âTime to drink your soup!â
Daohua, all curled up in the blankets, poked her head out upon hearing the voice and exclaimed in surprise, âWhy is it you?â
At the moment, the blush on Daohuaâs cheeks hadnât completely faded, making her fair and delicate cheeks appear even more tender. Xiao Yeyang glanced at her, then quickly averted his gaze, âWho else could it be if not me? Where has that girl of yours run off to?â
Daohuaâs expression stalled; Manman had gone down the mountain to fetch some clothes for her.
Seeing Daohua motionless, Xiao Yeyang had no choice but to urge her, âYou should get up and drink the soup first. Master Gu said that after drinking the soup⦠you would feel a bit better,â he said, his face showing a trace of embarrassment.
Daohua glanced at him and, dragging her feet, sat up.
Xiao Yeyang saw her getting up slowly and quickly walked to the bedside, helping her with his free hand. Once she was seated properly, he sat down beside the bed, picked up the soup spoon, and prepared to feed her.
Daohua hurriedly stopped him, âI can do it myself,â she said, reaching for the soup bowl.
Xiao Yeyang dodged, âThe bowl is still hot, be careful with your hands.â
Daohua: ââ¦Then put it on the table, Iâll drink it later.â
Xiao Yeyang: âMaster Gu said that you should drink it while itâs warm.â Saying so, he scooped up another spoonful of soup and brought it to Daohuaâs mouth. Seeing she still didnât move, he could only say, âIf you donât want me to feed you, then hold the spoon yourself, Iâll just hold the bowl.â
Daohua hesitated for a moment, looked at Xiao Yeyang, who was holding the bowl and watching her, and finally took the spoon and began to drink, sip by sip.
Seeing her start to drink the soup, the corners of Xiao Yeyangâs mouth lifted, and he softly asked, âHow is it, do you feel any better?â
Daohua gave him a sideways glance without much enthusiasm, âDid you give me âelixir soupâ or something?â
Xiao Yeyang chuckled but said nothing, simply focusing intently on watching Daohua drink her soup.
For a while, the only sound in the room was that of Daohua drinking soup.
When Wang Manman returned with the clean clothes, just as she stepped into the yard, De Fu stopped her and dragged her aside to chat about this and that.
Before long, Daohua finished the bowl of brown sugar ginger soup, placed the spoon in the empty bowl, and lay back down. Seeing that Xiao Yeyang was still seated and not moving, she had to urge him, âAlright, you can go out now.â
Xiao Yeyang dallied for a moment before standing up, âThen rest well, Iâll come to see you later.â
Daohua wanted to say it wasnât necessary, but he had already turned and left.
Having drunk the brown sugar ginger soup, Daohua felt the discomfort in her lower abdomen had eased, and she drifted off to sleep. By the time she woke up again, it was already evening.
âMiss, youâre awake?â
Wang Manman walked in with a smile, âThe Little Prince has asked about you several times. If you hadnât woken up, he would have come over to wake you himself, saying youâve slept too much during the day and might have trouble sleeping at night.â
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear; Xiao Yeyangâs voice was heard right on cue from outside.
âManman, is your miss awake yet?â
Wang Manman quickly replied, âThe miss is already awake.â
âThen Iâm coming in!â
Xiao Yeyang stood at the doorway for a while before entering with the bowl of soup. Upon entering, he walked straight to the bed, took a careful look at the face of Daohua, who was leaning against the headboard, and smiled, âYou really do look more spirited after that nap.â
As he said this, he pushed the soup bowl forward, âHere, drink this bowl of ginger soup too.â
âLittle Prince, let me do it!â
Wang Manman hurriedly stepped forward.
Xiao Yeyang held the bowl without moving and glanced at Wang Manman, thinking that this girl was really lacking in tact.
Wang Manman felt uncomfortable under Xiao Yeyangâs gaze, unsure where she had gone wrong.
At that moment, Daohua spoke up, âXiao Yeyang, give the bowl to Manman, then get out quickly.â
Xiao Yeyang unwillingly handed the soup bowl to Wang Manman with a somewhat unfriendly tone, âBe careful with it, donât scald your miss.â
Wang Manman nodded quickly.
