Chapter 13: Children make choices, I am the Emperor!

"The Empress Dowager has arrived!"

Just after the morning court, Li Chen was having lunch, and the eunuch's voice came from outside the door.

For the Empress Dowager, he was not unfamiliar, but not very familiar either.

In the past, they met occasionally, and they had more contact in the past few days for the ascension.

"It seems that I came at the wrong time, I won't disturb Your Majesty's meal, right?"

The Empress Dowager said softly, exuding the unique charm of a mature woman.

At her age, which was already ripe, every line on her body was so charming.

Women in the imperial palace cared most about their appearance and figure.

The Empress Dowager's figure had been maintained for I don't know how many years.

Every move seemed to be full of endless temptation.

Especially that full chest, which was simply enough to make people have infinite reverie. This was also why Li Chen's eyes were very clear outside, all of which were tested by great tests.

After saying this, the Empress Dowager waved her hand, and the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs retreated together, and closed the door.

Because next she was going to dig a hole for Li Chen, so she let others avoid it to avoid the news spreading.

Li Chen was a bit confused. I am eating hot pot, don't you feel hot when you close the door?

The Empress Dowager sat in the seat next to Li Chen without saying a word.

She was about to say something, but was attracted by the food in front of her.

"Your Majesty, what is this, why is it still bubbling?"

Li Chen was eating hot pot that he researched according to his memory at noon.

Around him was the steaming aroma of meat, which could instantly arouse the most primitive appetite.

In the hot pot, the red oil was rolling, golden oil bubbles kept rising, and then broke suddenly, making a "popping" sound.

In the pot, the bright red beef slices were as thin as cicada wings, each with clear texture and tender meat.

"This is called hot pot."

As he spoke, Li Chen picked up a slice of beef with chopsticks, and the meat juice overflowed instantly, dripping onto the soup surface, stirring up circles of delicate ripples. The richness and freshness of the meat juice seemed to melt the taste buds instantly.

There were also those emerald green vegetables, which became brighter and more tempting after the baptism of red oil. They intertwined with beef, tofu, and other ingredients, which could be called perfect.

This hot pot base was Li Chen's 14th generation self-made. Being able to satisfy him, it was naturally not an ordinary product.

Anyway, he was an imperial prince in the past, and he studied these things besides cultivating when he stayed home in the palace.

Li Chen found that the Empress Dowager's eyes had been staring at the meat on his chopsticks, and said casually: "Do you want to eat?"

The Empress Dowager swallowed her saliva and said: "Then how can I be embarrassed?"

Although she said so, her beautiful eyes seemed to be telling Li Chen: Persuade me again, and I will eat immediately.

Now she had forgotten everything she wanted to say when she came.

After all, she had been waiting for news and hadn't eaten lunch yet.

Because she had to maintain her figure, she couldn't eat this kind of oily and spicy food, and she had always eaten very lightly.

The taste of hot pot directly attracted her gluttony.

"Okay, since Your Majesty said so, then I will help Your Majesty eat some, I can't waste food."

Li Chen gave an excuse, the Empress Dowager's appetite overcame her reason, and she couldn't wait to pick up her chopsticks.

Under Li Chen's guidance, she clamped the meat with chopsticks and put it into the pot.

Then she rolled a few times in the pot, and suddenly, a more intense fragrance drifted out.

It seemed that this meat and the hot pot had produced some wonderful reaction.

When Li Chen said she could eat, the Empress Dowager couldn't wait to taste it.

With one bite, the delicious meat slices filled her teeth, and the fragrance spread from her mouth to her nostrils, making her whole body feel like floating.

After chewing slowly, she realized the soup overflowing from the meat, which was simply endless aftertaste.

In an instant, it could make her intoxicated.

"Your Majesty, this beef should be from the Snow Domain Spirit Yak in the extreme north of the continent, right?"

"That's right, the Snow Domain Spirit Yak lives on the top of the snow mountain in the extreme north, feeds on ice grass, and grows by drinking snow water. The meat is delicious and delicate, and it melts in the mouth." "And this tofu, it should also be from the Ice Lotus Jade Tofu in the extreme north."

"Yes, it is ground from the juice of the Ice Heart Lotus unique to the extreme north and the soybeans carefully selected from the spiritual field. These things absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, besides the good taste, they can also improve cultivation."

