My wife is number one in the world

Chapter 4235 It’s too late to regret
"In these four or five years, the brothers have missed their hometown thousands of miles away, missed their relatives and friends, and missed you, Commander."

Now that we brothers have finally reunited, how could we not express our gratitude to you, Commander?

General, we brothers are currently in the army camp. Due to military regulations, it is inconvenient for us to host a grand banquet for you and Your Highness the Princess.

Therefore, I instructed the brothers of the returning army to prepare a fairly sumptuous banquet for you, Commander-in-Chief, and Her Highness the Princess using some of the good ingredients available in the army.

Who would have thought that the dishes I had instructed to prepare were only about halfway done when you, Commander, suddenly stopped them.

Therefore, I must now dare to speak out.

My lord, there are more than a dozen people sitting at the two tables, but only eight dishes have been served. This is not because I have not done my job well, but because you yourself stopped serving the remaining dishes.

Therefore, in this situation, Commander, you cannot blame us for not providing adequate hospitality!

After listening to Lü Sanlin's solemn explanation, Liu Mingzhi looked slightly annoyed and gently rubbed his right eyebrow a few times.

Immediately, he slowly turned his head and glanced back and forth at Zheng Jizhong and his group.

"General, brothers, what do you have to say about what Sanlin just said?"

Upon hearing Young Master Liu's question, Zheng Jizhong and his group immediately turned to look at each other.

In the end, Zhang Yao and his group tacitly turned their gazes to the old general Zheng Jizhong.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Jizhong's lips twitched slightly as he cursed inwardly, "A bunch of bastards!" before he immediately put on a smile and bowed slightly to Young Master Liu.

"Your Majesty, what Brother Sanlin just said is quite reasonable, and I second that."

Your Majesty, life is fleeting, like grass and trees in autumn.

Time flies like water; how many four or five years does a person have in their lifetime?

It has been four or five years since we last met.

It is a great joy in life to meet again today after being in a foreign land.

Therefore, both out of sentiment and reason, and for both public and private reasons, we, your humble servants and brothers, should all express our gratitude to Your Majesty and Her Highness the Princess.

Previously, I was unaware that Brother Sanlin had considered this matter so thoroughly, so I refrained from offering any further advice.

Now that Brother Sanlin has explained everything clearly, I, your humble servant, will add a few more words.

Your Majesty, it's not easy for the brothers to meet.

Since we've all met, we brothers should at least drink until we're completely drunk, or at least have a good meal and drinks!
If the brothers in the other camps were to find out that Your Majesty and Her Highness the Princess had graced the western military camp with their presence, yet hadn't even been treated to a decent meal, they would surely curse the old ministers and brothers behind their backs, calling them all stingy misers!
When the brothers from all the camps go to report the military situation to the two old marshals again, who knows how they will ridicule the old ministers when they see them!

Your Majesty, I will not say anything more about the previous situation.

Now, it is we, your humble servants, brothers, and others who are spending money to invite you and Your Highness the Princess to a meal. Your Majesty, you cannot refuse our kind offer, can you?
"Your Majesty, um, do you think we should immediately send someone to inform the cooks in the kitchen to prepare the remaining dishes as well?"

As soon as Zheng Jizhong finished speaking, Zhang Yaohe, Li Zhihai, and the others immediately echoed his words.

"Your Majesty, the old general is right, we agree."

Liu Mingzhi slowly glanced at Zheng Jizhong and his group, frowned slightly, remained silent for a while, then shook his head with a light laugh.

"General, brothers, to be frank, I am not a hypocrite."

If these fine wines and delicacies on the table in front of us hadn't been served, I would probably have agreed to this matter nine times out of ten. But now, I can only apologize to you.

General, my brothers.

Now, if we're talking privately, I won't stand on ceremony with you when it comes to arranging the banquet.

However, we are not gathering in private now, but in the mess hall where brothers from various battalions and units eat together.

General, brothers, we are sharing a mess hall with the brothers from various battalions and units. They are having ordinary food for lunch today, while we are having a feast of meat, fish, and wine. Do you think this is appropriate?

"Hmm? Do you think this is appropriate?"

As Liu Mingzhi chuckled and spoke loudly, he immediately turned his gaze to Lü Sanlin with a feigned annoyance.

"Sanlin, regarding the separate banquet, the problem boils down to one thing: all the issues stem from you."

If you had explained your plans to the old general earlier, would the banquet have turned out like this?
If I had known earlier that this banquet was sponsored by the old general and all of you, I would not have refused your kind offer; in fact, I would have gladly asked you to prepare more fine wine and food!

After all, as you just said, with the annual salaries of the old general and all of you, even if only one person paid for this banquet, it wouldn't be a problem, let alone all of you sharing the cost.

As Liu Mingzhi spoke loudly, he suddenly waved his hand forcefully, his face full of regret.

"Oh dear, I can't say anymore, I can't continue. The more I say, the more I regret it."

If I had known this would be the case, I wouldn't have instructed Shaoguang to inform you to stop serving the remaining food.

It's too late to regret, too late to regret, it's truly too late to regret!

Sanlin, I'm starting to suspect that you deliberately didn't inform the old general and the other brothers before you secretly came to the canteen.

After all, this way you won't have to spend money to treat me and my daughter Yue'er to a lavish meal.

Upon hearing what Young Master Liu said next, Lü Sanlin shook his head without a second thought.

