Could he really be an immortal?

Chapter 101 Could he really be an immortal?

Before that soft, sweet call had even landed, a little pink dumpling had already rolled across the threshold.

Li Shimin's stern face instantly relaxed. Before he could even get up, Xiao Sizi had already pounced on his legs, his two greasy little hands hugging his thighs.

"The boy's back!"

"Run slowly, be careful not to fall."

Li Shimin scooped up his daughter, placed her on his lap, and pinched her little nose. "Where have you been running around again? This... um? What's that smell?"

Li Shimin shrugged.

A very faint, yet extremely pure, milky sweetness, mixed with a hint of coolness, wafted from my daughter. It wasn't cloying; instead, it was invigorating.

Li Lizhi also entered at this moment, bowed respectfully, and carried a red lacquered and gold-decorated food box in her hand.

"Father, Su Mu made some new kinds of pastries, and I brought them back for you and Mother to try."

Upon hearing the name Su Mu, Li Shimin's eyes visibly lit up.

But he quickly straightened his face, adopting the composure of an emperor: "What has that brat been up to this time? If it's that heavy-flavored chili oil again, I can't take it tonight."

"It's not spicy."

Li Lizhi placed the food box on the table with the utmost gentleness. "It's mooncakes."

"moon cake?"

Li Shimin glanced at the large flatbread on the corner of the table. "What fancy things can you make out of this? It's just a matter of adding more oil and sugar."

Li Lizhi didn't say anything, but simply reached out and lifted the lid.

A cool, misty breeze wafted out from the rim of the box.

Li Shimin was stunned.

The box didn't contain the golden-brown, shiny flatbread I had imagined.

Only a few small, exquisite, and pure white spheres lay quietly on the green lotus leaves they were cushioning.

The surface was crystal clear, and you could even vaguely see the pale yellow color coming through. It was covered with delicate cloud patterns, and it didn't look like food at all, but rather like a piece of mutton fat jade treasured in the imperial storehouse.

"This... is a cake?"

Empress Zhangsun also came over, her eyes full of surprise.

"Su Mu calls this snow skin mooncake."

Li Lizhi took out a pair of silver chopsticks, carefully picked up one, placed it on a white jade plate, and presented it to Li Shimin. "They said it shouldn't be roasted over a fire, but should be chilled in an ice bath. The point is to eat it cool and soft."

Li Shimin looked at the tiny thing that was not much bigger than an egg.

Compared to the large flatbreads of previous years that required chopping with a knife, this was so delicate that he almost couldn't bear to eat it.

He reached out and touched it.

It's cold.

It has a delicate, soft texture and even bounces back.

"That's interesting."

Li Shimin picked up the mooncake.

It feels heavy in your hand; it's quite substantial.

He opened his mouth and took a bite.

The teeth cut through the skin without any resistance.

The cool skin melted on the tip of the tongue, and then, without warning, a warm, thick liquid gushed out.

Li Shimin's pupils suddenly contracted.

salty!

It had the incredibly fresh and fragrant taste of salted egg yolk, with a slightly grainy texture that rubbed against the tongue.

Sweetness followed closely behind.

The rich milky aroma, mixed with the mellow sweetness, quickly neutralized the saltiness of the egg yolk.

The salty and sweet flavors didn't clash in the mouth; instead, they intertwined to create an extremely complex and layered sensation.

The contrast between the cool outer layer and the warm filling is striking; the fluid texture is worlds apart from the dry, hard texture of a solid dough pancake.

Li Shimin couldn't resist and, without even speaking, swallowed the rest of the meat in a few bites.

He finally let out a long breath as the last bit of syrup slid down his throat.

"That feels so good!"

Li Shimin rubbed off the bit of white powder on his fingers, stared blankly at the empty plate.

"This is the kind of mooncake that people should eat!"

Empress Zhangsun also tried one, her eyes crinkling with delight as she nodded repeatedly: "Is the skin made of glutinous rice? It's so smooth and silky. The filling is even more unique, sandy and runny. I wonder how they came up with that."

"My boyfriend says this is called 'molten core'!"

Little Sizi leaned against the table, staring at the two and a half mooncakes remaining in the box, swallowing hard. "The hearts just keep spilling out!"

Seeing his daughter's greedy expression, and then looking at the half-defective product that had been chewed up, Li Shimin immediately understood what had happened with the teeth marks on it.

He didn't mind, reached out and picked up the half, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Hmm, this half is even more flavorful, it tastes like my daughter's saliva."

Li Shimin made a joke, then looked at Li Lizhi seriously and said, "This kid, when you were making this cake, did you say anything?"

""

Li Lizhi's body stiffened slightly.

She was pouring tea for her father when she heard this, and the teapot in her hand trembled slightly.

That poem.

On the way back, those few lines kept swirling in her mind, refusing to leave. That soul-piercing loneliness, that yearning even a mortal could feel to ascend to immortality.

Should I say it or not?

If we don't speak up, that would be deceiving the emperor.

If I were to tell—wouldn't Father Emperor be suspicious?

"What? You have nothing to say?"

Li Shimin keenly noticed his daughter's unusual behavior, his gaze sharpening. "Did she say something utterly rebellious?"

No—no.

Li Lizhi took a deep breath, put down the teapot, and lowered her eyes. "When Su Mu was making the cakes, he looked at the moon in the sky and casually recited a poem."

"Recite the words?"

Li Shimin became interested. "That kid can't read many characters, yet he can compose poems and lyrics? Let me read them to him. I want to see what kind of pretentious writing this cook can come up with."

Li Lizhi raised her head, her gaze passing over the high threshold of the Liangyi Hall and looking out at the dark night sky.

When will the moon be clear and bright? I raise my cup to ask the heavens.

The first sentence was uttered.

Li Shimin's hand, which was holding a teacup, stopped in mid-air.

This is a great start—a good tone!

Raising a cup to the heavens—what unrestrained abandon!

"I wonder what year it is tonight in the celestial palace."

Li Shimin's brow twitched suddenly.

Heavenly palaces?

He subconsciously looked at the empty mooncake plate.

Those pure white, untouched by the grime of everyday life, snow skin mooncakes truly seem otherworldly.

Li Lizhi's voice continued, clear yet trembling slightly.

"I long to ride the wind and return, yet I fear the jade palaces and crystal towers, where the cold is unbearable at such heights—"

Clang!

The lid of the teacup in Li Shimin's hand landed on the saucer with a crisp sound.

He seemed frozen in place, staring intently at Li Lizhi's lips.

Return?

Riding the wind and returning home?

These two words exploded in Li Shimin's mind, making his scalp tingle!

For mortals to dream of ascending to heaven is to seek immortality, to cultivate the Tao, and to indulge in delusion.

But Su Mu used "Gui".

Only when you go home can you truly say you've returned!

Could that kid really be—

"The higher you climb, the colder it gets."

Li Shimin murmured and repeated this sentence.

A chill I'd never felt before crept up my spine!

He surveyed the vast Liangyi Hall, resplendent in gold and jade, a place above all others. Yet, in the stillness of the night, wasn't the feeling of utter loneliness the very essence of the loneliness that comes with being at the top?

Does Su Mu understand this feeling?

How could a servant chopping wood and tending a fire in the woodshed possibly understand the bone-chilling cold that only those standing at the pinnacle of power can comprehend?

Unless—he once stood even higher than this!

Even the imperial palace was nothing more than a lowly mortal world in his eyes.