vstars Chapter 1347: Qingdai's Wish Comes True
Chapter 1347: Qingdai's Wish Comes True
The next morning, the morning light filtered through the sheer curtains into the bedroom, casting soft, dappled light on the quilt.
Liu Yifei slowly woke up, her eyelashes fluttering as she opened her eyes. She instinctively reached to her side, but her fingertips only brushed against the warm sheets, grasping at nothing.
The last vestiges of sleepiness vanished almost instantly.
She propped herself up on her arms and sat up in bed, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She glanced around the side of the bed, but there wasn't a soul in sight.
Liu Yifei's small lips immediately pouted, her voice soft and slightly nasal, as if she had just woken up:
"Where did my husband go? Is he in the bathroom?"
She called out twice, but the bathroom remained silent, without any response.
Liu Yifei threw back the covers, picked up the light pink bathrobe draped over the foot of the bed, put it on, loosely tied the ties in a knot, and shuffled out of the bedroom in fluffy white slippers.
As soon as she turned the corner of the corridor, a rich and delicious aroma of food wafted over, making her nose twitch slightly.
She stopped, sniffing the air, her eyes instantly lighting up: "Wow, it smells so good..."
Following the alluring aroma, Liu Yifei walked step by step to the restaurant entrance and immediately saw Lin Lang carrying a white porcelain soup bowl out of the kitchen.
A light steam rose from the soup bowl, filling the room with the delicious aroma of the nourishing soup mixed with the fragrance of meat.
The dining table was piled high with dishes: glistening braised pork ribs in a dark brown sauce, golden and tender pan-fried cod, and soft and flavorful braised chicken with chestnuts.
There was also a plate of refreshing okra salad, with warm millet porridge and milky steamed buns on the side. This was hardly breakfast; it was more like a fine meal.
Liu Yifei covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her eyebrows curving into crescent moons:
"Honey, you spoil your wife so much! You made so much meat and vegetables for me so early in the morning, it smells so good!"
Lin Lang placed the Shaoxing wine and angelica root chicken soup in the center of the table.
He then turned and walked towards Liu Yifei, reaching out to pull her into his arms. His palm gently pressed against her back, and he lowered his head to place a soft kiss on her smooth forehead, his voice tender and affectionate.
"You're awake? I thought you'd need to eat more since you're pregnant, so I made lunch for you too. You can just heat it up in the microwave at noon, saving you the trouble of cooking."
Liu Yifei snuggled closer to Lin Lang, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek against his warm chest, nuzzling him affectionately.
"Honey, you're so good to me. I'm so happy to have you around."
Her soft, sweet voice reached his ears, and Lin Lang lowered his head to gently rub Liu Yifei's hair, his eyes filled with tenderness.
At the same time, Lin Lang secretly missed Qing Dai. Because he had been eating vegetarian food and praying to Buddha in Chang'an for so long, he had become quite thin.
If she keeps eating vegetarian food like this, her little face will probably turn green.
While cooking, Lin Lang made an extra breakfast and meat dish, secretly packed them in an insulated lunchbox, and put them into his personal space.
He was thinking that he would travel back to Chang'an later to give Qingdai a taste of meat and help her recover.
After finishing reading, Lin Lang raised his hand and gently patted Liu Yifei's slender back, his fingertips softly tracing her spine as he coaxed her:
"Wife, sit down and have a taste. The freshly made black chicken soup is the most nourishing. Drink a bowl while it's hot, otherwise it will lose its flavor when it gets cold."
"Thank you, honey. Here's a kiss for you, mwah!"
Liu Yifei gave Lin Lang a quick kiss on the handsome cheek; she knew how to be charming.
Lin Lang smiled gently and helped Liu Yifei sit down in the soft dining chair.
Then, he served Liu Yifei a full bowl of Shaoxing wine and angelica root black chicken soup and handed it to her: "Baby, drink some soup first to warm your stomach, drink slowly."
Liu Yifei held the soup bowl and took a sip. The rich and delicious soup melted on her tongue, and the warmth flowed down her throat into her heart. Her eyes curved even more sweetly.
