Chapter 200: Chapter 199 A Puddle of Mud
Without delicious food, what is the point of even living through these days!
...
The Emperor did not co, and the Empress, her face rebuffed, was in no mood to enjoy herself. After the banquet toasts, everyone forced themselves to chat and laugh for a while longer before dispersing.
「Zhaochen Palace」
By the ti the Emperor finished eting with the ministers, it was already past lunchti. Li Shengan reported the banquet’s events to him, adding, "They dispersed shortly after lunch; nothing noteworthy happened!"
Zhao Junyao waved his hand dismissively. "You may leave. I will rest for a while!"
"Yes!"
Li Shengan bowed and retreated. As he neared the door, he heard Zhao Junyao give another order.
"Bring Lady Xia here tonight..."
Li Shengan paused, responded with another "Yes," and then left the room.
...
As soon as he exited, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Little Zhuzi hurried over. "Master, will the Emperor be having his al? It’s almost past noon!"
Li Shengan said, "Tell the Imperial Kitchen to be ready at any mont; he might want it soon!"
The Emperor had barely eaten breakfast and had been busy eting with ministers ever since, right up until now. n are iron, and food is steel; how can one endure without eating! Moreover, the matter concerning the Little Prince had been troubling him for quite so ti.
"Alas!" Li Shengan sighed. "Let’s go. We’ll leave for now."
Fortunately, there was still Lady Xia, who had always been favored. He could only hope that she might be able to ease the Emperor’s mind this ti, and at the very least, persuade him to eat an extra bowl of rice!
Thinking this, Li Shengan instructed Little Zhuzi again, "Go tell the private kitchen to prepare so of Lady Xia’s favorite dishes!"
"Alright!" Little Zhuzi, suddenly astute, dashed off in a flash.
Li Shengan laughed and cursed, "You little rascal!"
Anyone serving the Emperor, or even those in Zhaochen Palace, knew full well. Whenever Lady Xia visited, the Emperor would eat an extra bowl of rice!To put it more plainly, the als Lady Xia prepared were more to the Emperor’s liking!
Imperial als had their regulations. But a re Honored Lady like her wasn’t bound by many rules. If she was happy and the Emperor was willing, they could eat however they pleased!The Emperor could also enjoy a satisfying al—how wonderful!
...
That night, Xia Ruqing arrived in a small sedan chair. Upon entering, she found Zhao Junyao reviewing morials.
Xia Ruqing curtsied lightly. "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Zhao Junyao put down his brush and extended his hand. "Co here!"
Xia Ruqing walked over, and before she could get close, she was suddenly pulled into his embrace.
"AH!" Her front teeth bumped against his shoulder; it was surprisingly hard and quite painful.
She frowned.
Zhao Junyao quickly asked, "What’s wrong?"
Xia Ruqing was about to complain, Your body is so hard!Then she suddenly rembered the "hard as a rock" joke from last ti!Umm... for her own safety, it was best not to ntion it this ti.
She said softly, "I bumped myself; it’s nothing serious!"
After saying that, and wanting to change the subject—thanks to Eunuch Li’s well-intentioned hint—Xia Ruqing asked, "Your Majesty, have you eaten yet? I haven’t eaten yet; I’m starving!" She then looked at him with a pitiful expression.
Zhao Junyao, in fact, hadn’t eaten lunch. After taking a short nap in the Imperial Study Room, having a few snacks, he had returned to reviewing morials, and so it continued until this hour. Hearing Xia Ruqing ask, he also felt his stomach was empty, so he said, "What would you like to eat? I’ll have them make it for you!"
Xia Ruqing blinked. "Your Majesty, it’s dinnerti. Shouldn’t there be food prepared here?" Are you perhaps hoping to enjoy a good al thanks to ?
Xia Ruqing smiled mischievously.
Zhao Junyao playfully smacked her bottom and also smiled cunningly. "You little imp, you never like my dinner, always so picky! Have them make what you like to eat!"
Xia Ruqing was overjoyed. "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Then she asked, "Your Majesty, what do you like to eat?"
Zhao Junyao thought for a mont, then leaned into her ear and said softly, "What I love to eat... isn’t it right before my eyes?"
At first, Xia Ruqing didn’t understand, but when she saw his cunning smile, she suddenly got it. Her face turned bright red, and she punched him hard on the chest several tis! "Your Majesty, you’re so indecent..."
She was genuinely hitting him, not just playfully scratching.
Zhao Junyao wasn’t angry; he caught her hands. He said, feigning pain, "Qingqing, are you trying to murder your dear husband?!"
Xia Ruqing snapped back to her senses. Heavens, was she actually hitting the Emperor? This was... high treason! But she peeked at him. This lord didn’t seem angry at all. Wait, what was that look of enjoynt on his face?
Xia Ruqing was utterly baffled... Perhaps... this is just how n are?Forget it, she wouldn’t admit her mistake then.
...
Dinner was sumptuous. Several dishes were Xia Ruqing’s favorites, and she happened to be starving.
She took a small bowl of rice and put a little of each dish on top. Then, she ladled so delicious gravy over it. The bowl, with rice and various dishes, looked very appealing.
Then, she stirred it with her chopsticks, and the bowl’s contents no longer looked so appealing. It beca a sticky, multicolored mush.
She took a spoonful and put it into her mouth. She squinted her eyes in satisfaction and let out a long sigh. "Ah... so delicious..."
Zhao Junyao stared, dumbfounded. This way of eating... not only had he never seen it before, but its appearance was also... quite visually striking...
"Qingqing..."
Xia Ruqing was engrossed in her al. Hearing him call, she turned her head. "Ah? Your Majesty, why aren’t you eating?"
Zhao Junyao was at a loss for words. He coughed dryly twice and also lowered his head to eat.
For so reason, he suddenly felt a pang of pity. Qingqing lost her mother when she was young. Otherwise, she definitely wouldn’t be like this!Yes!
Thinking this, Zhao Junyao, quite out of character, gave her a chicken drumstick.
Xia Ruqing accepted it without ceremony, saying cheekily, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" With that, she started eating again...
In this round, Xia Ruqing was the undisputed victor!
「But, when night fell...」
Having eaten and drunk his fill, how could Zhao Junyao possibly let her go? How long had he been holding back? So long that his other consorts were all starting to suspect. Is the Emperor... no longer capable?If this continued, they would have to give the Imperial Physician a good hint.The sovereign of a nation, he couldn’t be incapable!
In reality, it wasn’t that he was incapable, just incapable *with them*.
But with Xia Ruqing?
Before it was even midnight, they had already called for water three tis.
Xia Ruqing was limp like a pile of mud.
Zhao Junyao, however, was full of vigor. He pressed down on Xia Ruqing, nuzzling her ear and temple. "Qingqing, how do you feel? Is it good?"
Xia Ruqing was dead tired. Eyes narrowed and dazed, she mumbled, "Not good... It feels very bad..."
Zhao Junyao’s brow furrowed in concentration. "Hmm, then I must not have worked hard enough!" Saying this, he moved closer to Xia Ruqing’s ear again. "I recently acquired so new Secret Play Diagrams. They say that won don’t only feel pain, but also pleasure... Qingqing, you just wait. I will definitely make you feel pleasure too..."
"AH..." Xia Ruqing was on the verge of tears but couldn’t cry. Her voice trembled. "No... don’t..."
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