"But..."
"No buts or anything!" Zhao Shan raised his voice again, interrupting Li Yuyu’s words, and placed the lotus blossom honey and lotus blossom cake on the low table beside Li Yuyu: "Lady Li, please."
"Alright then." Li Yuyu wanted to say more but stopped when she saw Zhao Shan wouldn’t let her speak.
Hmm?
"What’s that smell?" Zhao Shan sniffed around, turning his head searchingly.
"Your clothes," Li Yuyu said softly.
"Clothes? What clothes?"
Zhao Shan followed Li Yuyu’s gaze behind him and saw that the hem of his clothes was on fire. He instantly screamed and leapt from the ground, then rolled on the floor like a carp.
"Ah! Ahh, put out the fire!!"
Li Yuyu quickly picked up the lotus blossom cake and honey and ran outside, finding a safe place to sit down.
"Concubine, your face isn’t clean yet." Hua Yin puffed and panted as she ran out, hearing the screams while washing a cloth, scaring her nearly out of her wits.
She decided that in the future, she’d let Feng Yin accompany the master for outings; it’d be more reliable.
"Oh, don’t worry about all the little details." Li Yuyu didn’t mind, as her clothes weren’t cleaned properly either, what did it matter if her face was a bit dirty?
No way could she be more embarrassed.
Thinking back, she prided herself on her cooking skills. Back in the day, no one could beat her at boiling instant noodles with an electric kettle. Such a challenging feat, she never had a kitchen mishap then; why was the stove here so prone to burning?
"Stop wiping, go ask if my chicken is cooked." Li Yuyu brushed Hua Yin’s hand away.
She was still planning to send chicken soup to Yan Xiu.
Hua Yin: ...
The chicken, burned to ashes, and she’s still fretting over the soup?
Seeing Li Yuyu’s persistence, Hua Yin reluctantly went to the kitchen to check. Turning around, she spotted a bright yellow figure from afar and immediately went weak in the knees, reflexively kneeling on the ground: "Servant pays respect to the Emperor!"
"Hmm? Is Yan Xiu here? Where?" Li Yuyu looked forward as she ate the peach blossom cake, not seeing him.
"Concubine!" Hua Yin was so scared when Li Yuyu mentioned the Emperor by name, especially seeing Yan Xiu standing expressionlessly behind Li Yuyu. She dared not say more, only signaling with her eyes.
Yan Xiu swept a cold gaze over.
Hua Yin quickly lowered her head, now not even daring to give a hint with her eyes.
Li Yuyu swallowed the lotus blossom cake in her mouth and took a sip of the lotus blossom honey before realizing the meaning of Hua Yin’s final look.
She discreetly lowered her head and glanced behind her.
Yan Xiu took a deep breath.
From the moment he saw Li Yuyu, he was relieved, knowing Yu’er wasn’t injured. But seeing her disheveled clothes and hair, he could imagine the danger she had just been in.
The mere thought that such an accident could easily hurt Yu’er filled him with uncontrollable anger.
"How are things being handled? Everyone who was present at the time gets twenty lashes, the Steward too, and the others ten lashes!"
The Imperial Kitchen staff who came to welcome the Emperor dared not argue; the Emperor’s most beloved Lady Li almost got hurt. Even if the Emperor took their heads, it would be lenient.
"Servants thank the Emperor for his mercy."
The Imperial Kitchen staff were being punished because of her?
No way!
Upon hearing this, Li Yuyu quickly jumped up from her chair without a second thought and plunged into Yan Xiu’s arms, stretching her arms tightly around his waist: "Emperor, you’ve finally come, I was scared to death, boo hoo hoo..."