The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

79. A Man Who Never Had Longevity Noodles

Translator: Iris Guo

Zhong Mingwei went into a trance. He used to have a lot of exquisite noodles in soup, but hadn’t had them for over half a year. Today, A’Chou put noodles in front of him, which reminded him of the scene where in the morning, maids from his kitchen cautiously put the shredded chicken noodles on his table.

“You made this?” asked Zhong Mingwei as if he didn’t know while looking surprised.

“Who else?” A’Chou raised her chin and held her head high. “Although I was just a maid doing chores, at least I saw the royal members have delicate food! Don’t look down on me!”

Zhong Mingwei couldn’t help smiling. He took the chopsticks, but couldn’t bear to eat. He just checked the noodles for a long time. Therefore, A’Chou got anxious and hastened to lean over and whisper: “Something wrong? Why aren’t you eating?”

“Girl, next time don’t make such nice-looking noodles.” said Zhong Mingwei seriously.

“Why not?” A’Chou was confused. She frowned with arms akimbo. Obviously she was in a bad mood. She had been working on the noodles in the kitchen since it was dark, which had left an ache in her waist and back. She didn’t want such a cold response.

“They look too good to be eaten.” Zhong Mingwei told the truth, looked at the noodles, and continued: “This is art, and art should be appreciated. How can I eat it? I would go too far!”

“Come on! Although you sweet-talk now, you’ll still crave for eating!” A’Chou giggled, gently patted Zhong Mingwei on the head, and urged him to eat. “Chop-chop! Or they will get sticky soon.”

It was only then that Zhong Mingwei finally started to eat, and A’Chou also began to eat like a horse. She had been a humble maid for many years, used to eat casually while squatting in a corner, and knew nothing about manners. When she first came to NingGuTa, she tried to restrain herself and took her time in eating. However, as time went by, she stopped being affected and regained her rough manners. Zhong Mingwei didn’t think her rude but totally got rid of his imperial etiquette he used to uphold under her influence.

“How come there is only one strip?” After eating for a while, Zhong Mingwei noticed something odd. He pulled the noodles high in the air, became amazed, and picked up the noodles higher with his chopsticks until his hands couldn’t reach higher, but the strip of noodles was still complete. Then, he put down his chopsticks and looked at A’Chou wonderingly: “How…How did you make it?”

“You never had longevity noodles before? There should be only one strip of noodles.”

A’Chou was also confused. She put the bowl down, and looked at Zhong Mingwei.

Zhong Mingwei silently lowered his head, sipped the soup, and spoke in a low voice: “Never.”

A’Chou was stunned and curled her lips: “I don’t buy that! Even the seventy-year-old housekeeper of the Duan Family would have longevity noodles on his birthday. It was from him that I knew about this tradition. People like you should be more particular about their birthdays.”

“It was true.” Zhong Mingwei stirred his noodles for a while, paused, and continued in a low voice: “My birthday is also my mother’s death day, do I’ve never celebrated it, and I used to spend the day kneeling in front of her memorial tablet in the Baohua Temple to show my respect.”

A’Chou’s heart did a flip and she finally realized that today was the late Empress’ death day, so she became nervous: “I… I kind of forgot about that. I only remember today’s your birthday. Look, why don’t I go get some ghost money? I’m sure they sell everything at the market, and we just…got little time and couldn’t afford expensive sacrifices. Please…don’t be mad. I promise I’ll buy ghost money of the best quality…”