by N/A
"Quickly get up." Han Ming Ze looked to Du Xiao Li who was still wearing an apron, "You were cooking just now?"
"Replying to your Majesty, yes." Du Xiao Li replied.
"Imperial grandmother's meals are taken care of by you?" Han Ming Ze asked.
"Yes." Du Xiao Li nodded, "Grandma Han's body needs to be nursed back, and using medicinal cuisine is the best way."
"You understand medicine?"
Du Xiao Li nodded.
"Never thought that the no talent no virtue Du family third miss in everyone's eyes, not only can sing and dance, but even possess excellent medical skills." Han Ming Ze looked to Du Xiao Li, his face once again carrying a 'like a smile but not a smile' kind of expression, making one unable to guess what he was thinking.
Du Xiao Li was too lazy to guess and also too lazy to reply.
"Tonight, this emperor will be dining here, so will be troubling you. Heard your cooking is very delicious. This makes this emperor somewhat look forward to it." Han Ming Ze said.
"Then this subject will head to the kitchen to continue cooking." Du Xiao Li curtsied at Han Ming Ze and the Grand Empress Dowager, before retreating out of the room.
"Eh, I'll also go help Xiao Li." Meng Jiang Zhuo said, and then followed behind Du Xiao Li to the kitchen.
After Du Xiao Li returned to the kitchen, she lifted the lid of the simmering soup for a look, and then closed the lid again, continuing to add some firewood into the little stove. Then, picking up the knife again to cut the vegetables, she saw Meng Jiang Zhuo coming over, "Why did you come over?"
"With that big figure present, how can I still dare to stay there, how uncomfortable." Meng Jiang Zhuo moved a short block and sat down next to Du Xiao Li, her two hands at her chin, "Why did he come here?"
"Possibly because he's worried." Du Xiao Li said as she chopped, "I think in the morning, when grandma Han came out, she didn't tell him. Afterwards, big brother Yi went back and finally told him about this matter. Or perhaps, in the morning, he'd already known, but because of various reasons, he only came to check the situation now. Who knows!"
"He won't stay here right?" Meng Jiang Zhuo suddenly thought of this problem and cried out in surprise.
"Probably won't. He still needs to attend morning court tomorrow morning. If he rushes back tomorrow, he definitely won't make it on time." Du Xiao Li confidently said.
According to rumors, ever since Han Ming Ze ascended the throne, there has not been a single day without morning court. Even on the last day of the lunar year, he'll only release the officials for the holiday after morning court. Although the Grand Empress Dowager's matter is somewhat problematic, he still won't because of this delay morning court.
Speaking of which, he's also considered a cautious and conscientious good Emperor.
Once dinner was all prepared, Du Xiao Li let Xia Yuan and them carry it to the dining room. Just like at noon, Du Xiao Li attended to the Grand Empress Dowager during the meal, but because Han Ming Ze was present, there was only the Grand Empress Dowager, Meng Old Madam, Meng Jiang Zhuo, as well as Han Ming Yi, who just rushed over before the meal started, at the table. Everyone else were all ordered out, and all the way until the Grand Empress Dowager finished eating did Du Xiao Li finally began eating.
This was Han Ming Ze's first time eating this kind of medicinal cuisine, feeling the taste was somewhat strange, but after eating a few more bites, felt the taste was also not bad.
After eating dinner, Han Ming Yi and Han Ming Ze stayed with the Grand Empress Dowager in the guest hall to chat. Han Ming Yi, after seeing Du Xiao Li come out, found an excuse to go out as well.
"Li'er."
"Big brother Yi, do you need something?" Du Xiao Li puzzlingly looked to Han Ming Yi.
"Nothing, where are you going right now?" Getting asked that by Du Xiao Li, Han Ming Yi felt somewhat unnatural.
"I'm going to mix medical ingredients, planning to give Grandma Han a medicinal bath later." Du Xiao Li replied.
"How about this, I'll go together with you then."
"Okay." Du Xiao Li nodded and took him with her to the estate's medicine room.
T/N: The Emperor is a good Emperor in this story, which is always a good thing. He's a good older brother to HMY. It's just a tragic that he has that as a mother and Ren Wang is his full-blooded brother. Thank god he didn't inherit any of their personalities.
