Chapter 7 Is it really that delicious?

Chuyu was still feeling hurt and unprepared for the sudden separation from victory. She had no idea that the Fourth Prince was currently pondering over the food she had sent.

At noon, in the study room of the side hall.

The Fourth Prince's personal eunuch, Su Peisheng, bowed and entered quietly, whispering, "Master, Jiang Fuhai from the Furen's side is seeking an audience, saying that he has brought food for you."

The Fourth Prince was giving instructions to the Eighth Prince, who was just writing. Thirteenth Prince was leisurely enjoying some snacks. Upon hearing this, they all looked at Su Peisheng.

Su Peisheng kept his head down, pretending to be humble. He joked to himself that he should maintain his presence, as the Fourth Prince might direct his anger towards him later. The Prince didn't quite like people from the Furen's side.

The Fourth Prince furrowed his brows, feeling somewhat surprised. If no one came from the Furen's side, he would almost forget that he even had a Furen.

If someone was coming to deliver something now, it must be pastries. Didn't the Furens of the Eldest and Third Princes often send snacks?

After thinking for a while, he couldn't remember what his own Furen looked like. However, his expression turned grim as some unpleasant memories resurfaced.

Finally, he put down the pen in his hand and asked the Eighth Prince to take a break and have some snacks. After settling down, the Fourth Prince glanced at Su Peisheng, signaling him to bring the visitor in.

When Jiang Fuhai entered, he successfully drew the attention of the princes.

Behind Jiang Fuhai were two young eunuchs, each carrying a large food box. Despite the cold weather, they were sweating, indicating that they had rushed here.

The Fourth Prince frowned. The food boxes were too large.

As soon as they entered, a faint aroma of food wafted through the room. Thirteenth Prince was already curiously eyeing the two large food boxes.

"Jiang Fuhai, on behalf of the Master and the Eighth and Thirteenth Princes, I respectfully greet you. May all the Princes be blessed," Jiang Fuhai said, bowing. Seeing the Fourth Prince wave his hand, he continued, "Our Furen personally prepared a meal for you this morning and asked me to deliver it. It's still warm."

He had a fair and lovely appearance, and his smiling face was quite endearing.

The Fourth Prince's frown deepened. A meal being delivered in the study room was quite unusual. It was a place for the princes' studies, and even the occasional delivery of pastries was done discreetly, without attracting attention.

Who would make such a grand gesture, like his foolish Furen, having someone bring two large food boxes all the way here?

Did she want the entire Forbidden City to know?

Jiang Fuhai was unaware of any issues and was quite clever. Seeing the Fourth Prince's silence, he quickly gestured to the young eunuchs beside him, and they promptly arranged the table in front of the Fourth Prince.

Then, with a flattering smile, he looked at the Fourth Prince, as if he would immediately run errands if ordered.

Su Peisheng, seeing his attitude, couldn't help but sneer. This lackey, despite being a person of importance by the Furen's side, dared to behave in such a manner, even more obsequious than himself towards the Fourth Prince.

At this moment, Jiang Fuhai was eagerly anticipating the Fourth Prince's enjoyment of the meal prepared by his Master.

The Master's culinary skills were impressive. Even the most common tofu, when prepared by the Master, became a rare delicacy. It must be said that Jiang Fuhai now had a somewhat blind admiration for Chuyu.

The Fourth Prince, seeing Jiang Fuhai's smile, found it far from endearing, feeling rather troubled.

He couldn't recall what his Furen looked like, but he remembered her with a swollen, red face, vomiting.

Did she really prepare this meal? Was it edible? Why didn't he ask Su Peisheng to send them away earlier?

Now that the food had been brought in, could he really send them back? It wouldn't be appropriate to directly reject the Furen's gesture.

With these thoughts in mind, the Fourth Prince cast a chilly gaze at Su Peisheng.

This foolish servant, couldn't he understand from the conversation earlier?

