Chapter 12
In the end, Ling Huanchen was once again carried back to the bedroom by Yu Xi. He wanted to tell Yu Xi that he wanted to leave on his own, but perhaps because he sensed the unknown emotions revealed by Yu Xi, he swallowed all the words back.
Could it be that Yu Xi was reminded of something from his childhood story and that was why he lost his composure like that?
After sending Ling Huanchen back, Yu Xi did not stay for long and hurried to the study.
When no one was around, he took out a palm-sized mahogany box and opened the lid. Inside was a dazzling red bead. The bead was crystal clear, not something that could be found on ordinary people.
Yu Xi held it in his palm and examined it carefully, and suddenly the corners of his lips rose slightly.
When he was eleven years old, the nightmare of his life began, but there was also a glimmer of hope in surviving the nightmare.
Ling Huanchen is his life force.
Since his mother passed away, he has been dependent on his younger brother Yu Zhao. In the huge Palace of King You, without their mother's protection, their lives are not easy, and it can even be said that they are facing many crises.
The new queen had given birth to a son for her father, who was in great favor. The father loved his son as much as he loved his wife, and he showed even more love to his son, while the two brothers became redundant.
One year, a terrible event occurred in Youcheng, leaving the people destitute. The new queen seized this opportunity to bribe the high priest and set up a trap. Without even a second thought, their father, the king, agreed to the advice of the new queen and the high priest.
If Ling Huanchen had not appeared, he would have become a corpse in the deep sea.
After surviving the disaster, Yu Xi returned to the Youcheng Palace. From then on, he began to bide his time and make secret arrangements, and finally made sure that those who had plotted against him would not have a good end.
After he ascended the throne, he sent people to the seaside to inquire about the whereabouts of the child, but found nothing.
No wonder he couldn’t find out anything, it turned out that his benefactor was a mermaid.
"Someone come."
Upon hearing the voice, Fu Changshi immediately entered and said, "Your Majesty, please give your orders."
Yu Xi's expression was serious, and he spoke in the same solemn tone he usually used when discussing matters with court officials, "Go and search for books about the mermaids. No matter how big or small, bring back everything that mentions them."
"I obey your command."
Fu Changshi retreated respectfully, his heart beating with anxiety. Even though he had served the king for many years, he was not sure what the king was thinking at the moment.
Could it be that the young prince of the mermaid tribe had incurred the wrath of the Holy Lord, and the king was going to punish the mermaids? But if that were the case, the king could have ordered them to be imprisoned first, but he didn't do anything. Could there be other considerations?
Fu Changshi thought about every possibility over and over again, but he still couldn't come up with a clue.
As it turned out, he seemed to have overthought it.
During the few days he was busy searching for books, Ling Huanchen's food and clothing hadn't decreased in the slightest; instead, they had become increasingly refined. If there was any difference, it was that the two of them hadn't seen each other for several days. Yu Xi hadn't arrived, nor had she summoned him. She was absorbed in government affairs, seemingly oblivious to the mermaid prince.
But with his unspeakable intuition, Fu Changshi felt that things could not be so simple.
As expected, after Yu Xi got the relevant ancient scrolls, Fu Changshi would always accidentally see clues when serving tea.
After reviewing the memorials, Yu Xi picked up the book at hand as usual. These days, whenever he had free time, he would open the ancient books about the mermaids to learn about their habits, preferences, and even taboos.
At first, Ling Huanchen was just a foreigner to him, but later he took him under his wing without giving much thought to his original race. Now that he knew this man was the benefactor he had long cherished, how could he not be concerned?
He wants to give people the best, so he needs to find out what they like and dislike first.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea." Fu Changshi put down the teacup and glanced at Yu Xi's hand.
What he held outside was the history book he used to read, but he didn't know until he got closer that there was a booklet folded inside the history book, which was one of the ancient books of the mermaid tribe that was found.
Fu Changshi lowered his head even lower, actually hiding the smile on his lips. He had never seen the king care so much for anyone before, practically holding the person in his hands for fear of breaking them.
"I heard that the young prince has had a poor appetite recently. I wonder if it's because of the onset of summer."
Yu Xi raised his eyes upon hearing this, slammed the two booklets on the table, and stood up. He had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped and added, not knowing to whom he was addressing, "This prince sympathizes with him for having left his hometown."
Fu Changshi followed suit and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."
At this time, Ling Huanchen, who was rumored to have a poor appetite, was worrying about the table full of delicious food.
No one knew what had gone wrong, but ever since Yu Xi brought him home that day, she had people deliver all sorts of snacks to him every day. In addition to three meals a day, she also had nourishing soups in the afternoon and evening, mostly fish soup.
In the past, he could share what he couldn’t finish with Xiaoqi and Yunhe, but now the three of them have no way to deal with the leftover food.
But he is not a person who likes to waste money.
"Master, why does the imperial kitchen always send fish recently?" Xiao Qi asked, staring at the plate of squirrel fish in front of him.
Everywhere you look, you see braised carp, blanched crucian carp soup, and even snacks are fried fish cakes.
Although fish is delicious, you will get tired of eating it alone.
Ling Huanchen was very puzzled by this. Although as a mermaid, his food mainly consisted of fish, the habits he had been trained to eat since he was a child had made him eat everything.
