Chapter 108 - Delicious Dumpling

The next day, Yu Yingyi was waiting at their designated meeting spot which was the plaza near their palace. They both agreed to meet here since there were fewer people here in the morning, it was also a good place to get a bit of sunlight since the sun always shone on the plaza during the morning.

Yu Yingyi waited a minute or two before she felt someone poking her. Turning around, the sight of Ru Shi with a cheeky smile appeared before her.

"Ru Shi, what're you trying to do?" Yu Yingyi asked as she pinched one side of Ru Shi's cheek.

"Ow! Ow! For such a weak woman, that actually hurts!" Zhu Ru Shi exclaimed.

Yu Yingyi felt annoyed, she wondered if this was what Song Liya felt whenever she talked to Zhu Ru Shi.

"You...what happened to your personality? You weren't acting this way when we were at the restaurant," Yu Yingyi pointed out.

"Ah, that. People of royalty have an image to keep up when they're in a place that is exclusively made for people of royalty," Zhu Ru Shi explained. "But when I'm out here where people don't expect much, I can be myself."

Yu Yingyi felt mesmerized by the bright smile of the girl, surprisingly, she was cheerful and a bit childish too. Though, a part of her expected this since it was also stated in the novel.

"Well then, should we find a place to eat?"

"Yep! I'm hungry!"

Yu Yingyi walked into the city with Zhu Ru Shi, she still hasn't decided where to eat. That was when the image of a restaurant appeared in Yu Yingyi's mind.

"It's been a while since I've gone to that restaurant, so let's go there," Yu Yingyi said.

"What restaurant? Is the food there good?" Zhu Ru Shi asked, she couldn't wait to eat.

"You'll see when we get there, the food is delicious there so don't worry."

"Alright, I'll trust your words. Lead the way, Princess Yingyi."

The walk wasn't long, it took a couple of minutes to get to where they were going to eat. And each time she headed this way, she could never get used to it.

The commoners greeted her and gave her small gifts such as flowers or handmade wristbands. She accepted them with a smile.

"You seem loved here. A lot of people are giving you gifts with a smile, they seem to be even happier when you accept them," Zhu Ru Shi said.

"Haha, I used to come to this area a lot when I entered a romantic relationship with the princess. I would help them out and bring back the liveliness," Yu Yingyi explained with a soft smile on her face, pleasant memories filled her mind.

"Ah, I see. At home, people are happy to see me too, but they never give me gifts or anything like that," Zhu Ru Shi muttered.

"Don't worry about such trivial things, when you become the empress. When that happens, I'm pretty sure plenty of people will give you gifts."

"The empress...?"

Yu Yingyi turned to Zhu Ru Shi since her voice suddenly became quiet. However, she didn't expect to see Zhu Ru Shi looking at her with sparkling eyes.

"Ru Shi?" Yu Yingyi called out.

"Princess Yingyi, you believe I'll be the empress won't day?" Zhu Ru Shi asked, her voice seemed to become softer.

"Of course, you're the first princess of the Zhu empire aren't you? The oldest one has to guide the younger ones."

Zhu Ru Shi quickly turned her head away before Yu Yingyi could see her flustered face. She didn't expect Yingyi to say something like that, she promised herself to become the empress silently in her heart.

"I will work hard!"

"I'm sure you will," Yu Yingyi said. "Ah, it seems with her."

Zhu Ru Shi looked up at the banner and read it out loud, "Merchant's River House?"

"Yep, this is the place where we're going to eat at."

"Okay, let's go in! I'm hungry!"

Yu Yingyi opened the door for Zhu Ru Shi and followed behind. Her eyes wandered through the restaurant hoping to see Mei Xiang, but she couldn't be seen anywhere. Instead, there was a middle-aged woman who attended to them.

"A table for two?"

"Yes."

"The seat in the corner."

Yu Yingyi found it strange that whenever she entered a restaurant, she would always sit in the corner. But the corner was nice so she didn't complain.

"What are you going to get Zhu Ru Shi? Is there anything you like?" Yu Yingyi asked.

"I don't know," Zhu Ru Shi replied as she closed the menu. "I'll get whatever you get, it better be delicious though."

Yu Yingyi looked at Zhu Ru Shi helplessly before replying with an alright. Yu Yingyi called over the waitress and ordered two plates of dumplings.

When the order came, Yu Yingyi could see a bit of drool threatening to fall. She slightly laughed at the scene before telling Zhu Ru Shi to wipe it.

The dumplings were placed on the plate in front of them, they were brimming with meat and vegetables, making them look very appetizing.

"Let's dig in."

"Yes!"

When Yu Yingyi took a bite of the dumpling, she couldn't help but moan at how delicious it was. It's been a while since she had perfectly boiled dumplings and fresh ingredients placed in them.

Whoever the chief was, Yu Yingyi applauded them for making the dumpling this delicious. There was also a bit of soup inside the dumpling which made the flavor even better.

"Oh? You're here Yingyi?" a feminine voice called out to her.

Yu Yingyi glanced in the direction of where the familiar voice came from, she was surprised to see Mei Xiang taking off her apron.

"Were you the one who made this?" Yu Yingyi asked.

"If it isn't me, then who else? Did you think I was only a waitress here? Of course not," Mei Xiang replied.

"Become my personal chief, now."

"I'd rather stop cooking entirely than cook for you. Who knows how much food you would force me to cook."

"Tsk."

Yu Yingyi glanced in Zhu Ru Shi's direction and seeing that she was done, she decided to speak up.

"There's something I'd like to talk about, both of you are included in this conversation."

Mei Xiang and Zhu Ru Shi tilted their heads in confusion.

"But first, let's introduce each each other since you two don't know each other."