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"I’m fine." Wenxin rubbed her sore knee and then forced herself to stand up.

Xiao Jinyu saw that she could stand and stood up as well, "Then let’s go back, Lady Han must be waiting for a long time."

"Mm." Wenxin obediently nodded her head.

Xiao Jinyu, seeing no issue, withdrew his gaze and continued walking, his steps a bit hurried because he wanted to give the little rabbit to Lady Han as soon as possible.

Wenxin’s knee hurt, making her walk slower than usual, unable to keep up with Xiao Jinyu’s pace. It didn’t take long for her to fall far behind.

Xiao Jinyu walked briskly, and then it occurred to him that Wenxin, being a girl, probably understood other girls better and started to inquire about their preferences.

"Wenxin, what do you think girls usually like? Lady Han is reserved, usually just reads or waters the flowers. I really don’t know her specific likes."

He waited for a long time and didn’t hear Wenxin reply. He looked to his side with confusion and didn’t see her. Then he turned to look behind, but Wenxin was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did she go?"

Xiao Jinyu raised his head and saw Wenxin far behind, limping and moving slowly.

"Might as well have stayed in the tent."

There was no helping it. Xiao Jinyu walked back with a dismayed expression. Seeing her slow progress, he was anxious but couldn’t just leave her behind to return on his own.

"Is your injury serious?"

Wenxin frowned slightly and softly replied, "My knee hurts a bit, especially when walking."

Xiao Jinyu looked at her and guessed it must be painful. He reassured her, "If it hurts, then walk slower, I will not leave you behind and go on my own."

Wenxin: "..."

In this way, Xiao Jinyu accompanied the limping Wenxin, slowly making their way back to the camp area.

Reaching the entrance of the tent, Wenxin was about to go in when Xiao Jinyu suddenly stopped, standing right in front of her.

"After you go back, have the Imperial Doctor look at your knee, to make sure the wound isn’t serious. There isn’t much for you to do here in my palace, just rest assuredly."

After Xiao Jinyu finished speaking, he lifted the curtain and went in, leaving Wenxin standing alone at the entrance of the tent.

Listening to Xiao Jinyu’s words made Wenxin somewhat unable to understand him. Clearly, he was concerned about her, so why didn’t he carry her back when her knee was injured?

Was it because men and women should not touch hands?

Yet he instructed her to see the Imperial Doctor, worried about the severity of the injury. Why didn’t he bring her into the tent and then call for the Imperial Doctor to take a look?

Xiao Jinyu was gentle, and his intentions seemed good, so why did it feel strange?

Carrying the little rabbit, Xiao Jinyu happily went inside and saw Lady Han sitting at the table, reading. He walked over to her briskly.

"Lady Han, look, I caught a rabbit."

Lady Han put down her book and looked up at Xiao Jinyu, noticing his excited expression, before turning to look at the little rabbit in his hand.

The little rabbit must have been born not long ago, its fur still downy.

Xiao Jinyu proudly placed the little rabbit in front of her, eagerly awaiting her reaction, "Do you like it?"

Lady Han extended her slender fingers to poke the little rabbit’s head, which trembled with fright, too scared to move.

She looked up at Xiao Jinyu, "I like it very much."

"That’s good to hear," Xiao Jinyu said delightedly as he watched the little rabbit. It would take some time for it to grow round and chubby.

He looked up at Lady Han and asked, "Are you hungry?"

Lady Han nodded, "A little."

"On my way back just now, I could smell grilled meat. Wait here, I’ll go see if I can find some and bring it back for you to eat."

Xiao Jinyu left, happy.

Lady Han looked down at the little rabbit in front of her and stroked it with her hand.

Shen Chuwei stared at the rabbit’s skeleton for a long time, then chuckled, "Chun Xi, chop the skeleton into pieces and then fry them in a pot of oil."

Lady Liang swallowed the rabbit meat in her mouth before asking, "Is that even edible?"

The Empress glanced their way out of curiosity, "Crown Princess, what is the fried skeleton for?"

"Mother, you will see in a moment," Shen Chuwei said as she stood up to prepare the seasonings.

After Chun Xi cut up the skeleton, she took an iron pot to the bonfire, poured oil into it, and began to fry the pieces of the skeleton.

When Xiao Jinyu arrived, he saw the Empress and, curious, approached her, "Mother, what are you eating? It smells wonderful."

Seeing her son, the Empress beckoned him over, "We’re eating roast rabbit meat, come have some."

"No wonder I smelled something delicious," Xiao Jinyu approached, his gaze traveling to the roast rabbit meat on the table, as well as the chili sauce and thin pancakes. He turned to the Empress and asked, "Mother, how do you eat these pancakes?"

