Chapter 209
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"By the way, I bought a bunch of gifts for the workers at Lavender Palace. We should go visit sometime soon so I can get rid of all this weight." She waved her Cosmos Bag as she spoke. Technically, there was a different dimension within the Cosmos Bag so no matter how much or what she put in it, it wouldn't affect it's weight in this plane of existence but it was still worrying for her not have any space within it.
"Alright. Do you want to go tomorrow?" Rong Jian asked her as his gaze lingered on her bandages.
"Okay. By the way, you did have the chefs make dinner already right?"
"Of course. Dinner is waiting for you in my courtyard." Shen Tianyu eyed him but didn't say anything.
As the carriage slowly went forward when there were still many applicants in the middle of taking the exam, there was one applicant who looked in the direction of the entrance of the Chengyuan School from inside the gymnasium. It wasn't a hostile gaze but one of... sadness and regret.
...
The carriage of the Zhu Wangye stopped in front of the Wangfu and the two riders got off. Rong Jian got off first and helped Shen Tianyu off. They entered the Wangfu and went straight to Rong Jian's courtyard where multiple tables of food were placed and emitting a wonderful collection of aromas.
"Wow... so much food!" Shen Tianyu stared at all the food with stars in her eyes.
"I had them make a plethora of food for you because you were taking so long to come out. You didn't bring any food in the morning either so I assumed you didn't eat for lunch either." He told her as he walked towards one of the tables.
"How thoughtful of you." She followed him to the table. Despite almost drooling from her mouth, she didn't start to eat until he picked up his chopsticks and ate a piece of stir-fried pig liver. When she wanted to eat something from one of the other tables, Rong Jian reached out to stop her and said that she could just have one of the servants bring it over. When she hesitated, he told her that it was their job anyways so there was no need for her to be so hesitant about ordering them around. She sat back down and reluctantly had the servants bring one of the other plates of food over. When she completely finished one of the dishes, another would be brought over from one of the other tables. All the servants watched in surprise as she cleaned all the plates the chefs had prepared, five whole tables of food, all gone. Yet, unrealistically, her stomach wasn't even bulging.
"Ah... that was delicious." She told Rong Jian, who had sat and watched her nearly devour the porcelain plates, while she patted her stomach in satisfaction.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. But with this amount, it seems the usual amount at dinner didn't satisfy you?" He was pretty sure he had the amount of food she ate right and ordered the chefs to make the same amount in addition to his portion.
"That's not it. I'm just really hungry today. We had multiple fights and I even had a fight that was somewhat difficult so I expended a lot of energy. Speaking of that, you mentioned the timeframe for the entrance exam earlier. Did it take less time for your exam?" She asked him as the servants silently took the plates away.
"My entrance exam certainly wasn't as long as yours, it literally took a whole day. Mine ended before dusk came. So I was somewhat anxious when you didn't return by the same time."
"Maybe the number of entrants were higher than they expected last year so they made it even harder this year to balance out the number." Shen Tianyu speculated. "That doesn't bode well for the low-income applicants... they don't have as much financial resources when training."
"Low-income?" Rong Jian asked her.
"Ah, I meant the applicants with lesser financial assets."
"Oh? Are you worried about them? Did you make a friend with someone like that today?"
"Nope, I didn't. And I wouldn't say I'm worried. It was just passing thought. Anyways, I'm sleepy now that my stomach's full." She stretched as she tried to hide her yawning.
"Alright then, I'll walk you back to your courtyard. How about we meet up tomorrow morning so we can go to Lavender Palace?" He stood up to walk her back to her quarters and she smiled wryly at him.
"That's fine with me. You don't have morning court?" She asked as she stretchec out her hand to him with a teasing look.
He smiled back at her and pulled her up by her hand. "It shouldn't take very long. The country is at peace right now so there's not much to go over in morning courts. I should be back by the latter half of Snake Hour." They both started walking out of Rong Jian's room.
"Then I'll just wake up before you come back. And tell the popo not to put so much makeup on me. It's not a formal occassion or anything so it's fine to dress casually right?"
"Of course, I'll instruct the popo not to go overboard with it. Though I think she gets it now from the lecture I gave her."
Shen Tianyu nodded in approval and Rong Jian's smile brightened further. When they reached Shen Tianyu's designated courtyard, they parted ways. Rong Jian stood outside as he watched her enter her room. Only when she closed the door did he turn away and go back to his own quarters. Shen Tianyu's maids helped her change and she happily got into bed, closing the thin curtains.
