002. Dinner

"Yun Zhi, stand up straight." Rong Se said coldly, "You don't have to admit it if you are right. Stand up straight and tell His Majesty in front of all the officials why you didn't salute."

Yun Zhi was stunned for a moment, then said in a clear and dignified voice: "Your Highness, the Marquis returned to the capital without an imperial edict, and it was my duty not to allow him to go. Moreover, our dynasty's laws state that when a military officer is on duty, even the emperor does not have to perform formalities."

"Understand?" Rong Se's eyes swept through the ministers, and finally settled on Rong Jing. "Your Majesty's favor to Marquis Dingbei is one thing, but there is really no need to use others as stepping stones and not pay homage to him? Now that all the important ministers are here, Your Majesty might as well let them all kowtow to Marquis Dingbei, how about that?"

The faces of the court officials present changed. Only those who could attend the palace banquet were above the fourth rank. Even the royalists looked unhappy. They had to rely on the troops of Marquis Dingbei, but kneeling down to Marquis Dingbei was impossible!

The hatred value was full, and Rong Jing was pushed to the opposite side of the ministers. He said angrily: "It was my negligence..."

"Oversight?" Rong Se began to taunt, "Your Majesty, don't you know the laws of our dynasty?"

Rong Jing was choked. He wanted to take the opportunity to deal with Yun Zhi, but was defeated by Rong Se instead. He couldn't even utter a word in defense.

In the end, it was Rong Jing's uncle Cao Lun who came to the rescue: "Your Majesty is busy with government affairs, and it is possible that he was careless for a while."

Rong Se said sarcastically, "Today, we forced the current second-rank governor to pay homage to Marquis Dingbei. Who knows if others will not be punished for this in the future? If the emperor fails to supervise, who knows how many people will suffer. Your Majesty should reflect on yourself."

The ministers did not dare to respond and remained silent, but communicated secretly with their eyes.

Rong Jing's face turned pale, and he clenched his hands in embarrassment. After a long while, he said dryly, "Uncle Huang is right. I have learned my lesson."

Rong Se achieved his goal and also saw Liang Shenyu's attitude towards Rong Jing.

Very good, this paragraph is consistent with the original novel. This person is still at the stage where he doesn't have any feelings for Rong Jing, otherwise he wouldn't be so silent.

The operable range is much larger.

While I was deep in thought, I suddenly heard Liang Shenyu say, "Not suitable?"

Rong Se was at a loss for a moment. When he looked up and his eyes met Liang Shenyu's, he realized that he was asking about him, so he nodded sincerely: "Yes."

In the past, Rongse preferred to eat the meals he cooked.

Someone immediately laughed in a sinister tone, "Is there anyone in the world who can cook better food than Chef Yu? The Ninth Prince's Palace is only a prince's palace, how can it be compared with Chef Yu?"

Rong Se followed the sound and saw a young man in black clothes. This was Rong Jing's cousin, Cao Lun's son, named Cao Haoyun. He was also the male supporting role in the story who loved Rong Jing and had ambiguous feelings for her, commonly known as the affectionate second male lead.

"You take this as a treasure?" Rong Se picked up a plate of boiled cabbage on a plate decorated with orchids and said with pity, "I find it hard to swallow, like eating chaff."

The state banquet is only of this standard. What good food can you eat on ordinary days?

Rongse felt sorry for him sincerely.

He said this with great arrogance, but Rongse had reason to be proud. The food he cooked was just better than this!

A bowl of egg drop soup is light enough, but too much salt is added, so I don’t know whether it should be strong or light.

Cao Haoyun's cheeks turned red with anger. He wanted to say something but was interrupted by Liang Shenyu's chuckle.

"I have often been in the borderland, in a barren land, and have never tasted any delicacies." Liang Shenyu said with a polite smile, "I wonder if I can have the honor to taste the food of the Ninth Prince's Mansion?"

