The Rabbit Cake

Li Baojia had initially thought that she could return after exchanging a few pleasantries and sending gifts in the main hall.

But the person leading the way led her further and further away.

If she didn't know that the place was the residence of Duke Jing'an, she would have thought she had met a human trafficker.

After a while, they finally stopped at a small pavilion.

The small pavilion was spacious. It was about dozens of meters wide. The four corners were painted with auspicious designs, and auspicious birds were hung on the edges of the corners. Looking at them closely, one could find their claws grabbing a small gold ball. It looked quite sophisticated.

Still, Li Baojia did not like the place.

The reason was that next to the pavilion was a large lotus pond. The water in the pond was green, in which valuable Shangyang koi were kept. It could be seen that they were carefully taken care of and quite energetic, swimming happily.

But she drowned in the pond in her previous life, so she had some fear of the pond and the lake.

The cold feeling⁠, the feeling of being overwhelmed by the water over her head and struggling to suffocate, and in the end, died... she definitely did not want to experience a second time.

Zhou Ji'nan wore a set of green one-collar robes this time. His waist was tied with a silver belt that had two fish on it. His boots were embroidered with clouds and cranes. He was holding a folded paper fan with poetry on it, looking handsome and elegant, and his pretty eyes seemed to be able to make people fall for him easily.

To know why he was dressed the way he was, one would have to find the answer in the strange book he had just read.

The book said most girls could not resist elegant colors such as moon white or jade green. If it could be matched with a folding fan, no young girl could resist such a handsome man.

When Zhou Ji'nan thought about Li Baojia's lingering gaze on Prince Liang's son the previous day, he felt what the book said made some sense.

After all, Prince Liang's son also wore a moon-white robe, and although he looked very weak, he attracted her eyes.

As for Zhou Ji'nan's attractive eyes, it was completely his born ability. He was born with eyes like those and could make others fall for him easily.

Therefore, some girls would confess their love to him after having some moments of eye contact with him, and when they were rejected, they would inevitably complain that Zhou Ji'nan was a heartless man.

However, he actually did not do anything special, given that he also had the same gaze when he looked at an old man selling sweet potatoes on the roadside.

Zhou Ji'nan waved at her. "Come over here and sit."

Some snacks were put on the table. Li Baojia went over and sat down. "Why did you ask me to come here?"

Zhou Ji'nan said, "The scenery here is good. Didn't you say you wanted to thank me? I won't accept any other thank-you gift. Just accompany me to see the scenery and have a meal."

It was clear that he was making a pass at her.

But Li Baojia had always been slow in reacting.

She thought Zhou Ji'nan made such a worse excuse because he did not want her to spend money.

She instructed Taotao to take out the gift and handed it to Qing who was behind Zhou Ji'nan. "It's fine to see the scenery, but this gift of appreciation must also be given. Thanks to you for what happened yesterday."

Otherwise, she would have to lay in bed now.

"As for the meal... it is not necessary. My mother is waiting for me to return today to have dinner together."

Although the rules were not very strict in preventing affairs between men and women, it was not appropriate for a single man to eat with a single woman, even if it was out of gratitude for a favor.

Zhou Ji'nan did not force her as well. "Then, please eat some snacks. These are made by our home cooks. Try to see if you like it."

A few of the snacks on the table were indeed unseen forms. They were made to look like small rabbits, which were crystal clear, round, cute, and naive.

Li Baojia nodded. She casually picked up a small rabbit and bit off its head in one bite.

Zhou Ji'nan froze when he saw this.

He thought girls would be like his sister. Every time, she would sigh that she did not want to eat such a cute rabbit and hesitate to eat.

But for Li Baojia, food was food. Also, the delicious taste was the most important thing. It did not matter what it looked like as long as it was not so ugly that would make her not want to eat.

Inside the rabbit was a purple filling, sweet but not greasy, which should be made of taro, whereas the outer skin was quite tough, tasting very strange.

Li Baojia stuffed the rest of the rabbit into her mouth. Her cheeks were filled with snacks and round, looking quite cute.

She looked like a small rabbit.

A small rabbit was eating a small rabbit. How terrible!

Zhou Ji'nan propped up his head and watched her eat, and from time to time, he would pick up a snack and introduce it to her. "This is shrimp cake. It's made of fresh shrimp chopped into puree and fried. Try it."

Although the shrimp snack was delicious, it was slightly greasy. Li Baojia was afraid of gaining weight, so she only ate a piece and then, she stopped eating.

The two ate snacks for half an hour before they started to enjoy the scenery.

Zhou Ji'nan asked, "There are many koi in the pond. Do you want to go and see them? You can also feed some fish food."

Li Baojia quickly shook her head and said, "No, I don't like to go near the water."

Zhou Ji'nan was a bit regretful. "So, you don't like the pond? I would have taken you somewhere else if I had known it."

Li Baojia said, "It's not that exaggerated. The pond is quite beautiful."

She just has a shadow of fear.

The two of them were chatting with each other before suddenly, an attendant came over. Qing went over. After a while, he came back to Zhou Ji'nan and said, "Mr. Ji'nan, Madam found the books on the art of war in your room again. She sent someone to say that she will have them all burned if you don't get rid of them by tomorrow."

Zhou Ji'nan was a little annoyed. "Okay, I know. You leave."

They always kept an eye on his study for they feared that he would join the army after reading those books on the art of war.

Li Baojia asked, "Does your mother not allow you to read those books?"

He was quite suitable to be a general. Li Baojia thought Duke Jing'an's family would be very supportive of his intention to join the army.

Zhou Ji'nan knew that most of the young girls did not like military officers and considered them vulgar and bloody. After all, the Zhao Dynasty had always valued civil servants over military officers.

He said indifferently, "I guess she is afraid I will choose the wrong path of joining the army."

Li Baojia said, "Why is it the wrong path? It's good to join the army."

She thought, "At least for you, it is very good."

Zhou Ji'nan was a little surprised when he heard her. He asked, "You... Do you think it's good to join the army?"

Li Baojia said, "Of course. Although I do not like war, it is sometimes inevitable. The military officers worked very hard on the battlefield and shed countless blood to exchange our present-day stability."

Zhou Ji'nan was stunned and said, "But many people say that the military officers are vulgar and they are all desperate people that chose to join the army because of their poor family background."

Li Baojia said in anger, "How can they say so? The Zhou Dynasty's Emperor Jing went from a roadside refugee to a famous emperor and had a good reputation for a thousand years. He was also a member of the rebel army and became the emperor while relying on the sword. Our current emperor has even participated personally in several wars to beat the rebellious and invading Yelu tribe back to the border."

Li Baojia continued, "Are they also desperate people that chose to join the army because of their poor family background? Many people enjoy the peace that military officers have bought with their blood. They wear nice and comfortable clothes, but they say something hurtful to those soldiers who are in the border area. How shameful and hateful! If a country doesn't have military officers, how could they live a peaceful life and speak slanderous words as they do now?"

Her small hands were clenched tightly and her eyes were filled with contempt for these people.