At that moment, Zhao Ruhai brought in an embroidered cushion for the two of them. Zhong Mingwei and Mei Ya sat down, and Zhao Ruhai served them tea. Then the room became quiet. Perhaps it was because the silence lasted too long that no one knew how to start the conversation. Zhong Zhiheng sat upright in the upper seat, holding a tea bowl and lowering his head to scoop up the tea. Zhong Ming'e also sat there quietly and scooped up the tea slowly. Neither of them had any intention of starting a conversation. Mei Ya, on the other hand, had already broken out in a cold sweat. It was her first time meeting the emperor, so she was tense and did not dare to relax. She just sat there straight, and of course she did not dare to drink a sip of the tea. Instead, she saw Zhong Mingwei drinking most of the cup with relish.
"How about this tea?" Zhong Zhiheng suddenly asked, and this question was naturally directed to Zhong Mingwei.
"To answer your father's question, the tea is very good," Zhong Mingwei put down the tea bowl and said slowly while looking at Zhong Zhiheng, "It should be the Mingqian tea, which is rich and fragrant, and leaves a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth."
In the past, Zhong Mingwei would never dare to speak to Zhong Zhiheng so calmly. Whenever he was alone with Zhong Zhiheng, he was always nervous and cautious, afraid of saying a wrong word and angering the emperor. But now he seemed to have become a different person. Perhaps it was because his mentality was different and he no longer needed to ask for anything from Zhong Zhiheng, so he was no longer so afraid. Or perhaps it was because Zhong Zhiheng had already aged.
Yes, Zhong Zhiheng looked much older, with gray and white hair, a wrinkled face, and dim eyes, all of which showed his aging. In fact, Zhong Zhiheng was not like this two months ago, but since he fainted in the imperial study and woke up that day, Zhong Zhiheng began to age rapidly. Qin Lu was so anxious that his hair turned whiter and faster than Zhong Zhiheng's. He made three trips a day to deliver medicine to the imperial study, but Zhong Zhiheng stopped drinking it after two days. He always thought that he was afraid of aging, but when he really started to age, he didn't feel that scared, but felt very calm instead.
After another long pause, Zhong Zhiheng spoke again: "What kind of tea did you drink in Ningguta?"
Zhong Mingwei was stunned. He really didn't expect Zhong Zhiheng to ask such a question. He was at a loss for words for a moment. Meiya was anxious watching from the side. She wanted to push Zhong Mingwei, but there was a two-foot wide space between them. Meiya was worried that Zhong Zhiheng would be angry, so she said, "In reply to your Majesty, the prince likes to drink jasmine in spring and summer, and in autumn and winter, he mostly drinks barley tea cooked by me."
"Barley tea?" Zhong Zhiheng's eyes fell on Mei Ya. "How did you make it?"
Mei Ya had just answered for Zhong Mingwei out of anxiety. Now seeing Zhong Zhiheng questioning her again, she was so scared that she dared not say a word. She quickly turned to look at Zhong Mingwei, her face already looking like she was about to cry.
"It's just a simple meal in the countryside, not worth mentioning," Zhong Mingwei said, and said to Zhong Zhiheng in a deep voice, "Father, if there is nothing else, I will go to pay homage to the Queen Mother first."
"Okay." Zhong Zhiheng nodded.
"Yes, I'll take my leave." At that moment, Zhong Mingwei and Mei Ya stood up, bowed and left.
Zhong Zhiheng looked at Zhong Mingwei's slightly limping leg, his lips trembling, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, until Zhong Mingwei and Mei Ya left, he still didn't utter a word.
…
"Was I extremely embarrassed just now?" Mei Ya said to Zhong Mingwei in frustration only after she walked down the stairs and saw that there was no one around.
"How could that be?" Zhong Mingwei couldn't help laughing. He stretched out his hand to adjust Mei Ya's moon-white double-embroidered palace dress. It was the first time for Mei Ya to wear such luxurious clothes. She felt a little uncomfortable with every move. "You are much better than I used to be. In the past, I didn't even dare to breathe in front of my father."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
