Chapter 3 She has the appearance of bringing good luck to her husband

Xiao Jinyan turned his head to look at Lu Zhaoyan, only to see him covering his mouth with a laugh.

"What's so funny?"

Lu Zhaoyan reined in his smile, "This humble servant just finds what Shen Fengyi said to be very sincere."

"At that time you hadn't seen how she was..." vying for favor and seducing the palace.

The last few words were muted by Xiao Jinyan.

Lu Zhaoyan, clueless about the danger, pressed on, "What about her?"

Xiao Jinyan said coldly, "You're not here today for gossip."

Lu Zhaoyan felt a chilly breeze scrape down his back, leaving him shivering.

Eunuch Liu wanted to go in early to give a warning but was stopped by a gesture from Xiao Jinyan.

Xiao Jinyan entered just to see Shen Chuwei sitting cross-legged, leisurely eating a fruit he had never seen before, completely carefree and relaxed.

Chun Xi was still looking for a solution when she saw the Crown Prince arrive, happily reminding her, "Little Mistress, the Crown Prince has come."

Shen Chuwei, seeing Xiao Jinyan, elegantly rose from the couch, knelt down to salute, her cheeks bulging with the strawberries she hadn't finished eating, her greeting muffled and unclear.

"This concubine greets Your Highness, may Your Highness be blessed with peace and safety."

Chun Xi: "May Your Highness be blessed with peace and safety."

Xiao Jinyan's gaze moved to the fruit tray on the low table, where clean, bright red and plump fruits were arranged.

"What are you eating?"

Shen Chuwei swallowed the strawberry in her mouth and answered, "Replying to Your Highness, they are strawberries."

Xiao Jinyan asked again, "Why has this palace never heard of such a fruit before?"

Shen Chuwei, with an unchanging expression, made up a story, "This concubine planted them herself. This kind of fruit grows in the wild, so it's normal for the Crown Prince to have not heard of them."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinyan did not continue to inquire; instead, he said, "Xuetuan is merely sleepy, nothing serious."

"So, the little kitty is called Xuetuan, plump and round—a name well suited for it. The name Your Highness chose is very charming," Shen Chuwei did not forget to butter him up.

Xiao Jinyan: "..."

Shen Chuwei lifted her delicate little face, looking expectantly at him, "Your Highness, since the truth has been revealed, does that mean I no longer have to go to Xiaoxiang Pavilion?"

She just couldn't bear the thought of leaving the little darlings in the backyard; without anyone to eat them, it would be too pitiful.

Xiao Jinyan looked down at that small face, unadorned by makeup and blushingly pure, far more pleasing to the eye than her previous heavy makeup.

"Hmm, this palace misjudged you, the dismissed servants will be reassigned back."

"There's no need for that, having Chun Xi to serve me is enough. If Your Highness really wishes to reward this concubine, then how about asking the Imperial Kitchen to send over some raw beef and mutton?"

Mainly, she was craving hot pot. The base ingredients, marinated sauces, and vegetables were all ready.

A hot pot without beef and mutton is soulless.

Since being punished, the food portions sent from the Imperial Kitchen had been getting smaller and smaller, let alone beef and mutton.

She would usually make her own little stove.

Xiao Jinyan hadn't ever seen a woman ask for beef and mutton as a reward before.

"That's all?"

"Replying to Your Highness, that's all."

Xiao Jinyan nodded, deeming her not greedy, "This palace approves."

Shen Chuwei rejoiced at getting her wish, "Thank Your Highness."

Xiao Jinyan noticed the corners of Shen Chuwei's mouth almost touching the sky with joy, all because of some beef and mutton?

He turned his head to look at Lu Zhaoyan.

Lu Zhaoyan had been sizing up Shen Chuwei all this while; a woman chosen for the Crown Prince certainly had excellent looks and figure.

Her face bore the signs of significant prosperity and fortune.

Seeing Lu Zhaoyan nod, Xiao Jinyan didn't linger any longer.

"I've heard that Shen Fengyi is expert with needlework, so embroider a sachet and bring it to my chambers in three days."

Shen Chuwei wondered if she had heard wrong, "Crown Prince, do you want this concubine to embroider a sachet?"

"Did you think this palace has the leisure to joke with you?" Who gave her the impression that embroidering a sachet for him was a waste of time?

"If the Crown Prince does not disdain it, this concubine will embroider it."

Which blabbermouth said she was adept at needlework?

She didn't know the first thing about embroidery!

Xiao Jinyan raised an eyebrow, "Is it that difficult for you?"

