A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace-Chapter 1072 - 1073: Not Jealous at All

In the evening, Zhao Junyao came over.

Having been busy all day, he appeared quite exhausted.

He entered and changed his clothes, then rested on the couch with his eyes closed.

Xia Ru handed him a cup of tea, asking curiously.

"Has something happened?"

Zhao Junyao remained silent for a moment, then said.

"The Northwestern brigands are becoming increasingly rampant, defying suppression, recently there have been several incidents of bandits burning and looting, yet strangely..."

"The western region hasn’t suffered any disasters in the past two years, the people have enough to eat and wear, they wouldn’t cause trouble, where are these bandits truly coming from?"

Generally speaking, only continuous disasters, leaving the people unable to live, would drive them to gather and cause trouble.

Even becoming bandits, living on robbery and extortion for money and food to survive.

With no disasters, living contentedly, who would be bored enough to become a bandit?

Zhao Junyao squinted his eyes.

No matter how he thought about it, this seemed too peculiar.

Xia Ruqing nodded thoughtfully.

"The Emperor is absolutely right!"

"People prefer peaceful days!"

"If someone is causing trouble for no reason, it must be unusual!"

However...

The specifics of the abnormality are not yet clear; there are few clues and it’s difficult to judge, but we can only have people keep a close watch.

Xia Ruqing also nodded.

"Your Majesty need not worry too much; the Commander stationed in the Southwest is experienced and shouldn’t allow the people to suffer."

Zhao Junyao wasn’t concerned.

"Suffering won’t happen!"

"But fear and panic are never good!"

Xia Ruqing was curious.

"These bandits couldn’t be colluding with outsiders to steal, right!"

Those outsider tribes live in the frozen northwestern frontier, where heavy snow in winter can mean no grass grows for an entire year.

Without grass, cattle and sheep will starve, and people will go hungry.

Desperate, they might target the Great Chu Dynasty.

Years past, they could still gain some advantage.

In recent years, the Great Chu Dynasty has become increasingly powerful and prosperous.

Every border is heavily guarded.

The stark disparity in strength has forced them to back down.

Thus... they devised a scheme of collusion.

Zhao Junyao looked at Xia Ruqing, laughed, and stroked her head.

"Alright!"

"Leave these matters to me!"

"You just stay at ease in the harem!"

Xia Ruqing pursed her lips, slightly unconvinced.

"The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of each one!"

"I’m also a member of the Great Chu Dynasty!"

Zhao Junyao chuckled.

"Alright, alright!"

"Empress of the Great Chu Dynasty! It’s getting late; perhaps it’s time for rest?"

Xia Ruqing blushed and pushed his hand away.

"How can you still be so improper after all these years?"

Zhao Junyao, with a thick skin, serenely argued.

"It’s perfectly fine for me to be close to my Empress; how is this improper?"

Xia Ruqing flushed and pushed his hand away.

"It’s just improper; I said so... Hey..."

Before she finished her words.

She was embraced by someone and taken to bed.

On the night of the Mid-Autumn full moon, the moon is round in the sky, and people are united on the earth.

The husband and wife were tightly entwined, like a pair of mandarin ducks promising a lifetime.

...

The next day, Xia Ruqing woke early.

Henger and Yeye are about to move out in a few days.

Xiao Xizi, Xiao Zhu Zi, and the sisters are all helping pack things.

She washed up, dressed nicely, and went over to supervise, afraid something might be missed or broken.

Just then, Little Zhuzi came over to pay respects and bowed.

"Greetings, Empress!"

Xia Ruqing smiled and waved him up.

"Stand up, what’s the matter?"

Little Zhuzi rose with a diligent smile.

"Eunuch Li sent me to inform you!"

"The Emperor will have breakfast here with you; please prepare!"

Xia Ruqing nodded.

"I understand!"

During these times, Zhao Junyao hasn’t been dining with her.

Today he came, indicating he might not be as busy, right?

She didn’t think much of it.

She ordered Xiao Zhu Zi to escort Little Zhuzi out and reminded some points before leaving.

...

Returning to the main hall, Xia Ruqing selected dishes that Zhao Junyao loved.

"Besides the usual ones, let’s have a tiger-skin egg, a smashed cucumber, and some rice wine dumplings, and also two bowls of mushroom chicken soup noodles, choose the rest as you see fit, remember to make it savory!"

Zhao Junyao, a big man, didn’t favor sweets, she remembered it well!

After assigning the dishes.

After about half a Shi Chen, Zhao Junyao arrived with long strides.

After the customary greetings.

Xia Ruqing clutched her stomach with a face of grievance.

"You’re finally here; quickly serve the meal, or I’ll starve!"

Zhao Junyao chuckled.

"Qingqing, you must have suffered!"

He glanced around.

"Where’s Yue Er?"

"Yue Er has already eaten, and is merrily gone to the Imperial Garden with the Wetnurse Sister to catch butterflies!"

Xia Ruqing replied, looking helpless.

Zhao Junyao, knowing his daughter’s free-spirited nature, didn’t ask further.

He picked up the chopsticks and they began breakfast together.

His favorite dishes tasted the same as before; after a few bites, Zhao Junyao nodded in approval.

"Not bad!"

Xia Ruqing pushed the newly researched noodles by Chef Jiang in front of him.

"Your Majesty, try this?"

"It contains Sichuan pepper oil; it’s not spicy but numb, feels like your tongue is dancing!"

She only ate it once and fell in love.

Zhao Junyao looked at the bowl of noodles before him.

The soup was thick and white like jade, with the delicate noodles scattered just right, not clumped together.

Thin slices of chicken floated in the soup, accompanied by mushroom slices as thin as cicada wings.

Stooping slightly, he could smell the unique aroma of chicken stewed with mushrooms, evoking saliva.

He gently sniffed it and used chopsticks to lift a strand of noodle for a taste.

Moments later, his expression shifted from indifference to admiration.

"Not bad!"

The noodles had a mild yet rich flavor.

He tasted the soup, finding it fresh, smooth, and rich, with the mushroom fragrance prominent.

Zhao Junyao buried his head and continued to eat, his taste buds gratified, lavishly praising this bowl of noodles.

"Good!"

"Ultimately, it’s at Qingqing’s place I find the food that suits my taste!"

Xia Ruqing teasingly twirled a noodle and smiled.

"With so many sisters in the harem!"

"If the Emperor puts his mind to it, he can surely find other dishes to his liking!"

Zhao Junyao set down the chopsticks and pinched her nose.

"Are you jealous?"

Xia Ruqing hurriedly composed herself, pretending to be calm.

"No!"

"I’m not jealous; I’m the Empress—why should I be jealous?"

Zhao Junyao smiled crookedly at her, saying nothing more.

Yet inwardly he was smug.

’Not jealous?’

’Then who’s been moody all this time?’

Xia Ruqing:

’I don’t know; anyway, it’s not us!’

...

After breakfast.

Xia Ruqing went with the people to the Imperial Garden to find her daughter.

While Zhao Junyao returned to the Imperial Study Room to review documents.

Upon the desk in the Imperial Study Room.

A neat stack of memorials sent from all over the country.

Zhao Junyao, in his regular dragon robe, held the vermillion imperial brush.

Studiously reading each memorial, then diligently writing on them.

The vermillion brush danced across each memorial like a dragon and phoenix.

Stacks of memorials quickly depleted.