The Top Scholar's Wife in an Emperor-Minister Novel 29

"Miss, would you like to feed the fish?"

Cheng Yue, the maidservant assigned to attend her, was quite observant. Seeing the young woman watching so intently, she asked softly.

Chen Yao looked up with a faint smile and nodded. "Alright."

Cheng Yue quickly sent someone to fetch a small dish of fish food.

Chen Yao looked at the golden-yellow pellets in the dish. They seemed to be made of egg yolk and flour rolled into tiny balls, lightly fried until crisp, their surfaces glistening with a thin sheen of oil.

She pinched a small bit of fish food between her fingertips, then, holding the railing before her with her left hand, carefully leaned her upper body out and gently scattered it with a flick of her wrist.

The golden pellets fell like scattered blossoms, pattering down onto the water's surface.

In the blink of an eye, the colorful koi that had been swimming about converged, their beautiful tails swaying as they jostled and surged toward the food.

They circled and churned in the water beneath the pavilion, vying for each morsel, sending ripples spreading outward in rings.

One particularly eye-catching gold-and-red fat koi stood out—its round, plump body was a full size larger than the others.

Chen Yao noticed that it would even swish its great tail and use its bulkier frame to deliberately shove aside the fish around it, then domineeringly claim its own little spot, gulping down the fish food in big mouthfuls.

It was so adorable that Chen Yao couldn't help widening her eyes.

So she unconsciously pinched another handful of fish food from the dish and sprinkled it down—even deliberately tossing a little more toward a patch of water farther away from the fat koi, just to tease it.

Watching it poke its round, silly head through the crowd, shoving aside the koi that squeezed against it, and dash to the front with a blissfully simpleminded look...

Chen Yao found it inexplicably adorable, and her red lips curved up slightly, making her already stunning face even more radiant and captivating.

"System, if you had a physical form, it'd be really cute if you were shaped like a fat koi," she couldn't help thinking.

Since System 04 was clearly a sci-fi cyber system, she'd always pictured it as a floating ball of glowing light.

"My current form, as a mass of data, is already the most perfect configuration," System 04 emphasized, a hint of smugness in its tone.

Even if it did adopt a physical form, it certainly wouldn't be some slow-witted, food-grabbing fat fish.

"Fine, you do you." Chen Yao didn't quite agree but chose to respect that.

She chatted with System 04 in her mind, her attention still firmly hooked by that gold-and-red fat koi.

Seeing that it had finished the food and begun drifting away again, the young woman's body unconsciously leaned farther and farther out.

Cheng Yue, standing at her side, had noticed long ago.

She hesitated several times, wanting to speak up, but seeing that the young woman's hands were still carefully gripping the railing, obviously keeping her balance, she swallowed her words.

In the end, worried that speaking up abruptly might disturb her mistress's enjoyment, Cheng Yue kept quiet.

She simply edged a little closer to her side, her gaze fixed steadily on her, ready to catch her at the first sign of trouble.

Thus, when Xiao Mingting arrived after his morning court, he saw from afar a slender figure in lotus-pink, leaning against the railing of the waterside pavilion.

Before his thin lips could curl into a smile, he noticed that most of the young woman's body was now hanging over the edge of the pavilion. Her long hair, trailing behind her, drifted lightly in the breeze, as if at any moment she might tumble into the water.

Xiao Mingting felt his heart clench. Without a second thought, he drew a breath, tapped his toes against the ground, and with a burst of lightness skill, swept toward the nearby pavilion.

Hearing Cheng Yue's nervous, hurried voice behind her—"Your Majesty."—Chen Yao didn't react at first.

Until a strong, solid arm reached around from behind, caught her waist, and pulled her firmly into an embrace.

Chen Yao instinctively turned, blinking in confusion, and looked up at the man now holding her tightly. "Your Majesty?"

Xiao Mingting had meant to scold her, but seeing the dazed look in the young woman's eyes, her pretty face still frozen in its former happy expression, his heart softened. He couldn't bear to chide her after all, and only let out a helpless sigh. "Why were you leaning out so far? What if you fell into the water?"

Chen Yao's lashes fluttered slightly as she instinctively explained, "I was holding on to the railing the whole time—I wouldn't have fallen."

"That's still not safe," Xiao Mingting said with a frown, clearly disapproving.

Chen Yao noted his expression and could only nod meekly.

Only then did it belatedly dawn on her that the man was still holding her firmly in his arms. The young woman's fair cheeks flushed crimson in an instant, even the tips of her ears tinged pink.

She cautiously lifted her gaze and glanced around. Whether it was Cheng Yue, who'd been standing in the pavilion, or the palace attendants hurrying over behind Xiao Mingting, they had all tactfully turned their backs, heads bowed.

Chen Yao averted her eyes.