Shen Chuwei hastily shook her head, "It's an honor for your concubine."

Before Xiao Jinyan left, he took the plate of strawberries with him.

Shen Chuwei, having learned from last time, kept her head down until she could no longer see the white boots before raising her head.

Chun Xi came over to assist her.

After sitting down, Shen Chuwei reached out to grab a strawberry, only to clutch at thin air—when she turned her head to look, there were no strawberries left, not even the fruit plate remained.

Who else could it be but Xiao Jinyan?

Shen Chuwei indignantly called out with first name and surname, "Xiao Jinyan, this is outright robbery!"

Frightened by her reaction, Chun Xi hurriedly covered Shen Chuwei's tender little mouth, "Young mistress, you must not call the Crown Prince by his name directly, be careful or you might be charged with a severe crime of disrespect."

Shen Chuwei pulled Chun Xi's hand away, feeling wronged, "I only ate one strawberry, he could have at least left me a couple!"

"Young mistress, this is a good thing. When the Crown Prince is happy, wouldn't his favor come your way?" Chun Xi, however, began to fantasize about a bright future.

"...I'd rather have a few more strawberries to eat."

Compete with a bunch of women for favors?

She'd be better off enjoying a few more strawberries—satisfying her craving and filling her stomach.

*

After leaving Xiyun Pavilion, Xiao Jinyan asked Lu Zhaoyan, "Notice anything amiss?"

"Your Highness, as the saying goes, 'the face is a reflection of the heart.' Shen Fengyi's facial features suggest wealth and prosperity, indicating she has the fortune to augment her husband's status."

Xiao Jinyan sneered, "Her augmenting her husband? I certainly haven't noticed."

Lu Zhaoyan replied, "Your Highness, I am merely observing from a facial analysis, without any exaggeration."

Xiao Jinyan didn't wish to dwell on the topic of augmenting her husband, "Then why does my heart reading spell not work on her anymore?"

After contemplating, Lu Zhaoyan replied, "After Shen Fengyi nearly drowned, she emerged as if reborn, thus rendering Your Highness's heart reading spell ineffective."

The implication was that Shen Fengyi was no longer the Shen Fengyi of before.

A case of returning in another's body?

"Then do you have any solution?" Xiao Jinyan was somewhat impatient to know what Shen Chuwei was thinking now—who was she and what were her intentions?

Lu Zhaoyan asked, "Your Highness is worried that this was deliberately arranged by someone?"

Xiao Jinyan reminded him, "Have you forgotten about Lady Chen?"

With the mention of Lady Chen, Lu Zhaoyan broke into a sweat for Xiao Jinyan.

If it weren't for the heart reading spell, Xiao Jinyan would never have known that such a talented, gentle and amiable woman, who seemed free from worldly strife, was actually a spy planted by the Third Prince, nearly causing him to lose his right to be the Crown Prince.

Lu Zhaoyan said, "Your Highness requires Shen Fengyi's birth date characters to create a talismanic water."

Xiao Jinyan nodded thoughtfully, "Just her birth date characters? That's easy."

Looking at the strawberries in his hand, he thought of Shen Chuwei's joy while eating strawberries. His slender fingers picked up a berry and bit into it, savoring the fresh juiciness, the sweetness mixed with a hint of tartness—it tasted quite nice.

Having been serving the Crown Prince since childhood, the eunuch Liu had never before seen the Crown Prince "steal" food from a woman~

*

Xiao Jinyan didn't deceive her; the Imperial Kitchen indeed sent over two taels of beef and two taels of mutton, all very fresh.

Shen Chuwei excitedly took a pot out of nowhere, along with butter hot pot base paste and sauces.

With a kitchen knife in hand, she personally sliced the meat.

Chun Xi went to gather various greens from the garden to wash, including lettuce, enoki mushrooms, spinach, and more.

In the pot, the broth bubbled vigorously.

Shen Chuwei held chopsticks with slices of beef dipped in sesame sauce, and after blowing on it twice, she eagerly put it in her mouth and began to eat.

"So spicy, so refreshing."

Having hot pot for the first time, Chun Xi was also overwhelmingly spiced, wiping her runny nose with a handkerchief, "Young mistress, how can there be such delicious food in this world?"

While eating, Shen Chuwei proudly said, "This is nothing. Next time, we'll have grilled meat and grilled fish."

Shen Chuwei began to scheme in her mind, thinking of how she could get Xiao Jinyan to order the Imperial Kitchen to send more beef, mutton, chicken, and fish her way.

Chun Xi was already looking forward to it.