“...A-Yan.”
Shen Yanshui froze for a moment. His voice was unusually gentle. “Your Highness... what’s wrong?”
Her heart suddenly felt as though something had given it a light tug.
Wasn’t the Crown Prince supposed to be attending the evening banquet? Had something happened there?
The banquet had only ended not long ago, and the news had not yet had time to spread.
Shen Yanshui had no idea what had happened, but she could sense the emotions weighing on the Crown Prince at that moment. She did not ask any questions. Instead, she merely turned her face slightly and rubbed her cheek gently against him.
Cui Yu held her tightly in his arms without saying a word. Only after a long while did he slowly loosen his embrace.
Shen Yanshui lifted her eyes to look at him and saw that his expression had already returned to normal. There was no trace of anything unusual on his face, save for a faint emotion that had not yet completely faded from his eyes.
Cui Yu lowered his gaze to her worried eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and his voice carried a hint of hoarseness. “It’s nothing. I just... missed A-Yan.”
Shen Yanshui looked at him. The Crown Prince had always been steady and composed. For him to show such an expression, whatever had happened could not have been minor. Besides... no matter how composed a person was, there would still be times when their heart felt heavy.
She did not press him for answers. She simply reached out, took his hand, and led him toward the couch.
Cui Yu allowed her to lead him, following silently behind her.
When they reached the couch, she pulled him down to sit, then turned sideways and settled onto his lap.
Cui Yu instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist, his palm resting against the slight swell of her belly.
Shen Yanshui looped her arms around his neck and looked steadily into his eyes. “If Your Highness is feeling troubled, why not tell me about it? Talking things through usually makes the heart feel a little lighter.”
Cui Yu looked at her, his lips pressed tightly together. For a moment, he said nothing.
Shen Yanshui gazed at him quietly, then continued in a soft voice, “When I see Your Highness upset, I worry too. I also start imagining all sorts of things and making wild guesses. Why don’t you tell me what happened? All right?”
When a person was hurting inside, bottling it up would only make things worse. If they had a close friend to talk to, some of that pent-up misery would usually ease.
As the Crown Prince of the empire, with Emperor Pingkang’s blatant wariness of him, it was easy to imagine how much pressure he carried every day.
Yet the Crown Prince had always seemed to digest all his emotions on his own. He had never before shown her an expression like this.
The evening banquet had only just ended. Other than Emperor Pingkang, she truly could not think of anyone else who might have made the Crown Prince look this way.
After all... no matter what, that man was still the Crown Prince’s father.
She had heard that when the Crown Prince was young, Emperor Pingkang had actually doted on him. He had even frequently left the palace to visit him at the Duke Fengguo’s residence.
But as time passed, everything had changed...
Throughout the dynasties, the relationship between an emperor and his heir had often been like this. When a son was young, his father would naturally be loving. But once the son grew older and the emperor himself aged and weakened, suspicion and wariness toward his own son would begin to take root...
And the Crown Prince probably... still had feelings for Emperor Pingkang.
Only when there were feelings could there be disappointment and pain.
She gently drew the Crown Prince’s head into her arms, one hand softly patting his back in comfort.
Cui Yu stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed and leaned against her chest.
The familiar scent of fruit lingered beneath his nose, sweet and warm. It was as though something were gradually smoothing away the turbulent emotions in his heart.
He closed his eyes without saying a word.
After quite some time, he straightened his back. His low voice finally rang out, calm and even. “At tonight’s banquet, the Northern Rong Crown Prince publicly challenged me to a martial bout.”
Shen Yanshui’s hand paused slightly.
“I accepted.” His voice remained completely devoid of fluctuation. “But Father stopped me...”
He recounted everything that had happened at the banquet in a flat, matter-of-fact tone.
By the time she finished listening, her brows were already tightly knitted, and a ball of fire seemed to have burst into her heart.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She cursed several times inwardly.
That old bastard! Was there something wrong with his head? Had all those alchemical pills fried his brain?
