My Princess Has Been Reborn

Chapter 146.1 – Extra Chapter 5

Qi Yang’s fiefdom was located in Yongzhou, which was about a month away from the capital. Because she hated the heat and kept stopping to avoid it, her one-month journey was extended indefinitely.

June was hot, July was hot, the weather only gradually calmed down after August. After going through another Indian summer¹ and Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather really cooled down and it became suitable to travel.

But before that, Qi Yang felt that the convoy was too large and attracted attention wherever it went, so she sent a butler to lead the people to the Yongzhou princess’s mansion with their extra luggage. As for her and Lu Qipei, they were not in a hurry. Traveling lightly together with Lu Sheng, they continued heading towards Yongzhou.

Yongzhou was located in Hunan, and the closer you get there, the more the customs became different from in the capital area.

Today, the group finally entered Hunan and arrived at a small county town called Anping. Seeing that it was getting late and they were not in a hurry, they decided to find an inn in the town early on.

It was August, autumn’s harvest season. As soon as Lu Qipei and Qi Yang entered the town, they found that it was bustling with activity. When they checked into the inn, they asked the waiter and found that it was the local Autum Harvest festival. This so-called Autumn Harvest festival did not occur on a fixed date, but when the year’s harvest was good, the county government and the wealthy grain merchants would take the lead and create liveliness in the city.

A bountiful harvest was always a joyful thing, even though Qi Yang and Lu Qipei had never done any farming work, they couldn’t help be excited when they heard it. Since they happened to come on the right time, they also planned to join in the fun.

But before that, they had been rushing on the road all they, so they naturally had to wash up first before filling their stomachs.

Qi Yang’s attendants had been sent away, and the cooks brought from the princess’s mansion also rushed to Yongzhou, so the group no longer had a portable kitchen. So as they traveled, they ate wherever they went. Fortunately, although the food outside was not as delicious and exquisite as those made by the princess’s mansion’s royal chefs, they had unique flavors, and it was nice to taste something new every now and then.

After setting foot in Hunan, this would be the first time Qi Yang and the others have their taste of Hunan cuisine. Without thinking much, she casually instructed the waiter, “Prepare some of you specialty dishes, and also bring a meal suitable for children.”

The waiter responded with a smile and turned his head towards the kitchen while shouting loudly. He waved his cloth towel to lead the way and guided them to the guest room to wash up and rest.

A small inn in a small county town couldn’t be expected to have a good ambience, and it was already commendable as long as it was clean and tidy.

Qi Yang came from a noble background and was originally a picky person. She loved fine meals and attached a lot of importance in the basic needs such as clothing, food, housing and transportation. But after traveling like this, she also came to understand that some things couldn’t be helped when you’re traveling, and gradually stopped caring about those things.

After looking around, she felt that the guest rooms were fairly clean, so Qi Yang was not too picky. Lu Qipei easily dismissed the waiter, and they led Lu Sheng to wash up. After they finished washing off the dust on them, the waiter returned with a tray of dishes.

For the three of them, there were four dishes and one soup. Other than the bowl of soup that looked lighter, all the other dishes were bright red.

Qi Yang looked a bit speechless and couldn’t help asking, “Do they all have chili peppers?” She even asked for dishes suitable for children, were they all so stimulating?

The waiter knew from their accents that they were all not from this county, so he smiled and explained, “This is how our Hunan cuisine is, everything has to be spicy. I know that honored guests are not from around here, so I’ve asked the chef to reduce the spiciness, so it’s not as strong. But if you’re not used to these signature dishes, you can also ask the chef to make something less spicy, but the taste might not be as good.”

As for the issue of children eating spicy food, the waiter prepared bell peppers for Lu Sheng. According to him, the red and fleshy pepper is sweet, and local children would chew on them when they have nothing to do, just like snacks.

Qi Yang couldn’t believe it and personally picked up a piece with chopsticks to taste it. It really had a sweet taste, and wasn’t too stimulating. So she felt a lot more at ease at the waiter’s words and didn’t change the few signature dishes on the table.

After the waiter left with the empty tray, Qi Yang told Lu Qipei, “After eating, let’s go out and look at the festival.”

Lu Qipei nodded in agreement, then raised her chopsticks and picked some bell peppers that was prepared for Lu Sheng. They were crispy and sweet, and was not unpalatable.

At the same time, Qi Yang also picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of dish, sending it to her mouth. But immediately, her face changed – a burning sensation filled her entire mouth, completely beyond her expectation.

But Her Royal Highness The Princess was well-educated after all, and she really couldn’t do something so uncouth like spitting out the dish. So after some hesitation, she gritted her teeth and chewed a few times, swallowed the dish, the immediately poured all the tea she had straight to her stomach.

Seeing her red eyes, Lu Qipei was also startled, and quickly filled a bowl with soup and handed it to her.

Qi Yang immediately took it and drank it, but the hot soup didn’t seem effective in relieving the spiciness. She took the teapot and drank two more cups of herbal tea, before finally the burning sensation in her mouth gradually faded.

But after drinking so much, Qi Yang was already full. She didn’t dare to touch the food anymore, her appetite gone.

This example was so scary that even Lu Sheng stopped her chopsticks early. Lu Qipei looked at Qi Yang’s disheveled appearance and then looked at the entire table of food. She couldn’t help but feel uneasy and asked, “Is it really so spicy?”

Lu Qipei’s hometown was located in the coastal area of Jiangnan. The local taste there was slightly sweet, definitely not the spicy kind, so she never though of trying the strength of these spicy dishes. Qi Yang, on the other hand, was born in the royal palace and had eaten all kinds of delicious food. Of course, she had also tasted spicy dishes and even liked them a bit. That’s why she ate without any precautions when the waiter promised that they had reduced the spiciness.

The result… seemed somewhat tragic. It was just one bite, but Qi Yang had to drink so much water to dilute the spiciness. Her eyes were still red and moist, and she couldn’t look more pitiful at the moment.

Lu Qipei’s gaze flickered and settled on her face.

Qi Yang frowned and endured the spiciness, not caring about anything else. Upon hearing this, she quickly warned, “This dish is very spicy. Ah Pei, don’t try it. We should eat outside less in the future. If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have asked the cooks to go first.”

Lu Qipei nodded obediently, but then whispered softly, “I still want to taste it.”

Qi Yang was slightly surprised when she heard this. She turned around and was about to say something, but what she saw was Lu Qipei covering Lu Sheng’s eyes with one hand and leaning over to kiss her… As for the so-called food-tasting, naturally, she tasted it from Qi Yang’s lips.

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