The Amnesiac, Sickly Beauty Is Pregnant With My Dragon Cub - Chapter 53.1

Yu Xuanji was busy working in the kitchen while Cang Lan paced around outside, peeking her head in every now and then, waiting for the right moment to go in and “cause trouble.”

However, the moment Yu Xuanji lifted the pot lid, a rich and sweet aroma wafted toward Cang Lan. She gripped the doorframe with both hands, leaning her head in and sniffing deeply at the thick fragrance.

As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Yu Xuanji noticed Cang Lan standing there without even turning around. She smiled calmly and said, “The cookies are finished. Wash your hands, and later go call Huang Liu and the others back for dinner.”

Cang Lan paced behind Yu Xuanji, muttering unhappily, “Huang Liu, Huang Liu, it’s always Huang Liu. These are clearly cookies my Lady baked for me.”

Yu Xuanji used chopsticks to pick the cookies up one by one, placing them on the cutting board. The golden, crispy treats were still steaming hot.

Cang Lan sniffed them, her cravings reaching a peak. Just as she was about to sneak a few, she turned her head and found a small, scorched, crispy cookie stuffed into her mouth. It was sweet, crunchy, and carried a rich milky fragrance; one bite was so crisp it practically dissolved into crumbs.

Cang Lan had never imagined such a delicious thing existed in the world. She chewed twice—it was fragrant, sweet, and perfectly crunchy.

There were some crumbs left at the corner of her mouth; Cang Lan flicked her tongue out to lick them clean. Smacking her lips with lingering desire, she leaned close to Yu Xuanji and said with a cheeky grin, “Lady, I want more.”

Staring closer, Cang Lan froze. After seeing the shapes of the cookies on the cutting board, she gasped in surprise: “Lady, this… this…”

Yu Xuanji laughed. “These were molded after your likeness. Don’t they look like a little dragon?” She then introduced them one by one: “Look, A-Lan, this is a dragon soaring in the sky, this is a dragon coiled up resting, and this one is—”

Before she could finish, she saw Cang Lan pointing at the little dragon-person cookie in the center. She said, “Lady, was this one molded after me? It looks exactly like me.”

Yu Xuanji nodded and smiled. “Yes, that was the hardest one to shape. It was modeled after that sketch you drew before.”

Cang Lan let out an “Eh?” and said, “That’s not right, Lady. Why are there only cookies of me, but none of us holding hands? I only exist because of you; that’s why I drew that picture. Why didn’t you add yourself?”

Yu Xuanji pushed some cookie crumbs aside with her hand and said, “When I was taking them out, the cookies broke. I actually made a pair of us holding hands, but it snapped right down the middle, so I didn’t want you to know.”

Cang Lan’s gaze followed the crumbs hidden under Yu Xuanji’s palm. She carefully gathered the pieces in her hands and began to piece them together on the cutting board, bit by bit.

Seeing how serious she was, Yu Xuanji couldn’t help but say, “A-Lan, it’s just a cookie. We’re going to eat it anyway, so there’s no need to stick it back together.”

Cang Lan shook her head without a word, sitting at the table and meticulously assembling the pieces.

Seeing her persistence, Yu Xuanji didn’t try to dissuade her further. She took the other shapes, placed them in a small box, and carried them out of the kitchen.

Huang Liu and the other demons were outside clearing a vegetable garden. Becoming tired and hot halfway through, they returned to get some water, only to be met by Yu Xuanji carrying a box.

The sense of smell of a Great Demon is incredibly keen. With just a sniff, they knew what was inside. Based on their extensive experience, anything in the Madam’s hands was bound to be delicious; the King, on the other hand, was the exact opposite.

Yu Xuanji placed the cookie box on the table and invited them over for a snack.

Huang Liu led the way. When Yu Xuanji opened the lid, Huang Liu’s eyes instantly sparkled with stars: “Wow—”

The Grey Wolf Demon and the Iron-Eating Beast (Panda) followed close behind, shouting in surprise: “Wow, wow, wow!”

Yu Xuanji smiled helplessly. “I baked some cookies while I was bored. Why don’t you try them?”

Huang Liu wiped her hands hard on her lower back. Though she was craving them, she remained rational: “Madam, these… were these all made by your own hand?”