With a son as outstanding, capable, and filial as the Crown Prince, he should have been proud and honored. Yet instead of that, he was so suspicious of him and constantly tried to suppress him. He had even humiliated his own son in front of outsiders. Was that something a father ought to do?
He was old, muddleheaded, and utterly unreasonable!
Shen Yanshui was so furious that her chest rose and fell, and even her breathing grew heavier.
Cui Yu felt the change in her breathing and turned to see her brows drawn tightly together, her eyes—usually full of laughter—filled with anger.
Seeing her so upset on his behalf, her cheeks puffed out in indignation, the emotions weighing on his heart suddenly dispersed somewhat.
“A-Yan,” he called softly.
Shen Yanshui looked at him, her heart aching for him. “Your Highness?”
“I’m much better now.” Cui Yu’s voice was low as he looked at her seriously. “A-Yan needn’t get angry over this.”
After a pause, his expression cooled, and a hint of frost entered his voice.
“...I’m used to it.”
Shen Yanshui looked at him and said softly, “Being used to it doesn’t mean it doesn’t still hurt.”
Cui Yu was stunned for a moment.
But the more Shen Yanshui thought about it, the angrier she became, and the more unfair she felt it was for the Crown Prince. Unable to hold herself back, she lowered her voice and said, “I think he’s simply gone senile!”
At her words, Cui Yu’s thoughts abruptly snapped back. The space between his brows twitched hard, and he instinctively swept his gaze around the room. Only after confirming that the two of them were alone did he relax slightly.
Shen Yanshui continued indignantly in a low voice, “Anyone with eyes can see how outstanding Your Highness is. Is he the only one who’s blind...?”
“A-Yan.” Cui Yu finally interrupted her, his voice tinged with helplessness. He even began to feel a headache coming on.
The gloom that had weighed on his heart moments ago had been thoroughly scattered by her words. He could hardly spare any attention for his own unhappiness anymore.
“That mouth of yours...” Cui Yu looked at her helplessly. “You need to keep it under control. Don’t say things like that carelessly once you’re outside. If you let something slip and someone overhears...”
He paused, his brows drawing together slightly.
Words such as these—disrespectful to the sovereign and utterly irreverent—truly made him fear that one day A-Yan might accidentally let them slip in public.
Shen Yanshui: “...”
She huffed indignantly. “I’m not stupid. Of course I won’t say such things carelessly outside. I only say them secretly to Your Highness in private.”
Looking at her expression, a trace of amusement finally surfaced in Cui Yu’s eyes. His low voice turned gentle. “Yes. A-Yan has always been the cleverest.”
As he spoke, his gaze slowly lowered, coming to rest on her belly, which had begun to show and now curved out in a slight swell.
Her sleeping robe was thin and clung to the contours of her body, revealing the gentle arc of her abdomen. He reached out and lightly covered it with his hand. Beneath his palm, it felt a little firmer than the soft, flat belly she had once had...
His eyes lowered, the darkness in them gradually deepening until they seemed bottomless.
He had thought he had done enough to reassure Father.
After his maternal uncle returned from the northern frontier, he had handed over his military authority and adopted an exceptionally humble posture.
These past few days, Imperial Father’s attitude toward him had indeed improved considerably. He had thought that the relationship between him and Imperial Father had finally eased somewhat.
But what had happened today was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head.
Only now did he realize that the so-called “improvement” had merely been his own wishful thinking.
Thinking of the fates that had befallen the crown princes throughout history after they fell under suspicion… his gaze grew increasingly dark and unreadable.
His eyes fell upon A-Yan’s belly, and the chill in them finally began to recede.
He now had A-Yan, as well as their two unborn children.
He would never allow A-Yan and the children to be dragged into his troubles and end up in the same circumstances recorded in the histories…
He had never considered giving up that position. Since he had taken his place as Crown Prince, he was determined to see it through to the end.
And now—
This had merely made him recognize more clearly where he, as Crown Prince, stood in Imperial Father’s heart.
There were some things… he needed to start preparing for.
In the future, no matter what happened, he would have the ability to protect the people he wished to protect, rather than passively waiting for Imperial Father’s mercy.
Cui Yu’s expression turned completely cold, his eyes filled with deep, somber shadows.
