Of Soil And Sovereign

The Servers brought out the starters, including a bowl of sweet lotus soup for each person, and a large ceramic bowl of fried mushrooms placed in the center for everyone to serve themselves from.

All one could hear was clicks and slurps as they drank the soup, and after finishing, they got served a second bowl of the soup, as per their requests. And the mushrooms were over in a minute and the bowl was cleared.

Rui and Chen initially felt they had sacrificed a great deal; however, they were now pleased to have attended, having never experienced such delicious food.

Xuan knew Mei had great cooking skills, but he thought she would just let the chefs cook and monitor, but it looked like she did the cooking. He could see the young masters were enjoying the meal from the way their eyes shined after each seep or bite they took.

Shirong was feeling guilty. He tried to make himself forget his cousin before, constantly pushing the thought of them at the back of his mind, but with Mingde sitting in front of him, he couldn't really do that today.

His grandfather forbade everyone from contacting the siblings as he did not want the crimes of their father to be tied to their family, and he knew that was just an excuse. If he really wanted to help them, he could have done it discreetly. He was just a coward.

It looked like his cousins were doing just fine for themselves with a tiny but beautiful estate and were even friends with the emperor, but it seemed like they didn't know the emperor's identity from the way Mingde and the emperor were interacting.

The soup did its work and made them hungry. That's when the maids arrived with fresh bowls with two different fish and two different buns, and they started with the fish, their eyes popping after each bite, but nothing could have prepped them for the buns.

One bite to it and it was juicy and had something they had never tasted before. A white stretchy thing followed them with each bite. It was salty, chewy, and very rich, and added with the minced meat and scallion; it was very novel.

Rui, who couldn't keep quiet anymore, asked Mingde what it was, who explained his sister made it from milk and vinegar and called it cheese.

The buns were filling, and they were served with rice wine and mulberry tea to cleanse their palate after that the maids brought out another plate this time it was thinly cut meat which were glazed with oil and with one mouth bite you could hear the sighs of contentment across the table and the servant and the chef that were serving the guest swallowed their saliva as they could wait to finish serving so that they can go and eat as the miss promised everyone will get some.

They inquired about the menu, and Mingde explained it was cow meat his sister cooked over charcoal, and that's why it was not greasy. After the meat was done, the young masters were impressed with everything, discussing the taste and the food.

Because everyone was full, they thought the meal was over, so they were surprised to see a delicious cake, fruit, and jujube dates simmered with honey. Ending the meal with sweets made the evening more perfect.

After the table was cleared, Mingde asked his manservant Tong to bring his board game and once they were brought, he started with Mahjong and explained the rules as Mei taught him once everyone had the gist of how to play; the game started obviously Mingde was winning which triggered competitive streak and it was loud after some plays.

Mingde initially felt the party lacked entertainment, so he asked for his board game, thus covering that aspect.

Except for Xuan, the three others were arguing about the game, and he put the go board and gave instructions to Xuan, and they started playing, but unlike the other side, they were playing quietly.

After two games, Xuan started winning and Mingde just now only understood what Mei felt when he won over her. It was a case of a student surpassing the master's.

Early on, Mingde felt shocked when he saw his cousin, but he quickly controlled his expression because he did not want anyone from the prime minister's residence to derive satisfaction from his reaction, as he intended to treat them the same way they treated his sister and him.

Following several games, Mingde requested the steward summon his sister to greet the young masters, as it was time for departure. Xuan's heart raced at the news; he was tired and unable to manage his physical response to the mere idea of seeing her.

Meanwhile, back at Mei courtyard once she was done with the barbecue she ate her dinner she didn't like the smell of it and asked two maids' servants to prepare her a bath after it was ready she went and soaked in the bathtub her maids knew how she preferred her bath made it to her liking.

She played with the petals. After soaking for thirty minutes, she got out. She knew she was going to meet the young masters and wore a lightweight pink high-waist skirt, and over that, she wore a light pink overcoat with sleeves that flared like wings.

She applied blush, and just some rose lipstick she had created, and once she was done, just as expected, the summon came, and so, with her two maids beside a lantern in her hand, she left.

She reached the dinner table after a short walk. She was happy the dinner went well as per the steward's information, and once she reached, she could feel all the eyes on her, and she bowed, greeting the young masters and introducing themselves.

The men saw a young lady in a pink skirt holding a lantern approaching them, and even though she did not have the beauty to overthrow a government, she had an aura to her with her cheeks red and her lips painted red. She looked fresh out of a teenager's imagination.