The birthday banquet had already featured five dishes, and other prominent families continued to announce auspicious words and present birthday gifts.
Gan Qiongying has basically finished her shrewd maneuvers tonight. She neither allowed Wen Xueling to shake the world with her dance and start five epic tales of ill-fated romance as in the story, nor did she fail to place her people next to the Grand Princess, making it easier for her to be used later.
She temporarily called it a day, pulled Li Hua to sit beside her, and they ate a proper meal.
Just like when they were at home, Gan Qiongying diligently used a brand-new pair of chopsticks to serve food to Li Hua.
"This cold dish is sweet and sour, very appetizing. Let's eat this first." After she finished speaking, she picked up a mouthful with her chopsticks.
Li Hua ate it.
"This braised venison should taste pretty good, but eat less of it, it's easy to get a sore throat and feel unwell. Have a couple of slices..." she said, picking up two more pieces and putting them into the dish next to Li Hua.
Lihua's ears were already slightly red, but she still picked them up and put them in her mouth, chewing them politely. They were indeed delicious.
"This fish is cooked quite well. I just tasted a little bit, and it didn't taste fishy even though it's cooled down. You should try it."
She carefully removed the large thorns before placing it next to Li Hua's plate.
Li Hua pursed her lips, noticing the stares from others, and nudged Gan Qiongying with her knee, signaling her to tone it down.
It's one thing for him to be overly attentive at home, making the maids blush with embarrassment, but this is happening in public!
As a result, Li Hua bumped into Gan Qiongying, who was startled and looked at him, asking, "What's wrong?"
She noticed Li Hua's gaze fixed on a soup bowl in the corner of the table and immediately understood, saying, "Oh, you want to drink that old duck soup?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand, rolled up her sleeves, knelt down from the table, and leaned over to ladle old duck soup for Li Hua.
Li Hua didn't mean it that way; her gaze lingered there because everyone was staring at her, making her feel uneasy...
As a result, Gan Qiongying interpreted Li Hua's bump into her as "Eat that, you go!"
After all, when Gan Qiongying was a child, she would go to other people's wedding banquets with her mother. When she couldn't reach the food, she would bump her mother's leg under the table so that her mother could get it!
They can always eat to their heart's content.
She knew that Li Hua was gentle and shy, and would definitely be too embarrassed to eat freely. Unlike the princess's mansion, there were no chefs from the imperial kitchen on call 24 hours a day. She was like an old mother sitting at the table with her "child", afraid that her child would be too embarrassed to eat and would go hungry at night.
But she was wearing a formal dress with wide sleeves that resembled palm-leaf fans, making it quite difficult to serve the soup.
The maids around her stood still, with Manyue at the head and Tianjiao at the side, all watching Gan Qiongying busy herself with expressions of complete indifference.
No one came to help, which puzzled onlookers. But this was actually something Gan Qiongying had specifically instructed her two maids to do, telling them that this was a matter of marital intimacy and not to get involved.
In reality, Gan Qiongying was simply looking for every opportunity to curry favor with her "God of Wealth."
I love money and money loves me. Money comes from all directions, pouring in from all sides, leaking out from under the God of Wealth's hand!
Gan Qiongying spent some effort preparing the soup. After sitting down again, she placed the bowl next to Li Hua and said, "Drink it."
Then she picked up her chopsticks and started eating. She didn't eat as elegantly as Li Hua, but she was still very pretty, and it was pleasing to the eye to watch her eat.
Li Hua's ears turned bright red, as more and more people began to watch them. He had never received so much attention in his life, and the overwhelming amount of attention made him feel extremely uncomfortable, as if he were being watched from inside a cage.
However, Gan Qiongying took it for granted; in her view, it was the most natural interaction.
But to others, it looks like a deliberate act.
