My Liege And I

Drunk Lovers

Chapter 22

Wei Li Lian
Princess Elora
Lady Wei

“This is warm soup that will help you warm up. We were outside in the cold for too long.” Yuwen Hong blew on the steamy bowl and handed it over to Li Lian.

She had insisted that she could make some when they arrived at the manor, but Yuwen Hong was stubborn minded to let her. He wanted her spoiled thus kept insisting she must not touch anything.

“So how did I do? Do you like it?”

The soup was lumpy, too salty, and the spices were not boiled enough to have the edgy taste dissolved. It was horrible, but not bad for his first time.

This man was one who did not know the kitchen. All his life, they cooked for him.

“Li Lian? Do you like it?”

How to say this. “The truth?”

“Of course, be honest.”

She shook her head. “Horrible would be a light word to use.”

He scowled and frowned, pretending she had hurt his feelings. “You could be a little nicer to me. It was my first time, you know?”

“Yes, and you were prideful. I did say I could help.”

“If I can kill thousands on the field, what is impossible for me? Cooking is easy. Spices there, water, herbs, and whatever is needed.”

“People like you can’t learn new things.”

“All right then. I will make another one which will be way better.”

“This is fine. Let me suffer for my love.”

He grinned. “You are the most magnificent person I know. Do you know that, Li Lian?”

He stood and stretched his hand to hers. “Come. I want to show you something.”

She reached out into his big hands. Rough from sword fighting, yet they were her favorite, because they belonged to her love.

“What do you think of the manor?”

This was his third time asking. Another thing about him is he liked to hear what she thought of things belonging to him. It was probably her compliments he enjoyed. It eased well with his ego and also he loved her, so her liking his things was probably important to him.

The manor was mostly måde of stone and wood, with dark undertones. She thought it was marvelous. It had a mysterious appeal and set a hue mood that was more aesthetic.

He led her to their sleeping room, where he sat her on a zabuton cushion behind a table holding the spectacular qin she had occasionally seen at the dragon palace.

“You had them bring it here?”

He sat beside her. Very close as he enjoyed it that way. “Yes. Fuhuang (father) used to come here with me, and he liked playing it here.” His hands caressed the qin’s woody shiny surface. “What is your father like?”

Weirdly, between them, they had never bothered to speak about family. “You have never attempted to talk about this before,” she mentioned.

“Because you always look sad when I speak about family,” he said, “but now my curiosity is too much for me to ignore the topic. I want to know who was so lucky to have you as their child.”

“My father and I… our relationship is not good.” According to the records, her parents were of the South, the Wei clan, and they were still alive. “And neither is my relationship with my mother and I any better. We are strangers.”