48 Chapter 48
◎That's what I ate.◎
"...Why does the princess ask this?"
Xu Qinghe looked at the person opposite her for a moment, but there was nothing unusual on his face, and he even raised his eyebrows at her with a smile.
"Prince Wei, do you know what the Longevity Fruit is?"
Wei Che suddenly smiled in understanding. "So that's why. Princess, are you trying to say that only people in the southern border call peanuts 'longevity nuts', and I just happened to have called them that in the past?"
Xu Qinghe didn't reply, which was considered as his agreement.
Wei Che continued, "I've never been to the Southern Territory, but I once knew a girl who grew up in the Southern Territory. Like the princess, she couldn't eat the immortal fruit, or peanuts."
He had indeed mentioned to Xu Qinghe that he knew a girl who would get a rash all over her body after eating the longevity fruit.
Since the girl grew up in the southern border, it is not surprising that he called peanuts "longevity nuts".
She nodded, acknowledging his statement.
After all, it was the most popular inn in town, so the dishes ordered by their table were quickly served one by one. Because Wei Che asked to add more spicy food, the food looked very good. The golden chicken was particularly bright in color and had a rich aroma that made people's mouths water.
When Xu Qinghe was in the Empress Dowager's palace, she had to take care of the old lady's eating habits, and most of her food was light.
Now, when I suddenly ate such food with a lot of chili peppers, I couldn’t stand it for a while, and my eyes were wet because of the spiciness.
Wei Che was startled and blamed himself for not thinking carefully. He quickly poured her several cups of tea to reduce the spiciness.
"Don't eat, don't eat. Let's change to a lighter meal." He frowned, took another handkerchief, leaned over and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Xu Qinghe stepped back slightly, took out a handkerchief from her bosom to wipe her tears, but shook her head: "No need, since it has been served, why shouldn't I eat it?"
Besides, if we just retreat like this, wouldn’t it be a waste of food and money?
In fact, her body just couldn't stand such spiciness for a while, but she still missed it very much in her heart. She immediately stretched out her chopsticks to the spicy boiled fish that was obviously covered with a layer of chili oil.
Wei Che widened his eyes and swallowed, watching her face flush red from the spicy taste.
He was surprised and helpless at first, but seeing her eyes were crying from the spiciness but still refusing to admit defeat, he couldn't help but find her cute.
Finally it looks a bit like the old days.
Seeing that she was having difficulty eating, he asked the waiter for another bowl of rice to relieve the spiciness.
Xu Qinghe still remembered the princess's etiquette and didn't want to lose face in front of outsiders, so she ate slowly and carefully, and the spiciness in her mouth accumulated more and more.
But the spicier it was, the more she wanted to eat it, and she even used a spoon to pour a spoonful of soup from the fish soup and mix it with the rice.
Wei Che: ...
Fish soup with rice is delicious, but how can it relieve the spiciness?
But she was eating with great relish, and he didn't dare to stop her.
"Just eat a couple of bites, be careful not to hurt your stomach." After everyone tasted all the dishes on the table, Wei Che knew that she didn't eat much because she took small bites, but he didn't dare let her eat any more, so he quickly reached out and held down her chopsticks.
"There are many snacks on the street outside. I'll take you there later."
He refilled Xu Qinghe's tea and waited until she stopped using her chopsticks to wipe her lips before he started eating again. He even took the unfinished bowl of rice from her.
This startled Xu Qinghe. After she reacted, she wanted to snatch the bowl back, but the other party had already started talking. She could only look away awkwardly, pinching the corner of her clothes and pretending to look at the scenery outside.
"That's... something I've eaten," she began.
Wei Che didn't take it seriously and put a piece of chicken into his bowl. "So what? You and I will be husband and wife sooner or later. Do you still care about this?"
"..." Xu Qinghe couldn't think of any suitable words to refute and could only look out the window silently.
After lunch, it was almost noon. There were no more stalls selling goods in the town than in the morning. Xu Qinghe hadn't walked on such a street for a long time, so everything he saw seemed new to him.
Naturally, she didn't have any money on her, as her purses were with Nanzhi. But now Nanzhi was no longer around, so the issue of money had to be solved by Wei Che.
This prince was truly wealthy and powerful. Almost as soon as she took a look at something, that thing would be delivered to her the next moment.
The delicious and fragrant Taigu cakes, the sweet and soft honey three-knife, the fresh and tender donkey meat hot bread and the refreshing and tasty winter melon honey, each one made her love it, but she really couldn't put it down.
"Wei Che...Wei Che, enough, enough."
Seeing Wei Che leisurely walking towards the pastry shop again, Xu Qinghe quickly grabbed his sleeve and looked up: "That's enough."
Wei Che said, "I'm not asking you to eat them all now, just take them back to the palace. If you like these, I can buy them from outside and send them to you in the palace every day. I guarantee they'll be fresh and delicious."
As soon as he finished speaking, he strode towards the shop and bought another bag of Longjing tea cakes.
Xu Qinghe was holding a fragrant donkey meat hot bun in her hand. There was only a small tooth mark on the round bun, which was the one she couldn't help but take a bite of when the bun was first handed to her.
"Why don't you eat it anymore? Don't you like it?"
Xu Qinghe shook his head, his eyes quickly scanning the people coming and going around him, and he pursed his lips, not knowing how to express his concerns.
