Chapter 68 Dining with His Highness

“Has Your Highness had dinner yet, since you’ve come so late at night? Why don’t we eat together?” Qiu Shuzhi saw his face turning red with embarrassment and decided not to tease him further.

“…Mm.” Yue Guanyi seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding in agreement.

He thought to himself, having suddenly barged into Qiu Niang’s room late at night, if he rashly asked about her wound, she might become suspicious. It would be better to agree first, then apply medicine for her inconspicuously.

Ji Mei had only prepared one set of bowls and chopsticks, but fortunately, there were other utensils like soup spoons and side plates. So when she heard his movements in the room, she had already moved the unused bowls and chopsticks to his position. It seemed that after they had confessed their feelings for each other, they hadn’t had much time to be alone together. This was a good opportunity.

Yue Guanyi surveyed the dishes on the table, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly: “Why are there only four dishes?”

“Is four dishes not good enough?” Qiu Shuzhi raised an eyebrow with a hint of amusement.

“I clearly-” He was about to say something but suddenly fell silent.

The Yulin Army’s discipline was lax and had always been neglected, so the food for patrolling the imperial city was much worse than that of other armies. In the past, he could turn a blind eye to these things, after all, it wasn’t under his jurisdiction.

But now that Qiu Niang was the commander of the Yulin Army and often led the soldiers on patrol, how could he bear to let her eat cold pickles and steamed buns like those low-ranking soldiers? He wished he could directly insert the imperial kitchen’s chef into the Yulin Army.

Yet he couldn’t be too conspicuous, he could only let those low-ranking Yulin soldiers benefit from Qiu Niang’s influence and improve their meals as well.

He had clearly instructed the kitchen that the Yulin Army commander should have at least six dishes and one soup prepared, and they must be different every day, with even the ingredients being of the best quality.

He clenched his fists tightly, his fingertips turning pale. It seemed the food suppliers were lining their own pockets again, daring to skimp on his orders. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes – he would make sure to break those despicable bones when he got back.

Qiu Shuzhi placed his tightly clenched fist on her leg. The tense hand turned into a ripe peach on its own, opening up without her effort to reveal its juicy flesh.

“There were originally six dishes, but I couldn’t eat that much alone, so I gave the rest to Ji Mei and the others to share.” She gently squeezed the soft flesh of his palm, pausing for a moment: “Thank you for your thoughtfulness.”

The jade-like hand on her leg twitched twice. Yue Guanyi was silent for a moment: “You knew all along.”

Qiu Shuzhi nodded with a smile, her long hair cascading down her back and falling in front of her body. The tips of her hair fell into his palm. His eyes moved, and taking advantage of her inattention, he gently played with the ends of her hair with his fingertips, revealing a hint of satisfaction as if he had stolen a taste.

“Earlier, Ji Mei told me that since I started serving in the Yulin Army, the food gradually improved. I vaguely guessed it might have something to do with Your Highness, and it turns out to be true.”

She picked up the white jade chopsticks and pinched a piece of jade bamboo heart, bringing it to his mouth.

“Come, open your mouth,” she said, her lips curling up.

Yue Guanyi’s eyes widened slightly. The aroma of the food was right under his nose, but his eyes were filled with shock, not daring to open his mouth.

How could he let Qiu Niang feed him? It should be him serving her.

“Qiu Niang, I-”

“Is it delicious?”

Qiu Shuzhi took advantage of his open mouth to push the jade bamboo heart in. Whatever he was about to say would have been more subservient talk anyway, which she didn’t want to hear. Rather than that, she preferred to see the usually high and mighty Crown Prince being obedient and docile in front of her. Occasionally teasing him could even make him blush.

Yue Guanyi pressed his lips tightly, chewing dryly a couple of times before nodding: “It’s delicious.”

Under extreme nervousness, he could no longer taste the food. Even the most exquisite delicacies tasted like chewing wax in his mouth.

“Then have another piece of soft braised tofu.”

The soft-braised tofu was coated with a translucent, glistening sauce. Each piece of tofu was fully saturated with the juice, making one’s mouth water. However, the sauce-covered tofu was both soft and slippery – too much force would break it, too little and it would easily fall.

“Ah-” The piece of tofu she had just picked up fell onto the table.

She carefully picked up another piece, her other hand cautiously cupping underneath. Just as she was about to bring it to Yue Guanyi’s mouth, it fell again, but fortunately landed in her palm.

It was just eating tofu, not taking advantage of Yue Guanyi, why was it so difficult?

She sighed, about to switch to a soup spoon, when suddenly a cool hand covered her wrist.

The cool, lofty mountain hermit lowered his head and took the soft tofu from her palm into his mouth.

Qiu Shuzhi almost couldn’t hold her chopsticks steady.

But Yue Guanyi appeared extremely calm and normal, of course, if one ignored the redness spreading from his neck to the tips of his ears.

He took out a snow-white handkerchief from his sleeve, made of the finest soft gauze with the most exquisite Su embroidery craftsmanship. Every detail exuded elegant artistry.

Qiu Shuzhi originally thought he was going to wipe the corners of his mouth, but to her surprise, he used it to wipe her palm.

The thing that was just now an art piece in her eyes was now wiping the oil from her palm. Yue Guanyi wiped very carefully, not missing even the tiniest spot, completely unconcerned that once the soft gauze was stained with oil, it would be completely ruined and impossible to clean. It was as if her hand was the true work of art, and that hundred-gold Su embroidered handkerchief was just an ordinary rag.

I’ve

This action of his left Qiu Shuzhi at a loss.

All her actions towards Yue Guanyi were tactics she had learned from idol dramas in her previous life, formulas carefully designed under industrial society. But in the face of Yue Guanyi’s sincere actions, they all seemed insignificant.

“Is your wound better?” Yue Guanyi suddenly asked after finishing wiping her hand.

Qiu Shuzhi put down her chopsticks and touched the arm that had been cut by the assassin. “The wound has scabbed over, it’s just that new flesh is growing, and it occasionally feels a bit itchy.”

“May I take a look?” Yue Guanyi’s gaze seemed to pierce through her clothing.

The wound had almost healed, and Qiu Shuzhi originally didn’t want to show him, but feeling Yue Guanyi’s gaze, she felt a warmth in her heart.