Transmigrator meets Reincarnator

Ch. 213 and Ch. 214

The meaning behind her words was that, they had already finished discussing business, why wasn't he leaving yet?

"Don't worry, I left under orders for another task. It's still early right now, so I'll leave after lunch."

Chu Lian hadn't thought He Sanlang would be staying that long. And he was intending to eat here as well? She was slightly taken aback and blurted , "You're staying for lunch?"

He Changdi had originally been leaning back in his chair, eyes shut as he rested. Upon hearing Chu Lian's question, his eyes immediately snapped open and locked onto her. "What? Can't I stay?"

Chu Lian didn't dare to say no, of course. He was her husband after all, and if not in feeling then at least in name. She had no right to object even if he wanted to stay the night with her, let alone have a simple midday meal.

With that conclusion in mind, Chu Lian had no more qualms left to mention. She shook her head and said, "Since you're staying, what would you like to eat for lunch? I'll get Wenqing to prepare whatever you want to eat."

Actually, ever since they had escaped from the mountain forest together, the relations between them had improved significantly. Chu Lian wasn't a calculative person by nature, either. With her straightforward and honest manner, this young pair was starting to look like a sweet couple in love.

He Changdi hadn't expected Chu Lian to ask him what he wanted to eat. A trace of warmth suffused through his heart. However, he was too accustomed to being stubborn at this point and refused to soften his words. In the same cold attitude as he usually had, he said, "Vegetables."

Almost immediately after saying that, He Sanlang regretted it. Actually, he was fine with eating anything. There was a severe lack of resources in the north. The best meal he could get in his camp was just some wheat pancakes dipped in an ordinary sauce- where would vegetables come from? There wasn't even any out in the wild to scavenge, never mind a market to buy them from. This bitterly cold winter ensured no one saw even a lick of green. Vegetables had been off the table ever since the middle of autumn.

Even in the capital, the only one who got to eat green vegetables in the middle of winter was the imperial family. Those were specially grown in the fields near the imperial-owned hot springs. Even so, the fields were so small that the harvest produced from them was overwhelmingly precious. Only the Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager could have any. There were no shares left, not even for the princes and princesses.

Some time ago, one of the noble madams of the capital, Madam Guo, had been feeling unwell, so the imperial palace had sent a few kilograms of green vegetables as a show of favour. Even though those bunches of spinach had already been beginning to wilt, Madam Guo had flaunted the fact within her social circles for quite some time.

He Sanlang was about to change his request when Chu Lian nodded and replied with a resounding, "Okay."

This time, it was He Changdi's turn to lose his calm. "Did you hear what I said correctly?"

Chu Lian found it strange. Her ears were working just fine and were actually pretty sensitive. Of course she heard him right. She and He Sanlang always spoke in Mandarin to each other, and they weren't using any dialects, either. How could she have misunderstood him? Furthermore, she didn't think that wanting to eat vegetables in the winter was an outrageous request. In the modern world, eating fresh, green vegetables at this time of year was pretty normal, wasn't it?

"You said vegetables just now, right? Did I hear wrongly?"

He Changdi was stunned. After a moment, he gulped and said, "You... have some?"