After all, in this world, no matter how much a couple loves each other, at most the wife will cook a meal by hand, but it will only be a symbolic one or two dishes. There are servants serving the food, so attentive... Some concubines are gentle and considerate to this extent, but that is to compete for favor. Why would a princess as noble as Gan Qiongying go to such lengths?
Li Hua would often serve food to Gan Qiongying; it was a habit she had instilled in him. Habits can be terrible. He hadn't been with her for very long, but he had come to think that this way of eating was normal.
But with everyone watching today, Li Hua hesitated to reach out and serve Gan Qiongying food, and he didn't even know what the food tasted like when he shamefully put it in his mouth.
However, Gan Qiongying found it normal. At first, Li Hua was also very reserved when eating with her, and she gradually developed this habit.
Married couples don't behave this way, but believers and their idols do. Can love compare to worship?
The prince consort is a man of great talent, capable of turning clouds into rain with a flick of his wrist. He is born with the ability to hold gold in his hands, so how could he be used to remove fish bones?
To be honest, Gan Qiongying did try to feed Li Hua, but Li Hua refused because he found it too mushy.
Is she feeding her? Or is she offering food to a deity?
Every time Gan Qiongying picked up a piece of food, she thought to herself: "Give my idol a bigger allowance next month!"
Some people kept glancing over. Wen Xueling, who had been forced to move the table further away from Gan Qiongying, could hardly eat. She saw Gan Qiongying serving her so attentively, even though Gan Qiongying's appearance was only average, yet Gan Qiongying treated her like a precious prince. Her expression... if this were in the modern world with the internet, it could be summed up in a few words—subway, elderly, looking at a mobile phone.
Even the Grand Princess Hui'an was somewhat amused and exasperated. Her maid, Wu Mei, twitched at the corner of her mouth. After all, she had been reprimanding the consort about Gan Qiongying during the day. Who would have thought that Duanrong would cherish this merchant consort so much?
Didn't they say their relationship was bad, yet they still kept a whole yard full of male concubines?
Li Hua dared not bump Gan Qiongying with his arm again, afraid that if he accidentally glanced at something again, she would run to another table to beg for it for him, which she was absolutely capable of doing.
Thinking of this, Li Hua felt a burning sensation in her ears and a sweet, honey-like feeling welled up inside her. Everything she ate tasted sweet.
He has never been a normal person who needs protection, let alone been treated like an incompetent child and taken care of unreasonably.
Once a person lacks something, they tend to squander it in a vengeful way after they acquire it.
Therefore, despite the stares and whispers of so many people, he still managed to serve Gan Qiongying a piece of shredded meat.
He said slowly, "This is roasted donkey meat, a dish from Shenzhou. It's quite authentic. You should try it."
"Really?" Gan Qiongying picked it up and chewed it very naturally, then said softly, "Delicious."
But as Li Hua watched her lips twitch slightly as she chewed, an indescribable heat rose from his chest, shooting straight to his throat, making him feel as if he were about to exhale smoke if he opened his mouth.
He just forgot to switch chopsticks between the two of them when picking up food, and instead used chopsticks that were covered in his saliva.
Li Hua has always been a gentleman of upright character. He has never done anything improper in his daily life, and he has never uttered any rash words or done anything out of line. Even during that moment of losing control in the carriage, he was thinking of touching Gan Qiongying's soft cheek.
But as he watched her eat the food that had his saliva on it, he belatedly realized how ashamed he was and wanted to disappear.
Although they shared the same bed every night, they would only hug each other when Gan Qiongying was asleep...
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Gan Qiongying touched her face, and Li Hua quickly lowered her head, her fingers holding the chopsticks trembling slightly.
Gan Qiongying reached out and wiped it a few times, then asked Li Hua if there was any more.
Her lips were smudged with a little oil from eating. Li Hua's gaze fell on them in a flustered manner, and he almost slipped his eyes into her slightly open mouth. He quickly lowered his gaze and shook his head.
With her other hand resting on her knee, she pinched her thigh hard.
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