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"Is Senior Sister planning to make her move ahead of schedule?" To everyone's surprise, Xu Ninghui wasn't surprised at all, and even asked with some curiosity.
Jiang Chaoyu did not answer Xu Ninghui's question directly, but instead asked lightly, "What are my chances of success?"
"If Senior Sister wants to, she can succeed." Xu Ninghui's eyes were piercing, as if he trusted Jiang Chaoyu completely, as if he would hear good news at any moment. His trust was very simple: if Senior Sister wanted to, she could definitely do it.
Hearing this answer, Jiang Chaoyu was somewhat surprised, but she then said, "If I were to entrust this task to you, would you be willing?"
He offered the poison as if testing the waters. What he was handing over was not just medicine, but his life. If the mission failed, he would die without a burial place.
"If my senior sister truly trusts me, then I am willing."
Now that things have come to this, there's no question of willingness or unwillingness anymore. If this can really harm the emperor, that would be even better.
"But Senior Sister, there's something I don't quite understand. Wouldn't it be better to use the Emperor instead of poisoning the Princess?" The medicine in her hand would be more than enough to deal with a strong man, so why use it on a sickly woman?
I glanced at the princess from the side earlier; her frail figure looked like it could be blown away by a gust of wind, and her coughing sound remained even after she was gone.
Jiang Chaoyu knew what Xu Ninghui was thinking, so she didn't explain too much. "What you think is always what others want you to think. Don't easily define others."
"Since you're willing, remember to wait until the Princess has rested before making your move at her birthday banquet." Outsiders all say the Princess won't live much longer, but she has lived year after year. She never stays long at her birthday banquet each year before passing away.
This year will be no exception, but she is curious about who will make a move against the emperor.
Things have already come to this point, and Li Yuanxiu has said that the letter has been taken away. It seems that there are people planted inside and outside the Crescent Moon Gate.
"good."
After everything was arranged, it was already evening. Zeng Chenhua must have already prepared the dishes at his residence, waiting for him to return.
For some reason, she slowly began to feel anticipation, and even her steps back home were filled with joy.
"I'm back!" Jiang Chaoyu swaggered into the mansion, but apart from the servants sweeping the floor, she didn't see a single familiar face.
Some doubts arose in my mind: "Where have all the people gone?" I looked around but couldn't find them.
I checked all the rooms, but there was no one there. Even the kitchen was deserted at mealtimes, without a trace of cooking. Could they be sleeping?
When she left, Zeng Chenhua said he was going to rest, so he must still be sleeping. Jiang Chaoyu never expected that Zeng Chenhua would be so sleepy.
Upon entering the room and peering inside, I noticed a bulge on the bed, but no head was visible.
My guess was right; he was still asleep!
She quietly approached, wanting to see if Zeng Chenhua was still asleep. She reached the bedside, slowly sat down, and lifted the blanket. "Are you still sleeping?" she whispered in Zeng Chenhua's ear. But the moment she lifted the blanket, she grabbed his wrist, turned him over, and pulled him onto the bed.
In an instant, she was brought to the inside of the bed, looked up and met Zeng Chenhua's gaze, still somewhat dazed.
But looking at Zeng Chenhua's eyes, which were full of cunning but also seemed to carry a hint of resentment, it was "an instinctive reaction."
Before Jiang Chaoyu could speak, Zeng Chenhua offered an explanation, but Jiang Chaoyu didn't believe him. "Your reaction is to take her to bed?!" she exclaimed, her eyes filled with disbelief.
At this moment, Jiang Chaoyu's legs were still draped over Zeng Chenhua's body, and her wrists were still firmly held, making it difficult for her to move. Jiang Chaoyu also thought of giving up and not struggling.
"Why are you looking for me now?" Zeng Chenhua didn't continue to explain, but was a little surprised that Jiang Chaoyu had only come to find him now.
However, Jiang Chaoyu didn't realize that he was late for dinner. "I just got back and found there was no food. I figured you hadn't eaten, so I wanted to see where you were."
