Chapter 322

An Qinghe ran to the toilet and came back, discovering Mu Nan Zhao had just picked up the next bowl.

He took a sip, his brows relaxed, looking quite satisfied.

An Qinghe stared, how can this guy still drink it?!

He glanced again at He Jinghui.

He Jinghui wore a helpless expression, with the Regent Prince and his own younger sister weighing on him like two great mountains; what could he do? Just drink, after all he won't die from it.

An Qinghe resignedly sat back, picked up his bowl and took a sip, his eyes flashing.

The milk and black tea made his Western Regions' taste buds tremble wildly.

What is this? It's so delicious!!!

An Qinghe looked delighted at Gu Xixi, speaking incoherently: "Is this milk tea? Why is it different from what we brew at home? It's sweet!"

Gu Xixi said, "If you really can't get used to it then..."

An Qinghe hastily shielded his bowl, "I'm used to it, I'm used to it—I mean, although it's sweet, it's a completely different kind of delicious!"

"The tea fragrance is slightly bitter, the milk rich and mellow; neither overwhelms the other, and with sugar added it becomes this fragrant, sweet harmony!"

Gu Xixi chuckled, "The sweetness can be adjusted; this first batch I made with three-tenths sugar as a hot drink—if it's not sweet enough you can add more sugar. In summer, adding crushed ice makes it even more refreshing."

He Jinghui said, "I also think it's not bad, but what is that sinking at the bottom of the bowl?"

He Jinglan took the spoon from the light pearl and placed it one by one into the three bowls.

"Pearls, this sweet drink is called pearl milk tea."

"You take the pearls and milk tea together into your mouth, chew carefully and try."

The three did as instructed.

The maidservants beside them couldn't help secretly swallowing their saliva.

Earlier, when everyone helped in the kitchen, they had already tasted it; it was truly an unprecedented experience.

Unfortunately, Boss Gu made only one serving of each; everyone scraped the pot bottom to taste, and getting a small mouthful was already good.

He Jinghui frowned, "It's a bit like rice cake."

An Qinghe: "It's much harder to chew than rice cake, and it's a little sweet? Yes, it's brown sugar flavor!"

He scooped with the spoon at the bottom a few times, disappointed: "That's it? Give me more!"

He Jinglan said, "This is made from tapioca starch, hard to digest; late at night you should eat less."

Initially Gu Xixi hadn't planned to make pearls, but she accidentally discovered that the little He household's kitchen had tapioca starch.

The cooked brown sugar pearls were not few to begin with, but the maids and cooks each took a piece to "taste", and in the end only this much remained.

However, this bowl of pearl milk tea was merely the intermission signal of the first half.

Next there would be one bowl, two bowls, three bowls...

Mu Nan Zhao's expression didn't change.

He Jinghui wore a worried, bitter face.

An Qinghe was the first to beg for mercy: "I can't, I really can't drink any more."

"Xixi, it's so late; otherwise we should all go to sleep tonight..."

Gu Xixi glanced lightly at the tabletop, "That won't do; we're not even halfway yet. If you can't drink, rest a bit then continue."

"Having just drunk such strong milk tea, I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway."

She glanced at the three, smiling especially gently, "Since you all have energy to toss about, you might as well do something useful."

An Qinghe shuddered involuntarily and sat up straight; Gu Xixi's smile tonight was quite lovely, yet also frightening.

After drinking the fifteenth bowl, He Jinghui couldn't take it either, he tentatively asked Mu Nan Zhao:

"Your Highness, do we... have to continue?"

No response, so he called out again, "Mu Qixiu!"

Mu Nan Zhao finally looked at him, but turned his soup bowl upside down, revealing a clean bottom.

"This kumquat fruit tea is very fresh and refreshing, with a revitalizing effect; you should drink more as well."

He Jinghui and An Qinghe both gasped.

The Regent Prince himself downed a whole bowl, yet he's telling them to drink more—what does that mean?!

