A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace Chapter 1354 - 1352: Past the Age of Confusion

"How is he young? He’ll be twenty next year!"

He turned over, pulled her into his embrace, and continued boastfully.

"Speaking of Chenchen, he truly is the one I raised myself!"

"Among these sons, he’s the most like me!!"

Xia Ruqing smiled.

"That’s not true!"

"The Second Prince is great as well!"

"I’ve heard from Consort Cheng that he’s managing tasks too!"

"With them helping you, you can finally rest well!"

Zhao Junyao unconsciously rubbed his sore neck and sighed.

"If only it were that easy!"

"Currently, except for Western Xia, which maintains good relations with us, all the neighboring countries are eyeing us viciously."

"If our Great Chu Dynasty shows the slightest weakness, they’d immediately pounce, tearing us apart until there’s nothing left!"

Xia Ruqing shivered a little.

"It’s not that extreme. Emperor, you’re overthinking!"

"Even if they’re unfriendly, with you here, our Great Chu Dynasty will be safe and sound!"

Zhao Junyao chuckled and patted her head.

"A grown woman still flattering like a young girl!"

Xia Ruqing chuckled softly.

"Isn’t it because the Emperor likes to hear it!"

Zhao Junyao remained silent, but in his heart, he deeply agreed.

’Yes, I do enjoy hearing it!’

’I liked it in the past, I like it now, and I will like it in the future!’

’After all, isn’t it this pure, innocent flattery that captured my heart?’

...

After the noon nap, it was almost dusk.

Xia Ruqing looked at the Emperor who was still sleeping soundly and felt a pang of emotion.

"How tired must one be?"

She sighed again:

"Indeed, he’s no longer young!"

He used to have an extremely disciplined routine.

Everything was scheduled perfectly throughout the day.

He followed this schedule consistently for decades, hardly ever making mistakes.

But now...

Since the summer began this year, he’s often been encountering mishaps.

Like oversleeping, forgetting things, or suddenly losing energy, and other such issues!

Her gaze fell on the single strand of white hair at his temple, and her heart ached suddenly.

"White hair?"

"Oh heavens! He actually has white hair now!"

Xia Ruqing panicked a little, and her hands and feet turned cold instantly.

While she was at a loss, Zhao Junyao woke up and noticed her pale face, so he asked.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Xia Ruqing quickly snapped back to reality.

"N-nothing! I’m fine!"

"I probably had a bad dream! Woke up startled, but it’s nothing!"

"Emperor, are you awake? Are you tired?"

Zhao Junyao slowly got up and stretched lazily.

"Not too bad! What time is it now?"

"The Shen Hour has passed," Xia Ruqing cautiously replied.

Zhao Junyao’s face darkened a little.

"I slept so long? Why didn’t you wake me!"

Xia Ruqing was even more cautious.

"Well..."

"I just woke up too!" she said sheepishly.

"You’ve been so exhausted these days, and I was equally lazy, so we overslept together!"

Zhao Junyao thought about it and agreed; indeed, he had been very tired these past few days, so he said no more.

After freshening up, they both went to the courtyard.

By then, the sun was setting, and the evening glow appeared, casting a golden layer over the entire Imperial Palace.

Xia Ruqing sat leisurely under the grape trellis, enjoying the slightly cool breeze, admiring the beautiful scenery in the courtyard.

It must be said.

The beauty of the palace is truly unmatched in the world.

Other than Jiangnan, no other place could boast such exquisite gardens and meticulously carved beautiful landscape.

No, not even Jiangnan.

Jiangnan is gentle and has an ancient charm, it’s misty and beautiful in the rain, with a unique flavor.

Whereas the Imperial Palace is classical and archaic, with red walls and grey tiles, towering ancient trees, and palace pavilions unique to the palace.

Its profound heritage, inherent nobility, and impressive grandeur are unmatched anywhere in the world.

You won’t see this elsewhere.

And she hasn’t grown tired of this view after so many years.

"So beautiful!"

Zhao Junyao rarely sat idly by to enjoy the view like this.

Sitting beside her, watching the sky in the west tinted red by the setting sun, he also sighed.

"It’s quite nice!"

Xia Ruqing laughed again.

"When we grow old, shall we watch the sunset like this every day?"

Zhao Junyao raised an eyebrow.

"When old, should we only watch sunsets? Why not sunrises?!"

"I’ve watched lots of sunsets over the years, sunrises... hardly any!"

He has court sessions in the morning!

As for Xia Ruqing, she loves to sleep in, so she hasn’t seen many sunrises either.

"True!"

She nodded.

"Then let’s watch both the sunrise and sunset together!"

Zhao Junyao nodded in satisfaction.

"That’s better!"

Xia Ruqing continued to daydream.

"When the time comes, we’ll find a picturesque place, raise a few cats, some chickens! And grow some vegetables!"

"Living self-sufficiently, relying on no one, alright?"

Zhao Junyao twitched his mouth.

"That sounds dull!"

"It’s okay to live that way occasionally, but doing it all the time would be so boring!"

Xia Ruqing quickly protested.

"Boring? That’s what you call peaceful and beautiful times!"

She muttered to herself.

’We had an agreement before! Why is he changing his mind now?’

’Could he be going through menopause?!’

’Oh right, as a man, it’s not easy to admit aging!’

’What’s that saying? An old horse in the stable still aspires to gallop a long distance! A hero never loses his ambition, even in his twilight years!’

’Most men want to keep proving they aren’t old. He’s probably like that too!’

She looked at Zhao Junyao with some sympathy, and quietly asked.

"Then what do you want to do?"

"Surely... you’re not planning to go to war?!"

Zhao Junyao burst out laughing, nearly spitting his tea.

"War? What war? There’s no war in the Great Chu Dynasty to fight!"

He shot Xia Ruqing a disdainful look and said helplessly.

"Didn’t I promise you that I’d accompany you to see the great mountains and rivers? Don’t you want to go?"

Xia Ruqing’s eyes lit up.

"Of course I want to!"

"But I’m just afraid I won’t be able to endure it, after all, the journey is bumpy and tiring!"

She could now clearly feel her physical strength wasn’t what it used to be.

The ambitions she once had, she very timidly set aside.

She didn’t even know how she had so much energy back then to pursue those things?

Anyway, now she had none of that energy left.

"No problem!"

Zhao Junyao reassured confidently.

"I’ll always protect you!"

"We’ll rest if we’re tired! Once rested, we’ll continue the journey! I will certainly fulfill the promise I made years ago!"

Xia Ruqing didn’t speak, counting on her fingers.

"Emperor, you’re already..." forty-one this year, they call it the age of no confusion.

"By the time you truly rest, wouldn’t you be... seventy or eighty?"

An elderly man in his seventies or eighties, planning to travel, that’s hard to imagine!

Zhao Junyao gave her a sharp look.

"Why do you think I would only rest when I’m seventy or eighty?"

"Even if you don’t believe in me, you should believe in Chenchen!"

Besides, he already wanted to rest now, didn’t he?

Having devoted his whole life to the Great Chu Dynasty, shouldn’t he enjoy himself now?

Who said he enjoyed being Emperor?

No, he wanted to be his own man!