Chapter 152 (2/2)

“Understood!” The imperial bodyguard, Zhuang Mo, received the command and swiftly left . The courtyard quickly became tranquil again, but the atmosphere was somewhat awkward now . Yu Hai had long gone out of the courtyard and started working on the ground in front of the gate . He was afraid that he might hear something that he shouldn’t!

“Time to eat!!” Yu Xiaocao’s bright and clear voice shattered the dead silence in the courtyard . Fang Zizhen suddenly felt that there was nothing more pleasing to his ears than his adopted daughter shouting ‘time to eat!’ at the top of her lungs .

The frown on the emperor emeritus’s face momentarily disappeared, and he sniffed, “Chicken stewed with mushrooms! This dish is quite good, I like it!”

“Fifth Lord, do you want to eat in the room or in the courtyard?” Yu Xiaocao inquired .

The emperor emeritus glanced at the Yu Family’s tottering, mudbrick house and curled his lip, “The rooms are a bit stuffy and the courtyard is so bright and s.p.a.cious . Let’s eat in the courtyard then!”

When Yu Hang heard the old man voice his opinion, he quickly moved the family’s new dining table out into the courtyard and took out all of the stools in the house . He looked at the large men next to Fifth Lord, hesitated for a moment, and then asked Xiaocao quietly, “It looks like we don’t have enough wooden stools for everyone . Should I go to Auntie Zhou’s and borrow some from her?”

Although the emperor emeritus was no longer young, his hearing was still as keen as before . He laughed, “You don’t need to go through that much trouble! These men won’t be eating with us at the same table . Mingzhe, earlier the little girl called you her G.o.dfather . You’re quite fortunate . Previously I had wanted to adopt this la.s.s as an honorary granddaughter but I had been summarily rejected by her!”

Fang Zizhen grinned widely and laughed a couple of times before he suddenly recalled something . The smile vanished on his face as he said, “Fifth Lord, don’t blame her! Xiaocao is still young and is sometimes childish . Please excuse her ignorance!”

“This servant, Zhang Quan, greets…” A shrill and resounding voice echoed in the air . As a eunuch who was ranked highly enough to issue an imperial decree, Zhang Quan still knelt obediently on the ground as his body lightly trembled .

“Alright!!” The emperor emeritus shouted violently and stopped the eunuch from finis.h.i.+ng his sentence . “Why do you look so confused? Why aren’t you coming over now to serve? Are you blind and losing energy?! Liu Fusheng must have been blind to take such an idiot like you as his adopted son!”

Zhang Quan had already discreetly asked the imperial bodyguard, who had given him the message, about the emperor emeritus’s mood . At the time, his whole body had suddenly been drenched in cold sweat . A court eunuch becoming friends with a court official was a serious crime that could lead to beheading! He could only blame himself . Previously, the emperor had repeatedly warned him to treat General Zhao with respect . He had gotten too proud and almost unexpectedly committed an overwhelming offense ah! Fortunately, the emperor emeritus had called him over . The emperor emeritus was truly like his second father and benefactor who had saved his life!

“Come, come! Don’t all just stand there ah!! Mingzhe, Little Yu, and you, little girl, come over and eat with Fifth Lord!!” The emperor emeritus glared at Zhang Quan and then ignored his presence . His eyes had been attracted to the table full of delicious smelling food that was all familiar to him .

In his previous life, Zhu Huaiyong had also been a brilliant and outstanding military official of his country . He didn’t have any other interests, other than eating good food . After he transmigrated over to this world, he had been on the battleground for several years in a row . Being able to eat enough to fill his belly was already considered quite good, so how could he be picky about the food?

After he ascended the throne, he found that the imperial palace’s chefs were all decent . Perhaps he still missed his previous life but he always felt like the food here didn’t taste quite right . However, he and the current emperor were both men who didn’t know how to cook . Thus, he was even more attached to finding the taste of his previous life in this world .

Decades pa.s.sed and the memory of those familiar foods of his previous life had slowly faded . He had originally believed that he would never be able to have a taste of his homeland again in this lifetime . However, he didn’t expect that in this impoverished, tiny courtyard, he would finally be able to satisfy his long-standing desire .

“These are all just some home cooked dishes, so please don’t dislike them because of that, Fifth Lord . Please eat your fill!” Yu Xiaocao took ahold of a plate of century eggs with tofu and lightly placed the dish in front of the emperor emeritus .

Zhu Huaiyong’s eyes lit up even more brightly and he smiled slyly like an old fox, “Little girl, you even know how to make century eggs and you claim that you can’t make bean vermicelli? Don’t try to trick me, Fifth Lord’s eyes are still sharp!”

“Century eggs? Daughter, our family’s century eggs are ready to eat?” Fang Zizhen had been quite busy on the docks and had almost forgotten about these eggs . He stared at the plate of delicate and delicious century eggs with tofu that was in front of the emperor emeritus . He almost couldn’t control his desire to try some now .

Xiaocao had finished serving all of the food to the table and was about to go to the kitchen to serve food to the imperial bodyguards when the emperor emeritus stopped her, “Little girl, you’ve been busy for a while . Come, sit next to Fifth Lord and eat some . They all have working limbs, if they’re hungry, they’ll be able to find food to eat!”

The emperor emeritus had already ordered that only Fang Zizhen, Yu Hai, and Yu Xiaocao had the honor of accompanying him for the meal . Zhang Quan stood on the side and held a new pair of chopsticks . He picked up an eggplant fritter and was about to taste it .

“Stop! You don’t need to test the food for poison here, go into the kitchen where Commander Zhuang and the others are and eat the meal there!” The emperor emeritus trusted the Yu Family and having someone taste the food before he tried was not essential . He refused to permit another person at the table to eat his precious food!

Zhang Quan perceptibly made a noise in a.s.sent . In his heart, the Yu Family had risen ranks . There probably weren’t many people who could make the emperor emeritus trust them so much, right?

“Century eggs with tofu! It’s been decades since I’ve last had these! I’ve almost forgotten what they taste like ah!” The emperor emeritus carefully picked a piece of tofu stuffed with century eggs and opened his mouth wide . He shoved the whole piece into his mouth . The tender tofu with the savory flavor of the century egg spread through his mouth . Being able to taste food that he hadn’t had for years almost made Zhu Huaiyong let out a couple tears in joy .

Fang Zizhen watched the emperor emeritus earnestly . When he saw the obvious pleasure on the older man’s face and some faint signs of moisture in his eyes, anxiety rose in his heart——was there really something so delicious that would make the emperor emeritus cry?

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