Chapter 9

Shi Changyuan's voice carried a smile, yet it made Lin Ling shiver for no reason. He blinked and looked over with an exceptionally innocent expression.

What should I do? He looks angry...

That look was so direct and easy to understand that it seemed to be asking Shi Changyuan himself.

Shi Changyuan remained silent, and so did Lin Ling. After the two held their ground for a while, Shi Changyuan was ultimately the one to sigh.

He reached out and grabbed the back of Lin Ling's neck, like catching a cat from his own household that had been stealing food. "Swallow it first."

Not only could he not bear to scold him, he also had to worry about the cat choking on his food.

Lin Ling chewed, chewed, chewed with his left cheek, then, tired of that, switched to chewing, chewing, chewing with his right cheek. The palace maids and eunuchs following Shi Changyuan all stood there waiting for Mushroom to finish eating, making him the center of everyone's attention.

Mushroom had never been watched by so many people before, and he was terribly nervous. He chewed faster and more urgently.

Shi Changyuan immediately pinched Lin Ling's cheek, utterly helpless. "Be careful not to bite yourself."

The moment Lin Ling swallowed the food in his mouth, he looked at Shi Changyuan with sparkling eyes. "You're done with court?"

"Mm." Shi Changyuan's thumb unconsciously brushed lightly over Lin Ling's cheek.

Stroking and pinching felt different. The Mushroom Spirit's skin was pale and tender, and even a light pinch would leave marks. It was like truly pinching a fresh young mushroom; with just a little force, it would be squeezed until juice ran everywhere.

But such a light caress brought an even more tangible sensation of skin beneath his fingers.

Lin Ling shrank his neck and smiled as he said, "That tickles." He tilted his head, trying to avoid him, and Shi Changyuan withdrew his hand.

"I worked hard at court, yet you've been having a grand old time."

Lin Ling guiltily avoided his gaze.

He knew it. Shi Changyuan went to court at five in the morning and could not have a proper meal until nearly noon. He had to meet with countless ministers in between and could only eat a few pastries.

"Not at all, I've been working hard too!" The not-so-bright mushroom racked his brains for an excuse, his eyes rolling round and round.

"I'm your hidden guard, right? A hidden guard's duty is to protect your safety!"

Lin Ling spoke with complete conviction. "I was helping you test for poison!"

A poisonous mushroom testing for poison—only he could come up with that.

Shi Changyuan smiled. "Oh? Then did you test anything out?"

"I did!"

Lin Ling was full of confidence. Counting on his fingers, he listed them like treasured possessions. "The osmanthus cake is so sweet, the jindian cake is a little sour, and although the imperial chef uncle's newly developed thousand-layer egg yolk cake has complicated steps, it's really delicious!!!"

Shi Changyuan wore an expression that said it was exactly as he had expected. "Greedy."

Seeing Lin Ling's unconvinced expression, Shi Changyuan suddenly asked, "What did you eat before this?"

"Mushrooms don't need to eat."

Whenever it involved his identity as a mushroom, Lin Ling became exceptionally cautious. He leaned close to the emperor's ear and told him a little secret known only to the two of them.

"We can grow in dark, damp places."

Such behavior was far too intimate. Shi Changyuan lifted his eyes slightly and swept his gaze around. Every palace servant nearby stared at their noses, their noses at their hearts, not daring to show the slightest objection.

Shi Changyuan immediately understood. "Is this your first time eating?"

Lin Ling hurriedly nodded and looked at Shi Changyuan with an even more innocent gaze, his face practically spelling out the words "impossible to resist."

Shi Changyuan gave a soft, amused sigh. "How pitiful."

"But these are all unfinished foods. They cannot be considered the best."

Looking at the boy before him, who was having so much fun he had forgotten everything else, Shi Changyuan reached out and gently kneaded the back of Lin Ling's neck. In a soft, coaxing voice, he asked, "Do you want to try Imperial Cuisine?"

"...Imperial Cuisine?"

Lin Ling's eyes lit up. Although he could not tell from the name what delicious food "Imperial Cuisine" might be, he was willing to trust in the pinnacle of humanity's culinary achievements!!

"Yes, yes! I want to try it!"

Lin Ling nodded repeatedly, then turned and headed straight for the kitchen, only to be caught by Shi Changyuan, who had seen it coming.

"Imperial Cuisine is not a kind of pastry." Shi Changyuan was unusually patient.

"It is a general term for the food eaten by an emperor. Even if you went to ask them, they would not dare give it to you as they pleased."

Shi Changyuan bent down close to Lin Ling. Their eyes met as he spoke slowly, word by word. "You cannot eat it."

The moment Lin Ling heard the three words "cannot eat it," it was as if he had been struck by lightning.

"All right." Shi Changyuan straightened, his tone light as though nothing had happened. "Since you've been having such a pleasant time here, there is no need to concern yourself with it."

"I have only just left court and have not had a drop to drink. I will not keep you company."

With that, Shi Changyuan turned and left, and the line of palace servants behind him rustled away after him.

"Ah!"

Shunde followed behind Shi Changyuan, deliberately lagging two steps behind. As he passed Lin Ling, he quietly reminded him with frustrated exasperation, "Young Master Lin, think about it. Whoever can eat it, ask him!"

In a flash of inspiration, Lin Ling understood. He turned and chased after Shi Changyuan.

"Your Majesty, wait for me! Your Majesty!"

The young man behind him called out "Your Majesty" again and again, his eyes shining with a sincerity and submission he had never shown before. It was as though only now did he understand what the emperor before him meant in the mortal world—

The corners of Shi Changyuan's lips curved upward as he deliberately slowed his pace.

After only a few steps, Lin Ling was already slightly out of breath. Following at Shi Changyuan's side, he looked at him with burning eyes, edging closer and rubbing against him as he asked in a sticky, soft voice.

"Does Your Majesty need someone to accompany you while you dine?"

"Look at me, look at me!"

Chapter 9

Through Shi Changyuan's connections, Lin Ling got to eat the legendary Imperial Cuisine and was overjoyed. The only downside was that he seemed to have eaten a little too much.

Lin Ling did not dare say anything and only told Shi Changyuan that he wanted to go out for a stroll.

Shi Changyuan looked at the mushroom, who had no sense of restraint whatsoever, and smiled. He did not expose Lin Ling, who would likely fly into embarrassed anger, and merely said, "Don't wander off."