Chapter 27

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The dinner lady came soon.

Li Baojia tried her best to explain to the dinner lady what hot pot was and how it should be eaten.

Of course, she didn’t know how to cook it. She only knew the general look and the taste.

She claimed that she had eaten it by chance elsewhere and couldn’t forget it, so she asked the kitchenette to reproduce it.

She described the taste carefully. “Mmm… The soup was thick, white, and tasty. It was numbing and a little spicy in the mouth. And it’s also a little sweet in the aftertaste.”

The dinner lady took a notebook to write down. “Numbing… So there should be prickly ash. Thick and white… and slightly spicy… Is it pepper?”

Taotao also said, “The soup is thick and white. Maybe it is fish soup.”

They gathered together in a lively discussion, and the intensity was comparable to the debate between scholars.

The kitchen brought the dinner for today after the sun went down completely.

The shape of the pot was unusual, so it was impossible to make it out right away. Therefore, a traditional flat pot was used, which was deeper and surrounded by a larger charcoal pot burning hot inside.

Li Baojia commented as she ate. “Well… The spicy taste is a tad too heavy, and the soup is not sweet enough, but the rest is about the same.”

The dinner lady nodded and took note. “Next time, I will make a good improvement and make that taste you want!”

Li Baojia suddenly laughed and thought this dinner lady was quite cute. She was the one who made the soup for her last time.

“What’s your name?”

The dinner lady had a cheerful face. “My name is Bingbing.”

“Bingbing? Good name.”

Li Baojia glanced at the dinner lady’s round face. “It suits you, very cute.”

Bingbing smiled sweetly with two shallow dimples on her face.

She was so sweet.

After dinner, Li Baojia let Taotao open the window to disperse the smell because the smell was a little intense. And she also asked the others to boil water.

She wanted to have a comfortable bath.

…

Li Baojia was naked in the bathtub.

She raised her head. Next to her, Taotao took a spoon and poured water on the upper part of her shoulders which were not soaked.

“Miss Baojia, will you still send the soup tomorrow?”

Li Baojia then remembered she had to go to the East Palace to send soup tomorrow.

Her face turned gloomy.

She hadn’t thought of how to get Li Mingde not to use the token freely yet.

Then, she had to go to the East Palace to send soup and even share breakfast with the crown prince… Thinking of her father’s excited laugh, Li Baojia shivered.

Moreover, she also promised Zhou Ji’nan to go to him to say thank you tomorrow.

Thinking about what happened this morning, her eyes suddenly lit up. “Taotao, send someone to the East Palace to say that I was frightened this morning. I was so scared that I couldn’t eat or sleep, and I couldn’t go to the East Palace to send soup the next day for this reason.”

How could the crown prince not know that a horse had injured someone this morning?

Even if he went to investigate, she was indeed hit anyway.

She was already timid, so it was natural that she was scared by the hit.

Taotao asked, “Does this work?”

Li Baojia turned over on her back in the tub. Her fair shoulders and slender neck were bright and shiny. “Go and tell them. Don’t worry. There will be no problem.”

She instantly felt relieved after solving this problem. She thought, “I can have a good sleep again tonight.”

…

It was the East Palace.

Zhao Yi, who had just received a letter from Li Baojia, looked at the trembling imperial court maid in front of him.

Then he turned his head and looked at Huang Gao.

Huang Gao stood out and said, “Your Highness, there is such a thing. This morning, Wei Jiang, the eldest son of Duke Wei, was riding his horse in the street. The horse hit and injured a person in the street and then hit Miss Baojia’s carriage. Fortunately, Mr. Ji’nan arrived and saved Miss Baojia.”

“Zhou Ji’nan?”

Zhao Yi paused and thought of the words she felt when he saw her in the temple.

“Then send some tonic over. Let her come here after recovery.”

“Is Wei Jiang now in prison?”

Huang Gao replied, “Yes. He was just imprisoned today. But although he broke the law by riding his horse in the street, no one died, and the person hit was only lightly injured.”

“The Wei family has sent people to give money to comfort. Anyway, he is Duke Wei’s eldest son. After a light punishment and a stern warning, he should be released tomorrow,” Huang Gao continued.

Zhao Yi swept the pen in his hand evenly on the water. “Let him go to the Li family after he comes out tomorrow. Li Baojia was frightened today. He doesn’t have to come out if he can’t make her well.”

If not because of his identity, according to the law, one who rode a horse in the street should be flogged 20 times, and if he endangered the lives of others, he should be killed immediately.

Huang Gao pressed down the surprise in his heart and said, “Yes.”

Today, not only Li Baojia was frightened by Wei Jiang’s horse. If the crown prince really took it seriously, perhaps Wei Jiang could not finish apologizing in a few days.

Huang Gao thought, “He had such bad luck that the person he frightened was His Highness’s beloved.”

Zhao Yi’s hand shook after he heard Huang Gao’s thoughts.

He thought, “My beloved?”

The ink was haloed on the paper and turned into a large ink ball. A good piece of calligraphy just had a huge stain.

Seeing this, Huang Gao was more sure of his thought.

He thought, “See how much His Highness loves Miss Baojia.

“And his hands are shaking with anger.”

In the end, he thought with some pity, “It’s a pity that such a good piece of calligraphy is ruined. What he uses is embossed paper, the finest gift!”

Zhao Yi was amused and thought, “Is my calligraphy not worth as much as the paper?”

He put the calligraphy away and asked, “Why don’t you go do your work?”

Huang Gao sighed and led the maid kneeling below away.

Then it was the next day.

Li Baojia got up after a good sleep.

She was refreshed when she got up.

Then she leisurely had some breakfast and drank two bowls of chicken and antler congee. She did not stop eating until her belly was round in fullness.

It was a wonderful day not to have to send soup.

She asked Taotao to pick up some gifts and planned to go to the residence of Duke Jing’an.

After all, she promised yesterday to go there today to say thank you, so she might as well go earlier. She did not know if he was in the house now.

Of course, she also had some selfish motives.

Although she did not intend to re-enter the imperial palace to be the crown princess, she still wanted a husband.

After all, in today’s world, a woman who didn’t marry would find it hard to survive and would be gossiped about.

Unless she shaved her head to become a nun.

Thinking of the dull environment in the temple and the days of vegetarianism and chanting, Li Baojia felt sure that she could not stand.

In that case, there would be no delicious food, sweet desserts, and pretty clothes and jewelry.

Li Baojia clenched her fist and decided to examine carefully and find herself a suitable husband this time.

After the experience of her previous life, she knew it was impossible to judge a man’s heart from his face, so she must be careful in choosing a husband this time.

Zhou Ji’nan looked quite normal… But what if he had the same habit of abusing his wife as Qiqi’s husband?

She carefully recalled what Zhou Ji’nan was like in her previous life.

He seemed to be single in his old age. Could it be that he had a hidden illness?

…

At the same time, Zhou Ji’nan sneezed.

He was waiting for Li Baojia at the residence of Duke Jing’an with tea and snacks.

The attendant next to him, Qing, said, “Mr. Ji’nan, why don’t you wait inside? There are so many places in the residence. Why do you have to go to this small pavilion in the middle of nowhere?”