Su Mianyue sat down in fear, but her heart was filled with laughter. In the past, it was Gu Linng who acted in front of her, and in the end, Mu Tinng severely punished her.
At this moment, although Mu Tinng did not blame Gu Linng, it was enough for her to be angry for a few days, and she might even linger in bed for a few days.
As for Mu Tinng's concern for herself, Su Mianyue scoffed. It was just imperial power. She would not be stupid enough to believe that Mu Tinng was sincere about her.
So what if there was love and justice?
Looking at Gu Linng's treatment at the moment, one could see how cold the emperor's love was.
"Your brother hasn't been in the palace for a long time. Is there something wrong today?" Mu Tinng jumped off the topic, holding Su Mianyue's hand with his big hand, and asked in a slightly cold tone.
He glanced at mu ting's small hand without a trace. Mu Chen's hand, which was hidden in his wide sleeves, was clenched into a fist. He quickly let go of it. Then he raised his cold eyes and a cynical smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"When I went out to play a while ago, I accidentally got an incomplete copy of the chess game. I can't wait to discuss it with my brother. If I can understand this chess score, I will definitely be a great chess player in the future." His voice was lazy, yet contradictory, with the youthful vigor of a young man. Mu Chen was probably the only person in the world who could have such a temperament.
Mu Tinng frowned slightly and immediately said, "Your brother's love for chess scores has always been unmatched, but today I promised the empress that I would go to Phoenix Palace for dinner, so I can only wait another day."
"I've heard about the kitchens of imperial sister-in-law. I've always been interested in researching new flavors. Today, I feel blessed." Mu Chen's eyes lit up and finally found a reason to go to Phoenix Palace openly. Seeing that the environment she lived in was good, she looked at Mu Tinng with a rogue look and asked: "Your brother has always known that his subordinates have two great hobbies in their life. One is the art of chess, and the other is delicious food. I don't think your brother would have the heart to refuse your subordinates a feast, right?"
Mu Tinng chuckled, took Su Mianyue's hand and stood up, saying, "It's been a hard day for the empress. This lunch must be prepared well. We can't let this kid have a free meal and say we're not doing our best."
Su Mianyue also chuckled twice, but his smile was dry and obviously fake.
"If king rui wanted to taste delicious food, it would be difficult for his concubines to refuse. However, the expenses of the harem have been halved. The prince's salary has not been reduced by half. Surely Prince Rui doesn't mind paying for it?" Su Mianyue did not want to be treated as a big enemy, so he smiled and said, "Recently, the palace people in Phoenix Palace rarely have a chance to get rewards. If king rui is satisfied with his food later, don't forget the palace people's hard work, or else this palace will blush for Prince Rui."
Mu Chen raised his lips and smiled slightly, but did not answer whether he was willing to give money. Instead, Mu Tinng longxin smiled happily. "The empress is becoming more and more diligent and thrifty, worthy of being the model of the harem."
"The emperor said and laughed. His concubines were only reluctant to part with the money in their pockets. In folk terms, they were typical money-lovers." Su Mianyue didn't feel petty in the slightest. She was afraid that Mu Chen would get addicted to food, so she would come and give him a free meal.
"If you spend some money, you will be able to taste the delicious food. It is also a good thing. I can't wait for it." Mu Chen got up and trailed half a step behind Mu Tinng.
Seeing that the three of them were about to leave, but no one called for them, gu lingqi gritted his teeth and hurriedly got up to greet them, "Your concubines are here to see you off."
In the past, Mu Tinng would have taken her with him even if he didn't feel sorry for Gu Linng. But su mianyue turned her face away, and the hand that mu ting held was constantly trying to pull back. Mu Tinng responded with a grunt, not stopping in her tracks.
"Your majesty..." Gu Linng hurriedly called out.
"What's wrong with Concubine Ling?" Mu Tinng stopped and looked at Gu Linng coldly.