Rong Jian also went to sleep, while instructing his head eunuchs on tomorrow's plans as they helped him undress.
The next day, Rong Jian woke up before dawn broke and went to morning court, eating only a light breakfast. Only when the clocks struck Snake hour did Shen Tianyu wake up. She had instructed the assistant maid to wake ehr up at this time. Shaken awake, Shen Tianyu groggily washed her face and got dressed for the day. She ate a light breakfast of youtiao and porridge since Rong Jian was coming back soon. She had her whip from yesterday wrapped around her belt and her Cosmos pouch hanging from a loop in her belt. When Rong Jian got back, they boarded one of his less conspicuous carriages, one without any dragons painted on it and was small enough to just fit two people, and set out. Walking around would have been way too obvious since Rong Jian's trademark was well-known. Though granted, he could just take his mask off since his face wasn't well-known but since he didn't take his mask off even when he was sleeping during the time they spent together, Shen Tianyu reckoned there was a reason his mask was glued to his face so she didn't want to make him take it off until he was ready. Besides, riding around in a carriage had it's own type of excitement.
Shen Tianyu was still watching the city despite this no longer being the first time she rode the carriage through the city. A little miffed, Rong Jian commented to her. "What's so interesting about the people outside? You have your fiancee here but you're watching other people instead of flirting."
"Oh, are you jealous of your own citizens?" She asked him without looking back. "I just find it interesting to watch the cheerful atmosphere out here. And how it's never quite the same. It's not the same people as yesterday and they don't wear the same clothes either." She commented as she looked straight ahead. Suddenly, she turned around with a bright smile. "Besides, they're your people right? I want to know more about them, even if it's just their mundane daily lives."
Rong Jian's ears started turning red but he still retorted her. "They're technically elder brother's subjects. Saying it like that can give people ideas you know?"
"Yeah. But you're one of the four Wangye of this country so they can be considered your people too right?" She didn't wait for a reply and turned her attention back to the streets. No further complaints came from Rong Jian for the rest of the ride.
Tthe Imperial City was the capital of the country and would, understandably be large. So despite Lavender Palace being in the same city, it took a little while to arrive in the Flower District from Rong Jian's residence. When they finally disembarked from the carriage, Shen Tianyu was slightly sore from sitting on the wooden floor the whole time.
"Even if it's supposed to be a less conspicuous carriage, you could still furnish it inside. You should add some cushions or something." She complained as she rubbed her sore legs and butt.
"I didn't think it would be this bad either." Rong Jian agreed as he rubbed his behind, though not as obvious as Shen Tianyu. "It's because I rarely use it, I guess so I didn't see the need to furnish it on the inside much as that would just be a waste of money."
"Ah. Since you rarely us eit then nevermind. We'll just use it less. It's not worth furnishing it and then leaving it to collect dust." She amended her earlier suggestion.9-11 am
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"By the way, I bought a bunch of gifts for the workers at Lavender Palace. We should go visit sometime soon so I can get rid of all this weight." She waved her Cosmos Bag as she spoke. Technically, there was a different dimension within the Cosmos Bag so no matter how much or what she put in it, it wouldn't affect it's weight in this plane of existence but it was still worrying for her not have any space within it.
"Alright. Do you want to go tomorrow?" Rong Jian asked her as his gaze lingered on her bandages.
"Okay. By the way, you did have the chefs make dinner already right?"
"Of course. Dinner is waiting for you in my courtyard." Shen Tianyu eyed him but didn't say anything.
As the carriage slowly went forward when there were still many applicants in the middle of taking the exam, there was one applicant who looked in the direction of the entrance of the Chengyuan School from inside the gymnasium. It wasn't a hostile gaze but one of... sadness and regret.
...
The carriage of the Zhu Wangye stopped in front of the Wangfu and the two riders got off. Rong Jian got off first and helped Shen Tianyu off. They entered the Wangfu and went straight to Rong Jian's courtyard where multiple tables of food were placed and emitting a wonderful collection of aromas.
"Wow... so much food!" Shen Tianyu stared at all the food with stars in her eyes.
"I had them make a plethora of food for you because you were taking so long to come out. You didn't bring any food in the morning either so I assumed you didn't eat for lunch either." He told her as he walked towards one of the tables.
