Chapter 244: Sweet Treats
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
At the time of lighting the lamps, a little maid named Qingqian ran happily to report, “His Highness is here!”
Su Jin gave Qingqian a piece of candy and praised her with a smile, “Well done, quickly pick up the lanterns to greet him!” Then she looked at Mingzhu and advised, “Would the Wangfei like to go out and greet him too?”
“Let’s send the evening meal.” Mingzhu wouldn’t go out to greet him, otherwise it would seem like she was guilty. Only when she heard the sound of Yuwen Chu’s boots coming from the corridor did she sit up straight, glance sideways at the door, and then lift up her orchid-like fingers to pick up the remaining half of the Tiao Tou cake and pretend to put it in her mouth.
When Yuwen Chu entered, he saw Mingzhu sitting under the palace lamp in gorgeous attire, with two pink pearls the size of fingertips sparkling with a lustrous light by her ears, making her small mouth, painted with peach-colored rouge, even more alluring. Then he saw her chubby hand holding half a transparent sugar cake and holding it in her mouth. His pupils dilated instantly, but there was no change on his face. He walked over and sat down beside her, whispering, “Wangfei makes it hard for me to take my eyes off her.” He lowered his head and sniffed again, then smiled, “This is just after bathing, using new ointment, it smells good.”
Of course, otherwise why would she spend so much time dressing up? Mingzhu hummed proudly, took a small bite of the sugar cake, chewed slowly, and glanced at him askance, “Who are you trying to fool? When have I ever been as beautiful as the girl selling pomegranates? If you could talk to her for so long, would you remember to give me a ruby pomegranate?”
“Why are you suddenly bringing up these trivial matters?” The proud and complacent look from the corner of her eye made people both love and hate her. Yuwen Chu couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms and have a good time with her, not wasting her efforts in dressing up to wait for him.
Why hasn’t he noticed what she’s eating yet? Doesn’t he actually love sweets? Mingzhu chewed the sugar cake harder and shook the remaining few pieces in her hand, hoping Yuwen Chu would notice the cake soon.
Yuwen Chu was a smart man. Seeing her glance at the table from time to time, he followed her gaze and saw the ruby pomegranate first. He asked, “Do you like this pomegranate?”
“Anything given by His Highness, how could I not like it?” Mingzhu saw that he was not paying attention to the main point, so she lowered her eyes and looked at the Tiao Tou cake, saying, “This cake is quite delicious.”
What’s going on? If she’s guilty, she didn’t even go to the door to greet him. If she’s not guilty, why would she dress up and wait for him like this, and then act coquettishly and throw flirtatious glances at him? What does she want?
Yuwen Chu stared at Mingzhu’s eyes for a while, then suddenly smiled, lightly tapping the supposedly very delicious Tiao Tou cake in Mingzhu’s hand with his slender fingers, and asked, “What delicious thing are you eating? You’re not willing to share a bite with me?” Without waiting for Mingzhu to answer, he quickly lowered his head and took a bite of the remaining half of the sugar cake in her hand, also licking her fingertips in passing.
“It’s just an ordinary Tiao Tou cake. Would His Highness really be interested?” Mingzhu charmingly gave Yuwen Chu a glance, then stole another glance at his reaction. Sure enough, she saw a hint of pleasure in his eyes, which eased her heart by more than half.
“It tastes good, is there more?” Yuwen Chu couldn’t really tell if the Tiao Tou cake was really delicious or if it was because he snatched it from Mingzhu’s mouth.
“This was brought in by Zheng Momo. It has a unique flavor. I originally wanted to save it to enjoy with His Highness, but Yin Momo told me that His Highness generally doesn’t like sweets. I thought that inviting His Highness to eat with me would be awkward, so I rewarded it all to the servants. Only this small piece of Tiao Tou cake was left, which I felt embarrassed to give away.” Mingzhu said calmly, speaking half-truths and half-lies. She then pretended to pour him a cup of tea and said, “Your Highness doesn’t need to worry about me. If you clearly don’t like something, there’s no need to pretend to like it. As a couple, we should be honest with each other.”
Was she indirectly telling him about Yin Momo’s mistake? Or was it because she lacked confidence in him? But it’s also understandable, considering how cunning servants can be. Yuwen Chu smiled and said, “Since there’s none left, let’s forget about it.”
Of course, a prince like him wouldn’t lack a piece of sweet treat, but! If it was a trusted servant who said something that prevented him from eating it, he would definitely feel uncomfortable, right? Mingzhu continued, “If I had known that Your Highness actually liked it, I would have saved some for you.”
Yuwen Chu reached out and adjusted the flower on her temple, saying softly, “It’s good to have your thoughtfulness.”
Yin Momo tried to confuse her, and he didn’t even follow her lead to ask about Yin Momo’s matters! So, you want to be mysterious, huh? Mingzhu insisted on making him state his attitude, coquettishly asking, “I’m confused. Does His Highness actually like sweets or not?”
Yuwen Chu looked at her and whispered, “What does Wangfei think?”
Of course, she knew he liked sweets! On the second day of their marriage, when she accompanied him to the palace to meet with the Imperial Consort Min, she noticed. She was going to report a complaint, an indirect complaint against Yin Momo. Mingzhu immediately said, “Of course, I think Your Highness likes it. I’ve been paying attention to what you like and don’t like these days. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have thought to save you some Tiao Tou cake.”
Seeing a smile in Yuwen Chu’s eyes, she immediately became proud and poured out what happened during the day like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, “I had already forgotten about it, but when Yin Momo came today, I remembered! That old witch is the most hateful. She didn’t know that Your Highness had told me that Xiangli and the others were coming back. She even instigated here, hoping that I would get angry with you by using Xiangli and the others, causing a rift between us. At that time, I felt that she was being disloyal and ungrateful, so I immediately had her beaten!” Then her voice lowered, and she said with some guilt, “I have a bad temper. After hitting her, I realized that I should have told Your Highness first. You won’t blame me for dealing with your people and think I disrespect you, will you?”
Before she finished speaking, her lips were met with a soft kiss. Yuwen Chu pushed her onto the bed without hesitation, and fiercely plundered her lips until Mingzhu felt breathless and dizzy. Then he let her go, propped himself up beside her, and whispered, “I already know what happened. You did nothing wrong, you did very well. The Wangfei should be like this, stable whether I’m here or not. Dare to take action, remember, there is absolutely no master who can be controlled by their servants. Next time, remember to trust your own eyes and heart, don’t listen to what others say, but know what you should do.”
His eyes seemed to contain countless stars again, unknowingly enchanting people. Mingzhu took a breath, shook her head, and spoke with a voice as sweet as honey, “Then, Your Highness, I want to take over the household affairs of the mansion.”
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
