When the consorts walked away, the empress leaned towards Consort Xie for support.
Xie Yu is a frail girl not much taller than Wei Yi Yi. Despite her pitiful scholarly strength, she diligently supported the "weak" empress. Wei Yi Yi didn"t deliberately make it hard for her and made sure she wasn"t fully leaning on the consort with her whole weight.
At the back, Su Mei Fan consciously eyed them.
Wei Yi Yi made a few coughing sounds before inhaling deeply. "No need to support me anymore, sister Xie." Scratching her nose, she lied. "Suddenly, I felt better. Maybe I was just hungry?"
Pair of dubious eyes stared at her but no one dares to question the Empress.
"Umm... let"s have some snacks?" Wei Yi Yi invited them in order to scape the awkward atmosphere.
Xie Yu"s ears perked up. Weighting her odds, she no longer voiced the doubts in her heart and eagerly followed the Empress.
Under the shade of a tree, the servants laid the blankets neatly. They opened the food box that Wei Yi Yi brought from the palace and placed them accordingly.
"Don"t be shy. Let"s eat," Wei Yi Yi casually said and didn"t bother about further courtesies.
Su Mei Fan curiously peered and evaluate the content.
Skillfully made dimsums were presented in an appetizing way. They were packed in consideration to the long journey and as such, still looked fresh on their food box.
Seeing the dimsum wrapped to imitate shapes like sh.e.l.ls, gords, and flowers, Su Mei Fan felt that such dishes were normal for the empress who likes animal shaped fruits.
Just the preparation required a lot of thoughts, the one who made these proved his techniques and how skillful he is.
Only that, Su Mei Fan felt a strong sense of deja vu.
She didn"t notice Xie Yu on the side, whose eyes are usually tranquil sparks like the stars in the sky. Su Mei Fan, in an urgent tone, asked Wei Yi Yi a serious question. "Your majesty, from who did you received these?"
"From Feng Lei," Wei Yi Yi answered without care and proceed to eat.
"Did you test them for poison first?! We don"t know what grudge Feng s.h.i.+ is brewing. Please be more aware of the scheming in the harem. Don"t just eat them!"
Su Mei Fan completely disregards Xie Yu at the side and in her worries, started acting the usual way when it"s just the empress and her.
Tears almost run down Su Mei Fan"s eyes once again. Just like how men are weak towards a lady"s tears, Wei Yi Yi shared the same feelings too.
"Calm down, lady Su," Wei Yi Yi tried to coax her. Darting her eyes for a solution, she spotted the innocent consort Xie and pointed at her. "Look, isn"t sister Xie just fine?"
All eyes turn to the unsuspecting Xie Yu who"s busy stuffing her mouth. They found her food box almost empty.
Xie Yu choked as the attention s.h.i.+fted to her. Trying to hide the blunter, she picked her handkerchief and elegantly wipe her mouth.
The blushed on her cheeks reminds Wei Yi Yi of a bright red cherry.
"Concubine Su"s worries are not unfounded, empress," Xie Yu, in her best abilities, tried to follow up with the conversation. "In that case, let this consort taste them for poison for her majesty."
Before the other two could react, Xie Yu wipe away the remaining food on her food box. Her cheeks swell like a hamster as she stuffed a number of dimsum in her mouth and a few shades of red added to her blus.h.i.+ng face.
I take that back. She doesn"t look like a cherry. More like a roasted potato.
In a single gulp, the consort swallowed everything. Still maintaining her scholarly aura, she picked up a porcelain cup and slowly drank her tea.
Xie Yu cough and then, with a deadpan face, announce, "There doesn"t seem any poison."
Wei Yi Yi, "..."
Well, sht of course.
Emptying the whole food box. If there is really poison, it wouldn"t be surprising if you start foaming in the mouth right away.
It"s more like a storm came and we"re hit with a disaster. Your plate is so clean, I think rain wipe them out.
Consort Xie exhibit a serious face. She thought for a while before claiming in a justified tone, "Concubine Feng dignity was. .h.i.t and slapped by the empress twice. For her to continue giving gifts to the empress despite punis.h.i.+ng her and leaving her in the care of her most hated enemy, it"s either she was trying to gain favor or harbors malicious thoughts. There is plenty of dishes and we couldn"t be sure which one is really poisoned. Since it"s like that, this consort will apologize for being imprudent first. I will now proceed to test them for poison again."
Wei Yi Yi saw Xie Yu"s chopstick flew towards her own food box and swipe away a few dimsums of hers. She gaped at the sight and when she turned to look at the consort, Xie Yu is acting like everything is normal.
She looked so elegant once again you wouldn"t think she just eyed Wei Yi Yi"s food and stole them.
Hiding in the mask of a scholar! In truth, you"re just a glutton, aren"t you?!
In earnest, she declared, "This one does not have poison either."
As she talked, Wei Yi Yi swears she wasn"t looking at her face but at the food instead.
Up until now, Wei Yi Yi didn"t know that getting food needed a lot of explanation and justification. Pitying her efforts, the empress pushed another food box near the pretty consort.