After finishing the chicken leg, Li Ji spoke calmly.
"Is there anything else on the table you don’t like? Give it to me."
Hua Manman had never been a picky eater and could eat just about anything.
But because of her pregnancy, she had recently developed an aversion to overly greasy food.
So she moved the heavier, oilier dishes from the table into Li Ji’s bowl.
Li Ji accepted it all, eating whatever she gave him.
Princess Rouwan watched the two of them, her face devoid of expression.
At this moment, no matter what she ate, she felt like she was being force-fed a public display of their affection.
’It was so irritating!’
After lunch was over, Princess Rouwan wasted no time in showing them the door.
"I’m going to take a nap. You two should head home."
Hua Manman was reluctant to leave. "Prince Zhao and I were hoping to stay and have dinner with you."
The corner of Princess Rouwan’s mouth twitched. "No need. I prefer eating alone. It’s peaceful!"
’She had had enough of the couple’s sickeningly sweet behavior and just wanted them to get the hell out.’
Naturally, Li Ji couldn’t wait to take his Princess Consort home.
Without a word, he took Manman’s hand and led her out.
As she walked, Hua Manman kept looking back over her shoulder.
"Mother, we’ll come visit you again in a couple of days!"
Princess Rouwan turned her back without a shred of sentiment, pretending she hadn’t heard a thing.
Once they were out of the Duke Zhen Country Mansion, Hua Manman and Li Ji settled into their carriage.
With no one else present, Li Ji could finally ask the question that had been weighing on his mind.
"What did you do to make the Commandery Princess suddenly change her attitude toward me?"
Hua Manman smiled mysteriously. "Guess."
’She wasn’t about to tell this damn man that to get the Commandery Princess to change her mind, she’d used every shameless trick in the book: feigning illness, acting spoiled, playing the victim to win sympathy—the works.’
Li Ji, hearing her thoughts, reached out and pinched her cheek.
"You little rascal. There’s a lantern festival in the city tonight. Want to go?"
Hua Manman nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Yes! Yes!"
Night fell. One by one, festive lanterns lit up, merging into a brilliant river of light that, from a distance, resembled a galaxy floating in the night sky.
Holding Li Ji’s hand, Hua Manman strolled along the brilliantly lit street.
They were surrounded by a ceaseless stream of people, and a bright, full moon hung in the night sky.
Hua Manman spotted a Kongming Lantern rising slowly in the distance. She immediately quickened her pace, pulling Li Ji toward it.
It turned out a restaurant was hosting an event for releasing Kongming Lanterns.
Any patron who dined in the restaurant could receive a free Kongming Lantern.
Hua Manman was very interested.
She pulled Li Ji inside for a meal, and afterward, they received a Kongming Lantern from the owner.
An attendant said enthusiastically, "You can write your wish on the Kongming Lantern. When it rises into the sky, it will carry your wish to the heavens, and it will surely come true!"
Li Ji scoffed at the idea.
’It’s just a sales gimmick. I’m not falling for it.’
Hua Manman picked up the brush and quickly wrote a line on the Kongming Lantern—
May Manman and Ji be together forever!
She even drew two little stick figures holding hands beside the words, representing her and Li Ji.
Admiring her handiwork, Hua Manman asked,
"My wish will come true, won’t it?"
Li Ji looked at the words and the drawing on the lantern. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke, enunciating each word.
"It definitely will."
They lit the candle and held up the Kongming Lantern. Once it had inflated, they released it at the same time. The lantern, carrying their wish, rose slowly into the sky, drifting farther and farther away until it was just a tiny dot against the night.
Suddenly, Hua Manman had a flash of inspiration.
"When our child is born, let’s name him Li Kongming!"
A question mark practically appeared over Li Ji’s head. "Why?"
Hua Manman said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Because it means ’brilliant’!"
Li Ji: "..."
With a deadpan expression, Li Ji asked, "Then why not just name him Li Congming?"
Hua Manman clapped her hands in realization. "Oh, you’re right! We could just call him Li Congming!"
Li Ji continued, "And if we have a second child, would we have to name him Li Jue Ding?"
’Congming and Jueding. They’d sound like real brothers.’
Hua Manman considered it seriously for a moment before rejecting the proposal.
"The name Jue Ding sounds a bit too... bare on top. Let’s not. He’s our own flesh and blood, after all. We should give him a chance."
Chatting about such silly things, they walked off hand in hand.
In a teahouse across the street, the window of a private second-floor room was open. Li Ying stood beside it.
Dressed in a dark cyan brocade robe, he stood tall and straight, one hand resting on the window frame. His dark eyes were fixed on Hua Manman as she walked away.
She looked to be in high spirits, walking with a bounce in her step. She would occasionally turn to look at the man beside her, and whatever they were discussing made her smile so wide her eyes curved like crescent moons. Her eyes seemed to hold the entire night sky, so brilliant that it was impossible to look away.
He watched her fixedly until her figure vanished into the crowd, only then tearing his gaze away.
He turned back to the table, where the food and wine had long since grown cold.
Liang Yong wanted to have the cold dishes cleared and replaced with a hot meal.
But Li Ying waved him off, indicating it wasn’t necessary.
It no longer mattered if the food and wine were hot or cold.
He had no appetite anyway.
...
「Once the Mid-Autumn Festival passed, the temperature dropped day by day.」
Hua Manman suddenly began to experience morning sickness.
Previously, she only felt nauseous at the sight of greasy food. Now, she would dry-heave at the sight of almost anything.
She didn’t want to eat anything and had a terrible appetite.
Li Ji was frantic. He forced the household cooks to invent new dishes every day. Just as they were about to be driven mad, his conscience finally kicked in. He let his own cooks off the hook and instead turned his demonic claws toward the Imperial Chefs in the palace.
He went to the Emperor to borrow an Imperial Chef.
It was a small matter, and the Emperor agreed readily.
The Imperial Chef lived up to his title. Being widely experienced and knowledgeable, he quickly developed dishes that were delicious, wouldn’t make Manman feel nauseous, and were beneficial to her pregnancy.
Meanwhile, the triennial autumn examinations finally began.
This year’s examinations were jointly overseen by a Hanlin Academy Scholar and Prince Wu Zhang, Li Ying.
The imperial examinations were a crucial channel for the court to select talented officials, their importance self-evident. By placing Li Ying in this position, the Emperor was showing both his high regard for him and testing him.
And Li Ying proved his abilities were indeed outstanding.
He managed the three-month-long autumn examinations with perfect order, and not a single error occurred.
This left both the Emperor and the court officials quite satisfied.
Afterward, Li Ying was permitted to attend and observe every court session.
He would record what he observed each day and analyze it with his own insights.
Occasionally, on a whim, the Emperor would question Li Ying directly.
The questions were typically about recent events at court.
Li Ying was always able to answer fluently.
Even if his answers weren’t always perfect, they invariably had merit.
This showed he was giving these matters serious thought.
The Emperor grew increasingly pleased with him.
His origins aside, Li Ying was truly an excellent candidate for an heir.