"How thoughtful of you." She followed him to the table. Despite almost drooling from her mouth, she didn't start to eat until he picked up his chopsticks and ate a piece of stir-fried pig liver. When she wanted to eat something from one of the other tables, Rong Jian reached out to stop her and said that she could just have one of the servants bring it over. When she hesitated, he told her that it was their job anyways so there was no need for her to be so hesitant about ordering them around. She sat back down and reluctantly had the servants bring one of the other plates of food over. When she completely finished one of the dishes, another would be brought over from one of the other tables. All the servants watched in surprise as she cleaned all the plates the chefs had prepared, five whole tables of food, all gone. Yet, unrealistically, her stomach wasn't even bulging.
"Ah... that was delicious." She told Rong Jian, who had sat and watched her nearly devour the porcelain plates, while she patted her stomach in satisfaction.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. But with this amount, it seems the usual amount at dinner didn't satisfy you?" He was pretty sure he had the amount of food she ate right and ordered the chefs to make the same amount in addition to his portion.
"That's not it. I'm just really hungry today. We had multiple fights and I even had a fight that was somewhat difficult so I expended a lot of energy. Speaking of that, you mentioned the timeframe for the entrance exam earlier. Did it take less time for your exam?" She asked him as the servants silently took the plates away.
"My entrance exam certainly wasn't as long as yours, it literally took a whole day. Mine ended before dusk came. So I was somewhat anxious when you didn't return by the same time."
"Maybe the number of entrants were higher than they expected last year so they made it even harder this year to balance out the number." Shen Tianyu speculated. "That doesn't bode well for the low-income applicants... they don't have as much financial resources when training."
"Low-income?" Rong Jian asked her.
"Ah, I meant the applicants with lesser financial assets."
"Oh? Are you worried about them? Did you make a friend with someone like that today?"
"Nope, I didn't. And I wouldn't say I'm worried. It was just passing thought. Anyways, I'm sleepy now that my stomach's full." She stretched as she tried to hide her yawning.
"Alright then, I'll walk you back to your courtyard. How about we meet up tomorrow morning so we can go to Lavender Palace?" He stood up to walk her back to her quarters and she smiled wryly at him.
"That's fine with me. You don't have morning court?" She asked as she stretchec out her hand to him with a teasing look.
He smiled back at her and pulled her up by her hand. "It shouldn't take very long. The country is at peace right now so there's not much to go over in morning courts. I should be back by the latter half of Snake Hour." They both started walking out of Rong Jian's room.
"Then I'll just wake up before you come back. And tell the popo not to put so much makeup on me. It's not a formal occassion or anything so it's fine to dress casually right?"
"Of course, I'll instruct the popo not to go overboard with it. Though I think she gets it now from the lecture I gave her."
Shen Tianyu nodded in approval and Rong Jian's smile brightened further. When they reached Shen Tianyu's designated courtyard, they parted ways. Rong Jian stood outside as he watched her enter her room. Only when she closed the door did he turn away and go back to his own quarters. Shen Tianyu's maids helped her change and she happily got into bed, closing the thin curtains.
Rong Jian also went to sleep, while instructing his head eunuchs on tomorrow's plans as they helped him undress.
The next day, Rong Jian woke up before dawn broke and went to morning court, eating only a light breakfast. Only when the clocks struck Snake hour did Shen Tianyu wake up. She had instructed the assistant maid to wake ehr up at this time. Shaken awake, Shen Tianyu groggily washed her face and got dressed for the day. She ate a light breakfast of youtiao and porridge since Rong Jian was coming back soon. She had her whip from yesterday wrapped around her belt and her Cosmos pouch hanging from a loop in her belt. When Rong Jian got back, they boarded one of his less conspicuous carriages, one without any dragons painted on it and was small enough to just fit two people, and set out. Walking around would have been way too obvious since Rong Jian's trademark was well-known. Though granted, he could just take his mask off since his face wasn't well-known but since he didn't take his mask off even when he was sleeping during the time they spent together, Shen Tianyu reckoned there was a reason his mask was glued to his face so she didn't want to make him take it off until he was ready. Besides, riding around in a carriage had it's own type of excitement.
Shen Tianyu was still watching the city despite this no longer being the first time she rode the carriage through the city. A little miffed, Rong Jian commented to her. "What's so interesting about the people outside? You have your fiancee here but you're watching other people instead of flirting."
