The Prodigal Son

Looking at Zhao Luan with her back to him, Qin Yu was speechless.

They directly stated that he was under house arrest!

So you're not even going to act anymore, huh?

If she's determined to imprison me, no amount of coaxing will make her happy!

Forget it, forget it!

There's no reasoning with women.

Especially with powerful and influential women!

Qin Yu shook his head and squatted down to pluck flowers one by one in the Imperial Garden.

Red, pink, pale yellow...

Zhao Luan just looked at Qin Yu quietly without saying a word.

She wanted to see what Qin Yu was up to.

If you don't please me, each flower in the Imperial Garden will cost ten thousand taels of silver!

Qin Yu was completely unaware and continued picking flowers.

Before long, Qin Yu plucked dozens of flowers of various colors, tied them together with soft branches, and approached Zhao Luan with a playful smile, saying, "Your Majesty, I present you with a sweet potato flower, wishing Your Majesty a smile as beautiful as a flower, and a beauty as radiant as a flower."

A gift for myself?

Zhao Luan was stunned for a moment, then stared at Qin Yu with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "You're going to pick one of my flowers from my imperial garden and give it to me? Is this how you try to appease me?"

"How can this be considered perfunctory?"

Qin Yu quickly shook his head, his smile undiminished, and asked softly, "Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, has anyone sent you flowers?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Luan paused slightly, then silently shook her head.

The last time she received flowers from someone was when her brother, Zhao Cheng, picked a small flower and gently placed it in her hair.

Those carefree days are long gone.

"As the saying goes, 'A gift of a feather sent from a thousand miles away is a small gift but carries great meaning!' This is exactly what I mean by that."

Qin Yu unleashed his silver tongue, "Your Majesty, though you are the Empress who rules over the vast lands of Great Ning, you are still a woman! I present this bouquet of flowers to remind Your Majesty that amidst your daily toil in the court, you should not forget the gentle joys that belong to a woman, and that you should live as beautifully as these flowers!"

Hearing Qin Yu's words, Zhao Luan was momentarily lost in thought.

Yes!

She is an empress, but she is also a woman!

While dealing with state affairs, why wouldn't one yearn for the joys and sorrows of an ordinary woman?

After a moment, Zhao Luan came to her senses and stared at Qin Yu with a half-smile. "So, you think I'm too fierce and want me to be gentler, right?"

"No...this..."

Qin Yu's face darkened.

Is it that she has a problem with her comprehension, or is it that she has a problem with her expression?

Her thought process is a bit different from others!

Shouldn't she be attracted to him under normal circumstances?

"I'm going to be harsh with you! If you're unhappy, you'd better keep it to yourself!"

Zhao Luan's phoenix eyes widened, but she reached out and took the bouquet of flowers from Qin Yu's hand.

Upon seeing this, Qin felt much more at ease.

That's more like it!

"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood me! I know Your Majesty has a sharp tongue but a soft heart!"

Qin Yu looked at Zhao Luan with a grin: "If Your Majesty really wants to punish me, the things I've done are enough to cost you ten heads!"

"Finally, they said something that's pleasing to the ear!"

Zhao Luan gave a light snort and then lightly stomped on Qin Yu's instep. "Let's go, it's about time we went to see Mother!"

After saying that, Zhao Luan led Qin Yu out of the Imperial Garden.

Watching Zhao Luan's retreating figure, Qin Yu couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

She really does fall for this trick!

Empress?

She's a woman too!

Upon arriving at the Imperial Garden, Yun Ying and the others were waiting at the entrance.

Zhao Luan casually handed the flowers in her hand to a palace maid, saying, "Place these flowers in my bedchamber."

The palace maid hesitated for a moment before carefully accepting the flowers.

When they arrived at Cixi Palace, the Empress Dowager was already busy in the palace kitchen.

Lü Si was adding firewood to the kitchen to help the Empress Dowager start the fire.