"It's so delicious, honey, your cooking is amazing."
As she spoke, she scooped up a spoonful of soup and held it to Lin Lang's lips, saying, "You should try some too."
Lin Lang opened his mouth and drank it down, then gently stroked Liu Yifei's nose with his fingertips. He then picked up a piece of tenderly stewed pork rib, removed the bone, and fed it to her.
"Honey, try this. It's been stewing all morning, and it's very tender."
Liu Yifei took a small bite; the meat was tender and flavorful. She squinted her eyes as she chewed, like a satisfied kitten.
"It's delicious! My husband's cooking is amazing!"
As Lin Lang served food to Liu Yifei, he jokingly said with a smile, "You're such a smooth talker, you've got me completely bewildered."
"Hehe... Who else would I flatter if not you, my perfect husband?"
"Silly wife, how can you be so cute?"
Like a little glutton, Liu Yifei ate her delicious lovingly prepared breakfast while playfully saying:
"Not only am I cute, but I'll also give you an adorable super-powered baby!"
Lin Lang gently stroked Liu Yifei's pregnant belly with his left hand and said tenderly, "Wife, our baby will definitely be as beautiful and cute as you."
"Honey, I hope our son will look like you when he's born, but he won't inherit your philandering nature."
"Haha... Honey, our son isn't even born yet, and you're already worrying about whether he'll be a womanizer. Aren't you overthinking it?"
Liu Yifei playfully stuck out her tongue and smiled, then focused on eating her lovingly prepared breakfast with a satisfied expression.
The warmth of the dining table spread out, the aroma of meat and the delicious soup filled the room with tenderness.
Liu Yifei picked up a piece of pan-fried cod, blew on it, and handed it over.
Lin Lang lowered his head and bit into the cod, his fingertips casually wiping away a bit of sauce from the corner of Liu Yifei's mouth.
He fed her a bite of a milky-scented steamed bun.
She then fed him a piece of cold okra salad.
The sweet back-and-forth feeding between the couple, the soft clinking of bowls and chopsticks, accompanied by their low laughter, became the most beautiful sounds of the morning.
After finishing the soup, Liu Yifei sighed, "It's so delicious," her eyes full of tenderness.
Lin Lang saw this and added another half bowl of porridge to her bowl, along with a piece of tender chicken from the braised chicken with chestnuts: "Eat some more, to nourish the baby too."
Liu Yifei obediently opened her mouth, her cheeks slightly puffed out, eating the food Lin Lang fed her, her eyes filled with an irrepressible smile.
Having just finished breakfast with Liu Yifei, Lin Lang stood up from his chair and lied, saying:
"Honey, I have official business to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
Liu Yifei nestled in Lin Lang's arms, hugging his waist tightly, and said coquettishly with reluctance, "Honey, can you come and spend time with me whenever you have free time?"
Lin Lang gently stroked Liu Yifei's fragrant shoulder and coaxed her softly:
"Okay, my sweet wife, let your husband give you a kiss, and then I'll go get busy."
"Mmm." Liu Yifei responded softly, then tiptoed slightly and pressed her soft lips to Lin Lang's first, with a hint of reluctance and tenderness.
Lin Lang leaned down and held Liu Yifei's nape, then kissed her luscious red lips with a gentle yet tender touch.
His kiss was gentle and lingering, as if he had poured all their affection into it.
Liu Yifei raised her hand and wrapped it around Lin Lang's neck, reluctant to let go of his tenderness.
After a long while, he stepped back slightly, his forehead touching Liu Yifei's, their noses brushing against each other, their warm breaths brushing against each other's lips, his eyes filled with an intense tenderness.
"Alright, honey, if I don't leave now, I'll be late for work."
"Okay! Goodbye, husband." Liu Yifei smiled sweetly and reluctantly let go of Lin Lang.
"Smack..." Lin Lang gave Liu Yifei another kiss on the corner of her lips. "Bye-bye! I'm going to travel through time with my wife."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Lang activated the [Space-Time Mass Teleportation] skill, and with a "whoosh," he vanished into thin air in front of Liu Yifei.
