Hua Qiyue looked at the owner of that hand—Yun s.h.i.+mo, who was looking at her coldly, then he said gently to Tianci, "Tianci, this cuisine is specially made for you, and Daddy also prepared all the delicacies on this table for you and me."

Hua Qiyue was depressed to almost spit blood. Although it was a little unkind to rob food from her son, these delicacies on the table were actually made for four, weren't they?

But Yun s.h.i.+mo was so mean. What he said implied that Hua Qiyue came here uninvited, intending to freeload, right?

Hua Qiyue thought very hard, but she was really unable to figure out what she had done that offended Yun s.h.i.+mo.

"Daddy, since Mom likes these, please allow her to have them! Daddy, you can ask the chef to prepare another dish of the Roast and Steamed Pork Joint Made in Niufo County!" Tianci blinked his smart eyes and a cunning smile skimmed over his eyes.

Yun s.h.i.+mo couldn't help laughing and he said, "Of course, since someone is so thick-skinned, we'll have to cook another dish of this cuisine, just in case someone is silently scolding me!"

Staring at Yun s.h.i.+mo's cold and handsome face with a wisp of banter in his eyes, Hua Qiyue laughed inwardly, "Is this man finding faults with me?"

Of course she didn't offend him!

This man was really mean and selfish because he had always taken advantage of her to get rid of Princess Mingzhu, and now he showed his poker face to her again... Alas, her life would be shortened by several years if she kept staying with him!

"The famous Prince Nan, Your Excellency, I'm a woman of a straight-talking manner, are you the kind of person that flatters those who are beneficial to you but ignore them when dissatisfied with them?" Hua Qiyue laughed slightly and immodestly stretched her chopsticks to another delicious delicacy.

But this time, Yun s.h.i.+mo didn't stop her, and his look was just sullen, "To deal with those who are thick-skinned, I need some special strategies."

"Daddy! I heard from Bingyi that you and Mom are actually not a couple... Emm... what's going on here?" The six-year-old Tianci had already known many nouns and their meanings.

He had asked from others, and learned that Hua Qiyue and Yun s.h.i.+mo were actually not the so-called couple.

Hearing this, Yun s.h.i.+mo and Hua Qiyue suddenly froze.

All of a sudden, their desire to quarrel with each other also disappeared.

It was a big deal. If Tianci knew that they were not a couple, how could they explain his origins?

Hua Qiyue immediately smiled and shook her head, "Bingyi was right, we're not an official couple, but... Tianci, about your Daddy, I'll explain this to you later. Prince Nan is your adoptive father, so, it's also normal to call him Daddy!"

During her previous existence, Hua Qiyue was a businesswoman, and that was why she was able to make up such a perfect excuse.

Tianci blinked his big eyes, "Is that true?"

Yun s.h.i.+mo's facial expression wavered, but in the end, he still nodded lightly, "Your Mom is right, you can call your adoptive father 'Daddy'."

Tianci heavily dug into his soft waxy and tasty meal. For him, that Yun s.h.i.+mo wasn't his father really shocked him, just like thunder in a sunny day, but Hua Qiyue refused to tell him who his real father was. Obviously, he understood that his real father was either a b*stard or nonexistent.

Much as he was six years old, he understood a great many things.

Seeing the depression in Tianci's eyes, Yun s.h.i.+mo gave an angry look to Hua Qiyue, "Tianci, you're my adopted son, but you're as close as a real son to me, and I'll give you whatever you want."

A cunning smile flashed over Tianci's smart eyes, "Okay, Daddy, let me think about what I want."

Yun s.h.i.+mo's face became much relieved, and even his movements when serving food were softer. He served Tianci many delicacies that he liked a lot, stacked in the little guy's bowl, until it had no room for more.

Hua Qiyue sullenly looked at Yun s.h.i.+mo's and Tianci's harmonious smiling faces, feeling that this "father and son" seemed to think alike, having the same looks and behaviors. Such an enjoyable atmosphere really made them look like a real couple of father and son...

"Tianci, have more ginseng chicken. Daddy specially asked the chef to cook this delicacy for you, is it tasty?"

"Tianci, this Feather Snack Picking the Moon is also great, have a try..."

Yun s.h.i.+mo provided various novel delicacies on the table, with beautiful sounding names. He also spared no efforts to recommend these delicacies to Tianci, while Hua Qiyue had nothing to do but listen to him.

Of course, Hua Qiyue was also totally "ignored" by Yun s.h.i.+mo.

"Yes, yes, this Feather Snack Picking the Moon is really great, what a tender tofu!" Tianci was enjoying his meal. While Hua Qiyue really had no idea which delicacy she should have, because when she was about to have some, Yun s.h.i.+mo started recommending more delicacies to Tianci.

"I can't take them all. Mom, you should have these!" Tianci smiled like a cunning fox, and he pa.s.sed the delicacies that were stacked in his bowl to Hua Qiyue.

Hua Qiyue suddenly halted.

Emm...

Yun s.h.i.+mo served these delicacies to Tianci, and then Tianci served them to her. Was this... an indirect kiss?

"What... do you dislike my chef's cooking skills?" Yun s.h.i.+mo's unhappy voice interrupted Hua Qiyue's mind-wandering. So, she snorted and hurridly tasted them...

The moist and tender tofu was in a special taste, and this was the first time that Hua Qiyue had had such food. Undoubtedly, Prince Nan's chefs all had splendid cooking skills...

Alright, she had to silently accept the "indirect kiss" for this time. After all, she couldn't bear to refuse her beloved son's kindness.

But why, she didn't have the feeling of nausea in her heart?

Hua Qiyue was depressed as if moss had grown on her face.

The atmosphere started to become weird.

