Chapter Seven: Did the Emperor Vomit?

After returning to the palace, Consort Yu was full of confidence and prepared several dishes for the emperor at noon.

The taste was so-so, but it was a hot dish!

This bite is a hot dish, and that bite is also a hot dish!

Huo Lin frequently reached for his chopsticks, eating elegantly and slowly.

That makes sense. He's the emperor, the supreme ruler, yet only prison food is cold!

Consort Yu smiled gently, "Your Majesty, if you wish, I can personally prepare your meal tonight."

Huo Lin lowered his eyes. Was it because he hadn't been with Consort Zhao Yu that Consort Yu was deliberately keeping him hanging on and not using her true abilities?

Thinking of the glutinous rice balls that Jiang Huan made that day, Huo Lin wanted to try them and see just how good Consort Yu's cooking skills were, since she could teach Jiang Huan.

Huo Lin put down his chopsticks and wiped his hands with the handkerchief handed to him by the eunuch.

"Come to the Hall of Mental Cultivation tonight."

Consort Yu was overjoyed upon hearing this, but she maintained her composure and softly replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."

...

Soon, night fell.

Consort Yu was dressed in a magnificent palace gown, with intricate patterns embroidered on the skirt. However, the fabric of the dress was very thin, and one could vaguely see the skin underneath.

She stood in front of the bronze mirror, carefully doing her makeup, wanting to show Huo Lin her most beautiful side.

"Your Majesty, you are so beautiful, the Emperor will surely love you," Cuiying kept praising from the side.

Consort Yu smiled slightly, a hint of smugness in her eyes.

"Cuiying, go and bring over that plate of sweet and sour pork ribs," Consort Yu ordered, her voice carrying an undeniable firmness.

Cuiying immediately responded and brought over a plate of bright red sweet and sour pork ribs.

This dish was specially prepared by Consort Yu for Huo Lin. Not only were the finest pork ribs selected, but a special sauce was also added, hoping to please Huo Lin.

Once everything was ready, the eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department arrived, and Consort Yu was summoned to the Emperor's bedchamber.

Consort Yu took the cloak from Cuiying, covering her barely visible skin with it, and then, carrying the food box, followed the eunuch toward the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Along the way, Consort Yu's mood improved, and she wore a confident smile, as if she had already foreseen her success that night.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the air was filled with the fragrance of ambergris. When Consort Yu crossed the threshold with her food box, she deliberately took off her cloak and pulled her thin gauze outer garment down half an inch.

Today, she specially burned acacia incense, a tribute from the Western Regions. The sweet and cloying scent mixed with the aroma of sweet and sour pork ribs made Wang Degui frown involuntarily.

"Your Majesty~" Consort Yu trailed off, swaying her body as she turned toward Huo Lin.

"I personally made sweet and sour pork ribs, would you like to try some?"

When the porcelain plate was pushed to the table, Consort Yu's graceful figure went unnoticed.

The soup splattered on the memorial, staining the words on it a dark brown color.

Huo Lin frowned almost imperceptibly, and his dark eyes, as black as ink, revealed no emotion in the dim candlelight.

Staring at the plate of glistening pork ribs, his brow twitched.

He put down the memorial, leaned back in his mahogany chair, and rested.

Did Consort Yu fall into a stinky ditch and then take a bath with perfume ten times?

The stench was overwhelming!

but......

Huo Lin glanced at the bowl of sweet and sour pork ribs, his gaze falling coldly on it.

What exactly does it mean to have cooking skills even better than Jiang Huan's?

For the sake of the delicious food, Huo Lin endured it again and again, picked up his chopsticks, took a rib, and took a bite.

The syrup-coated, fishy-smelling chunks of meat burst open in his mouth, and Huo Lin's Adam's apple bobbed twice with difficulty.

My taste buds were bombarded, and my eyes were practically glazed over.

Is this something a human could make?

This is the first time I've ever seen something even worse than the cold rice from the imperial kitchen. Is this woman an assassin?

