Immediately, footsteps approached from afar.
When Mingyue opened her eyes, she saw many palace maids and eunuchs placing dishes on the table.
"Your Majesty, it's time to get up and have your meal."
Duobao gently helped Mingyue to her feet, afraid that she might use even the slightest bit of strength.
Those who didn't know the truth thought Duobao was a dutiful palace maid, but who could know that she harbored ill intentions?
"Alright!" Mingyue obeyed her and, supported by palace maids and eunuchs, slowly walked towards the round dining table.
However, she stopped in her tracks at that moment, squinting at the dishes in front of her.
The braised pork belly was full of fat, and there were many fried foods. Even the vegetables were stir-fried with vegetable oil.
As expected, it was exactly as she had imagined.
But he didn't show any dissatisfaction. Instead, he sat down, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of braised pork, put it in his mouth, chewed it carefully, and showed a satisfied expression on his face.
"How does Your Highness find it? Is it to your liking?" Duobao asked with a sly look on his face.
Mingyue nodded with a smile, "The taste is excellent, I love it!"
Hearing this, Duobao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled brightly, "If Your Majesty likes to eat, then eat more."
Then, more palace maids brought out dishes, which Mingyue ate with great relish.
After the meal, Mingyue patted her belly and let out a satisfied burp.
Seeing the empty plates all over the table, Mingyue was happy, and Duobao was even happier.
Unfortunately, Duobao was too happy too soon; Mingyue already had a plan to mess with her.
Just then, Mingyue's face suddenly turned ugly, and she hurriedly ordered, "Quickly, bring me a spittoon!"
Upon hearing this, Duobao hesitated to take a single step forward. In the end, a palace maid went to the side hall and picked up the spittoon.
Despite vomiting a lot of filth, Mingyue's face remained deathly pale. She covered her mouth and gagged a few times before gradually regaining her color.
"Ugh..." She vomited several more mouthfuls of filth until her throat felt sore, which relieved the discomfort slightly.
"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Duobao asked with concern, but inwardly cursed: What an idiot, he can't even keep her from eating lunch.
"It's nothing!" Mingyue shook her head weakly. "It's probably just nausea from the greasy food."
"What should we do! Your Majesty, you are carrying the imperial heir. If you eat and then vomit, how will the fetus get any nutrition? What if it becomes weak and sickly like the previous prince?" Duobao seemed worried, but in reality, he had ulterior motives.
Upon hearing this, Mingyue gradually understood why the original owner, as an empress, would force herself to eat such greasy food. It was entirely because of her deep love for her son. She had already lost her first son and absolutely could not lose a second one.
These malicious people take advantage of this.
So she said, "In that case, Duobao, go to the imperial kitchen and prepare some more dishes for me."
Upon hearing this, Duobao's eyes lit up, and he quickly agreed, about to run out the door.
At this moment, Mingyue called out to her again, "While you're at it, clean the spittoon."
Instantly, Duobao's face darkened, but what could she do? No matter how stupid the person in front of her was, she was still the Empress, and how could she disobey her orders?
"This servant obeys the decree!" Duobao walked back reluctantly.
Looking at the basin full of undigested filth, she almost vomited, muttering to herself, "What a waste! They can't possibly eat that much, yet they insist on eating so much."
Although she spoke very softly, Mingyue still heard her.
After waiting for so long, Mingyue was finally getting to hear those words. Upon hearing them, she smiled slightly and said, "Duobao, are you saying I'm wasteful?"
Duobao was startled and said in a panic, "I wouldn't dare! Your Highness must have misheard me."
She wondered to herself: Are those bat ears? How can she hear such a soft voice?
Mingyue snorted coldly, shook her head, and said with unwavering conviction, "I couldn't have misheard."
Ke Duobao still tried to argue, "Your Majesty must have misheard."
"Is that so?" Mingyue raised her delicate eyebrows like willow leaves and continued, "Then swear that you never said those words. If you are lying, you will surely die bleeding from all seven orifices in the future."
"This..." Duobao began to hesitate. When did Mingyue become so serious?
"Hurry up!" Mingyue urged, "I'm waiting for you to swear an oath."
Duobao gritted her teeth, cursing inwardly, but said aloud, "This servant...this servant swears..."
But the Manchus believed in oaths, and she was afraid that the oath would come true, so she dared not continue.
"It seems he did say that," Mingyue mocked. "Why not just admit it directly? Why beat around the bush and force me to take it so seriously?"
"Yes! This servant admits to saying that." Duobao nodded, then added, "But so what? What this servant said was the truth. Would Your Majesty punish this servant for such a trivial matter?"
She was quite clever, but even she couldn't outwit Mingyue; Mingyue guessed every single word she said.
"The truth?" Mingyue's smile faded. "I'll listen carefully to what the truth is."
Upon seeing this, Duobao's heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling, but he still said, "Your Majesty's meal costs at least two taels of silver, which is enough for a commoner's family to eat for a month. How can this not be a waste?"
"Oh?" Mingyue stood up and stroked her large belly. "You are indeed frugal, but I did not waste money on purpose. Everyone saw it. You still say such things to me. It seems that you no longer respect me."
"This servant dares not!" An unprecedented sense of oppression suddenly rushed into Duobao's heart, her legs went weak, and she knelt down.
But then Mingyue laughed again, "I was just joking, Duobao, how can you be so easily frightened?"
Hearing this, Duobao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She still believed that Mingyue was the same foolish Mingyue as before. People can't change overnight. As for the feeling she just had, she thought it was just her imagination.
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