You Are Actually Quite Cute

Li Yanhao laughed while shaking his head and swaying his head: "If it weren't for Princess Mingyu, I wouldn't have known Ali had this skill."

Lingdang smiled and said, "My master has many skills, but he said that as a chef, mastering the principles of food compatibility is to avoid putting incompatible ingredients together which could harm diners. So unless absolutely necessary, my master doesn't like to use this method. This time, it was forced by Princess Mingyu. She's a princess of Chu State, so we can't hit or kill her, which is really troublesome. But the incompatibility of ingredients is invisible to people; even doctors can't find the cause and would just think it's a case of not adapting to the local environment."

After Lingdang finished speaking, she walked to the bushes, squatted down, and rummaged out an empty jar from the bushes. The food inside had already been taken and eaten by Zhang Zhaocai.

Lingdang hid the jar that had held the meat buns back inside, but then noticed a small wooden carving on the ground among the bushes.

"Huh, what's this?" Lingdang picked up the wooden carving and saw it was a little boy. Unfortunately, due to poor craftsmanship, it seemed the carver had no artistic talent, so it was just a rough, ugly little wooden boy with no clear details.

"Tsk, just an ugly wooden carving," Li Yanhao crossed his arms and clicked his tongue, "That troublemaker kid must have given it to you."

Lingdang held the wooden carving and stood up, looking around. She saw someone hiding behind a tree not far away, and immediately recognized it was Zhang Zhaocai.

"It should be from him. I didn't expect this kid to be so grateful; this wooden carving must be carved by himself," Lingdang said.

"Tsk, really ugly!" Li Yanhao stared at the little wooden figure with a face of disdain, "It's so ugly, it's an eyesore. Just throw it away."

Lingdang touched the little wooden figure and glanced at Zhang Zhaocai hiding behind the bushes in the distance.

That mischievous kid probably carved the wooden figure himself to repay her but was too embarrassed to give it directly and wanted to see if she accepted it, so he hid and watched secretly, right?

Thinking of Tang Shi and Zhang Zhaocai's miserable situation, Lingdang's conscience felt a slight pang. This little wooden figure was at least the kid's sincere intention. Lingdang couldn't bear to let the poor troublemaker suffer again, so she tucked the little wooden figure into her bosom, gave Li Yanhao a side glance, and said, "What do you know? This is the child's heartfelt gift."

"Oh my, Lingdang, are you really a secret guard?" Li Yanhao circled around Lingdang twice, "Aren't secret guards supposed to be cold-blooded and ruthless? But you seem more and more like an ordinary girl, quite cute and kind-hearted."

"Pah! Keep talking nonsense and see if I don't hit you! Who cares if you're a prince or not, I'll beat you until you lose your teeth!" Lingdang made a fierce face and waved her fists at Li Yanhao, pretending to be ferocious, but it made Li Yanhao clutch his belly laughing hard: "Oh my, you scared me to death, hahaha!"

Lingdang was too lazy to argue with Li Yanhao. She hid the jar that had held the meat buns in the bushes, then carried the empty jar and headed home.

Li Yanhao hurriedly followed her, muttering, "So you like those things. I thought a female secret guard wouldn't like the things ordinary girls like. But that wooden figure is too ugly, throw it away. I'll buy you a prettier one."

"No."

"Throw it away."

"I said no!"

"Just throw it away!"

"...Prince, if you don't shut up, I'll really hit you!"

"..."