Chapter 120: The Abandoned Little Emperor (24)
The little emperor was happy to fulfill Su Mingxiu’s request. After confirming that she wasn’t injured during the assassination attempt, on their way back to the Imperial Kitchen, she even instructed the palace maids to find a suitable dress in the capital.
After all, the only time she had dressed like a girl was when she wore a palace maid’s outfit and snuck out of the palace, only to be kidnapped.
Since then, she had focused all her attention on being a good emperor, always dressed in either her everyday imperial robes or the formal attire for court sessions and ceremonies, never taking off that bright yellow.
Having the Bureau of Imperial Supplies make a new dress suitable for a female emperor on short notice wasn’t realistic, so she simply had someone buy one from the city.
While waiting for the dress, she toured the Imperial Kitchen, led by the head chef, observing the meticulous preparation of her daily meals. Even a simple bowl of porridge required countless steps.
Xiao Miyun had initially wanted to learn how to make delicate pastries, but after kneading the dough, even the simplest porridge seemed like a daunting task…
An hour later.
The head chef, looking at the shape of the pastries she had cut and the slightly burnt porridge in the pot, its rice scorched, remained silent for a long time.
His silence made the little emperor wonder if he was worried about his teaching skills, or if he was afraid of being punished.
So she spoke first: “Hmm… it seems Zhen isn’t very skilled in this.”
Hearing this, the head chef seemed to relax slightly, then quickly bowed. “Your Majesty is intelligent and wise, this must be your first time cooking. Your results are already quite impressive.”
Now it was Xiao Miyun’s turn to be silent.
She thought about the countless clay pots she had ruined while brewing medicine for Su Mingxiu in the isolation zone and thought…
Brewing medicine was so difficult, it couldn’t be considered cooking. So today was indeed her first time in the kitchen. Thinking of this, she must be truly talented.
So she happily waved her hand and ordered another dish.
The head chef, regretting his flattery, could only comply.
Su Mingxiu accidentally fell asleep in the warm pavilion’s tower.
Waking up, she smelled a fragrance mixed with a familiar burnt smell. She smiled faintly and was about to head towards the door when a figure carrying a tray hurried over, placing the tray beside her and gently pushing her back down.
The Prince of Zhenbei turned her gaze towards the tray. There was a bowl of plain white porridge, with no visible ingredients, but a fragrant seafood aroma.
It must be the little emperor’s attempt to tempt her appetite while also being mindful of her dietary restrictions.
But she didn’t see the source of the burnt smell.
She looked at the little emperor, about to ask, when she noticed the different layers of colors at Xiao Miyun’s neckline. Although she was still wearing the emperor’s outer robe, the inner layers seemed… different.
Remembering her earlier request, Su Mingxiu reached out and pulled Xiao Miyun closer, her fingers just touching her collar when they were stopped by the little emperor, as if reminding her not to break the rules, not to open the gift out of order. Xiao Miyun pointed at the porridge. “Try it.”
As the little emperor leaned closer, the burnt smell faded, replaced by a faint sweetness, the aroma of fried pastries from the Imperial Kitchen.
Su Mingxiu took a spoonful of porridge and asked casually: “Did Your Majesty also make pastries?”
Tried to.
But they were so misshapen that they couldn’t be presented, and the little emperor had reluctantly discarded them.
“Yes… I wanted to make something exquisite to surprise you,” Xiao Miyun, thinking about the disastrous attempt at flower-shaped pastries, explained vaguely, “but then I remembered your condition and that you can’t eat too much ‘fawu’ (foods that can aggravate certain conditions). So I decided to make something else next time.”
“Oh? What pastries weren’t suitable for me?”
Su Mingxiu was curious about what she had missed.
Just then, she put the spoonful of porridge in her mouth. As the taste spread over her tongue, she paused. The little emperor’s reply came at the same time:
“Peony cakes…”
Muttering this, remembering how she couldn’t even mix the colored dough evenly, Xiao Miyun touched her nose, not wanting to raise Su Mingxiu’s expectations too high. She admitted honestly: “It was supposed to be a new lotus flower cake the chefs were experimenting with, but knowing Zhen likes peonies, they changed the design. But it was too difficult to make…”
She stopped herself, realizing she had revealed too much.
But Su Mingxiu was slightly stunned.
Thinking about this bowl of porridge with its seafood aroma, and the peony cakes, then remembering similar details from her past lives, she felt even more certain that this person before her had also accompanied her, lifetime after lifetime, in different forms.
“It’s fine,” she said. “I’ve tasted worse.”
After all, she knew that her beloved was never good at cooking. No matter how carefully she taught her, there would always be unexpected kitchen disasters.