"Oh, are you jealous of your own citizens?" She asked him without looking back. "I just find it interesting to watch the cheerful atmosphere out here. And how it's never quite the same. It's not the same people as yesterday and they don't wear the same clothes either." She commented as she looked straight ahead. Suddenly, she turned around with a bright smile. "Besides, they're your people right? I want to know more about them, even if it's just their mundane daily lives."
Rong Jian's ears started turning red but he still retorted her. "They're technically elder brother's subjects. Saying it like that can give people ideas you know?"
"Yeah. But you're one of the four Wangye of this country so they can be considered your people too right?" She didn't wait for a reply and turned her attention back to the streets. No further complaints came from Rong Jian for the rest of the ride.
Tthe Imperial City was the capital of the country and would, understandably be large. So despite Lavender Palace being in the same city, it took a little while to arrive in the Flower District from Rong Jian's residence. When they finally disembarked from the carriage, Shen Tianyu was slightly sore from sitting on the wooden floor the whole time.
"Even if it's supposed to be a less conspicuous carriage, you could still furnish it inside. You should add some cushions or something." She complained as she rubbed her sore legs and butt.
"I didn't think it would be this bad either." Rong Jian agreed as he rubbed his behind, though not as obvious as Shen Tianyu. "It's because I rarely use it, I guess so I didn't see the need to furnish it on the inside much as that would just be a waste of money."
"Ah. Since you rarely us eit then nevermind. We'll just use it less. It's not worth furnishing it and then leaving it to collect dust." She amended her earlier suggestion.9-11 am
"By the way, I bought a bunch of gifts for the workers at Lavender Palace. We should go visit sometime soon so I can get rid of all this weight." She waved her Cosmos Bag as she spoke. Technically, there was a different dimension within the Cosmos Bag so no matter how much or what she put in it, it wouldn't affect it's weight in this plane of existence but it was still worrying for her not have any space within it."Alright. Do you want to go tomorrow?" Rong Jian asked her as his gaze lingered on her bandages."Okay. By the way, you did have the chefs make dinner already right?""Of course. Dinner is waiting for you in my courtyard." Shen Tianyu eyed him but didn't say anything.As the carriage slowly went forward when there were still many applicants in the middle of taking the exam, there was one applicant who looked in the direction of the entrance of the Chengyuan School from inside the gymnasium. It wasn't a hostile gaze but one of... sadness and regret....The carriage of the Zhu Wangye stopped in front of the Wangfu and the two riders got off. Rong Jian got off first and helped Shen Tianyu off. They entered the Wangfu and went straight to Rong Jian's courtyard where multiple tables of food were placed and emitting a wonderful collection of aromas."Wow... so much food!" Shen Tianyu stared at all the food with stars in her eyes."I had them make a plethora of food for you because you were taking so long to come out. You didn't bring any food in the morning either so I assumed you didn't eat for lunch either." He told her as he walked towards one of the tables."How thoughtful of you." She followed him to the table. Despite almost drooling from her mouth, she didn't start to eat until he picked up his chopsticks and ate a piece of stir-fried pig liver. When she wanted to eat something from one of the other tables, Rong Jian reached out to stop her and said that she could just have one of the servants bring it over. When she hesitated, he told her that it was their job anyways so there was no need for her to be so hesitant about ordering them around. She sat back down and reluctantly had the servants bring one of the other plates of food over. When she completely finished one of the dishes, another would be brought over from one of the other tables. All the servants watched in surprise as she cleaned all the plates the chefs had prepared, five whole tables of food, all gone. Yet, unrealistically, her stomach wasn't even bulging."Ah... that was delicious." She told Rong Jian, who had sat and watched her nearly devour the porcelain plates, while she patted her stomach in satisfaction."I'm glad you enjoyed it. But with this amount, it seems the usual amount at dinner didn't satisfy you?" He was pretty sure he had the amount of food she ate right and ordered the chefs to make the same amount in addition to his portion."That's not it. I'm just really hungry today. We had multiple fights and I even had a fight that was somewhat difficult so I expended a lot of energy. Speaking of that, you mentioned the timeframe for the entrance exam earlier. Did it take less time for your exam?" She asked him as the servants silently took the plates away."My entrance exam certainly wasn't as long as yours, it literally took a whole day. Mine ended before dusk came. So I was somewhat anxious when you didn't return by the same time.""Maybe the number of entrants were higher than