"It's already autumn. Sooner or later, the weather will be cold. Please put on more clothes and take care of the dragon body." Gu Linng's eyes were filled with tears, as if he had suffered a great deal of grievance, and he was still on the verge of falling with the help of the palace maid.
Frowning, Mu Tinng grunted again and took Su Mianyue's hand and left.
Following Mu Tinng, Su Mianyue looked back at Gu Linng and saw that she was leaning on the palace maid weakly, but her eyes were like a sharp knife. Su Mianyue curled his lips and sneered, saying, "Bitch, it's pretentious."
Looking at Su Mianyue hatefully, Gu Linng had the heart to rush forward and tear her up, but she could only stay where she was, and the maid who was holding her, because her hands had been ripped off and her flesh was dripping with blood, her face was so white that she did not dare to cry out.
After returning to Phoenix Palace, Su Mianyue used the excuse of blowing the morning wind in the pavilion to get rid of the cold. Mu Tinng allowed himself to exchange chess skills with Mu Chen in the guest room.
"Miss, it's time to eat. The kitchen is also prepared according to miss's instructions, but those meals..." How could a noble emperor and king rui eat it?
Seeing a glance from Su Mianyue, Biwu quickly shut his mouth and changed his mind, "Miss, would you like to add some more dishes?"
"The emperor usually comes here for a meal, according to my rules. Four dishes and a soup. Mu Chen is just a prince. Just add two dishes to him." Su Mianyue waved his hand disapprovingly and said, "Didn't I ask you to go to the imperial kitchen and ask for the water of pigs, cows and sheep, as well as small things like chicken gizzards? Besides what I told you this morning, I'll get a plate of chicken gizzards and sheep soup, and then a stir-fried beef tripe. There's no need to change the other dishes."
"But..." Biwu opened his mouth and swallowed what he wanted to say again, lest he suffer.
"But they are all physical mortals. They just have a good reincarnation technique. Why can't they eat what I can eat? If you really can't eat, that's the best thing. You don't have to come here to eat or drink, and you don't have to worry about it. Every time I eat, I get indigestion. It's a waste of food and torture myself." Su Mianyue said a long string of words in one breath, all complaining about his inner dissatisfaction.
Biwu did not dare to speak any more. After serving Su Mianyue to change his clothes, he went to the kitchen to tell him how to prepare lunch today.
Although Su Mianyue said these dishes were enough, Biwu still asked the cook to prepare two more dishes in private, but Biwu was smart enough not to disobey Su Mianyue's intention, and also to add vegetables to the water with animals, but it was not so obvious from a glance.
Half an hour later, when lunch was ready, Su Mianyue personally invited Mu Tinng to dinner. When he saw a few dishes on the table that he had never seen before, he smelled even more strange and appetizing. Mu Tinng began to taste them without asking.
Mu Chen, on the other hand, took a deep look at Su Mianyue before slowly enjoying the meal. Most of the time, he ate grilled sausages, and occasionally had a few mouthfuls of mixed mutton soup.
"The empress's kitchenette is always new. What is the name of today's dishes?" After eating, Mu Tinng asked about the dishes.
"This is the stomach of a cow. This soup is made of goat intestines and sheep guts. This iron plate is made of chicken gizzard, chicken heart and chicken intestines." Su Mianyue introduced them very seriously. He glanced at the two brothers and saw that Mu Tinng's face was getting worse and worse. Finally, he could not help but vomit out.
Mu Chen, on the other hand, had been so calm that he could not tell whether he liked or disliked her.
Mu Tinng did not turn around until he had vomited all the food he had eaten. He glared at Mu Chen fiercely and decided that Su Mianyue was trying to punish Mu Chen for making these things. When he came over to eat, they were really delicious, although most of them were cooked with ordinary ingredients.
