Chapter 135: Notifying Jiang Danhe

What a joke. If they don’t eat now, when will they get another chance? These are all imperial cuisines! How great is this honor.

The mother and son pair started eating and they were trying to stick to their principles of not wasting food, but there were still a lot of leftovers when they were done. There were just too many dishes. It was impossible for the two of them to finish them all. Helpless, they could only watch with regrets as the palace maids brought out the leftovers.

If not for the fact that she was afraid of embarrassing herself, Xiaoguo really wanted to take-out the food. After all, not only did the palace dishes look good, the names were nice, and they were delicious. Moreover, this actually happened in her lifetime. It was enough for her to brag about for a long time to come.

Qin Xiaoguo had eaten authentic imperial cuisine before!

Eunuch Su appeared in the hall right on time. At this moment, the palace maids had just taken away the plates.

“Madam Qin, did you eat well?”

Eunuch Su’s smile was warm and kind, but in Xiaoguo’s eyes, it had a deeper meaning.

Did she eat well? Was she going to be killed after she had eaten her fill? Didn’t the death row prisoners usually get good food during their last meal?

Xiaoguo was shocked by her own imagination. She had no feud with the royal family, so there was no reason for them to take her life. She shouldn’t worry too much.

Xiaoguo had been mentally preparing herself for a long time, and she was trying her best to hide her emotions. She just continued to chat as normally as she could.

Xiaoguo was fawning over Eunuch Su and Eunuch Su also had the intention of getting on her good side, so the conversation went on quite cordially between them.

After a while, Xiaoguo tried sounding out Eunuch Su to clarify her doubts.

“Eunuch Su, may I ask why we are here?”

“Well, someone will explain it to you later. Please be patient.”

Eunuch Su was wearing a mysterious look on his face and that made Xiaoguo unable to refute him. Along the way, it seemed like everyone was hiding something from her. What secrets were they harboring?

Xiaoguo tried her best to look like she was not freaking out, and gently patted Zhuang Zhuang, who was in her arms. The boy had just finished his meal and was feeling sleepy. He was oblivious to his surroundings and fell asleep quickly in Xiaoguo’s arms.

Xiaoguo tried to adjust Zhuang Zhuang’s position in her lap. Eunuch Su was a discerning person. From the moment Zhuang Zhuang appeared sleepy, he had been directing the other servants to prepare their room for resting.

“You can bring the child this way to rest.”

When Eunuch Su was saying the word “child”, he paused for a moment. He had almost referred to the boy as “Young Master”. Before the words could come out of his mouth, he managed to use the word “child” instead. Luckily that did not attract Xiaoguo’s attention.

Xiaoguo accepted his kind offer and thanked him before following him to an adjacent room.

The bed had been made. Xiaoguo gently placed Zhuang Zhuang on it, then took off his shoes and pulled the blanket over him.

Seeing this, Eunuch Su quietly excused himself and told them to rest well. He told her that someone would come and summon her tonight.

Xiaoguo nodded. She knew what he meant. She would probably find out the real purpose behind her trip tonight.

That’s right. The purpose of her coming here to escort the two elders of the Jiang family back to the capital was secondary. The main purpose should be related to Zhuang Zhuang and herself.

Xiaoguo closed the door and sat down in a chair. She tried to remember what involvement she had with the royal family. She tried recalling many times to ensure that neither she nor the previous owner had any business with the royal family. It was strange. What was the real purpose of this trip? Maybe someone is using her to achieve something?

At this moment, Zhuang Zhuang’s cries woke Xiaoguo up. She immediately got up and went to check on him. She realized that he was feeling uncomfortable from lying on his back because he was too stuffed.

Amused, Xiaoguo turned him on his side and rubbed his stomach.

No wonder he was feeling uncomfortable. His stomach was bulging from eating too much. Had she been starving this child?

Xiaoguo pinched Zhuang Zhuang’s little face in amusement and anger, causing him to whimper and fall asleep again.

Yangxin Palace

“Your Majesty.”