After struggling with his thoughts, the Fourth Prince uttered, "Furen, you've worked hard," and let Jiang Fuhai leave. He was afraid that if he didn't let them go, he would lose his temper.

Upon receiving the Fourth Prince's words, Jiang Fuhai felt a tinge of regret.

He couldn't see the surprise on the Master's face at the Furen's culinary skills.

If the Master enjoyed the meal, he might even receive a reward later. What a pity.

Unlike the Fourth Prince's dilemma, Thirteenth Prince's chopsticks were already reaching for the braised pork. He had smelled the aroma as soon as the food boxes were brought in. Since he hadn't heard a word from his Fourth Brother, he had to take matters into his own hands.

According to the current rules, the princes only had two proper meals a day. Since they woke up early, they could only have some snacks at noon and wait until they returned home for dinner. Thirteenth Prince was actually quite hungry, and those two pieces of snacks were hardly enough.

Although Thirteenth Prince was young, he spoke like a little adult. He picked up a piece of braised pork and said, "Fourth Brother, although Sister-in-law made this for you, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if little brother had some too."

The Fourth Prince's eyelid twitched when he saw Thirteenth reaching for the food, but he managed to control himself and didn't stop Thirteenth's chopsticks.

The Fourth Prince was genuinely concerned about whether the food made by the Furen was edible. Although the table smelled good, he was afraid of his younger brother getting sick. After all, Thirteenth was still young!

Before the Fourth Prince could say anything, Thirteenth Prince exclaimed that it was delicious.

As he handed the chopsticks to the Fourth and Eighth Princes, he said, "I've had braised pork before, but it never tasted as good as Sister-in-law's. Fourth Brother, Eighth Brother, try it." When the Fourth Prince didn't respond, Thirteenth waved his hand, and then handed the chopsticks to the Eighth Prince.

The Eighth Prince had been craving for a while, so as soon as he thanked the Thirteenth Prince, he reached out and grabbed the food. But just as he was about to start eating, he hesitated. Unlike the close relationship between the Thirteenth Prince and the Fourth Prince, he just looked at the Fourth Prince eagerly and called out, "Fourth Brother..."

What else could the Fourth Prince say? If he liked it, he should just eat it. He couldn't let his brother go hungry, could he?

"If you don't mind, go ahead and eat." If Chu Yu were here, she would definitely find it strange. Were the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince really that close?

With the go-ahead from the Fourth Prince, the Eighth Prince also began to eat eagerly, just like the Thirteenth Prince.

Seeing his two younger brothers eating so quickly, the Fourth Prince kindly reminded them, "Eat slowly, no one is going to take it away from you."

Both of them nodded in response to the Fourth Prince's words, but their actions did not slow down.

And so, this scene unfolded in the study.

Eighth Prince: "Thirteenth, try this tofu. Why does it taste better than usual?"

Thirteenth Prince: "Eighth Brother, taste this spare rib. It's sweet and sour, and really delicious."

The two of them completely forgot the rule of not speaking while eating, and would occasionally ask, "Fourth Brother, are you really not hungry?"

The Fourth Prince shook his head and said that he had eaten some snacks before coming here.

In fact, he was starving at this point.

He had been dealing with matters at the Ministry of Revenue in the morning, thinking that he would have some snacks in the study at noon. In the afternoon, he was supposed to practice archery with them.

But before he could eat, the Eighth Prince came to ask for help with his studies.

After taking care of his duties, the Fourth Prince didn't actually need to stay in the study all the time. The Crown Prince and the First Prince only came to the study in their leisure time. But Emperor Kangxi had asked him to oversee his brothers' studies, and he was diligent by nature. So as long as the Ministry of Revenue wasn't busy, he spent most of his time in the study with his brothers.

At this moment, the Fourth Prince regretted coming to the study. The Eighth and Thirteenth Princes were harmoniously enjoying their meal, while he sat there with an empty stomach and a blank expression.

Seeing his younger brothers enjoying their food so much, he was actually tempted. Was it really that delicious?