Jin Wang Dotes on His Concubine

Chapter 203.3

Xiaobao asked Li Dequan to help open the food container, revealing a large covered soup bowl inside. Yaoniang was straightforward. Usually, soup in the palace was served in soup cups, but she went all out and used a soup bowl instead.

Actually, Yaoniang didn’t use soup bowls before; she always used soup cups. But today, she seemed to be feeling generous.

Xiaobao seemed to sense Li Dequan’s and the Emperor Emeritus’s surprise, and he felt slightly embarrassed. He explained, “You need a big bowl to drink mutton soup; it doesn’t look good in a small bowl.” To emphasize his point, he added, “That’s what my father said.”

This remark aroused suspicion in both of them. Did Emperor Jin’an say such a thing? At the same time, it piqued the Emperor Emeritus’s interest. He glanced at the soup bowl and said, “Then let Zhen give it a try.”

As soon as he spoke, Li Dequan said from the side, “It’s time for Your Majesty to have dinner.”

“Then let it be put on the table. You can stay too.” The latter sentence was directed at Xiaobao.

Xiaobao could only instruct the eunuch by his side to relay the message to Yangxin Hall.

The dinner was quickly served.

The Emperor Emeritus had suffered a stroke, and half of his body was paralyzed. After receiving treatment from Doctor Liu, he could still move with difficulty. He sat up with the help of a large soft pillow behind him. The table in front of him had been tidied up, and two young eunuchs were arranging the dishes with their heads lowered. There weren’t many dishes, mostly light and steamed, without any excessive stir-frying or deep-frying.

Doctor Liu had said that the Emperor Emeritus must eat lighter food now, preferably vegetarian. The Emperor Emeritus had always preferred meat over vegetables, and he had a heavy palate. Because of this, his appetite had not been good, and he couldn’t eat much during meals.

Xiaobao sat across from the Emperor Emeritus, and Li Dequan personally served the soup, placing a bowl in front of each of them.

The milk-white soup emitted a strong aroma, without any gamey smell, but rather an enticing one. In fact, this mutton soup was a common folk stew. After eating delicacies for so long, every now and then, Yaoniang would personally cook some popular folk dishes, which were greatly enjoyed by both the older one and the two little ones.

Having lived for so many years, the Emperor Emeritus had tasted all kinds of delicacies, but this was the first time he tried such a mutton soup. He had never liked the gamey taste of lamb, let alone such a simple mutton soup, with no ginseng or other precious herbs, only a few pieces of chives and translucent radishes were included.

But it looked quite appetizing. The Emperor Emeritus, who had been taking medicine every day lately, couldn’t help but salivate in his otherwise tasteless mouth.

“Grandfather Emperor, drink it while it’s still hot,” Xiaobao said as he picked up his bowl and took a big sip.

The Emperor Emeritus also picked up his bowl and, as the porcelain bowl approached his face, a pungent scent of spice wafted out. It turned out that some chilli pepper had been added to the soup.

However, after tasting it, he didn’t find it spicy, but rather delicious.

“My mother’s way of stewing soup is different from others. She adds fish to this mutton soup, and the combination makes it exceptionally delicious.”

As they talked, the Emperor Emeritus had already finished his bowl of soup, leaving only a few pieces of radish at the bottom. Since he couldn’t use one hand proficiently, he placed the small porcelain bowl on the kang table and used silver chopsticks to pick up the radishes and eat them.

The radishes were also delicious, melting in the mouth and very tasty.

“It’s delicious, isn’t it, Grandfather Emperor?” Because of the soup, Xiaobao felt warm all over, and with the braziers burning in the hall, his fair little face was blushing, and his eyes were especially bright.

“Not bad,” the Emperor Emeritus replied rather modestly but he signalled for Li Dequan to serve him another bowl.

After the meal, not only did Xiaobao eat to his heart’s content, but the Emperor Emeritus also felt content. Li Dequan stood by, smiling so much that his eyes narrowed, repeatedly saying that the Emperor Emeritus had a big appetite today.

Xiaobao chatted with the Emperor Emeritus for a while until he showed signs of tiredness. Only then did he return to Yangxin Hall.

Knowing that the Emperor Emeritus liked the soup she stewed, Yaoniang sent different varieties of stewed soup for several days in a row. She was worried that it might conflict with the Emperor Emeritus’s medication, so she specially consulted with Doctor Liu. Since Xiaobao was not always there and she couldn’t make the child go to Qingqing Palace three times a day, she stopped hiding and had Yu Chan deliver the soup to Qianqing Palace. After all, the Yangxin Hall was not far from Qianqing Palace, so it was fine for the soup to be delivered every so often.

Outside, there were heated discussions, but Yaoniang still sent the soup every day.

On this day, when Li Dequan said that the Yangxin Hall had sent soup again, the Emperor Emeritus said, “She’s so silly, always sending soup. Can’t she come up with something else?”

Li Dequan, of course, knew what the Emperor Emeritus meant and smiled in response, “This niangniang came from the common people, and from what Xiaobao says, she is an honest and simple person. Presumably, she had no other choice and saw that the Emperor Emeritus was willing to accept it, so she put in a lot of effort.”

The Emperor Emeritus grumbled with an unclear meaning, “Since Zhen has abdicated now and no longer concerns myself with state affairs, it doesn’t really matter how much effort she puts in here.”

Li Dequan didn’t dare to say anything.

The Emperor Emeritus was known for his peculiar temper, and after this serious bout of illness, on top of those various incidents one after another, his temper became even more peculiar. Exactly how it had become peculiar, Li Dequan couldn’t say, but he couldn’t help but feel that the Emperor Emeritus’s temper was becoming more and more like a child’s.

The older one gets, the more childlike one becomes. Perhaps this was the way to describe it.

“Why did old fifth marry such a silly wife? Fortunately, the Zhao Family bloodline is strong. Luckily, Xiaobao and Erbao these two children didn’t inherit her silliness. What a silly woman; she doesn’t even know how to please people. If she had entered the palace from outside, with her qualities, she probably would have been tossed into a corner and forgotten, never able to lift up her head for the rest of her life.”

As the Emperor Emeritus grumbled, Li Dequan helped him lie back down, and soon there was no sound coming from the large kang.

Li Dequan smiled wryly and let out a quiet sigh. He called a young eunuch to guard the room, while he himself left Qingqing Palace and headed towards the study.

gingercat's notes:

Tsk tsk. Even though Yaoniang may be a little silly at least she's not plotting to kill her husband so her son can overtake the throne @Emperor Hongjing