199 Untitled (2/2)
”Former Commander of the Imperial Army, Xie Yu, shall become the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War. The position of the Commander,” said Zhan Nancheng and paused, looking affectionately at Meng Fuyao.
As the court turned silent, Meng Fuyao raised her head innocently.
”Shall be taken over by former Deputy Commander of the Imperial Army and Captain of the Flying Fox camp, Meng Fuyao!”
”Your humble servant thanks you!”
…
”I've seen shameless people, but no one as shameless as you.” Ya Lanzhu ran her commentary with a chopstick. ”You actually used your mouth to swindle the Emperor and become the Commander of the Imperial Army at the very last moment! Wow, the Imperial Army is the strongest armed force in the city, and the three camps have about 100,000 soldiers in total. You've hit the jackpot!”
Wearing an apron and reeking of oil, Meng Fuyao placed the last dish on the table like a dead dog. Ever since Zhangsun Wuji started to heal his injuries, she had been cooking. General Meng had slightly unique talents; she knew nothing of the four arts - zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting - but she was not bad in day-to-day skills like cooking and sewing. As such, when the cooks in Meng Fuyao's kitchen cooked, those few royals would refuse to eat, because their taste buds were too accustomed to Meng Fuyao's cooking.
Once, Yun Hen asked her, ”Fuyao, you don't seem like a very capable one, but why is your cooking so brilliant? Even the most average vegetables taste great.”
As Meng Fuyao's heart ached, she thought, 'If you also had an ill-stricken mother live by empty pockets, hesitate in the wet market with your meagre earnings, diligently try to balance between medical fees and food costs, and still be able to take care of the taste of the food on top of these… you can likewise make 18 variations out of a single vegetable.'
Sitting miserably at the edge of the table, she took her chopsticks and was ready to eat. However, she realized that she had only taken off her apron, and the dishes on the table had already switched places. 'Why did my sweet and sour pork rib, hot and spicy beef, and cabbage steamed in three vegetables break off from my magnificent camp, and become the subordinates of the enemy?'
The ”enemy” sat high and mighty, with the ribs on her left, the beef on her right, and the cabbage positioned in front of her. On her sides, the handsome lads poured alcohol and grabbed the food for her.
The vicious-tongued man grinned widely as he picked up vegetables for Queen Ya, and his attitude towards her was so much better than that towards Meng Fuyao, causing someone to stare until her eyes turned red with envy.
Meanwhile, Yun Hen shifted all the good dishes towards Ya Lanzhu. As such, there was a highly disproportionate ratio of meat and non-meat dishes on each side of the table. When the space in front of her was full, he stacked the plates until they were three-stories high. Thanks to his skills, the stack was like a rollercoaster that did not fall, and someone gritted her teeth in anger.
That someone placed her hopeful gaze on the loyal Crown Prince, who smiled at her in response. Then… he personally filled up Ya Lanzhu's glass.
Meng Fuyao had a mental breakdown.
'A bunch of dogs who forgot about friends when they saw beauties, forwent righteousness in front of personal gains and ignored the cook when the dishes were up!
'They can't be so biased!'
Boiling with anger, Meng Fuyao slammed the chopsticks on the table and started scolding, ”I have to work in the morning, cook at night, and still change medicine and do massages during midnight…” Suddenly, she shoved the chopsticks in her mouth. 'Urgh, I just blurted that out.'
Leaning casually on the chair, Zhangsun Wuji raised his eyelashes to look at her, and his expression was one of delight.
'Very good, such accidents should happen more often.'
Not willing to give up, Meng Fuyao changed her content and continued scolding, ”Every day, I have to cook for you guys, and you lazy bunch still want me to wash the dishes… wash the vegetables… wash…”
”It's Princess Ya's birthday today.”
Opposite her, Zong Yue's one-liner shut her up.
Meng Fuyao opened her mouth, but her tongue seemed to be twisted in knots. As she stood dumbfoundedly, the birthday girl had already placed both her hands on her heart and lamented in a bright but melancholic tone. ”I'm truly dumb, really I am. I thought that everyone would be very happy to celebrate my birthday, but I didn't know that there would be an exception…”
The corner of Meng Fuyao's lips twitched, and she raised her sleeves to cover her face in shame. 'I'm truly dumb, really I am. One has to know that one who tricks others can be fooled by anyone. The consequence of the birth of a legendary scripture is to be hoisted by my own petard.'
When she put down her sleeves, her expression had already changed to flatter Ya Lanzhu. Standing up, she personally placed the last dish of spicy diced chicken in front of Ya Lanzhu. ”Aish, Zhu Zhu, why didn't you tell me earlier that it was your birthday? Otherwise, how would I know that it's your lucky day? Look, now that I know, I'm super elated and excited…” Using her bum to nudge away Yun Hen, Meng Fuyao passionately sat beside Ya Lanzhu and asked, ”Zhu Zhu, what do you want as a birthday gift? What kind of presents did you receive in the past? Let's have a special one!”
”Last time…” Ya Lanzhu tilted her head, and her wide eyes blinked successively. ”Last year at this time, I had just arrived in Taiyuan. That night, there was a wedding in a residence not far away from my inn, and the firecrackers were all over the place, so I sat on the rooftop with a bottle of alcohol. Every time a firecracker sounded, I would give myself a toast, sight how lively that was…”