After Li Qiji and Guan Zhiyue washed their hands, they sat down at the table. It was Li Qiji's first time eating hot pot, and he didn't know how to eat it. He waited for Hua Quan to serve him the food. Guan Zhiyue was still in shock from the previous meal.
"How dare you! This is all raw! How can the Emperor eat it?" Hua Quan looked at the churning pot and then at the plates of raw food on the table.
Bilian was so frightened that she knelt down with a thud and began kowtowing repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, spare my life! This hot pot is made with raw food; you have to cook it yourself before eating."
Guan Zhiyue snapped out of her shock upon hearing Bilian's voice. Looking at Bilian kneeling on the ground, she said with some confusion, "Bilian, why are you kneeling? Get up quickly."
Bilian's heart was in turmoil. What was wrong with her mistress? She had seen her looking distracted just now and knew everything that had happened. Why was she asking her why she was kneeling?
"Hehe, Your Majesty! This servant would like to ask you how to eat raw food?" Hua Quan looked at Guan Zhiyue with a smile as bright as a chrysanthemum.
Guan Zhiyue looked at the table full of dishes and the bubbling pot, then glanced at Li Qiji and thought that he probably had never eaten hot pot before!
"Oh! This is raw. Just put the vegetables you want to eat into the pot and cook them yourself."
"Bilian, get up and eat hot pot." Guan Zhiyue picked up a plate of pork belly from the table while looking at Bilian, who was still kneeling on the ground.
Bilian didn't dare to get up. She looked up at Li Qiji, who was sitting silently and coldly to the side.
Guan Zhiyue looked in the direction Bilian was looking and saw Li Qiji sitting upright like a Buddha, staring at the plate of pork belly in his hand.
Guan Zhiyue's heart skipped a beat, and she forced a stiff smile at Li Qiji, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"How about we let Bilian get up and eat hot pot?" Guan Zhiyue tentatively looked at Li Qiji.
"Get up!"
Bilian got up from the ground and stood obediently to the side, looking somewhat frightened and not daring to speak.
"Hehe, eat your food, eat your food!" Guan Zhiyue stirred the pork belly in the spicy oil pot with a little embarrassment.
Hua Quan quickly put some of the side dishes into the pot, intending to cook them and put them in Li Qiji's bowl.
Guan Zhiyue looked at Hua Quanjiwu and Bilian, took a bite of meat, and said, "You guys go down and eat too! This hot pot tastes best when you cook it yourself."
Hua Quan glanced at Li Qiji, then at Guan Zhiyue.
Li Qiji looked at Guan Zhiyue, who was eating meat with gusto, and nodded in agreement.
Guan Zhiyue was happily eating when she heard the door open. With a piece of green vegetable still in her mouth, she turned her head and saw that Bilian and Hua Quan had left.
She turned to look at Li Qiji, feeling somewhat embarrassed but unable to say anything, so she simply continued eating what was in her bowl.
Li Qiji was a man who never spoke while eating or sleeping, so the only sounds in the room were Guan Zhiyue chewing and the bubbling of the hot pot.
After a long silence, he asked, "Did you invent this?"
Perhaps because the silence was truly eerie, or perhaps because Li Qiji wanted to know something, he broke the silence and spoke first.
Guan Zhiyue initially didn't want to answer, but after thinking about it, she replied, "Yes! This feels good to eat."
"Is this the shop that Qi Shang and I opened?"
"Um!"
Li Qiji also started to chew slowly, just like Guan Zhiyue. The first bite was incredibly spicy, and it choked him, causing him to cough violently. His usually icy face turned red.
Guan Zhiyue quickly found him water when he coughed, gently patted his back, and helped him catch his breath.
"When you first start eating this, don't try the spicy broth right away. The chili peppers are very spicy. This kind of seasoning has never been used in the Imperial Study before, so you should try some milder flavors first."
Li Qiji listened without saying anything, and Guan Zhiyue was only focused on supporting his back and handing him water, not paying attention to what she was saying, just quietly watching him.
After a while, Li Qiji finally felt a little better, and Guan Zhiyue stopped paying attention to him and continued eating her own food.
Do you usually eat this hot pot?
Guan Zhiyue picked up a slice of mutton from the pot and placed it on the plate in front of Li Qiji, appearing completely at ease and showing no sign of discomfort.
"No, I eat it occasionally. It just happened to be cold today, so I had hot pot."
Li Qiji didn't say anything more, but picked up the meat that Guan Zhiyue had put on his plate, dipped it lightly in the sauce, and chewed it.
After dinner.
"Your Majesty, you have finished your dinner and it is time for you to return."
"Is the Empress trying to get rid of me?"
Rosamund Kwan.....
“No, it’s this Cold Palace…” Guan Zhiyue was only halfway through her explanation when she heard the words, “That’s fine then.”
Bilian had already removed the pot from the room. Guan Zhiyue stood in front of the table, looking at Li Qiji, who was still sitting calmly to the side, somewhat puzzled.
"Your Majesty, would you like to stay at the Empress's palace tonight?" Hua Quan and Ji Wu also came over after finishing their meal, looking at Li Qiji who was drinking tea to the side.
Li Qiji originally planned to glance at her and leave, but since they happened to be having dinner, he decided to eat there as well. Now that Guan Zhiyue was trying to kick him out, he decided to stay.
"Yes! It's snowing heavily tonight, and it's really cold, so it's inconvenient to move. We'll stay in the Queen's Palace tonight."
Hua Quan's eyes widened with excitement, as if he felt that his eldest son had finally grown up and knew how to want a woman. He looked at Li Qiji with great excitement.
"Then shall this servant send someone to attend to Her Majesty the Empress's bath and bedchamber needs?"
Guan Zhiyue listened to Hua Quan's words and awkwardly glanced at Li Qiji and Hua Quan, saying shyly, "Who wants to sleep with you? Go back to your palace and sleep."
Li Qiji looked up at Guan Zhiyue with amusement: "Hua Quan, no need, you can go back first. Just come here to pick me up tomorrow morning."
Hua Quan and Ji Wu, being quite tactful, clasped their hands in greeting and left.
Guan Zhiyue watched the two people walk away into the wind and snow...
Rosamund Kwan: Are you sick?! Who wants to sleep with you?
"Let's go, my beloved concubine, come and retire to bed with me!"
Just as she wished, Guan Zhiyue was still thinking about not being with him when he said he wanted her to go to bed with him.
"Your Majesty, I'm a restless sleeper, so I won't serve you to bed. I'll prepare a room for you next door."
Before Guan Zhiyue could finish speaking, Li Qiji pulled her hand and led her back into the small house.
"Oh! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, we've just finished eating, it's not appropriate for us to go to bed now!"
Li Qiji stopped in his tracks, turned to look at Guan Zhiyue with a wicked smile: "Then what does the Empress say?"
Guan Zhiyue looked at Li Qiji's sneer, and a million curses were running through her mind. She really wanted to ask, "Are you fucking crazy?" But she didn't dare, so she could only say something that didn't match her true feelings: "How about we take a bath first?"
Li Qiji moved closer to Guan Zhiyue, almost kissing her, and gently replied, "Then let it be as the Empress says."
What exactly happened between the Empress and the Emperor in the Cold Palace that night remains unknown. Everyone is curious, but no one dares to ask...
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