The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

30. The Red Bean Porridge

Translator: Iris Guo

Sometimes, Zhong Mingwei felt that he didn’t understand women, including Miss Ding, in the Imperial Palace, but he didn’t care. After all, he totally controlled them, and they totally depended on him. Without him, they couldn’t wear silk or afford the Mihe Perfume worth a thousand liang of gold ingots. They could only count on him to help their families gain a firm foothold in the government and get promotion continuously.

Therefore, he didn’t have to understand them because he mastered their lives.

Miss Ding used to report family expenses to him. At the end of every month, she would take the account book and explained to him the details. Although they spent thousands of liang of silver ingots every month, he just listened to her report casually, and asked her to leave when he got tired. In his mind, the trivial family stuff was much less interesting than a ride in the suburbs.

However, Zhong Mingwei was very fond of listening to A’Chou’s nagging and the trivial stuff she talked about. He even almost drooled over the steamed buns stuffed with shepherd’s purse that she mentioned.

“Shepherd’s purse? What’s that?” asked Zhong Mingwei curiously.

“You’ve never had it? Gee, what a pity,” A’Chou smacked her lips and said, “I used to envy you noble people having all kinds of costly foods every day, but now I suddenly don’t anymore. I’ve never eaten foods you used to have, and vice versa. Haha, I’m telling you, shepherd’s purse is really delicious. You can fry it, make salad, and make soup of it. I like steamed buns or dumplings stuffed with it most. By the way, I’m hungry. Are you?”

Zhong Mingwei was hungry when listening to her nagging about food, so he nodded.

“Alright, I’m going to cook now. It’s too late. Tomorrow I’ll make stuffed steamed buns for you!” After finishing applying ointment on Zhong Mingwei’s underbelly, A’Chou got out of bed and entered the kitchen to prepare for cooking.

…

Today’s dinner was red bean porridge. As soon as the warm and thick porridge was in Zhong Mingwei’s mouth, he sensed the difference: “You put sugar in it?”

“Yes. I bought a bag of crystal sugar,” A’Chou stirred the porridge and fed Zhong Mingwei with a smile, “I’m afraid that you will find the porridge tasteless.”

Zhong Mingwei opened his mouth and swallowed the porridge in the white porcelain spoon. He thought the porridge was extremely sweet perhaps because he hadn’t had any sweet food for a long time. As a young man who barely had sugar, he really enjoyed the sweetness at the moment.

“More?” A’Chou put down the empty bowl, took another bowl, and prepared to feed Zhong Mingwei.

“Why don’t you eat?” He didn’t eat but looked up and stared at A’Chou.

“There’s more in the pot. I’ll eat after you’re full.” A’Chou hastened to answer him. She was afraid that he wouldn’t believe her, so she straightened up and continued, “For real, there’s more than half a pot left. I have a good appetite, and I eat twice as much as you do every day!”

Zhong Mingwei looked at her skinny arms and obviously didn’t believe her. He raised his chin and said: “I’m full. You eat.”