The moment Xuanyou heard that, she hurriedly grabbed Lin Xuan's hand. "Daddy, you have to visit my room first!"
Xuanzhu wore a terrified expression. "Daddy, Xuanyou keeps lots of scary demon beasts in her room. The biggest one is a Nine-Scale Spotted Snake. It looks so frightening!"
Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow. Good grief, this little devil of a fourth daughter really had heavy tastes!
Xuanxi hugged Lin Xuan's arm with a giggle. "Daddy, come to my room. I have lots and lots of pretty flowers!"
Xuanhan hurriedly said, "Daddy, my room has flowers too, and lots of beautiful crystal fish."
Lin Xuan silently nodded. His second and third daughters had somewhat more normal hobbies.
"No, no, no! Daddy has to visit my room first!" Xuanyou clung to Lin Xuan's thigh like she was climbing a tree.
She looked as if she would refuse to come down unless he agreed.
Lin Xuan took in all four daughters' expressions and could not help shaking his head with a smile.
It was obvious that all four little girls were competing for his favor.
In their tiny hearts, whoever's room Lin Xuan visited first was the one he loved most.
That raised a problem: whose room should Lin Xuan visit first without hurting the other three girls' feelings?
After thinking for a moment, Lin Xuan said, "Babies, Daddy doesn't have a room yet. How about we all go look at Daddy's room together?"
Lin Xuan felt that when children were trying to outdo one another, the best approach was to redirect their attention.
Once they stopped caring about it, he could visit their rooms one by one.
"Okay!"
All four daughters clapped excitedly at once.
Lin Xuan secretly smiled. With the Perfect Dad Tutorial, dealing with this bunch of children was as easy as turning his hand over.
The servants nearby witnessed the whole scene and all revealed admiring expressions.
As expected of the Emperor Consort—what a slick move.
Then, led by the servants, Lin Xuan took the children to his own room.
Though it was called a room, it was actually as grand as a luxurious palace.
Not only was it decorated with incomparable splendor, it also had every conceivable facility.
Sandalwood tables and chairs, gold-lacquered doors and windows, crystal floors, and floral jade ceilings.
Everything in sight displayed nobility and extravagance.
"Emperor Consort, Her Majesty specifically selected this room for you," a servant said respectfully.
Lin Xuan nodded. It seemed Donghuang Ziyou was not as cold as she appeared.
While the children played in his room, he swiftly inspected the four children's rooms under the servants' guidance.
Through this, Lin Xuan gained a deeper understanding of his four daughters' personalities and preferences.
It was time for dinner.
Lin Xuan brought his four daughters to the Crystal Palace's private dining hall.
The palace chefs had already prepared a table overflowing with sumptuous dishes.
From the servants' introduction, Lin Xuan learned that these were all exceedingly precious delicacies.
Juicy Immortal Ink, Golden Thousand-Layer Black Tortoise Meat, Milky Dragon Belly, Honey-Glazed Thunder Python Eggs...
Every ingredient came from exceptionally rare demon beasts of all kinds, even primordial divine beasts.
At the sight of these dishes, perfect in color, aroma, and flavor, Lin Xuan felt a fierce wave of hunger rise within him.
Served by the attendants, he began eating with great relish.
But as he ate, he noticed that the atmosphere at the table was somewhat unusual.
Xuanzhu scooped up a spoonful of Honey-Glazed Thunder Python Eggs and licked it several times, yet refused to swallow it.
Xuanxi had a piece of black tortoise meat in her mouth that seemed impossible to chew apart.
Xuanhan held a spoon and continuously swirled it around her bowl, looking as though she were contemplating the meaning of life.
Xuanyou had somehow summoned a dog-like demon beast and was desperately stuffing food into its mouth.
Before long, the beast's belly swelled up like a balloon.
"Why aren't you eating?" Lin Xuan asked, setting down his bowl and chopsticks.
Four pairs of pitiful eyes looked toward Lin Xuan at once. After a moment, all four daughters said together:
"We're tired of eating it!"
Xuanzhu said, "Daddy, will you scold us?"
Xuanxi said, "Whenever we don't eat properly, Mommy scolds us when she finds out."
Xuanyou added rather smugly, "Good thing I have a Heavenly Dog Beast. It can help me eat lots of food!"
Lin Xuan understood immediately.
So his daughters had already grown tired of these foods.
From the tutorial provided by the system, he knew that children were extremely picky about food during their early years.
The food not only had to be delicious and nutritious, but its textures and flavors also needed to keep changing.
Take the feast before them, for example. It was even more delicious than delicacies from land and sea.
Yet precisely because the flavors were so rich, children could easily grow tired of them.
Having identified the problem, Lin Xuan looked at his four daughters fondly. "Daddy won't scold you. If you don't want to eat, put it aside for now."
"In a moment, Daddy will let you eat something even more delicious."
"Something even more delicious?"
All four daughters' eyes lit up.
"Daddy, is there really something tastier than these?" Xuanzhu pointed at the dishes on the table. "Mommy said these were the best."
Xuanxi said, "I'm so excited!"
Xuanhan said, "If Daddy says there is, then there is!"
Xuanyou said, "Daddy, hurry up and bring it out! My tummy is hungry!"
Lin Xuan stood and rubbed Xuanzhu's little head. "There is. Wait here, and Daddy will be back soon."
Then he had a servant lead him to the kitchen.
He planned to exchange ideas with the head chef and see whether the man could prepare dishes suited to the children's tastes according to his requirements.
Upon arriving at the kitchen,
the servant said, "Mr. Baili, the Emperor Consort wishes to see you."
Over a hundred chefs turned around at once, looking at Lin Xuan with reverence.
Lin Xuan's handsome appearance and extraordinary bearing filled their hearts with awe.
"So this is the Emperor Consort. He truly is extraordinary!"
At that moment, a middle-aged man in a white robe hurried forward and bowed. "This subordinate is Baili Zhou. Greetings, Emperor Consort!"
The servant introduced him. "Mr. Baili is the finest chef in Northern Profound Heaven. He has pursued the Dao through cooking for three thousand years and is recognized throughout Northern Profound Heaven as the God of Cooking."
Baili Zhou hurriedly shook his head. "It is merely an empty reputation."
Before the Emperor Consort, how could he dare to boast?
Seeing that Baili Zhou was easy to speak with, Lin Xuan asked, "Mr. Baili, are you skilled in preparing food for children?"
Baili Zhou nodded. "This subordinate has studied children's food for over a hundred years and has some understanding of it."
"Oh? Then tell me about it." Lin Xuan said leisurely.
Baili Zhou then explained his insights.
Lin Xuan discovered that he had indeed put tremendous effort into the nutritional aspect of children's diets.
The three daily meals he prepared for Xuanzhu and the others were exceptionally nutritious, without causing excessive nutrition.
However, he was far lacking when it came to texture and the pairing of dishes.
That was understandable. Northern Profound Heaven was, after all, a world of cultivation.
Once people reached a certain realm here, they could completely abstain from food.
There were truly few and far between who had attained anything in the culinary arts.
Even though Baili Zhou pursued the Dao through cooking, it was impossible for him to cover every aspect and achieve perfection in all things.
"Then if I asked you to create varied combinations and recipes that children would not grow tired of, could you do it?" Lin Xuan asked.
Baili Ke thought for a moment. "I can try developing them, but it would take at least three to five months."
"That is too long." Lin Xuan lightly shook his head. "How about this? I'll make a few dishes first, then teach you properly when I have time."
Thinking of his four daughters' eager, hungry expressions, Lin Xuan decided to do it himself first.
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