Lin Jingyuan continued, “It’s very oily and greasy. Since everything is served on one table, all the dishes had to be brought out at once. What’s more, there are so many people attending the banquet. By the time you get to eat, all the dishes would have gone cold. Every year, I would get a bad tummy ache from eating all those cold dishes.”
Lin Feilu: “…”
If it’s that bad, then why would the royals still hold the banquet every year?
As if he could read her mind, Lin Jingyuan quickly added on, “Although the food isn’t great, the Great Reunion Banquet is a tradition passed down from our ancestors. It is said that the country would fall into dissonance if the Banquet is not held. That is why even our Great Father would force himself to take a bite out of every dish every year, even if he dislikes it.”
Lin Feilu was surprised, “Father doesn’t like to eat it too?”
Lin Jingyuan: “That’s right, Father shares the same tastes as I do. Both of us dislike greasy food.” When he said this, he lowered his voice and shared a little secret, “Father would leave midway through the banquet every year, in fact, each time he would visit the plum garden, next to the banquet hall, just to sooth his senses.”
He secretly followed his father twice. He saw that a tea station had already been prepared in advance by a palace servant in the plum garden, making tea to alleviate the emperor’s nausea.
It was not a good idea to spread news of the emperor’s behavior, especially when Emperor Lin himself was hiding this fact. Only Lin Jingyuan, with his bold temperament, would dare to follow after the emperor.
Before this, Lin Feilu had been coming out with new strategies. Once the celebrations for Chinese New Year were over, it was time to find a way to get in touch with the MVP of this Imperial Palace. Unexpectedly, she had come to learn of one of the emperor’s secrets as if it were sent by the Heavens.
She could not help but to look at Lin Jingyuan with more affection.
You really are my lucky charm.
Lin Jingyuan: Little Fifth Sister seems to be looking at me with more admiration. Hehe.
Soon, it was the day of New Year’s Eve.
Mingyue Palace was brimming with merriful laughters. Xiao Lan even personally cooked a full-course meal with Yunyou. After they finished their meal, the snowfall gradually became heavier as the sky turned into evening.
Xiao Lan had already instructed Qingyan to close the gates of their residence earlier before the fall of evening. A burning hearth kept their house warm, and everyone was ready to stay up all night on New Year’s Eve.
When she went to call Lin Feilu, she saw that her daughter had put on the red cloak that Lin Nianzhi gave her, carrying a basket covered with a piece of cloth. She was all dressed up and seemed to be ready to go out.
Xiao Lan was startled, “It’s getting dark, where are you going?”
Lin Feilu did not tell her the truth, “I made a promise to meet with Fourth Imperial Brother. He said he would bring out a few dishes from the Great Reunion Banquet for me to eat.”
Xiao Lan did not know whether to laugh or cry as she replied, “You greedy little piggy, it’s dark and cold now. Yet you still want to go out just to eat. Can’t you eat tomorrow?”
Lin Feilu shook his head solemnly, “No, it won’t taste good when it gets cold tomorrow!”
Xiao Lan said, “Then I will let Qingyan and Song’yu accompany you.”
Lin Feilu shook her head, “It’s not yet dark, I can go by myself. There are so many people in the banquet hall that it won’t be good for others to notice us. There will be many guards patrolling tonight, so nothing bad will happen.”
Xiao Lan still had a few more words to speak to her daughter, but Lin Feilu had already scurried away, carrying a lantern in the other hand.