Yu Xuanji nodded. “Yes.” She then picked out a weasel-shaped cookie and placed it in Huang Liu’s hand. “This one is yours.”

Overwhelmed by the favor, Huang Liu joyfully took it with both hands, repeatedly thanking her: “Thank you, Madam!”

The Iron-Eating Beast mimicked Huang Liu, holding out two chubby paws and licking its lips. “Madam! I want one too!”

Yu Xuanji pulled out a panda-head cookie and placed it squarely in the center of its palms. “This is yours.”

The Grey Wolf Demon usually didn’t receive much “favor” and thought there wouldn’t be a share for her, gradually becoming dejected. Suddenly, a sweet-smelling cookie was pressed against her mouth. The Grey Wolf Demon looked down to see Yu Xuanji’s snow-white, slender hand holding the cookie up to her.

Now it was the Grey Wolf Demon’s turn to be overwhelmed. She looked at the cookie at her lips in disbelief and carefully took it. “Thank you, Madam!”

Yu Xuanji smiled, and after handing out the specific ones, she handed the box over to them. “You’ve worked hard planting vegetables outside. Take these and share them. They aren’t very filling, but they taste alright for a snack.”

Huang Liu held the box excitedly and blurted out, “What are you saying, Madam? The cookies you make are the finest delicacies in the world! Even if we chased them on a golden eagle for three years, we couldn’t match your skill.”

The Grey Wolf Demon chimed in, “Forget a whole box—even a crumb the size of a fingernail makes us feel a hundred times more energetic. We could plow a hundred acres in the blink of an eye after just a sniff!”

Yu Xuanji laughed and watched Huang Liu and the others leave the Dragon Pool to continue their gardening. She turned back to the kitchen and saw Cang Lan still sitting obediently on a small stool, piecing together the broken cookie fragments.

When Yu Xuanji walked closer and saw the result, she burst out laughing, holding her stomach. “A-Lan, what have you put together here?”

Cang Lan showed her result proudly. “Lady, this one on the left is you, and the one on the right with horns and a tail is me.”

Yu Xuanji pointed to the small piece in the middle and asked with a smile, “And this one? It couldn’t be our baby, could it?”

Cang Lan snapped her fingers excitedly. “Yes! I used the extra crumbs to piece it together. Although it looks like a ball, it’s still very cute.”

Yu Xuanji nodded, unable to stop her laughter. “It is indeed very cute. But what do you plan to do with this cookie?”

Cang Lan said, “I plan to frame it and hang it on the wall at the head of our bed. That way, I can see it every day when I wake up.”

Yu Xuanji laughed. “If you want to frame it, I’ll make a better one for you later. Let’s just eat this one. Look, it’s already in pieces; how can you frame it?”

Cang Lan said confidently, “I just used some thick royal jelly to stick all the crumbs together. This honey is very sticky and won’t fall apart easily. Besides, this is the first time my Lady has baked cookies for me. I naturally cannot waste it.”

Yu Xuanji smiled. “Eating it isn’t wasting it.”

But Cang Lan insisted, “No, I want to frame it. To me, it’s not just a broken cookie. Don’t you think so, Lady?”

Yu Xuanji stunned for a moment, then said, “Alright, I’ll help you.”

For the rest of the afternoon, Yu Xuanji personally sanded wood, using thousand-year-old Phoebe zhennan wood to make picture frames. She then used thorns from a bramble bush to nail the frames to the stone wall.

Cang Lan originally wanted to stick the cookie directly to the frame, but Yu Xuanji said that during the rainy season, the cookie would get damp and moldy. She thought of a way for Cang Lan to use her spiritual power to “lock” its lifespan.

Not only was there a frame of the two of them and the egg holding hands, but Yu Xuanji also specially put up cookies shaped like Huang Liu and the others, decorating the bedroom in a staggered fashion.

Cang Lan thought it was pretty at first, but the more she looked, the more something felt off. She put her hands on her hips and said, “Lady, why did you put Huang Liu and the others up there too?”

Yu Xuanji blinked. “They’re very cute, don’t you think?”

Cang Lan took those three frames down and replaced them with more of her own dragon-shaped ones. “Not cute at all. The little dragon is the cutest. Don’t you think so, Lady?”