Night gradually fell.
One by one, the lamps in the imperial residence went out, and the surroundings grew quiet. The only sounds were the occasional chirping of insects drifting over from the distant mountains.
The two of them lay on the bed. Cui Yu turned onto his side and habitually drew her into his arms.
He had thought it might be difficult to fall asleep that night.
Yet, for some reason, not long after he lay down, the faint fragrance of fruit clinging to her drifted beneath his nose, wrapping around him with a warm, gentle softness. His breathing gradually evened out, and before he knew it, he had fallen into a deep sleep.
Seeing that he was asleep, Shen Yanshui carefully studied his face.
The candle had already been extinguished. Only a faint sliver of moonlight filtering through the gaps in the window lattice vaguely outlined his features.
She slowly raised her hand and traced her fingertips along his brow bone. Then she gently touched his cheek and pinched his soft earlobe before finally withdrawing her hand.
“Your Highness, sleep well…” she whispered.
Then, nestled in his arms, she carefully shifted until she found a comfortable position, buried her face in the crook of his neck, and closed her eyes.
Before long, she too fell into a deep sleep.
The following morning.
Daylight streamed through the window lattice. Before Cui Yu even opened his eyes, he instinctively reached out to embrace A-Yan, only to find empty space.
He opened his eyes. The creases left in the pillow were still there, and the spot beside him was cool to the touch, but the person who had lain there was gone.
He paused slightly, then sat up and swept his gaze around the room. A-Yan was indeed nowhere to be seen.
This had never happened before.
A-Yan had always been fond of sleeping in. Even before she became pregnant, she had loved her sleep; after becoming pregnant, she slept even more.
Every morning when he rose, she was usually still curled up beneath the covers, sleeping soundly. Sometimes, even after he had dressed, he would turn back to look at her, only to find her still in that completely unmoved state—not even her position had changed.
Every morning, he awoke with A-Yan in his arms. Today… her absence left him somewhat unaccustomed.
“Zheng Yuande.”
“Your servant is here.”
Zheng Yuande hurriedly led the attendants inside and carefully began attending to him as he washed and dressed.
As he wrung out the face cloth, he stole a cautious glance at his master’s expression.
He had assumed that the Crown Prince would be in a poor mood today. Whenever anything unpleasant happened on the Emperor’s side, the Crown Prince would remain gloomy for several days. Though nothing showed on his face and he never revealed it in front of others, those who served close to him could feel the oppressive air surrounding him with absolute clarity.
But today—
Zheng Yuande observed that the Crown Prince’s expression was calm. Compared with the cold severity and gloom he usually carried, he seemed incomparably better.
Zheng Yuande immediately let out a huge sigh of relief.
He could not help feeling immense gratitude and admiration for Worthy Lady Shen.
When the Crown Prince had returned the previous day, he had looked so grim that Zheng Yuande, following behind him, had felt his heart pounding with worry and fear.
He had never expected that after only one night, the Crown Prince would already appear to have returned to normal… It was truly a miracle.
A smile unconsciously spread across Zheng Yuande’s face. As he helped the Crown Prince wash his face, he said, “Your Highness is finally awake. Worthy Lady got up early this morning and personally went to the small kitchen, saying she wanted to prepare breakfast for Your Highness. It should be nearly ready by now.”
Cui Yu’s hand paused slightly as he wiped his face.
“Worthy Lady even specifically instructed this servant to say that Your Highness should be waking soon.” Zheng Yuande continued with a beaming smile. “And look at that—Your Highness really did wake up at just this time. Worthy Lady truly can predict the future!”
Cui Yu set down the cloth and turned to him with a frown, his voice low. “Worthy Lady is still carrying our children. How could you let her go to the small kitchen and do things herself? With so many attendants at her side, are they all being paid to do nothing?”
The Crown Prince’s sudden darkening expression startled Zheng Yuande. Before he could reply, a voice as beautiful as heavenly music came from outside, rescuing him from his predicament.
“Your Highness.”
Cui Yu looked up and saw A-Yan enter through the door.