they expected last year so they made it even harder this year to balance out the number." Shen Tianyu speculated. "That doesn't bode well for the low-income applicants... they don't have as much financial resources when training.""Low-income?" Rong Jian asked her."Ah, I meant the applicants with lesser financial assets.""Oh? Are you worried about them? Did you make a friend with someone like that today?""Nope, I didn't. And I wouldn't say I'm worried. It was just passing thought. Anyways, I'm sleepy now that my stomach's full." She stretched as she tried to hide her yawning."Alright then, I'll walk you back to your courtyard. How about we meet up tomorrow morning so we can go to Lavender Palace?" He stood up to walk her back to her quarters and she smiled wryly at him."That's fine with me. You don't have morning court?" She asked as she stretchec out her hand to him with a teasing look.He smiled back at her and pulled her up by her hand. "It shouldn't take very long. The country is at peace right now so there's not much to go over in morning courts. I should be back by the latter half ofSnake Hour." They both started walking out of Rong Jian's room."Then I'll just wake up before you come back. And tell the popo not to put so much makeup on me. It's not a formal occassion or anything so it's fine to dress casually right?""Of course, I'll instruct the popo not to go overboard with it. Though I think she gets it now from the lecture I gave her."Shen Tianyu nodded in approval and Rong Jian's smile brightened further. When they reached Shen Tianyu's designated courtyard, they parted ways. Rong Jian stood outside as he watched her enter her room. Only when she closed the door did he turn away and go back to his own quarters. Shen Tianyu's maids helped her change and she happily got into bed, closing the thin curtains.Rong Jian also went to sleep, while instructing his head eunuchs on tomorrow's plans as they helped him undress.The next day, Rong Jian woke up before dawn broke and went to morning court, eating only a light breakfast. Only when the clocks struck Snake hour did Shen Tianyu wake up. She had instructed the assistant maid to wake ehr up at this time. Shaken awake, Shen Tianyu groggily washed her face and got dressed for the day. She ate a light breakfast of youtiao and porridge since Rong Jian was coming back soon. She had her whip from yesterday wrapped around her belt and her Cosmos pouch hanging from a loop in her belt. When Rong Jian got back, they boarded one of his less conspicuous carriages, one without any dragons painted on it and was small enough to just fit two people, and set out. Walking around would have been way too obvious since Rong Jian's trademark was well-known. Though granted, he could just take his mask off since his face wasn't well-known but since he didn't take his mask off even when he was sleeping during the time they spent together, Shen Tianyu reckoned there was a reason his mask was glued to his face so she didn't want to make him take it off until he was ready. Besides, riding around in a carriage had it's own type of excitement.Shen Tianyu was still watching the city despite this no longer being the first time she rode the carriage through the city. A little miffed, Rong Jian commented to her. "What's so interesting about the people outside? You have your fiancee here but you're watching other people instead of flirting.""Oh, are you jealous of your own citizens?" She asked him without looking back. "I just find it interesting to watch the cheerful atmosphere out here. And how it's never quite the same. It's not the same people as yesterday and they don't wear the same clothes either." She commented as she looked straight ahead. Suddenly, she turned around with a bright smile. "Besides, they're your people right? I want to know more about them, even if it's just their mundane daily lives."Rong Jian's ears started turning red but he still retorted her. "They're technically elder brother's subjects. Saying it like that can give people ideas you know?""Yeah. But you're one of the four Wangye of this country so they can be considered your people too right?" She didn't wait for a reply and turned her attention back to the streets. No further complaints came from Rong Jian for the rest of the ride.Tthe Imperial City was the capital of the country and would, understandably be large. So despite Lavender Palace being in the same city, it took a little while to arrive in the Flower District from Rong Jian's residence. When they finally disembarked from the carriage, Shen Tianyu was slightly sore from sitting on the wooden floor the whole time."Even if it's supposed to be a less conspicuous carriage, you could still furnish it inside. You should add some cushions or something." She complained as she rubbed her sore legs and butt."I didn't think it would be this bad either." Rong Jian agreed as he rubbed his behind, though not as obvious as Shen Tianyu. "It's because I rarely use it, I guess so I didn't see the need to furnish it on the inside much as that would just be a waste of money.""Ah. Since you rarely us eit then nevermind. We'll just use it less. It's not worth furnishing it and then leaving it to collect dust." She amended her earlier suggestion.9-11 am