Her long lashes lowered, casting a faint shadow beneath her eyes, and in a voice barely above a breath, she whispered, "Let go of me, please."

Xiao Mingting was loath to release her.

But he knew that today was Xie Chenyao's first day in the palace. If he were too obvious, given how shy the girl was, she'd likely end up red-eyed and teary, looking aggrieved and pitiful.

He sighed inwardly. In the end, he suppressed his longing and slowly loosened his arms.

The moment she was freed, Chen Yao's taut little body relaxed. Then, as if to cover her tracks, she unconsciously shuffled a step back, deliberately putting a little distance between them.

Xiao Mingting watched her small movements, raising an eyebrow. He didn't force her, only asked in a gentle tone, "I came right after court and haven't had lunch yet. What about Yao Yao?"

"Not yet," Chen Yao shook her head obediently.

She really wanted to tell him not to call her by her pet name so intimately in front of others. But she'd just asked him to let her go, and if she made another request now, he might get displeased.

Chen Yao mulled it over silently and swallowed the words.

She was gentle by nature, with a delicate heart, and in truth, she sensed Xiao Mingting's moods quite keenly.

Of course, wasn't it precisely because Xiao Mingting wanted her to sense them? After all, if he truly didn't want people to read his emotions, with his reserved personality, even Eunuch De, who'd served him for years, sometimes couldn't fathom his intentions.

He'd simply counted on the girl's soft heart and timid, rabbit-like nature, deliberately putting his indulgence and concessions on display so he could quietly chip away at her boundaries, bit by bit.

Xiao Mingting's thin lips curved up. "Then have lunch with me."

Before she could instinctively refuse, he continued in a calm voice, "In this vast palace, every meal is taken alone, with only myself for company. It does get lonely."

Chen Yao's lips parted slightly, about to say it was against protocol, but...

She hesitated for a long moment before finally nodding lightly, replying softly, "Yes."

His goal achieved, Xiao Mingting raised an eyebrow, a smile blooming in his eyes.

*

The midday meal sent up from the imperial kitchen was, naturally, extraordinarily lavish.

Chen Yao looked at the array of dishes laid out before her—bird's nest chicken soup, sweet-and-sour lotus root, pearl meatballs...

Among them were many dishes she'd never seen before, but scanning the table, she rarely spotted the heavy-salt, heavy-fire dishes common in the capital. Instead, the vast majority were tailored to her light, delicate palate.

She even spotted several dishes native to Jiangping.

"Yao Yao, try this white jade shrimp."

Xiao Mingting picked up a plump, glistening shrimp with his jade chopsticks and gently placed it on her plate. "The imperial chefs learned to make it in the Jiangping style. See if it tastes right?"

He wasn't one to observe the rule of not speaking during meals, and when alone with the girl, he always talked more than usual.

Worried she might feel uncomfortable, he'd already dismissed all the attending palace staff from the hall, leaving just the two of them.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Chen Yao lowered her head and picked up the white jade shrimp, taking a delicate bite.

The shrimp was tender and juicy, carrying a light, delicious flavor—the taste of home she knew well.

She looked up to speak, but her gaze met Xiao Mingting's smiling dark eyes.

Only then did she realize the man's gaze had been fixed on her all along. Chen Yao felt her heart skip a beat.

She lowered her eyes in a fluster, staring at the small empty bowl before her, afraid to meet his gaze again.

But soon, the young woman's face reddened further, her apricot eyes shimmering with a watery light, vivid as if about to overflow.

Xiao Mingting sighed inwardly. Why was his Yao Yao so easily embarrassed?

They'd done plenty of intimate things before, and now he was only looking at her, yet she was already blushing so hard she couldn't lift her head.

He mused that when she finally married him for real and they were truly in bed together...

She'd probably be so shy she'd tear up, unable to hold back her tears, which would fall with every one of his movements, wouldn't they?

*

After the midday meal.

Xiao Mingting mulled over whether he should have Xie Chenyao accompany him to the Imperial Study.

Even if she didn't say much, just sitting quietly beside him flipping through a storybook, letting him steal the occasional glance at her, would be enough.

But then it struck him—if he let her keep him company, his mind would be entirely on her, and the mountain of memorials piled on his desk wouldn't be finished until nightfall.

—Truly, a man led astray by beauty.

Xiao Mingting chuckled bitterly to himself. In the past, if anyone had dared suggest he'd be so infatuated with a woman, he'd have sneered and ordered them dragged away.

Yet now, even knowing full well how far he'd fallen, he found it all sweet and well worth it.

Even more...

As Chen Yao turned to leave, he deliberately reached out from behind, pulled her forcefully into his arms, then tilted his head and pressed a firm, quick kiss to her rosy lips before finally letting her go.

"Go back to your chamber and rest well. When I have time, I'll come find you."