Border Cook

"Yes."

Cen Ying took the order and left, soon returning with two lanterns.

It is the pattern of this year's zodiac sign, the Ox, and Xiao Luoan's zodiac sign, the Horse.

Xiao Luoan took the lantern with the cow pattern and handed the other lantern back to Cen Ying, "This one is for you."

"Thank you, master." Cen Ying thanked him and held up her lantern, looking at it carefully.

The lanterns are very delicately made, lifelike and full of charm.

Cen Ying looked at the lanterns emitting warm yellow light with a gentle expression. She obviously liked them very much and even smiled.

"Do you like this very much?" Xiao Luoan asked with a smile.

"Yes." Cen Ying did not hesitate to answer, "I like it very much."

"Then..." Xiao Luoan paused, "Do you like the lanterns, or do you like the style of the horse?"

"I like them all." Cen Ying replied with a smile.

"Then..." Xiao Luoan paused again, "Why do you like horse patterns? Do you have any explanation?"

"The master's zodiac sign is horse." Cen Ying replied with a smile.

Such a straightforward answer made Xiao Luoan's heart skip a beat. After a brief moment of shock, even the look he gave Cen Ying became more gentle.

"It's the same zodiac sign as my father, so I like it." Cen Ying added.

Xiao Luoan, "..."

Is this the reason why you insisted on me pretending to be your father when we were hiding our whereabouts?

Xiao Luoan looked embarrassed, coughed lightly, and his voice was a little hoarse, "Nothing else?"

"Yes." Cen Ying continued, "This horse can carry people and gallop between heaven and earth. It is a freedom and elegance that cannot be compared with ordinary things."

"Yes." Xiao Luoan nodded.

Willfulness and freedom.

These are things he also likes, but in the end, he has nothing to do with them.

On the contrary, it was Cen Ying...

When I first met Cen Ying, her face was full of freedom and unrestrainedness, just like a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger. People like her have the unrestrained and bright feeling that everyone yearns for.

However, Cen Ying's inner self seems to be completely opposite to her appearance and temperament.

Her loyalty can make her give up everything, including her life.

Maybe it was just her personality, but her appearance always made him feel...

Maybe he was just overthinking it.

Xiao Luoan smiled and said, "As long as you like this lantern."

Then, he lowered his eyelids, stopped talking, and just leaned on the soft pillow to adjust his breathing.

Cen Ying covered Xiao Luoan with the quilt and said, "Thank you, Master."

Then he continued to pick up his lantern and look at it carefully.

There was still joy in her heart and a smile on her face, but compared to before, this smile was less spontaneous and more deliberate.

Even the hands holding up the short bamboo pole for the lantern unconsciously added a little more strength.

After a long time, Cen Ying slightly turned sideways, hiding all the obscurity in the depths of her eyes.

The carriage continued to move forward and soon arrived at the palace gate.

Someone had already been waiting at the palace gate. When they saw that the person coming was Xiao Luoan, they immediately went into the palace to greet him.

When they arrived at the inner palace gate, someone brought a sedan chair and took Xiao Luoan to Chongyang Palace.

At this time, the emperor was handling government affairs in Chongyang Palace.

There was a mountain of memorials on the desk. The emperor read them one by one under candlelight, and decided the number of words in his comments based on the severity of the matters involved in the memorials.

Even if it was an unimportant memorial, the emperor would read it carefully and then leave a "read" note.

The candlelight flickered, and the emperor's face looked yellow and dark, and he looked quite listless.

Ding Dahai, who was standing by, handed over a bowl of ginseng soup with great concern, "Your Majesty, the Third Prince has arrived."

"Oh?" The emperor paused, "How is he now?"

"Just now, I have summoned the imperial physician to come and treat the Third Prince. He said that he is basically fine, but the Third Prince was seriously injured this time and needs to recuperate for a while."

Ding Dahai said, "The imperial physician has rebandaged the Third Prince's wound and prescribed a tonic. He has also asked someone to prepare the medicine. I think the imperial physician is very skilled, and the Third Prince will get better soon."

"Yes." The emperor nodded, "My son will naturally get better."

Then he raised his hand and said, "Let him in."

"Yes." Ding Dahai took the order and quickly brought Xiao Luoan to the hall.

