Chapter 246 Drunkenness
"Oh no, it's going to fall!" Princess Mingzhu exclaimed.
"It's such a pity that it fell."
With a flick of his wrist, Shen Yi skillfully lifted the meat skewer, which landed steadily on his plate.
"Thank you for your kind offer, Princess."
"Shen Yi, you're cheating!"
Princess Mingzhu stomped her feet in anger, but since she couldn't snatch it from Chen Yi's bowl, she immediately turned to the next string of pearls.
Huo Lin frowned slightly as he watched the two of them arguing so unceremoniously.
[A princess and a court official—what kind of spectacle is this, fighting like this?]
[That's really unseemly.]
Don't you know how to thank the chef?
He complained with disdain, but his attention quickly returned to Jiang Huan.
He picked up the skewer of meat he had just grilled and was about to hand it to Jiang Huan when he saw the conspicuous Bao Heling take the lead and put the perfectly grilled skewer to Jiang Huan's mouth.
"Your Majesty, please try this one. I brushed it with sauce twice, so it should be even more flavorful."
He Ling's voice was soft and expectant.
Your Majesty is too thin; you need to eat more.
[And I brushed on the sauce twice, so it'll definitely taste even better.]
Let's raise the affection level a little higher!
Jiang Huan smiled and accepted it: "Okay, I'll try it."
Huo Lin: ...
His hand holding the meat skewers froze instantly. Looking at He Ling's proud expression, he felt a surge of anger rising in his heart.
【It's her again, is this never going to end?】
He took a deep breath, suppressing his irritation, and slammed the meat skewers in his hand onto the plate in front of Jiang Huan.
"Try this."
Jiang Huan looked down and saw that the edges of the meat skewer on the plate were obviously black, which was in stark contrast to the golden and tempting meat skewer that He Ling handed over next to her.
"Well……"
Jiang Huan blinked, glanced at Huo Lin's tense profile, then at the charred meat, and finally picked it up.
What can you do if there's a jealous person in your family?
Just spoil them.
She picked up the skewer of meat and took a bite of the unburnt edge.
"The taste is very unique, with a rich, smoky aroma, and it fully retains, uh... the original flavor of charcoal!"
As she spoke, she stole a glance at Huo Lin's tense profile, then quickly added, "Especially the degree of grilling is just right, it's very...unique!"
Huo Lin's face darkened even more as he watched her struggle to swallow.
Looks like it wasn't baked properly.
[It's all He Ling's fault for distracting me!]
He thought to himself with annoyance, and gave He Ling a cold glance.
He Ling was startled and quickly lowered her head and shrank her neck.
[Waaaaah, the Emperor is still so terrifying.]
I only grilled a few skewers for the Empress!
She trembled and dared not approach Jiang Huan again.
Shen Yi took in all of this and almost spat out the meat in his mouth.
Haha, the Emperor is so jealous...
Why bother arguing with a little girl?
He suppressed a laugh, deliberately moved closer to Huo Lin, and teased, "Your Majesty, you cooked this meat a bit too much, didn't you? Would you like me to teach you a trick?"
Huo Lin turned to him, his eyes like knives.
【Shut up! 】
[Say one more word, and I'll throw you out!]
Shen Yi understood Huo Lin's warning and tactfully made a gesture to keep quiet, but he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.
The charcoal crackled, the aroma of meat filled the air, and the open space was bustling with activity.
Jiang Huan deftly grilled the meat and distributed it to the hungry Princess Mingzhu and Shen Yi, who was enjoying the spectacle.
He Ling huddled in the corner, carefully grilling the meat, occasionally stealing glances at Huo Lin, not daring to breathe loudly.
Princess Mingzhu ate with gusto, her mouth greasy and completely absorbed in the delicious food.
As dusk fell, the barbecue feast drew to a close, and everyone ate to their heart's content.
Princess Mingzhu, her belly round from eating, leaned back in her chair and burped contentedly.