While he was thinking, Yu Xi had already entered the room. Seeing the untouched dishes on the table, it further confirmed the credibility of the rumor.
"Your Majesty."
Ling Huanchen stood up and saluted, but the next moment he was suddenly picked up by Yu Xi and put back on the chair, so he was a little dazed.
"No need to be polite."
Yu Xi sat down beside him and asked, "I heard Huanchen has had a poor appetite recently. Is it because the royal chef's cooking skills are not good?"
Ling Huanchen was distracted by the hug just now and didn't notice the change in address. He replied, "No, these dishes are delicious, but there are too many. Besides, I want to eat something else, not necessarily fish."
"Don't the books say that mermaids only eat small fish?"
Yu Xi was originally mumbling to herself, her voice so quiet that only she could hear it, but Ling Huanchen listened to the whole thing with his sharp ears.
So the reason we haven't seen anyone for so many days is because Yu Xi went out of her way to find a book about mermaids to read?
After a few tries, Ling Huanchen guessed the original story.
"If Your Majesty wants to know what I like, you can ask directly and I will tell you."
Yu Xi met the smiling eyes of the little mermaid and realized belatedly that his secrets had been exposed. His usual dignity was gone and he turned around and coughed twice, "This king knows."
Ling Huanchen saw his awkward look, then noticed his slightly red ears, and his heart was as clear as a mirror.
It seems that what he said came true.
It was rare to see the dignified King of Youcheng in this state, and Ling Huanchen felt a softness in his heart.
In this life, he will carefully discover Yu Xi, whom he once missed.
The summer solstice is approaching, and the Dragon Boat Festival is here in the blink of an eye. Every household makes rice dumplings for the festival, and most scholars and intellectuals like to go boating and write poetry, while ordinary people are more interested in dragon boat racing.
When Ling Huanchen saw the rice dumplings on the table, he suddenly had an idea and wanted to wrap them for Yu Xi himself.
He is not good at cooking, so it may be difficult for him to make other things, but making this rice dumpling should not require advanced cooking skills.
To this end, Ling Huanchen specifically summoned a palace attendant from the imperial kitchen. The attendant was terrified, bowing repeatedly and trembling with fear, not daring to look up. After a few words in the room, and hearing Ling Huanchen's gentle voice, the attendant gradually relaxed and began to demonstrate attentively.
"You need to hold both sides tightly, otherwise it will fall apart." The little palace attendant had just spoken when she suddenly realized something was wrong. She glanced at Ling Huanchen and hurriedly lowered her head, saying, "My words slipped."
Ling Huanchen sighed almost inaudibly. It seemed that he had scared the people in the imperial kitchen when he dealt with Lian Ye last time.
"That's fine, just teach as usual."
The little palace attendant secretly raised her eyes and saw this rare face in the mortal world. Even though she was still frightened, she couldn't help but wonder how such a gentle person could be as cruel as the rumors said.
"yes."
The young palace attendant explained and demonstrated the steps herself. Ling Huanchen failed a few times at first, but after persistent effort, he gradually got better. Xiao Qi and Yun He also joined the team in making zongzi. They made two main types of zongzi: date zongzi and meat zongzi, catering to both sweet and savory flavors.
Ling Huanchen vaguely remembered that Yu Xi preferred salty pork dumplings, so he packed more.
"Master, would you like to take a break? Here come the servants." Xiao Qi suddenly spoke.
Ling Huanchen had already wrapped his hands and shook his head with a smile, "I'm almost done."
Yun He nudged Xiao Qi with her elbow, "What do you know? The Master has to make it himself. It will only make sense if the King eats it."
Xiao Qi suddenly understood, "So that's how it is. This is called, yes, respecting each other like guests, harmoniously singing the zither, and loving each other deeply."
Ling Huanchen glanced at him and said, "Making zongzi." This kid must have used all the idioms he knew on him.
"Oh." Xiao Qi stuck out his tongue and lowered his head to work obediently.
When Yu Xi came over, he saw the master and servants gathered together, busy and happy, while rows of rice dumplings of various sizes were piled up under the bamboo covers next to them.
"Your Majesty." Seeing him coming, Ling Huanchen stopped all actions and stood up to greet him.
"Is Huanchen...making zongzi?"
"The master said that he wanted to make rice dumplings for the king himself." Xiao Qi answered first. Because Yu Xi favored Ling Huanchen so much, and the people serving him could often see the king's smile, they gradually became bolder.
Ling Huanchen turned around, "Xiao Qi."
Yu Xi raised his eyebrows when he heard that, "Give it to me? Then I will definitely taste it carefully." As he said that, he intercepted the soft towel handed over by Yun He, and at the same time took Ling Huanchen's hand and wiped it carefully.
Unlike Xiaoqi and Yunhe, the little palace servant in the imperial kitchen had never seen such a scene. Everyone said how much the king doted on this little prince from the mermaid tribe. After all, seeing is believing, and he finally saw it today.
The rice dumplings were carried out and put into the pot to cook. Yu Xi pulled someone to sit and wait. Thinking back to the scene just now, he couldn't help but feel jealous, "Why didn't Huanchen come to my place?"
As soon as he said this, he felt that something was wrong. Why did he sound like a resentful husband in the boudoir?
The author has something to say:
Thank you for the lovely encouragement from "Yuan Yu Qing" ( . )
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