Zhao Junyao saw she caught on and smiled too.
"You didn’t want me to come?"
"No, no, absolutely not!" Xia Ruqing said, against her conscience.
Her face was all smiles, but her heart was somewhat reluctant! Does this mean I really have to... attend to him in person for twelve Shi Chen a day? Accompany him for meals, drinks, and sleep?
But she was rather timid, so...
"What are you eating?" Zhao Junyao asked, looking at the table where half the food on the plates was already gone.
This little girl certainly knows how to enjoy herself! Now that I’ve brought her out, has she really started enjoying the sights like this? he thought.
Xia Ruqing glanced at the table, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Just some home-cooked dishes. If Your Lordship likes them, I can ask someone to make some more. How about that?"
As she spoke, she shamelessly pulled the Emperor over to where she had been sitting and continued, "This is the watermelon I had Zi Yue buy just now. The shopkeeper was really nice and even helped me chill it with ice. It’s delicious, Emperor, you must try it! At this time of year, watermelons are just about ready, and they’re not expensive either!"
After traveling all day and toiling for a Shi Chen or two, he was tired, hot, and hadn’t even had dinner. Even Zhao Junyao, with his iron constitution, was weary by now.
Although the ancients had no concept of motion sickness, after a day on the road, one’s stomach would definitely be unsettled.
When he saw the watermelon, his mouth started to water. With just one bite, he felt as if his spleen and lungs had been awakened. The sweltering heat that had settled in his core was dispelled by the ice-chilled watermelon. Even the incessant chirping of the cicadas outside didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.
But Xia Ruqing still shook her head. "My lord, is it satisfying to eat like this?" she asked. To her, watching him take such elegant, tiny bites of watermelon—while refined—seemed agonizingly slow.
Zhao Junyao was thoroughly enjoying his watermelon. Her question, however, left him a bit flustered. As he looked up, some watermelon juice accidentally dripped onto his clothes. He frowned, annoyed.
Slightly irritated, he asked, "Otherwise, how else should one eat it?"
Xia Ruqing, without overthinking, stepped forward, took the watermelon from his hand, and started to remove his outer robe.
"Qingqing, what are you trying to do?"
Suddenly faced with this, Zhao Junyao felt a bit awkward, but... If Qingqing wants to... now, I can still manage, reluctantly!
Xia Ruqing said, "My lord, I’ll show you how to eat watermelon!"
That sentence nipped Zhao Junyao’s budding amorous thoughts in the bud.
However, he had another thought, a different idea surfacing. Once, I saw in a Spring Palace Painting that some people ate gourmet food, drank wine, and did... *that*... all at the same time. There were even depictions of them smearing fine wine on their bodies and kissing each other. At first, I thought it was disgustingly excessive. I never liked kissing women. But now... COUGH, COUGH, although it’s a bit of an acquired taste, if Qingqing wants it, I could consider it. After all, I do like her!
Lost in these thoughts, Zhao Junyao’s gaze grew hazy.
But just then, Xia Ruqing suddenly stopped.
Zhao Junyao was abruptly pulled back to reality.
Huh? Why did she only remove my outer robe? Why didn’t she continue? he wondered.
Xia Ruqing, completely unaware of what was going through his mind, finished her preparations and said excitedly, "My lord, it’s ready! We can start now!"
Zhao Junyao frowned. "My clothes aren’t all off yet. How can we start? Come, help Your Lord undress!"
Xia Ruqing’s eyes nearly popped out. "Ah? Take off clothes? My Lord, you don’t need to strip to eat watermelon!"
Zhao Junyao was speechless.
"Alright, then... I’ll listen to you!" Zhao Junyao touched his nose, feeling a bit sheepish.
Xia Ruqing, whose reaction time was incredibly slow, still hadn’t noticed anything amiss.
She continued, "Emperor, this is half a chilled watermelon. You can scoop it out with a spoon, so you don’t have to worry about getting your clothes dirty!"
As she spoke, she went on, "Besides... your clothes are soaked with sweat; they’ll need to be washed anyway! So just don’t worry about it!"
Having said that, she took up a small half of the watermelon and demonstrated by scooping out a large spoonful, stuffing it into her mouth. Juice instantly filled her mouth, the summer heat dissipating entirely, leaving only an icy coolness that permeated her mouth and heart.
"AAAH..." she sighed, closing her eyes with a look of ecstasy on her face.
Zhao Junyao was somewhat skeptical but... he followed suit and tried it as well.
"How is it?!" Xia Ruqing asked eagerly.
Zhao Junyao couldn’t let himself be outdone by a woman. He dug his spoon in and scooped out a huge chunk.
He swallowed it.
Then... another spoonful.
And then... yet another spoonful.
He completely ignored Xia Ruqing.
In the blink of an eye, more than half the watermelon was gone.
He burped and nodded. "Hmm! Not bad. This is how it should be eaten!"
He suddenly felt that this was how a real man ate. Though... it is a bit indecorous! But who would dare say anything!
After eating the watermelon, Zhao Junyao’s appetite was completely whetted.
Xia Ruqing watched as he ordered some appetizers, all of them stimulating to the appetite.