books44 Chapter 282: Pork Ribs with Rice
Chapter 282: Pork Ribs with Rice
Yao Jia immediately turned around and went out to look for Lang Yue.
Lang Yue was hiding from the snow under the corridor. When he saw Yao Jia coming out, he brushed off the snow on his body and came to meet her, "Why did you come out?"
Yao Jia flicked off a few snowflakes from his body and cursed him in a low voice, "You're such a fool. You don't even know to go into the house and warm up." She took his cold hand and walked into the house.
Lang Yue knew that she loved him, and his heart felt as sweet as if it were soaked in honey.
After entering the room, he knelt down and saluted the emperor, "I greet your majesty."
His attitude was neither humble nor arrogant, and he was very graceful and generous.
The emperor looked at Langyue. His figure was as straight as a pine tree, his skin was as white as cream, his face was as beautiful as jade, and there was a gentle look between his brows.
He is indeed more pleasing to women than Nangong Xiu Lan’s cold appearance.
The emperor waved his hand and asked him to stand up. "No wonder your wife loves you so much. You are really good-looking."
Lang Yue shyly glanced at the woman next to him, smiled, thanked her and stood up.
Yao Jia quickly turned around and poured him a cup of hot tea.
"Drink it. Your Majesty will not blame you for coming out incognito today."
Lang Yue still took the tea with a smile and put it in his hand.
During the whole process, the emperor stared at the smile on Langyue's lips with a dull look in his eyes.
Qi Huan, who was standing behind him, also widened his eyes.
The charcoal fire burning in the room made a bang, breaking the two men's shock.
The emperor's eyes flickered and he stood up.
"I feel a little unwell suddenly, so I have to go back first."
Having said that, he turned and walked out.
Qi Huan hurriedly followed.
The other three people sent the two men to the door and wanted to send them to the alley entrance, but the emperor waved his hand and asked them to go back.
Yao Jia didn't understand what was going on. She looked at the two people hurriedly leaving and turned to look towards Nanshan.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you? You look distracted."
Nanshan said calmly: "The old man is very tired, he should be rushing back to rest, don't worry about him, let's go eat."
Yao Jia said "Oh" and pulled Lang Yue to follow Nanshan.
As Qi Huan helped the emperor out of the courtyard, secret guards holding umbrellas escorted the two out of the alley.
On the carriage.
The emperor closed his eyes with a tired look on his face. After a long time, he opened his eyes again and looked at Qi Huan.
"That man's smile is exactly the same as A-Yan's. Do you think he could be..."
"Your Majesty..." Qi Huan interrupted him and sighed, "That child drowned in the lotus pond outside Beijing fifteen years ago. You buried him with your own hands. Have you forgotten?"
The emperor looked at him steadily and said sternly, "But the body was totally unrecognizable at the time. We can't be sure it was him!"
He paused, his voice somewhat weak, "Why did I adopt the child of Ah Yan and me to you, but he still couldn't escape the fate of dying young? Why couldn't he escape..."
Qi Huan was filled with grief, for his sister had once given birth to a son with His Majesty, but the child was too weak to survive and had to be kept alive with medicine since birth.
Nangong Wanning predicted that the child would not live past the age of four, and suggested that Your Majesty send the child out of the imperial city.
The sister did not believe it at first, until the child was two years old and had a high fever that wouldn't go away and the imperial doctors were helpless. Then His Majesty finally made up his mind to send the child to his house and adopt him, and announced to the public that the fourth prince had died of illness.
Strangely enough, the child's illness really recovered as soon as he arrived at his house.
It was not until the child was five years old that the elder sister, seeing that the child was getting healthier day by day, wanted to take the child back to the imperial city, but Nangong Wanning did not recommend it.
Unexpectedly, on the child's sixth birthday, the elder sister secretly returned home and insisted on taking the child away. On the way back to the palace, she met a killer and the child was abducted.
When he and His Majesty arrived, they saw a rotting child's body lying under the lotus flowers in the pond.
I don't know when my elder sister secretly ran away from the palace. She was so devastated that she vomited blood on the spot and died a few days later.
"Your Majesty... it is nonsense to change your fate against the will of heaven. Don't even think about it."
The emperor shook his head and muttered, "How could it be nonsense? Didn't Wan Ning also change Xiao Yaoyao's fate? Why can't my Chen'er do the same?"
