As for Zhong Mingwei, he was really angry, but not at Ah Chou. He was angry at himself. Ah Chou kept saying that other men were enjoying themselves and ordering women to do things, but which other men didn't go to the fields to work and go to the river to fish? He certainly didn't have the ability to farm or fish. He was already feeling unhappy, so he naturally looked for work every day. One reason was to reduce Ah Chou's burden. The other was to find a balance in his heart, but Ah Chou felt wronged for him again, but what was there for him to feel wronged about? He just liked doing these odd things. He liked to be busy for this family and Ah Chou, what was there to feel wronged about?
"Stop burning it, the soup is almost dry." Achou reminded Zhong Mingwei in a low voice.
"Oh." Zhong Mingwei responded, while using a fire fork to put out the fire in the stove.
"Zhong Mingwei. Are you... angry?" Ah Chou couldn't help but ask, "Did I say something wrong?"
Zhong Mingwei looked at Ah Chou's lips, which were tense because of nervousness, and felt distressed and irritated. He didn't like Ah Chou's cautious expression. He hoped that Ah Chou could always hold up his chest proudly in front of him. Compared with being looked up at nervously by Ah Chou, he actually hoped that Ah Chou could look at him calmly or even put him under his feet.
"It's New Year's Day, why should I be angry?" Zhong Mingwei pursed his lips helplessly. He scooped a pancake for Ah Chou and said, "Eat it quickly, and then we can stay up all night to celebrate the New Year."
"Yeah." Ah Chou finally breathed a sigh of relief. While eating the pancake, he looked at Zhong Mingwei with a smile, "How did you stay up all night in previous years?"
"In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, with my father, the imperial concubines, and the other princes and princesses," Zhong Mingwei was also eating a pancake while he spoke to Ah Chou about the past in a slow voice, without any emotion, as if he was telling someone else's story. "Every New Year's Eve, there is a palace-wide dinner in the palace. From the hour of Wu to the hour of Zi, all the royal relatives must enter the palace to attend. Only when the dinner ends at the hour of Zi can they leave the palace."
"The palace banquet lasted for three hours!" Ah Feng said, unable to hide his shock, and asked eagerly, "How many delicious dishes will we have to eat in three hours?"
"Girl, you never forget to eat," Zhong Mingwei couldn't help but curl his lips. He stretched out his hand to pinch Ah Chou's pale cheek and continued, "In fact, the food at the palace banquet is the worst. Even if you are hungry, no one is willing to eat a few more bites."
"Why is that?" Ah Chou was puzzled. "It's a palace banquet, the food must be especially delicious. In the past, when Eunuch Xie would leave me some cakes and dumplings, I would want to swallow them. What's more, it's the food from the palace banquet, it must be even more delicious!"
"What if it's in front of His Majesty?" Zhong Mingwei still smiled and gently pinched Ah Chou's round and upturned nose. "Will you still only think about eating?"
"If that's the case..." Ah Chou tilted his head and pondered for a while, then hurriedly shook his head, with a look of horror as if he had seen a ghost, "Then I definitely won't eat it! I wouldn't dare to pick up my chopsticks even if I'm beaten to death!"
"I just remembered something. Look how scared you are." As Zhong Mingwei said this, he stood up, held the edge of the kang, and climbed onto it.
"I'm reminded of the former maids in the Yanxi Palace," Ah Chou was still in shock. While helping Zhong Mingwei sit down, he continued to mutter, "When I saw those maids, my calves would cramp and I was so scared. If it was His Majesty, wouldn't I be scared to death? Not to mention eating!"
"How did they bully you in the past?" Zhong Mingwei felt a pain in his heart when he saw Achou's appearance. He obviously didn't want to open Achou's old scars, but he still couldn't help asking.
"They didn't bully me, but I'm... born timid. Whenever I meet a powerful person, I get nervous," Ah Chou muttered, taking a handkerchief to wipe the hands of the two men. "When I see someone glaring at me, I get so scared that I want to kneel down," Ah Chou said, glancing at the man embarrassedly, "Do you think I'm born to be a slave?"
"So, whenever I light a fire or fold a quilt, you can't stand it?" Zhong Mingwei said softly, pulling Ah Chou to rest his head on his thighs.
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