Xiao Luoan walked forward slowly, and when he came in front of the emperor, he saluted properly, "Your son pays respect to your father."

"I am sorry that this trip of yours has caused your father to worry. Your son is incompetent, please punish me!"

As he spoke, Xiao Luoan bowed deeply.

As he moved, the wound that had just been bandaged was affected, and a pain immediately came over him. Xiao Luoan could even feel blood oozing out.

But Xiao Luoan didn't show any expression on his face, but his already pale face immediately lost some blood color, his lips trembled slightly, and a layer of moisture appeared on his forehead.

When the emperor saw this, he felt relieved.

This is what his ideal son should be like.

Don't be squeamish, know your limits, judge the situation, and more importantly, be able to endure.

This was the case in the past when he ignored her and she could only rely on Xiao Luohe to survive. It is also the case now when she is being cultivated by him.

This is the awareness and behavior that people who are restricted by their birth should have. Only in this way can they have the ability to fight against all other injustices.

"Stand up." The emperor raised his hand, "Please take a seat."

Xiao Luoan was delighted and terrified, "Thank you, Father."

When Ding Dahai helped him sit down, he only sat one-third of the way up, with his body sitting straight.

"Whether it's the trip to Meiling or the affairs of the Wen and Cui families, they were all my ideas. You're a rookie, but you were able to find out the situation in Meiling and get out of it safely. You've done a great job."

The emperor was quite positive about Xiao Luoan's trip.

"Thank you for your understanding, father. I am ashamed to receive your praise." Xiao Luoan said, "I hope you will not despise me for my stupidity and teach me more. I will be overjoyed." "You are my son. I naturally value you very much and will teach you carefully." The emperor smiled and said, "But you are seriously injured now. You should take good care of yourself during this period of time. I have already asked people to clean up Cuihua Palace. It is far away from the harem and very quiet, which is very suitable for recuperation."

"In addition, I have arranged for Hanlin Academy Mei Hanlin, Imperial Academy Cai Jijiu and others to arrange your daily studies. After your injury is healed, you can follow them and concentrate on your studies..."

The emperor's words surprised and delighted Xiao Luoan.

What’s surprising is that the emperor finally wants to train him.

What makes me happy is that the emperor actually wants to train him.

But after the surprise, Xiao Luoan hurriedly stood up, "Thank you, father. I will study hard and cultivate myself so as not to let you down!"

"Although I need to recuperate, I am not incapable of taking care of myself, nor do I need to stay in bed for a long time. I dare to ask for your permission. I don't have to wait until my injuries are completely healed. I can start studying with you adults tomorrow!"

Xiao Luoan did this, firstly to express his attitude, and secondly because he sincerely hoped to start learning something as soon as possible.

He is seventeen years old this year.

In the past, Xiao Luochen and Xiao Luohe started to learn at the age of five, read hundreds of articles at the age of ten, and began to learn how to handle affairs at the age of fourteen.

Although he, like the other two, went to school every day, the teacher was obviously partial to him. Many times he could not get his questions answered or resolved. He could only try to "read a book a hundred times so that its meaning will become clear", but he studied hard but could not get the point.

And those matters related to the government, even the ordinary matters of dealing with people, had nothing to do with him.

And learning these things is necessary for becoming a prince or even a king in the future.

Seventeen years old was already a little late, and he didn't want to waste any more time.

The emperor smiled broadly, "I understand what you mean. I will do as you say and start tomorrow. I will tell them to do it according to their ability. Your health is the most important thing right now."

"Yes, father, I will remember this!" Xiao Luoan bowed deeply again.

"In addition, there is one more thing." The emperor said, "You are already seventeen years old this year. Ordinary men of seventeen would have been married long ago, but you have not even discussed marriage. I have asked the queen to select a few women of suitable family background and age for you during this period of time. You can also choose one from them and get married as soon as possible."

The so-called starting a family and career has always been about getting married first and then starting a career. For men, with a family background, the more responsibility they have, the more mature they become.

Furthermore, Xiao Luoan was of humble origin and had no power behind him. Choosing one of the clean civil servants could not only become Xiao Luoan's right-hand man, but also demonstrate his attitude at the moment, which could be said to kill two birds with one stone.