Liang Shenyu knew that he had ruined this man's good fortune, and having heard that he would take revenge for any slight, he decided to test him.

Rong Se raised his eyebrows slightly.

As for men, they can become close friends just by having two meals and two drinks together.

"Tomorrow," Rong Se agreed immediately, "Your Majesty can come for dinner tomorrow."

Surprisingly, there was no ridicule, and it could even be said to be mild. Could it be that a grand banquet was going to be prepared?

Liang Shenyu had a subtle expression and smiled, "It's settled then, my Lord, please don't mind me bothering you."

Rong Se: “No.”

Cao Haoyun was already unhappy because he was interrupted, and when he saw the two of them talking happily, his face turned even uglier. He stood up and said to Rong Jing, "Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince keeps saying that he despises the grace of heaven. This is clearly disrespectful to the emperor!"

Rong Jing's mouth twitched, thinking, "Don't I know that he is disrespectful? He has never been respectful to me!" But his eyes still subconsciously glanced at Liang Shenyu...

It was obvious that Marquis Dingbei returned to the capital to help him ascend the throne, so why is he always talking to Rong Se today?

"Then did the young marquis also disrespect Your Majesty?" Liang Shenyu spoke softly, but just like his superficial elegance, he could not hide the deep coldness in his eyes. The smile on his lips was still elegant and decent. He said slowly: "Don't say anything nonsense."

Rong Jing saw that he seemed unhappy, so he frowned slightly and said in a gentle voice: "No, today is a palace banquet, please stop talking and eat."

Seeing that Rong Jing had no intention of pursuing the matter, Cao Haoyun reluctantly sat back and gave Rong Se and Liang Shenyu a cold glance.

Rong Se didn't like this kind of socializing. He had to pretend for a while when he first came here. Now that he had almost understood the situation, he didn't plan to stay and smile with them. His hands and feet, which were cold due to the fear of falling from the building, gradually warmed up. Rong Se stood up neatly and said, "I am tired. I will take my leave now."

Rong Se nodded perfunctorily and walked out of the palace gate with a swagger.

Thanks to the original owner's noble status, he didn't have to kneel three times and kowtow nine times to perform the ceremony.

He randomly asked a palace servant to lead the way. When he reached the outside of the palace gate, a man in a blue shirt came to greet him. This man had a face exactly like Yun Zhi's, but because Yun Zhi was a military officer, his expression was always a bit tough and cold, while the man in front of him was a reserved and scholarly man.

He is the twins’ older brother, Yun Chu.

Yun Chu led the way and said softly, "I thought the prince would not stay for long, but is he tied up?"

Rong Se thought to himself, that's right, the one who went in was your master, and the one who came out was a cook.

You wouldn't expect that.

"Well, let's go back home." Rong Se said concisely.

The original owner always acted unfathomable and aloof in front of his subordinates. It just so happened that he himself didn't like to talk much. Besides, no one would think of such a thing as soul transmigration, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Sure enough, Yun Chu did not say anything. He led him to a rather luxurious carriage and brought a small stool for his footstool, which was very thoughtful.

Before getting on the carriage, Rong Se glanced at the location of the palace gate and whispered, "Send someone to keep an eye on Marquis Dingbei's movements tonight."

This passage in the original novel describes Rong Jing keeping Liang Shenyu in the palace to talk with him by candlelight at night and reminisce about the past.

Rong Se did not stop him, because he just wanted to see whether his little butterfly wings could flap the plot tonight.

Yun Chu lowered his eyebrows, "Yes."

Rong Se then got into the carriage. Without so many eyes staring at him, he relaxed a little, leaning against the carriage with his eyes gradually becoming empty.

Two hours ago, he was recording a cooking video in front of the camera at home, working diligently as a food blogger. However, after accidentally falling from a building, he traveled through time and space and became the villain in the book. He also improvised a part in the original plot. From then on, his originally peaceful life was turned upside down.

A mess.