"General, I'm innocent! This humble general is innocent!"
We've been brothers for over a decade or two, how could you not know my character?
When have I, your humble general, ever been petty towards my brothers?

Hearing Lü Sanlin's anxious explanation, Liu Mingzhi chuckled and gently waved his hand.

"Alright, alright, it was just a few jokes, why did you take it so seriously!"
"Don't keep standing, sit down!"

"Yes, Your subordinate obeys." Lü Sanlin respectfully raised his hands and clasped them tightly in a fist salute to Young Master Liu before sitting back down on the bench behind him.

Liu Mingzhi took a light breath with his lips slightly parted, and with a smile, reached out his right hand to pick up the chopsticks from the table in front of him. "General, brothers."

Regarding the banquet, I still maintain my previous point: it's inappropriate for the brothers from various battalions and units to be eating ordinary food while we're enjoying lavish meals with meat and wine.

Even if the brothers don't mind this kind of thing, it's still inappropriate.

Therefore, I will have to decline your kind offer to host this banquet.

As for the brothers in other battalions and places cursing you for being stingy misers after they find out about this, you don't need to care at all.

I can assure you that this will absolutely not happen.

It's very simple. Even if I hadn't come to the main military camp in the west of the city today, but instead went to one of the other camps, I would still have the same idea as before regarding arranging a banquet just for me and my daughter Yue'er.

Besides, as long as you and your men go out and spread rumors about what happened today, it will definitely not reach the ears of the brothers in other camps and places for a long time.

"General, brothers, you don't actually think that I, Yue'er, and I would be so idle as to go around discussing this kind of thing with other people, do you?"

Upon hearing Young Master Liu's final question, Zheng Jizhong and his group immediately shook their heads without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, we did not have such thoughts."

Liu Mingzhi nodded slightly and chuckled a few times.

"Hahaha, since you don't think that way, isn't that good enough?"
If you don't tell anyone, neither will Yue'er and I, father and daughter. How could the brothers in other camps and regions possibly know about this?

Alright, that's settled then.

Since Young Master Liu had already said that, Zheng Jizhong and his group felt it was inappropriate to offer any further persuasion.

At this moment, everyone was perfectly clear in their hearts that what Young Master Liu had just said was the truth.

The fine wines and delicacies on the table are one thing before they are served, and another thing after they are served.

The brothers from various battalions and units ate ordinary meals, while his brothers and other key generals accompanied His Majesty and Princess, father and daughter, indulging in a feast of fish, meat, and fine wine.

No matter how you look at it, this situation is indeed inappropriate.

While Zheng Jizhong and his group remained silent, the cooks who had left earlier returned, each carrying a tray.

"Your Majesty, your meal has arrived."

Liu Mingzhi tilted his head slightly, glanced at the cooks who had returned, and smiled as he pointed to the table in front of him while holding the chopsticks in his hand.

"Brothers, let's set out all the food!"

"Yes, we obey."

Several cooks respectfully nodded to Young Master Liu before placing the dishes from the trays onto the table.

In just a few breaths, several cooks turned around and looked at Young Master Liu.

"Your Majesty, the meal is ready. Do you have any other instructions?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Mingzhi, with a smile still on his face, looked up at the cooks and gently waved his hand.

"Brothers, thank you for your trouble. You can go back to your own business now!"

"We obey your command and will take our leave now."

After the cooks turned and left with their trays, Young Master Liu looked down at the second dish on the table.

The second meal consisted of three dishes and a soup, plus steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water.

The three dishes were a hearty stew, a cold seaweed salad, a platter of cold carrot salad and various pickled vegetable salads, and a fish soup.

Although the second meal didn't have many dishes, the portion size was generous, enough for more than a dozen people to have a hearty meal.

After looking at the dishes on the table, Liu Mingzhi nodded slightly with a satisfied expression.

Immediately, he turned slightly to look at the little cutie sitting next to him on the same bench with a smile on his face.

"Yue'er."

Upon hearing her father's soft call, the little cutie immediately turned her fair and slender neck to look at Young Master Liu.

"Oh, Yue'er is here, Father, what's wrong?"

Liu Mingzhi looked at the little cutie who was turning her head towards him, and with his smile unchanged, he lowered his head and gently gestured towards the small handbag at her slender waist.

"My dear daughter, do you still have peach kernels and trust in your handbag?"
If there are any left, give me one.

Upon hearing this, the little cutie nodded lightly to Young Master Liu without hesitation, while slightly turning her body and raising her fair and flawless slender hand to reach into the handbag at Liu's waist.

"Yes, yes, yes, there's still a little bit left. Yue'er will get it for you right away."

"Father, here, for you."

Liu Mingzhi glanced down at his beloved daughter's slender, white hand that she had offered to him. He first switched the chopsticks in his right hand to his left, and then happily reached out to take the handful of spiced almonds and peach kernels that she was holding in her palm.

Immediately, he slowly turned his body and carefully observed the situation in the dining hall.

A short while later, he quietly withdrew his gaze from observing the surroundings.

After witnessing Young Master Liu's behavior, Xiao Ke'ai, Zheng Jizhong, and the others couldn't help but reveal an undisguised look of doubt in their eyes.

At this moment, whether it was Xiao Ke'ai or Zheng Jizhong and his group, they really couldn't understand what Young Master Liu's intentions were.