The government officers gulped down a mouthful of saliva. On this journey, not only the exiled suffered, but the officers did too. There hadn’t been good meals along the way; they didn’t have the conditions for that. Once they tasted the braised pork, they closed their eyes and sighed with enjoyment. They never expected that the food made by Miss Pei would be so delicious. Lu Qing looked at Pei Shu’er with some surprise. She was so virtuous now, nothing like the arrogant and unruly girl she was when first captured. If nobody mentioned it, no one would probably know she was the daughter of the Minister of Rites. An officer glanced at Pei Shu’er and smiled, "Miss Pei is quite skilled." This officer looked fair-skinned, but his body was quite sturdy, with a black mole at the corner of his eye. Pei Shu’er smiled and thanked him. This officer had been around them all the time; Pei Shu’er found out his name was Xu Jia. She often noticed Xu Jia looking at her. She admitted that her appearance was indeed attractive, so she didn’t pay much attention to it. When Pei Shu’er left, she still felt a gaze following her from behind. When Pei Shu’er and Tang Zan reached the kitchen door, Zhang Chao and his companions were eagerly peering inside the kitchen, swallowing their saliva now and then. Upon seeing Pei Shu’er and Tang Zan, the four instinctively took a step back. Their ferocity had truly shocked the four on this journey. Ma He mustered up the courage and said, "Miss Pei, you see, we’re your subordinates now, could we enter the kitchen?" They hadn’t wanted to admit it, but the aroma from the kitchen was too tempting. When that big plate of braised pork was brought out, they salivated uncontrollably, and their stomachs growled. Their stomachs felt a burning pain. It was as if even their souls were being drawn by that braised pork. Pei Shu’er raised her eyebrow; although these four had done things for her, she saw it as a short-term employment relationship. And these four are unruly; Pei Shu’er thought she couldn’t always suppress them. At least for now, she hadn’t planned to subdue them. Unexpectedly, these four surrendered for just a bite of food? Pei Shu’er laughed, "Where’s your sincerity?" The four promptly swore by heaven. "Zhang Chao, Ma He, Li Zhuang, Liu Di, we four brothers swear to heaven that if Miss Pei gives us a bite to eat, we will swear allegiance to her till death." Seeing Pei Shu’er unmoved, they gritted their teeth and added, "Or let heaven strike us down, and we die a horrible death." It was quite a fierce oath. More importantly, after this attack on the mountain stronghold, these four had clearly been won over by Pei Shu’er and Tang Zan, so their loyalty to Pei Shu’er and Tang Zan was logical. These four were exceptionally skilled; had she not caught them unawares, she couldn’t have subdued them. Just as Pei Shu’er was about to nod in agreement, she saw Tang Zan reach out and press down on her hand. His tone was icy, his eyes cold enough to kill. "Your sincerity is one thing, but don’t forget what you did to her before." "If you truly mean it, then kneel at the kitchen door for an hour, and we’ll see afterwards if we will accept you." It’s said that for a man to kneel is a great insult, and Tang Zan’s words were deeply humiliating. The four initially wanted to explode, but under Tang Zan’s overpowering aura, they dared not say anything. Looking at Pei Shu’er’s clear black and white eyes, they felt a bit ashamed. Such a good girl almost ruined by the four of them. Since they wanted to be her subordinates now, swearing to heaven wouldn’t be enough. Thinking this, Zhang Chao was the first to kneel. The other three followed one after another. Pei Shu’er’s eyes were full of shock; she thought the four would turn and leave. Add four strong adversaries to this exiled team. Unexpectedly, they knelt down. Pei Shu’er was somewhat surprised, but Lin Yu and the others were not. Perhaps even Pei Shu’er didn’t realize what she meant to the exiles. Or she might have underestimated her own value. She wasn’t particularly petty and was kind yet firm, a very protective person. She protected even Yinxing and Granny Zhang, so following her would make things easier and with more prospects. Only such a person is worth following as a leader. Going to exile, if they faced it alone, only death awaited them. No matter how strong, everyone has weak moments, like Tang Zan. He once was a brilliant little War God. But now he had a lame leg, severely injured. Even if he still had combat power, it was barely thirty percent. So Zhang Chao and others had to kneel. If not, they’d always be disregarded by Pei Shu’er; wronged earlier, swearing allegiance later, without any deterrence. When Pei Shu’er came in, she saw the radish and ribs were already cooked, bubbling away, and the fragrance filled the entire kitchen. She scooped a big plate of braised ribs and radish from the pot and handed it to the officers in the kitchen. The officers were very satisfied, good, she’s perceptive. Then Pei Shu’er scooped another large plate of braised ribs and radish for the Tang Family, put it on a big plate, placed it on the table, and sat down herself. Everyone had been drooling for a while, and now they couldn’t be bothered about anything else and started eating. After everyone had eaten enough, they went to swap Yinxing over. Yinxing had been watching the pot and eating her fill, and she was quite content. After all the pancakes were finished, they were given to the officers. Even offered some ribs and radish to the officers. She really didn’t want the officers to feel shortchanged. Because if the officers harbor any anger and expand it accidentally, they might end up suffering in the end. There are many ways for those in power to make things difficult for those below; it’s unpreventable. Lu Qing gave the black bread and cabbage to Pei Shu’er. Pei Shu’er made black bread cakes and vegetable dumplings, and since she had many hands to help, she mainly handled the seasoning and controlled the fire. She had added a little salt to the vegetable dumplings, though it wasn’t very noticeable. The raw materials handed over by the officer were all used up. After finishing, she and Granny Yinxing took the vegetable dumplings to the officers. Lu Qing immediately distributed a white bread cake and a vegetable dumpling to each exile. They were all overwhelmed with hunger, moved to tears the moment they ate the warm white bread. Having been used to black bread, the sudden soft texture of the white bread almost brought tears to their eyes. It was so soft and delicious, with a faint aroma of bread. Even with such simple ingredients, Pei Shu’er made them taste so good; she truly was more skilled than an Imperial Chef! Their restless hearts and burning stomachs were instantly soothed.