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Shen Chuwei was just greedy, sneaking out the night before to eat instant noodles.

Xiao Jinyan grimaced as he went to look for someone, and after asking a few of the older monks, he learned that they were in the Dining Hall.

Before he even walked into the Dining Hall, the aroma of the food reached him.

From a distance, he could see Shen Chuwei holding chopsticks, picking up vegetables, and putting them in her mouth, smiling with her eyes as she ate.

Standing beside her was a lean and tall monk, the same one from the previous night, staring at Shen Chuwei.

A monk, with impure thoughts!

Just as he had guessed, Shen Chuwei went to find that monk for a bite to eat.

He cursed, "Just for that bit of satisfaction."

After tasting the food, Shen Chuwei’s eyes curved, no longer worried that she wouldn’t be able to eat her lunch.

She put the dishes into her lunchbox one by one, after covering it, she looked up at the young monk, "Thank you, young monk."

The young monk pressed his palms together, "Lady Shen is too polite."

As Shen Chuwei picked up her lunchbox and turned around, she saw Xiao Jinyan standing less than a meter behind her, his eyes frosted over, along with a cold aura surrounding him.

"Your Highness, what brings you here?"

Xiao Jinyan’s voice was low, "Didn’t I tell you to rest properly in the side room?"

Now, Shen Chuwei knew why Xiao Jinyan was angry, guiltily lifting up the lunchbox in her hand to show him, trying to change the subject.

"I specially fried some dishes for Your Highness to taste, so I came out," she said.

Xiao Jinyan glanced at the lunchbox, his anger lessened quite a bit. He said in a deep voice, "Come back with me."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the Dining Hall.

"Okay," said Shen Chuwei, carrying her lunchbox and following behind Xiao Jinyan at a relaxed pace, secretly heaving a sigh of relief. Xiao Jinyan has been somewhat moody these last two days!

The young monk watched the two leaving figures for a while.

After washing the vegetables, a young monk with a curious expression approached, "Brother Wu Tan, who is that girl? She is pretty and can cook."

The monk known as Brother Wu Tan, had the Dharma name Wu Tan.

Wu Tan withdrew his gaze to look at him, "As a monk, what’s the use of asking these questions?"

"My mother said when I turn nineteen, I will leave the monastic life and find a wife. I want a wife who is pretty and can cook like her."

After the young monk spoke, a burst of laughter broke out.

"Hahaha..."

The young monk became somewhat embarrassed by the laughter, "What are you laughing at? My mother said, ’A real man must marry and have children.’ You don’t understand."

"Right, right, right, we don’t understand. You’re the only little kid here who hasn’t grown a full beard yet, and you understand," they joked.

With that, they erupted into laughter again.

Wu Tan picked up the frying pan and walked to the well, silently cleaning the pan.

In the side room at that moment, Weichi had already laid out the lunch on the round table.

Shen Chuwei took the dishes out of her lunchbox one by one and placed them on the dining table.

Xiao Jinyan sat at the dining table, looking at the few dishes in front of him. They were completely different from the monastic meals. Even though they were vegetarian, the three dishes Shen Chuwei made looked very appetizing.

Shen Chuwei handed a pair of chopsticks to Xiao Jinyan, "Your Highness, please have a taste."

Xiao Jinyan looked down at the chopsticks in front of him, "Hmm." He took the chopsticks from her and picked up a piece of celtuce to taste. It was much tastier than the vegetarian meals.

The slight displeasure he felt just now also vanished.

"You’ve gone to a lot of trouble," he said.

Without batting an eyelid, Shen Chuwei replied, "It’s my duty."

Xiao Jinyan glanced at Shen Chuwei, who was still standing, "Don’t stand, sit down and eat with me."

Shen Chuwei had been waiting for these words. After sitting down, she reached out with her chopsticks to pick up the vegetables and put them in her bowl, eating them together with the rice. They tasted so much better than the monastic meals.

Indeed, going out today was the right choice. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have met the young monk and then sneaked into the kitchen to cook.

The atmosphere in the neighboring side room was a bit strange.

Lady spent the morning in a state of nervousness, feeling a bit of pain in her stomach from hunger. She had no choice but to endure it.

She was originally eating lunch alone, but these past two days she has been accompanying the Empress. Suddenly not accompanying her would seem too deliberate.

Looking at the monastic meals in front of her, she could not eat them because her hunger had already peaked.

The Empress lifted her gaze to look at Lady sitting across from her, noticing her holding chopsticks without eating, called out, "Lanlan."

Lady was so startled that her hand shook, dropping her chopsticks to the floor with a "clatter."

The Empress frowned. Starting from the morning meal, she had noticed that Lady was acting abnormally, "Why are you so distracted? Has something happened?"

Lady became even more panicked upon hearing this. Was her aunt probing her?

How was she to respond to what she had said yesterday?

Seeing her silence, the Empress asked again more sternly, "What’s wrong?"

Lady shook with fear, lacking even the courage to look up, "Auntie, I’m feeling unwell."

"How can you be unwell out of nowhere? Why is your health so poor? Always unwell this or that. Could it be an illness?"

The Empress, as a mother-in-law herself, knew that it would be difficult for a daughter-in-law to conceive if she kept having such frequent health issues.

Lady thought the Empress was angry and didn’t dare to breathe out loud, "Perhaps I’m not adjusting well to the new environment."

The Empress said, "Then let the Imperial Doctor take a good look. Being so frail isn’t good for conceiving."

"I understand," replied Lady as she stood up and curtsied before withdrawing.

The Empress watched Lady’s retreating figure, thinking how thin her body was. Her eyes then fell on her buttocks, remembering the saying that larger buttocks are good for childbirth, but hers were not large at all.

She sighed, thinking there was little chance Lanlan could have children.

The Empress sighed again, looking down at the monastic meals in front of her, she sighed yet again. How could she eat this?

Lady spent the whole day in fear, which indeed brought on an actual illness.

Both the Empress and Xiao Jinyan, as well as Shen Chuwei, came to visit her.

The Empress, looking at Lady’s pale face, said, "The Imperial Doctor said you were frightened. How did you get scared staying in the temple?"

Lady looked up at the visiting Empress, sensing something off in her tone this time.

Had the Empress heard or not?

Shen Chuwei sneakily glanced at Lady, whose complexion certainly seemed to have been scared.

She found it odd, it was just a reminder that the words Lady had said were overheard.

Was Lady so timid to be frightened into illness?

What Shen Chuwei didn’t realize was that Lady thought the words had been overheard by the Empress, which is why she was so terrified.

That night...

On her way back from the outhouse, Shen Chuwei encountered the Empress.

With only two meters between them, she couldn’t pretend not to see her and stepped forward to curtsy, "Empress, Your Majesty."

Seeing Shen Chuwei reminded the Empress of the delicious instant noodles she ate the day before last; they tasted much better than the monastic meals, and she hadn’t eaten much of her dinner.

Seeing Shen Chuwei out late at night, she assumed Shen Chuwei was out to sneak some instant noodles again, and her spirits lifted.