Chapter 198-199

Chapter 198 – The Wang Fei’s Intention (2)

Since the time she had entered the palace, empress dowager had a neutral stand– she neither liked nor hated Lu Wushuang. But the emperor liked her, so she had been tolerant this far, not voicing opinion in matters concerning her.

However, after the wang fei had slapped Lu Yaoyao the last time, the dowager was somewhat unhappy with her. Lu Wushuang’s balance seemed to be tipping, even if slightly, towards the unpleasant side.

Lu Wushuang was reluctant to return to her chambers. “Your Highness, this wang fei just heard that Little Prince has gotten better. So, one wanted to have a look.”

The empress dowager frowned in displeasure. “It is getting late. If wang fei really cares about the little prince, she would let Little Prince take a rest and visit him tomorrow instead.”

Lu Yaoyao is now in the prince’s residence. Given Lu Wushuang’s jealous temperament, if she sees her, she might attempt to assault her again.

The empress dowager did not want Lu Yaoyao to be wronged again. No one knew better than her the kind of person Lu Wushuang was. She had turned a blind eye to her antics up until now, but she felt it was time to put her foot down. Not only was the demand unreasonable, but it was also insincere. Also, she had a moral obligation to protect the girl tending to her ailing son.

“Empress Dowager…” Lu Wushuang made a desperate attempt but was cut short.

“Wang Fei Lu, if you want to see the emperor, you might as well send someone to invite him instead of wasting your time here.” With that, the empress dowager laid bare the other’s true intention.

Lu Wushuang’s face turned green. She cursed the empress dowager several times in her heart. Only then did she grin and excuse herself.

“Since Empress Dowager will not let this wang fei visit the little prince, one will return to her chambers.”

The empress dowager was too weary and just ignored the unveiled rancour in Lu Wushuang’s words and simply waved her off.

Huffing and puffing Lu Wushuang returned to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, “That damn…”

“Your Highness!” Dai Ping quickly stopped her. “Walls have ears!” She cautioned.

In case the wang fei uttered something she should not, not only would she be punished but also the whole Lu Family.

Lu Wushuang could not vent the pent up anger in her heart. Her eyes were red in exasperation. The empress dowager’s intuition was empirical. “Why won’t the empress dowager allow me to go to the prince’s chamber?”

Dai Ping whispered. “Your Highness, the empress dowager is clearly after you.”

Dai Ping sighed in her heart. Did Wang fei Lu dress like this to pay a visit to the little prince? She must have wanted to seduce the emperor. No wonder the empress dowager did not let her.

“Dai Ping, go to the prince’s residence tomorrow and find out what the emperor has done tonight.”

For some reason, Lu Wushuang had a bad feeling about this. She felt that it was unusual for the emperor to stay with the little prince this late. She had to find out what was going on. She had a gut instinct that much was being concealed.

“As you say, Your Highness.” Dai Ping replied immediately.

Dai Ping could not help but whisper a reminder. “Your Highness, the emperor does not like people probing his affairs. If His Majesty gets a wind about this, I am afraid he will be displeased.”

Lu Wushuang said coldly, “Then do not let the emperor know.”

The emperor was not someone to trifle with. If he were to discover that the wang fei was sending maids to spy on his affairs, he would not spare the palace maid from her deserved punishment–Dai Ping would never see the light again…

When Lu Wushuang’s resolute tone fell on Dai Ping’s ears, she knew that no matter how she tried to persuade her, she could not change her mind. Her mistress was bullheaded for her own good.

*

The prince’s residence–inside the chambers…

Mo Rongyi had slept for two hours. If he did not feel the growling of his hungry stomach, he would not have woken up and just continued to sleep.

“Brother, why are you here?” Mo Rongyi woke up in surprise when he saw Mo Rongzhan seated next to him.

“I heard that you no longer feel pain after eating, so I came to see you.” Mo Rongzhan looked at his complexion. “You look better.”

Mo Rongyi touched his chest gingerly. He felt perplexed. “Except for feeling hungry, I do not feel any pain.” He half asked, half stated.

“Ask the kitchen to prepare meals and bring it here. I will be accompanying the little prince here.” Mo Rongzhan ordered the maid.

Mo Rongyi hastily interjected. “Brother, I want to eat something cooked by Lu Yaoyao.”

He was afraid that eating food from the kitchens would inflict pain all over his body.

Mo Rongzhan frowned slightly and said, “Bring Lu Yaoyao over.”

Madam Nuan kowtowed and answered, “Replying to the emperor, Miss Lu is in the small kitchen preparing the medicated diet for His Highness.”

“Then ask her to bring the medicated diet.” Mo Rongyi cried happily.

Mo Rongzhan raised an eyebrow, unable to understand his brother’s profound fondness for Lu Yaoyao. There must be something about her.

“Eunuch Fu, go to the imperial kitchen and bring my emperor brother meals.” Mo Rongyi added.