The Empress Dowager was praising these ingredients while eating, and

The Empress Dowager praised these ingredients while eating, and also praised Li Chen for knowing how to enjoy life.

She even asked Li Chen which master chef he had hired, and upon learning that Li Chen had prepared it himself, she was even more filled with admiration.

This is what it means to have one's mouth softened by eating someone else's food.

Because the Empress Dowager had already ordered the doors to be closed, and the hotpot itself was slightly spicy.

Someone like her, who was accustomed to bland food, grew hotter the more she ate.

Once a person is hooked on eating, they don't care about such things.

In order to dissipate the heat, she loosened her clothes without any regard for her image, leaving her neckline wide open.

This made it impossible for Li Chen, who was sitting right next to her, not to look; it was difficult to move his gaze away from the snowy white cleavage.

!

Li Chen thought to himself, "I ate relatively 'bland' food at noon, and you can't even handle the mild spice I added; if it were extra spicy, wouldn't you be stripping off your clothes?"

Li Chen hadn't eaten much during this lunch; by the end, it was practically the Empress Dowager eating all by herself, and she was eating with total abandon.

Before long, her lower abdomen was slightly bulging, and only then was the meal considered finished.

To what extent was it delicious? Let's put it this way: the Empress Dowager almost ate the hotpot base as well.

"Empress Dowager, you didn't come to my place just for a meal, did you?"

Hearing Li Chen's reminder, the Empress Dowager finally remembered what she had intended to say.

"During the time you were an Imperial Prince, Your Majesty, did you have anyone in your heart?"

The Empress Dowager had actually been setting a trap all along; she had her subordinates incite the Second and Third Imperial Princes to cause trouble, simply to find a way to put pressure on Li Chen.

As long as Li Chen was under pressure, he would need a pillar of support, and then the Empress Dowager could throw out an olive branch at that moment, help Li Chen resolve his troubles, and gain his trust.

One must know that, setting aside Li Chen's status as Emperor, his cultivation base at the Sage Realm was enough to make countless major powers kneel to recruit him.

Any power, as long as it has a strong Sage Realm expert, stands above other powers that do not.

Therefore, no matter where Li Chen goes, he is an absolute hot commodity.

In order to build a good relationship with Li Chen, the Empress Dowager had also prepared another step: pillow talk.

Do not underestimate this plan; since ancient times, heroes have had trouble passing the beauty test, and many monarchs fall for this trick, unless Li Chen were a eunuch.

The Empress Dowager only needed to arrange for her own people to enter the palace, preferably to bear an heir for Li Chen, so that she could firmly control him.

All along, the Empress Dowager had no intention of harming Li Chen; she simply wanted to obtain benefits from him.

"None."

Li Chen spoke the truth; after all, he was quite the homebody, and apart from these women in the inner palace, he hadn't seen many others.

But precisely because he had seen so many of these women, he didn't have much interest in the 'ordinary' women he encountered after going out.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager continued, "Since Your Majesty has ascended the throne, you should spread your branches and leaves early to leave behind bloodlines for the Imperial Clan."

Actually, Li Chen really wanted to deflect the conversation, saying something like, "Since you said it, why don't you handle it yourself?"

However, feeling that something was not quite right, he could only say, "Since the Empress Dowager says so, do you have suitable candidates in mind?"

Hearing him say this, the Empress Dowager took the list she had prepared long ago out of her sleeve.

The list contained the names of ten women, coming from noble families, meritorious officials, sects, and vassal kings, respectively.

Among them, eight were the Empress Dowager's own people; these women were all approved by the Empress Dowager in terms of appearance, cultivation, and talent.

After all, she was trying to win Li Chen over; there was no need to put forward some ugly or mediocre women to offend him.

But she couldn't make it too obvious, so the Empress Dowager added two more to the list.

These two were famously beautiful, but exceptionally cold and aloof.

She didn't believe Li Chen would be able to choose these two.

"Your Majesty, I wonder which one you fancy? I can summon them into the palace."

This was the Empress Dowager's tactic; after all, those who dare to be cold and aloof all have strong Sage Realm experts as their background, so while it looked like a multiple-choice question, it was actually a mandatory one.

Who knew that Li Chen would directly tuck the list into his sleeve, with a feeling that seemed to say: "Only children choose; I am the Emperor!"

(End of chapter)