Chapter 133: Do I Look Like Trash to You?

Chu Ge drifted through the latter half of the night in a hazy sleep. When she awoke the next day, Chong Li was already up, having personally prepared breakfast.

The furnishings in the room remained somewhat antiquated. On the sandalwood bed, Chu Ge rubbed her sleep-heavy eyes just as the door was pushed open. Sunlight spilled in, revealing that it was already midday.

"Awake? Get up and eat." Chu Ge chuckled as she looked at Chong Li, who had soot from the stove smeared across his face. There was nothing more amusing than watching a man who usually carried himself like a lofty, unreachable peak suddenly descend to the mortal realm.

"Oh, coming!"

Chong Li frowned, raising a hand to touch his chin, but felt nothing.

"Pfft!" Chu Ge laughed even harder. It turned out the initial smudge of soot on his handsome face had been small, but after his attempt to wipe it away, it had transformed into three crooked black streaks across his chin.

Barefoot, Chu Ge hopped off the bed and trotted over to Chong Li. Rising on her tiptoes, she produced a clean handkerchief from nowhere and began to gently wipe his face.

His long, curved eyelashes, and his handsome brows—which were slightly creased as he let her tend to his chin—were a sight she could gaze upon for centuries or even millennia without ever growing tired. And then, there were those tempting red lips...

She likely did not know that he could see straight through her physical form to the soul within.

"Why? Are you so captivated by Chu Ge's appearance?"

With a hint of jealousy in his tone, Lian Bao was watching him.

Unconsciously, a curve formed at the corners of his mouth. "Let’s go, the food is getting cold."

He didn't need to turn around to know that the little one behind him was likely brandishing her claws in mock protest.

On the small stone table sat simple vegetable and lean meat porridge, along with... the grilled fish he had been serving her for two hundred years.

The fish: I may be late, but I will never be absent.

Seeing Chu Ge only drink the porridge and ignore the fish, Chong Li asked, "Not to your taste?"

Chu Ge bit the edge of her spoon. "Oh, it's not ideal to eat such heavy, greasy food in the morning." She buried her face in the bowl, occasionally raising her eyebrows to peek at Chong Li before quickly ducking back down.

Chong Li picked up his chopsticks, selected a prime piece of meat from the grilled fish, carefully removed the bones, and placed it in Chu Ge's bowl. "Try it."

Under Chong Li's expectant gaze, Chu Ge finally steeled herself. She picked up the piece of fish with a look of tragic determination, closed her eyes, and swallowed it in one go.

One bite, two bites—it seemed... his culinary skills had improved significantly. As the fish went down, she found herself wanting more.

She picked up another piece herself. The meat was tender, fragrant, and perfectly seared on the outside, completely devoid of the burnt, bitter taste of the grilled fish he had served in the past.

Chu Ge became increasingly hooked, even wishing for a bottle of Peach Blossom Wine to accompany the meal.

Chong Li deboned the fish for her while sipping his own porridge. A perfectly fine breakfast had turned into a "feed-the-pig" operation, with the entire fish eventually vanishing into Chu Ge's stomach.

After cleaning up the dishes, Chu Ge leaned lazily against her chair. Like a pampered cat, she let out a satisfied burp and rubbed her slightly distended belly. If not for the fear of ruining her image, she would have reached for a toothpick.

"I'll make it for you again if you like it, but you've eaten too much today. Lunch will be delayed." Chong Li fed her a digestive pill while clearing the table.

Having eaten her fill, Chu Ge didn't think much of it. As long as someone else was cooking and washing the dishes, she only needed to play the role of the Prince’s consort—a life that was quite comfortable indeed.

"Who did you learn your cooking from?"

Chong Li’s hands paused. He recalled the time he had spent seeking out a master to learn, which had caused him to miss the timing and lose his chance to meet Lian Bao in the previous world. "Self-taught. It isn't difficult."