Shen Yi leisurely sipped his sake, occasionally glancing at Huo Lin, who was still struggling with the grilled meat.
Seeing that everyone still seemed to want more, Jiang Huan clapped her hands.
"Just eating meat won't do, we need something to cut through the richness. Xiao Zhao, go and bring up my chilled sweet rice balls and drunken crab."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Xiao Zhao responded and left.
Soon, several bowls of crystal-clear, chilled sweet rice balls in fermented rice wine, garnished with osmanthus blossoms, and several plates of glistening, tempting drunken crabs were served.
Wow, sweet fermented rice balls, and drunken crab!
Princess Mingzhu's eyes lit up, and the feeling of fullness she had just felt seemed to vanish instantly.
"Your Majesty, I want to eat!"
"Yes, we have both."
Jiang Huan smiled and gave her a bowl of sweet fermented rice balls, then placed a drunken crab on the plate in front of her.
"This drunken crab is marinated in aged Shaoxing wine, so the flavor is strong. Just eat a little, just to have a taste."
Princess Mingzhu nodded repeatedly and eagerly scooped up a spoonful of fermented rice wine and put it in her mouth.
"Mmm, delicious."
She squinted her eyes contentedly, then picked up the drunken crab, broke open the shell, and sucked out the delicious crab roe and the crab meat with the aroma of wine.
"This is delicious too, the wine flavor is quite unique."
Shen Yi also picked up a drunken crab and skillfully disassembled it.
"Your Majesty's skills are truly superb! This drunken crab is marinated to perfection, with a rich aroma of wine and sweet, fresh crab meat. It has an unforgettable aftertaste!"
He picked up the bowl of fermented rice and took a big gulp.
"It's a perfect match with this chilled rice wine!"
He Ling also ate the fermented rice wine in small bites, her eyebrows and eyes curving into a smile.
[The Empress's cooking is all so delicious, she's practically a culinary goddess!]
[Hopefully the Empress is happy, and our favorability rating will increase a bit more...]
Jiang Huan smiled as she heard He Ling's thoughts.
System: "Ding! Target Jiang Huan is in a good mood. Favorability +10. Current favorability value: 50 points."
Wow, it's gone up again! I'm so happy!
Huo Lin sat to the side, looking at the bowl of fermented rice wine and drunken crab in front of him, then at the charred meat skewers on his plate, and silently pushed the plate aside.
[...]
【never mind. 】
Let's eat what she makes.
He picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of fermented rice, and put it in his mouth.
Cool and sweet, with a faint fragrance of osmanthus and wine, it instantly dispels the greasiness of the grilled meat.
"Hmm, not bad, her cooking is still the best."
Princess Mingzhu ate happily. After finishing a bowl of fermented rice wine, she ate most of a drunken crab. Her little face quickly turned rosy, and her eyes began to look a little dazed.
"Mmm...it tastes good..." She held the empty bowl, smiling foolishly, her eyes darting around.
"This fermented rice wine is sweet and cool, like...like the breeze of early spring..." She hiccuped and started rambling.
Seeing this, Jiang Huan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I told you to eat less, now you're drunk."
Princess Mingzhu, however, was completely unaware. She stood up unsteadily, her gaze sweeping over everyone before finally settling on Huo Lin.
"Royal Uncle..."
"Hmm?" Huo Lin remained expressionless.
"Royal Uncle..." Princess Mingzhu called out again, her emotions about the arranged marriage that she had received recently erupting at this moment.
She suddenly reached out her greasy little hand and grabbed Huo Lin's sleeve.
"Royal Uncle, you, you're not allowed to bestow a marriage upon me! Let me tell you, the person I marry must treat me well, exceptionally well! Even better than how you treat the Empress!"
She emphasized it as if she were making some important vow.
Huo Lin: ...
[Didn't you always avoid me from afar before? You've become quite bold when you're drunk, daring to compare yourself to me.]
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