Daohua looked toward Xiao Yeyang, âAlright, Iâm fine now, you should go out.â
Left with no choice, Xiao Yeyang nodded and then left the room, looking back three times with each step he took.
As soon as he left, Wang Manman let out a sigh of relief, âMiss, did I offend the Little Prince just now?â
Daohua smiled with her lips pursed, âNo, youâre overthinking it.â
Wang Manman recalled her behavior and reassured herself that she hadnât done anything wrong, then she relaxed and handed the bowl of soup to Daohua, âMiss, please drink the soup. I just wonder how it tastes.â
âHmm?â Daohua looked at her with confusion.
Wang Manman immediately smiled and said, âThis brown sugar ginger soup was made by the Little Prince, with Master Gu instructing him. But, it seems like the Little Prince was quite upset by him.â
Daohua immediately thought of the longevity knot soup Xiao Yeyang made last time and her face involuntarily showed an expression of indescribable feelings. Looking at the steaming ginger soup in front of her, she suddenly had a bad feeling.
Seeing that her Miss did not move, Wang Manman thought for a moment and said, âMiss, if you donât want to drink it, we donât have to.â
Daohua shook her head, took a spoon, tasted a sip, and then revealed a hint of surprise on her face, nodding, âThe taste is actually not bad at all, quite delicious.â
Outside the room, Xiao Yeyang, who had not left, heard Daohuaâs words and immediately broke into a bright smile.
It was worth being lectured by Master Gu all afternoon.
Tomorrow, he believed, with a few more tries, his cooking skills would keep getting better.
â¦
âXiao Yeyang, you donât have to keep making brown sugar ginger soup for me!â
With a helpless look, Daohua stared at the ginger soup in front of her. She had been drinking it for three days straight and really didnât want any more.
Xiao Yeyang showed disapproval, âHow can that be, Master Gu said that youâve been eating too much watermelon recently, you need to drink more ginger soup to dispel the cold.â
After speaking, he pushed the ginger soup closer to Daohua.
âDrink up.â
Seeing Daohua motionless, Xiao Yeyang smiled, âDonât tell me you want me to feed you?â He then made a move to pick up the bowl.
Daohua rolled her eyes at him and snatched the bowl before him, not even using a spoon, and began drinking it in large gulps.
âTake it easy. Donât choke,â he hurriedly cautioned, smiling watching Daohua drink the soup reluctantly.
After finishing a bowl of ginger soup, Daohua felt she didnât even need breakfast now. Looking at Xiao Yeyang leisurely sipping his black rice porridge, she suddenly asked, âYouâve been here for three days already, donât you need to go back to the military camp?ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
At this question, both Granny Gu and Gu Jian looked over as well.
Xiao Yeyang replied calmly, âWhen I left, I told my uncle that I had some matters to attend to and that I would return later than expected.â
Gu Jian snorted, âThe matter you need to attend to is hanging around here?â
Xiao Yeyang muttered, âI came to see Granny and Master Gu. How can that be considered hanging around?â
âHmph!â
Gu Jian simply snorted coldly and glanced at Xiao Yeyang sideways, too lazy to expose the guy.
Do they think he and his sister are blind?
Xiao Yeyang put down his chopsticks, turned serious, and said, âI do have some real business.â Turning to Daohua, âDo you remember the formula for making liuli that you gave me?â
Daohua nodded, âOf course, I remember.â Her eyes lit up as she spoke, âDid you manage to produce it?â
Xiao Yeyang nodded with a smile, âIâve already made a batch, but when compared to foreign liuli, there are still some flaws.â
Daohua said eagerly, âThatâs nothing to worry about. As long as you can produce it, even with flaws, it can be slowly improved over time.â
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua, âThereâs something I need to tell you.â
Daohua, âGo ahead.â
Xiao Yeyang, âIâve submitted the formula to the Imperial Uncle.â
At the words âImperial Uncle,â Granny Gu and Gu Jianâs expressions changed subtly. They exchanged a swift glance, then silently bowed their heads to continue eating.