无翼乌工口里番无色无摭挡

“Can’t you tell that I only said that out of anger at you?”

“I couldn’t tell.”

“…”

“After all, Your Highness doesn’t seem like such a childish person.”

“Is that complimenting me or insulting me?”

“Both.”

“…”

Li Hongyuan glanced outside and suddenly realized that whenever he argued with her, listening to her ramblings and irrationality, time always passed by swiftly.

“Jiang Ning, I need to tell you seriously, let Prime Minister Jiang release Mu Jian.”

“Fine. Wait until the trial is over.”

“Was all that I said to you just now wasted words?”

“If Your Highness is not busy, why not sit down and have a bite to eat while listening to me?”

Li Hongyuan fell silent for a moment, returned and sat across from her. Right where Li Tingqian had sat previously.

He watched her.

Jiang Ning welcomed him: “Have something to eat, make yourself at home, don’t hesitate.”

She handed him a steamed roll.

“…Fed up with your temper, I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Your Highness, you’re punishing yourself for others’ mistakes.”

“…”

Li Hongyuan couldn’t help but rub his forehead again.

Jiang Ning slowly finished her porridge, wiped her mouth neatly with a napkin before asking, “Are you worried about startling the snake in the grass?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Why should I worry?” Jiang Ning explained to him, “The current situation is that our enemies are lurking in the dark while we are in plain sight. They have been watching us all this time. The snake is watching us much closer than we are watching it. What is there to be startled about?”

“But they don’t know that we already know about them.”

“In my opinion, they probably aren’t that stupid.”

“So in your eyes, everyone is smart, only this Crown Prince is stupid?”

“What I’m saying is, there’s no need for us to be so cautious anymore. Arrest Mu Jian and brutally interrogate him, pry open his mouth.”

“Is it so easy to pry open Mu Jian’s mouth? Given my understanding of him, which is better than yours, he has no parents, no wife, no children, no one he cares about.” Li Hongyuan finished and added, “In other words, he is a man with no weaknesses.”

“I don’t care whether he will really open his mouth.”

“What is your real intention then?”

“This soup is nice, would you like some?” Jiang Ning pushed a bowl of Snow Fungus Soup in front of him, “Xiaoqian loves this soup in the morning.”

“I don’t want it.”

“Then I’ll have it.”

Jiang Ning held the bowl with one hand and a spoon with the other, slurping loudly.

It made Li Hongyuan inexplicably think of an animal.

A cat.

That kind of lazy and haughty cat.

Li Hongyuan stared at her soft, tousled hair for a while, and asked, “Are you really that hungry?”

“What?” Jiang Ning looked up.

“Since I walked in, you’ve eaten eight dumplings, one bowl of porridge, one bowl of soup, two pastries, and a lot of dishes.”

Having grown up in the Imperial Palace, he’d been taught that one should not speak while eating, and to stop eating when seven-tenths full.

It’s often said that illness comes through the mouth, eating too much can lead to indigestion and sickness.

Concubine Jin didn’t care about these things, and the eunuchs and nannies who served him didn’t dare to let him eat his fill, nor let him dress too warmly.

The royal children, brought up this way, didn’t have large appetites, and were used to having small, frequent meals.

Li Hongyuan had never eaten breakfast like her.

Watching from the side, he inexplicably felt bad for her stomach.