When Lu Jinshuang carried Xi Weilan to Pear Fragrance Courtyard, Xi Qingyue and Mu Jin had already stopped practicing their swordsmanship. The two of them were sitting at the stone table beneath the pear tree, drinking tea.
Seeing her approach, Mu Jin rose and bowed. Xi Qingyue waved a hand, then walked over and sat down at the stone table.
With a smile, she looked at Lu Jinshuang. “Lan’er said you have people deliver a hundred portions of food every day. Can you really finish all that?”
Xi Qingyue gave her an odd look before smiling and shaking her head. “No. Lan’er must not have explained it clearly. It’s a hundred portions of every dish. Every dish from every restaurant and food shop is prepared once and delivered here. There are more than a dozen establishments sending food at the same time, so altogether there are definitely over ten thousand portions.”
The smile on Lu Jinshuang’s face froze. Once again, she had been thinking far too small.
Seeing her astonished expression, Xi Qingyue kindly added, “We only need to eat one restaurant’s food at a time. We can switch to another one in the evening. I guarantee you’ll never eat the same thing twice in a day.”
She had not stayed here for so long merely to amuse herself. Food was the most important thing of all.
For the next ten years, she would never lack food even without cooking for herself. Unless she wanted something no restaurant offered, she could simply make it herself or have someone else prepare it.
She planned to stock up on delicacies from every part of the country. Whenever she wanted something, she could eat it at once. That was the ultimate pleasure in life.
After speaking, she swept her gaze across the courtyard. Apart from the two sisters, only Lu Jinshuang, Mu Jin, and Dongxue were present.
Since they already knew what she was capable of, there was no need to keep hiding it. These people would be spending a long time together, after all.
With a wave of her sleeve, the tea set on the stone table vanished. In the next instant, the entire table was covered with food, leaving not even the slightest bit of empty space.
Lu Jinshuang had witnessed this scene with her own eyes, yet she was still stunned. She knew that Xi Qingyue possessed a miraculous technique for storing objects, but the food on the stone table was still steaming. It looked as though it had just been prepared. That was simply too bizarre.
Mu Jin and Dongxue both stared with their mouths hanging open. However, being clever women, they covered their mouths and did not ask a single question.
One was Lu Qianning’s trusted guard, while the other was Lu Jinshuang’s maidservant. Keeping secrets and refraining from prying were the most basic qualities they possessed.
Lu Jinshuang picked up a piece of lamb and took a bite. The sizzling stir-fried lamb was hot, as though it had just come out of the wok.
She looked at the other dishes on the table. There was chicken, duck, beef, lamb, and pork of every kind. Even the milky-white fish soup was still steaming. She could not help marveling at Xi Qingyue’s almost godlike abilities.
Xi Qingyue smiled faintly. “How is it? If it isn’t enough, I can bring out more later. There’s simply no room left on the table.”
Lu Jinshuang nodded repeatedly. “It’s enough. We’ll be doing well if we can finish all of this.”
Xi Qingyue then beckoned to Mu Jin and Dongxue. “You two, sit down and eat with us. Eat as much as you like. There’s plenty of food.”
The food on the table should be enough for the five of them. Even if it was not, Xi Qingyue could simply bring out more.
The two women did not stand on ceremony. They sat down beside Xi Weilan so they could help put food into the child’s bowl.
As she ate, Lu Jinshuang continued marveling. “So you can store food just like you store carriages, while keeping it fresh? So when you bought out that entire pastry shop after arriving in Cloud City, it wasn’t because you and Lan’er could eat it all. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll discover your secret and use it against you?”
Xi Qingyue took a sip of soup, then smiled calmly at her. “In a moment, I’ll demonstrate my unique dishwashing technique. If you really do decide to harm me, you can use the result as a reference.”
Instead of feeling afraid, Lu Jinshuang became rather expectant. After all, she had no intention of becoming Xi Qingyue’s enemy.
Mu Jin and Dongxue were also filled with anticipation, and the group began eating even faster.
Xi Weilan’s cheeks were puffed out as she ate, completely ignoring their conversation. She did not believe anyone could defeat Xi Qingyue. In her heart, her elder sister had long since become invincible.
A quarter of an hour later, everyone put down their bowls and chopsticks. Mu Jin and Dongxue rose and stepped back, while Lu Jinshuang carried Xi Weilan more than a dozen paces away from the stone table.
