Seeing everyone startled on the spot for a moment, carefully looking at each other, no one daring to chime in.
This was the food specially prepared for the prince and his wife. As servants, how could they dare to eat it together?!
Seeing that no one responded, Yun Xi felt a bit awkward. Then she turned to Qi Rong and said:
"Your Highness, why don't we distribute some of this roasted meat and dishes to everyone? It's quite boring for just the two of us to eat anyway. If we waste the food, we'll surely be struck by lightning! Distribute it while it's still hot, so everyone can taste the fruits of their labor. Isn't that wonderful?"
Watching Yun Xi seriously spouting nonsense but never mentioning that she couldn't finish the food herself, and even using a phrase like "struck by lightning", Qi Rong could hardly contain his amusement.
Not wanting Yun Xi to have a burden while eating and affect her digestion, Qi Rong then turned to Wang Gui and said:
"Steward Wang, distribute some of the roasted meat to the servants."
As soon as Qi Rong said this, everyone was shocked. Steward Wang hesitated and said:
"Your Highness, this is not appropriate."
Before Wang Gui could finish, Qi Rong said in a deep voice:
"Do as I say."
Seeing Qi Rong's cold expression, Wang Gui immediately felt a chill run down his spine and quickly said:
"Yes. On behalf of everyone, Wang Gui thanks Your Highness and the Lady for your grace!"
Hearing this, all the servants knelt down with Wang Gui. Looking at Yun Xi gratefully, they kowtowed to express their thanks.
They all praised Yun Xi for being considerate to the servants. Before the banquet even started, she had distributed half of the food to the servants. She was truly a mistress like no other in history.
Most of the people on the estate didn't know Yun Xi's identity. But seeing how much Qi Rong doted on Yun Xi, they automatically regarded her as the mistress of the house.
Thanks to the food - sharing incident, Yun Xi instantly won everyone's favor and won their hearts, which made her feel a bit guilty.
She knew that if the delicious food were limited, she wouldn't have been so generous. She might have already secretly gobbled it up by herself in a corner!
But after this incident, she realized that she should be nicer to everyone in the future. She couldn't be so possessive of food anymore. Good things should be shared.
After the meal, Yun Xi was completely satisfied and her stomach was full. Even when she looked at Qi Rong, she found him much more amiable and pleasing to the eye.
People tend to relax after a full meal, and when they relax, they unconsciously want to open their hearts. This was exactly how Yun Xi felt now.
Looking at Qi Rong, who was carefully peeling grapes for her, she felt a warm feeling in her heart.
Seeing that there was no one around, Yun Xi summoned up her courage and asked the question that had been weighing on her mind for a long time but that she had been afraid to ask for fear of being silenced by Qi Rong:
"Do you want to be the emperor?"
The silver - gray long gown that Qi Rong was wearing was changed in the carriage on the way here. The previous black robe was covered in blood and reeked of a strong smell of blood.
It was extremely terrifying to look at and made people feel fearful!
Yun Xi found that her courage had grown a lot since she had been with Qi Rong.
In the past, if she had seen such a bloody and cruel scene, her hands and feet would have trembled. She would have shrunk under the quilt and been haunted by nightmares all night.
However, now she had an appetite and could enjoy the sumptuous feast on the table...
People will unconsciously grow after experiencing some things. This change in her was something she could never have imagined before.
But she knew that the world Qi Rong lived in was just the tip of the iceberg as far as she could see. It might be much darker than she had imagined!
Since she learned about Qi Rong's experience of learning martial arts in his childhood, she had often wanted to get closer to him. She wanted to know what was on his mind and what his world was like.
But on the other hand, she was afraid to enter Qi Rong's world because she wasn't sure.
Once she really recognized Qi Rong's true face and understood his loneliness, she might not be able to bear leaving him alone in the darkness.
And she would have to fall into the darkness with him and embrace his loneliness!
People have an instinct to avoid harm. If possible, she didn't want her life to be tainted by darkness.
Hearing Yun Xi's words, Qi Rong's finger trembled. His dark eyes were deep as he stared directly at Yun Xi:
"Why do you ask this?"
After thinking for a moment, Yun Xi answered honestly:
"If I'm not mistaken, the person who came to visit you at the prince's mansion last night was Yuan Qi, the eldest prince of Ke Ke Qin."
Yun Xi wasn't asking but stating a fact.
Moreover, her intuition told her that Qi Rong had an extraordinary connection with Ke Ke Qin.
Qi Rong's influence had reached a place she couldn't even imagine, and today's competition was entirely manipulated by Qi Rong in the end.
The third prince, Yuan Zhen, might not have ordered anyone to poison the swords at all. He might have been framed by Qi Rong.
Meeting Yun Xi's clear eyes, Qi Rong nodded and didn't deny it:
"You're right. Yuan Qi, the eldest prince of Ke Ke Qin, did come to the Prince Xian's mansion last night."
"He came to tell me that the Empress Dowager secretly summoned the third prince, Yuan Zhen, and wanted Yuan Zhen to use this competition to order the ten warriors to kill me on the arena! So, that's what you saw today."
Thinking of Yun Xi's previous fear of him, Qi Rong felt a bit annoyed.
He stared intently at Yun Xi without looking away and slowly said:
"Do you think I'm cruel?"
Maybe no one present today didn't think he was cruel, because from the fearful looks in others' eyes, he had already read their opinions of him.
However, he didn't want that kind of fear to grow in Yun Xi's heart.
More precisely, he didn't want Yun Xi to be afraid of him and then try to avoid him!
Looking at Qi Rong's suddenly cold and hard handsome face, Yun Xi reached out her hand to caress his handsome cheek. She shook her head gently and said seriously:
"No, I know you had no choice but to kill them."
Just as Qi Rong had once warned her, "Being merciful to the enemy is being cruel to oneself." If Qi Rong didn't kill those people, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't try again in the future, or even become more ruthless!
If you don't cut the grass at the roots, it will grow back when the spring breeze blows. Qi Rong did this to eliminate future troubles, which was in line with his usual style of doing things.
As an onlooker, she couldn't blame Qi Rong. She couldn't, out of her womanly kindness, persuade Qi Rong to be merciful and then put him in danger!
Yun Xi's reaction surprised Qi Rong. His dark eyes instantly lit up. Looking at Yun Xi in surprise, the next moment he couldn't help but hug her tightly!
"Um! Let go of me quickly!"
Because she had eaten too much, when Qi Rong hugged her so tightly, Yun Xi almost vomited up the food.
"Do you want to kill me to silence me because I know your secret?"
Yun Xi stared at Qi Rong suspiciously and slapped his hands hard. But Qi Rong happily kissed her cheeks again and again.
"What secret?"
Qi Rong pretended not to know and asked Yun Xi instead.
Facing the suddenly passionate Qi Rong, Yun Xi's face was redder than a cooked shrimp. She couldn't help but stare at him in disbelief.
He hadn't even answered her first question, and now he was pretending to have amnesia?
Oh well, since he didn't want to say, she might as well not ask.