Yun s.h.i.+mo and Tianci "loved each other", while Tianci and Hua Qiyue were also intimate and harmonious. To Bingyi, who was standing closely to them, they were really like a wonderful family.

At this weird moment, a weird and dismal cry arose from the tower of Prince Nan's mansion!

Hua Qiyue's facial expression suddenly changed and her eyes darted straight to Yun s.h.i.+mo.

Yun s.h.i.+mo's face was also suddenly darkened, and he stood up immediately, "Tianci, you have your meals here, Daddy has an emergency to deal with."

After saying this, without a glance at Hua Qiyue, he quickly flew away from the balcony like lightning and thunder.

Bingyi also hurriedly followed Yun s.h.i.+mo, disappearing in the sunset glow...

That weird cry was neither loud nor low. And Hua Qiyue detected that there was an air screen gathered by anima energies, which covered all the sounds from Prince Nan's mansion.

Which meant, this weird cry could only be heard by the people in Prince Nan's mansion, as for those who were outside here, they couldn't hear anything.

"Mom, who's crying? I can't tell the gender. Sometimes sounds like a man's voice, but sometimes sounds like a woman's... That's horrible!" Tianci's face paled and he immediately leaned on Hua Qiyue, tightly seizing her clothes.

Hua Qiyue gently fondled Tianci's head, "Tianci, don't be scared... Sometimes, the more scared you are, the more rampant those ghosts and bad guys will be... I can't tell the gender either, but this should be your adopted father's secret."

Hua Qiyue's face became very serious. According to Yun s.h.i.+mo's reaction, that cry was unusual. She looked toward the tower which showed itself in the sky, "What kind of person was locked up in the tower?"

It should be the secret in Prince Nan's mansion, shouldn't it? But now, Tianci and she had heard this secret. Would Yun s.h.i.+mo kill Tianci and her in order to keep the secret?

At the thought of this, Hua Qiyue suddenly felt her hair stand on end.

If Yun s.h.i.+mo really made a move on her, Hua Qiyue felt that she totally had no way to deal with him! After all, there were a galaxy of talents in Prince Nan's mansion, while she was just a Qi Artist at the bottom stage of the Dragon Diagram; also, Tianpi stayed in the green jade gourd, which made it impossible for him to rescue her!

Hua Qiyue held Tianci in her arms and the look in her eyes became more and more complicated.

————————

The Empress' quarters in the palace.

Queen Liu slightly closed her eyes, reclining on the long couch. The maidservant Xiaohuan tenderly shook a palm-leaf fan for the Empress.

From outside the wooden window, a breeze brought in a faint and pleasant fragrance of flowers, and the wind chimes hung beside the window made the sounds of silvery bell rings.

At this moment, a black shadow promptly broke in the window of the Empress' palace, kneeling down in front of the Empress, saying, "Your Highness!"

Queen Liu suddenly opened her beautiful eyes and a s.h.i.+ning light bursted out them, which suddenly exposed her cold breath.

"What's the result?" Queen Liu asked coldly.

That black shadow turned out to be the secret guard Chongxiao.

Chongxiao reverently said in a low voice, "I've investigated that Master Xuanji had already gone to Moyuan, and it's impossible for him to come back in just one or two months. And... Hua Qiyue's adopted son Tianci calls Prince Nan father. It seems that Prince Nan really pays much attention on Hua Qiyue and her adopted son. Moreover... tonight, Hua Qiyue took that little guy with her to Prince Nan's mansion for dinner! Ji Feng and Ji Jing, who are related to Hua Qiyue, have settled down. They bought a house nearby the Hua's Mansion and officially accepted Hua Qiyue as their apprentice!"

Queen Liu's face became gloomier as she listened. She hadn't expected that this humble Princess Jinghua would be able to gain the support from Prince Nan!

As a mysterious alchemist and Qi Artist, Prince Nan's gift and speciality on these two occupations resulted in the Changlong Emperor attaching great importance to him.

Besides, living in the Changjing Kingdom, Prince Nan owned a great reputation because he often provided some people with free treatments for intractable diseases, which earned him a lot of popular support.

Most importantly, nowadays, the Changlong Emperor still needed to depend on him because Prince Nan's skill was superior when compared to average alchemists.

The Ji family was a very famous big family in society. It seemed that these people, who surrounded Hua Qiyue, weren't easy to deal with.

"Your Highness, Hua Qiyue isn't easy to deal with, but she must have weaknesses," Chongxiao said in a low voice.

"Indeed, Your Highness, the Emperor also picked out two Qi Artists who are twins to protect Hua Qiyue. It's difficult to find an opportunity, but... if only Master Shui would be willing to come here," Xiaohuan comforted in a tender voice.

Hearing this, Queen Liu nodded slightly.

Although Shui Qianruo was a poisoner, he was also crafty. If the Empress was able to gain the support from Shui Qianruo, then it wouldn't be difficult to kill Hua Qiyue.

"You may leave now, I know what to do," Queen Liu said calmly.

Chongxiao raised his deep and dark eyes and glanced at the Empress profoundly. To outsiders, this action was so disrespectful to the Empress that he would be severely punished. However, it seemed that Xiaohuan didn't notice it and calmly shook the palm-leaf fan in her hand.

"Yes, this subordinates retires." After saying this, Chongxiao suddenly disappeared in front of Queen Liu and his shadow was like a straight line. Of course, Queen Liu could feel the scorching look in his eyes.

Chongxiao and Queen Liu were a couple of childhood sweethearts. However, after ascending the throne, the Changlong Emperor decided to hold an election of imperial concubines. Queen Liu was selected to be one of them and entered the palace, and Chongxiao became a secret guard in the palace.

These two people, who were destined to be together, missed their chance in love.

"Your Highness, Master Shui Qianruo asked for an audience!" At this moment, a young eunuch entered the palace and informed the Empress in a low voice.

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