Chapter 109 Entertainment

After warming her hands by the stove for a while, Lan Wu began to look outside.

"I brought you out to play, can't you just stay by my side and relax?" Chu Mingheng asked casually, and Lan Wu immediately looked away.

She didn't reply, but instead found a chestnut on the stove, took it down with a utensil, and flatteringly handed it to Chu Mingheng.

"Your Majesty, please try the chestnuts I roasted. I can smell how delicious they are."

Chu Mingheng grabbed her hand, but before he could speak, she interrupted him with a soft, aggrieved voice.

"Your Majesty did not dine with me this afternoon, and you do not wish to eat the chestnuts I roasted."

So that's the key point.

Chu Mingheng told her to open her hands. The chestnuts had only been roasted for a short while and weren't that hot yet. If Lan Wu held them in her hands, it would only make her hands dirty.

Lan Wu opened her hands as he wished, and then he told her to peel the chestnuts.

Once the chestnut shells are peeled off, the meat inside is crisp and crunchy, clearly indicating that it's not fully roasted yet.

Lan Wu blushed, looked up and met Chu Mingheng's gaze. He was looking at her leisurely, clearly teasing her. So she pushed away what she was carrying, turned around and used the handkerchief handed to her by a palace servant to wipe her hands clean. Without saying anything else to him, she tugged at his sleeve and said she wanted to go fly kites with the palace servants.

It was a rare windy day, and Chu Mingheng had taken her out of the palace to relax, wasn't that all to make her happy? She didn't believe he could refuse.

As expected, Chu Mingheng nodded: "Go ahead, just don't go too far."

Lan Wu immediately stood up, not forgetting to turn back and tell him to keep an eye on her sweet potatoes.

Watching Lan Wu's figure disappear into the distance, surrounded by palace servants like a lively little rabbit, Chu Mingheng didn't look away until Chen Kang'an came over from a distance and whispered something to him.

He glanced at the sky and nodded slightly.

Chen Kang'an then stepped aside.

This place is near the imperial city, and below this hill is Princess Yizhen's estate.

Princess Yizhen is enjoying herself at the estate with friends today, unaware of His Majesty's arrival. If things continue peacefully, that's fine, but what if she accidentally bumps into him...?

Chen Kang'an stood quietly with his eyes lowered, thinking to himself: If I were to accidentally bump into them, it would spoil His Majesty and the Empress's good mood.

Lan Wu and the others knew their limits when flying kites, and they didn't stray too far from Chu Mingheng. Before long, the kite was high in the sky.

She was able to handle the kite string by herself with ease, but there was another kite next to her. It wasn't fun for her to play by herself, so she called over a palace maid to play with her.

Mu Jin stood protectively by Lan Wu's side, afraid that she might fall or wander off.

While they were laughing and joking around, Chu Mingheng just watched from the pavilion, occasionally turning over the sweet potatoes on the stove.

Lan Wu returned after playing for about half an hour.

As Chu Mingheng saw her figure approaching, he frowned and asked her, "Where is your cloak?"

Lan Wu took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "It gets too hot when I run, so I took it off."

It's too hot?

Chu Mingheng gently intertwined his fingers, reminding her, "If you fall ill, don't blame me for not taking you out to play anymore."

Lan Wu found him annoying; even when they were out having fun, he always said things that made people unhappy.

"If I am ill, it is Your Majesty who will tell me." After saying that, she turned her gaze to the sweet potatoes roasting on the stove.

She twitched her nose and suddenly smelled a burnt smell.

So I took the tongs from the table and turned the sweet potato over. As expected, I saw a dark clump on the skin.

“You—!” Lan Wu turned her head and looked directly at Chu Mingheng.

Chu Mingheng felt inexplicably guilty. Just now, she watched Lan Wu run away for a while, and when she came back to her senses, she forgot to turn the cover over. She thought that Lan Wu wouldn't be able to see it if it was covered, but she didn't expect to smell it as soon as she came back.

What kind of nose is this? It's so sensitive.

He reached out and pulled the sulking Lan Wu into his arms, holding her hand gently; it was warm.

"There are still so many there... Give this to me, I'll eat it, okay?"

Lan Wu felt her face flush as he held her. Even in front of so many palace servants, Chu Mingheng didn't feel ashamed.

She struggled slightly and said, "I won't give you any."

Chu Mingheng held the soft, fragrant woman in his arms and naturally indulged her every whim. Just as he was about to peel chestnuts for her, he suddenly heard a commotion ahead.

Luo Yun returned shortly afterward.

"Your Majesty, Princess Yizhen has brought several young ladies up the mountain."

Upon hearing this, Lan Wu subconsciously looked at Chu Mingheng, and then moved to the side.

Chu Mingheng didn't even look up. He wrapped one arm around Lan Wu's waist to prevent her from running away and continued peeling chestnuts for her. He asked, "What girl? She has quite the appetite for playing around all day. There are plenty of girls in the capital to play with."

Luo Yun replied, "They are just a few daughters from ordinary marquis families, one of whom is a daughter from the Lin family."

Chu Mingheng had just finished peeling a chestnut and held it to Lan Wu's lips for her to eat.

Lan Wu remained silent, opened her mouth and ate the chestnut, then glanced into the distance where no one could be seen.

Today, His Majesty brought her out for a stroll. Princess Yizhen, who brought so many girls, shouldn't have come along, but she did anyway.

Moreover, she remembered that the Lin family, namely the Princess Consort's younger sister, had just come of age but was not yet married.

The chestnuts were fairly sweet and soft, but she still wanted to eat her sweet potatoes.

"Princess Yizhen also said she had some interesting items she wanted to show His Majesty."

"What can she offer..."

Before Chu Mingheng could finish speaking, he noticed Lan Wu suddenly tugging at his clothes, so he changed his words: "Let her come over."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lan Wu broke free from Chu Mingheng's embrace and sat down in her own chair, glancing out of the pavilion from time to time.

If she wasn't mistaken, the new item Princess Yizhen was referring to was probably a cat. In her previous life, she had heard that Princess Yizhen had a black cat, a gift from her servants, and that Princess Yizhen liked that cat very much.

Soon, several figures approached and bowed to each of them.

Princess Yizhen stood at the front, bowed, and stood up. She didn't find it strange to see Lan Wu, though there was a hint of a smile in her eyes.

"Just now, they saw a kite in the sky, and upon closer inspection, they realized it was flying on this mountain. I guessed that the person who could come here must not be my brother, so I came over. I never expected it to be my brother—and he even brought Consort Zhen Zhaorong with him."

Princess Yizhen said with a smile, taking the cat in her arms and showing it to Lan Wu: "Consort Zhen, take a look, isn't this cat cute?"

Lan Wu saw that the cat in her arms was entirely black, with fluffy fur, emerald green eyes, and was small and curled up with a big, long tail. She thought it was beautiful at first glance.

She nodded repeatedly and then asked Princess Yizhen if she could touch it.

"You can pet it, you can pet it. Cats are just like that, they're meant to be cute." With that, she picked up the black cat from her arms and brought it closer.

Chu Mingheng glanced at the two women, one cautiously hesitant to reach out, and the other boldly intending to tease them, and asked slowly, "Is this the novelty you mentioned?"

Yi Zhen turned her head and saw Lan Wu's delight: "Brother, please don't be disgusted. Someone likes you very much."

Lan Wu carefully reached out and touched the cat's head. It was soft and small, and she really liked it.

She touched it twice, then turned her head and looked at Chu Mingheng with eyes full of joy.