Chu Ge was resting with her eyes closed, but she suddenly opened one to look at Chong Li’s busy back. Honestly, he looked quite like an old butler. She closed her eye again, a smile gracing her face.

Just from the two hundred years of burnt fish she had endured, she knew by intuition that Chong Li had put in tremendous effort. If he were truly self-taught, she wouldn't have had to resort to fasting so often.

Many spiritual cultivators avoided grains whenever possible, but as far as Lian was concerned, only delicious delicacies could win her favor.

"Let's hire some servants, Chong Li!"

The busy figure in the distance paused. Within his field of vision, she was swaying a round fan on a rattan chair. The golden light falling on her face made every fine hair visible; she was the one he loved to the very marrow of his bones. He had to help her reshape her physical body.

"Alright." Where she could not see, Chong Li smiled faintly. The moment seemed to freeze in time.

...

At the Crown Prince’s Estate.

Chu You was letting her maids dress her. Thinking back to the previous night, when she had been intimate with the Prince she had long admired, a blush spread across her face.

A maid teased, "Is the Consort missing His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Chu You’s lips curled higher. "As if. His Highness is busy. You can accompany me to deliver breakfast later."

The young maid deftly finished styling her hair, and Chu You picked up a golden hairpin. "Put this one on me; His Highness praised how it looked last night."

The maid supported Chu You, letting her mistress admire her handiwork. "You are the first lady to marry into the Crown Prince’s estate, and you are so beautiful. The little Imperial Grandson will surely be handsome!"

The maid’s words struck a chord in Chu You, who was already lost in fantasy. "You have a sweet tongue. You shall stay by my side from now on. What is your name?"

The maid was overjoyed. "This servant is Xiao He!"

Chu You looked at herself in the bronze mirror, adjusting her headpiece while admiring her own beauty. "Mm, let's go. Accompany me to find His Highness."

The Crown Prince's estate was not as vast as the Eastern Palace, with only a few main areas. At this hour, the Crown Prince, Qi Ming, should have just finished the morning court session and be in his study reviewing memorials.

As the Crown Prince, he was expected to share the Emperor’s burdens and cultivate his capabilities. If the solutions he proposed in the memorials were approved by the civil and military officials the following morning, he would be halfway to success.

Half of the daily memorials from the court were sent to the Eastern Palace or the Crown Prince’s estate.

Previously, the estate had no wives or concubines. Now that Chu You was there, the Emperor, fearing he would not see a grandson soon, had specifically ordered Prince Qi Ming to reside temporarily at the estate.

Inside the study, sandalwood incense curled in the air.

Chu You set down the porridge she had brought and signaled the page boy. "I will grind the ink."

The page boy glanced at Prince Qi Ming before retreating, taking Xiao He with him to keep watch outside.

"Your Highness, I have prepared some porridge for you. Would you like to try it?" Chu You asked tentatively.

Prince Qi Ming wrote the final two lines at the end of a memorial, marked it as read, and set it aside. "Oh? Porridge? As it happens, I didn't have time to eat this morning and am feeling quite hungry."

Hearing this, Chu You hurriedly brought the porridge over, cleared the memorials away, and looked at him with anticipation.

Qi Ming took a small spoonful and tasted it. "Mm, not bad." It was enough to satisfy his hunger.

Chu You felt smug; His Highness was not as cold and unapproachable as people claimed.

This porridge had been prepared by the cook brought from the Chu Marquis’s estate. Yesterday, before getting into the sedan, she had feared she wouldn't be accustomed to the food at the Prince’s estate, so she had brought a cook along. By that logic, it was practically porridge she had made herself.

"If Your Highness likes it, I shall find new ways to prepare food for you in the future. Would that be acceptable?"

Qi Ming thought for a moment. Having grown up eating the finest delicacies in the palace, a change of pace was not unwelcome. "Granted."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Chu You misunderstood his compliance, believing that Prince Qi Ming was starting to develop a fondness for her.