Meanwhile, in the concubines' quarters of the imperial palace in Shanghai during the Tang Dynasty.
The soft morning light shone through the carved window lattice and fell on the dark blue and white skirt, making the orchid pattern embroidered on the fabric even more elegant.
She was still wearing a plain-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), her black hair loosely tied back, secured only by a plain silver hairpin with no embellishments.
Her face, devoid of makeup, was beautiful yet somewhat haggard, clearly showing signs of prolonged sleepless nights and loss of appetite.
On the small rosewood table was today's breakfast: a plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, a bowl of white porridge, and a plate of pickled vegetables, all so plain that there wasn't a speck of oil in them.
Qingdai sat by the small table, holding a white porcelain bowl in both hands, her fingertips so slender they seemed as if they would break at the slightest touch.
She sipped her porridge slowly, her movements as gentle as a fragile kitten, her brows slightly furrowed, clearly not enjoying her food.
After only two or three sips, she put down the bowl, picked up her silver chopsticks, took a bite of vegetables, chewed them a couple of times, and then slowly put them down, saying softly, "Let's take this away, I can't eat anymore."
Seeing this, Chun Tao, a palace maid standing to the side, looked worried and stepped forward to gently advise:
"Your Majesty, you've been eating so little these days, only drinking two or three sips of porridge. How can your body take this in the long run?"
Upon hearing this, Qingdai lowered her eyelids even further, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath her eyes, her tone filled with undisguised melancholy: "Chuntao, do you know, His Majesty... has he returned?"
Chun Tao looked slightly embarrassed and carefully replied:
"Your Majesty, I heard from the head maid yesterday that Her Majesty the Empress has brought the Empress Dowager from Shanghai Kingdom to the Shanghai Imperial Palace."
"It's just that Her Majesty the Empress has instructed that the ladies are not allowed to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager for the time being. She said that a grand banquet will be held in a few days, and then the ladies will be allowed to formally pay their respects to the Empress Dowager."
"As for His Majesty... I heard he is still handling affairs in Shanghai and has not yet returned to his residence in Chang'an."
"His Majesty hasn't returned yet..." Qingdai sighed softly, her voice as light as a wisp of smoke.
Her sigh was filled with the desolation of lovesickness, as if all her energy and spirit had been drained away by that one sigh.
"Break up breakfast. I need to start copying scriptures to pray for His Majesty's well-being."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Chun Tao was just about to remove the breakfast.
As soon as he finished speaking, a slight spatial fluctuation suddenly rang out, and the next second, Lin Lang's figure abruptly appeared in the palace.
He was carrying two double-layered insulated lunch boxes, and he still looked a bit travel-worn.
When his gaze fell on Qingdai's thin face and frail figure, Lin Lang's weariness was instantly replaced by heartache.
He strode forward, looking at Qingdai's haggard face, his voice filled with barely suppressed pity:
"Silly girl, it's only been a few days, why didn't you endure the hardship and end up looking like this, making my heart ache?"
When Qingdai heard that familiar voice, her delicate body stiffened slightly, as if she couldn't believe her ears.
She suddenly looked up and met Lin Lang's eyes, which were filled with heartache. Those eyes had once given her endless tenderness, and now they truly reflected her figure, so close to him.
A wave of surprise instantly overwhelmed all the longing and loneliness.
Qingdai's eyes suddenly lit up, but crystal tears rolled down uncontrollably, sliding down her cheeks and landing on her plain clothes, leaving a small wet patch.
She instinctively wanted to stand up and throw herself into Lin Lang's arms, her body already leaning slightly forward, but years of etiquette and rules were already ingrained in her bones.
Qingdai paused, then finally knelt down, her hands clasped at her sides. Her voice trembled with a sob, yet she still maintained the decorum befitting a concubine.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. May Your Majesty enjoy boundless blessings and peace."
Chun Tao, who was standing to the side, also realized what was happening and quickly knelt down, respectfully kowtowing: "This servant greets Your Majesty."