Xi Qingyue stood several steps away from the table and gently raised both hands.
In the next instant, every bowl, chopstick, plate, and other utensil on the table rose into the air and hovered there. Streams of water appeared out of nowhere, winding through the dishes like water dragons as they repeatedly washed away every trace of grease and grime.
The moment the streams of water vanished, all the bowls, chopsticks, and plates were spotless—not even a drop of water remained on them.
One of the plates flew to the side and began spinning rapidly in midair, as though it were being cut apart by invisible blades. In the blink of an eye, it was reduced to a pile of powder that scattered onto the ground.
With a wave of Xi Qingyue’s hand, all the plates, bowls, and utensils were neatly placed back on the stone table before disappearing without a trace.
Lu Jinshuang and the others stood there with their mouths hanging open. The shock in their eyes had yet to fade, and for a long while, none of them recovered.
It was not until Xi Weilan clapped her little hands and cheered, “Big Sister is amazing!” that they finally came back to their senses.
Xi Qingyue looked at Lu Jinshuang and spoke in an unhurried tone. “Sister Jinshuang, whether it’s you or any of your brothers and sisters, if anyone tries to harm Lan’er or me, killing you would be as easy as crushing an ant. Even if you had an army of a hundred thousand, you still couldn’t stop me. Do you understand?”
Lu Jinshuang nodded again and again. Only now did she truly realize how terrifying Xi Qingyue was. It was not that Xi Qingyue herself was frightening; it was that her methods were too strange and powerful.
She smiled. “Don’t worry. I would never harbor any ill intentions toward you. By the way, Yue, can I still call you that?”
She suddenly felt that she was no longer worthy of addressing Xi Qingyue so casually. Someone like Xi Qingyue could even be her senior, and she would have no objections.
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue smiled and nodded. “Of course. You can call me what you always have. I only showed you my unique dishwashing technique. I never said I was going to become your great-grandmother. I’m only eight years old.”
The corner of Lu Jinshuang’s mouth twitched. If the dishwashing display had merely been a demonstration of a miraculous technique, then the plate that had been reduced to powder at the end had unquestionably been shown to her on purpose. It was a warning: if they became enemies, that would be their fate.
Suddenly, Lu Jinshuang smacked her forehead, her face full of regret.
“Yue, with abilities like yours, you should have revealed them sooner! Father could have directly made you Imperial Preceptor. Wouldn’t that have been far more impressive than being a Commandery Princess?”
Xi Qingyue sat back down at the stone table and brought out the tea set again. Only then did she slowly shake her head. “Being a Commandery Princess is perfectly fine. It’s quite useful here in Yongfu City. Your brothers will rebel sooner or later. If I became Imperial Preceptor, they would surely raise a rebellion in the name of ‘clearing the emperor’s court of traitors.’ I’m not going to take the blame for them. What a hassle.”
The moment Mu Jin saw her bring out the tea set, she went over to brew the tea with great tact. The look she gave Xi Qingyue was filled with admiration—she looked every bit like a devoted little fan.
Xi Qingyue patted her shoulder with a satisfied expression. “Mu Jin, you’re much braver than Luo Ling. She becomes frightened whenever she sees Lan’er and me. I don’t know what she’s afraid of. It’s not as though we eat people.”
Mu Jin smiled. “The Commandery Princess is right. Luo Ling seems to be getting sillier and sillier since she started following the Princess. Don’t hold it against her.”
By then, Lu Jinshuang had also carried Xi Weilan back to the table and sat down. She smiled gracefully. “What Yue said is right. Father has been obsessed with alchemy for years. Who knows whether one of my brothers has been plotting behind it all? If you became Imperial Preceptor, they would definitely pin all the blame on you. Wait until Little Nine takes the throne. You can become Imperial Preceptor then.”
She hadn’t even asked Xi Qingyue whether she wanted to become emperor. There was no need to ask—Xi Qingyue was someone who simply loved eating, drinking, and having fun. With her abilities, it made no difference whether she took the throne or not.
Hearing this, Xi Weilan tilted her head and asked, “Sister Jinshuang, why don’t you want to become emperor? You’re Seventh, while Big Sister Lu is Ninth.”
Lu Jinshuang tapped her lightly on the forehead and laughed. “I’d never take that position. It’s exhausting, and I still want to travel around and have fun with all of you. When she needs me, I can always go back and lead the troops into battle for her.”
