Chapter 33 Suspicious Su Mian, you are playing with fire.
I don’t know if it was Su Mian’s illusion, but in the original owner’s memory, the dog emperor was clearly a tyrant who was obsessed with flowers and got stained by even a single leaf. This is what they mean when they say lust makes one lose one’s mind.
In addition, if the servants were not satisfied with the service, they would be beaten or scolded at the very least, or even their entire clan would be executed at the worst.
Su Mian broke off a duck leg and ate it while staring at the food on the table and thinking.
He began to recall that ever since he came here, the Dog Emperor had indeed been extremely tolerant towards everyone.
At first, it was fine that Lin Caizi and Wei Jiaren were not punished. Later, when they caught him stealing jewelry from the storehouse, they handled it with care. Moreover, there was the poisoning incident...
"hiss……"
Su Mian touched his chin with his fingers thoughtfully, and took a big bite of the duck leg. Something was wrong, something was wrong with the Dog Emperor.
"Eunuch Su, what's wrong?"
Seeing that Su Mian had a serious expression on his face since the dishes were placed on the table, Xiao Dezi thought that this was not right. The dishes were all prepared according to Su Mian's favorite tastes. Could it be that the chef's cooking skills were not good today?
Hearing Xiao Dezi calling him, Su Mian came back to his senses. There was a ready-made person in front of him to ask. He organized his words and asked:
"Hey, Xiao Dezi, let me ask you, do you think the emperor is in a good mood recently?"
Su Mian waved his hand and motioned Xiao Dezi to sit down.
"emperor?"
Xiao Dezi thought about it carefully. Now that Su Mian is not around, he is the one serving the emperor. He has to care about the emperor's joys and sorrows. He can answer this question quickly.
"The emperor is in a good mood these days, but he is worried about government affairs."
Xiao Dezi looked up, rolled his eyes and added, "He was a little unhappy a few days ago and didn't like to talk much, but he seems to be back to normal in the past two days."
"Then do you think the emperor is very different from before?"
"I don't know about this. In the past, I didn't serve in front of the emperor, so I didn't see the emperor very often."
What Xiao Dezi said was true, but he continued, "But I think the difference is not that big. I heard that the emperor executed a minister in public two days ago. The eunuch who was cleaning said that the hall was full of blood."
“Huh.”
Su Mian couldn't help but shiver. He and the Dog Emperor had deliberately kept a distance in the past few days and were unaware of this matter. So it seemed that the Dog Emperor had not changed.
"but."
Just as Su Mian gave up on some of his ideas, Xiao Dezi turned around and said, "I remember hearing that the servants in the Mingzheng Palace would be replaced every once in a while, but when I came in to serve, I found that the emperor was not as scary as the rumors said."
"Well, maybe they are all rumors."
Su Mian picked up another duck leg and handed it to Xiao Dezi, telling him to eat it without hesitation. However, she felt that something was fishy about this matter and that his guess was very likely.
After all, the Dog Emperor's expression when he saw him dancing Little Apple did not show the kind of surprise that would break through the dimensional wall. Something was wrong.
Thinking of the favored Lin Caizi who poisoned him, Su Mian thought that there must be something wrong. She planned to go back to the harem to inquire and find a chance to test the dog emperor.
“Ah~”
I yawned and realized it was getting late, so I decided to leave any thinking until tomorrow.
After eating and drinking, Su Mian pretended to kneel in the warehouse with Xiao Dezi around. After Xiao Dezi left with the leftovers, he sat down on the ground.
After sitting for a while, he felt tired, so he lay down among the pile of jewels, looked at the bright moon outside through the window, and fell asleep unknowingly.
After that night, his own little treasury was filled with a lot of new things.
——
In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the food banquet.
Su Mian got up early in the morning to help Rong Ceqing with the arrangements. After all, it was he who proposed the event and Rong Ceqing who hosted it. If any accident occurred, they would inevitably be held accountable.
"I don't know what the emperor is happy about these days, but he actually gave me a day off, which is unprecedented. That's why I can come here to help you."
"That's great. If you didn't come, I would be a little nervous."
Rong Ceqing was fiddling with the decorations on the table while talking to Su Mian.
Seeing that the timing was good, Su Mian took the opportunity to ask a few more questions.
"By the way, the emperor didn't seem to be so easy to talk to in the past. I don't know what's wrong with him recently."
"Indeed, but it could also be favoritism. You serve in the emperor's presence, so it's normal for him to be lenient with you."
"Maybe."
Worried that saying too much would arouse Rong Ceqing's suspicion, Su Mian stopped talking and waited for an opportunity to exchange secret signals with the emperor.
The gourmet banquet was held in Rong Ceqing's yard. In order to provide shade, a shed was set up in the yard and some ice cubes were placed there to somewhat relieve the heat.