Heavens! What have I done wrong? Why must I suffer this?

Consort Yu was completely unaware of this, her fingertips already reaching for Huo Lin's jade belt.

"Your Majesty is tired from official duties, how about I give you a shoulder massage..." She deliberately leaned forward, her clothes slipping off her shoulders, revealing half of her peach-colored bodice from the loose collar.

Snap—

The ivory chopsticks struck the table with a light but clear sound.

Huo Lin slowly stood up. The interplay of moonlight and candlelight made his already tall figure appear even more majestic and imposing.

Caught off guard, Consort Yu looked into his icy eyes and shuddered in fright.

The jolt caused the sweet and sour pork ribs on the table to be knocked over, splashing sauce everywhere and leaving mottled stains on her dress.

"Wang Degui".

Huo Lin didn't even look at her, flicking his sleeves and turning his back. His tone was calm, yet it carried a chilling undertone.

"Throw this filthy thing out, plate and all."

Consort Yu was shocked and couldn't understand why the emperor's expression changed so suddenly.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please forgive me, I don't know how I offended Your Majesty..."

She scrambled to Huo Lin's side, reaching out to grab his clothes, trying to stop him from leaving.

Huo Lin lifted the hem of his robe, took a step back indifferently, and some veins were already showing on his forehead.

"You don't want to leave? Do you want to die here?"

This sound was unmistakable. Consort Yu, having missed her target, was stunned by the ultimatum and stood there, her face pale and trembling like a leaf.

Huo Lin showed no pity whatsoever: "Wang Degui, are you deaf?"

Wang Degui, trembling with fear, repeatedly agreed and hurriedly summoned someone.

Consort Yu was so frightened that she couldn't even walk properly, and in the end, she had to be dragged out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation by two rough-looking maids.

Her hair was disheveled, her moon-colored dress was stained with sauce, and one of her embroidered shoes had even fallen off at some point.

A night watchman passed by with a lantern, and the dim light illuminated her disheveled state.

This commotion was too great, especially in the palace where everyone was watching every move.

The next day, various rumors about Consort Yu's night with the emperor spread.

"Have you heard? Consort Yu's ribs made the Emperor vomit!"

"That's not all! It's said that she took off her clothes to seduce someone, and the Emperor kicked her out!"

"The Emperor has not favored the harem for a long time, but she thinks she is an exception. Oh no."

...

Inside the west hall, Jiang Huan was roasting sweet potatoes over a charcoal fire, while Xiao Zhao mimicked her with great enthusiasm, her joy overflowing.

"Haha, Your Highness, I also heard that when Consort Yu was dragged back to the palace, her thin gauze outer garment was torn in many places, and she looked extremely disheveled."

Jiang Huan lit a candle in her heart for Consort Yu.

Tell me, of all people to provoke, why did you have to provoke that unpredictable emperor? Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

Jiang Huan didn't understand; she just kept roasting sweet potatoes.

"You can say these things to me, but please don't let any outsiders hear them."

To avoid giving others something to talk about, she wanted to live a few more years...

Xiao Zhao smiled and replied, "Don't worry, my lady, I know what I'm doing."

On the other hand, Huo Lin was not in the same good mood as the master and servant.

He was so hungry that his stomach was cramping, but there was a pile of cold vegetarian food on the table.

The wilted, yellowed vegetable leaves soaked in the murky soup, the tofu had an eerie grayish-white hue, and there was barely any meat.

He's the emperor! Why can he only eat these things?!

The money those people in the Imperial Kitchen receive every day is all going to waste.

Is someone embezzling from the national treasury, so much so that they can't even afford to cook a hot meal for him?

Huo Lin rubbed his temples.

I endured it, picked up some greens and ate them; the bland taste made it almost impossible to hold the silver chopsticks steady.

The image of the glutinous rice balls that Jiang Huan held that night gradually surfaced in his mind.

These past few days have passed, Jiang Huan should be feeling better by now, right?

Could he perhaps recruit Jiang Huan again?