AMLFS Chapter 115

Chapter 116: Prayer

Chapter 116: Prayer

Dinner was set in the east side hall of the Imperial Study, which was also where the emperor usually took short rests.

The Imperial Palace’s cuisine was, of course, extremely abundant. Song Huaixi’s eyes widened as he looked at the table full of dishes before him.

Such an array of dishes was only seen during festivals at the Song Mansion. Yet now, an ordinary dinner was this lavish.

“Zhao Fangye, there are so many dishes!” Song Huaixi sat next to Zhao Fangye, pointing at the large table of food, and said, “Will we be able to finish it all?”

Zhao Fangye chuckled softly, “Pick what you like to eat, don’t worry about the rest.”

“Okay.”

Logically, the Empress should be standing to the side, serving the Emperor. The servants in the palace were all astute, especially the palace maids and eunuchs serving before the Emperor.

Seeing Song Huaixi sitting beside Zhao Fangye, eyeing the dishes with longing and not making any move to get up, and Zhao Fangye looking as if it was normal, two maids immediately walked over to serve them.

Looking at the maids beside him, Song Huaixi suddenly remembered something, “Zhao Fangye, where did Chun Hua and Zhao Lu go? Aren’t they here?”

After all, they had spent a long time together. Compared to these palace servants, Song Huaixi was more familiar with them.

Zhao Fangye knew what he was thinking. In this vast Imperial Palace, he was only familiar with himself, and he probably wasn’t used to the unfamiliar palace staff.

“Huaixi wants them to enter the palace?” Zhao Fangye placed a lotus root cake in his bowl. “Tomorrow, I’ll order someone to bring them here.”

“Really?!” Song Huaixi immediately smiled, his eyes curving. “That’s great.”

Then, as if thinking of something else, he asked, “What about Little Wolf? Can we bring him in too?”

Zhao Fangye didn’t particularly like dogs, but he didn’t dislike them either. Song Huaixi didn’t know if dogs were allowed in the palace. He looked at Zhao Fangye with anticipation, “Can we?”

Seeing him looking at him expectantly, how could Zhao Fangye bear to refuse?

He had no choice but to nod helplessly, “Yes, I’ll order someone to bring him into the palace as well. Can you eat in peace now?”

“Yes, yes!” Song Huaixi was extremely happy and enthusiastically put food into Zhao Fangye’s bowl, “Zhao Fangye, eat more!”

The servants standing by watched him continuously putting food into the Emperor’s bowl, a little of everything, until the bowl was almost overflowing. They all stopped what they were doing.

Originally, the rule in the palace was to eat no more than three chopsticks’ worth of any dish, but now no one dared to mention it. After all, everyone could see that His Majesty was in a good mood.

Zhao Fangye looked at the small mountain gradually piling up in his bowl and Song Huaixi’s busy actions beside him. Although helpless, he had a gentle smile on his face.

Song Huaixi’s actions inexplicably reminded him of the first time he went to the Chancellor’s mansion, when Song Huaixi had stuffed his bowl with all the dishes he liked, just like he was doing now.

“Alright, alright.” Zhao Fangye raised his hand and caught his hand, which was about to put more food in his bowl. “My bowl is going to overflow, Huaixi.”

Song Huaixi had been so engrossed in putting food into his bowl that he had forgotten himself. He turned his head and, seeing Zhao Fangye’s bowl piled high, stopped his chopsticks and chuckled, “Hahaha, I put in so much.”

Saying that, he brought his own bowl over and said to Zhao Fangye, “Zhao Fangye, if you can’t finish it all, you can put some in my bowl.”

Zhao Fangye was truly charmed by his cuteness. He reached out and ruffled his hair, “It’s alright, let’s continue eating.”

After dinner, Song Huaixi rubbed his stomach as he sat next to Zhao Fangye, watching him review official documents. He hiccuped from time to time.

“Hic!…Hic!…”

The study was quiet, with only the subtle sound of official documents being flipped. Therefore, the sounds Song Huaixi inadvertently made were particularly abrupt.

Zhao Fangye, who was holding a vermilion brush and concentrating on reviewing official documents, was interrupted by his movements.

He put down his brush, turned his head to look at him, and saw him frowning with a look of anxiety. “What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”

Thinking that he had disturbed Zhao Fangye, Song Huaixi hurriedly covered his mouth and shook his head, “N-no…not…thi…hic!”

Before he could finish speaking, he couldn’t control himself and hiccuped loudly again.

Song Huaixi felt very embarrassed, and his face flushed. He hurriedly reached for the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and gulped it down.

“Did I…disturb you? I…won’t make any more sounds now.”

