her. “Are you hungry? I’ll get you some pastries…”
There were pastries prepared on the table in advance. Just as he was about to get up, she pulled him back. “Husband, I don’t want pastries.”
“What do you want to eat then? I can ask the kitchen to make it for you.” Though he knew she would probably say no, that she didn’t want to eat anything, Pei Huaijin patiently asked once more.
What if this time, she actually had something she wanted?
“I…” She hesitated, stammering, unwilling to say it outright.
Pei Huaijin’s brow twitched. That expression meant she truly had something in mind.
“What do you want? Tell me.” He guessed it wouldn’t be something simple, otherwise she wouldn’t be so conflicted.
If she had something she desired, even if it was to taste the stars in the sky, he would find a way to satisfy her.
Encouraged by him, Shen Youran finally spoke: “I want… the porridge that His Royal Grandson made for me late at night right after we married…” Though it tasted awful back then, for some reason now she inexplicably craved that messy concoction and found herself very eager to try it.
Pei Huaijin: “Ah, that…”
At this hour, with the palace under curfew, where on earth could he find His Royal Grandson?
“Do you remember how that porridge was made?” Pei Huaijin decided to make it himself.
“Yes, I remember.”
He took out their clothes from the cabinet and they both changed: “Come, I’ll make the porridge for you.”
Following Shen Youran’s described steps, the porridge was easy to make: mix the flour with water into a paste, pour it into boiling water, stir until smooth, add some seasonal vegetables and sprinkle some salt.
Pei Huaijin, who knew a bit of cooking, figured this would taste awful, so he first stir-fried the vegetables in lard and scallions before adding water and then the flour paste.
Soon, a steaming bowl of porridge was ready. He tasted it and found it acceptable before handing it to her.
Shen Youran took one bite and immediately refused to eat more, pouting at him: “It’s not the right taste.”
“This version should taste better than the way you described making it.”
She didn’t want to be unreasonable, but at this moment, she just wanted that exact taste: “I want to eat the kind that tastes bad…”
“Alright, I’ll make it again.” Pei Huaijin saw her pitiful face and regretted not following her instructions the first time.
Qingfeng hadn’t gone to bed yet, so Pei Huaijin served the leftover porridge to him.
On this cold night, eating a hot bowl of porridge warmed Qingfeng’s whole body. After finishing, he stayed to help tend the fire for his master.
This time, Pei Huaijin strictly followed Shen Youran’s method and made a bowl of porridge that was indeed unappetizing.
She tried a bite and shook her head again: “Still not the right taste…”
She couldn’t describe exactly what it was, but she was terribly craving it. Pei Huaijin had no choice but to give this bowl to Qingfeng and made another one for her.
The taste was still off. Shen Youran hugged the bowl, almost in tears: “No, still not right…”
That night, Pei Huaijin made the porridge six times. Qingfeng drank four bowls before he couldn’t drink anymore. Pei Huaijin had to finish the remaining two himself. Shen Youran didn’t eat a single full mouthful, just nibbled at the taste and ended up eating half a piece of pastry, reluctantly enduring her hunger and falling asleep.
The next day, Pei Huaijin invited Xie Heng to their house and brought him to the small kitchen in Yunzhi Courtyard to help make the porridge for Shen Youran.
Xie Heng was stunned and asked Shen Youran, “Why suddenly do you want that porridge?”
Embarrassed, she said, “I’m pregnant, and my appetite has become rather picky…”
“She’s picky,” he said to Pei Huaijin, “How could you bear to refuse her?”
“You really want it?” Pei Huaijin confirmed with Shen Youran, “I remember the one you made tasted like pig feed?”
With watery eyes from craving, Shen Youran said, “I really want to eat it.”
“Alright then, I’ll make it for you.”
Xie Heng didn’t stir-fry first; he simply added two ladles of water to the pot, made the flour paste while waiting for the water to boil, poured it in, stirred casually, and only then began chopping vegetables.
Pei Huaijin took detailed notes of his steps.
Soon, a pot of porridge with no aroma or flavor came out. Pei Huaijin frowned, and after making sure everything was fully cooked, he finally let Shen Youran try it.