“Why? Can’t my little brother just share his medicated meal with me?” Mo Rongzhan blurted out. The one most surprised by those words was he himself.

Mo Rongyi paused for a moment and looked at his brother sheepishly, cheeks puffing as he did so. “Brother, Yaoyao only made a meal for me to eat. I’m afraid it would not be enough for both of us.”

With his little brother’s reasonable reply, the emperor was left speechless.

Chapter 199 – Squabble Over Meatballs (1)

At this moment, Ye Zhen was in the small kitchen preparing the little prince’s medicated meals. Her little experiment with the porridge had laid to rest her initial concern regarding the adverse effects of the lingquan on an ailing body. Now that it was proven to be helpful, she could breathe easy. Thus, here she was, making various types of food like she would a normal person.

A jujube cake, a small pot of porridge, a cup of stew and some snacks to satiate the little prince whenever he was hungry between meals all came from her delicate hands. All of these contained the lingquan. She had only two days in the palace, and she wanted him to have the elixir as much as possible. Hence, no matter what she cooked, it would contain a few drops.

However, when she stepped inside the chambers holding a food box, she stilled. She did not expect Mo Rongzhan to visit the prince’s residence again!
“Smells good!” Mo Rongyi’s eyes brightened and glistened at the sight of the food box.

Ye Zhen composed herself and curtsied. “This official’s daughter greets His Imperial Majesty and Little Prince”

All along, Mo Rongzhan cast a peculiar gaze on the jade-like face before him, his thin lips pursed. He said in a cold voice, “Rise.”

“Yaoyao, what have you prepared?” Mo Rongyi did not wait for her reply and took the initiative to take over the food box.

“It’s still the medicated porridge. You are just getting better now. Do you think you could eat a generous amount of fish and meat?” Ye Zhen replied in jest.

“Medicated porridge will do,” Mo Rongyi said grudgingly. He had been eating porridge and vegetarian dishes for several days now, his sense of taste turned insipid.

“I made you a jujube cake and these small snacks from fresh dried meat, fish congee, and stew. I know you haven’t eaten meat for a long time and I made you four meatballs.” Ye Zhen couldn’t help laughing at his gluttonous appearance.

Mo Rongyi’s young face showed a silly smile. If he had not known how to restrain himself, the watery liquid from his mouth would have dripped down.

“Can he eat meat already?” Mo Rongzhan asked curtly. He was displeased with the way she was treating him, only focused on his brother like he did not exist.

Ye Zhen was irked. Did he think she was dense? She wanted to say, even so, she bowed her head. “Replying to the emperor, I have chopped the meat finely so it is not difficult to digest.”

When Mo Rongzhan looked at her face, her sullen mood was even more obvious. He could not discern what was going on in her mind.

“I’ll try.” Mo Rongyi had not eaten meat for a long time. The food that was allowed was bland, in other words tasteless. Thus, he immediately poked a ball with chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

Ye Zhen looked at him and smiled.

Mo Rongzhan did not look at his brother. He was staring at Ye Zhen the whole time. Seeing that she had a kind of gentle smile on her face, his eyes turned grim.

“Uh!” Mo Rongyi suddenly turned red and thumped his chest.

“Why, does it hurt again?” Mo Rongzhan asked hurriedly. He quickly stood up and barked at Ye Zhen coldly, “Did you not say it was okay?”

Ye Zhen ignored the jumpy emperor and calmly walked towards Mo Rongyi, patted him hard on the back, and half of the meatball came out of his mouth.

“Oh, I almost choked!” Mo Rongyi patted his chest and gasped heavily for air.

“Your Highness, can you eat more slowly?” Really! Almost scared me to death.

Mo Rongyi coughed a few times. “I’m fine. I have not eaten meat for a long time.”

Ye Zhen replaced the meatball with another one. “Slowly, Little Prince.” She reminded him.

Seeing that his younger brother was okay, Mo Rongzhan was relieved. He turned around to look at the still calm and quiet Ye Zhen. He was taken aback, it was as if his previous admonition was nothing but a drifting vapor.

Is she not afraid of me at all? Or… is she only nonchalant to my dislike of her?

Thinking of the possibility of the latter, his face expression worsened.

“Brother, have you not eaten yet? Why don’t we eat together? ” Mo Rongyi noticed that Ye Zhen had prepared a lot of food. With this amount, it would take him forever to finish eating.

Ye Zhen’s eyes, calm as water, finally revealed some waves. She gnashed her teeth and almost cried out that she had spent so much time and meticulous care in making the medicated cuisine for the little prince, not for Mo Rongzhan!

If Mo Rongzhan ingests the medicinal diet with lingquan, would it not make him stronger? This is simply too aggravating!

Mo Rongzhan originally wanted to refuse, but when his eyes caught the subtle emotional changes in those ever placid eyes, he nodded lightly. “Madam Nuan, prepare bowls and chopsticks, I will be eating with the little prince.”