Having a Baby Before Marrying a Wicked Husband - Chapter 83

Yan Cai didn’t want to, and he expressed refusal to the Emperor’s kindness. The one at home is a jealous person; jokes are not allowed! Moreover, he has no interest in any beauties; the one at home is already “beautiful enough”.

“Is he really that good?” The Emperor teased as he enjoyed his snack. Quite an interesting child, about the same age as his son, but much livelier than his own son.

He is a little younger than his own son, and he even has a son. Nothing compares to it.

“Of course. It’s priceless.” Besides, dealing with just one was already difficult enough. Especially at night, when he became so clingy, it was quite exhausting to handle him.

Yan Cai sighed in distress, “Your Majesty understands.”

The Emperor laughed loudly, and the depression of recent days was swept away.

The steward, who had been waiting, refilled the Emperor’s tea and noticed that most of the snacks on the table had been eaten. He thought to himself that every time Brother Yan came, he would bring many snacks.

Somehow, the snacks from Yan’s household were especially delicious, some even better than those made by the palace kitchen. The Emperor, who has not had much appetite recently and cannot eat much, can eat a large plate in one afternoon.

While handling state affairs in the study, he would occasionally pick up a piece, and before he knew it, it was all gone. There were both sweet and savory snacks, and even the steward had been rewarded by the Emperor.

He had the subordinates try to imitate the recipes, but somehow they always lacked something. The kitchen’s skills were not in question; it seemed that the ingredients from Yan’s household were just better.

The very considerate steward once privately stopped Yan Cai.

“Brother Yan, the Emperor really enjoys the snacks you bring.” After saying this, he looked at Yan Cai with a smile.

Yan Cai blinked, paused for a moment, and then understood.

“Oh…” Yan Cai nodded. Those snacks didn’t matter much; anyway, what they ate at home was all produced by him. Having one more portion for the Emperor wasn’t a big deal.

Manyue serves under the Emperor, so this could help him gain favor for Manyue.

“I’ll have someone send some over every day. But, how should we deliver them?”

The palace had specialized channels for daily consumption of vegetables and meat; it would be difficult to send them in.

“No problem. It’s good that Brother Yan is willing. The rest of the miscellaneous matters will be taken care of.” The steward smiled, relieved that Brother Yan wasn’t too foolish and quickly caught on. “There’s no need to trouble Brother Yan to make a trip; we’ll send someone to Master Jiang’s residence to collect them.”

“Alright. Then every day… around the hour of the Rabbit, all will be prepared by the servants.” Yan Cai calculated the time; the hour of the Rabbit was a bit early, but if prepared the previous day, the essence wouldn’t dissipate too much overnight.

“Then thank you so much, brother Yan.” The steward expressed gratitude, very pleased with Yan Cai, who could alleviate the Emperor’s boredom and was so considerate. It couldn’t get any better.

The steward, firmly standing from the Emperor’s perspective, believed the Emperor was always right, and everything was the fault of others.

If the princes were as considerate as Brother Yan, the Emperor would not be so guarded.

The eldest prince is rash. Although the Third Prince is not bad, respectful, filial, and capable, but he hasn’t been favored by the Emperor since childhood. The fourth prince was originally favored, but his temper in recent years lacks obedience. The youngest prince is clever and bright. However, he is still young and doesn’t understand how to care for his elders, showing some immaturity.

In contrast, Yan Cai seems like a respectful and polite junior.

Moreover, recent events made the Emperor more wary of his sons. Not to mention the assassination attempt in the hunting grounds a few months ago.

The assassin hadn’t been caught, and in the end, only some other cases were brought up, and the fourth prince was restricted for a few months. The Noble Consort cried to the Emperor every day, giving him headaches.

If the Noble Consort could have the discretion of Yan Cai, the Emperor wouldn’t suffer such severe headaches. From what he observed, although Yan Cai jokes around and is unrestrained, he handles topics very accurately.

Brother Yan must have been familiar with many of Master Jiang’s usual troubles in his duties, but he never mentioned them in front of the Emperor.

For instance, in the recent seven-year-old agricultural tools case, many people appealed to the Emperor, but Yan Cai never mentioned a single word about it.

