Free Web NovelChapter 286: Chapter 213: Emperor’s Heart Skill (2)
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In the hours before dawn, the sky was still dark.
The moon was bright in the night sky, and the stars were few.
Even though it was the night before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon could still be considered full.
The brilliant moonlight spilled down, blanketing all of Shu State in a silvery sheen.
It was a dim, hazy, yet uniquely beautiful sight.
At this moment, within the residences along the streets and alleys of the Prefecture City, a faint clamor began to rise.
Amidst the rising and falling sounds, one could faintly hear the voices of women worshipping the moon and praying for blessings.
"We pray for favorable weather..."
"We pray for our families’ health and safety..."
The aroma of mooncakes and wine also drifted on the wind, enough to make some of the younger maids’ mouths water.
Xiaodie was one of them.
Although she wasn’t qualified to join Xiao Wan’er in the moon worship, she had to wake up early to help arrange the offering altar, table, and chairs.
After two hours of bustling about, the stomach she had filled last night was empty again.
So now, as Xiaodie stood by the central courtyard’s covered walkway, the scent of the offerings made her stomach go GRUMBLE GRUMBLE.
Even Cui’er and Juan’er, who were standing beside her, heard it clearly and began to tease her in low, laughing voices:
"Xiaodie, didn’t the Second Young Master-in-law give you dinner last night?"
"Hasn’t it been that long since you ate? Hungry again already?"
Xiaodie blushed and offered a word of defense for Chen Yi, but she didn’t deny the fact that she was hungry.
’But I really am hungry!’
Shen Huatang heard them and glanced back, saying softly,
"Just hang on a little longer. Once the Young Lady finishes the moon worship, we can get something to eat."
Xiaodie blinked and asked, "Sister Huatang, are you hungry too?"
Shen Huatang opened her mouth, then decided to take back her words of comfort.
’As a practitioner of Martial Arts, once you’ve trained your body to its peak, enduring hunger is the most basic of skills.’
’Never mind a few hours without food and water; she could last for days and nights without eating or drinking.’
Seeing that she had fallen silent, Xiaodie sheepishly ducked her head and hid behind Cui’er and Juan’er.
She wasn’t a complete fool; she finally realized that Shen Huatang didn’t get hungry as easily as she did.
Fortunately, the moon and ancestor worship ceremony concluded just as dawn approached at the hour of the Rabbit.
When the altar was being cleared, Xiao Wan’er distributed the mooncakes, melons, and fruits to the various household courtyards, letting everyone share in the good fortune.
Xiaodie received a whole armful.
She got five or six mooncakes, two bags of pastries, half a pressed duck, and some wine and tea.
She couldn’t carry it all, so she had to thread a rope through everything, wrap it around her hand, and cradle the bundle in her arms, returning to the Spring Lotus Garden out of breath.
Only after placing everything on the table did Xiaodie let out a long breath and wipe the sweat from her forehead.
’Time to go wake the Young Master and the Master.’
But as Xiaodie said this, her eyes were glued to the mooncakes, pastries, and other treats.
She swallowed hard and finally made a decision.
After carefully looking left and right to make sure no one was around, she casually grabbed a mooncake and stuffed it into her mouth.
"So good... mph..."
Just then, a voice came from behind her.
"Sister Xiaodie!"
Xiaodie jumped in fright, hastily covering her mouth and turning to respond with a muffled, "Mph!"
When she saw who it was, her eyes flew wide. "Mph-mph-mph?"
Pei Guanli noticed something was amiss. Her eyes twinkled as she grinned mischievously. "Aha, Sister Xiaodie, you’re sneaking food! I’m going to tell Brother-in-law."
"Mph-mph, mph-mph..."
Xiaodie shook her head again and again, her hand clamped over her mouth as she chewed and chewed with all her might.
Unfortunately, this was the problem with five-nut mooncakes: the filling was dense and easy to choke on.
She chewed several times, but the food in her mouth didn’t seem to get any smaller. She was choking, and her face turned bright red.
Seeing this, Pei Guanli forgot about teasing her and quickly poured her a cup of water.
"Eat slowly, slow down... I was just teasing you."
After finally managing to swallow, Xiaodie patted her chest and caught her breath.
She was a mess of fright, choking, and astonishment.
"Wh-when did you get back?"
"Last night."
Seeing that she had recovered, Pei Guanli sat down at the table, picked up a pastry for herself, and popped it into her mouth, speaking as she ate,
"We can talk in a bit. I need to get something in my stomach first."
"You have no idea how careful I’ve been these past few days, terrified of being seen."
Xiaodie looked at her in confusion. "Careful? Is someone after you?"
"Of course—"
Pei Guanli caught herself and quickly said, "No."
She then explained, "I was just worried I wouldn’t make it back in time to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with you all, so I rushed here without stopping to eat."
Xiaodie gave her a skeptical look. Just as she was about to say more, Chen Yi’s voice came from upstairs. She quickly called out a reply and ran up. freeweɓnøvel.com
Pei Guanli breathed a sigh of relief, muttering something about ’thank goodness for Brother-in-law’.
Not long after, Chen Yi and Xiao Wuge came downstairs, neatly dressed.
Because of the poetry gathering tonight, both were dressed in magnificent attire.
They wore matching black robes with crossed lapels and Jade Belts.
The difference was that Xiao Wuge’s collar was embroidered with gold thread, and a Jade Pendant engraved with the character for "Xiao" hung from his waist.
Pei Guanli looked from one to the other, then gave a thumbs-up with her greasy hand. "Brother-in-law, you look handsome."
Xiao Wuge cleared his throat and asked, "Sister Guanli, what about me?"
"You... are a little less handsome than Brother-in-law."
Pei Guanli expected Xiao Wuge to be upset.
But to her surprise, Xiao Wuge listened and said cheerfully, "Then I’m not bad either."
Chen Yi patted him on the shoulder and said with a laugh, "Don’t spend too much time learning from your Sister Guanli, or you’ll turn into a fool."
Pei Guanli immediately puffed out her cheeks. "Brother-in-law, I’m not a fool!"
"Alright, let me rephrase."
"Wuge, don’t learn from your Sister Guanli, or you’ll become less intelligent."
"I am not... un-in-telligent! You stink, Brother-in-law!"
Leisurely days were always leisurely and pleasant.
It might have been a redundant statement, but it was a perfect reflection of Chen Yi’s current mood.
With the Jing State Liu Family in retreat and the Hidden Guard lying low, he finally had a rare moment of free time to relax.
So he spent the entire morning holed up in the Spring Lotus Garden, not going anywhere.
After breakfast, he went to the study to rewrite those four poems for Xiao Jinghong.
