Chapter 223: Princess Ah Ruan

Ye Jiayao never imagined that the reception duty for the royal envoy would fall on her.

She also never thought that a princess from a foreign country would want to be her friend.

What happened was while the men were on the negotiation table, the princess of Nanyue, Ah Ruan, decided that she’d like to roam around Jin Ling. She wanted to see the sights, experience the custom, and taste the food of the foreign city. The Emperor tasked Helian Jing to escort the Princess around. Since Helian Jing didn’t want to bring her to random places, he planned to take her to see Qinhuai River and to Heavenly Residence for lunch.

When Ye Jiayao got to the restaurant, Manager Zhao told her that Young Royal Highness Jing booked the whole restaurant for lunchtime.

She was confused. Was Little Jing having a banquet here? When she asked Manager Zhao, he said that Young Royal Highness only requested one table of dishes, but all of the desserts from the bakery. He also specifically requested that she make all of it.

She analyzed the situation.

First, if Little Jing was willing to spend an absurd amount of money to book the whole restaurant and was requesting for her to cook all the meals, his guest must be an honorable one.

Second, he ordered a ton of desserts and only women have that much appetite for sweet things.

Could his guest be the princess of Nanyue?

If that’s the case, she had to spend extra effort on this lunch. If they satisfy the princess, Chunyu’s negotiation might go smoother.

Ye Jiayao looked up Nanyue on the map. If she’s basing it on the modern times’ geography, it’s covering the provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan as well as Vietnam and Myanmar. She recalled that the most famous food there are rice noodles and bamboo rice.

She planned to make dishes that the princess will be familiar with to give her the comfort of her home, but she also wanted to give her a taste of their local cuisine. This way, the princess gets the best of both worlds.

Little Jing never knew that escorting someone would be this tiring, but Princess Ah Ruan was restless and curious.

“Young Royal Highness Jing, you said that Heavenly Residence has great dishes? Even better than the ones in the palace?” Ah Ruan asked with her accented Chinese as they admired the beauty of Qinhuai River.

Little Jing had a hard time understanding her the first few times, but she has slowly gotten used to it.

“If it’s not good, why would I bring you there? I promise you won’t regret it. I won’t even be surprised if you ask to visit it again,” Little Jing said proudly. No one in the whole city could cook better than Yaoyao.

Ah Ruan’s curiosity was piqued. “If I end up liking it, can I go every day?”

Little Jing paused. The Emperor didn’t say if he’s getting reimbursed. He’s already spent quite a lot on buying novelties for the princess, and not to mention the amount he spent on booking the restaurant. He doesn’t have a lot of disposable income on his own because he’s already invested his savings to Qixuan’s new venture.

“Well… um, I’m not sure that it’s safe to always eat outside. If you like it, I can ask the chef at Heavenly Residence to cook for you and bring them to your residence,” Little Jing proposed.

“Why isn’t it safe? Will I get diarrhea?” the princess asked innocently, her eyes wide and bright.

Little Jing’s brows furrowed. It’s not the right for a princess to say the word ‘diarrhea’, right?

“Of course not. The place I’m going to bring you to is really clean. I’m just afraid that your beauty would cause turmoil since the citizens of Jin Ling has never since such loveliness,” he reasoned, totally making everything up.

Ah Ruan didn’t completely understand all that he said except that he was complimenting her on her looks. It made her feel good.

She smiled, the dimples on her cheek becoming more prominent. “Thank you. You look really nice too and prettier than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Her earnest words shocked Little Jing, making him blush. He knew that he’s attractive but it’s the first time that a lady complimented him on his looks.

Ah Ruan saw him blush and found it interesting. The girls in Nanyue were forthright, the men even more so, so it was her first time seeing a man blush. Suddenly, she was curious about the young prince who’s been escorting her.

Her father and Huai Song’s emperor both knew that she was here to pick a husband. Although she didn’t want to leave home, she was willing to make a sacrifice for Nanyue’s political betterment. The only silver lining was that she’s free to choose her husband here.

Did the Majesty of Huai Song arrange for Young Royal Highness Jing to escort her because he wanted them to get together?

Well, if that’s the case, she wasn’t complaining.

The two of them fell silent. Little Jing because of embarrassment and Ah Ruan because of her deep thoughts.

Ye Jiayao was busy cooking in the kitchen when Little Lu came in and reported, “Young Royal Highness Jing is here. He brought an incredibly beautiful girl with him and they are upstairs in the Fuqu room.”

“Start serving the dishes. Bring out the desserts later,” she ordered.

She made an exception for the dessert though since she made ice cream for appetizers.

Ah Ruan liked the environment of Heavenly Residence. “It’s great here. People can enjoy the scenery outside while eating.”

“Yeah. Every time I eat here, this is the room I choose,” Little Jing told her. He was reunited with Yaoyao in this very room.

Little Lu came up and served them cold dishes and two cups of ice cream.

Ah Ruan had never seen anything as soft and smooth as this. It’s light pink color made it look so appetizing and delicate. Curiously, she asked, “What is this?”

Little Lu opened his mouth to answer, but Little Jing beat him to it. “This is called ice cream and it’s absolutely delicious. Only Heavenly Residence makes it. Come on, try it.”

Ah Ruan skeptically scooped a little bit of it with a silver spoon. As soon as it touched her tongue, it melted and she could taste the exquisite sweetness. She went in for another scoop and said, “This is so delicious! I have never had anything this good!”

Little Jing laughed proudly. “This is only the beginning. More surprises are coming later on.”

He didn’t expect Yaoyao to bring out ice cream today since he knew how hard it was to make. Could she have guessed who he was bringing today? It’s possible given Yaoyao’s sharpness and thoughtfulness.

The dishes were served one by one, and Ah Ruan was in heaven. She tried every single one of the food, delighted at how amazing they taste.

“Wow! There’s bamboo rice?” Ah Ruan exclaimed. The rice was mixed with peas, carrots, bamboo shoots, and bacon, and it was served in a green bamboo tube. The smell was so good it was making her mouth water.

“Oh… this dish is from my home, Young Royal Highness Jing! How did the chef here learn how to make our bamboo rice?” She didn’t expect to get a taste of home from a foreign land. She thought that Young Royal Highness Jing arranged it and she couldn’t help but be touched by his thoughtfulness.

Little Jing was also surprised. She made a dish from a foreign land! Was there any dish that Yaoyao can’t cook?

“The chef here is very excellent and also happened to be my good friend. Would you want to meet the chef?” Little Jing offered.

Ah Ruan nodded eagerly. “Of course! I want to see the person behind all these masterpieces.”

After Ye Jiayao finished her last dish, Little Lu came in to tell her that the beautiful lady with Little Jing enjoyed her cooking.

She was pleased that all her extra effort was worth it.

Moments passed and Little Lu came in again. This time, he said that the Young Royal Highness Jing wanted for her to join them.

Ye Jiayao took off her apron and followed Little Lu upstairs.

There were four guards by the door, two with Huai Song uniform, two with foreign costumes.

When they saw Ye Jiayao, they moved aside to let her in.

Ah Ruan was eating a prawn ball when she saw a woman walk in. She was so stunned, her prawn ball dropped backed to the bowl.

The chef was a woman? A very beautiful woman nonetheless?

Little Jing saw the surprise in Ah Ruan’s face and smiled. “Yaoyao, the is the princess of Nanyue, Ah Ruan.”

Ye Jiayao bowed and greeted politely, “Nice to meet you princess Ah Ruan, I’m Ye Jinxuan.”