Chen Shu gave himself a day off.
Having a day off was so much fun.
First, he got hold of Brother Meng's fine brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone and made a mess of them. What kind of handwriting was Brother Meng's, anyway? Far too proper. There was no fun in writing like that. He had to show Brother Meng what authentic chicken-scratch looked like.
Then he tried Jiang Lai's supplements, mixing them into a bowl of paste. Pah, that tasted awful.
He found Qingqing and teased her.
He found Xiaoxiao and teased her.
He lured Yellow Overlord up from downstairs and made him dance by hand.
Then he watched some short videos...
And it was already afternoon.
Chen Shu went out to buy groceries, then made Chicken with Taro for Brother Meng and Brother Jiang—a huge pot of it, plus two ordinary home-style dishes. Brother Meng was very considerate: he brought out some yellow rice wine from the Royal Wine Cellar that he had treasured for decades and warmed it. Chen Shu poured them a cup each.
"It smells amazing!"
Meng Chunqiu tried a piece of chicken first. It had that familiar Yuanzhou flavor: heavy on the oil, seasoning, and spice.
Chen Shu reminded him, "The little taros are the best part."
"Really?"
Meng Chunqiu picked up a piece of taro.
The little taros were round and adorable. The last time Chen Shu had made this for Qingqing, he had gone to two markets before finding this kind of small taro. Now they had been stewed until they were meltingly soft. Meng Chunqiu had never eaten them before, so when he reached in with his chopsticks, he failed to pick one up at all.
He had split a little taro in half.
Meng Chunqiu felt a little awkward. Royal Family