"So you wouldn't have called me if there was food?" Zeng Chenhua had thought he was coming to see her, but it turned out there was no food. He had suddenly overestimated himself.
"That's not true. If you haven't eaten, we'll definitely come and call you to eat."
"Oh~"
After hearing Zeng Chenhua's answer, Jiang Chaoyu felt a little hungry. "Then let the chef cook something, I'm hungry."
"I gave the cook a day off; he'll be away for the next few days."
"What!" The cooks are all gone. What will she eat then? She looked at Zeng Chenhua tentatively, "Can the Second Prince cook?"
Zeng Chenhua shook his head, leaning closer to Jiang Chaoyu, his breath brushing against her ear. He knew Jiang Chaoyu's ears were sensitive, and watching her lean back, he felt a surge of amusement. "Do you think I would?"
Jiang Chaoyu shrank her neck slightly and leaned back. She seemed to think that what he said made sense. How could a prince possibly know how to cook?
"Then I'll do it." Jiang Chaoyu suddenly felt that Zeng Chenhua was doing it on purpose. He clearly couldn't cook, yet he gave the chef a day off. It was really despicable.
"You can?" Zeng Chenhua asked, somewhat incredulous.
Seeing Zeng Chenhua's disbelieving look, Jiang Chaoyu was determined to prove him wrong. "Who don't you believe? I'll show you." Jiang Chaoyu broke free from Zeng Chenhua's grasp, jumped off the bed, and ran out.
Jiang Chaoyu tried to recall the cooking techniques she had used before, but she couldn't remember them. She was very skilled at handling the kitchen utensils, but she almost burned her hair when she tried to start a fire. She finally succeeded, but the fire was a bit too big.
Zeng Chenhua watched from the side with a smile on his lips, which made Jiang Chaoyu uncomfortable. She pushed him out of the kitchen, saying, "Don't bother me here. If the food doesn't turn out well, it'll be your fault."
"Okay, okay."
Finally, with no one in the kitchen, Jiang Chaoyu felt no pressure. She was a little rusty at first, but gradually got into the swing of things and easily made three dishes.
"Ta-da!"
Zeng Chenhua looked at the slightly burnt dish in front of him and listened to Jiang Chaoyu's explanation, but it seemed that only by listening to the explanation could he figure out what the dish was.
Using chopsticks, he picked up a dark, round dumpling. "Is this a lion's head?"
Seeing Zeng Chenhua's somewhat incredulous expression, Jiang Chaoyu nodded solemnly, "Of course, isn't it amazing? You're the first person to eat my cooking."
Jiang Chaoyu's words secretly pleased Zeng Chenhua, who hadn't expected to be the first. "It's my honor," he said.
After saying that, he put it in his mouth. The burnt taste spread from the tip of his tongue to his entire mouth, and finally it was a little spicy. The more he chewed, the spicier it became. However, Zeng Chenhua looked at Jiang Chaoyu looking at him with great expectation and found that he couldn't say it.
"tasty."
Hearing the satisfactory answer, Jiang Chaoyu was a little smug, so she picked one up and put it in her mouth, but found it a bit mushy and spat it out.
He pushed the plate of food in front of Zeng Chenhua and said with a grin, "Since it's delicious, eat more."
Zeng Chenhua, who had just managed to swallow the food, was now at a loss for words. His chopsticks paused, and he couldn't bring himself to eat.
"We need some soup, I'll show you how." Unable to eat any more, Zeng Chenhua quickly offered to make soup.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chaoyu sensed something was wrong. Looking at Zeng Chenhua's back, she knew it must have been Zeng Chenhua's doing. Why would a cook who was supposed to be cooking be resting?
You didn't expect this, did you? You ended up outsmarting yourself.
However, she herself couldn't eat the dishes in front of her, which really put Zeng Chenhua in a difficult position.
She wanted to see how good Zeng Chenhua's cooking was. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she smelled a delicious aroma. It seemed that Zeng Chenhua was quite skilled in cooking.