Speaking of the seven-year-old farm tools case, Master Jiang brought it up in the court. In the end, the court investigated and found out that it was related to a branch of the queen’s maternal family.

Everyone in the court knows Master Jiang is close to the Third Prince, and now this matter is very embarrassing. No one expected that Master Jiang would inadvertently implicate the Third Prince. Even if it wasn’t intentional, it was too coincidental.

In the eyes of others, Master Jiang’s actions would offend the Third Prince to the extreme.

The Empress is smarter than the Noble Consort; she doesn’t come before the Emperor to plead. She has confined herself to her chambers, claiming to repent for not properly restraining her relatives, acknowledging a lapse in virtue.

The Duke of Chengguo took the initiative to present several offending relatives directly to the Emperor, sacrificing family ties to demonstrate loyalty.

His father-in-law, nearly seventy years old, went to such lengths voluntarily. If the Emperor doesn’t relent, it would be unreasonable. He repeatedly insists that only the guilty will be punished, and he won’t transfer anger unjustly.

Despite this, the Duke of Chengguo remains secluded, even the Third Prince willingly accepted punishment.

It’s a retreat for advancement. The Emperor can’t force further, a tactic indeed superior to the Noble Consort’s tearful appeals.

Having served in the palace for many years, the steward has waited on two Emperors and understands the Emperor’s thoughts better than others.

The Emperor is a dragon, and dragons have reverse scales, so they can only go along with it but not go against it.

Yan Cai’s silence is the behavior of a wise person. Anything said at this juncture would be wrong.

The steward contemplates as he watches Yan Cai’s departing figure.

Outside the palace gates, Yan Cai’s pace quickens, heading towards the city gates. Jiang Manyue must be in the fields again today.

The potatoes have been in the ground for three months, and it’s nearly harvest time. Passing by his own restaurant, Yan Cai took out a food box from the store. It’s almost noon; he wonders if Jiang Manyue has eaten yet.

When he arrived at the edge of the field, he could already hear a lot of laughter. A fire was burning at the edge of the field, with a group of people gathered around the fire pit. Yan Cai sniffed a few times and caught the smell – the aroma of roasted potatoes.

He walked a few steps over, squeezed into the crowd, but didn’t see Jiang Manyue’s figure. Instead, he was handed a warm roasted potato by the people roasting potatoes.

“Everyone, dig in! Try the fruits of our labor these days! Hey, where’s Master Jiang? The potatoes are done; we should call him to eat. Let’s save the best one for him.”

Someone scurries off to find Master Jiang. Yan Cai doesn’t follow but sits under a tree and enjoys his roasted potato.

The potatoes are small, just the size of an infant’s fist. They aren’t seasoned, not even a sprinkle of salt, yet the group enjoys them heartily.

Yan Cai eats quietly, watching the smiling farmers.

​He had experienced this kind of smile before. The pleasure that only food can bring.

Yan Cai’s clothes were too neat, and his demeanor didn’t fit in, appearing fresh like a green grass growing there. He was quickly noticed. Although he looked strange, perhaps the villagers found Jiang Manyue even stranger and thus quickly accepted him.

“Young brother looks really spirited.” The woman wearing an apron with flowers on her head loved to praise anyone who looked good. Without any shyness, she boldly squeezed next to Yan Cai, startling him.

Most of the female compatriots he had seen in this place were shy and introverted; he hadn’t seen anyone so enthusiastic and outgoing.

The woman nodded and added, “Just as handsome as Master Jiang.”

Several other people burst into laughter.

“Widow Zhang, that’s enough for you. Even if he’s handsome, he’s not yours. Tell us, have you been drooling over Master Jiang these days?”

“Yeah, she has!”

Mrs. Zhang wasn’t offended by the teasing; she stood up, hands on her hips, and pointed at the others sharply, “Just looking is not enough. We took a peek at Master Jiang when his wife wasn’t around, never even touched him once.”

“Who said my wife is not here?” Jiang Manyue’s voice suddenly appeared, startling everyone.

When the person at the center of the topic appears, and everyone inevitably felt a kind of embarrassed guilt at being caught.

Of course, the always unabashed Mrs. Zhang had no such thoughts; her mind was still stuck on “my wife.”

“Th-the master’s wife is here!?”