Huayueye stared at the food on the table, lost in thought.
On the table was a rather bountiful meal of four dishes and one soup, namely stir - fried cabbage, stewed cabbage, cabbage stewed with tofu, scallions with tofu, and tofu soup.
It was truly a feast for the eyes... Look at the jade - like tofu dotted with tender green scallions, and the pure white cabbage cooked into delicate dishes. Every flavor was perfectly blended, and the penetration of salt added more flavor... Huayueye couldn't go on with this pretense any longer. It was just a bunch of plain and watery white dishes. For a growing teenager like him, it was simply a double torture to both body and soul.
But Eunuch Zhang had done his best. Even the most skillful housewife couldn't cook a meal without ingredients. Facing the scarcity of supplies, Eunuch Zhang had wracked his brains and looked even older.
Su Qingwen looked at the plain and tasteless food and felt like her mouth was as bland as a bird's. Who could stand this?
Suddenly, Huayueye's eyes lit up. He asked, "Eunuch, do we have any acquaintances in the palace?" Maybe they could find someone to mooch off. It couldn't be that their father didn't care and their elder brothers and sisters didn't either, right?
Eunuch Zhang fell into thought. "There is someone, but the princess is only a toddler. A three - year - old baby is of no help to us!"
Su Qingwen was frantically hinting on the side: She can be helpful! She can be helpful! Please go find Huaxue'er quickly so that I can complete my task.
Huayueye mused, "I wonder if Xue'er is doing well with the imperial concubine. Will she be mistreated... going hungry, not having warm clothes, and being bullied by her elder brothers and sisters..." The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his younger sister was in a miserable situation.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Su Qingwen was on the verge of tears. Please go quickly!
Driven by his inner sense of kinship and the need for food, Huayueye embarked on the journey to find his younger sister. He learned that his sister was now with the eldest princess, so he went to look for her.
Su Qingwen was imagining in her mind: The princess, being young and innocent, was being severely mistreated by her elder sister and was even treated as a poor plaything.
However...
This scene was truly despairing.
Huaxue'er showed no awareness of being a girl or the dignity of being a princess. With crumbs all around her mouth, she was crawling on the ground.
"Xue'er, eat this! It's delicious!" The eldest princess was following behind her, holding a bowl, looking just like an old nanny.
"Your Highness, she's too young to eat drunken roast duck," a maid beside them advised.
"Then eat this! Xue'er~" The eldest princess picked up another dish.
"Beef in soy sauce is also not suitable!" The maid looked completely desperate.
Huayueye standing at the palace gate: ...
Su Qingwen: ...
Huayueye, wipe your drool quickly. It's so embarrassing! How could we yield so easily just for a few dishes... Slurp.
The eldest princess was very distressed. "How should we feed a child? Isn't it a waste if she can't eat these dishes?"
Huayueye: ... Xue'er can't eat, but her elder brother can.
Maybe Huayueye's hungry look was too intense, and finally, the eldest princess noticed him.
"Hey? Which younger brother are you? I rarely see you. You're so cute! Let elder sister pinch your face." The eldest princess had a beautiful smile and reached out to pinch Huayueye's cheek. She secretly admired how good it felt.
Huayueye covered his cheek that had been pinched, his face stiff. "Elder sister... I'm Huayueye."
The eldest princess suddenly realized. "Are you the younger brother who was taken away by Uncle Rui? Then are you Xue'er's elder brother! No wonder you're both so cute."
Su Qingwen: I never thought... we would recognize each other in such a way. All the scenarios I imagined, what a waste.
Sure enough, Huayueye nodded, and Su Qingwen heard the prompts for her achievements and tasks.
In the end, Huayueye sat at the table as he wished and enjoyed a sumptuous meal. He even got a long - term pass to mooch off food. Before leaving, he didn't forget to pack a portion for Eunuch Zhang, setting an example of sharing good fortune and bad luck.
Only Su Qingwen was still confused when leaving. Why was Xue'er living a life of luxury in the palace while Huayueye was so miserable? Did his father favor daughters over sons?
But before she could think further, she was teleported out of the historical scene.
The system prompt sounded.
[System: Congratulations! You have successfully completed two side quests!]
Su Qingwen said expressionlessly, "No, the development of the second one was beyond my imagination."
[System: ... Don't worry about these small details. Since the completion rate of the side quests is relatively high and the task rating is higher than the main quest of your current character, you can now get a chance to draw a lottery!]
Su Qingwen immediately perked up. She raised her eyebrows. "I didn't expect there would be an unexpected bonus! It's time to show you the power of a lucky person!"
The light screen of the system lit up, and a turntable started spinning crazily. Su Qingwen took a deep breath, trying to gather the essence of heaven and earth and the aura of the sun and moon, and shouted, "Stop!"
The turntable instantly stopped, and a purple scroll slowly rose and floated into her hand.
Su Qingwen's eyes sparkled. Wow! It looked so high - class. Look at the workmanship and the material. It was definitely an extraordinary top - grade prize! She didn't expect her luck to be so good this time!
[System: Congratulations, host! You have won an S - grade purple prize... Wait... This prize of yours]
The system's choked congratulations couldn't stop Su Qingwen from being overjoyed. Wow! This was an S - grade prize. It sounded so rare! Great! I, Su Qingwen, am truly a lucky person!
However, when Su Qingwen opened the purple scroll, her smile instantly froze. There were a few shiny words printed on the scroll: "Random Prize Mission".
"Damn it! I finally got a prize, but I still have to do a mission!" Su Qingwen was so angry that she almost overturned the table.
[System: Cough, anyway, it's still an S - grade prize! It's extremely rare!] The system tried to console her.
Su Qingwen's face was gloomy. Holding the scroll in her hand, she said faintly, "I want to see the other prize categories!"
[System: This... Alright]
The turntable was slowly projected on the light screen.
It was shown that the highest - grade prize was SSS - level, which was a special skill that could be selected. All S - level prizes were skill scrolls or cheat cards with a limited number of uses, such as adjusting favorability, increasing combat strength, hint cards, etc... Even the relatively lower A - level prizes were rare single - use invisibility potions or floating props...
Aaaaaaaaaah, why! Su Qingwen was in tears. She finally won a prize, but she had to do a mission.
[System: Why don't you accept the mission and give it a try? Cough... Maybe it's an extremely rare item.]
Su Qingwen sighed faintly. "I don't believe you at all. Obviously, this is the worst prize!"
After saying that, she dejectedly clicked to accept the mission.