Cixi Palace also has a kitchen, but it is relatively small.

Normally, the Empress Dowager's meals are mainly prepared by the Imperial Kitchen.

This kitchen was only used occasionally in the middle of the night to cook some porridge for the Empress Dowager; it was rarely used even once a year.

Watching the Empress Dowager bustling about in the kitchen, the palace maids and eunuchs outside stood there anxiously.

Although someone else had already taken care of things like chopping and washing vegetables for the Empress Dowager, the people in the kitchen were, after all, the Empress Dowager herself!

If the Empress Dowager were to suffer any minor bumps or burns, and Zhao Luan were to investigate, they would undoubtedly be punished.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Upon seeing Zhao Luan approach, they all knelt down, fearing that Zhao Luan would blame them.

"Get up, everyone!"

Zhao Luan waved her hand gently, "Alright, everyone disperse, stop crowding here!"

"yes!"

Everyone felt as if they had been granted a pardon and withdrew in droves.

Qin Yu craned his neck to look into the kitchen and whispered to Zhao Luan, "The Empress Dowager really used to cook?"

Holy crap!

This is the Empress Dowager!

Moreover, this person went from Crown Princess to Empress and then to Empress Dowager!

It's really a bit unbelievable that she cooks.

I've really made something of myself, now I'm even eating food cooked by the Empress Dowager herself!

This is something I could brag about for a lifetime.

"nonsense!"

Zhao Luan glared at him. "When Father Emperor was still alive, sometimes he was too busy with state affairs to have much of an appetite, so Mother Emperor would cook for him himself, making some of his favorite dishes! Sometimes when Father Emperor was dealing with state affairs very late, Mother Emperor would also cook for him some simple dishes like fermented rice eggs..."

Actually, although the Empress Dowager didn't cook often before, she would still personally cook every now and then.

The last time the Empress Dowager cooked was probably when the late Emperor was on his deathbed.

At that time, the late emperor, in a moment of lucidity, said he wanted to eat the wine-soaked eggs made by the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager agreed and, suppressing her grief, went to make fermented eggs for the late Emperor.

Unfortunately, she hadn't finished preparing when the late emperor passed away.

From that time on, the Empress Dowager never cooked again.

Qin Yu was speechless, then sighed softly, "No wonder the late emperor doted on the Empress Dowager so much."

By calculation, the Empress Dowager was one year older than the late Emperor.

After the late emperor ascended the throne, the empress dowager should have been old and faded.

However, the late emperor still favored the Empress Dowager.

This favor is certainly not just because of her looks.

Zhao Luan smiled and stepped to the kitchen door. "Mother, is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, no!"

The Empress Dowager turned around and smiled, "Just don't cause me any trouble. I'll finish preparing it soon. You and Qin Yu can sit outside for a while!"

Zhao Luan smiled sheepishly, "Then your daughter and Qin Yu will wait here to serve the dishes! Mother is cooking herself, so your daughter and Qin Yu can't just stand by and watch!"

She really can't cook.

She rarely even went into the kitchen!

"Alright, alright!"

The Empress Dowager did not offer any further advice.

After that, Qin Yu and Zhao Luan waited outside.

After the Empress Dowager finished preparing the dishes, the two of them quickly went to serve them, and then asked the Empress Dowager and Lü Si to go and wash up first.

Qin Yu glanced at them and saw that they weren't fancy dishes, just simple home-style fare.

As the food was served, the Empress Dowager dismissed her attendants and smiled, inviting Qin Yu and the others to sit down. "Today is a simple family dinner, please make yourselves at home!"

Home...family dinner?

Qin Yu was slightly taken aback.

This……

Something feels off.

Lü Si is now the Empress Dowager's adopted son, so there's nothing wrong with him attending the family banquet.

But what am I?

What's going on? Does the Empress Dowager want me to be her son-in-law?

Qin Yu looked at Zhao Luan with suspicion, but Zhao Luan glared at him fiercely...