She was used to eating elegantly indoors and couldn't stand on the busy street to eat.
Wei Che understood and laughed, "My Lord, you are being too pretentious."
She wasn't like this before.
The little princess was raised in the prince's palace. She was free at first, but the prince and princess were busy with government affairs and rarely had the opportunity to take her out on the street.
Instead, it was Wei Che's mother who often took the little princess and her young son to the street to play. At that time, the little princess was spoiled by everyone, and when she saw something on the street that she had never seen in the mansion, she would clamor to buy it.
If it likes some food, it will take a few bites the moment it gets it, and its little cheeks will be filled with food.
But now, the girl was obviously eager to eat, but she still forced herself not to move.
Wei Che had no choice but to choose a nearby wonton shop. The shop was very clean and tidy. The owner was a gentle woman in her thirties. The business was very prosperous. There happened to be only one empty table left.
"Madam, two bowls of wontons."
He looked at Xu Qinghe and smiled meaningfully: "Want more spiciness?"
Xu Qinghe seemed not to have expected him to ask this, but when she thought of the long-lost spiciness just now, she swallowed subconsciously in her throat.
This is what I want.
Wei Che deliberately said, "Small portion, no spicy food."
Xu Qinghe glared at him and said to the proprietress, "Could you please make my bowl spicier? Thank you."
The proprietress looked at the two of them with a smile, a teasing glint in her eyes.
Wei Che naturally compromised, raised his chin in Xu Qinghe's direction, and said, "Listen to her."
Although it was a compromise, this person did not feel humiliated at all. Instead, he felt somewhat complacent.
The proprietress sighed and praised, "The young master really loves his wife."
"Alas, that's not the case." Wei Che said with a smile, "I'm not doting on my wife, I'm just henpecked. If I displease this ancestor, I'll have a hard time when I get home."
The proprietress laughed heartily a few times, left to go to the stove to cook wontons, and less than half a quarter of an hour later she brought up two bowls of steaming wontons.
A bowl of red chili oil exudes an enticing aroma, making the other bowl look even lighter.
Xu Qinghe took the bowl with spicy sauce and ate it with the still warm donkey meat hotpot.
The donkey meat hot pot was only the size of a palm, and there were only about ten wontons in the bowl. Combined with what she had just eaten in the inn, she felt a little full.
There were still two wontons left in the bowl. She looked up at Wei Che, and there was not a single wonton left in his bowl.
Wei Che raised his lips and said, "Why? Princess, you still want me to help you clean up?"
Xu Qinghe didn't dare to use it again, so he quickly scooped up two wontons and put them in his mouth, then drank a few mouthfuls of the salty, spicy wonton soup.
Whether it was the donkey meat hotpot or the hot wontons, they both treated her stomach to a great treat, and finally brought a bit of warmth to her usually cold features.
Wei Che propped up his chin and looked at her, the smile on his lips growing deeper.
On the way back, there were more food in large and small packages. Wei Che tied all the things to the back of his horse.
He looked at Xu Qinghe, who was walking slowly behind him, and asked, "Princess, could you give me a ride?"
Actually, both horses are his, so there is no question of whether to carry them or not.
"My horse is used to pull carts. It doesn't have a saddle, so it's very uncomfortable to sit on." He added, without pretending to be aggrieved, but still with a smile on his face.
Xu Qinghe knew it, he was clearly teasing her.
She grabbed the reins and mounted the horse without even looking at him: "You gave me the red horse, and you were the one who wanted to unload the cart and ride it to catch up. What does it have to do with me?"
Wei Che also jumped onto the horse lightly with his toes. For a young general who had fought on the battlefield, what was the big deal about riding a horse without a saddle?
He chased after Xu Qinghe, pretending to complain: "My princess is so cruel? Who am I chasing after? I'm just worried that you'll be lonely and scared. What will happen if another accident happens?"
After all, he had just had a meal, so Xu Qinghe didn't indulge in the carefree joy of coming here, and just rode his horse slowly.
Wei Che kept complaining to himself, sometimes mentioning that he had brought her out with good intentions but she gave him the cold shoulder, sometimes talking about how he had paid for all their meals and expenses, and sometimes complaining about her being cruel and walking in front of him alone without even looking at him.
"You should at least take a look at the food on the horse's back. These are all the ones you like and the ones you like."
He stared at Xu Qinghe's thin back and talked non-stop.
"At least give me a smile, Princess."
Xu Qinghe turned a deaf ear and didn't even look at him.
Her silence frightened Wei Che, who hurriedly tightened his grip on his horse to catch up. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that she looked normal. "I thought the princess was mad at me again."
"The prince took me out of the palace, lent me a BMW and gave me food. Qinghe is so grateful that she can't express it all. How dare she be angry with the prince?" Xu Qinghe said.
Wei Che, a tall and slender man, quickly reached out and grabbed her reins, pulling the horse to a stop. He cautiously probed, "Are you angry?"
Xu Qinghe just looked straight ahead and still didn't look at him.
Wei Che explained, "It was all a joke just now. I just wanted to tease you. It was my own free will to take you out of the palace, and it was my own free will to spend money on you. It was all my own free will. Don't take it to heart."
Xu Qinghe finally looked over, her eyes cold. "Tease me? I'm neither a singer nor a dancer. Why do you have to say these things and joke with me, Prince? Are you treating me like one of your former confidantes and teasing me?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
