"Your Highness, Lady, we're here."
The steward, Wang Gui, walked ahead and quickly opened a courtyard gate.
As the gate swung open, Yun Xi was stunned by the sight before her!
"Is this a wonderland on earth?"
Yun Xi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
First thing that caught her eye were the colorful and blooming flowers at the courtyard entrance. As soon as she stepped in, a fragrant smell wafted over.
Next was a large grape arbor that occupied almost half of the courtyard.
It was so lush that it blocked out the sky, full of vitality. Just looking at the greenery made Yun Xi feel that most of the summer heat had dissipated from her body.
The grape arbor was laden with purple-red grapes, plump and shiny, looking extremely appealing.
What amazed Yun Xi the most wasn't these, but the gurgling fountain under the grape arbor.
The spring water flowed down the stacked bluestone slabs and meandered along the circular water channel dug in the courtyard, finally flowing into the lake outside.
The golden sunlight filtered through the grape arbor, looking like broken pieces of light, casting mottled bright shadows that sparkled under the refraction of the water channel. Red, yellow, and white koi swam leisurely in the pebble-strewn small water channel, shuttling under the lotus leaves.
"It's simply beautiful! How did you find this place?"
The scenery before her eyes was so gorgeous that Yun Xi couldn't help but ask.
It wasn't difficult to find a villa nestled against the mountains and beside the water. Her mother had several of them. But it was extremely hard to find one with a natural spring!
The current Prince's Mansion not only had a natural hot spring, but this villa also had a natural spring.
There were only a few such villas in the entire capital, yet Qi Rong owned them. He was truly lucky!
As Yun Xi approached the fountain, she could even hear the gurgling sound of the spring water.
Only then did Yun Xi understand why the plaque outside the villa read "Mingquan Villa".
It was named after this spring.
"If you like it, this place will be yours from now on."
Qi Rong took Yun Xi's hand and generously presented the courtyard to her.
Then he led her to a long table under the grape arbor and sat down.
"What comes next is the highlight. You need to know your limits. Don't force yourself."
Yun Xi originally wanted to decline Qi Rong's gift, but when she heard that the long-awaited part was coming, she couldn't help but roll up her sleeves and scoffed at Qi Rong's teasing.
Yun Xi involuntarily swallowed her saliva and said arrogantly:
"I'm starving now. Even if you give me a whole roasted lamb, I can eat it all up!"
When it came to delicious food, she never said no. Just smelling the aroma before had already made her impatient. She was just waiting to feast and eat Qi Rong out of house and home!
While Yun Xi was saying this, she was thinking that there were only two of them. How much food could the villa prepare? Judging from Qi Rong's usual strict control over her diet, he surely wouldn't prepare too much this time either.
Yun Xi spoke confidently, but she ignored the fleeting cunning in Qi Rong's eyes.
He looked at Yun Xi with a smile, couldn't help but reach out and pinch the tip of her nose, and teased:
"What if you can't finish it?"
Yun Xi slapped Qi Rong's hand away to save her nose, and said indifferently with a curl of her lips:
"I'll take the leftovers home!"
Qi Rong snickered and curled his lips:
"Okay, it seems you'll have to take the leftovers home!"
As soon as Qi Rong finished speaking, he winked at the steward, Wang Gui. Wang Gui understood and immediately shouted outside the courtyard:
"His Highness and the Lady are seated. Can we start the banquet?"
Following Wang Gui's voice, a golden-brown, crispy-on-the-outside and tender-on-the-inside whole roasted lamb was carried in by two people under Yun Xi's expectant gaze.
"Wow, it's so big!"
Yun Xi's eyes widened in shock.
She originally thought it would just be a roasted lamb rib, but unexpectedly, it was a whole roasted lamb!
"What, can't you even finish this? Do you want me to ask someone to prepare a takeaway bag for you in advance?"
Looking at Yun Xi with shining eyes and a stunned expression, Qi Rong couldn't help but tease from the side.
Meeting Qi Rong's expression of watching a good show, Yun Xi immediately retorted:
"How could it be? I'm just sighing that you, who are usually so stingy, are so generous today! Before, you haggled with me just to stop me from eating meat, but now you've served a whole roasted lamb. I'm just a bit unaccustomed for a moment!"
Yun Xi wasn't lying. When she thought about it now, she still felt a bit angry.
Qi Rong didn't know where he got a prescription from some quack doctor. Under the pretext of being good for her health, he strictly controlled her diet. He clearly knew that she preferred meat, but he still did such a cruel thing to her.
He made her eat so little meat every day!
Yun Xi's eyes were bright as she stared at the fragrant roasted lamb in front of her and licked her lips.
She deliberately mocked Qi Rong with her mouth, but in her heart, she was thinking: It's okay, it's just a roasted lamb. It shouldn't be difficult for her.
After all, even if she couldn't finish it, there was still Qi Rong, right?
Men usually had big appetites. It was just a roasted lamb. If they ate together, there shouldn't be much left.
Just as Yun Xi was calculating in her heart how to eat to her heart's content while still saving face, various kinds of food were continuously brought in from outside the courtyard.
Among them were roasted hares, roasted pheasants, scallion-fried shrimps, and red-braised pig trotters...
Yun Xi was so stunned that she almost stared blankly!
In a short while, the table was filled with more than a dozen delicious meat dishes. Since there were meat dishes, there naturally couldn't be a lack of vegetarian dishes. Then, all kinds of vegetarian dishes and delicacies were also served on the table.
For the first time, Yun Xi experienced what was called a sweet trouble.
She was extremely greedy, but at the same time, she was worried that the big words she had said before would be exposed and that Qi Rong would laugh at her and use it to hold her back in the future.
"How about it? Is this enough for you to eat?"
Qi Rong's teasing voice came over. Yun Xi pursed her lips, raised her head from the food, and a bitter smile involuntarily appeared on her face:
"Your Highness, are you going to entertain guests later? No wonder you've prepared so many dishes. I said, how could so many dishes be for just two people!"
Yun Xi subconsciously wanted to find a way out for herself, but Qi Rong cut off her retreat and directly replied:
"There's no one else today. It's just the two of us. Didn't you say I'm usually very stingy? Well, this time, I'll be generous once and let you eat your fill. Aren't you touched?"
Qi Rong leaned lazily on the chair and looked at Yun Xi leisurely, using Yun Xi's previous words to retort her.
Yun Xi was on the verge of tears:
Yes, she was so touched that she didn't know which dish to start with!
Yun Xi shifted her gaze and stared at the busy servants who were constantly serving the dishes. Suddenly, her eyes lit up! She said to everyone around her enthusiastically:
"Everyone, don't just be busy. It must have been quite hard for you to prepare this meal for His Highness and me in advance. Why don't you join us? Otherwise, I'll feel really guilty!"