Chapter 102 The Escape Plan

Zhao Bailu even gritted her teeth when she mentioned this name.

"That guy is a womanizer, I don't like him. I like upright men, I can't stand this womanizer."

Zhao Bailu snorted, clearly very dissatisfied with this person.

Meng Yanzhi thought about it carefully. She had heard of the name Qi Huan in her previous life. She smiled at Zhao Bailu and then said, "He is the son of a first-class duke. How could he be a playboy? He must be deceiving the world."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Bailu looked at Meng Yanzhi with some confusion, her brows furrowing slightly: "You mean he's deliberately acting? Why?"

"As a noble lady from a prestigious family, you should understand why."

"You should know better than anyone the consequences of overshadowing your superiors, shouldn't you?"

Meng Yanzhi smiled gently and pinched Zhao Bailu's nose.

Although Zhao Bailu is usually cheerful and carefree, she is actually a very smart and sensible girl. Now, hearing Meng Yanzhi say this, she immediately understood what it meant.

"Actually, I understand what you mean. Our Zhao family is also a target of envy and suspicion. If we were to marry into the First-Class Duke of Loyalty and Bravery, I'm afraid the Emperor would be even more wary."

"With my background, the Emperor wouldn't feel at ease marrying me to anyone. I don't know what to do. However, my parents are just testing the waters; nothing's been decided yet. Perhaps they're just testing the waters to see the Emperor's attitude?"

"Is entering the palace my only option, and is that the only path I can take?"

Zhao Bailu looked rather pitiful at this moment, just staring longingly at Meng Yanzhi, who clearly did not want to enter the palace.

"Then you should marry the Crown Prince."

Meng Yanzhi looked at Zhao Bailu very seriously.

"Won't the Crown Prince still become Emperor in the future?" Zhao Bailu snorted, then said sullenly, "I don't like entering the palace, I like freedom."

"Then run! Go to the frontier and find your brother!" Meng Yanzhi looked at Zhao Bailu with a smile. "Even if we want to arrange a marriage then, we won't be able to find you, will we?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Bailu immediately stood up: "Yes, I think you're absolutely right, but my mother won't let me go!"

"You talk as if you're very obedient, as if the madam can go to the frontier to arrest you." Meng Yanzhi shrugged: "Although we should be filial to our parents, we still need to have our own plans at crucial moments. Sometimes it's not a big deal to be disobedient."

These words didn't sound like something Meng Yanzhi would say, so Zhao Bailu was stunned and even wondered if she had misheard.

She frowned at Meng Yanzhi, ate two pastries, and immediately nodded: "Okay, it's settled then. I'll stay with you tonight."

"Alright," Meng Yanzhi nodded with a smile, "but shouldn't we still inform the Emperor?"

“My aunt manages the harem, so I’ll just tell her about this. Rouge, I’ll go to my aunt’s first and come back to find you tonight.” Zhao Bailu took the pastries and turned to leave.

She was always so energetic and impulsive, but Meng Yanzhi really cared about her free-spirited nature.

Meng Yanzhi's dream is to leave this hustle and bustle behind, find a quiet place, open a restaurant, and live a happy and peaceful life.

Unfortunately, we are still quite far from realizing that dream.

Consort Liu has already set her sights on her. It seems that Meng Anxian will soon enter the palace, and things will likely get quite interesting then.

Meng Yanzhi smiled slightly, glanced at the time, and walked towards the kitchen. Although her hands were red and swollen, Meng Yanzhi didn't care. After all, when she was at the Meng family, even when it was more serious, she still had to do what she was supposed to do.

It was still early for dinner, so Meng Yanzhi hid in the kitchen, researching snacks that children would like. She probably hadn't eaten many snacks when she was a child, so she planned to make some candies and small pastries that could be stored for a while and would also satisfy the children's cravings.

After thinking for a moment, Meng Yanzhi also smoked some pork jerky, making more than a dozen different kinds, filling a large box to the brim.

The snacks smelled much better than the food. For the entire afternoon, Xiao Xingyuan's study was filled with their aroma, making it impossible for him to concentrate on reading the memorials.

"Go see what Meng Yanzhi is up to," Xiao Xingyuan said, slamming down the memorial in his hand, feeling a surge of annoyance.

Upon hearing this, Wang Huanhai immediately turned around and walked towards the small kitchen.

The moment I walked in, I was overwhelmed by the fragrance.

"Miss Meng, what are these?"

Wang Huanhai stepped forward and looked at the things with great interest, as he had never seen such things in the palace before.

"These are some snacks, meant for the Imperial Advisor to take back to appease the children at home." Meng Yanzhi smiled at Wang Huanhai: "Father-in-law, would you like some?"

"Then... what about His Majesty?" Wang Huanhai frowned, looking at Meng Yanzhi: "What does His Majesty eat?"

After thinking for a moment, Meng Yanzhi took some snacks out of the package and handed them to Wang Huanhai.

"Your Majesty works hard reviewing memorials; this should help alleviate your fatigue a little," Meng Yanzhi said politely.

However, Wang Huanhai saw it very clearly: if he hadn't come, Xiao Xingyuan probably wouldn't have gotten any of these things at all!

Wang Huanhai coughed and then said, "Miss Meng is very kind."

Meng Yanzhi certainly couldn't bear the word "thoughtful," so she touched her nose somewhat guiltily and politely saw the person off.

The small kitchen had two eunuchs who were in charge of the rough work, and four palace maids who were in charge of assisting Meng Yanzhi.

After spending time with them, Meng Yanzhi had become quite familiar with them.

"Miss Meng, have you noticed that the Emperor really cares about you? As soon as there's any commotion here, he immediately sends Eunuch Wang to come and check!" The palace maid Tan Yun looked at Meng Yanzhi with a smile, her face full of envy.

Meng Yanzhi glanced at her, then said indifferently, "Watch your words. We're just working in the kitchen; how could the Emperor possibly care about us?"

"Exactly! The Emperor has three thousand beauties in his harem, would he really take a fancy to a mere cook?" Tanxiang scoffed disdainfully. "I think it's Sister Tanyun who's trying to climb the social ladder by blaming someone else, isn't it?"

Meng Yanzhi's eyebrows furrowed tightly. Her expression changed as she watched the two arguing maids, and she said irritably, "How long are you going to keep arguing? Do you want the Emperor to hear us? Don't you want to live anymore?"