Today, Shen Yanshui wore a hibiscus-colored blouse. Her hair was simply twisted into a bun, with a small silk flower tucked beside her temple. A smile rested on her face, and she looked fresh and radiant, like a splash of brightness on a summer day.
She walked over and took the Crown Prince’s outer robe from a young eunuch nearby. She had just prepared to help him put it on when he took it from her and dressed himself. She smiled and did not argue with him.
With a bright smile, she said, “Nanny Wang said that these two children are especially well-behaved and haven’t troubled me at all. I had nothing else to do, so I went to take a look in the small kitchen. Eunuch Lin, Shouzhong, and Shouyi were there to help me. At most, I only had to give a few instructions. It didn’t tire me out.”
As she spoke, she reached out and straightened his collar.
Cui Yu lowered his eyes to look at her. “You could have left it to the attendants. There was no need for you to go personally.”
Shen Yanshui smiled and nodded obediently. In a sweet voice, she said, “I know, Your Highness~”
As she spoke, her gaze fell to his chin. Seeing the stubble emerging along his jaw, she could not resist reaching out to touch it.
It felt a little prickly beneath her fingertips.
“It’s so rough.” She smiled, then looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. “Your Highness, shall I shave you?”
She had never shaved the Crown Prince before.
The moment the words left her lips, the room fell completely silent.
The young eunuch attending nearby felt his heart clench.
Shaving was no ordinary task. It was delicate work, requiring a blade to be used on the Crown Prince’s face. If she accidentally cut him or marred his appearance… all of them would probably have to suffer terribly for it.
Chunping and the others waiting farther away also felt their hearts jump.
Their mistress had never shaved anyone before. What if she accidentally injured the Crown Prince? What would they do then?
Chunping could not help glancing secretly at Eunuch Zheng. Dongyi looked over as well, while Quanfu frantically signaled with his eyes.
Zheng Yuande felt several heated gazes fixed upon him. Though his expression remained impassive, he could not help cursing inwardly.
What use was he to them?
He didn’t dare step forward to stop the Worthy Lady from doing it at a time like this! Hadn’t they all seen that the Crown Prince already looked perfectly willing to indulge her?
Sure enough, Cui Yu glanced at Shen Yanshui, then nodded with a smile. “Mm.”
Eunuch Zheng silently took half a step back, while Chunping and the others silently lowered their heads.
Shen Yanshui eagerly went to fetch the shaving tools.
To make things easier for her, Cui Yu sat down in a chair. When Shen Yanshui returned with the knife, she saw that he was already settled and stood in front of him. With a beaming smile, she suddenly lifted his sharp chin with one fingertip and looked him over from side to side.
Then she arched her brows, her face filling with exaggerated surprise. “Oh!” Her voice held a teasing lilt. “Which family does this handsome young gentleman belong to? How did he come to be so devastatingly good-looking? Why don’t you come home with me and be my bandit husband?”
Zheng Yuande’s eyes instantly widened. “??!!”
He looked up only to see the Worthy Lady Shen behaving outrageously toward the Crown Prince… Ahem! He hadn’t seen a thing. With that thought, he immediately lowered his head again, feeling that the floor had never looked so brilliantly polished.
Chunping and the others were even more stunned. “?!!!”
Cui Yu lazily lifted his eyelids and looked at her, the corners of his eyes tilting upward.
Still holding his chin, Shen Yanshui shifted his face from side to side, then reached out and touched his cheek, clicking her tongue in wonder. “Just look at how fair this skin is, and how tender this little face is.”
She leaned closer, smiling sweetly at him. “Why aren’t you saying anything, my dear? Don’t tell me you’re mute? If you’re mute, I don’t want you.”
Seeing her acting so ridiculously, Cui Yu’s brows twitched slightly. His lips parted, and his voice remained utterly even. “I am not mute.”
When Shen Yanshui saw that he had actually answered her, she hurriedly suppressed her laughter. One hand on her hip and the other still holding the knife, she raised her chin and put on the airs of a bandit chieftain abducting some innocent young man.
“It’s good that you’re not mute. But whether you’re willing or not isn’t up to you.”
