Chapter 6
After rushing to finish their lunch, Zi Li decided to bid goodbye to Hong Qing and go back to the palace. He really didn’t have that much to talk about with Hong Qing so why not make the guy leave? But when he did, Hong Qing was pulling at his sleeves with a pitiful expression: “Xiao Yu’er, did I make you angry?”
Zi Li rolled his eyes and gave him a disdainful look: “Do you think that I’m such a stingy person? Why would I invite you to eat outside if it was the case?”
“Yeah! You’re right! So that means Xiao Yu’er didn’t really hate me!” Hong Qing held Zi Li’s hand and swings it from side to side while giggling.
“Let go! Please act in accordance of your status and age ok?” Zi Li shot a fierce and cold look at Hong Qing who had an idiotic smile in his face. He was reminded of the emperor who wears a dark expression on his face throughout the day. He still can’t believe, that despite having the same mother, the two are polar opposites of each other! One is as thick and cold as an ice berg, the other is just a nutcase.
Seeing that Zi Li was in a bad mood, Hong Qing immediately obey and let go of his hand. But he wasn’t contented enough: “Since Xiao Yu’er is not angry with me, how about we go back to the palace later?”
“No! Even though I’m not angry at you, but I’m not in the mood right now so I want to go back to my palace!” Zi Li’s face turned strict.
“Eh, ok!” Hong Qing’s face droop and he pinches the corner of Zi Li’s sleeve: “So when can I meet with Xiao Yu’er again?”
Zi Li frowned. What’s with this guy? He’s talking like we’re young lovers!
“Let’s talk about this another time. I’m going.”
“Oh! Don’t forget ok!” Hong Qing was feeling reluctant in parting ways as he yelled towards Zi Li’s back.
After breaking off from that annoying Hong Qing, Zi Li went straight back to the Ming Yang Palace since he didn’t have anything else to do outside. He walked past the big gate, only to discover that there isn’t a single shadow in the courtyard.
“How strange! Where did everyone go? Ming Yue, Chun Lan, come to me!” Zi Li shouted at every corner of the place as he walked.
The moment he opened the door of the living room, he noticed that there were palace servants standing inside in complete silence. Ming Yue and Chun Lan was also standing at the side. When they saw Zi Li at the door way, the two girls breathes in relief.
Zi Li was stumped seeing the serious situation in the room. His pulse spiked and his heart thudded loudly upon seeing the most important man sitting inside. He bowed and saluted: “An Jin Yu offers the humblest greetings to his majesty!”
He felt a pair of eyes scanning his whole body, then he heard the other man say: “You may rise!”
Zi Li was kneading his clammy palms together with his head bowed as he stood to the side. Truth to be told, he is already scared of this guy from what he had experience. And besides, he doesn’t want to wake the sleeping lion and provoke its anger at the crucial moment so he keep reminding himself that he must lay low, be extra careful, be more subservient, and avoid being hot-headed so he won’t end up arguing with this man like he did before.
“Say, what’s the matter with dear Xiao Jin Yu today? You’re surprisingly quiet?” Hong Xu reaches out his finger and raises Zi Li’s drooping face.
“Uh, not sure for what business did his majesty came for?” Zi Li forces his mouth to open and throw a question.
“Do We need one to come?”
“Jin Yu didn’t mean it like that!” This damn emperor, he came here to pick a fight!
Hong Xu didn’t follow up. He simply stared at Zi Li in a way that would scare a person at their wits: “Did Xiao Jin Yu go out of the palace today?”
I went out of the palace, and I also went out to the toilet[1]! Asking a question that you already know the answer to!
Even though his thoughts were like that, Zi Li doesn’t dare to say them out loud. He was very polite in replying: “Yes, your majesty! Jin Yu invited prince Qing to eat outside!”
“Eat? Hehe, now that you say it, We are also quite famished! Servants, bring the food!”
“Yes, your majesty!”
The palace servants immediately arranges the table, and after a short while, they filled the table with fine delicacies.
“Come, Xiao Jin Yu.”
“Answering to his majesty, Jin Yu had already eaten!” Zi Li said in refusal. He really don’t want to sit together with this man, he is too menacing!
“Come, sit here.” Hong Xu’s tone became much colder all of a sudden.
“Ok.” Zi Li was too helpless to resist his might so he did as told.
Hong Xu appears to be pleased as he narrowed his eyes. After that, a palace servant places an appetizing fish dish before them. Hong Xu pinched a portion from that dish with his chopsticks and brought it over to Zi Li’s lips: “Open your mouth.”
Zi Li couldn’t tell if Hong Xu’s expression was delighted or angry so he just opened his mouth obediently. He chomped on the fish and chewed it a few times, then he swallowed the food without tasting it properly.
Soon after, Hong Xu fed Zi Li different dishes consecutively.
“Yo-your majesty, I’m already full!”
“Really? You’ve only eaten roasted pork meatballs when your outside the palace, and you’ve only eaten a few just now, so how can you be full already?”
Hearing those words, a chill courses through Zi Li’s spine. As expected, this man knows his every move like the back of his hand.
Actually, I have expected that a spy is gonna tail me the moment I stepped out of the palace. But what I didn’t expect is that even what I ate at the restaurant would be reported! Well I guess they’re just doing what Hong Xu had ordered them to! This man is surprisingly particular in getting the details so is he already aware about my real intentions when I excused myself to the toilet?
“Are you getting hot?”
“N-no!”
“Are you already full?”
“No, no, I’m still hungry!”
“Good, eat all of these, and don’t leave a left over!”
Zi Li stared at the food in the table with dread, then he turned towards Hong Xu.
“What? Isn’t Xiao Jin Yu hungry? Why aren’t you eating? Shall We feed you? Servants!”
“No, I-I’ll eat it myself!” Under Hong Xu’s cold gaze, Zi Li picked up his chopstick with slightly trembling hands and stuffed the food inside his mouth.
The palace servants standing to the side didn’t dare to raise their heads and make any slightest moves. When Ming Yue saw Zi Li chocking up on the food he was swallowing, her heart was clenching with fear but she still came over and poured Zi Li a cup of tea with trembling hands. Because of that, she was met with Hong Xu’s chilling gaze as she came back to where she was standing.
Zi Li’s heart suddenly soured, tears started bubbling up in his eyes and he couldn’t stop it from rolling down.
“Have you eaten enough?”
Zi Li kept the food in his mouth without swallowing, tears continued to stream as he nodded.
Hong Xu leaned closer to him and pressed on his bulging stomach, he then whispered to his ears: “In the future, you just let Us know if you wanted to dine with someone, got it?
Zi Li nodded again.
“And also, you have to get Our permission first before you leave the palace, understand?”
Zi Li felt sluggish, but he still gave a nod.
“Good boy!” —–
Bonbon translation notes:
[1] – Going out of palace and going out to the toilet had the same pronunciation in original text, so I guess the joke was that haha…
Bonbon wanted to say:
I had the same experience with Zi Li during my childhood… It was me vs my mother and a bowl of vegetables.And yes, I ended up bawling and choking on those vegetables because I wasn’t fond of vegetables as a kid, but I was not allowed to leave the table without finishing it. (My mother is great cook though!)
