Chapter 31 – Meals Together
OuYang ShaoChen swiftly caught the pillow and placed it aside. He shot a glance at Murong Xue’s direction and promptly left the room.
She followed his stare and realized that she was looking at her chest. Admittedly, she was still a little bit immature but she was just 14 years old and had plenty of room for improvement!
Just like the body she had in the modern times, after she became 17 or 18, people had admired her for it!
She folded back the bed covers and got out of bed. Behind the folding screen, she then wore her undergarments, dress robe and prepared herself to look presentable. Only after then did she emerge from the room.
Outside the room, there was an oak table amidst in which dishes, pastries, spring rolls and porridge were placed upon. The aroma of the enticing food was enough to send anyone drooling.
OuYang ShaoChen was standing by the washing basin cleaning his hands. The crystal clear hot spring water passed through his hands, uncontaminated. Seeing that Murong Xue had appeared, he took up a wet cloth and wiped the water beads from his hands.
“It’s getting late, let’s eat,” he said dryly.
Murong Xue frowned. At first, it was to sleep together on the bed and now, eating together at the same table? This sounds more like a husband and wife thing to do…………… wait, why did she think of it that way?
“Much thanks, OuYang your highness, but I’m not famished right now and returning to the Zhen country palace to feast then, wouldn’t be too late either,”
An arm stretched and gripped her shoulder; it was as if the fingers on it were made out of jade itself. OuYang ShaoChen then directed her to the oak table.
“Yesterday, you were suffering from Cold poison and was tossing and turning the whole day. For 7 or 8 hours, you did not eat anything and even if you aren’t hungry, you should at least eat a bit. Or else your body will become weaker!”
MuRong Xue’s beautiful eyes glistened and squinted. Silently, she tried to escape from her constraints.
However, with just the slightest touch of OuYang ShaoChen finger which contained immeasurable power, MuRong Xue wasn’t able to move! Her powers couldn’t be exerted, not even in the slightest bit.
She knew she couldn’t stand a chance against OuYang ShaoChen immense power and stopped struggling. She lifted her head to glare at him.
OuYang ShaoChen ignored her glare. Seeing that she had calmed in some measure, he released his touch and gracefully sat beside her. He then scooped some rice porridge, daintily placed some vegetables on top and placed a few pieces of plum cakes in the small dish in front of her.
MuRong Xue gazed at the fragrant plum cakes, shocked.
“How did you know I like plum cakes?”
“Try guessing,” OuYang ShaoChen replied, his jet-black diamond eyes gleaming with a hint of humor.
MuRong Xue glared at him again.
She thought, Fine. Not like I’m interested anyway.
MuRong Xue picked up a plum cake and shoved it in her mouth. The fragrance and the softness of the cake filled her mouth.
One tends to not feel hungry after recovering from the poison; however, it is encouraged to have some white porridge to regain strength. MuRong Xue thought it was appropriate to eat something to nourish herself and coincidentally, plum cakes were her favorite, so she ate a few more pieces. Moreover, OuYang ShaoChen was eyeing her from the side. She felt compelled to eat something or else he would never let her go.
MuRong Xue used impeccable speed to finish the plum cakes and stood up after that.
“OuYang your highness, I’ve had my fill, please take your time to have your meal!”
OuYang ShaoChen expression turned solemn. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and brought over the dish with a wet cloth. He proceeded to pat his hands with the cloth. What seemed like a simple action was more of a graceful gesture when it was done by him.
“I’ll send you back to the Zhen country palace!” he bellowed, his clear voice piercing the air.
MuRong Xue quickly shook her head and said, “Thank you, your royal highness for your kind gesture! But the Zhen country palace isn’t far, please, I have no need to trouble your highness. Your royal highness, you better hurry back to pay respects to your father and mother instead!”
It is known for noble people being filial first among all else. OuYang ShaoChen hadn’t been home for 10 years and now he had just returned. It’s only a matter-of-fact that he should pay respects to his parents.
She thought: this is the best excuse to get him away from me.
“They’re not in Jing City, they went to explore the great mountain, DaChuan,” he said wryly, as if it were a common thing to do at that time, “They wanted to see it for themselves – the Sakura and blossoms at Gangnam, the desert outside the Great Wall.”
They abandoned the duty in which the palace called and together they explored the world. His royal highness and His Queen really are royalty people who do not care for either fame or power.
It was no wonder OuYang ShaoChen left the palace when he was just eight years old! He was out touring the world, ah so this trait was inherited from his parents!
“It’s still early and I’d like to stroll around the city for a while without a chariot. I won’t trouble your royal highness in sending me home, goodbye!” MuRong Xue excused herself with a polite smile and without waiting for OuYang ShaoChen to reply; she turned and paced quickly outside.
Once out of the yard, she followed the black-stoned path. Hastily, she ran out of the palace and took a few quick turns in the alley. She stopped and looked at the empty streets behind her. Secretly, she was relieved. Thanks to herself, she had fast reflexes and body movement which enabled her to swiftly do countless corner turns. To be fair, she thought he was a fairly decent guy, but he exuded a dangerous aura and she didn’t want to be associated with him in any way.
Murong Xue strolled on the streets of Jing City and saw the hustle bustle of the city scenes. The varied hawkers doing their business and the rowdy haggling that came from them made the corner of her mouth tilt and it emitted a small smile.
The host has lived in a district that snowed, had very little exercise, had a body in which, when the wind blew would knock her out. This resulted in frequent frostbites which was so painful that you were better off dead. She had to walk more and train her body to become better so that when that happened, she wouldn’t feel as much pain.
A gentle breeze blew and gracefully lifted her thick, inky black hair. With the radiance of the sun, she looked even more beautiful. In which, this attracted many onlookers to admire her beauty – her fair skin, her glistening eyes like pristine waters – and wondered, which noble family did she belong to?
Murong Xue, however, was oblivious to the stares and continued walking. Her distant stare broke the rowdy haggling and the hawkers doing business!
“Cousin!” a sudden enthusiastic voice bore into the scene.
The voice came from a young man who was wearing a silvery white long robe. He hurried to catch up with her and was soon in front of her, blocking her path. The man took a greedy stare at her beauty before saying, “Xue my cousin! Long time no see! Don’t pretend to ignore me when you’ve already seen me!”
Looking at his spontaneous actions and stare, she raised her brow.
“Who are you?”
This man knew her name and even called her cousin! But there was no memory of this person in the host.
The man laughed and lifting his chin, as if keen on introducing himself he replied, “I am Du ChenJiang, cousin, surely you have heard of my name!”
Du ChenJiang! Isn’t that the eldest grandson of Du families!
Every New Year, he and his family would come to the Zhen country palace as a guest. But because of the fact that the host’s body wasn’t in good condition and the Du family did not take a liking to her, she was never asked to go to the courtyard to meet guests.
Murong Xue let out a soft “hmm!” and continued on her way, her pale green dress robe fluttering in the breeze which brought out the faint feminine scent of herself.
Du ChenJiang breathed in her scent and his eyes glimmered. Seeing that Murong Xue had passed him and resumed her walk, he hurried to catch up to block her pathway again. He did not bother to hide his gaze admiring her from top to toe or even his gleaming eyes.
He said, “Xue cousin, don’t walk away from me! Since we’re cousins and hardly meet, let’s chat more!”