"Lier, is this the delicacy we're having for lunch today?"
Leng Jinyu stared blankly at the raw lettuce and raw meat on the table.
"Yes, these are what we're having for lunch," Leng Ruo Li replied affirmatively.
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces turned grim. If it were some steaming hot soup, it would be acceptable. But raw lettuce and raw meat, not even cooked. How were they supposed to eat them? If they ate them, wouldn't they be confined to the outhouse forever?
"Lier, Father's stomach suddenly feels a bit unwell. You all eat first," Leng Jinyu said with a flash of insight, his eyes darting away.
"Lier, this King has just remembered an important matter at the royal manor that needs to be dealt with. I shall attend to it before returning to fetch you," Jun Mo Han also said with an awkward expression.
"Alright, then you can go ahead," Leng Ruo Li said speechlessly, looking at Leng Jinyu and Jun Mo Han.
Then, she turned around and glanced at her two little maids and the guards brought by Jun Mo Han, saying with a helpless expression, "Do you all want to join your Princess Consort for lunch?"
They first nodded, then shook their heads, neither daring to try the delicacies Leng Ruo Li had placed on the table.
"Alas, you all don't want to eat with me either, do you? Then I'll start eating."
As Leng Ruo Li spoke, she picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a few slices of beef, and placed them into the bone broth. Because they were thinly sliced, they would cook quickly. Then, she picked out the beef slices, dipped them in soy sauce and sesame paste, and slowly chewed them in her mouth.
"Mmm, delicious! It's been so long since I had such refreshing hot pot," Leng Ruo Li praised as she ate.
After finishing the beef slices in her mouth, she picked up a piece of thin fish fillet and cooked it in the hot pot. Once cooked, she dipped it in chili sauce and ate it with great relish.
"Mmm, this fish is so tender and fragrant!" Leng Ruo Li repeatedly praised loudly.
Hearing this, Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han immediately stopped their steps, turned around, and saw the maids and guards gathered around Leng Ruo Li, their eyes wide, swallowing their saliva, and looking at Leng Ruo Li's peculiar eating method with sparkling eyes.
It was strange. Lier wasn't eating the vegetables and meat raw, but rather cooking them in the soup pot she had prepared before eating. It was completely different from their imagined way of eating, and the aroma emanating from it was particularly fragrant.
Leng Jinyu and Jun Mo Han's legs suddenly felt unable to move. After much thought, they finally decided to shamelessly return to the table and enjoy the delicacies with Leng Ruo Li.
"Oh, Father, didn't your stomach feel unwell? How did it get better so quickly?"
"And you, my Cold King, didn't you have matters to attend to? Why are you running back now?"
Leng Ruo Li raised her eyes and teased them.
"Well, Lier, perhaps Father's stomach was too hungry earlier, which caused it to feel unwell. After eating something, it will be fine immediately."
"Hehe, this King just remembered that all the matters at the royal manor have been dealt with. It's lunchtime now, and one should enjoy good food."
Both of them found ridiculous excuses.
Leng Ruo Li looked at them speechlessly and rolled her eyes.
"Sit down and eat!" Leng Ruo Li said to them.
After Leng Jinyu and Jun Mo Han sat down, they asked Leng Ruo Li about the method of eating these dishes and meats.
Leng Ruo Li immediately demonstrated the process to them. Leng Jinyu and Jun Mo Han learned it and began to devour the meat and vegetables on the table with great enthusiasm.
The maids and guards gathered behind them, seeing Leng Jinyu and Jun Mo Han eating so heartily, quickly found good seats and started eating. They found it increasingly delicious and refreshing. At this moment, they all admired Leng Ruo Li's extraordinary wisdom for even coming up with such a way of eating.
After Leng Jinyu and Jun Mo Han had eaten their fill, they finally remembered to ask Leng Ruo Li what this way of eating was called.
"Lier, what is this way of eating we're having today called?" Leng Jinyu asked with a smile, patting his bulging stomach and letting out a burp.
"Father, what we are eating now is called Clear Broth Hot Pot. Originally, daughter wanted to make a Mandarin Duck Pot, but considering you have just recovered from your illness, I only made a Clear Broth Hot Pot, so everyone can choose their own flavor," Leng Ruo Li patiently explained to everyone.
"Lier, what is a Mandarin Duck Pot?" Jun Mo Han suddenly asked upon hearing this.
"It's half clear broth base and half spicy broth base, combined in one pot," Leng Ruo Li explained in the most easily understandable language to everyone.
"Lier, next time you should make that Mandarin Duck Pot for Father. Father also wants to try that spicy broth base," Leng Jinyu said with a face full of anticipation.
"Okay, daughter will definitely make you Mandarin Duck Pot next time," Leng Ruo Li said with a sweet smile.
"Then when will that be? Why don't you tell Father first?" Leng Jinyu asked with a smile.
"Father, it's unlikely anytime soon. Lier needs to go out with the Cold King, and we might not be back for half a month or so," Leng Ruo Li said with a serious expression.
Upon hearing this, Leng Jinyu's brows furrowed, and he looked at Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han with suspicion and asked, "It's almost the end of the year, why are you two still going out?"
"Father, the Cold King's health has not been good. Daughter needs to go out with him to find medicinal herbs to treat his illness," Leng Ruo Li said vaguely.
This was because she didn't know that Leng Jinyu already knew about Jun Mo Han being poisoned by wolf poison.
"Lier, Father already knows about the Cold King being poisoned by wolf poison. If Father guesses correctly, you are going out this time to find the medicinal ingredients to cure the wolf poison. But as far as Father knows, this wolf poison is incurable. Countless people have tried to develop an antidote for this wolf poison over the past thousand years, yet no one has managed to develop the antidote to this day, and many lives have been lost."
Leng Jinyu said with a heavy expression, as he truly did not want his daughter to take such a risk.
Leng Ruo Li was instantly touched upon hearing this. She understood what Leng Jinyu meant; he was worried about her encountering danger on the way to find the antidote.
"Father, please don't worry. Daughter has already found a method to remove the wolf poison for the Cold King. It's just that we are still lacking..."
Suddenly, Jun Mo Han interrupted Leng Ruo Li's words, casually picked up a porcelain bowl from the table, and threw it towards the wall covered with rose flowers.
Instantly, an "object" outside the wall heavily hit the ground, followed by a scream.
"Ouch, ouch... It hurts so much! Wuwuwu..."
Ye Ying, along with two guards, immediately used their lightness skills to leap onto the wall and jump down. They immediately apprehended a plump middle-aged woman and brought her before Leng Ruo Li, Jun Mo Han, and Leng Jinyu.