Chapter 561: Chapter 561: The Princess Consort wants to see you
This was a bit tricky.
The more it was like this, the more Jiang Ning found him suspicious.
When she found out that her family hadn’t found out more about Mu Jian, Jiang Ning thought for a long time and decided to test Li Hongyuan.
The Emperor’s health did not improve, and he was always weak and listless.
Li Hongyuan, as the Crown Prince’s Regent, still had to carry on.
He didn’t return to the East Palace often.
Sometimes he returned once every three to five days, and sometimes even disappeared for half a month.
As the weather gradually turned cold and everyone was wearing padded jackets, Li Hongyuan still hadn’t returned to the East Palace. Jiang Ning was impatient and sent someone to inquire about him.
Li Hongyuan was reading the memorials in the Imperial study, surrounded by several ministers, who were discussing border disputes and the autumn harvest in the south.
Each of these matters was important to the state and people’s livelihood.
None of them could be neglected.
The eunuch Li Xiu came in and whispered in his ear, “Your Highness, the Princess Consort has sent someone to ask when you will return to the East Palace.”
Li Hongyuan glanced at the memorial and asked indifferently, “What does the Princess Consort want?”
“She didn’t say anything, just that Your Highness hasn’t been back for a long time and she misses you.”
“Really?”
Li Hongyuan did not confirm or deny.
Li Xiu served by the side, seeing that he had not spoken for a while, he cautiously reminded, “The person sent by the Princess Consort is still waiting outside.”
Li Hongyuan made a sound of acknowledgment.
After waiting for a moment, he finished reviewing the document in his hand and said, “Since she wants to see me so much, I will go back to the East Palace for dinner tonight.”
“Yes.”
Li Xiu hurriedly went out and told the small eunuch from the East Palace Li Hongyuan’s words.
The little eunuch returned to report to Jiang Ning.
Chunlai happily said, “I’ll go to the Imperial Kitchen now and have someone prepare some dishes that His Highness likes in advance.”
Huang Ying asked, “Do you know what kind of food His Highness likes?”
“… His Highness likes light food, everyone knows that.”
“You’re wrong. His Highness likes the food personally cooked by our Princess Consort.” Huang Ying looked at Jiang Ning, “Master, are you going to cook in person?”
Jiang Ning originally had no intention of cooking.
She was not a cook.
She disliked the smoky kitchen unless she was in a good mood.
But thinking about testing Li Hongyuan and probing him for information this evening, if she couldn’t please him with the food, it would probably be difficult.
So she went to the kitchen.
She spent half the afternoon preparing a full table of dishes.
Sweet, savory, soups, and sauces.
Chunlai stood by and couldn’t help salivating, “Master’s cooking skills are really amazing. It’s tempting the greedy worm in my stomach.”
Xiachu laughed, “When are you not greedy? Master cooks, you wait to eat, it’s so wonderful. Hurry and help Master change clothes and wash.”
Jiang Ning wiped her face with a towel and said with a smile, “Aren’t there still some in the kitchen?”
Her habit had always been to cook in large quantities so that everyone around her could eat.
Since the kitchen was full of smoke, to make Li Hongyuan enjoy the meal, Jiang Ning deliberately chose a delicate and refreshing dress, and put up her long hair that was usually loose, pinning it with several elegant pearl ornaments.
She wore pearl earrings, shining with gentle elegance.
The maids couldn’t help but admire her beauty.
“Master usually dresses too casually. With just a little embellishment, you have eight or nine points of Madam’s charm back in the day.” Huang Ying laughed.
She was older and had seen Lin Zizi’s peerless beauty when she was young.
Chunlai pursed her lips, laughed, and said, “Looks like we should prepare for His Highness to stay overnight tonight.”
