Xiao Changyi ignored the bowl that the Emperor of Xiyun pushed in front of him, continuing to pick various dishes for An Jing, giving her a bit of each.
Seeing Xiao Changyi only picking food for An Jing, the Emperor of Xiyun’s expression changed from anticipation to pity, growing sadder and sadder, until at last, he looked incredibly pitiful, with quite a grievous demeanor.
After picking the dishes for An Jing, Xiao Changyi didn’t look at the Emperor of Xiyun, but bowed his head, eyes lowered, eating the food his wife had served him.
The Emperor of Xiyun didn’t look at Xiao Changyi either, but stared pitifully at the pile of dishes in An Jing’s bowl that Xiao Changyi had served her.
Feeling his gaze, An Jing couldn’t eat comfortably, and secretly tugged at the hem of her husband’s robe under the table, signaling to Xiao Changyi to also serve some dishes to the Emperor of Xiyun.
When had Xiao Changyi ever served dishes to the Emperor of Xiyun? But since his wife had asked, he didn’t want her to be stared at uncomfortably while eating. Therefore, Xiao Changyi somewhat reluctantly picked up the serving chopsticks and carelessly served some dishes into the bowl that the Emperor of Xiyun had pushed in front of him.
Then, he pushed the bowl back to the Emperor of Xiyun.
As soon as the Emperor of Xiyun saw that Xiao Changyi had served him some dishes, even though it wasn’t as much as An Jing’s, his face lit up with joy, ear-to-ear smiles replacing any trace of pity, and he cheerfully said, "Yi Er, you’ve even thought to serve dishes to me, not bad, not bad. When Chengyu arrives later, I must tell him. Chengyu will certainly be very envious of me, and that’s exactly what I want."
An Jing: "..." It’s just serving some dishes... Is it worth this much fuss...?
Xiao Changyi frowned, "Don’t you dare tell him!" If he did, Su Chengyu, that chatterbox, would surely bother him until he served him some food too!
"You don’t want me to tell him, huh? That’s fine, just serve me a bit more," the Emperor of Xiyun said with a smile, pushing his bowl toward Xiao Changyi again.
After a moment, Xiao Changyi finally spoke, "You won’t be able to finish if I serve too much." While saying this, Xiao Changyi served a small piece of goose meat to the Emperor of Xiyun.
Only then did he push the bowl back to the Emperor of Xiyun.
The Emperor of Xiyun, on hearing Xiao Changyi’s words, paused for a moment and then his happiness deepened, "If Yi Er serves me dishes, it’s so rare, even if it causes indigestion, I would still eat it."
The Emperor of Xiyun had always been in poor health, with the Imperial Physician instructing him to eat small meals often. Eating slightly more could cause indigestion, leading to sleepless nights for the Emperor of Xiyun.
Although neither had explicitly stated it, An Jing could tell from their conversation that the Emperor of Xiyun probably had a weak stomach and couldn’t eat much. She subconsciously glanced at the Emperor of Xiyun’s bowl, saw there wasn’t much food, and figured her husband must have taken this into account when serving...
With this thought, the corners of An Jing’s mouth lifted slightly. Although her husband had never told her, she still knew that he held the Emperor of Xiyun, his adoptive father, dear in his heart.
Xiao Changyi didn’t look at the Emperor of Xiyun but casually remarked while eating his meal, "If you get indigestion, don’t even think about asking me to play chess with you."
Xiao Changyi had once spent a year in the palace. Whenever the Emperor of Xiyun had indigestion and couldn’t sleep at night, he would always seek out Xiao Changyi for a game of chess, sometimes playing all night long. And while playing, the Emperor of Xiyun would talk endlessly, which Xiao Changyi simply couldn’t stand.
In Xiao Changyi’s eyes, there was no difference between the annoyance caused by the Emperor of Xiyun and Su Chengyu; they were both equally bothersome.
Upon hearing Xiao Changyi’s words, the Emperor of Xiyun immediately looked at his bowl, noticed there wasn’t too much food, and felt assured he could eat it all without indigestion.