Ch. 074.3 – A Girl's Worry (3)
A Girl's Worry (3)
T/N: Chapter sponsored by Aana! Thank you for sponsoring! There more fluff in this chapter uwu
After Du Xiao Li arrived in the medicine room, she just picked up a small scale, weighed some medicinal ingredients from the drawers, and then poured them onto the white paper on the table. Afterwards, she had these medicinal ingredients crushed into pieced and then grinded into powder. Before finally placing them onto another sheet of paper.
(Pic of a medicine room)
"What is this used for?" Han Ming Yi crouched by Du Xiao Li's side. Seeing the fine sweat on her forehead, he took out a handkerchief and began wiping for her, as he casually asked.
"These are all used to inhibit the gu. Only by making the gu in the body become listless will the certainty of the outcome be a little higher when it comes time for removing the gu. It's best if we can get it to sink into hibernation."
"Will have to trouble you lots on grandmother's matter." Han Ming Yi looked to Du Xiao Li's little face and passionately said.
"Even if it's just for my own little life, I'll still do my best." Du Xiao Li said. At the same time, she sighed in her heart. If anything happens to the Grand Empress Dowager during the gu removal process, this little life of hers will probably be done for.
"No need to worry about that much, you just need to focus on the task at hand. I'll forever be at your side protecting you." Han Ming Yi said.
When Du Xiao Li heard Han Ming Yi's words, she turned her head to look at him, yet didn't expect that Han Ming Yi was crouching right by her side, and in order to wipe her sweat for her, his face was very close to hers. With her turning her head like this, their faces closely came together, their noses already touching one another.
"You......"
"I........"
"You talk first."
"You first."
The two spoke at the same time, then fell into silence together again, as they stared at one another's face. The atmosphere instantly turned somewhat pink.
Han Ming Yi looked to Du Xiao Li's bright eyes, those pouty pink lips, and slowly had his own lips printed onto them.
Du Xiao Li watched Han Ming Yi slowly closing in. Her heartbeat instantly increased, and she temporarily forgot to react, as she just froze there.
The distance shrank little by little, and just when the two's lips were only that tiny bit of distance away, the medicine room's door suddenly got pushed opened and Meng Jiang Zhuo entered from outside, shouting: "Xiao Li......."
The room's enchanting atmosphere was instantly shattered. Du Xiao Li and Han Ming Yi hurriedly separated, and she somewhat frantically looked to Meng Jiang Zhuo. "What's wrong big sister Jiang Zhuo?"
"Eh, did I disturb you two?" Meng Jiang Zhuo looked to the two of them. Were they being intimate just now? If really so, then her sins were gave.
"No, why did you come over?" Du Xiao Li asked as she wrapped up the medicine power.
"That uh, his Majesty is planning on returning. He let me come inform you, and also to let Ding Wang go back." Meng Jiang Zhuo said. "I'm going to go now."
With that said, Meng Jiang Zhuo turned and immediately ran out, not forgetting to close the door behind her.
Han Ming Yi got up with Du Xiao Li and looked to the lips that he almost could've kissed just now. "Then, I'll be going back now."
"En." Du Xiao Li nodded, and then continued wrapping the medicine with her head lowered. This incident just now made her feel somewhat inconceivable. She clearly knew what Han Ming Yi wanted to do, but why didn't she move away? Just now, if not for Meng Jiang Zhu
o coming in, would they have kissed? Recalling her own reaction, her face slightly reddened.
Han Ming Yi originally had already planned on leaving, but seeing Du Xiao Li's seemingly bashful appearance, his heart instantly melted, and called out her name in a deep and low voice , "Li'er......"
"En?" Du Xiao Li wanted to ask what, but just as she lifted her head, her lips were seized by Han Ming Yi, letting her eyes instantly widened into a perfect circle.
Han Ming Yi lingered on her lips for a while and parted before she got angry. As he was parting, he even subconsciously stuck out his tongue and licked her once, letting her face instantly look like a ripened apple.
"I'll go over first." With that said, Han Ming Yi turned and left. Recalling Du Xiao Li's sluggish reactions, he felt a burst of happiness inside. She didn't push him away. Didn't this mean that she's already accepted him?
Du Xiao Li dazedly watched Han Ming Yi disappear from the room, before finally recalling, just now, was this considered getting forcibly kissed or getting secretly kissed? Normally, when encountering this kind of situation, wouldn't one usually give the other party a slap?