Mu Nan Zhao added with a light smile, "Don't forget to savor the flavor properly; later you'll have to describe your impressions."

He Jinghui almost choked. A threat—this is a threat!

An Qinghe wore the expression of having seen a devil; even when Mu Nan Zhao had chased him with a sword earlier, he had never felt such confusion and terror.

He Jinghui's face, half-covered by the bowl, was full of anger as he sipped tea in small mouthfuls and ground his teeth fiercely.

He had figured it out!

Gu Xixi dodged here and there but ultimately couldn't escape Mu Nan Zhao; she surely felt uneasy inside.

Those three big men had just added fuel to the fire with their ruckus, which is why Gu Xixi stayed up all night concocting these drinks to deal with them.

And Mu Nan Zhao obviously already knew this.

It was clearly intended to let Gu Xixi vent her anger tonight.

He Jinghui bit down on the porcelain bowl's rim—so hateful!!

"Mu Nan Zhao, if you want to drink, drink on your own; why drag others into suffering?!"

No, it should be said that Gu Xixi and Mu Nan Zhao, as a couple, are dueling with their methods, and he and An Qinghe are innocently caught in the crossfire.

At this point the sweet drinks on the table were no longer that hot, and Mu Nan Zhao suddenly began to speed up.

He picked up a bowl, tilted his head back and drained it in one gulp, tossed the empty bowl onto the table, then picked up another and drank again.

Everyone stared dumbfounded.

He Jinglan whispered, "Is it okay for him to drink like that?"

Gu Xixi didn't speak, just looked at Mu Nan Zhao.

Another bowl, two bowls……

Seeing that they had already surpassed the total of twenty bowls, Mu Nan Zhao unhesitatingly picked up the twenty‑first bowl.

He had just taken a sip when Gu Xixi said, "Enough."

He Jinglan gasped in delight, afraid her close sister would notice her overexcitement, so she quickly turned away before letting out a quiet laugh.

Roar! My heart aches! Yo yo yo, my heart aches!!

An Qinghe and He Jinghui both let out a sigh of relief in unison.

They all felt that being alive was truly wonderful.

Mu Nan Zhao still held the bowl, lifted his gaze to Gu Xixi, and said, "What a pity."

Gu Xixi said, "Thank you all for helping with the tasting. It's late now, everyone has their own affairs tomorrow, so let's disperse."

An Qinghe stood up and asked, "What about the after‑taste impressions?"

Gu Xixi said, "Tomorrow you tell me, when the Prince and Mister He have time… tell Jing Lan, she's the boss."

Having said that, she turned and walked out.

He Jinglan hurriedly smoothed things over, "Exactly, exactly, it's the same no matter who you tell!"

Before her words had finished, she caught sight of Mu Nan Zhao gliding past from her side, the corners of his mouth once again uncontrollably shooting up.

An Qinghe stared in astonishment, pointing at Mu Nan Zhao's back and asked, "What is he doing?"

He Jinglan's expression was upright, "He's just going home."

He Jinghui also had sharp eyes this time, grabbing An Qinghe and said, "Brother An, you must be tired—come quickly with me to the front‑yard guest rooms to settle in."

An Qinghe was still struggling, "But I, Xixi…"

He Jinghui half‑dragged An Qinghe away, laughing, "Xixi will of course stay with Jing Lan—they're both girls; what are you doing here?"

Houyuan is for family only—no outside men may stay overnight. I'll have someone give you the largest guest room; I guarantee you'll be comfortable.

……

Gu Xixi hurried through the corridor.

She knew where the bedroom was.

Because her thoughts were too tumultuous, she didn't even wait for He Jinglan, just wanting to hurry back to her room to stay.

As she turned the corner, suddenly a hand from behind grabbed her arm.

It seemed a light tug, then a smooth turn.

Thus, Gu Xixi was spun half‑around without warning, coming face‑to‑face with the visage that had been disturbing her thoughts.

"How long are you going to keep avoiding me?"