Yu Xuanji nodded and smiled. “You’re right, that was my oversight. I’ll give these to Huang Liu and the others later.”

Cang Lan gnashed her teeth. “Hmph. One day, I’m going to hang frames of little dragon cookies all over the Dragon Pool so everyone who enters knows that the one my Lady loves and pampers most is me.”

Yu Xuanji couldn’t see the connection between the two, but she could only follow along with Cang Lan’s words: “Yes, yes, yes. In a few days, I’ll bake more for you—giant, ‘super-sized’ cookies, okay?”

Cang Lan wrapped her arms around Yu Xuanji’s waist and spun her around, cheering, “Okay!”

After dinner, Yu Xuanji was fiddling with her phone in the bedroom. The phone had mysteriously cracked in one spot, but it still worked. She didn’t know when or where it had been bumped; there was a shallow little hole in the bottom right corner that didn’t look like it was from an impact.

Cang Lan brought a large bowl of picked berries to the bedside. With one hand, she easily scooped Yu Xuanji—who was sitting on the bed looking at her phone—into her lap, making her sit straddled across her thighs. She asked, “What are you looking at, Lady?”

Yu Xuanji touched the screen. “I’m wondering when this screen broke. I don’t remember it being this bad a few days ago. Why is the whole screen blurred today when I took it out?”

Cang Lan guiltily looked away, peeking at the “broken box” out of the corner of her eye. She stuffed a large, red strawberry into Yu Xuanji’s mouth. “Lady, stop looking at that broken box. It’s black and ugly. Eat the fruit quickly; Huang Liu picked these outside. They’re fragrant and sweet.”

Yu Xuanji put down the phone. A strawberry larger than a fist was held to her lips. “Mmh.” She took a bite; the juice exploded in her mouth, filling it with a rich strawberry sweetness.

Cang Lan expertly took a bite where Yu Xuanji had just bitten. Smacking her lips, she said, “The place my Lady has eaten is the sweetest.”

Yu Xuanji poked her head twice with a finger and couldn’t help but ask, “A-Lan, where were these strawberries picked? Why are they so huge?”

Cang Lan stared at the red fruit in her hand. “Oh, so this is called a strawberry? It’s big, sweet, and delicious. We never figured out a name for it. My Lady is so amazing—you give it such a nice name right away!”

Hearing Cang Lan’s praise, Yu Xuanji took another bite where Cang Lan had just bitten. “Yes, the place you bit is also very sweet.”

Cang Lan’s face turned bright red instantly. She awkwardly finished the rest of the strawberry in two bites, including the green stem, and said, “If Lady likes this fruit, I’ll have Huang Liu and the others transplant them to our garden.”

Yu Xuanji asked, “Where were they picked?”

Cang Lan thought for a moment. “Oh, Huang Liu found them in the mountains behind the Dragon Pool. She ate one and didn’t die; it turned out to be fragrant and sweet.”

Yu Xuanji thought about it and eventually concluded how the strawberries grew so large. She smiled and said, “No need to transplant them. Better to let them grow there. We can clear the area and make a strawberry garden. I think they’re so sweet because the temperature difference between day and night in the Barren Lands is huge. To grow this big without being damaged by the harsh climate, they must have been nourished by your Dragon Qi…”

Before she could finish, a scream from Huang Liu came from outside the cave. Cang Lan settled Yu Xuanji in the bedroom, set up a barrier, and went outside.

Stepping out, she saw a small demon covered in green leaves chasing Huang Liu and throwing red fruits at her. Huang Liu was running with her head in her hands, screaming for help.

Huang Liu bumped right into Cang Lan’s waist. Looking up as if she’d found her savior, she cried, “Great King, help!”

Seeing Huang Liu’s mouth stuffed with strawberries, Cang Lan slapped her back to help her swallow and asked, “What’s going on? You are a Thousand-Year Great Demon; how can you be chased and beaten by a fledgling little demon? It’s truly embarrassing.”

Huang Liu chewed the strawberry, her speech slurred as she complained: “Great King! This is that red fruit demon! I only picked a few fruits from her body, and she took the chance to chase me and fire red fruits at me! Look, my golden fur has all been stained!”