A Foodie Transmigrated into the Palace Chapter 540: This Bowl of Noodles

Seeing her unwillingness to say more, Zhao Junyao did not ask further.

Xia Ruqing ordered a midnight snack for Zhao Junyao as usual.

The weather had cooled down these past two days, and it was still a bit cold.

So, she ordered a bowl of beef noodles and a plate of crispy deep-fried peanuts.

The beef noodles were braised.

The soup was slow-cooked from beef bones by the head chef of the Imperial Kitchen, fragrant even from afar.

The beef was marinated until tender and juicy, its flavor lingering with every bite.

As for the noodles, the Imperial Kitchen had known all along that the Emperor loved chewy noodles. So, the head chef added salt and eggs to the flour, kneaded the dough vigorously, then rolled it out into sheets before finally pulling it into evenly thin noodles.

After cooking in the beef bone soup until done, the noodles were scooped out and topped with a fresher serving of beef bone soup, along with large chunks of the marinated beef.

Then a drizzle of vinegar and sesame oil.

This bowl of noodles was so fragrant that it could snatch one’s soul!

The peanuts were deep-fried to a crisp, with nothing on them but a tiny pinch of salt.

But the peanuts were delicious on their own, especially paired with the steaming hot noodles.

Zhao Junyao ate and drank heartily, finishing the bowl of noodles in no time.

There weren’t many peanuts on the plate, around a hundred or so.

And yet, he paired them with the noodles and finished them all.

The two dishes that were served were completely emptied.

When the empty plates were carried out, they left Li Shengan utterly dumbfounded.

「 」

After the midnight snack and freshening up, the Emperor and the Empress Consort lay down to rest.

Once the bed curtains fell, Zhao Junyao did nothing else but instinctively hold her in his arms.

Xia Ruqing was very well-behaved.

She snuggled up in his arms quietly, saying not a word.

As for Zhao Junyao, he instinctively hugged her while imagining scenarios in his mind where she was being bullied.

Thinking this, he held her even tighter.

"COUGH, COUGH..."

"Your... Your Majesty! This concubine..."

"This concubine..."

"Can’t breathe!"

Xia Ruqing was flailing with her tiny hands and feet, protesting.

Zhao Junyao then came back to his senses and suddenly let go.

Xia Ruqing rolled to one side, hugging the quilt and gasping for air.

"Your Majesty... You hurt me!"

Zhao Junyao looked even more distressed.

"Qingqing..."

He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say, as he was never good at expressing himself!

He was even less skilled at cheering up women.

In his life, there was no such thing as cheering up women; it was all about women flattering and serving him.

He froze for a long while, and when he saw Xia Ruqing calming down, he extended his arm to rest by her pillow.

"Qingqing, rest your head here!"

Xia Ruqing glanced over.

Her heart blooming with joy, Xia Ruqing feigned composure, her large, innocent, and moist eyes slowly moving towards him.

No sooner had her head rested on his arm than he suddenly turned over, enfolding her in his embrace.

"Qingqing, go to sleep now!"

Contentedly closing her eyes, she nodded.

"Yes!"

Both fell asleep.

「 」

The next day, in the morning hours, Zhao Junyao got up to attend the morning court as usual.

Xia Ruqing was still not awake.

With that in mind, he instructed, "Don’t disturb her, let her wake up on her own!"

"There’s no need to pay respects to the Empress today. Just say she’s ill!"

Zi Su and Zi Ning both assented.

Only then did Zhao Junyao leave reassured.

Seeing that their mistress was still asleep, they figured they just wouldn’t go to pay respects today.

Zi Su and Zi Ning decided that today, they wouldn’t go to Jiaofang Hall but would report sick instead.

Zi Ning was still somewhat worried.

"Our mistress has always followed the rules and observed proprieties. Isn’t doing this... a bit improper?"

"Will she scold us when she wakes up?"

Zi Su grew a bit impatient.

"I don’t think she will. I reckon our mistress is also holding back her anger!"

"No matter how tolerant she is, after something like this, how could she possibly endure it any longer!"