Chapter 50

Shen Yu denied, “Of course not. I don’t care about anyone else along the way. Now in the Beijing, I need to be cautious with my words and actions.”

Xie Tingzhou said, “When there’s no one around, call out however you want.”

Shen Yu nodded, “Then I’ll go find charcoal.”

“Okay.”

Xie Tingzhou watched him walk away. As the lantern light gradually dimmed, he turned and walked back. After a while, he heard familiar footsteps approaching.

He stood still in the middle of the road, waiting for the person to come closer before asking, “Aren’t you supposed to be finding charcoal?”

Shen Yu was startled by Xie Tingzhou’s sudden voice in the darkness. “How come you’re here?”

Xie Tingzhou pursed his lips. He had already asked this question twice tonight.

“I was about to ask you why you ended up here instead of finding charcoal.”

Shen Yu felt embarrassed. “I haven’t found the kitchen yet. The palace is too big.”

She turned and took a few steps before turning back, asking with a hint of flattery, “Your Highness, do you know where the kitchen is?”

Xie Tingzhou wanted to laugh. He didn’t mind being addressed as Your Highness.

“Let’s go.”

Shen Yu hurried to catch up, holding a lantern for him.

The night was too quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps.

“Why aren’t you spending New Year with them?” Xie Tingzhou glanced at her.

“Why aren’t you?” Shen Yu retorted.

“Not familiar,” Xie Tingzhou said.

“Don’t want to,” Shen Yu replied.

Shen Yu smiled and immediately changed the topic, “Keeping up appearances, huh?”

“Just don’t want to. I’m used to being alone.”

Shen Yu looked at him in surprise.

They walked side by side, occasionally exchanging a few words.

Xie Tingzhou responded if he was in the mood; otherwise, he remained silent.

After a while, Shen Yu asked, “Why haven’t we reached the kitchen yet?”

Xie Tingzhou also paused; they seemed to have been walking for quite some time.

Shen Yu stopped and asked in disbelief, “You’re not lost too, are you?”

“I… forgot,” Xie Tingzhou admitted.

Shen Yu was speechless for a moment. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“Forgot.”

Damn, he really forgot.

If it were someone else, Shen Yu might have kicked them on the spot.

From childhood to adulthood, Xie Tingzhou hadn’t spent even a year in Shengjing. Remembering where the kitchen was located was already a challenge, let alone the rest of the palace.

Xie Tingzhou sighed after a moment and said, “Here come someone.”

You’re acting as if you’re calling the Father-in-Law, Shen Yu thought sarcastically.

In the next moment, a dark figure dropped from the tree and knelt on one knee. “Master.”

Xie Tingzhou felt no embarrassment about getting lost in his own courtyard. He calmly said, “Go to the kitchen and lead the way.”

With a guard leading the way, they soon arrived at the kitchen.

Today was New Year’s Eve, with only one master in the entire mansion, and he wasn’t even celebrating. After the cooks and servants finished dinner, they dispersed.

The kitchen was pitch black. Shen Yu found a candlestick, lit it, and then realized that Xie Tingzhou and the guard hadn’t left yet.

“Your Highness, you should go back first. I’ll find the charcoal myself,” Shen Yu said.

Xie Tingzhou pointed to a basket of charcoal in the corner of the kitchen, blatantly displayed.

“Oh, okay.” Shen Yu walked over and started picking up charcoal with a small basket.

Xie Tingzhou couldn’t help but comment, “Are you planning to pick charcoal until next year?”

Shen Yu rolled her eyes and picked up a piece of charcoal, weighing it in her hand. “I’m picking slowly. Your Highness can leave first.”

Feeling the pressure Xie Tingzhou was emitting, the guard immediately knelt down.

Xie Tingzhou sighed. “Can you find your way back?”

Shen Yu was taken aback, realizing she had forgotten about that.

“Your Highness, why don’t you leave the guard with me? I’ll go back after picking up the charcoal,” Shen Yu suggested.

Xie Tingzhou didn’t respond to him. Instead, he walked over and asked, “You weren’t really here to find charcoal, were you?”

Shen Yu looked up at him and whispered, “I… actually… haven’t had dinner.”

Not just dinner, she hadn’t eaten lunch either.

The news she had gathered today made her lose her appetite, but her body was honest; when hungry, one must scavenge for food.

As if to prove she wasn’t lying, Shen Yu’s stomach conveniently growled.

Xie Tingzhou couldn’t help but laugh and cry, “So you came to the kitchen to sneak some food?”

Shen Yu nodded honestly, “I’m still growing.”

“Indeed,” Xie Tingzhou glanced at her, “you should grow a bit taller.”

Xie Tingzhou waved his hand, and the guard behind him disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Shen Yu watched in astonishment and couldn’t help but indulge her old habit, “He’s good at martial arts, isn’t he? Can I learn from him?”

“Average,” Xie Tingzhou replied.

Shen Yu clicked her tongue.

In terms of martial arts, the guard was indeed not as good as Xie Tingzhou, but he didn’t say it.

After all, in the eyes of the Shiyu family, he was still the fragile Prince of Beilin, incapable of bearing burdens, incapable of handling things on his own.

Shen Yu was already hungry and didn’t bother pretending anymore. She stood up and asked, “Did you not eat either? I’m going to cook some noodles. Do you want some?”

With the guard gone, she didn’t call him “Your Highness” anymore; it felt awkward to call him that by herself.

Ignoring the fact that Xie Tingzhou didn’t respond, Shen Yu started to wash her hands and began to light the fire with the black charcoal.

The kitchen was a mess, with pots and pans clanging around. The noise even attracted the person on duty in the neighboring kitchen, but the guard stopped them from coming over.

Watching Shen Yu move from one place to another, Xie Tingzhou couldn’t help but comment, “Do you even know what you’re doing? Don’t call the cooks.”

Without turning her head, Shen Yu replied, “Don’t talk if you’re not going to help.”

After saying that, she froze.

For a moment, she thought it was Shen Zhao who spoke. Shen Zhao never cooked, but the two of them had sneaked into the kitchen in the middle of the night to cook noodles before.

“Burnt,” Shen Yu snapped back to reality, realizing that one side of the fried egg in the pan was already black.

After bustling around for a while, she finally managed to dish out two bowls of noodles.

Simple scallion noodles with greens at the bottom and a fried egg on top—this was their New Year’s Eve dinner.

Xie Tingzhou held the bowl, his brows furrowed. He didn’t know why he hadn’t left yet.

Perhaps after so many years of loneliness, he suddenly felt a bit lonely.

Or maybe he was really hungry.

“If you don’t eat soon, it’ll get soggy,” Shen Yu urged, stuffing several mouthfuls into her mouth before speaking.

Xie Tingzhou took a bite. The noodles were firm, the broth flavorful, and the fragrance of the scallions mixed with the greens was refreshing.

Shen Yu was too hungry to talk. She just wanted to fill her stomach.

The two of them silently finished their noodles.

“Leave it; someone will clean up,” Xie Tingzhou stopped Shen Yu, who was about to wash the dishes, and left first.

For a New Year’s Eve, the night was still too quiet.

Shen Yu was curious about Xie Tingzhou, and Xie Tingzhou was equally curious about her.

He remembered what the guard had reported today and suddenly asked, “Do you know Shen Yu?”