Du Gu Luanyue's eyes flickered for a moment, and there was even a touch of sincerity in them. "You're still so young, with a bright future ahead. You'll have to marry a wife someday."
Huo Wei slammed the round dough in his hand into the porcelain basin and didn't say anything else. He just busied himself on his own.
Du Gu Luanyue stood there stupidly. This was the first time in her life that she had ever been in a kitchen. But seeing the birthday boy bustling around, she still felt it wasn't quite right.
She made a polite offer. "I should do something, shouldn't I?"
A faint air of hostility emanated from Huo Wei. "What can you do?"
Du Gu Luanyue gave him a puzzled look. She hadn't fully calmed down yet, and she didn't know why Huo Wei was in a bad mood again.
He must be annoyed with her for being so high - and - mighty and not doing anything.
Well, she, the great Queen of Northern Yan and the legitimate eldest princess of Southern Chu, would condescend to do something just to achieve her goal this time.
"I can do anything. I can chop vegetables," she said in a nicer tone.
A few cloves of garlic were thrown at her. "Go and peel them."
Du Gu Luanyue had no idea how to peel garlic, but she was reluctant to admit it because peeling garlic seemed like a really simple task.
But her long, pointed fingernails struggled to peel the garlic cloves. After a long while, she hadn't managed to peel many.
She started making excuses. "These things shouldn't be used for the longevity noodles, should they?"
Huo Wei looked over with his black eyes, then glanced at the misshapen garlic cloves that had been mangled by her. "You can take a break, Your Majesty."
Du Gu Luanyue tossed the things aside awkwardly. "I can chop things. I'll chop the scallions."
She rolled up her water - red sleeves and carried the chopping board and kitchen knife over in the kitchen as if she knew what she was doing. She looked quite professional and proficient.
Huo Wei watched her pretend to chop for a few times and shook his head.
Just as he turned around to light the fire, he heard the sound of the knife hitting the ground behind him. He looked back and saw Du Gu Luanyue frowning at her finger.
"It must be the problem with your knife. It always wants to cut my hand."
Blood oozed out from between her fingers. Huo Wei walked over, pinched her finger, and rinsed it under the water. "The wound is shallow. You don't need to bandage it. Go and sit over there."
Du Gu Luanyue didn't touch anything in the kitchen anymore. She just stood behind Huo Wei and watched him quietly with a calm expression.
He was a head taller than her, a general with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, standing by the stove to boil water and make longevity noodles.
His movements were swift and skillful, flowing smoothly like a cloud and a stream.
For a moment, she felt that the hostility on him wasn't so strong. Instead, there was a bit of intimacy.
Du Gu Luanyue said, "In Southern Chu, a man who can cook is the best dowry."
Huo Wei was holding the kitchen knife and looked back at her. "You mean a son - in - law who moves into his wife's family, right?"
Du Gu Luanyue nodded. "Yes. In Southern Chu, someone like me can only look for a son - in - law who moves into his wife's family."
Huo Wei asked, "Did you have a betrothal in Southern Chu before?"
Du Gu Luanyue's originally relaxed expression suddenly became a bit dazed, and her eyes suddenly started to feel a bit sour.
Before she was married to Northern Yan, she already had a fiancé. The plan to come to Northern Yan was so hasty that she didn't dare to tell him.
So, when everyone knew that it was her who was going to be the princess for the marriage alliance, her fiancé was still foolishly preparing for their wedding banquet.
At that time, Du Gu Luanyue's phoenix carriage for the marriage alliance had already traveled dozens of miles out of the capital city of Southern Chu.
She lifted the curtain and took a look. She saw a man in a red wedding suit being firmly held back by others, not allowed to take a single step forward.
That was the last time Du Gu Luanyue saw Sheng Yunqi. It was probably a farewell.
Sheng Yunqi was the husband of the empress that had been chosen for her since childhood. After she ascended to the throne, Yunqi would be the husband of the empress and the regent king, governing Southern Chu with her.
But man proposes, God disposes. The friendship that had lasted for more than a decade was completely destroyed in the changing situation between countries.
The aching finger hidden in Du Gu Luanyue's sleeve had spread the pain to her heart.
Huo Wei had already finished making the longevity noodles and placed them on the small table. As he rolled down his sleeves, he looked back at her.
"It seems you're thinking about your fiancé in Southern Chu."
Du Gu Luanyue came back to her senses and said calmly, "I don't have a fiancé."
Huo Wei pushed the bowl of longevity noodles in front of her and didn't say anything else. But the discomfort between the woman's eyebrows in front of him fell into his eyes.
No matter how hard one tried to hide feelings, they couldn't be concealed.
Du Gu Luanyue looked at the two bowls of longevity noodles in front of her and looked at Huo Wei in confusion. "I'm not celebrating my birthday. Why did you make two bowls?"
Huo Wei replied, "To feed the dog."
Du Gu Luanyue felt a tightness in her chest. "..."
But she was really hungry. She hadn't had breakfast that day, just had a simple lunch, and only drank a few glasses of wine for dinner. At this moment, she was dizzy and her stomach was growling. She didn't stand on ceremony anymore.
Huo Wei was eating the longevity noodles when he suddenly asked, "Is he really bad to you?"
Du Gu Luanyue paused with the chopsticks in her hand. It seemed that after she had vented her anger on him just now, Huo Wei was being a bit nicer to her.
Sure enough, men were just so cheap. No matter how nice you were to them, it didn't work. You still had to torture them from time to time.
She cleared her throat. "Yes."
Huo Wei curled his thin lips.
"Father doesn't treat you well. He has so many sons. You might as well take a fancy to a prince who might ascend to the throne in the future. It's better than putting your heart on me."
The probing look in his black eyes was still intense. He still wanted to figure out Du Gu Luanyue's intentions.
Du Gu Luanyue instantly lost her appetite.
"Do you think I can just be with anyone?
Huo Wei, you keep saying that you've never looked down on me, but just now, wasn't that an insult to me?
What do you mean by just taking a fancy to a prince? Do you think I'll just find someone else because the emperor treats me badly?
In your eyes, am I just a promiscuous woman who will sleep with anyone!"
Huo Wei said, "I have no foundation in the Northern Yan court, as you saw today.
It's better for you to place your bet on the next person in power rather than on me.
After all, whether we can attack Southern Chu in the end is not up to me. It's up to the emperor and the future crown prince."
Du Gu Luanyue pressed her chest. It seemed that today she had developed a problem of chest pain. She would feel pain whenever she got excited.
Her voice became low. "Okay, Huo Wei, stop talking. I understand what you mean. From now on, let's not bother each other anymore."
She pushed the bowl of longevity noodles aside, stood up expressionlessly, and was about to leave.
Huo Wei looked up. "I'm just giving you a better suggestion."
Just now, he deliberately brought up Du Gu Luanyue's past in Southern Chu to test her. As expected, his guess was right.
With a status like the princess, she must have been betrothed a long time ago. Marrying to Northern Yan was just a temporary measure.
Judging from her expression just now, her fiancé must still be in her heart.
All her current actions were just to prevent Northern Yan from attacking Southern Chu for as long as possible until this thought was completely erased.
Once things were done, maybe she wouldn't even stay in Northern Yan for a single day longer.
Du Gu Luanyue said, "Your suggestion, Prince Yuzhang, is excellent. I'll consider it carefully."
With that, she pushed open the door. As soon as she lifted her foot, Aunt Meijiang appeared in front of the door with a solemn expression.
"Your Majesty, something bad has happened. There's trouble in Zhaoyang Palace."