She took a bite, her eyes brightening: “This is the taste!”
Xie Heng put down his ladle and shot Pei Huaijin a smug look. “It has to be me…”
Shen Youran drank a big bowl of porridge—her first full meal since becoming pregnant, without any nausea.
From then on, Pei Huaijin made the porridge twice more following Xie Heng’s method, but after those two times, her taste buds seemed to return to normal, and she no longer understood why she had found the dish appetizing in those few days.
One day, she suddenly craved the meat pie she had eaten on the carriage during her return home after the wedding.
Having been vomiting heavily for three months and avoiding meat, she rarely wanted anything savory, but today she had a strong craving for the meat pie. Pei Huaijin immediately ordered the kitchen to prepare some and send it over.
Shen Youran bit into one piece with a slightly dissatisfied look, as if it wasn’t quite what she wanted. “I don’t want to eat this at home, I want to eat it on the carriage…”
Pei Huaijin said, “Qingfeng, harness the carriage!”
He then took the meat pie from her hand, wrapped it in greaseproof paper, and tucked it into his bosom. After the carriage had traveled three li, he took it out and offered it to her. “Try it…”
Shen Youran ate the pie with satisfaction.
When she was nearly finished, she noticed Pei Huaijin staring intently at her. “What is it?”
“Based on how much you’ve eaten, you should have left two bites for me.”
Shen Youran looked at the small remainder in her hand and the still-not-fully-satisfied feeling in her belly. She felt she could definitely eat more.
But since it was only two bites, she left a small piece and handed it to him. “Here, for you.”
Pei Huaijin took it, pretending to bring it to his mouth but caught her reluctant gaze following the pie.
With a twist of his wrist, he returned the pie to her lips. “Eat it. I wouldn’t fight with a pregnant woman over food…”
Shen Youran smiled brightly and leaned into his arms. “Husband, I’ve troubled you a lot these days, haven’t I?”
Her appetite had become so strange and picky; it was hard on him trying to satisfy her constantly.
“No, you’re carrying our child, so you bear the hardest part. I’m just a bit tired, but it’s nothing compared to what you go through,” Pei Huaijin embraced her. “I was careless to let you suffer so early in your pregnancy. Since acupuncture isn’t foolproof, I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“How will you be more careful? You’re not going to make me drink abortifacients again, are you?”
“No, I have a two-pronged plan.”
“What plan?”
“Want to hear it?”
“Of course!”
Pei Huaijin held her close, whispering into her ear with a low laugh, “You always say I give too much, right? From now on, I’ll do it outside…”
“Oh, you…” Shen Youran raised her hand and lightly tapped him.
Because of his reckless words, Shen Youran couldn’t sleep that night.
These days, morning sickness had drained all her desires, but today, her appetite suddenly improved and she hadn’t vomited once. Tonight, her body no longer felt as uncomfortable as before—it seemed to have returned to its pre-pregnancy state.
Whether it was because of what he said earlier that day, tonight she kept thinking about their intimate moments together. The more she tried to suppress such thoughts, the stronger they became, leaving her restless, empty, and desperate to be filled by something.
Having gone so long without intimacy, and out of a woman’s modesty, she was too shy to directly ask him. Instead, she fidgeted here and there in his arms, touching and pinching, which made him restless as well.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Pei Huaijin held her restless hand. “Are you craving another strange thing again?”
She shyly nodded. “Mm.”
He knew she was hungry again.
He was about to lie down. “What do you want to eat tonight?”
Before he could sit down, she pulled him close.
“I want to eat…” She turned her head toward him, her dark eyes soft and full of hidden charm. Her fingertips circled his Adam’s apple, then rested there. “You.”
Pei Huaijin thought of her recently recovering appetite and suddenly realized the doctor’s warning about the three-month mark had come.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as his body warmed. “How does my lady want to eat tonight?”
His large hands caressed her waist. “Do you want to eat lying down, sitting, kneeling, or… standing?”
Shen Youran smiled foolishly, grabbing his collar and pulling him close. “Lying down first, to whet my appetite…”