Chapter 636: How Stinky! 4 (1/2)

Wenlan looked at the stinky tofu before glancing back at Chu Lian. Finally, she shut her eyes, took up a pair of chopsticks, and shoved a piece of tofu into her mouth.

Back in the emperor’s luxurious tent, Eunuch Wei had returned from his journey and was now laying out dish after dish in front of the emperor.

The emperor’s eyes came alight and he pointed at the food in front of him, “Were these all made by Lian’er?”

When there weren’t any strangers around, the emperor had already started calling Chu Lian by a nickname instead, as if he could become closer to his daughter just by doing so.

As the emperor’s trusted confidante, Eunuch Wei knew exactly why the emperor was so delighted by a few dishes.

He smiled and replied, “Yes, these were all made personally by Honoured Lady Jinyi. She even instructed this old servant about this dish. This new dish is called stinky tofu, and it has a rather peculiar smell. She said to simply take it away if Your Majesty doesn’t like it.”

The emperor’s nose twitched. The smell of the stinky tofu was indeed strange. Although it had already been fried and the smell wasn’t as strong as it might have been, that peculiar odour was still much stronger than the rest of the fragrant dishes on the table.

However, since it had been made sincerely by Chu Lian’s own hands, the emperor wouldn’t hesitate to eat it, even if it was a poison.

“No need, we will have a taste of every dish.”

Since the emperor had already said so, Eunuch Wei naturally wouldn’t try to stop him.

Eunuch Wei called over the poison taster, who was also a eunuch. Once the taster had tried the dish, the emperor quickly picked up a piece of stinky tofu and put it into his mouth.

Just like how it had conquered Old Duke Zheng, the emperor’s taste buds were completely taken over by the stinky tofu.

Following that, he tried all the other dishes as well. Since Chu Lian had made them for the emperor alone, there wasn’t much in each dish. There was exactly a single bowl’s worth for each one, so even if he finished them all, he wouldn’t be overly full.

Just as the emperor was enjoying his meal in a great mood, Imperial Concubine Wei and Imperial Princess Leyao arrived.

Even before she had entered the tent, the emperor and Eunuch Wei could already hear Imperial Princess Leyao’s voice from inside.

The eleven-year-old Leyao was still a child. Her voice held a hint of a child’s clear tones, but it wasn’t very likable.

“What’s that weird smell in Father’s tent? Why is it so stinky? It smells terrible! What are you darn eunuchs doing? How could you let Father stay in such a smelly tent? Do you still want to keep your heads?!”

Princess Leyao’s voice had been clear at first, but later on, it turned nasally, indicating that she was pinching her nose closed.

Eunuch Wei looked over at the emperor in alarm. What he saw there made him hunker into his shoulders and take a step back in retreat.

His master’s face was looking extremely thunderous. This was clearly the calm before the storm!

An instant later, Imperial Concubine Wei’s voice travelled over as well, “What are you standing there in a daze for? Didn’t you hear what the princess said? Hurry up and bring over some flower dew!”

There was the sound of footsteps rushing away, clearly off to do Imperial Concubine Wei’s bidding.