The Prime Minister is Pregnant with Dragon's Seed - Chapter 18

When the dishes were served, Chu Huaiyin personally moved the braised fish in front of Meng Zhou.

But for some reason today, just the sight of fish made Meng Zhou nauseous. And he only wanted to eat the braised pork with preserved vegetables on his left.

Sure enough, no matter how good something is, eat it too often and you’ll get sick of it. Meng Zhou sighed inwardly. He hadn’t thought this day would come, but now he couldn’t even stand the smell of it.

He quietly pushed the dish toward Prince Huai, signaling: Here, you eat it.

When had Meng Zhou ever left a single fish unfinished? Chu Huaiyin paused, then asked, “Are you mad at me?”

Meng Zhou swallowed a perfectly marinated bite of pickled mustard greens and looked blankly at him. “Huh?”

Chu Huaiyin glanced at the snow-spotted fish. “Then why aren’t you eating?”

Meng Zhou didn’t expect Chu Huaiyin to be this persistent. He opened his mouth and replied, “I’m just tired of it.”

“Really not mad? Then let me pinch your cheek.”

What does being mad have to do with cheek-pinching? Before Meng Zhou could figure it out, Chu Huaiyin had already reached out and pinched his fair cheek without warning, leaving two faint red marks.

Chu Huaiyin withdrew his hand in satisfaction. He had always felt that Meng Qi’s face was a little rounder. When he pinched it, he found that it was indeed a little more fleshy than before.

That snow fish was truly something. It had fattened up his little cat.

Meng Zhou rubbed his cheek and said sincerely, “From now on, no more fish. I’m deeply grateful for Prince Huai’s thoughtfulness.”

“Alright. If you ever feel like having some, just let Ji Yang know.”

Ji Yang was moved to tears. He never thought the future little prince would actually have a few bites.

Chu Huaiyin picked up a towel to wipe his hands. “As for the training grounds, I have my own plan. Chongling is far, and round-trip verification will take time. I’ll leave the matter to Ji Yang.” He took a map and pointed to two locations. “We’ll mobilize troops from here and march straight to Mount Chongling, catching them all in one go.”

Meng Zhou’s eyes lit up. He quickly added, “Be mindful of directions in the mountains. Bring extra compasses. As for ghosts and gods, if you don’t believe in them, then they don’t exist.”

Ji Yang’s heart pounded at the scale of the operation. Was the prince planning to set up a garrison?

Chongling Mountain was an ancient battlefield. Naturally, it held strategic value. Once troops were stationed, they’d sever communication between the capital and the Hexi garrison.

The troops stationed in Hexi obey the orders of Emperor Tianyuan and are the only army that Chu Huaiyin held some caution.

So this trip to Chongling—if there were ghosts, they’d catch ghosts and win public support; if there weren’t, they’d still drill the troops. Either way, it was a win.

Meng Zhou craned his neck to peek at the map. Seeing how confident Chu Huaiyin looked, he thought to himself: He clearly planned this long ago, yet now I’m the one getting blamed for inciting rebellion. Fine, we’re in the same boat anyway.

“What about me? What do I do?”

Chu Huaiyin pinched the scruff of the little cat’s neck. “You, until I take care of the Liu family, do not appear in front of Liu Hongbao.”

That made him sound like an idiot. Meng Zhou complained inwardly, but outwardly he was all flattery. He picked up a piece of fish for Chu Huaiyin and tilted his head. “You’re not eating? The fish is really good, have some.”

He forgot to use the serving chopsticks, but Chu Huaiyin didn’t seem to mind. Though he’d already wiped his mouth, he actually tried the bite.

This was Chu Huaiyin’s first time eating Snow-spotted fish. “It’s indeed top quality.”

Meng Zhou didn’t catch the implication—that this was Chu Huaiyin’s first taste of a fish he himself had been eating daily. He curled his eyes, and with his two lifetimes of experience eating fish, he quickly picked the fish meat, and his skills were perfect. In a short time, Chu Huaiyin’s small plate was filled with a mountain of fish meat.

Then he passed the fish head to Jiang Xin and said with a smile, “Replenish your brain.”

Jiang Xin looked at Prince Huai’s plate heaped with fish, then at Meng Zhou’s daggered smile. He swallowed a mouthful of bl00d. “Thank you, dear nephew.”

Then he tasted just a bit of the fish head, and was instantly amazed. Heavenly fish! He glanced enviously at Meng Zhou, his eyes brimming with tears, So delicious!

To think someone could grow tired of such delicacies. What kind of divine life was this?

As Ji Yang left with his orders, the last thing he saw was that scene. He silently decided he needed to reevaluate his understanding of his master’s relationship with Meng Zhou. This was the first time he’d seen Prince Huai eat from someone else’s chopsticks—used ones, no less.

There was a long time. He’d figure it out eventually.

Somehow, that fish seemed to have triggered something unpleasant. Meng Zhou’s appetite had been in complete disarray ever since. If he didn’t see meat, he’d crave it; if he saw it, he’d be disgusted. It was a constant back-and-forth torment.

