The Feast Part One

Chapter 12: A more considerate Prince

While sex may fill his lust, it does not fill the belly and alleviate his hunger.

Therefore, the next morning, the prince woke up early and took care not wake his concubine, who was sound asleep beside him.

Duan Tingxuan rubbed his tummy and looked very miserable as he left the room, and washed up. Then he quietly left the quarters of his concubine and made a beeline for the kitchen.

The kitchen is busy right now as they were preparing breakfast for the royal family. The women in the kitchen were smiling and chatting as they went about their task. The kitchen was filled with pots of congee, steamed buns and other dishes, and smell heavenly. Even the prince almost drooled at the smell - He was that hungry.

Duan Tingxuan coughed as he entered the kitchen. There was a stunned silence as he looked like a fierce Kirin [1] among the lambs. The middle age women and the grannies in the kitchen suddenly dispersed and stay away from the prince, as if he was a plague.

Only one woman was left in the kitchen. She was rooted to the spot in fear and could not run away. She just stood there, shivering with fright, and asked in a trembling voice, "Lord.... Why are you here? This.... is not .... a suitable place for ..... a man of your status?"

Duan Tingxuan coughed, and he was flustered at the reactions of the chefs in the kitchen. He could not understand why the women working there fled from him and was displeased with their reactions.

Duan Tingxuan thought, 'Hey, I am not a villain that grab women from the streets and force them to have sex with me. Even if I were to be one, I would not be interested in you. Look at your figure and looks in the mirror.'

Of course, he did not reveal his thoughts as usual, "That.... Nothing! I just want to see what new things the kitchen had. The winter is getting hot, and my mother is afraid of hot weather. Had you prepared some cooling stuff for her?"

The woman could not understand what is going on. It may be almost the dragon boat festival [2], but the weather is not hot at all, and does not require cooling stuff to cool down from the heat of the weather. But since the prince had asked, she had to reply.

Therefore, she smiled as she replied to the prince, "The An Ping princess had not indicated that we need to prepare cooling ingredients yet. However, these few days, there are some red beans that were delivered here from the villages. The An Ping princess seemed to like the soup that was made from these red beans. As well, there were some fresh wild chickens, rabbits and lambs from the villages. All these are very well loved by the royal family. May I inquire which ones are you interested in?"

Duan Tingxuan then recalled that the villages will periodically deliver some food to the mansion. Although it is not as much as what they will give during the Lunar New Year, the live stocks from the villages are fresh and tasty.

When he recalled Si Ping words, he smiled, "My needs are simple. Since we have some red beans, yellow beans and these foodstuffs, give me a few jins of each ingredient."

"Ka Cha!" This is the sound of the woman's jaw dropping in amazement. Her mouth was wide open as she looked at Duan Tingxuan in shock. Her look with the mouth opened wide was like a weasel that was caught stealing a chicken [3].

She could not be faulted for being this surprised - who had heard of a high ranking prince coming to the kitchen to steal some food? This is just as astonishing as the time that the Big Madam came here and ransacked the kitchen.

"Why are you looking like that? I just want to take some beans? It is my place and you are telling me that I cannot take them?" Duan Tingxuan was furious. As a prince, he had never been looked upon like this by a mere servant!