Chapter 173: Chapter 156, Chicken Soup_1
The Royal Palace was built at the foot of Wuhua Mountain, with the Dayuan River flowing by. Nestled between mountain and water, the scenery was exceptionally beautiful.
Pavilions, water pavilions, artificial mountains, and towers could be seen everywhere.
What surprised Daohua the most was that in the eastern part of the palace, there was a pond that resembled a swimming pool.
Xiao Yeyang, seeing Daohua staring at the pond, explained, “This is where we bathe in the summer to cool off. The water in the pool is drawn from the springs at the top of the mountain; it’s clear, cool, and very refreshing. Soaking in it is a great way to beat the heat.”
“You even use spring water?” Daohua exclaimed with a face full of amazement. These ancient elite sure knew how to live in luxury.
She hadn’t even found a place to drink spring water, while here, they used it for baths.
The palace was too large; Daohua felt half-hearted about continuing to explore after only seeing half of it.
It couldn’t be helped, the weather was too cold. It had snowed the night before, and there was still a layer of snow on the eaves.
Compared to staying outside in the cold wind admiring the snowy scenery, she would rather curl up inside and stay put.
Xiao Yeyang, seeing Daohua’s cheeks red from the cold, said, “We’ve been walking around for most of the day and everyone must be tired by now. Let’s go back to the room to rest and have some tea.”
Yan Wenkai, though still with a desire to see more, nodded in agreement, “Alright, if we haven’t finished looking around this time, we’ll come back next time to continue.”
Yan Wenxiu and Li Xingnian naturally had no objections.
The group returned to the main hall quickly.
De Fu, noticing that Xiao Yeyang had improved a lot after wandering around for half a day, immediately smiled more broadly.
These days, this little ancestor had been cooped up in the room, not stepping out, looking down and out, which really worried him. Now things were better; he had gone out with Miss Yan and come back energized.
“What are you dawdling for? What about the tea and snacks? Hurry up and serve them!”
Xiao Yeyang, seeing everyone seated while De Fu still stood there with a silly smile, couldn’t help but speak out.
De Fu came to his senses, “The refreshments are already prepared. I’ll have someone bring them in immediately.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a maid came in carrying a food box.
Seeing the maid, De Fu’s expression became serious, and he quickly trotted over to respectfully take the food box from her hands.
The maid smiled as she handed over the box to De Fu, bowed to Xiao Yeyang, and then left without saying anything else.
Daohua sat on the side, curiously watching. She noticed that after the maid entered, Xiao Yeyang’s face grew dark.
While Daohua was pondering who the maid was, she suddenly felt a burning gaze on her. Looking up, she saw it was De Fu.
De Fu’s gaze kept darting from the food box in his hands to Daohua, while he desperately made faces at her.
Daohua was taken aback. What did he mean?
At that moment, Xiao Yeyang’s voice rang out again, “What are you standing there for? Where are the refreshments?” His tone carried more irritation and impatience.
Seeing that Daohua hadn’t understood his signal, De Fu looked distressed. Glancing at the food box in his hands, he hesitantly started moving towards the outside of the room.
“Wait!”
In a flash of inspiration, Daohua suddenly understood what De Fu had meant, “What delicious things do you have in that food box? May I have a look?”
De Fu immediately turned around, his eyes full of hope as he looked at Xiao Yeyang. Seeing no response from him, he quickly placed the food box on the table between Daohua’s and Xiao Yeyang’s chairs.
Daohua glanced at Xiao Yeyang’s stern face, then back at De Fu, who was eagerly watching her. After thinking for a moment, she reached for the food box and opened the lid.
“Wow, it smells so good!”
As soon as the box was opened, a rich aroma of chicken soup wafted out.
Daohua, holding the lid and seeing that Xiao Yeyang remained silent while De Fu still blinked at her, tentatively asked, “May I try some?”
That’s what De Fu meant, right?
As soon as she had finished speaking, De Fu couldn’t wait to say, “This servant will go fetch a bowl and spoon right now.” Having said that, he ran off in a flash and was out of sight.
Daohua was a bit stunned and, after quite a while, she finally said, “How come I never noticed before that De Fu is so swift!”
Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua and then at the food box on the table. He moved his lips but by the time De Fu had brought back the bowl and spoon, he hadn’t managed to say that the food box should be taken away.
“After walking around for most of the day, I’m quite hungry. This black-boned chicken soup has come at just the right time. It’s so considerate.”
Daohua took the bowl and spoon and served everyone a bowl, saving herself for last.
“Eh, why aren’t you all drinking?”
Seeing Xiao Yeyang motionless, Daohua picked up her own bowl and took a sip. Immediately she nodded in approval, “This is so tasty. Taste it yourselves, quick. This black-boned chicken melts right in your mouth; it must have been stewed for several hours.” Saying this, she hurriedly took another gulp.
Since Xiao Yeyang wasn’t moving, Yan Wenxiu and Li Xingnian didn’t feel it was appropriate to start using their spoons either.
Yan Wenkai, on the other hand, didn’t hold back. Seeing Daohua start drinking, he immediately took up his bowl and after one sip he too started praising its deliciousness.
“Drink up quickly!”
Daohua pushed her bowl towards Xiao Yeyang and gestured with her chin towards Yan Wenkai, “My fourth brother is amazing when it comes to eating. If you don’t hurry up, he might finish it all up.”
As if to confirm Daohua’s words, Yan Wenkai’s voice rang out just then.
“Big sister, give me another bowl. This black-boned chicken soup is just perfect,” he said, while casually walking over with his bowl in hand.
Xiao Yeyang glanced at the small amount of black-boned chicken soup left in the food box. He looked at Yan Wenkai approaching boldly to get more and blurted out, “There’s none left for you.”
Yan Wenkai pointed at the food box, “There’s clearly some left, and you’re not drinking. It’s a waste to leave it.”
Xiao Yeyang immediately picked up the soup bowl and retorted, “Who said I’m not drinking?” And with that, he began to drink, spoonful after spoonful.
Yan Wenkai wanted to say something more, but De Fu immediately interjected with a smile, “Master Yan, the snacks will be here shortly.”
“Stingy!”
Yan Wenkai mumbled under his breath, then went back to his spot and sat down.
Meanwhile, Daohua was stealthily observing Xiao Yeyang, who was now quietly sipping his soup, and a hint of confusion flickered across her face.
Both the actions of the maid who had sent the food box and Xiao Yeyang’s response seemed odd.
Never mind, it was probably best not to pry. Who knew if it might touch a nerve with Xiao Yeyang.
After Xiao Yeyang finished the soup in his bowl, he noticed that Daohua hadn’t moved, “Why aren’t you drinking anymore?”
Daohua smiled and said, “I left it for you. You’re the sick one; you need to replenish your strength more.” With that, she uncompromisingly poured all the remaining black-boned chicken soup into his bowl.
“Drink up quickly!”
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua and, raising his bowl, began to drink slowly.
At that same time, at the summit’s Meilin Villa.
The maid who had brought the chicken soup entered the main room, her face beaming with joy, and said to the beautiful woman drawing plum blossoms by the window, “Madam, the young master drank the chicken soup you made!”
Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman paused her hand, and the ink on her brush faltered, leaving a dot on the paper.
She wasn’t bothered by this at all and asked eagerly, “Really?”
The maid nodded vigorously, “This servant saw with her own eyes that the young master finished two bowls of chicken soup before leaving.”
“Quick, tell me how it happened?”