As she spoke, she felt that something about the line seemed a little off, but she decided not to worry about it. Suddenly, she let out the classic villain’s laugh—“Heh heh heh!”
“...?” Cui Yu nearly couldn’t stop himself from rubbing his forehead.
Where had A-Yan learned to laugh like that? It was truly… Ahem, utterly adorable.
Shen Yanshui remained completely unaware. She felt that her acting had reached the pinnacle of perfection and was thoroughly enjoying herself.
“Since you’ve caught your auntie’s eye, you’ll belong to your auntie for the rest of your life! Men! Take my bandit husband back home!”
As she spoke, she even planted one foot on a nearby stool, threw out her arm, and gave a rousing wave!
“Pfft!”
Dongyi couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
The instant the laugh escaped, she regretted it.
Stupid mouth!
How dare it laugh at the Crown Prince and her mistress? Did it have a death wish?
She hastily lowered her head, wishing she could bury her face in the ground, and cursed herself eight hundred times over in her heart.
Cui Yu’s phoenix eyes swept across the room. Every palace maid and eunuch attending them had their heads bowed so low they looked ready to bury them in the floor.
As for Zheng Yuande, he deeply regretted not leaving earlier when he had worried that the Worthy Lady might accidentally nick the Crown Prince’s precious face. Now he was having an exceedingly difficult time holding back his laughter…
And then there was the fact that the Crown Prince’s “dignity” seemed not to have survived either…
Cui Yu withdrew his gaze and looked up at A-Yan.
He knew that she was only trying to amuse him.
Warmth filled his heart. A moment later, he responded in a calm voice, “Mm.”
Shen Yanshui was still fully immersed in her performance when she heard the Crown Prince cooperate by answering her again. She froze for a moment.
Why was the Crown Prince so… obedient?
A Crown Prince like this—and that old bastard still wanted to suppress him? It was utterly unreasonable!
She cursed Emperor Pingkang a few more times in her heart. Then, seeing that it was getting late, she stopped delaying and earnestly began shaving the Crown Prince.
One hand gently held his chin steady while the other held the knife, moving carefully and meticulously as she shaved away the stubble that had grown in, little by little.
Cui Yu sat quietly, his face tilted slightly upward, though his gaze remained fixed on her face the entire time.
After a while, Shen Yanshui put down the knife and took a step back to inspect her work. With great satisfaction, she nodded. “Done.”
Just as Cui Yu rose to his feet, she pulled him over to the bronze mirror to take a look.
The Crown Prince’s chin in the mirror was smooth and clean, his handsome features freshly revealed. With his noble bearing and jade-like appearance, he was exactly the sort of man described by phrases like “a magnolia by jade trees.”
Standing behind him, Shen Yanshui looked at her “masterpiece” in the mirror and raised her chin smugly.
Seeing her pleased and triumphant expression reflected in the mirror, Cui Yu’s lips finally curved into a faint smile.
After washing up, the two of them left the inner room one after the other and headed toward the main hall.
Cui Yu’s steps faltered slightly when he saw the several dishes on the table, none of which he had ever seen before.
The table was filled to the brim with a dazzling array of food.
One plate held neatly arranged pieces of something cut into small cubes, its surface golden-brown and faintly crisped.
Beside it was a dish of dark red and black strips cut into short sections and sprinkled with sesame seeds and chopped scallions. It carried an indescribable aroma of savory sauce.
Farther along sat a steamer basket of small shaomai. The wrappers were so thin they were almost transparent, allowing him to vaguely make out the color of the filling inside. They looked quite different from the shaomai he had eaten in the past.
There was also a bowl of something milky white. He had no idea what kind of milk had been used, but it looked like some sort of sweet pudding.
After looking at the dishes for a moment, he turned his gaze back to her.
Shen Yanshui was watching him with a bright smile. “The Crown Prince has been busy these past few days and hasn’t had any time to have breakfast with me.” Her voice was soft, with a hint of coquettishness. “So I prepared several new dishes for you. Try them and see if you like them.”