Thankfully, when she left, she didn’t have to worry about her beloved’s financial situation or whether she would be able to eat well. Even if she couldn’t cook, she wouldn’t starve.
Xiao Miyun thought she was referring to the burnt medicine she had brewed earlier and was about to ask if it was really that bad when she suddenly realized that Su Mingxiu had used the word “eat.” She swallowed her words.
Su Mingxiu, lost in thought, unconsciously continued eating the porridge. After finishing the bowl, noticing that the little emperor had been silent for too long, she was about to speak when the person in her lap suddenly stood up: “Zhen just remembered that there are some important memorials from the six ministries that Zhen hasn’t read yet.”
But before she could even take a step, Su Mingxiu grabbed her hand, the spoon clattering in the empty bowl. The Prince of Zhenbei, staring at the strange look in the little emperor’s eyes, leaned closer, her nose almost touching Xiao Miyun’s jawline. Xiao Miyun dodged.
The slightest change in a lover’s behavior was noticeable, unless one was deliberately oblivious.
Holding Xiao Miyun’s sleeve, not wanting her to leave like this, Su Mingxiu was about to speak when a coughing fit seized her, her words turning into a series of painful coughs.
Xiao Miyun had initially wanted to pull away, but seeing the slight color that had returned to Su Mingxiu’s cheeks now flushed from the coughing, her heart ached. In the end, she only stood there, easily pulled back into Su Mingxiu’s embrace.
“What’s… wrong?”
Su Mingxiu, having caught her breath, wanted to pull Xiao Miyun closer. But the person who had been reluctant to leave moments ago was now being stubborn, standing at a distance, forcing Su Mingxiu to exert more effort to pull her into her arms.
Xiao Miyun had never forgotten that Su Mingxiu had loved someone else before.
But the Prince of Zhenbei’s heart had been so impenetrable before, making her feel unworthy of even being liked, let alone questioning her about a past lover.
But now it was different.
She tasted the bitterness rising from her heart, the jealousy she had never dared to acknowledge before.
And a sense of unfairness.
Why did Su Mingxiu suddenly want to see her in a dress? Why did she say that the food Xiao Miyun made tasted so bad that she was used to it?
—Was it because she was… reminded of someone else?
A sliver of rationality told her that with the Prince of Zhenbei’s pride and her usual attitude towards her, she wouldn’t deign to project her past affections onto Xiao Miyun.
But…
Su Mingxiu was gravely ill. People were often more vulnerable when sick, what if…?
The more she tried to ignore it, the more vivid those past details became. Xiao Miyun even remembered being held in Su Mingxiu’s arms, her chin held captive, Su Mingxiu’s gaze sweeping over her.
And that casual remark, with a faint smile: “Indeed, very similar.”
She was overwhelmed by jealousy, unable to speak under Su Mingxiu’s affectionate gaze, afraid that she would spill all her ugly emotions. So she pressed her lips together tightly.
Su Mingxiu, staring at her lips for a long time, pulled her closer and, without hesitation, kissed her, as if trying to pry open her tightly sealed defenses.
“You…”
The little emperor only managed to utter one word before her breath was stolen.
The more she struggled, the tighter Su Mingxiu held her, until only her legs were kicking uselessly against the soft fur on the floor of the warm pavilion.
It was in this moment that she realized that this person’s inherent dominance wouldn’t change because of illness.
When Xiao Miyun was finally gasping for air, Su Mingxiu released her, licking away the moisture from her lips, and asked with a smile: “Do you want to talk now?”
It was as if, if Xiao Miyun refused, she would continue until she got the answer she wanted.
The hairpin in the little emperor’s hair had come loose at some point, her gilded crown sliding down her hair onto the soft carpet.
The now mature empress looked into Su Mingxiu’s deep eyes and suddenly smiled.
As she smiled, her eyes reddened.
The imagined command, the order for Su Mingxiu to stop treating her like someone else, now, under Su Mingxiu’s gentle gaze, seemed impossible to utter.
She hadn’t wanted to cry.
She didn’t know where this grievance came from.
She should be happy. After all, she had only wanted to be by this person’s side, and now her wish had come true. Yet, she wanted more.
It seemed that love and desire could never be truly satisfied.
“You’ve loved someone else before, but this is the first time Zhen has liked someone.”
She closed her eyes, wanting to hide her vulnerability, but the tears overflowing her eyes spilled down her cheeks.
“So… could you… look at me a little more?”
Don’t always look at someone else through me. Zhen’s heart is also made of flesh and blood, Zhen also feels sadness.
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