Eunuch Su left Xiaoguo’s place and returned to the adjacent Yangxin Hall to make his report.

Xiaoguo was assigned to the side hall of Yangxin Hall. The two halls were separated only by a wall.

“Madam Qin has already finished her lunch. She is with the young master, who is taking his afternoon nap.”

Shao Zhan nodded in satisfaction and put down the chopsticks in his hand. Eunuch Su paused and turned around to get someone to clear the table.

Shao Zhan got up and walked towards his resting place. Eunuch Su followed closely behind.

“Inform Jiang Danhe that his family is with me. There’s no need to say anything else.”

Shao Zhan sat on the couch and instructed Eunuch Su, “Also, dinner will be held at Yangxin Hall.”

“As you command.”

Eunuch Su was about to leave, but he looked at Shao Zhan and hesitated.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

“Your Majesty, forgive me for being nosy. You should eat more. I really can’t stand to see you eat so little. Every portion that you fail to eat is like a cut on my flesh.”

Eunuch Su said in a sobbing tone. He was telling the absolute truth. He would be 56 years old this year. He had been serving the late emperor, Shao Zhan’s father, since he was young. Later on, he was lucky enough to survive and followed the young Shao Zhan to Yonghai County. He had been serving him for almost 30 years. It could be said that he had been by the emperor’s side since he was young. When he saw how poorly Shao Zhan’s had been eating, he truly felt terrible.

“Well, well, well. I’m getting old and naggy.”

Shao Zhan was not upset at him. He knew how Eunuch Su had taken care of him, and he respected him very much.

“Aye, aye. Blame this mere servant for talking too much.”

Eunuch Su slapped himself a few times in jest, making Shao Zhan laugh out loud.

“Alright, since you’re old, you should rest more. Leave the chores to others. I’ll take care of my health.”

Eunuch Su sighed gladly and bowed before taking his leave.

Shao Zhan put down the teacup in his hand and stopped smiling. He suddenly remembered that Madam Qin had brought her son along. That was great.

“Anyone there?”

Before Shao Zhan could finish speaking, someone came in.

“Your Majesty.”

“Inform Zhixia from Kunning Palace to bring the prince, so that he can play with the young master of the Jiang-Qin family.”

“Yes!”

After the guard received the order and left, Shao Zhan smiled to himself. That little son of his was probably bored to death. At least now there was someone his age to play with him. At the same time, it was a good opportunity to win over Jiang Danhe’s son. Just keeping Qin Xiaoguo here was not enough. Everything still depends on the child. When the time comes, he could persuade the child to stay. No parents would ignore their child’s wishes and forcefully take him away.

“What a brilliant move!” Shao Zhan sipped his tea happily. Three birds with one stone. The young prince would no longer be bored. If the son of the Jiang family was willing to stay, his parents would definitely stay too.

Outside the capital

“Oh my God! Jiang Danhe, you’re too much!”

Li Shouji pulled the door open and looked at Jiang Danhe accusingly. How could this be? He didn’t want to be a general and yet Jiang Danhe was forcing it upon him. Was this still the upright Jiang Danhe?

Li Shouji didn’t care about his dignity anymore. If Jiang Danhe were to forcefully drag him to the military camp, he would create a terrible scene. What was it about his pride? He didn’t care for it anymore.

At first, Jiang Danhe was pulling on Li Shouji’s arm with all his might. When he saw the latter rolling around on the ground, the veins on his forehead popped out.

Initially, he did not notice his surroundings. When he turned around and saw a group of commoners gathered at the door, watching the commotion and pointing fingers, his face darkened. He gritted his teeth and gave an ultimatum.

“Get up.”

Just hearing these two words made Li Shouji’s hair stand on end. He got up quickly and reached out to wipe the dirt off his clothes.

Before the two of them could speak, a horse galloped over like a gust of wind. With a whoosh, it dispersed the gathered crowd and stopped at the doorway.

“There is a letter from the palace, General.”

Jiang Danhe turned around and narrowed his eyes at the person approaching him. Suddenly, he had a bad feeling.