As the time approached, Rong Ceqing's courtyard immediately became lively. Except for the Huang Guijun and Lin Caizi and Wei Jiaren who were still under house arrest, almost all the concubines in the harem came.
In addition, there are eunuchs from various palaces taking turns to rest, making the scene very lively.
"Ah, Rong Ceqing is really thoughtful. He arranged it so well."
Yun Zhengqing couldn't help but praise as soon as he entered the room. He looked around and was amazed. He had held similar banquets in the past, but none of them had such an atmosphere as today.
"These were all Eunuch Su's ideas. I just tried my best to restore them."
In addition to the sunshade shed, there are many unique ribbons and lanterns hung in the yard, which looks festive. In the middle, several tables are put together to form a long strip, covered with red cloth and filled with a wide variety of delicious food.
There is also a half-person-high signboard in front of the table with the words "Food Banquet" written on it. The hand-painted patterns are all anthropomorphic food, which is very cute.
"Eunuch Su is really amazing."
"Yeah yeah."
For a moment, the whole courtyard was filled with praises for Su Mian.
On weekdays, although Su Mian is closer to Rong Ceqing and Qin Caizi, he will occasionally go to other palaces to show his presence, and naturally everyone has a good opinion of him.
"Alright, alright, the most important thing today is the food, please stop teasing me."
Su Mian scratched his head and tried to draw everyone's attention to the food.
"Yes, everyone please present what you have prepared."
It was not only a food banquet, but also a competition. Every concubine held a food box in her hand, and even some young eunuchs made preparations.
"Come on, everyone, listen to me."
Rong Ceqing was the organizer after all, so he took the initiative to assume the responsibility of hosting and controlling the situation. He clapped his hands and shouted, "Everyone, please stand in front of the table and put your food boxes on the table. The evaluation will begin immediately."
"Mr. Rong, I wonder who will decide this evaluation."
A question came from the crowd: "How can we be fair?"
"yes."
Others also agreed.
"There are three referees today, one of whom is me. After all, I took the initiative to host this event, so I won't participate. How about being a referee?"
"Can."
"The person with the highest status in today's gourmet banquet is Yun Zhengqing. I just asked about it. Since Zhengqing is not participating in the competition, it is legitimate for him to be the referee."
"no problem."
"And the last one?"
"The last one is Eunuch Su. Eunuch Su is the most important person in front of the emperor. He is well-informed and fair. I think everyone agrees with him."
Naturally, no one had any objection to Su Mian being the referee. Most people not only respected Su Mian as the imperial steward, but also had a filter for him.
After all, Su Mian has been trying to win people's hearts in recent times and has been generous and polite to everyone. Who can not like such a humble second-in-command?
So, the judges were decided and the food competition officially began.
Su Mian was eager to try it. He was always greedy, and now he could enjoy a feast to his heart's content.
The food box was opened, and the aroma of various foods wafted to the face. Su Mian felt that he could hardly stop drooling.
He tasted all kinds of home-cooked dishes along the way, similar to modern Sichuan cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Anhui cuisine, etc. After all, the people in the harem also came from all over the country of Lanling.
There were also various desserts and drinks. After going around in a circle, Su Mian was not only full, but also began to feel dizzy.
He thought he was dizzy from eating too much, but he didn't know that many drinks and dishes were mixed with alcohol to varying degrees.
For Su Mian, who was already drunk after one glass of wine, this was already the critical point.
Fortunately, he was not unconscious yet, he just felt a little sleepy.
As for the final result, as expected, Qin Caizi won.
But his victory was well-deserved, without any water in the mouth. Some people who were unwilling to accept the defeat felt convinced after seeing it.
Although Su Mian felt it was new to eat other people's food, he still praised Qin Caizi's food the most. Moreover, every time he ate it, he felt at home.
"Okay - then our winner today is Qin Caizi!!"
As Rong Ceqing shouted, everyone applauded and celebrated. Rong Ceqing was even more delighted. He hugged Qin Caizi and spun him around with his feet off the ground.
Qin Caizi's face turned red in an instant.
"Then let Eunuch Su tell us what the reward is."
“Ahem.”
Su Mian cleared his throat and glanced at Qin Caizi, taking in Qin Caizi's shyness, but he didn't think that Qin Caizi would be happy after hearing about the reward.
As expected, when Su Mian announced that the reward was to accompany the emperor to the Han Palace to escape the summer heat, Qin Caizi, who had a red face in the previous second, blushed in the next second amid everyone's "Wow" sounds.
Who wants to go to the Han Palace with the emperor? Anyway, Qin Caizi himself doesn't want to.
Su Mian looked around quietly, and after seeing everything, he said to himself happily: "I got it!!!"
"Eunuch Su, can you give this reward to someone else?"
