After crossing over: kidnapping a female hunter to be the stepfather of the three cubs

Chapter 203 Lively and Lonely

Hendon

When Xu Qingzhao saw the exquisite dishes on the imperial table, he lost interest in food for the first time.

Because the person sitting opposite her is her enemy, and she cannot have any resentment towards this enemy, nor can she even show any emotion.

Eunuch Zhong, who was standing by, bent down to serve food to Emperor Jinyang, then went to the other end of the table and picked up the imperial chopsticks to serve food to the dazed Xu Qingzhao.

"Eunuch Zhong, no, you are the emperor's personal eunuch, how can you give me..."

"It's okay, use it." Emperor Jinyang's words were cold, and she didn't know what to say.

She felt very uncomfortable while eating this meal. She ate a few bites and lost her appetite.

"What? Not to your liking?"

Xu Qingzhao immediately smiled and said:

"Qing Lan is having dinner with His Majesty for the first time, and I'm a little nervous..."

Emperor Jinyang wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and signaled Eunuch Zhong to bring a bowl of soup.

"Miss Xu, His Majesty usually only has a few dishes, but today he prepared more because you're here. You don't have a good appetite, so you must drink this bowl of lotus seed soup."

She gently took the bowl of soup, which must have just been warmed up and was still steaming.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."

The bowl contained lotus seeds with the cores peeled off. The soup was clear and the bottom was visible. Xu Qinglan picked up a spoon, scooped up a lotus seed and put it into his mouth.

Suddenly a bitter taste filled her mouth.

Aren't lotus seeds less bitter if you peel the core? Why is this soup still so bitter...

But her expression remained calm, and she drank the whole bowl of soup without changing her expression.

Seeing that she had finished drinking, Emperor Jinyang asked:

"how is the taste?"

"Your Majesty, although it tastes a bit bitter at first, it has a sweet aftertaste and a refined flavor. Qing Lan likes it very much. Thank you, Your Majesty."

She had some vague guesses in her mind, but she didn't dare to think about it. The answer was too horrifying and shocking. She didn't want to believe it, nor did she dare to believe it.

Emperor Jinyang showed no expression when he heard her answer, but stood up, turned around and asked her to follow him to the main hall.

"You sit down."

"Yes."

She sat obediently aside, and a young eunuch came in and served tea. After he left, there were only two of them left in the hall again.

"Aren't you curious about me?"

Emperor Jinyang sat on the couch, picked up a memorial and began to read it. The candles in the hall were brightly lit, and Emperor Jinyang asked her without raising his head.

Xu Qingzhao understood that this was another new round of temptation.

"Your Majesty is respected and the master of the world. Qing Lan is a criminal slave. The fact that she has survived until now is a testament to Your Majesty's mercy and leniency. Therefore... I dare not be curious."

Emperor Jinyang still didn't look up, as if he couldn't see the words on the memorial clearly, so he moved closer to the candlelight.

"Prince Shen...did he say anything to you?"

Xu Qingzhao was shocked. It seemed that he already knew that he had been in Beijing for a long time and had been staying in the Fourth Prince's mansion.

"Because of Qinglan's awkward identity, His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince only told Qinglan a few things to be careful of. Qinglan is a woman, and it was only thanks to His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince that she was able to return to Kyoto safely."

Emperor Jinyang put down the memorial, looked at her meaningfully, and said:

"You can stay in my side hall for the next few days. If you have anything to say, tell Zhong Yunhai. I'm busy with official duties these days, so please come... and keep me company."

Before Xu Qingzhao could figure out how to refuse, Emperor Jinyang continued:

"Don't even think about rejecting me. The capital is full of dangers. Only by staying by my side can I protect you. Zhong Yunhai!"

Then, Eunuch Zhong came in, bent over and smiled at Xu Qingzhao:

"Miss Xu, the side hall has been cleaned up. Please follow me."

She said nothing more, but stood up, bowed to the emperor and said:

"Your Majesty is so tired, you should remember to go to bed early. Qing Lan will leave first."

"Go."

She walked out of the hall and could finally breathe fresh air. The square sky seemed to lock her in a cage. She wanted to go back to Dashi Village, which was her home.

"Huanhuan... have you eaten?" she muttered to herself.

----

"Happy girl! Come sit here!"

"Brother Pang, Master Yu, and Miss Pang, come over and sit with Miss Huanxi. We don't have any delicious food in our village, but we've slaughtered two fat pigs today. You must eat plenty. Miss Huanxi will have someone send over two jars of fine wine. You'll have plenty of wine to drink today!"

At this moment, there were four tables set up in the village chief's house and six outside the yard, a total of ten tables.

The yard was brightly lit, with people roasting by the fire, talking, serving food, and children playing. It was really lively as if it was about to celebrate the New Year.

In fact, there are no special dishes, just stewed pork with radish and bone soup, a few stir-fried pork slices with vegetables, and a few steamed dishes.

This was already the highest-level banquet in the village, but of course it could not compare with the two banquets held by Huanxi's family.

There were no stir-fried dishes originally, but the village chief felt that the Pang family father and daughter had come all the way to present a reward, so these dishes were not presentable.

I asked the women in the kitchen to borrow some vegetables from the nearest house so that they could cook more dishes.

At this time, the four people including Huanxi, as well as the village chief, clan leader, and several older elders were sitting at the main table.

When the dishes were served and everyone sat down, the clan leader raised a bowl of wine and stood up and said:

"We in Dashi Village are deeply honored to have you all come from afar. This time, our village was in dire straits, and we were able to escape and be seated here thanks to you who bravely led the charge. I, Lu Zhencai, offer a toast to you all."

After finishing speaking, the old man drank it all, turned around and said to everyone:

"Today is a good day, let's all come and have a toast. Our Dashi Village hasn't been this lively in a long time!"

Zhao Huanxi and her two sworn sisters exchanged a smile, and secretly replaced the wine in their bowls with rice wine. No matter how much they drank, they wouldn't get drunk, and they weren't afraid of making a fool of themselves.

Pang Biaotou took a sniff of the wine poured into his bowl and whispered:

"This wine is of low purity. Your father and I could drink two jars without even falling down. Yingzi, just watch."

"Dad, Sister Huanxi brought Fushengzui with her. That's no joke. Remember to pretend to be drunk when the time comes..."

Pang Biaotou laughed dryly twice, then stood up to block the wine for his daughter and nieces.

When the atmosphere was almost set, the village chief stood up and said:

"Everyone, be quiet for a moment! I have something to say! It's something good! Do you want to listen?"

A few men at another table laughed and shouted:

"Village Chief! What's the good news? You've been keeping us all in suspense all day long!"

The village chief said unhappily, "Stone boy, are you itching for trouble?"

The one named Shitou touched his head and smiled embarrassedly. He knew that the village chief was joking with him.

"Alright, alright! Here's the thing. Does everyone know that we're going to build a girls' school in our village?"

"I know, I'll go move the wood when the time comes."

"Yes, everyone with daughters will probably go."

The village chief continued, "I was worried that we wouldn't have enough money, so we'd have to pool our money together... but... "