Terrified, Gao Fu answered,
“T-this must be an isolated case. I’ll investigate immediately and find out which fool dared supply Her Ladyship with shoddy goods.”
The emperor waved his sleeve impatiently.
“Just fetch her another one.”
Ming Ming’s eyes instantly lit up.
She opened her mouth to say more, but after catching his cold glance, she carefully swallowed her words.
The emperor frowned at her hesitant look.
“Say what you want to say.”
“C-could you… get me a clearer one? This one’s kind of… blurry.”
Can’t have my beauty going underappreciated.
The emperor’s stare said plainly: this woman’s not right in the head.
Ming Ming stared back innocently.
Soon, attendants came in a long line, carrying dishes one after another until the table was overflowing.
At first, Ming Ming was full of anticipation. But once everything was set, her smile vanished.
Game meat? Rare delicacies?
It was all green. Plate after plate of vegetables, not a single meat dish.
The only thing not green was boiled tofu.
Expressionless, Ming Ming stared at the emperor.
The emperor spared her a glance.
“I don’t eat meat.”
Are you a monk?!
Fine, you don’t eat meat, but I do!!!
“So, Talented Ladies do get meat, then?” Ming Ming muttered.
The food tasters sampled everything, Gao Fu served the emperor, and the Wanqian Emperor leisurely took a bite of tofu. In good spirits, he even explained,
“Meat is heavily seasoned. If someone were to slip in poison, the flavor would mask it, making detection harder.”
Ming Ming thought: You’ve got testers tasting everything anyway—what’s there to worry about?!
“So, Talented Ladies do get meat, then?” she asked again.
The emperor personally placed a piece of tofu into her bowl.
“Try it. The kitchen nailed the texture today.”
Ming Ming glared at the tofu.
You can dress it up all you want—it’s still tofu. Old, young, firm, soft—it’s still bland, tasteless tofu.
And not even a dipping sauce!
She raised her head and declared, firm as stone,
“So Talented Ladies do get meat, right?!”
Gao Fu’s hand shook, dropping a leaf of cabbage on the table.
The Wanqian Emperor stared at her in silence, then finally answered,
“Yes.”
Ming Ming leaned across the table, gripping it, her voice earnest.
“Your Majesty, you’re only eating here tonight, right?”
She didn’t even bother with “your concubine” anymore.
The emperor found her expression amusing. He graciously gave her another bite of stir-fried greens before setting down his chopsticks and saying,
“I had originally intended to dine here just once.”
Her heart tightened, waiting for the inevitable but.
Sure enough, he added,
“But I find my appetite improves when dining here with Lady Lan. So I’ve decided I’ll take my meals at Snowfall Pavilion from now on.”
He warmly clasped her hand.
“I’ll be counting on you, Lady Lan.”
Ming Ming nearly fainted.
He was doing it on purpose! Absolutely on purpose!!
She practically turned green herself during that meal, wishing she could throw him out but not daring to. Instead, she stabbed daggers at him with her eyes.
The emperor found her glare far more entertaining than her fake pitiful act and felt tempted to toy with her further.
As night fell, he still showed no sign of returning to the palace. Ming Ming forced herself to keep playing the dutiful lady.
“Oh, I forgot to mention,” the emperor said casually. “I’ll be staying the night here.”
Ming Ming almost lost her balance.
He strolled toward her, lifted a strand of her hair, and leaned in close, his breath warm against her cheek.
Ming Ming instinctively leaned back.
“Why is Lady Lan blushing? Did you think I was summoning you to bed?”
Ming Ming blinked.
You’d better not be.
The emperor tilted his head, lips almost brushing her cheek, close enough to see the fine down on her skin.
Ming Ming froze like a statue.
“Afraid I’ll disappoint you,” he murmured.
Not disappointed, not disappointed at all!
“But—” He drew the word out as he straightened. “By tomorrow morning, the palace will be buzzing. Everyone will know I spent the night at Lady Lan’s.”
He smiled slyly.
Yes—first, he demoted the other Lady Lan, then he chose to stay here. No need to wait until morning. At this very moment, every Talented Lady in the harem probably already saw her as their number-one enemy.
That was his real plan all along.
Ming Ming couldn’t understand.
“Your Majesty, do you really dislike me that much?”
The emperor blinked slowly.
“Not exactly.”
She clung to the tiniest shred of hope.
Then he said,
“Of you three sisters, it’s just you I find the most unpleasant to look at.”
Ming Ming: “……”
Damn it!!
Later, when it was time to rest, Ming Ming sat in her underclothes on a stool, propping her chin on her hand while the emperor changed.
By tradition, the woman had to sleep on the outer side of the bed, so she could rise anytime to serve her husband.
Which meant Ming Ming couldn’t lie down until the emperor did.
Standing by the bed, he spread his arms as attendants helped him undress. Spotting Ming Ming yawning idly at the side, he ordered,
“Come. Undress me.”
“I’ve never been taught. I don’t know how.”
“Are you reminding me to send for a strict matron to drill etiquette into you?”
Ming Ming leapt up and hurried over, fumbling at his robes.
Somehow, the belt was tied in a way she couldn’t figure out—her attempts only made it tighter.
The emperor let out a low click of his tongue.
“Clumsy.”
Then he waved her away.
Ming Ming pouted.
Finally, they both got into bed. Ming Ming felt more exhausted than in the past several years combined.
And she couldn’t even rest comfortably.
The bed was barely wide enough for two people to lie stiffly side by side.
The emperor, used to strict discipline, didn’t mind at all.
But Ming Ming did. Teetering on the edge, she was certain a wrong move would send her crashing to the floor.
Sleep was impossible.
But she had no idea how to bring it up, so she just kept sneaking glances at him, again and again.
The emperor, though not asleep, sensed her eyes. He thought: So soon? Already ready to confess to Jiang Wenyuan’s scheme? I knew it—she’s the easiest one to break.
Fine. I’ll give her one more chance.
He opened his eyes, benevolent.
“Say it. I’m listening.”
Ming Ming thought: You said it, not me.
So she gathered her courage.
“Your Majesty… could you stop pushing me off the bed? I’m about to fall.”
The emperor turned his head to stare at her: “……”
“I’m serious!” she pleaded earnestly.
In the middle of the night, grumbling under his breath, the Wanqian Emperor got up and switched places with her.
With him on the outside and the wall on her other side, Ming Ming no longer had to worry about falling. She drifted off into the best sleep she’d had in ages.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152