In her view, eating something delicious naturally put a person in a better mood.
That was why she had gotten up especially early that morning and gone to the small kitchen. She had spent half the morning experimenting with Eunuch Lin, Shouzhong, and Shouyi before finally putting together these dishes she wanted to make for the Crown Prince.
The previous evening, the Crown Prince had told her that he had nothing important to do today and that the competition with the Northern Rong Crown Prince had been set for tomorrow. After all, the First Prince was still in the capital, and it would take some time for him to travel back and forth.
She had risen early and immediately sent someone out to make inquiries. She learned that the messenger sent to the capital to deliver the imperial edict had already set out from the traveling palace that morning.
Looking at all the trouble that old bastard was making, she figured he was probably afraid that the Crown Prince would win and gain even greater prestige.
After all, the Northern Rong envoys had specifically requested a martial contest with the Crown Prince. They certainly hadn’t done so on a whim.
At present, the two countries had temporarily ceased fighting and restored peaceful relations. Northern Rong had taken the initiative to propose a marriage alliance after its defeat, but that only meant a temporary peace. It had not become a vassal state of Great Yong.
If one day Great Yong’s ruler proved incapable and the country’s strength declined, Northern Rong would certainly return in force.
Thus, the Northern Rong Crown Prince was taking this opportunity to test the abilities of Great Yong’s future heir. He might even be probing the relationship between Emperor Pingkang and the Crown Prince—or trying to sow discord between them. Any of those motives would be entirely natural.
From the way things stood, she felt that Northern Rong had already achieved at least half of its objective.
The more she thought about it, the more displeased she became, but she did not let any of it show.
She quickly suppressed those emotions, then walked to the table with a smile and pointed excitedly at the golden dish.
“Your Highness, look. This is baked milk. I had Shouzhong mix milk with sugar and egg yolks and stir it in a pot until it thickened. After letting it cool and set, we cut it into pieces, brushed them with beaten egg, and baked them again. The outside is crisp and browned, while the inside stays soft and tender.”
Cui Yu followed the direction of her finger. The baked milk had been cut into neat little cubes, each covered with a golden-brown crust. It looked quite appetizing.
Shen Yanshui smiled and pointed to the dish beside it, where black and red mingled together. “This is grilled cold noodle. We spread buckwheat batter into a thin pancake and cooked it on an iron griddle, then cracked an egg over it, brushed it with sauce, sprinkled it with scallions, rolled it up, and cut it into small pieces. They’re all common folk snacks. I thought Your Highness probably hadn’t tried them before, so I had Eunuch Lin give them a try.”
She then pointed to the shaomai. “And this is milk-tea shaomai. The filling contains glutinous rice cooked in milk tea, along with diced mutton. The flavor is rather unusual.”
“And this is qingbuliang.” Shen Yanshui lifted the bowl of milky-white sweet soup and said with a bright smile, “It’s stewed with coconut milk and contains mung beans, red beans, lotus seeds, longan, crisp slices of red dates, and tremella. It’s especially refreshing in summer.”
The coconuts were tribute from Qiongzhou. There were quite a few of them, and the Crown Prince could presumably enjoy them every year, so they were hardly anything new. She had simply happened to crave this dessert herself and remembered it.
After she finished, she looked toward the other breakfast dishes that he usually ate and said with a smile, “I wasn’t sure whether these would suit Your Highness’s taste, so I also prepared some of the foods you usually enjoy. Your Highness, please try them.”
Cui Yu looked over the table laden with a dazzling variety of dishes, then slowly shifted his gaze to her.
Shen Yanshui wore a smile, her eyes shining with expectation as she looked at him.
Cui Yu reached out and took her hand, gently enclosing it in his own. “You’ve gone to a lot of trouble, A-Yan.” His voice was low, carrying a restrained huskiness.
Shen Yanshui shot him a coquettish look. “Your Highness, stop staring at me~” she said, pretending to be shy as she turned her face away. Then she glanced back at him. “No matter how pretty I am, I can’t exactly fill Your Highness’s stomach!”
“…”
Seeing her playful expression, Cui Yu couldn’t help smiling.