Could it be that she has fallen for him? Else, why did she not move away just now, and she wasn't particularly angry either. Instead, her heartbeat uncontrollably increased.
But, would she really fall for the men here? Can Han Ming Yi give her the eternal devotion she wanted? He once said, he'd kept his body pure like a jade for her, even not hesitating to spread those unpleasant rumors. His words, can she really believe them?
Du Xiao Li's heart was a mess. She absentmindedly stared at the medicine powder before her for a long while, and only when she heard the voices outside, did she finally recall that Han Ming Ze was about leave. Thus, she quickly had the remaining few wrapped up and then headed to the front courtyard to send off Han Ming Ze and them.
"Leng Yi, Leng Er, you two just stay here tonight."
"Yes."
Just as Du Xiao Li arrived at the front, she heard Han Ming Yi instructing Leng Yi and Leng Er. Han Ming Yi saw her and revealed a smiling expression in his eyes.
"Alright, we'll be going then. Du Xiao Li, grandmother will be in your care. Everything else, you temporarily don't need to think about." Han Ming Ze said.
"Yes." Right now there were servant girls present, so Du Xiao Li only replied in short.
(T/N: A very simple yes instead of a formal yes you'd say when replying to the Emperor.)
"Let's go then." With that said, Han Ming Ze turned around and got on the horse carriage, while Han Ming Yi and the other Leng bodyguards also got on their horses, and the party slowly left the estate.
"The night is late, everyone all go back and rest." Du Xiao Li said to the servants, "Ying Ge, Qiao Zhu, you two go to the kitchen and boil a bucket of water, I'll be preparing a medicinal bath for grandma Han."
Du Xiao Li and Meng Jiang Zhuo returned to the courtyard they were currently staying in. Meng Gu was just about to prepare bath water for the Grand Empress Dowager when Du Xiao Li told her about the medicinal bath, letting her just wait here to attend to the Grand Empress Dowager for her bath.
Meng Old Madam and the Grand Empress Dowager were still chatting together, and when she felt somewhat tired, Du Xiao Li had Xia Yuan go prepare the bath water for her to soak in.
Because that medicine needed to be boiled in boiling water, it took a while for the Grand Empress Dowager's bath water to be prepared. Xia Yuan and Ying Ge had the water lifted in, while Meng Gu and Hong Xiu, as well as another one of the Grand Empress Dowager's personal servant girl Zhao Yun, served her in her bath together.
Du Xiao Li waited until after the Grand Empress Dowager finished soaking in the bath, before applying a few more needles on her again. Afterwards, she waited until the Grand Empress Dowager had fallen asleep before returning to her own room.
'Dong, dong, dong.'
Du Xiao Li had just finished soaking in the bath when a knock sounded from the door. Xia Yuan went to opened the door, seeing Meng Jiang Zhuo standing outside holding a pillow.
"I came to find Xiao Yi to chat." Meng Jiang Zhuo said with a smile.
Du Xiao Li looked to Meng Jiang Zhuo and said, "Why did you even bring you pillow over? Don't tell me you want to sleep with me tonight?"
Meng Jiang Zhuo walked towards Du Xiao Li's bed and laid down with a 'pah'. "That's right, I'm precisely planning on sleeping together with you tonight." With that said, she patted the space next to her and said, "Quickly come up, let's talk for a bit."
Seeing Meng Jiang Zhuo's mischievous look, Du Xiao Li waved her hand at Xia Yuan and them, and said, "You all go rest then."
"Yes." The three of them retreated out.
T/N: This chapter's also only in four parts so the next part is the end of this chapter. I'm actually quite excited for next chapter because the title's 'The Poison King and the Grape's Bromance'.
Ch. 074.4 – A Girl's Worry (4)
A Girl's Worry (4)
Du Xiao Li got up and blew out the candles on the table. The room instantly darkened, but because of the round moon in the sky, it wasn't considered pitch black in the room either.
"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly want to come chat with me?" Du Xiao Li crawled onto bed and leaned against the wall together with Meng Jiang Zhuo.
"Xiao Li, tonight, were you and Ding Wang......heheh." Meng Jiang Zhuo asked with a smile as she jabbed Du Xiao Li with her elbow.
"What nonsense are you saying, there's nothing between us." Du Xiao Li subconsciously retorted. However, recalling that kiss after Meng Jiang Zhuo left, her words appeared somewhat empty.
