Gluttonous Crown Princess

Gluttonous Crown Princess Chapter 15.2

Now that there was no figure in sight after so long, there was only one possibility——she had not received the letter at all.

With a dark face, Pei Changzhou stared suspiciously at Hu Jin and said in an annoyed tone, “Is that Zishuang reliable? Could the letter have been intercepted?”

Hu Jin’s heart was on tenterhooks, and he replied cautiously, “In the past, it was always Zishuang who helped deliver the letters. Besides, Master, you’ve always rewarded her generously, she only wishes she could send even more letters, how could she not do her best? As for the letter being intercepted, that’s not likely… This servant was very covert when delivering the letter and was not seen by anyone.”

Seeing Pei Changzhou’s impatient expression, Hu Jin added hastily, “Perhaps the Crown Princess has been delayed on her way here because of the rain? Master, why don’t you wait some more and see.”

Pei Changzhou clenched his fists; although dissatisfied, there was no other choice but to continue to wait.

This time, another hour passed.

Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, Pei Changzhou’s face was even gloomier than the sky.

At this time, he would be a fool if he continued to wait any longer.

Thinking of Tao Ti’s cold attitude yesterday... she had no intention of coming today, right? How outrageous!

Pei Changzhou stood up abruptly, startling Hu Jin, “M-master?”

Pei Changzhou swept him a cold glance and said through gritted his teeth, “I’m going back!”

—————

“I wonder where the Third Prince’s interest came from. On such a rainy day, he went to the Moon Shadow Lake and was in the cold wind all afternoon... Haha, I heard that as soon as he returned to his residence, he had the kitchen cook a bowl of ginger tea, he’s most likely caught a cold.”

As Zhan Ping talked about this, the gloating in his tone couldn’t be hidden.

He had never liked Pei Changzhou. Also a person who was educated with the teachings of the sages, his Crown Prince was cultured and scholarly, but that Pei Changzhou was just a poser with only a superficial grasp of things. Although his poetry, calligraphy, etiquette, and music were all mediocre, he liked posing as a man of culture and indulging in pretences, keeping a lot of pedantic and fussy scholars as staff. He even carried around a stupid fan in winter, fanning himself nonstop, as if unafraid he’d freeze.

Yet, him being like this actually attracted a ton of people’s pursuit. Many noble ladies of aristocratic families all secretly fancied him, and even his own sister seemed to be under some demonic spell, going “Third Prince this” and “Third Prince that” all day long. How aggravating!

Just like women knew what kind of woman another was with one glance, as men, they could also see through another man straightway. As for what type of person Pei Changzhou was, every proper man had a clear answer to that in his heart… Well, except for Emperor Zhaokang; after all, he looked at Pei Changzhou through the lens of a father.

“Enough now, let’s not talk about him.” Pei Yan put down the book in his hand and looked out the window, “It’s getting late, you should go off duty.”

Zhan Ping wanted to say that it was still early, and he still wanted to chat more with the crown prince, but before he could say anything, he saw Pei Yan but saw Pei Yan get up leisurely.
He was stunned for a moment, then asked, “Your Highness, it’s almost time for dinner, where are you going?”

Pei Yan said entirely naturally, “I’m going to Yaoguang Hall for dinner.”

Zhan Ping’s jaw dropped. “Huh? It’s still raining outside, and it’s so cold, your body...”

“I’m not made of paper, I won’t dissolve when I get wet.” Pei Yan said gently, “I’ve not gone to the Crown Princess’s for two days, it’s not nice to neglect her.”

“......Your Highness is really good to the Crown Princess.”
Zhan Ping pursed his lips and thought inwardly, Even if that woman can cook pretty well, she’s not worthy of such an elegant and dashing person as His Highness.

The night was dark as ink, and the downpour had grown a little heavier.

When Pei Yan arrived at Yaoguang Hall in the rain, the palace was brightly lit, and as soon as he reached the corridor, he could smell an extremely delicious and tempting fragrance.

Fu Xirui put away the umbrella, brushed off the raindrops on Pei Yan’s cloak, and said with a smile, “It seems that the Crown Princess is cooking again.”

Pei Yan was in a good mood and gave a soft “Mhm” in reply.

The junior eunuchs at the door saw that the crown prince had come, and hastily greeted him.

Pei Yan motioned for them to get up and said, “Is the Crown Princess in the kitchen?”

After receiving an affirmative answer, he did not go into the main hall to rest, but went straight to the small kitchen.

When he reached the door of the kitchen, he saw that the clean stove was steaming with dense, white smoke. Tao Ti was dressed in spring green robes and had her wide sleeves pulled back with her arms. A pair of fair hands were kneading dough nimbly, and not long after, as if by magic, strands of snow-white slender noodles were pulled out.

She looked very focused; the warm yellow candlelight shone on her bright cheeks, and a wisp of fine hair hung from her ear, adding a touch of gentleness.

Pei Yan’s elegant figure halted at the door; there was a slight flicker in his black eyes, and he watched intently for a long time.

It was only until the palace maid who was assisting the cook noticed him and hurriedly curtsied in greeting did Tao Ti, who was by the stove, look towards the door belatedly.

She even had some flour on her cheeks. As soon as she saw him, her beautiful bright eyes curved as she broke into a brilliant smile, “Your Highness, you’ve come. Would you like to eat some noodles? I’ll make you a bowl.”