Jiang Chaoyu stood quietly with her arms crossed, watching Zeng Chenhua cook. The kitchen was filled with the aroma of cooking as soon as someone was there, making her mouth water. She craned her neck to see what Zeng Chenhua was doing.
Zeng Chenhua seemed to sense that Jiang Chaoyu was behind him, so he turned around, smiled at her, walked up to her, and pulled her inside.
Would you like to try some?
"Yes." The smell was so enticing that Jiang Chaoyu couldn't resist trying it.
The moment I tasted it, I realized that Zeng Chenhua really could cook; the food looked, smelled, and tasted amazing. I was a little curious about how he had learned.
When did you learn that?
Seeing Jiang Chaoyu's satisfied expression, Zeng Chenhua knew that he had done a good job. "Before, no one took care of me, so I had to rely on myself to survive. Wild grass growing in the cracks was all my food, and I learned to do it over time."
"It must have been very tough." He almost froze to death on the palace walls back then, but he survived on his own.
Zeng Chenhua gently hugged Jiang Chaoyu from behind, "Since I met you, I feel that my life has become a little sweeter."
Jiang Chaoyu felt him gently rest her head on her shoulder, and then heard him say, "I was a little angry before, so I let the cook leave, but you don't seem to have noticed my emotions."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chaoyu was surprised that Zeng Chenhua would say it so directly. So, when he said he wanted to rest, he was angry. No wonder he seemed strange before. "Why?"
“We’re husband and wife now, but I feel like you don’t realize that. I was waiting for you to have dinner, and I really wanted to start by having a proper meal with you.”
Jiang Chaoyu left Zeng Chenhua's embrace, turned around to look at him, and took his hand. "I'm sorry, I'm still not used to it. I know how good you are to me, and I will be good to you in the future."
Looking at Zeng Chenhua with a determined gaze, as if he had made a decision, he kissed Zeng Chenhua's lips before Zeng Chenhua could react.
With her eyes closed and her feet on tiptoe, she naturally kissed Zeng Chenhua. At that moment, she could only hear her own heartbeat, beating so clearly. But when Zeng Chenhua realized what was happening and wanted to deepen the kiss, Jiang Chaoyu stopped with a light touch, reminding him with a sweet smile, "Your soup is almost gone."
The two exchanged a smile, and Jiang Chaoyu stopped eating her burnt food, instead praising Zeng Chenhua's cooking skills. Perhaps pleased, Zeng Chenhua prepared several more dishes, all of which looked and smelled delicious.
Jiang Chaoyu would add whatever looked delicious to Zeng Chenhua's bowl until it was full, only then did she realize she couldn't put any more in.
"Eat quickly!" Jiang Chaoyu urged Zeng Chenhua, guessing that he hadn't eaten lunch and must be very hungry.
"Okay." Zeng Chenhua silently quickened his pace to eat the food Jiang Chaoyu added. Jiang Chaoyu also temporarily forgot her task and focused entirely on making sure Zeng Chenhua ate well.
Jiang Chaoyu pondered, but still didn't reveal their affair; this matter could only be won, not lost.
She just smiled and said, "Eat more."
The wind rustled the treetops, and leaves fell one by one. A palace maid was sweeping up the fallen leaves nearby.
"Hurry up, it's the Princess's birthday banquet, we can't be careless." The palace servant in charge urged, and the other palace servants had no choice but to speed up their work.
Although the princess has been ill for many years, today's banquet still shows the emperor's high regard for her. However, it is said that envoys from neighboring countries have all come to offer their congratulations.
However, at dawn, Princess Xu Huanong was being served by her maids, and a makeup artist was applying makeup to her to conceal her illness. Looking at herself in the bronze mirror, Xu Huanong felt that the illness, which had been a disguise, seemed to have seeped into her body and become a part of her.
"Princess, please smile so I can apply lipstick for you."
Upon hearing this, Xu Huanong managed a weak smile, but her eyes remained as calm and somewhat lifeless as the water in a deep pool.
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