Heroic Wife Reborn
chapter-43

Chapter 43: Lady Chuqiu

Although Jing Mo ordered more food for the second round, dishes for the imperial family had different quantities than Yu Xiaoxiao’s imagination. She shook her head at each plate, seeing that the pieces of meat could be counted with a glance. It’d be strange if this restaurant doesn’t go bankrupt.

Gu Xinglang saw her shaking her head and quickly asked, “Do you not want to eat anymore?”

Yu Xiaoxiao placed a piece of fish belly in Gu Xinglang’s plate and muttered, “Although there’s not much, the flavor’s not bad. Try some.”

Gu Xinglang picked up his chopsticks and watched Yu Xiaoxiao eat with her head bowed. Her mouth didn’t open very wide, yet she was able to clear plates in the blink of an eye. He was afraid to take the fish because his battle instincts told him that this entire table of food still wouldn’t be enough to fill his wife’s stomach.

“Eat slower,” Gu Xinglang said as he helped her ladle out some soup. He was afraid that she’d choke.

“Mm,” Yu Xiaoxiao simply drank some soup from the ladle in his hands before her eyes brightened again. “Tasty.”

Gu Xinglang scooped up some mussel meat from the soup and placed it in her bowl. “If you like it, we’ll have the kitchens make this soup after we go home.”

Yu Xiaoxiao nodded her head vigorously. Trying to find unpolluted rivers for fish in the apocalypse was harder than discovering a whole new continent. It was wonderful to live in this world. “Make this one tomorrow,” the princess told her husband.

“Alright,” Gu Xinglang agreed without thinking. The next second he realized that mussels were only available in the summertime. Where was he supposed to find any now? He looked at Jing Mo briefly and wondered how the Zhuri Country man had managed to get some of his own.

Jing Mo’s expression looked rather bad. He had invited the two over to talk, but never expected them to actually start eating while ignoring everyone else. Were they playacting, or just shameless? Faced with Gu Xinglang’s look, he chuckled and said, “How could we trouble the Royal Son-in-Law to wait on the princess for her meals? Someone, come.”

A maid dressed in a blue dress approached their table.

Jing Mo said, “This is the servant girl I just purchased. Have her wait on Her Royal Highness.”

Gu Xinglang took one look at the maid and froze, but his expression didn’t change. “Qingyu?”

“Royal Son-in-Law,” Qingyu knelt in front of the table in a low voice. “This servant is called Chuqiu now.”

Yu Xiaoxiao was in the middle of happy feasting when her chopsticks froze in mid-air. Chuqiu?

In the last timeline, Jing Mo had gifted Yu Ziyi a servant girl after becoming the cruel female emperor’s lover. This servant girl had accompanied His Seventh Highness until he grew up and even guided him from the path of a boy to manhood. When Yu Ziyi steeled his heart to kill his sister and steal the throne, that servant girl was responsible for helping him open up the southern gates to the palace. Yu Xiaoxiao remembered clearly that her name had been Chuqiu. When Yu Ziyi was first made prince of his own territory, everyone in Fengtian knew that Prince Rui of the First Rank had a Lady Chuqiu by his side.

Well, shoot. Yu Xiaoxiao looked at the beauty kneeling in front of her table. Chuqiu showed up before I ever became lovers with Jing Mo? How am I supposed to deal with the plot shifting around like this?

Jing Mo observed the reactions of the couple below and saw that one was cold-faced while the other remained expressionless. Both of them were quite good at hiding their emotions. “Chuqiu,” he ordered Qingyu, “Why aren’t you serving the princess yet?”

“Yes,” Qingyu obeyed and prepared to shuffle forward on her knees.

“No need,” Yu Xiaoxiao raised a hand to stop her. “Just then, you said you bought her?”

“It’s only a servant. Does Your Royal Highness object?” Jing Mo asked.

Gu Xinglang spoke up coldly. “This servant girl was sold off by my Gu Clan.”

“What now, am I not allowed to buy servants from the Gu Clan?” Jing Mo shot back.

Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Qingyu, I feel like I’ve heard that name before.”

Now Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei grew anxious. Princess, you don’t even remember the name of the woman who tried to steal your husband? Is that really alright?

Qingyu looked up at Gu Xinglang, her eyes full of affection. General Gu could read her gaze, but Her Royal Highness remained clueless. Gu Xinglang had no stain on his conscience as he’d never liked or touched Qingyu that way, but he still felt uneasy recalling the scene of her trying to beget him a heir in the prisons.

“If you can’t remember, then don’t bother,” Gu Xinglang said to Yu Xiaoxiao. “What do you want to eat? The dishes won’t taste good if they go cold.”

Qingyu sighed softly and lowered her head again. Gu Xinglang had been cold and taciturn since birth, but now it seemed like the young master was truly taken with the princess. She felt a little reluctant, but she could only endure it. Besides, the thought of Yu Ziyi becoming Zhuri’s prince hostage made her gloat. So what if it was the princess sitting in front of her? Would she have to lower her head and calm her nerves when faced with a prince from a superior state?

“Princess,” Jing Mo spoke. “You don’t remember that servant girl?”

“How old are you this year?” Yu Xiaoxiao suddenly asked Qingyu.

Although she didn’t understand the question, Qingyu respectfully said, “To reply Your Royal Highness, this servant is 15 this year.”

Tch, Yu Xiaoxiao clicked her tongue. The cruel female emperor found the State Preceptor as a lover to replace her fatherly love. Then did Yu Ziyi pick a woman 15 years his senior to find motherly love? The genes of that fatuous ruler really do have problems.

“Princess?” Jing Mo called out when Yu Xiaoxiao continued to ignore his question.

“She likes them young and handsome,” Yu Xiaoxiao told Jing Mo. “She’d probably turn up her nose at someone your age.”

“….” said Jing Mo.

“….” said the rest of the crowd. In other words, Her Royal Highness is saying that Third Young Master Gu is young and handsome while Eldest Prince Jing is an old man?

Jing Mo tried his best, but he couldn’t take this. With a pah, he slammed the table.

“Your Royal Highness, have mercy,” Qingyu burst into tears as she kowtowed towards the ground.

囧, went Yu Xiaoxiao. She didn’t say she’d kill anyone. Jing Mo regarded her coldly while the Zhuri faction watched on with rapt attention. They were ready to take Princess Linglong and his husband into custody at a moment’s notice.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked Jing Mo.

Jing Mo said, “Princess, I’m only 19 years old this year.”

“……..” the crowd went 囧. Just what was Eldest Prince Jing thinking picking up Princess Linglong’s thread of conversation?

Yu Xiaoxiao examined Jing Mo one more time. It doesn’t matter if you’re a handsome youth, ah. The one Lady Chuqiu likes is still on a milk diet.

“Princess,” Qingyu abruptly raised her voice. “This servant knows I was carried away by wishful thinking in the past, but I’ve already become His Eldest Highness’s servant. Will Your Royal Highness not spare me, even now?”

Jing Mo narrowed his eyes at the words. Although the servant was begging for mercy, her words were actually inciting him to teach Yu Xiaoxiao a lesson. After all, when beating a dog, you had to check its owner first.