jdhmnovel Chapter 262 Dining with the Emperor
Chapter 262 Dining with the Emperor
"Dr. Long, please wait here for a moment while I go in and inform him."
"Yes, thank you for your trouble, Father-in-law."
"Your Majesty, Doctor Long has arrived outside the palace," Eunuch Yu reported.
Emperor Sukang sat upright at his desk in the main hall. After handling some important matters, he moved from the imperial study to the Yicheng Hall to wait.
He closed the memorial in his hand: "Summon..."
Several candlesticks were lit inside the hall, which was decorated in a scholarly style and adorned with many exquisite ornaments, mostly in bright yellow, to highlight the emperor's noble status.
Emperor Sukang would also handle official business in the Yicheng Hall.
Eunuch Yu led Long Chuqing around the screen and brought her to Emperor Sukang.
Long Chuqing stopped in front of the emperor, stretched out her hands, placed her right hand on top of her body, bowed and nodded, and performed a standard Subai salute to Emperor Sukang.
"This humble woman, Long Chuqing, greets Your Majesty."
Upon seeing this, Eunuch Xue, who was standing next to Emperor Sukang, frowned slightly.
"How dare you! Why do you not kneel before His Majesty upon your first meeting?"
Regardless of one's status, one must kneel and bow when meeting the emperor on formal occasions, let alone a commoner woman being summoned for the first time.
Therefore, Eunuch Xue believed that Long Chuqing's performance of the simple bowing ceremony was perfunctory and disrespectful to Emperor Sukang.
A kneeling ceremony?
Therefore, she genuinely disliked dealing with royalty in the past, being bound by the hierarchical system and constantly having to kneel down...
However, it's impossible to make her kneel. Whoever wants to kneel, let them kneel.
I am deaf, I can't hear, I can't hear, I can't hear...
Upon hearing Xue Gonggong's words, Long Chuqing stood up straight before Emperor Sukang could tell him to rise.
She stood upright with her hands folded in front of her, looking at Emperor Sukang with neither arrogance nor servility, without even glancing at Eunuch Xue.
She completely ignored Eunuch Xue's gaze; if she couldn't see him, she couldn't hear him.
After staring at Emperor Sukang for three seconds, Long Chuqing finally fixed her gaze on the table in front of him.
Well, it's impolite to keep staring at someone, especially since he's the emperor!
Emperor Sukang stood upright, one hand on his knee and the other on the imperial desk, his fist slightly clenched, his sharp eyes scrutinizing Long Chuqing.
The moment Emperor Sukang met Long Chuqing's gaze, he felt a strange sense of panic.
No wonder the seventh brother protected her so much; this woman was so beautiful.
She truly possesses a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky, a countenance that could shame the moon and flowers.
Moreover, upon entering the palace and standing before the emperor, she showed not a trace of panic and even ignored Xue Ci's reprimands. She was truly audacious, unaware that one could easily lose their head in the palace.
After a silence of about five seconds, seeing that Long Chuqing was just standing there and had no intention of bowing again, Eunuch Xue was taken aback.
Eunuch Xue frowned even more deeply, his eyes softening slightly: This woman is so bold, so arrogant, she's gone too far, gone too far...
Not only does he ignore our family, but he also ignores His Majesty. He's trying to defy the heavens; he's truly rebelling.
He was about to step forward and reprimand him when Emperor Sukang waved his hand away.
"It is not an important occasion, so there is no reason to kneel," said Emperor Sukang.
Eunuch Xue straightened up and stood back in his original position, thinking to himself: Your Majesty, you're trying to save face! This girl doesn't seem to have any intention of kneeling before you.
Sigh... We were only doing this for your sake.
The hall fell silent once again.
Emperor Sukang, who appeared serious on the surface, thought to himself: With this joke, I have forgotten what I was going to ask in my opening remarks.
Oh no, I can't remember it for a moment.
Alright, let's eat first! I'm really hungry right now.
He casually said to Eunuch Xue, "Serve the meal!"
"Yes......"
After Eunuch Xue went out to give the order for the meal to be served, Emperor Sukang stood up, walked around the imperial desk, and went to the side.
"Doctor Long, please come with me!"
His voice was deep yet authoritative, and also had a touch of friendliness.
Long Chuqing nodded slightly and followed Emperor Sukang into the adjacent warm pavilion where they would dine.
The palace maids serving the emperor helped Long Chuqing remove and put away her cloak.
Emperor Sukang sat down at a round sandalwood table, lifting his robe as he did so.
The table surface is filled with vermilion lacquer and gold inlay, and the surrounding area is carved with dragon patterns and other designs, with exquisite craftsmanship.
Long Chuqing sighed: The screen is full of bright yellow, even the table is the same color as Emperor Sukang's dragon robe. Although yellow represents the noble status of the emperor, well... yellow really makes people look dark!
Long Chuqing made a small complaint.
"Don't be so formal, have a seat!" Emperor Sukang gestured with his arm toward the stool beside him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Long Chuqing nodded in agreement, then sat down next to Emperor Sukang, one seat away.
Because Xiao Han told her about what Emperor Sukang had talked about with him yesterday, Long Chuqing had thought that Emperor Sukang would definitely ask her a lot of questions first, such as her background and her purpose in approaching Xiao Han.
She even considered the possible outcome: if the negotiations failed, she might not even be able to eat.
But the situation is that not a single word has been asked so far?
Could it really just be a meal? Or is he genuinely hungry?
However, if he doesn't ask, then she should keep quiet. Ideally, he would have something very important to attend to after he's finished eating, and then let her leave the palace.
A palace maid brought hot towels for wiping hands and served tea.
“This emperor is really handsome. He doesn’t look like the King of Qin’s father, but more like his brother,” Feng Yu said. “If you don’t say he’s over forty, he looks like he’s only in his early thirties.”
"If we say that the King of Qin is handsome, he is still too young and immature. But his father is different. He has a mature and steady masculine charm, as well as the majesty of an emperor."
“That’s true. He’s tall and good-looking.” Fei Feng chimed in, “If he were in the entertainment industry, he would definitely be an idol! Handsome but not greasy, he would definitely have a place in the older generation.”
"You two are really something else."
Long Chuqing picked up the hot tea served by the palace maid and took a sip: "Luckily, the emperor can't hear me."
Long Chuqing sighed softly, though very faintly, Emperor Sukang still heard it.
Sitting there like this was indeed a bit awkward. Emperor Sukang glanced towards the door: Damn it, why hasn't lunch been served yet?
The silent and awkward waiting time always seems to take several times longer than usual.
Soon, the first dish was served: a mushroom and chicken soup, simmered in a delicate little stew pot. After the lid was removed, steam and aroma wafted out.
Eunuch Xue was serving Emperor Sukang. He took a silver soup spoon and put it into the stewing pot.
On Long Chuqing's side, a palace maid served her, placing a silver soup spoon into her stew pot as well.
After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the soup, the palace maid helped him pour the soup into a small bowl.
After drinking the soup, the palace servants removed the stewing pot.
The subsequent dishes were served one after another, including steamed fish, roasted mutton, imperial eight-treasure duck, braised tofu, braised mutton, braised pork, honey-glazed sliced pork and cabbage, etc.
However, apart from the steamed fish, which was served whole, the other dishes were served in small portions, and one dish was served after the next was finished. The emperor would not take more than three bites of any dish.
Every dish is tested for poison before being served.
Long Chuqing muttered to herself: This meal was really tiring...