He'll stay single for life. What girl would be so blind as to fall for him? Pshaw!
"Was that sign outside the door your idea too?" To avoid making the atmosphere too awkward, Emperor Zhaojing changed the subject.
“Exactly.” Rong Qingqing nodded. She really didn’t want to stay in the same room with Xie Jingrun for even a moment longer. Before Emperor Zhaojing could throw out his next question, she said, “The dishes at our Wangchunlou are all on this menu. Please take a look and tell me what you would like to eat so that I can have the kitchen prepare it for you.”
Emperor Zhaojing pointed to the boiled live fish on the menu and said, "Just order these two dishes... no, never mind, bring out whatever dishes your restaurant has."
Rong Qingqing was taken aback for a moment, but considering that the other party was the emperor, it was perfectly normal for him to order so many dishes for a meal.
She picked up the menu, smiled at him, and said, "Please sit for a moment, and I'll have the kitchen prepare it for you."
She was about to leave when Emperor Zhaojing stopped her. "You don't need to go. Stay and talk to me for a while. Xingxiu, go and give them your instructions."
"Yes." Xie Jingrun replied, glancing at Rong Qingqing as he got up to leave.
Rong Qingqing felt a chill run down her spine from his gaze; she couldn't help but feel that his eyes were hostile.
Thinking of what Emperor Zhaojing had said earlier, she felt a little uneasy.
She couldn't understand why Emperor Zhaojing would think that way about her and Xie Jingrun.
Emperor Zhaojing smiled and said to Rong Qingqing, "Sit down, don't be shy."
Since the emperor had spoken, Rong Qingqing couldn't refuse and sat down in a slightly farther spot.
Emperor Zhaojing sized her up and thought to himself that the girl in front of him was exquisitely beautiful and had a good temperament. He couldn't help but start to think about her.
"By the way, young lady, which family do you belong to? You look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?" he suddenly asked, frowning.
Rong Qingqing was taken aback.
Could it be that when the original owner attended a palace banquet in the past, the emperor saw her there?
She stood up and said, "Uncle, my surname is Rong, and my father is Rong Shiqing, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Zhaojing paused, then frowned and asked, "You are Rong Shiqing's daughter?"
Seeing this, Rong Qingqing thought to herself, Rong Shiqing is so eager to please the Empress that he is probably already considered part of the Empress's faction in the Emperor's eyes.
Over the years, the Empress has been cultivating her own power, and in the court, there are now two factions: one is the royalist party, and the other is the faction that supports the Empress.
Although the emperor and empress have not officially broken off relations, their open and covert struggles have never stopped.
Since Rong Shiqing was a member of the Empress's faction, and she was Rong Shiqing's daughter, Emperor Zhaojing naturally disliked her.
"That's right." She didn't hide anything.
As expected, Emperor Zhaojing's initial enthusiasm immediately waned, and he said somewhat gloomily, "How come you are Rong Shiqing's daughter?"
Rong Qingqing said helplessly, "I have no choice. If I could, I wouldn't want to be his daughter either."
Emperor Zhaojing was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, "You don't like your father?"
“No one would like a father who harms them, would they?” Rong Qingqing said.
Emperor Zhaojing looked at her with some surprise, "From what you've said, you were wronged by your father. How exactly did he wrong you?"
“Actually, I almost got married to Lord Xie.” After Rong Qingqing finished speaking, Emperor Zhaojing’s expression changed, and he suddenly stood up, saying incredulously, “You are Xingxiu’s stepmother?”
...
P.S.: Six more chapters to go! Please continue to vote and support me! Mwah!
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