When Guan Zhiyue returned to Cining Palace with Bilian, Li Qiji's uncle's family had already arrived, and even Li Qishang had come to Cining Palace.
"Hello, Uncle, Aunt, and Cousin!" Guan Zhiyue greeted them as she entered the room. Upon seeing that she was the Empress, they quickly bowed in return.
After all, this person is first and foremost the mother of the nation, and secondly, their niece-in-law, so the proper etiquette cannot be disregarded, and the proper manners cannot be disordered.
"Qi Shang, you're here too! Come on, I brought some new food, come and try it!" Guan Zhiyue waved the food box in her hand. Li Qi Shang ran to Guan Zhiyue's side with a grin, but when he thought of what he had heard in the morning and looked at Guan Zhiyue's smooth and fair neck, especially when he saw the red mark and the bitten collarbone, his pupils contracted.
Xin Chenchen also came over. He first looked at the food box that Guan Zhiyue was carrying, and then remembered what he had heard in the palace this morning. He looked up at Guan Zhiyue's face and was shocked.
Today, Shirley Kwan wore a spring-green brocade dress with auspicious cloud patterns, her hair styled in a peony bun, with braided red carnelian earrings, and her unique hair was adorned with a carved headdress in the same color as the dress. On her fair, slender hands, she wore Hetian jade nail clippers.
She wore a black, half-moon-shaped sash with ripples around her waist, a purse adorned with a sprig of flowers, and a pair of milky-white satin shoes with pearl embellishments. Her chin was fair with a hint of pink, and beneath her brows were bright, beautiful eyes with delicate eyebrows. Her flowing black hair gave her an alluring and captivating appearance.
Xin Chenchen was momentarily stunned when she saw Guan Zhiyue like this. This girl seemed to have become even more beautiful. She wasn't this pretty when she saw her at the last family dinner.
"Cousin Xin, what's wrong?"
Li Qishang stared wide-eyed at the braised meat snacks in Guan Zhiyue's hand, then reached out and grabbed a braised chicken foot.
"Sister-in-law, what is this? It's so delicious!" Li Qishang smiled as he ate the braised chicken feet and looked at Guan Zhiyue.
Xin Chenchen also reached out and took a quail egg, then walked away to the side to hide her embarrassment.
Seeing that the two of them had taken food, Li Qiji was not to be outdone and wanted to take some too. However, when Guan Zhiyue saw him coming, she simply picked up the food box and walked towards the Empress Dowager.
Li Qiji: "..."
Jian Tiankuo glanced at her son, then at Guan Zhiyue. Don't think she hadn't seen it; her son had been completely mesmerized by that girl. If the Emperor found out, it would be disastrous. It seemed she would have to find a girl for her son as soon as possible after returning home.
Xin Chenchen felt a fierce gaze and looked up to see his mother's murderous look. He was speechless. What was his mother up to now?
"Mother, please try this delicious braised food." Guan Zhiyue carried the food box to the side table next to Empress Dowager Xin, and then had Bilian place the contents of the food box on the side table next to Lord Xin and Madam Xin.
The snacks that Guan Zhiyue brought over were actually some braised foods, such as quail eggs, tiger-skin chicken feet, chicken tips, duck intestines, duck necks, and other modern snacks, as well as seaweed and the like.
She took all of these out of her spatial storage, then unwrapped them all in the Cold Palace, put them on plates, and brought them over for them to enjoy.
Li Qishang ate the seaweed, and his mouth was so spicy that he kept hissing, but he kept shouting that it was delicious, delicious.
"Sister-in-law, what delicious food is this? It's absolutely delicious!"
"Eat more if you like it. This is ready to eat. If you think it's delicious, Uncle and Aunt can take some back with them when you leave the palace."
"Hahaha, I've been waiting for you to say that, little girl." Xin Bai said with a smile, holding a quail egg in one hand.
Guan Zhiyue responded with a smile, "I'm glad my uncle likes it."
Xin Chenchen felt as sweet as if she had eaten honey. It seemed she could visit this palace many more times in the future, especially...
Everyone here was eating with great joy, except for one person who was extremely depressed.
This person was Li Qiji. He was furious. He knew that Guan Zhiyue was angry with him, otherwise why would she always try to steal his food?
"Empress, I am truly moved by your kindness in serving me food." Li Qiji looked at the lotus root he had just picked up, only to have it stolen by Guan Zhiyue.
Upon hearing this, Guan Zhiyue smiled and, with gritted teeth, put the lotus root slices she had just snatched from his hand back into his bowl in front of everyone, still saying with a grin, "Lotus root slices are so cunning. Your Majesty should eat more of them; they're good for your health."
The others at the table looked at each other, not daring to say anything more. They all lowered their heads and buried themselves in their food. They knew their son, nephew, and brother quite well. Yue'er had really messed with the powerful, and they were on tenterhooks wondering what would happen next.
Li Qiji looked at Guan Zhiyue, who was smiling and putting food on his plate, and readily accepted it, putting a piece on her plate as well. He then said softly, "You need to eat more of this, you're lacking it."
Guan Zhiyue looked down and saw that what Li Qiji had put in her bowl was actually 'pig brain'.
"Your Majesty's favor is truly unbearable for me. It's better to give it to Your Majesty." With that, she placed the pig's brain from her bowl into Li Qiji's bowl.
Sitting on the side, Li Qishang watched as a battle was about to break out at the dinner table. Wasn't it agreed that they should not talk while eating or sleeping? Why did it look like a fight was about to break out?
“Hey, Your Majesty, if you don’t want to eat, your younger brother can share the food with you.”
Upon hearing that his younger brother was trying to snatch the food Guan Zhiyue had put on his plate, Li Qiji immediately glared at him and said fiercely, "Who said I wouldn't eat it? This is the Empress's way of showing her love for me."
Guan Zhiyue: "......"
The meal passed in a flurry of playful banter and lively conversation. Just as the palace gates were about to be locked, Lord Xin and his family left Cining Palace carrying large and small food boxes.
Li Qiji had to return to the Imperial Study to handle some matters left over from before the New Year, so he went directly back from Cining Palace. Guan Zhiyue and Li Qishang walked through the deep courtyard of the palace because the palaces were in the same direction.
"Your carefree prince, you have traveled far and wide. Is the outside world incredibly wonderful?"
Hearing Guan Zhiyue's words, Li Qishang knew she regretted it and didn't want to stay in this deep palace anymore. He took a deep breath, mustered his courage, reached out and took Guan Zhiyue's hand, and said affectionately, "Yue'er, I know you regret it, don't you? My brother has treated you badly, and I feel sorry for you. As long as you ask, I will definitely take you away!"
When Li Qishang heard today that his elder brother had consummated his marriage with Yue'er, his heart skipped a beat. He couldn't believe it; how could that fairy-like woman have fallen to the mortal world?
It wasn't until she saw the red mark on Guan Zhiyue's neck and the bite wound on her collarbone in the Cining Palace that she had to admit it.
Seeing the interaction between the two during a meal was especially heartbreaking for him.
Guan Zhiyue shook off Li Qishang's hand and left with Bilian without replying.
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