"Brother, you don't have to look at me like that. These things look cheap, but they are delicious food on the table of many people. Especially in those remote tribes, the goat soup is a must for guests." Mu Chen calmly took a sip of tea and said, "Ever since his subordinates went all over the world to look for chess scores, these kinds of food were often imported, and from the initial discomfort to the current habit. Unfortunately, when they returned to Prince Rui's Mansion, the food had to be according to the prince's specifications, which was very boring."
Originally, he wanted to reprimand Mu Chen, but after hearing his words, Mu Tinng's face sank and was no longer as pale as before.
"You mean, if the people of the Tianlan could eat such cheap food, it would be delicious?" Mu Tinng's eyes sank, apparently unaware of the suffering of the people.
Mu Chen nodded and said, "Ordinary people can only be willing to cut meat on new year's day. At least most people live like this, and the price of animal viscera is much cheaper. Eating a meal is considered to be tainted with meat and fishy."
Mu Chen's words were very pertinent, but Mu Tinng had a different feeling. As the prince, Mu Tinng never cared about such a small matter.
After he ascended the throne, Mu Tinng cared about the people's livelihood, but what he learned from the officials was naturally untrue.
"There is no distinction between good food and bad food, but people who think that they are of high status have the best use of everything. They think that these are dirty underlings, but they do not know that they are also rare delicacies in the eyes of many people. In a year of disaster, it would be good if you could live, not to mention the internal organs of animals, but even human organs could be swallowed." Su Mianyue sighed. She did not know if the people of this dynasty had experienced the tragedy of exchanging children for food, but history was real.
Seeing that Mu Tinng's eyes fell on him, Su Mianyue said, "It's not that all officials want to deceive the superior and the subordinate, but many officials are born into a rich family. Even the servants in the mansion have never been hungry, and they don't care about the servants'spending. They subconsciously think that the lives of ordinary people will be much better than those who sell themselves as slaves. And it's hard for the students of the poor family to get ahead of themselves. Even if some of them can make it to the top, there aren't many who dare to speak up. After all, it's not easy for them to take the scientific examination. They won't take such a small matter to the top. Even if they say it out, no one will agree with them. Maybe it will affect their career and even their lives."
"The empress knows the sufferings of the people. If I had not known that the empress had been raised in a boudoir since she was young, I would have thought that the empress often visited the people." Mu Tinng gave Su Mianyue a meaningful look.
Su Mianyue and Mu Chen were both in a panic. Mu Tinng had always been suspicious, and now he must be suspicious.
Su Mianyue took a deep breath and said with a straight face, "The emperor knows how Biwu came to his concubines. If not for the successive years of famine, Biwu's whole family would have starved to death, and her uncles would not have been able to feed her a four or five year old child. Otherwise, his concubines would not have had such an opportunity with her. When Biwu came to his concubine, he was very young, but he had already remembered and told her everything about the past. It was only then that the servants and concubines knew that those who sold themselves as slaves had a sad past that they could not bear to look back on. It was more because their families were poor, and even serving as slaves was better than starving to death. They could also give their families a chance to live."
Su Mianyue's tone was flat, completely an outsider's gesture, but mu ting's face was solemn.
There were at least ten thousand palace maids and eunuchs in the palace. The palace maids entered the palace either for their salaries or to climb on the dragon bed, but the eunuchs could not even be humane. They could not look up and be human for the rest of their lives. They sold themselves into the palace except for being forced to have no way to live. Mu Tinng really could not think of anything else.
Seeing that Mu Tinng was lost in thought, Su Mianyue stopped talking. Even though Mu Chen's gaze was always on her, Su Mianyue did not respond in half to avoid causing trouble for himself.
It was not until then that Mu Tinng gathered the chill around him and looked at Su Mianyue and asked, "Will the empress accompany me out of the palace for a walk?"
"Do you know the people?" Su Mianyue looked at mu ting in surprise. After all, the status of the king of a country was too prominent. Even if he left the palace secretly, he could easily get into trouble. What Su Mianyue hated most was trouble, and he was thinking about how to refuse.
What's the fun of going out with Mu Tinng without freedom?