A nagging worry crept into his heart. Was this the symptom of some terminal illness? Could the doctors here even diagnose it?

***

Last time, after silently suffering from being assigned a pile of case files, Meng Zhou may have changed Jiang Liangzhe’s opinion of him. The latter now proactively invited him out for drinks.

Since Chu Huaiyin had taken over most of the work, Meng Zhou had been quite free. Also, with his appetite skewed, he figured trying something different might help.

The tavern was on a busy street, with window seats offering a clear view of the bustling Chang’an. It was a favorite haunt of poor officials in capital, one could even catch some juicy gossip now and then.

Meng Zhou never mentioned his family when chatting with others. His views were simple and to the point. He looked like an ordinary clerk on the outside, but he was actually a man of many different minds on the inside.

Jiang Liangzhe’s prejudice against him was gone, and he liked him more and more. How could he have equated Meng Zhou with those dandy boys before? He knew at least a little about the Meng family’s circumstances.

Feeling guilty, Jiang Liangzhe kept pouring drinks. “Brother Meng, this one’s on me. To make amends of the past!”

Meng Zhou was genuinely touched. This was only the second person who had ever treated him to a meal. But after his experience with Meng Huaihan—when his senses had dulled and he’d been like meat on a chopping block—he never let himself get drunk again. Always just a few sips, then stop.

Suddenly, a chubby little boy of seven or eight came barreling out from the crowd. He was so round you couldn’t see his neck, and he walked with his nose in the air, knocking over two pedestrians in the process.

Several servants chased after him, shouting, “Young master, slow down!”

Jiang Liangzhe snorted. Seeing that Meng Zhou didn’t recognize the boy, he leaned in and said, “Ever heard of the Guan family? They have only one son for eight generations, but they have produced four prime ministers in a  row . They were highly influential at the time, and many scholars wanted to become their disciples. But the last Prime Minister had only a daughter, now the Old Madam Guan. Everyone thought that was the end of the Guan line, until they brought in a son-in-law, they had a great son, and at just twenty he passed the exams as a Tanhua. But alas…”

Meng Zhou guessed, “That was the Guan family’s young master just now?”

What a shame. Such a prominent family, yet the child’s upbringing seemed lacking.

Seeing that he really didn’t know, Jiang Liangzhe shook his head with a complicated expression. “More than that.”

“The Tanhua son, named Guan Jiasheng, was rumored to be impotent just before his crowning. Overnight, the capital’s most eligible bachelor became undesirable—only his childhood sweetheart, Miss Lan, remained devoted. After they married, the couple ignored the gossip and lived affectionately.

Six years ago, Guan’s father proposed adopting a child under the Guan name, saying he didn’t want the family line to end after so many years. Seeing how much he’d done over the years, Old Madam Guan let it slide.

But Guan Jiasheng clearly sensed his father favored the boy. Whenever Old Madam Guan was away, he would snipe sarcastically—“Of the three unfilial acts, having no son is worst.” Even his wife suffered a lot because of him. A son should not blame his father, so he had no choice but to write a letter to the court requesting that he be sent to serve as an official in a remote place. It has been five years now.

Rumors can harm people, so leaving Beijing may not be a bad thing for the couple.

As Jiang Liangzhe spoke, he suddenly stared at Meng Zhou like he’d seen a ghost. He slammed the table. “I knew something was off! I met Lord Guan a few times five years ago—you look exactly like him, like you were carved from the same mold! When he left the capital, he was just about your age. Five years later, if I hadn’t seen that little Guan kid just now, I wouldn’t have remembered.”

Meng Zhou touched his face unconsciously. Maybe it was because Jiang Liangzhe said that they looked alike, he suddenly felt a sense of empathy. The more dazzling someone was, the more people delighted in uncovering their flaws.

As an actor in his past life, he knew that feeling all too well.

He just couldn’t figure out what Guan’s father was thinking. Ignoring his own son in favor of some random fat child—what a joke.

When bidding Jiang Liangzhe farewell, Meng Zhou suddenly wondered: Was this face of mine cursed? Both Guan Jiasheng and I seem to be doomed when it comes to things about “father.”

The Guan family had once been a grand clan, rivaling even the General’s estate—one civil, one military, both at the top of their game.

Now… they both shared the same problem—dwindling bloodlines.

As Meng Zhou passed by the estate, he overheard a richly dressed fat old man scolding a servant in a low voice: “These are turbulent times! Can’t you keep a closer eye on the young master? What use are you?”

Then he bent down and coaxed the chubby boy sweetly: “Abao, be good a while longer. In a few years, this whole manor will be yours.”

Meng Zhou’s gaze sharpened. That must be Guan’s father. Guan Jiasheng wasn’t even thirty, yet this man was telling some outsider’s child the entire estate would be his one day?

Meng Zhou had a sudden thought and scrutinized the supposed grandfather and grandson. The identical pudgy builds, the narrow triangle eyes…

Don’t tell me no one else sees this? Meng Zhou thought, then let it go. Not my place to meddle in other people’s family affairs.

Author’s Note: Key character reveal—y’all know who I mean, right?