CHAPTER 402: 136: LOTUS SEED SOUP (PART 1)_3

"No!" Du Xixi rarely acted so childish. Ke Lian watched with amusement and crouched down beside her. But instead of taking the child from her, he embraced Du Xixi who was holding the baby, saying, "After Mom, there’s Dad, Grandpa, Auntie... Uncle is not second."

Chen Yin: ...

Chen Yin looked at his sister, then at his brother-in-law, and felt unloved. Finally, with a swift decision, he stood up and dramatically fell onto the sofa—lying there like a dead body.

The living room burst into laughter, and Rob and 2569, the two non-humans standing together, felt the atmosphere was truly delightful. They expertly used their programs to record the beauty of this moment.

When everything is well in the future, these records will become the most beautiful memories.

Chen Yin left after nine o’clock in the evening, by which time the two children were certainly asleep. However, he greatly appreciated the relaxed atmosphere at the Ke Family home and lingered a while longer.

Before leaving, he couldn’t resist whining to Du Xixi, who was seeing him off at the door: "Xixi, the glutinous rice lotus root you made was truly delicious. I ate an entire box in one go, and I couldn’t bear to eat the rest, so I asked Rob to store it. I’ll take it out to enjoy when I have some free time. Just look how pitiful I am..."

After eating a whole large box of glutinous rice lotus root, he was certainly not embarrassed about the remaining two boxes being insufficient for him. He simply hoped his pitiful plea would make Du Xixi send more treats via the mechanical soldiers to the Imperial Palace.

Though increasingly busy, he could still find time to sneak in moments to savor good food.

Du Xixi, however, looked up at the sky, feigning ignorance while waving her hand, and pretended to hurry Chen Yin back to the Imperial Palace: "It’s late at night, and who knows how long you’ll stay up. Hurry back, Brother; there are lots of royal duties waiting for you in the palace!"

The endless duties overwhelmed Chen Yin so much he clutched his chest, not expecting his beloved sister to twist the knife so hard. If she won’t give him food, she won’t—and why bring up sorrowful matters!

Chen Yin eventually staggered off. As the night deepened, staying longer would only disturb Du Xixi’s rest. His silhouette, as he departed, overflowed with melancholy.

Du Xixi chuckled mischievously, watching as Chen Yin was about to close the hovercar door. She quickly shouted toward him: "If you send me some lotus seeds, I’ll make lotus seed soup and send it to you!"

The Ke Family residence was quite large, with some distance from nearby neighbors. Besides, the nursery was well soundproofed, so Du Xixi’s shout wasn’t too disruptive.

Upon hearing her offer, Chen Yin was incredibly moved, his body half hanging out of the hovercar, tears in his eyes as he said, "Sis! I’ll send them to you tomorrow! Make sure to send me some lotus seed soup!"

Tender lotus seeds, firm longans, thick sago, and sweet syrup... just thinking about it made Chen Yin’s mouth water.

Rob, however, swiftly shoved Chen Yin back inside and closed the hovercar door neatly. After paying his respects to Du Xixi and Ke Lian, he too boarded the hovercar and left.

Watching as the hovercar quickly disappeared into the night, Du Xixi let Ke Lian drape a large thin coat over her shoulders. She shook her head with a smile, and with some sympathy, she said, "My silly brother, I only said I’d send you lotus seed soup, but didn’t say when..."

Ke Lian paused, instinctively looking at the direction of the hovercar’s departure. He too felt a bit sorry for Chen Yin—so gullible, tricked by his sister’s play on words without realizing it.

The couple turned and went inside, but the evening breeze did not disperse the few idle chats between them.

"Your Majesty ought to practice well in the future. Making blunders while negotiating with some Empire... well, it’s ultimately Your Majesty’s hardware that’s not strong enough."

"Are you implying my brother’s intelligence is low? Do you believe I won’t tell him?"

"I didn’t say it; you did!"

"Hmph! Do you think my brother would believe me or you?"

"..."

Though Du Xixi said she was deceiving Chen Yin with a joke, when Rob sent over a large bag of lotus seeds the next day, she didn’t idle. She directly enlisted Ke Lian and a few others to help peel the lotus seeds—naturally accounting for Chen Yin’s share in the process.

"Madam, what exactly is this lotus seed soup? Is it like simmering chicken heart soup, slow-cooked and prepared?" 2569 adeptly grasped a lotus seed with its mechanical hand and effortlessly peeled off the seed’s blue-green outer skin, removing the bitter core within.

"It is, yet somewhat different." With Rob gone, only those few people and 2569 remained at home. Du Xixi lowered her head, peeling a lotus seed, gently explaining, "Lotus seed soup, like glutinous rice lotus root, falls under the category of sweet foods. Except lotus seed soup includes syrup, to which longan meat, sago, and silver ear can be added—it’s highly nourishing. My brother loves drinking it."