dognovel Chapter 84
Chapter 84
He stepped forward and tried to take Nalan Jingwen's hand, but she dodged him.
He wasn't angry; he just smiled dignifiedly.
Nalan Jingwen frowned at him, "Didn't I already tell you that I'm having a meal with His Majesty in the palace? You don't need to wait."
Rong Hengyu shook his head, "Since I said I would wait for you to return to the manor, I will not go back on my word. Even if you do not return to the manor for a meal, I will still wait for you there."
A strange light flashed in Nalan Jingwen's eyes as he said, "There's no need to wait any longer. Have you eaten?"
Rong Hengyu remained silent, his phoenix eyes fixed on her. Sunlight streamed in from the window, illuminating his pale gold robes, making him appear to glow.
It goes without saying that this person hadn't eaten and had been waiting for him.
He called a servant to remove the dishes from the table, reheat them, and then bring them back up.
"You can eat by yourself. I'm leaving now."
A pair of delicate hands tugged at her sleeve. Nalan Jingwen turned around and saw Rong Hengyu staring at her with a gentle expression. Although he was smiling and silent, it was clear that he wanted to say something.
Nalan Jingwen paused for a moment, then sat down beside him. "Eat."
Rong Hengyu then loosened her sleeve, his smile becoming even more pronounced.
Nalan Jingwen's expression was strange. Why was he having such a good time having dinner with him?
Rong Hengyu picked up a piece of fish and put it into her bowl. "Your Highness, please try it."
He glanced down at the fish, its white flesh looking fresh and juicy, glistening with an enticing sheen. He carefully removed all the fish bones, and then, seeing the smiling man, he ate the piece of fish anyway.
"You eat, no need to serve me."
Rong Hengyu nodded in agreement, but still kept putting food on her plate or feeding her directly. Her stomach, which was only seven-tenths full in the palace, was now completely full here.
Nalan Jingwen raised his hand to stop him from reaching out again, "I'm full, don't put any more in."
Rong Hengyu stopped eating when he saw that she really couldn't eat anymore.
"How does Your Highness find the taste?"
"good."
Nalan Jingwen nodded. It was undeniable that the dishes were indeed excellent, better than those in many restaurants.
As soon as he finished speaking, Rong Hengyu smiled and said, "Since Your Highness likes it, may I cook it for you every day from now on?"
"You did it?"
He nodded slowly.
Nalan Jingwen was surprised. Although he knew that men could learn to cook, men from large families like Rong Hengyu had servants to wait on them, so even if they learned, they would not have the opportunity to cook.
Rong Hengyu looked at her and said, "Although I was born into a noble family, I can do everything that men in ordinary families can do. Cooking is just the most basic thing. My mother said that only by learning to cook can I better serve my future wife."
Although she knew how men were taught on this continent, she couldn't help but frown. The men here were just like the women of her ancient times, their steps were bound, and they were confined to the inner chambers of their boudoirs.
She looked up at him.
"You think so too?"
He also believed that everything a man learns is for the purpose of better serving his wife in the future.
Rong Hengyu met her gaze, the smile in his eyes fading slightly.
"What answer does Your Highness wish to hear?"
"I want to hear what you really think, to hear your true answer."
Rong Hengyu merely curled his lips and slowly said, "As the eldest son of the Rong family, I have no say in anything. Men are not allowed to have their own thoughts. What ordinary men do, I must do; what ordinary men don't do, I must do, and even do better. If you didn't understand at first and resisted, now you realize it's nothing more than that. No matter what, you can't escape that cage. It's better to obediently listen and become numb; perhaps life will be better that way."
“They want me to do something, and I will do it. It’s just a matter of a word. Even if Your Highness were to order me to die now, I would not be able to resist, because you are my wife and my heaven.”
They were like puppets on strings their whole lives, manipulated by others, and could never escape.
Nalan Jingwen pursed her lips and stared intently at him, but his expression remained calm, allowing her to look at him generously, as if he didn't care at all, perhaps because he was already used to it.
She was not a savior and could not save them. She herself was struggling to live. She only felt sorrow, sorrow for the feudalism and persecution of two eras, and sorrow that even in modern times, women still cannot be treated equally, cannot achieve true equality, and are still bound by feudal ethics.
Women are the blame for all sins, and here men are the blame for all sins, an inescapable cage and shackles.
Anyone who does not conform to the conventional three obediences and four virtues will be called heretical, rebellious, and deserving of death!
She looked at Rong Hengyu's beautiful and noble face, her eyes filled with only calmness and indifference.
But she clearly saw the sorrow of this era, and for a moment she was speechless.
Rong Hengyu gave her another dignified and proper smile, took her hand, and placed it in her palm.
"Your Highness is unwilling to let me serve you to death, is that right?"
Nalan Jingwen stared at him, and for the first time ever, did not pull his hand back.
"As long as you obediently serve as my consort, I will naturally not bear to let you die."
Upon hearing this, Rong Hengyu's smile widened, gradually revealing a seductive expression. He hooked his arm around her neck and whispered in her ear.
“I knew it. If Your Highness wanted me dead, you wouldn’t have risked your life to bring me to find Chihelian.”
Nalan Jingwen realized that he really liked to touch her inappropriately, as if he wanted to stick to her body, like he had a skin hunger disorder.
She pushed him away expressionlessly and said seriously, "Just talk, don't lay a hand on me."
He wasn't annoyed by being pushed away, and continued, "Your Highness hasn't agreed to my request yet."
"what?"
"Have your servants cook for you every day."
"No need."
She stood up abruptly and said, "As my consort, you need not do these tiring things. The servants can do them."
"Then what should this servant do?"
"Do whatever makes you happy. You don't have to do anything. The Prince's Mansion can easily support you."
Rong Hengyu was slightly taken aback. He tilted his head back and looked at Nalan Jingwen's beautiful face, and a chord in his heart was stirred.
"Things that make you happy?"
Nalan Jingwen nodded.
"There's nothing you should or shouldn't do in the Prince's mansion, and you don't need to do things that servants should do just to please me."
Rong Hengyu looked at her. What was Nalan Jingwen like before? He couldn't quite remember. That face gradually blurred, and in its place was the woman in front of him, spirited yet calm and reserved. Just standing there, she stole everyone's attention.