Song Huaixi had eaten three crab roe dumplings, two pieces of braised mutton, a bowl of fresh bamboo shoot and dried shrimp wontons, and seasonal stir-fried vegetables for dinner. At the end, he even had a bowl of milk skin.

Zhao Fangye shook his head, knowing that he had eaten too much. He put aside the memorial presented by the Ministry of Rites.

These past few days, the Ministry of Rites had been busy preparing for the Emperor’s enthronement ceremony. Many things had to be reviewed and approved by the Emperor before they could proceed, so they were very busy.

“You ate too much?” Zhao Fangye gently took his hand away from his mouth, his tone carrying a gentle reprimand. “Why didn’t you say anything if you weren’t feeling well? You’re learning to hide things from me, hmm?”

Saying that, he stood up and pulled him up from the chair. “Let’s go, I’ll take you for a walk to digest.”

Seeing that he wasn’t blaming him for disturbing him and even wanted to take him for a walk, Song Huaixi was happy. He rubbed his stomach and hiccuped without restraint.

“Zhao Fangye…hic!…where…hic!…are we going…to digest?” He hadn’t explored this vast Imperial Palace properly yet.

“Follow me, I’ll take you to a good place.”

Hearing that, Song Huaixi’s eyes were full of curiosity. He had only been here once before and thought that the Imperial Palace was extremely beautiful, even the roofs were golden.

Zhao Fangye pulled him along as he walked out, listening to his uncontrollable hiccups, his cold face softened with a gentle smile.

Led by Zhao Fangye, Song Huaixi arrived at a pavilion. Standing on the top floor of the pavilion, they could overlook the entire Imperial Palace and the distant capital.

The magnificent Forbidden City stood solemnly and orderly under the setting sun.

The glazed tiles on the roof sparkled with golden light in the afterglow. A gentle breeze came, and the vast view made it feel as if all the troubles and worries could be temporarily cast aside.

“Wow! So high!” Song Huaixi leaned on the railing of the pavilion and looked into the distance, pointing to the spire on the mountain in the distance and saying, “Zhao Fangye, I can see so far now! Can you see the pagoda on that mountain?”

As Song Huaixi walked along the way, he gradually stopped hiccuping. The bloating in his stomach also slowly subsided. He pointed into the distance and smiled happily.

Zhao Fangye’s gaze had been fixed on him, not paying attention to the scenery in the distance. Hearing this, he followed the direction of his finger.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the mountain had become a silhouette. A towering iron pagoda stood on the lush hillside.

“I see it.” Retracting his gaze, Zhao Fangye stared at the vibrant face of the person before him with gentle eyes.

That was a temple on the outskirts of the capital, named Rui Ling Temple. The people of the capital and the dignitaries all liked to go there, and it was said that wishes made there were very effective.

Song Huaixi turned his head, their eyes meeting. His eyes were filled with joy. “I’ve been there with Mother! Mother said that the Bodhisattva there is very kind and will help you fulfill your wishes as long as they’re not excessive.”

He never believed in gods or Buddhas, so he didn’t feel anything about Song Huaixi’s words. He just smiled and said lightly, “Is that so?”

“You don’t believe me?” Song Huaixi seemed to want to prove it and thought seriously for a moment, saying, “That’s right! The peace talisman I gave you was obtained there! It’s very effective! It let you come back safely!”

Originally, Zhao Fangye was just listening to him quietly, but when he mentioned the peace talisman, he paused and subconsciously reached out to stroke the front of his clothes.

So that’s how it was? Zhao Fangye smiled softly.

Looking at the seriousness in his eyes, he felt a warm feeling in his heart. So the good luck on the battlefield was all because this little rabbit was protecting him.

Zhao Fangye responded seriously, “In that case, it does seem very effective! The Bodhisattva is indeed very kind.”

Seeing that he believed him, Song Huaixi was happy. He leaned on the railing and continued to ask, “Then what wishes do you have, Zhao Fangye? You can tell the Bodhisattva.”

“Wishes…I wish…” Zhao Fangye’s light-colored eyes looked at him, his eyes gentle and affectionate.

“Wait!!” Before Zhao Fangye could finish speaking, Song Huaixi rushed over and covered his mouth with a serious expression. “You can’t say it out loud! It won’t work if you say it out loud! You have to make a wish with your heart so that the Bodhisattva can hear you.”

Letting out a soft laugh, Zhao Fangye pulled him into his arms and kissed his lips.

Looking at the person before him, Zhao Fangye hoped for the first time in his life that his heart could reach the heavens.

His first wish was that he would be blessed with prosperity and good health, his second wish was that he would be complete and his family would be at peace, and his third wish was that everything he saw would be beautiful.