The emperor was very thoughtful. Xiao Luoan thanked him again, "Thank you for your concern, father and mother. Marriage is always decided by parents and matchmakers. I will listen to you."

"You are sensible and know your limits. I know this in my heart and I will naturally not let you suffer any loss. Just rest assured."

The emperor smiled and said, "Just talking about your marriage, I suddenly remembered that the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial College are preparing for the imperial examination. I always feel that although the current imperial examination system is strict, it also has many drawbacks. You should think about it these few days and see if you have any ideas. When you think of them, come and tell me."

"Yes." Xiao Luoan responded, "I will study this matter carefully."

"Yes." The emperor nodded. "It's getting late today, and you are injured. Go back and rest early."

"Yes, I'll take my leave." Xiao Luoan bowed and left, following the people arranged by Ding Dahai to Cuihua Palace.

After Xiao Luoan left, the emperor picked up the bowl of ginseng soup that had been left to dry.

Seeing this, Ding Dahai hurried over and said, "This bowl of ginseng soup is a little cold. I will bring His Majesty a hot bowl."

"No need." The emperor refused. He took a spoon and scooped the yellowish ginseng soup from the bowl into his mouth, saying, "The fire in the palace is quite hot. Drinking a bowl of cooler ginseng soup now will make it taste better."

As he spoke, the emperor drank up the bowl of ginseng soup, and even felt a little unsatisfied.

Ding Dahai laughed, "So, appropriateness is the most important thing."

Is appropriateness the most important thing?
The emperor's mind moved slightly, and after a moment he burst into a hearty laugh, "Yes, the word appropriate is the most rare."

Many times, with many things, it’s not about how good something is or how capable a person is, but it just happens that he is the only one at that time.

The so-called right time, right place and right people cannot escape the word "appropriate".

Just like now...

The emperor paused a bit and looked at the memorials piled on the desk.

The mountain of memorials represents the government affairs at that time and his responsibilities as a king.

He just hopes that the successor he favors will live up to his trust.

But then again, he has always been very good at judging people, so how could he be wrong this time?

Everything will go according to his plan.

The emperor pinched his eyebrows, rubbed his eyes, and after relaxing for a moment, he sat on the dragon throne again and read the next memorial.

The news that the third prince Xiao Luoan had not died and had luckily escaped with his life and returned to the capital with serious injuries spread from the palace to the entire capital that night.

At the morning court session after the Lantern Festival, the emperor only gave two brief sentences on this matter.

He accomplished his mission and escaped by luck.

The first half of the sentence is a recognition of Xiao Luoan's character and ability to do things.

The second half of the sentence completely confirmed Xiao Luochen's crime of murdering his brothers and sisters, and put an end to it.

People with discerning eyes understood the meaning immediately. They could not help but express their gratitude on their faces for the Third Prince's blessing from the Emperor and that good things will come to those who are blessed by Heaven. However, they secretly sighed for a long time.

It's a pity that the emperor is so resourceful and determined.

He was able to do this matter so flawlessly and was everyone's favorite, without any evidence to prove his worth. He also deeply understood the meaning of the word "willing to give up", and acted decisively without any delay.

It has to be said that to be able to ascend to that throne and sit in that position, apart from luck, it is more about strength.

A strength that others cannot possess.

Imperial power cannot be challenged at any time, and loyalty must always be shown to those in power.

Betting is no different from gambling, don't try it lightly...

Everyone had different thoughts in their mind, but they all looked calm and continued to work as usual.

It's as if some things never happened.

Xia Mingyue and Lu Qiyan naturally also received the news, but they were not too surprised, as if everything was reasonable.

But Xia Mingyue still frowned.

Because of two things.

One thing is that Xia Yunji has been obsessed with learning how to make various kinds of food recently. Apart from some daily affairs that he has to deal with, as soon as he returns home he dives into the kitchen, constantly learning and trying.

Logically speaking, it is a good thing that someone is interested in cooking and is willing to learn it diligently. Xia Mingyue is also willing to teach, especially since this person is her younger brother, so she will naturally teach more attentively.

However, Xia Yunji studied very hard and was tireless, constantly trying new things. Everything he tried he brought out for Xia Mingyue and Lu Qiyan to try.

Trying this kind of thing...

It is a physically demanding job, and it is also quite risky. (End of this chapter)