Gluttonous Crown Princess

Gluttonous Crown Princess Chapter 16.1

There was a table on the long settee, and a small vase of flowers on the table. In the small vase, were two tiny hosta flowers, as delicate as jade, elegant and fragrant.

The pitter-patter of rain came from outside the window. On the table, there were two steaming bowls of braised pork noodles, a plate of mock crab, and several types of soy sauce-pickled vegetables to go with the noodles; everything was neatly arranged, looking appetising and smelling fragrant.

Tao Ti sat cross-legged on the long settee and looked at Pei Yan, who was opposite her. “I didn’t feel like eating rice tonight, so I just made some noodles… Your Highness, I didn’t expect that you would come… Umm, I hope you don’t mind?”

Pei Yan said warmly, “This is just fine.”

Tao Ti smiled, “Mhm, then, hurry and eat up, noodles should be eaten while they are still hot, they’ll go all lumpy if left for too long.”

Pei Yan picked up his chopsticks and looked at the noodles in front of him. The noodles were uniform in thickness and were a light yellow colour. They were topped with a generous layer of braised pork, which glistened and gleamed, and were tender as anything. In addition, was a hard-boiled egg that was cut in half and two crisp bok choy, making the bowl of noodles vibrant with colour, and just looking at it stimulated one’s appetite greatly.

The noodles were soft and smooth, and the soup was rich and fragrant. The braised pork was melt-in-the-mouth and full of flavour, fatty but not greasy, and tasted extremely wonderful.

“Your Highness, don’t just eat noodles, try this mock crab. The yellow croaker the imperial kitchen procured today is particularly fresh, and Chief Steward Sun specially sent me a few,” said Tao Ti.

“Mock crab?” Pei Yan’s eyes fell upon the gold and fresh dish in the middle of the spread.

“Well, it’s actually scrambled eggs and fish. But this dish tastes like crab, yet even tastier than crab, so it’s called mock crab,” Tao Ti explained with great interest. “Look at how white and tender this fish meat is, doesn’t it look like crab meat? And this golden egg yolk, it looks like crab roe, right?”

There was a smile on Pei Yan’s lips, “Mhm, it does.”
He picked up a piece with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth, then raised his eyebrows and said, “It also tastes very good, fresh and tender, truly living up to the name of this dish.”

Seeing that he liked it, Tao Ti was also happy. “If you like it, eat more. If you have a good appetite, your body will become healthy too.”

To be honest, when she saw how thin and pale he was, she instinctively had an urge to feed him until he became more robust and healthy—eh, why does this seem more and more like motherly love?

No, no, what motherly love, that’s nonsense.

Mhm, she was just doing this out of her sympathy for pitiful little things; lovely things had to be cherished and protected! Just like how one would feed little panda cubs, kittens, puppies, little hamsters…

Pei Yan didn’t know that he had already been compared to X number of animals in Tao Ti’s mind. When he was done eating, he set down his chopsticks and elegantly wiped the corners of his lips with a handkerchief.

“I heard that you sent your personal maidservant back to the Marquis’s manor?” he asked casually.

A look of startlement flashed across Tao Ti’s little face. When she recovered, she said with a serious expression, “Mhm. She prefers working in the Marquis’s manor, so I let her leave the palace.”

“I see…,” said Pei Yan softly, and did not continue to press for details.

It would’ve been fine if he didn’t bring Zishuang up, but now that he did, Tao Ti couldn’t help feeling torn.  Should she tell Pei Yan about Pei Changzhou’s letter, or not?

If she did, then everything between Pei Changzhou and the original Tao Ti would be out in the open. Pei Yan was in poor health, and if he gets too agitated and vomits blood from anger, she would’ve committed a great sin.

But if she didn’t, she felt that she wasn’t being honest enough, and keeping him in the dark… Besides, who knew if Pei Changzhou would insist on not giving up and continue to stir up some other trouble.

Ahhhhhhhhhh… just what should I do?!

Tao Ti frowned gloomily, stuffing mouthful after mouthful of noodles into her mouth. Her cheeks bulged out like a small squirrel that was storing food.

Seeing her troubled expression, Pei Yan reminded her gently, “Eat slowly, be careful of choking.”
As he spoke, he handed her a cup of warm water.

Tao Ti gave him a grateful look. Catching a glimpse of his nearly transparent pale skin, she thought about it, then decided to keep it from him for now.

Poor little Pei Yan did not have long to live—at the most, a year or so more. It was better to let him enjoy the rest of his days in peace, instead of having to worry about these crappy trivialities.

Besides, she had already made up her mind to not have anything to do with Pei Changzhou anymore, so even if Pei Changzhou continued to send letters or deliberately approached her in the future, she could just hide, couldn’t she?

Outside, the rain did not let up, so Pei Yan went along with the situation and decided to rest in Yaoguang Hall for the night.

Tao Ti was fine with that and even warmed two cups of milk, one for each of them.