Qi Huan lowered his brows and said nothing. Nangong Wanning was willing to sacrifice herself in order to change her daughter's fate. How could someone in the royal family go to such an extent?
"The old friend has passed away. I hope Your Majesty will not be inconsolable. Please think about what Mr. Nanshan said today and make timely arrangements for countermeasures."
The emperor held his forehead with his hand. Today, important ministers in the court were clamoring for him to quickly appoint a crown prince, so he wanted to hear Nanshan's opinion. Unexpectedly, Nanshan predicted that his time was up.
"Please let me think about it."
Qi Huan advised: "Your Majesty, you should make a decision as soon as possible. Time waits for no one."
The emperor rubbed his temple, raised his hand and said, "I understand, you can leave first."
Qi Huan lowered his head and replied "yes", then slowly stepped out of the carriage.
The carriage started moving again, and the emperor closed his eyes and leaned against the wall.
"Your Majesty only has six months left to live..."
"Half a year?!"
Yao Jia was shocked. No wonder His Majesty looked so lonely when he left just now.
But then again, Mr. Nanshan was too bold. How could he just tell others that he had only half a year to live? What's more, that person was the emperor. Wasn't he afraid that His Majesty would kill him in a rage?
"Sir, your courage is truly admirable."
His eyes rolled around and he went to the stove to ask Nanshan.
"Then did His Majesty say which prince he would appoint as the crown prince?"
Nanshan opened the lid of the steamer, and white steam carrying a fragrant smell of meat instantly filled the entire kitchen.
He turned his head to look at Yao Jia, his eyes full of inquiry, "Why is Pavilion Master so concerned about the selection of the crown prince?"
Yao Jia chuckled and tilted her head to look at him, "Sir, just tell me, so that I don't stand on the wrong side, which would upset the future new emperor and cause trouble for the Tianxing Pavilion, don't you think?"
Nanshan lowered his eyes and smiled, then turned around to continue adding water to the pot. "The selection of the crown prince is a matter of national importance, so it is naturally up to His Majesty to decide. We should not ask too many questions and just do our part."
Yao Jia raised her eyebrows. The words "do your part well" were quite ambiguous.
It seems that Your Majesty has not yet really decided on a candidate.
When cold water is put into the pot, the steam dissipates immediately, revealing three bowls of white rice in the steamer.
Yao Jia: …………
"Wasn't there a smell of meat just now? Where's the meat?"
Nanshan looked back at her, a doting smile on his lips, "Master, please be patient."
Pick up a clean rag, take out one of the bowls of rice, and turn it upside down in the empty bowl on the chopping board. After removing the upper bowl, the temptingly colored ribs appeared in the bowl.
"There is actually something hidden inside!" Yao Jia looked surprised.
"This is pork ribs stewed with rice. It was originally intended to entertain His Majesty, but now I'm giving it to you at a discount." Nanshan said, and poured the pork ribs stewed with rice in the other two bowls into the empty bowl.
Yao Jia held one of the bowls and walked towards the main room. "Your Majesty, I can only say that you are not blessed with good food. I am."
Yao Jia had overworked her brain today and was already starving. She didn't care about etiquette and sat on the stool next to the stove with her bowl in her arms, and started eating.
The ribs have been fried in advance and are just the right amount of soft and tender, making them very easy to remove from the bones. The rice mixed with the rich soup makes it even more delicious.
The three of them each had a bowl, and none of them spoke, just ate in silence.
After dinner, Yaojia and Langyue took the initiative to help Nanshan clean up the kitchen.
Langyue washed the dishes, Yaojia cleaned the stove, and Nanshan collected the used wood ash from the stove.
The three of them haven't spoken much since the meal. In order to adjust the atmosphere, Yao Jia turned her head to look at Nanshan who was squatting at her feet.
"Sir, you see, if it weren't for me and Lang Yue, you would have to clean up all these things by yourself. Lord Qi would not condescend to help you clean the stove, not to mention His Majesty, the Supreme Emperor..."
Nanshan paused from fiddling with the firewood and looked up at her.
"You ate my rice and cleaned the stove for me. It's like I wronged you."
Yao Jia: …………
"I came with gifts, so it's not a waste of food."
"Isn't that what you use to honor me, your nominal master?"
"I……"
I was so choked that I couldn't utter a word. It was the first time I realized that Nanshan was so good at arguing with people. Every sentence he said hit the key points and hit the target, leaving his opponent speechless.
…………