"Don't be embarrassed." Meng Jiang Zhuo said stifling her laugh, "We although haven't known each other for very long, but I still feel I understand you rather well. Just look at your words just now lacking in confidence! But you and Ding Wang will get married soon or later, so there isn't anything to be embarrassed about either."
"You came tonight just to make fun of me?" Du Xiao Li glared at Meng Jiang Zhuo, her face slightly heating up.
"Of course......it is!" Meng Zhuo Jiang looked to Du Xiao Li's appearance and bursted into laughter. However, after laughing, she somewhat dejectedly sighed.
"What's wrong?" Du Xiao Li sensed Meng Jiang Zhuo's mood suddenly declining and asked in concern.
"I heard from Changle, it was for the sake of waiting for you that Ding Wang rejected those other women like that. Furthermore, he even once said to her, having you alone in this life was enough." Meng Jiang Zhou enviously said. "If I can encounter such a person, even if I had to die, I'd still be willing."
"Oh, I understand now, this is someone thinking of spring." Du Xiao Li looked to Meng Jiang Zhou and said with a laugh.
"What thinking of spring, I'm not like you, having someone to long for." Meng Jiang Zhuo said pouting.
"Then it's just you wanting to get married then!"
"No way!" Meng Jiang Zhuo quickly denied, and then let out another sigh immediately after. "I'm merely just somewhat lamenting. You and Liu Xia's future already have a dependence. But the three of us still don't know where our future is at!"
"You're worried?" Du Xiao Li softly asked.
Meng Jiang Zhuo nodded, "Our own marriage can't be decided by us, that is a kind of helplessness in life. These years, I've also seen quite a few lovers get forcibly separated, and for the sake of the family, marry someone they don't like. Like my eldest sister for example. Although the other party's family status isn't bad, I no longer see her smiling anymore. In the past, she was that cheerful of a person, and when she laughed, it was crisp like a wind chime. Actually, I think the one I'm most worried about isn't myself, but rather Princess Changle."
"Princess Changle......." Du Xiao Li could also tell. Although every time she was together with them, Changle was always very cheerful, but in the depths of her eyes, there's always a trace of difficult to detect sorrow.
"Princess Changle is the oldest one among us. Although she still hasn't passed the best
age for marrying, but if it was an ordinary family, they would've long began discussing marriage. Yet there's still no news on her marriage. Presumably, his Majesty and them still haven't decided. These last few years she's always guarded her own heart, not letting herself fall for any outstanding man, in order to just avoid her heart getting influenced when the time comes, unwilling to let go of those feelings, yet unable to control her own fate!" Meng Jiang Zhuo emotionally said.
Du Xiao Li didn't know what to say to console Meng Jiang Zhuo, because words under this feudal society were just that powerless and empty.
"Xiao Li, do you know the eldest princess?" Meng Jiang Zhuo asked.
"The Emperor's elder sister, the previous Emperor's first daughter? I heard that year, she got married off to a small foreign* country as political marriage." Du Xiao Li said.
(*T/N: The term used does mean foreign, but historically it's also used to describe the 'barbaric' tribes that borders ancient china.)
"En, the eldest princess had gone to North Rong, that is the now Northern Qi. That year, Northern Qi wanted to form a political marriage alliance with Feng Ming. Originally the other party wanted the second princess, but the second princess already had someone she liked, so the eldest princess voluntarily went to North Rong in place of second princess. But not even two years later, she fell ill and died. The Grand Empress Dowager has always liked the eldest princess, thus wanted the previous Emperor to must have the eldest princess's remains demanded back. I heard from my mother, when everyone say the eldest princess, they all couldn't help but shed a tear, because of how she'd wasted away. It can be said that aside from bones, all that was left was a layer of skin. When Consort Rong, eldest princess's birth mother, saw the eldest princess's body, she directly fainted, and not long after passed away too............"
Du Xiao Li quietly listened to Meng Jiang Zhuo talk about the past. In the history from her past life, there was also quite a few princess that were sent away for political marriages. Actually, regardless whether they lived well or not there, whether the other party treated you well or not, as long as one got on the path of political marriage alliance, then there would no longer be talks of happiness. Because one wasn't on the soil of one's birth, no matter how beautifully the flowers bloomed, it still can't escape the fate of rapidly withering away.