Qin Caizi pulled Su Mian aside and whispered to him. He really didn't want to leave Rong Ceqing behind and follow the emperor to the Han Palace.
He had always been a non-aggressor and had rarely served the emperor. Now Qin Caizi felt a heart attack just thinking about asking him to travel with that capricious tyrant and possibly sleep with him.
"Ah... that's fine."
When Su Mian paused for two seconds, Qin Caizi thought that this matter would be difficult to handle, and his eyes darkened immediately, but he soon heard Su Mian agree.
"What do you want to change? I'll try my best."
Su Mian didn't think he could do everything, but his friendship with Qin Caizi was there, so he decided to listen first.
"I want to move to Seonghwa Palace."
"What?!"
Su Mian was shocked but extremely excited inside, what pure love! So exciting! So direct!
Isn't this a blatant act of cuckolding the dog emperor? The key is that the Dog Emperor would definitely not be able to guess it!
"What...what's wrong? Is it difficult to handle? I'm just...just on good terms with Rong Ceqing, so I thought it would be more convenient to move here, and it would also be convenient for you to come to us."
Su Mian's reaction made Qin Caizi feel inexplicably guilty. He was afraid that Su Mian had seen through his thoughts, so he hurriedly explained and made amends.
"Oh, no need to explain, I understand, I understand everything."
Su Mian felt that he was mostly sober, so he agreed to this matter: "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
Solving this problem is much easier than asking the dog emperor to take people to the Han Palace.
After the discussion, the feast came to an end, and all that was left was to eat to one's heart's content. Su Mian had just sobered up from the drunkenness, and he replenished it with alcohol.
In the end, he was in a daze after eating, but he didn't pass out drunk. He just talked a lot, and in a semi-conscious state, Rong Ceqing sent someone to send him back to his residence.
"belch."
After the young eunuch left and closed the door, Su Mian burped and stood there without moving. His brain was working hard, thinking about what he should do.
"I...I am the chief steward of the emperor. I have to go and serve the emperor, yes."
Nodding heavily, Su Mian staggered, pushed open the door and walked towards Cheng Changgeng's bedroom.
Xiao Dezi was guarding the door of the bedroom. The emperor had just fallen asleep and he was dozing off. When he heard the noise and opened his eyes, he found Su Mian coming towards him.
"Eunuch Su? Why are you here?"
Seeing him staggering, Xiao Dezi quickly reached out to hold Su Mian's arm.
"I...I'm here to serve the Emperor."
"The emperor has already fallen asleep, you should go back and rest, eunuch."
Smelling the alcohol on Su Mian, Xiao Dezi lowered his voice and planned to send Su Mian back.
But before he could take two steps, Cheng Changgeng's questioning voice came from inside.
"Xiao Dezi, is Su Mian back?"
"To reply to the Emperor, it is Eunuch Su."
"Let him in. I have something to tell him."
After Cheng Changgeng finished speaking, Xiao Dezi's brows were furrowed so much that they could pinch a fly to death. Looking at Su Mian who was smiling foolishly at him, Xiao Dezi was really afraid that he would go in vertically and come out horizontally, with no intact body.
"Eunuch Su, please wake up."
He patted Su Mian's face twice without any effect. Xiao Dezi sighed. It was not that he didn't want to help him, but he really had no other choice.
"Go, Eunuch Su."
Xiao Dezi opened the door a crack, and before he could push Su Mian, the latter staggered in.
"Amitabha, God bless you."
Xiao Dezi stood outside the door, praying silently towards the sun in the sky.
And Su Mian was almost approaching Cheng Changgeng.
The sun was scorching outside and there were two basins of ice in the room. Su Mian stumbled as she staggered in. Cheng Changgeng was startled and immediately stood up from his seat beside the bed to greet her.
As soon as he touched Su Mian's arm, Cheng Changgeng smelled a faint smell of alcohol. No wonder he heard Su Mian's words but not his thoughts. No wonder he came here at this time. It turned out that he was drunk.
"Not as drunk as last time."
Cheng Changgeng sighed helplessly, but Su Mian immediately became excited: "I am not drunk! I am here to serve the emperor."
"Okay, okay, you're not drunk."
Cheng Changgeng didn't bother with him. What good would it do to bother with a drunk person?
Helping Su Mian to sit down beside the bed, Cheng Changgeng's heart was still relatively calm. He had regretted many times the last time he couldn't control his emotions, and naturally did not intend to repeat the same mistake again.
But Su Mian is not very honest.
"Your Majesty, don't you want to rest? Why don't you take off your clothes?"
He tilted his head and looked at Cheng Changgeng, and without saying anything, he started to work: "Let me help the emperor change his clothes."
He pulled at Cheng Changgeng's clothes. Cheng Changgeng wanted to refuse, but his body did not resist.
"Su Mian, you are playing with fire again."
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