Nanchu King stood up with a sniffle, asking Xie Yuan, "What about you? Did you promise her anything for the next life?"
Xie Yuan fell silent and responded emotionlessly: "No."
"Really?"
Annoyed, Xie Yuan retorted, "I’m already disinterested in this life, why would I bother about the next one?"
Nanchu King burst into laughter, "So she is waiting for me in the next life?"
"Perhaps!" Xie Yuan didn’t want to continue the conversation.
Nanchu King went to Su Rong to check the account book, "Let me see what good things she left for you."
Su Rong handed the book over to him.
Nanchu King spent a considerable amount of time perusing it under the cover of a lamp, whispering, "It’s not inferior to what I gave you."
"She also left me undercover guards who can fend off hundreds of foes," stressed Su Rong.
Nanchu King’s face fell, "Because of me, almost half of your undercover guards are gone."
Su Rong had never met such a fragile king. Luckily, he was her biological father. Otherwise, she would have steered clear of him long ago. She reminded him, "Did you not promise to hand-make me longevity noodles? Will I get any?"
"Ah? How did you know?" Nanchu King looked at Su Rong and turned to blame Zhou Gu, "Why did you tell her?"
Zhou Gu hesitated then blamed Su Rong, "Forgive me, Father-in-law. She interrogated me; I couldn’t defy the Princess."
Su Rong glared; when did she interrogate him?
Nanchu King fell silent.
Xie Yuan looked sternly at Su Rong, asking, "Did you bully Zhou Gu again?"
Su Rong: "..."
She felt unfairly accused. She glared at Zhou Gu, but he avoided her gaze, prompting Su Rong to retort, "With you, Uncle Xie, watching, would I dare to bully him?"
She turned to urge Nanchu King, "Father, I’m hungry. Let’s go. How good are your cooking skills? Make four bowls of noodles. Uncle Xie can eat with us."
Nanchu King nodded enthusiastically, "Alright, let’s go."
Then, the four of them set off to the imperial kitchen.
The head chef of the imperial kitchen had been on high alert waiting for His Majesty; now, the Princess, the Son-in-law, and Master Xie joined him, making him even more spirited.
Nanchu King rolled up his sleeves to cook, and the imperial chef hurriedly accompanied him.
Su Rong had no inclination to help; Zhou Gu was busy but found nowhere to contribute. Xie Yuan found a stool and sat down, asking Su Rong, "I heard that you suggested in front of the royal family today that they should also participate in this year’s competition?"
"Not just the royal family, young ladies can also participate." Su Rong nodded, "I never knew that the Nanchu royal family couldn’t partake in the Imperial Examination. There’s a burden to feed so many people, and it’s a huge expenditure on the national treasury, which isn’t acceptable. I don’t want to foster idlers."
Xie Yuan nodded, "That’s reasonable."
Hearing this, while kneading the dough, Nanchu King commented, "You want to break the ancestral rules again?"
"Is that a problem?" Su Rong turned to Nanchu King, "Father, if you want to maintain idlers, use your private treasury. I certainly don’t want to."
Nanchu King coughed lightly, "Where’s my private treasury? Haven’t I given it all to you already? Break the rules if you want to. Nanchu’s old regulations have been there for many generations, it’s time for a change."
Su Rong was satisfied, then turned to ask Zhou Gu, "How did Chu Duan perform in his examination today?"
"Exceptionally well; he’s learned a lot as a member of the royal family, and his level of exposure, considering his origins from a declining branch of the family, is considerable," Zhou Gu said. "If he participates in the examination, his name is sure to be on the roster."
Su Rong nodded, "Then send him to the Ministry of Housing! Assign him a sixth-rank official post. Even with Cui Xingzhi and Ning Ze, your Ministry of Housing is still understaffed, right?"
Zhou Gu gave her a playful glance and whispered, "Such concern for me? Are you going to stuff everyone into the Ministry of Housing?"
Su Rong said earnestly, "The Ministry of Housing holds the purse strings. Money can do everything; without it, we can’t move an inch. I’m depending on the Ministry of Housing to fill the coffers so that I can use the funds for weapon reform, army maintenance, Ministry of Works’ water conservancy projects, dike construction, city wall fortification, and so on."
She sighed, "Everything requires money!"
Zhou Gu fell silent, "Alright, don’t worry!"
He sighed too, knowing they had a lot of tasks to complete.
Nanchu King, with the help of the imperial chef, made four bowls of noodles. The moment they were done, an enticing aroma filled the room.
Su Rong sniffed, surprised, "Father, you have quite a talent. It smells wonderful."
Nanchu King said proudly, "Right? I am a natural."
The imperial chef wiped the sweat off his brow. The king had practiced for over a month and mercifully hadn’t forgotten the steps. This kind of talent, he wouldn’t take even as an apprentice.
The four of them did not bother moving and sat down at the kitchen table to eat the noodles together.
The dining table was laden with wine. A bowl of noodles relieved their stomachs.
Seeing Su Rong savoring the dish, Nanchu King told her, "Next year on your birthday, I’ll personally make noodles for you again."
"Good," Su Rong nodded.
Nanchu King then turned to Zhou Gu, "Next year on your birthday, I’ll also make noodles for you."
"Thank you, Father-in-law," replied Zhou Gu, nodding.
Having said that, Nanchu King looked at Xie Yuan, hesitated for a bit, "On Brother Xie’s birthday..."
"You won’t need to make anything," Xie Yuan interrupted him.
Nanchu King choked.
Su Rong laughed, "I’ll personally cook for Uncle Xie."
Xie Yuan smiled, "Okay, I will look forward to your noodles."
Nanchu King turned to Su Rong.
Zhou Gu immediately offered, "Father-in-law, I’ll make noodles for you on your birthday."
Nanchu King was delighted, "Great, great, a son-in-law, and a son."
After finishing the noodles, Nanchu King rushed back to check out the items belonging to Zhenmin.
Xie Yuan left the palace and returned to the Xie Residence.
Su Rong held onto Zhou Gu’s arm, asking him with a smile, "Zhou Gu, what present are you giving me for my birthday?"
Zhou Gu shot her a glance, "You remember that I haven’t given you a birthday present yet? That’s rare."
"Of course, how could I forget?" Su Rong was serious, "No matter what you give me, I will be very happy, very pleased. As long as it’s from you."
Zhou Gu snorted lightly, bitterness lacing his tone as he clearly thought of Cui Yanjin.
Su Rong asked him, "Are you planning to give me the entire weapons repository?"
Zhou Gu immediately retorted, "It was given to me by my father-in-law. It won’t matter how many birthdays you celebrate, I will not give this to you."
Su Rong: "..."
Such unwillingness.
She let go of his arm, annoyed, "Zhou Gu, you don’t love me."
Zhou Gu: "..."
Barely suppressing a laugh, he asked, "Just because I won’t give you the weapons repository that my father-in-law gave me, you think I don’t love you? When did you become so childish?"
Without paying any heed to Su Rong, he continued walking.
Su Rong was stunned. He actually left her behind and strutted off. She quickly followed suit, clinging to him again and stomping her foot, "Zhou Gu."
Zhou Gu had no choice but to stop.
Su Rong grumbled, "It’s my birthday today."
"Yes, it’s your birthday, you’re the birthday girl, you’re the boss." Zhou Gu gave in, smiling as he hoisted her onto his back, humoring her, "Come on, let’s get your birthday present."
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