Sang Yunxie 1.22

In a tranquil pavilion with no fencing, surrounded by clear blue waters and lotus flowers, a figure of graceful demeanour was sitting in the middle surrounded by plates filled with desserts and a few pieces of paper.

Her beautiful long dark hair was loosely scattered down her back. Making her figure look more gentle and her skin more radiant.

She was carrying a shallow smile as she petted the soft fur of a white cat that submissibly rested on her lap while gently purring.

That was the sight that greeted the ml as soon as he walked into the garden.

After what happened last night he was a bit anxious to face her.

This morning was fine because he was still trying to soak everything in but now that he did he was a bit uneasy. It was true that she was technically his but the only reason he decided to take her was because of his anger. Now he felt like he owe her something.

But he didn't know why.

Noticing how concentrated she was on stroking the cat, he walked up to her and signaled the servants surrounding the pond to leave.

"Sang Yunxie," he called out.

She suddenly turned her head and smiled as soon as she saw him, "your highness." She sounded surprised as she was about to get up to greet him.

"There's no need, just sit," he commanded feeling guilty for his actions last night.

"Yunxie thanks his highness for his consideration," she said with a gentle smile.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Chenqie's doing well. Would you be kind enough to join me?" She asked.

The ml decided to sit down next to her but soon noticed the items that were in front of him.

The table was full of colorful, translucent, and beautiful object. He was a man who had the world in his hands but didn't know what the things in front of him were so he asked, "what's this?"

"Chenqie, felt the weather was a bit warm so she asked for some cooling snacks from her kitchen." She swiftly answered.

He felt surprised to find out they were edible but didn't show it in his face.

Sang Yunxie knew that he didn't what they were so she started to explain.

"These are some of the dishes Chenqie created while messing around. This is a raindrop cake, this one is pudding, this one is..." as she told him the names she brought the plates closer and explained how they were made.

"Your mind is full of good ideas. Why haven't you released these recepies to the public?" He asked confused. It's true that the women in this time value recepies and beauty routines but she didn't seemed like the type of woman who had such a close mind. Plus it will bring her more fame.

Unfortunately, she was that type of woman. She valued beauty and things that made her stand out. BUT, she wasn't gonna let the ml think badly of her so she quickly came up with an excuse.

"Chenqie feels that it's gonna bring more harm than good. Not all of your subjects have access to the same resources and if I release my recepies, it will only serve as another difference between the poor and the wealthy. Plus, it's good to have something that you can only find at the palace, it makes it more... mystical."

"Unfortunately, none of us are mystical........."

"I like to pretend."

At this point the ML had nothing to contribute to the conversation. For some reason, he was nervous to confront her after what happened last night, yet, now that he was in her presence he felt unusually calm. Her easy going attitude surprised him. Shouldn't she be blushing or acting spoiled in front him?

"Your highness, would you like to eat something?" She asked while gently moving a plate at his direction.

He silently tasted the strange yellow dish. It was very thick and creamy, and had a good consistency to it. He was honestly surprised.

"What's the name of this?" Although he was a prideful man, he couldn't deny that he was surprised by the "simple" dish in front of him. It was something he had never tasted before.

"It's called, pudding." She answered while putting more plates in front of him, indicating for him to eat.

The Ml didn't know what to make of the situation, he felt like he couldn't refuse any the dishes so he just ate small bites from each one.

When Sang Yunxie stopped moving plates at his direction the ML felt like a pig. The desserts were delicious and he actually felt a bit refreshed after eating but he still felt like a pig.

"Your highness, how was your meeting?" Sang Yunxie asked out of nowhere, surprising the ML who was lost in his own thoughts.

He felt that what happened wasn't worth discussing so he quickly dismissed her question with a vague answer.

Sang Yunxie didn't play with her luck and quickly agreed to not touch the subject.

The who atmosphere was calm. The breeze was gentle and the sound of the water brought piece. The ML couldn't remember the last time he felt this calm.

He look at his surroundings and noticed that his companion was holding a strange... ball of fur in her lap.

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Eleanor's pov

'Ugh! This is so annoying if I keep smiling gently I will develop facial paralysis,' I complained to Liam.

'You know, it's too bad that your outward appearance doesn't reflect your actual twisted personality,' he stated in a casual tone.

'Yeah, yeah, a gorgeous beauty on the outside and a bitch on the inside. I'm not the only one so please get over it,' I said while stroking Lea.

'Host, please stop talking to me and talk to your target,' complained Liam.

'I tried! Why do you think I'm talking to you? I am sooo bored. I just wanna meet the FL but this man isn't even talking about her. I waited 3 years for the drama but thanks to the time period I have to act like miss perfect! Ahhh! I just want to start this fricking script,' I complained my heart out. Even though I didn't really cared, I was just bored and thought that complaining was gonna kill time.

'...Your kinda like Rapunzel except instead of letting your hair down, your letting me down. GET TO WORK!'

'I AM TRYI...'

"What's that?" The ML interrupted.

"Excuse me?" I asked not knowing what he was talking about.

He pointed his finger at my lap and I noticed that Lea had curled in to the size of a grown man's fist. Thanks to that her face was hidden and you could only see a ball like figure.

I couldn't resist the impulse to scare her so I used one of my hands to flick her tail.

Thanks to that, she woke up from her slumber meowing angrily and looking at me with an adorably annoyed face.

I used both my hands to raise her up and said, "this is Lea, she's three years old and the love of my life." The ML looked surprised when I introduced him to his daughter but I brushed it off since he needed to get used to her.

"Where did you get this? It might be dirty, don't touch it." He ordered with furrowed brows.

Lea hissed at him as soon as she heard the comment. I felt bad for her.... physically abused by me and mentally abused my the ML. What a hard life she has.

"She's not dirty. I've lived with her for years and the only problem is her attitude. But, I'm actually quite fond of her," I  calmly explained while comforting my child.

The Ml looked doubtful at my words but I brushed it off, trying to comfort Lea who was throwing a fit. At the end it looked like she was gonna scratch my face off so I let her go. She decided to move away from us and sulk in a corner.

"She doesn't seem to be properly tamed, it's better if you get rid of her I..."

"Absolutely not. She has her moods but she's very loyal and very smart," I explained. Unfortunately, I didn't mean that she was loyal to me. I meant that she could barely stand me and absolutely despised others. I frickin love her.

The ml looked troubled but seemed to come to terms with my decision. "If you absolutely like her.." He stated in a surrendering tone.

I smiled at his expression and whispered a thank you before licking his ear and gently kissing his cheek.