He released her hand and sat down at the table. Picking up his chopsticks, he surveyed the dishes and first picked up a piece of baked milk.
The golden crust was slightly crisp. When he picked it up with his chopsticks, he could feel the thin, firm shell, while the inside remained soft and tender.
He took a bite. The crust was fragrant and crisp, with a faint sweetness. The inside was smooth and delicate, and the rich scent of milk melted across his tongue—sweet without being cloying.
He nodded, then picked up some grilled cold noodle.
The buckwheat pancake had been fried until slightly crisp. Wrapped together with the fragrance of egg and the savory sweetness of the sauce, it was soft yet pleasantly chewy, while the aromas of sesame and scallions mingled together.
“Not bad,” he said with a smile.
The smile on Shen Yanshui’s face deepened. She began eating as well, then pointed at the milk-tea shaomai. “Your Highness, try this.”
Cui Yu picked up a shaomai. Its wrapper was so thin that the color of the filling showed through. He took a bite. The glutinous rice cooked in milk tea carried a rich fragrance of milk and tea, mingling with the savory freshness of mutton. The flavor was indeed… very unusual.
His chewing paused for an instant.
A moment later, he swallowed and nodded as before. “Mm. It’s quite good.”
Although he did not particularly care for it, A-Yan had risen early and gone to the trouble of making it especially for him. He did not want to disappoint her.
Shen Yanshui ate one piece of baked milk after another. After taking a look at his expression, she reached out with her chopsticks and snatched away the half-eaten milk-tea shaomai from his bowl.
“Your Highness doesn’t quite like the flavor, does he?” she asked with a beaming smile, putting the remaining half into her own mouth. “Then don’t eat it. Give it to me instead. We shouldn’t waste food.” She actually thought it tasted quite good.
Cui Yu moved his lips, but before he could say anything, she had already finished it in two bites.
He had been pampered in fine clothes and fed the finest foods since childhood. Yet even his mother had never eaten food left over by him…
Cui Yu stared intently at her, his Adam’s apple bobbing once. Suddenly, he felt that his behavior the previous night had been rather overly sensitive.
His father’s attitude toward him had always been changeable—sometimes kind and warm, sometimes cold and suppressive. Had he not known this for a long time, and grown accustomed to it long ago?
He was clearly capable of remaining impassive before everyone, concealing his feelings perfectly. Yet yesterday, in front of A-Yan, he had lost control and let some of his emotions show, making her worry about him.
Looking at the smile in her eyes and the various novel little snacks before him, he felt as though something warm were slowly pouring into his heart, filling it to the brim.
He gazed at her, his attention wholly focused on her.
Shen Yanshui began to feel uneasy beneath his stare. She touched her face. “Your Highness, is there something on my face?”
Cui Yu answered naturally, “Mm.” He then reached out and brushed his thumb over the corner of her mouth and cheek. “There. It’s gone.”
As he spoke, he withdrew his gaze and picked up his chopsticks again, placing a serving of stir-fried seasonal greens in her bowl. “Eat some vegetables.”
A-Yan quite liked fresh fruit, but when it came to vegetables, she was far more partial to meat and rarely ate enough greens.
The imperial physicians and Nanny Wang had both said that she needed a balanced diet of meat and vegetables to stay healthy.
Shen Yanshui thought nothing of it. Her peach-blossom eyes curved into crescents as she smiled at him. “Thank you, Your Highness~ Please eat.”
“Mm.” The corners of Cui Yu’s lips lifted slightly, and his low voice was gentle. “It’s delicious.”
Shen Yanshui grew even happier at his words. She placed another serving of baked milk in his bowl and ladled a bowl of qingbuliang for him, setting it within reach.
“Then Your Highness should eat more.”
Cui Yu acknowledged her and lowered his head to take a sip of the qingbuliang.
The light sweetness of the coconut milk mingled with the tremella, lotus seeds, and fragrant, crisp slices of red date. Cool and refreshing, it slipped smoothly down his throat.
Morning light streamed in from outside the hall and fell upon the two of them, bathing them in a warm golden glow…
