Little Jade flew to the branches of the apricot tree with a petal in her beak, then immediately lowered her head and began pecking at it furiously!
Shen Yanshui glanced over and found herself smiling. Looking at Cui Yu, who had already recovered his composure, she asked curiously, “Your Highness wasn’t the one who named Little Jade, was he?”
Cui Yu replied, “No.”
The disdain in his eyes was unmistakable, though it was tinged with a hint of helplessness. Judging from the way he had treated Little Jade just now, it was clear enough.
He had allowed Little Jade to hop onto his shoulder without the slightest reaction, looking as though he had long since grown accustomed to it. Either he truly liked birds, or he was fond of the person who had named—or given him—the parrot.
Cui Yu’s brows relaxed slightly. “My maternal uncle gave her to me three years ago. He was the one who named her, too.”
Shen Yanshui’s peach-blossom eyes curved into a smile, and her voice was light, though tinged with surprise. “I never imagined Great General Qi would be such an interesting person.”
She was rather surprised. This seemed to be the first time she had heard him refer to himself as “I.” It appeared that the Crown Prince and his maternal uncle truly were very close.
“Big Nephew! Big Nephew!”
Cui Yu’s brow twitched violently. “Zheng Yuande.”
“Give me some silver to spend! Give me some silver to spend!”
“Oh dear, my little ancestor! Come here, I have something you like to eat…” Zheng Yuande hurriedly rose onto his tiptoes and stretched out his hand, coaxing the little ancestor perched above him.
Shen Yanshui did not dare laugh this time. Pretending she had heard nothing, she cleared her throat and said, “Your Highness, it’s nearly time for the evening meal. Why don’t you return with me and dine together?”
Cui Yu glanced at her slightly curved eyes, nodded, and gave a soft “Mm” before striding away ahead of her.
Watching his unusually swift footsteps, Shen Yanshui could not help but chuckle. She had not expected this man to be capable of embarrassment. His skin was surprisingly thin.
After musing over it for a moment, she followed him.
By the time the two of them returned to Lianxin Court, everyone there had already received word and was waiting at the entrance.
“This servant pays respects to the Crown Prince. May Your Highness enjoy good fortune and peace. This servant pays respects to Our Lady.”
Cui Yu barely glanced at them. He raised a hand and said, “Rise,” completely ignoring the distinctly different voice mixed in among the others’ greetings. Without pausing, he continued straight toward the eastern side hall.
Shen Yanshui noticed that Lady Liu’s eyes had suddenly reddened. Her footsteps faltered for a moment, but she still stopped and helped her up. For a while, she did not know what to say. At a time like this, anything she said would probably sound as though she were showing off.
Lady Liu’s body stiffened slightly. She suppressed the urge to shake Shen Yanshui’s hand away, drew a small breath, and thanked her with a composed smile. “Thank you, Elder Sister. I shall not disturb you and the Crown Prince.”
She turned and returned to the western side hall with the palace servants attending her.
“Close the door!” she said quietly.
The young eunuch behind her hurriedly shut the door tight.
Lady Liu unconsciously twisted the silk handkerchief between both hands. Her eyes held shame, anger, panic, and confusion as she asked in a low voice, “Yinping, why do you think the Crown Prince didn’t even look at me?”
“Could it be… that I’m truly not worthy of catching the Crown Prince’s eye?”
As she spoke, she sat down before the dressing table. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she absently touched her cheek. She might not be as beautiful as Lady Shen or Lady Wu, but she considered herself no less attractive than Lady Zhang. Why, then, was she the only one the Crown Prince neglected?
When she had first been bestowed upon the Crown Prince, she had been thrilled and expectant, filled with pride and conceit. Yet in the short span of half a month, her heart—once floating in the clouds—had gradually sunk back down.
Yinping said cautiously, “Your appearance is certainly not lacking. Otherwise, you would never have been chosen over so many high-born young ladies by the various esteemed consorts.”
As her mistress’s personal maid, Yinping naturally hoped that Lady Liu would win the Crown Prince’s favor. But Lady Shen’s beauty was simply too overwhelming, making her mistress seem rather dim by comparison.
Lady Liu pressed her lips together, raised a hand, and wiped away the tears on her face. There were still many days ahead. No matter how beautiful a face was, there would surely come a day when the Crown Prince grew tired of looking at it.
* * *
Shen Yanshui had already felt hungry when her ability first broke through.
Now that she was dining with the Crown Prince, not only was the food abundant, but the portions were generous as well. Her chopsticks flew back and forth so energetically that there was no need for anyone else to serve her. This made Cui Yu glance at her several times.
