Chapter 136: Little Xie is so annoying

"I understand. If there is a chance, I will persuade him." As a good friend, Xie Hui did not want to see Zhou Zhongan getting deeper and deeper into a hopeless situation, especially since he was a person who could not hide things. If he continued like this, it would not be good for both of them.

Shen Yuan nodded and didn't say much. After all, she wasn't very familiar with Zhou Zhongan. That was all she had to say. She just hoped Xie Hui could persuade him.

"This greenhouse is so big..."

When Shen Yuan first heard Xie Hui mention the greenhouse, she imagined it was a small house. But when she arrived, she realized that it was clearly a yard.

"My mother likes these flowers and plants. When she has nothing to do at home, she often comes to see them."

“It’s really beautiful.”

Shen Yuan felt that her eyes were almost not enough. Everywhere was beautiful and she simply couldn't see it all. Moreover, there were many flowers that she had never seen before and she couldn't even name them. She could only say that they were beautiful.

“If you like, you can take some home.”

Shen Yuan glanced at Xie Hui and said, "These flowers belong to my aunt, not to you."

"If you want, she would be happy to give you not only flowers but the entire greenhouse."

"I don't want that. Let the flowers live with their friends. Besides, I don't know how to keep such precious flowers."

The heater in the greenhouse was very hot, and Shen Yuan was wearing thick winter clothes. He felt sweat on his back after just a short while.

"Is it hot?"

Seeing Shen Yuan nod, Xie Hui naturally reached out and took her hand and walked to the next room.

"Just get out. It's easy to catch a cold from the sudden change in temperature. This room doesn't have a heating system. Sit here for a while before you go out."

The touch of his palm was delicate and soft. Xie Hui was careful to control his strength. His hands were rough from practicing martial arts.

The hard coil in Xie Hui's palm scratched Shen Yuan, making her palm feel itchy. It was more like Shen Yuan's hand was being held in Xie Hui's hand rather than their hands being clasped.

Shen Yuan is a southern girl. Both of her parents were born and raised in the south. So in the capital, she looks smaller than other girls of the same age.

But when I think about how tall my brother is, I start to wonder if it’s just a difference between the north and the south.

"Brother Youqi, please spread your hands out for me to see."

The two of them sat down, and Xie Hui followed his instructions and spread out his hands, palms facing up.

Shen Yuan also spread out his hand, with the back of his hand facing up, and overlapped it with Xie Hui's hand. It was obvious that the two hands were very different in size.

"Your hands are so big, Brother Youqi, were you not a picky eater when you were a kid?"

Xie Hui smiled and said, "Yes, my mother said that when I was a child, I ate like a piglet. I could eat since I was born. She was afraid that I would be too fat and ugly, so she made me practice martial arts. So I didn't gain weight, but I ate more."

Xie Hui remembered that when his grandmother was still alive, she told him that when his mother gave birth to him, she was very enthusiastic about feeding him herself, but after feeding him just once, she threw him to the wet nurse and said that he drank like a pig.

Hearing what Xie Hui said, Shen Yuan thought of a big fat boy who ate three bowls of rice in one meal and wanted another bowl after finishing it. Thinking about it, he wanted to laugh.

"Eat more and you will grow taller."

"Do you think I'm too short?" Shen Yuan knew that Xie Hui didn't mean that, she just did it on purpose. She even wanted to reach out and pinch the soft flesh on Xie Hui's palm, but after groping for a long time, she found that there was no soft flesh on Xie Hui's palm at all.

"No! It's fine as it is, but eating more is good for your body and makes you stronger."

Feeling Shen Yuan's soft fingertips rubbing his palm, Xie Hui appeared calm, but in fact his other hand was about to crush the back of the chair.

Fortunately, a servant came in quickly and "rescued" Xie Hui.

"Master, Miss Shen, the princess said dinner is ready."

"Manman, come quickly and sit next to your aunt."

Shen Yuan walked closer and was dumbfounded when he saw the dishes on the table. Is this a Manchu-Han banquet?

Although the portion of each dish was not large, the entire table was filled with various dishes. It seemed that no two dishes were the same. There were even some places in the middle where there was no room for more food.

"You can pick up whatever you like. In our family, there are no rules for eating, and we don't need anyone to wait on us. If you can't pick up something, just stand up and pick it up by turning around."

When Shen Yuan came in, he did not see any servants in the room. Only the princess and Lord Xie were in the room.

"Aunt, this is too rich."

"Well, I told the kitchen to make more delicious food, including your favorite fish. The kitchen must have heard that you, a distinguished guest, were visiting, so they did their best to make a lot more. But the quantity is not much, so you can have a bite anyway."

There are so many ways to cook fish, including fish head tofu soup, braised fish, chopped pepper fish head, boiled fish balls, fish slices, and fish hotpot. Knowing that Shen Yuan loves fish, they put all the fish in front of her.

Shen Yuan felt that after this meal, she would grow a cat's tail.

But it’s delicious! As expected of a chef from the palace, his cooking skills are excellent!

"When you two get married, I will ask Chef Cai Yu from the palace to come and cook for you. Chef Cai Yu is known as Cai Yidao, and his cooking skills are better than Chef Feng at home now!"

Xie Hui swallowed a mouthful of rice silently. Chef Cai Yu was the one who cooked for the emperor. His mother was really picky. But Xie Hui would not object. After all, Chef Cai Yu's cooking skills were really good. Xie Hui pulled out a wooden fish from his mind and knocked it, then happily accepted it.

In the palace.

"Deqing, why do I feel a chill on my back? Is it because the window is not closed?"

"The windows are all closed, Your Majesty. Please put on more clothes. Even though the fire is burning, you still have to be careful."

The emperor was having dinner originally, but being interrupted felt it was boring to eat alone, so he simply put down his chopsticks.

"Send the sedan chair. I want to go sit in the Queen's Palace. Eating alone is always tasteless."

The Emperor knew that the Empress had been paying less attention to him recently, but he felt that the Empress was much more interesting now than before.

(Princess Kang Le said: People are just mean sometimes.)

"The Emperor has arrived—"

The Queen was also about to have dinner, and she was not the only one there. When she heard that the Emperor was coming, she put down the chopsticks she had just picked up.

"Oh, my beloved Consort is here too. That's great. Let's have a good meal together."

The emperor walked in and sat down by himself, sitting in the seat above the empress.

"This food is delicious. There's also wine? You two seem to be interested."

"Today, the noble concubine came to me to discuss the wedding ceremony. Today is the sixth day of the first lunar month, and the eighth day is an auspicious day. There are still many things that I have not figured out."

"The prince's wedding will be taken care of by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department. That's what they do, so nothing can go wrong."

The Queen and Consort Xiangui nodded in agreement, but neither of them listened to what the Emperor said. As a mother, how could she ignore everything that happened to her son when he got married and think that he would be like his father?

"Why are you all standing? Sit down and eat together." The emperor called out and picked up the chopsticks to eat.

"Your Majesty, I have used those chopsticks before."

"Really? We are an old married couple, why do we still care about this? I don't mind you."

——Small Theater

The maid who went into the greenhouse to tidy up things said: How come this good chair is cracked?