"Let me show you," the Empress said proudly as she picked up a pancake and placed it on a plate in front of her. She also took two pieces of rabbit meat, added some chili sauce, wrapped it up and took a bite.

Xiao Jinyu, seeing this, took some thin pancakes, used a plate to pick up some grilled rabbit, added a bit of chili sauce, and was ready to leave when he saw Chun Xi fishing a pile of bones out of the deep fryer.

"Sister-in-law, what are you doing with those bones?"

"Eating them, what else did you think?" Shen Chuwei responded while sprinkling the prepared spices into the bones. After stirring everything evenly with chopsticks, a different but equally enticing aroma than that of the grilled rabbit meat drifted into the air.

Once everything was mixed thoroughly, Shen Chuwei emptied the bone pile into a soup basin.

Xiao Jinyu, tempted by the sight, reached for an empty plate and passed it over, "Sister-in-law, give me some."

Shen Chuwei poured all the remaining bones onto the plate Xiao Jinyu held out.

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Xiao Jinyu, happy with his treat, turned around and headed toward the tent area.

Watching her son’s actions, the Empress knew without asking that he was taking the food for Miss Han. Indeed, having a wife taught him to be caring.

No, she wasn’t his wife yet.

Shen Chuwei picked up a bone and started munching on it, not forgetting to recommend the dish to the Empress, "Mother, try the taste of the salt and pepper ribs."

Seeing them start to eat, the Empress waited until Qing Ying picked a piece and placed it in a bowl in front of her before she eagerly brought it to her mouth to taste.

She found that the bones, once fried and tossed with spices, were unexpectedly delicious.

Actually, it was similar to the way Peking Duck was prepared, with the duck meat eaten wrapped in thin pancakes along with sauce, green onions, and cucumber strips.

Fried duck skeletons could be made into salt and pepper ribs, which were equally tasty.

After everyone had eaten their fill and drunk to contentment, they returned satisfied to their respective tents.

Having returned to her tent, Shen Chuwei lay down on the couch, too lazy to move after filling up on food and drink.

Xiao Jinyan came in from the outside, only to see Shen Chuwei lying motionlessly on the couch. He walked over and sat down on it.

Shen Chuwei, upon hearing the noise, opened her eyes and saw Xiao Jinyan; she propped herself up and lay on her side to watch him.

"Your Highness, are you done with your tasks?"

Xiao Jinyan, looking at her slightly flushed face, nodded, "Hmm, have you just woken up?"

Shen Chuwei shook her head, "I’ve been awake for a while now, and I had quite a feast with everyone just now."

Xiao Jinyan then understood why she seemed so lazy and sleepy—it was because she was full and content.

"Do you want to join me for the hunt tomorrow?"

Shen Chuwei yawned and said, "I’m not interested in horse riding and archery, but I will be there to cheer you on from the platform."

Xiao Jinyan, also worried about her being injured, felt this resolved his concerns neatly.

"Hmm, as long as you’re happy, that’s what matters."

Suddenly, Shen Chuwei remembered something from the last hunt, grabbed a handful of Xiao Jinyan’s sleeve, and asked, "There’s nobody planning to harm Your Highness this time, right?"

Xiao Jinyan said, "You don’t need to worry about these matters. I will handle everything."

Shen Chuwei sat up, looking very serious, "How can I not worry? I don’t want to become a widow."

Xiao Jinyan: "..." Can’t she just hope for him to be well?

He gripped her hand firmly, looked at her steadily, and reassured her, "Don’t have such wild thoughts; I’m not that fragile, and not just anyone can take my life."

Shen Chuwei nodded, "That would indeed be for the best."

Xiao Jinyan: "There’s a Bonfire Party tonight, we should get ready to attend soon."

What attracted Shen Chuwei was not so much the Bonfire Party as the variety of grilled meats available there.

The Bonfire Party was held just like it was in previous years.

The Empress sat on the throne next to the Emperor, from where she could clearly see everyone.

Shen Chuwei attended with Xiao Jinyan.

Concubine Xu and Lady Tao were also present, both attending for the first time, which inevitably made them incredibly excited and thrilled.

Chun Xi followed behind, and as it happened, Qin Xiao was also there.

Taking advantage of a moment when everyone was listening to the Emperor speak, Qin Xiao swiftly grabbed Chun Xi’s hand and pulled her away.

Looking at Qin Xiao with confusion, Chun Xi had no choice but to keep up with his pace, "What are you doing?"

Qin Xiao, holding onto her wrist tightly, said, "I have something to tell you, it will just take a moment."

Chun Xi, upon hearing this, looked back at Shen Chuwei, but still followed Qin Xiao.

Only when they were a good distance away from the Bonfire did Qin Xiao stop.

Chun Xi was extremely nervous, unsure of what Qin Xiao would say.

ps: One update