He had known for a long time that she had a considerably larger appetite than ordinary women. Even so, he was still slightly shocked when she finished five bowls of rice and showed no signs of stopping.
Beside her, Chunping’s eyes were practically twitching from the effort of trying to signal her mistress, yet she still failed to stop her mistress from accomplishing the feat of eating five bowls of rice in front of the Crown Prince. In the end, her eyes filled with despair.
Across the table, Zheng Yuande’s mouth had fallen open in astonishment, forming a perfect “O.”
When Shen Yanshui began filling her sixth bowl, she could no longer bear the increasingly astonished looks around her. She looked at Cui Yu with pleading eyes and said softly, “Your Highness, I’m still hungry…”
During the apocalypse, she would not have such a huge appetite whenever she had crystal cores to absorb. But at present, she had none.
She couldn’t possibly keep pretending in front of the Crown Prince just for the sake of appearances, could she?
Wouldn’t that be a loss? Why refuse free food and spend her own silver to buy more?
Although the cooks in the Eastern Palace would not make things difficult for her—in fact, they would sometimes send over a few extra fresh dishes—her appetite was simply too large.
Cui Yu glanced at her and instructed, “Tell the kitchen to prepare a few more dishes. Also, summon an imperial physician from the Imperial Medical Academy.”
Shen Yanshui fell silent. Fine, then.
She gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
After she finished her sixth bowl and set down her chopsticks, Chunping cleared the table at a speed that could only be described as astonishing.
Shen Yanshui was speechless. It seemed she had truly frightened Chunping this time.
She had barely finished a cup of tea when the imperial physician arrived.
“This subject pays respects to the Crown Prince.”
Cui Yu slightly furrowed his brows. “Rise. Examine Lady Shen.”
The imperial physician stood and acknowledged the order.
Shen Yanshui cooperatively extended her wrist. Seeing the Crown Prince’s furrowed brows, the imperial physician could not help but feel his heart tighten. He examined her pulse with even greater care.
Yet after only a short while, the vertical crease between his brows slowly smoothed out, and an expression of surprise even appeared on his face.
At last, he withdrew his hand and bowed. “Reporting to Your Highness, the young lady’s health is perfectly fine. Her pulse is strong, and her qi and blood are abundant. Such a robust and healthy constitution is something this old physician has rarely seen in all his years.”
These days, young ladies all pursued a delicate, willow-like appearance. Most achieved it by starving themselves.
The noble ladies in the palace were even worse. They rarely exercised and had to maintain their figures. After years of this, how healthy could their bodies possibly be?
Shen Yanshui was speechless. “Robust” was really not necessary. Truly.
Cui Yu was slightly surprised by the physician’s words. After examining her carefully, he looked toward the imperial physician and said, “She just ate six bowls of rice.”
The unspoken meaning was clear: Is that really normal?
Shen Yanshui was speechless again. What was wrong with eating six bowls of rice? Was she eating his family’s rice?
Well, she was indeed eating rice from his household.
Imperial Physician Hu smiled. “Your Ladyship has a strong pulse, and naturally a robust appetite as well. I imagine you’re usually quite active, which is why you eat more and digest your food quickly. It won’t have any adverse effect on your health.”
Shen Yanshui hurriedly nodded. “The physician is right. Not only that, I’ve been stronger than most people since I was little, so naturally I eat a little more than they do.”
After the physician left, Cui Yu glanced at her, then turned to Zheng Yuande and instructed, “From now on, if Lady Shen’s daily food and provisions aren’t enough, take what’s needed from my allowance.”
Since she served in his Eastern Palace, he couldn’t very well let her go hungry.
Zheng Yuande glanced at Lady Shen, whose face had instantly lit up with delight. He couldn’t help mulling it over for a moment before respectfully replying, “Yes, Your Highness. This servant will remember.”
Shen Yanshui was genuinely happy now—overjoyed, in fact!
Her eyes sparkled at him as though they were shining with a dazzling “bling, bling,” and in that moment, he seemed especially tall and imposing to her. Especially charming!
She clasped one of his hands in both of hers and said with heartfelt sincerity, “Thank you, Your Highness. You’re truly wonderful!”
This wasn’t just about one or two meals. It was about every meal from now on.
At last, she no longer had to worry about where she would find the money once the two thousand taels of silver ran out.
Her exuberant happiness seemed almost infectious. Without realizing it, the corners of Cui Yu’s lips lifted slightly as well, and for a moment, he forgot the unpleasant events that had taken place at court.
