Lu Liangwei touched her moist forehead, then buried her face in his chest and mumbled, “I like you so, so much, Your Majesty.”

“I know.” Long Yang wrapped an arm around her, the corners of his mouth turned up.

Lu Liangwei pouted at his calm tone, unsatisfied with his simple response. “That’s it?”

Long Yang paused and gazed at her with a smile. “I thought I’d already expressed my feelings clearly enough.”

Hearing this, Lu Liangwei relaxed.

Indeed, it would be too demanding to ask someone like the Emperor to explicitly declare his love.

However, she was well aware of his feelings for her, even if he had never said it out loud.

Just then, Chu Jiu appeared at the courtyard entrance and reported, “Your Highness, the kitchen servants have prepared the chicken feet according to your instructions.”

Lu Liangwei immediately pushed Long Yang away. “All right, coming!”

“Chicken feet?” Long Yang was puzzled.

Lu Liangwei squeezed his hand and flashed him a sweet smile. “You’ll find out tonight.” With that, she scurried off.

In the evening, Lu Liangwei ordered the servants to lay the table and invited Long Xuan and the others over for dinner.

Knowing that most of them were good drinkers, she instructed the servants to prepare two more jars of wine.

The moment her guests stepped into the courtyard, they were greeted with the rich smell of food. As they approached the table, they discovered that it was laden with all kinds of dishes made from chicken feet.

“What dishes are these, Royal Aunt?” Long Xuan asked cheerily.

Lu Liangwei introduced each dish on the table. “This is steamed chicken feet in soy sauce; this is chicken feet soup with wolfberry and cabbage; this is wine-brined chicken feet; this is braised chicken feet…”

The others were amazed to learn that so many dishes could be made from chicken feet, and just the aroma itself was enough to make their mouths water.

“Have a seat, everyone.” After introducing the names of the dishes, Lu Liangwei served Long Yang and Youyou each a bowl of soup.

She then sat down beside Long Yang, and seeing him take a sip, immediately asked, “How’s the taste? Is it good?”

“It’s delicious.” Long Yang put the bowl down and smiled at her.

Lu Liangwei was content to hear his answer.

Everyone happily helped themselves to the chicken feet feast.

Everyone at the table drank wine except Lu Liangwei, Chu Jiu, and Beitang You.

Lu Liangwei had instructed the servants to prepare Maiden Rose wine. Unlike osmanthus wine, it was strong and mellow in taste, which was just right for those who were fond of drinking.

It was not long before all three jars of wine were emptied.

Lu Liangwei was astounded by their drinking tolerance and even more perplexed when she noticed Long Xuan and the old beggar requesting for more.

“Is the wine that good?” she muttered to herself.

After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms.

Lu Liangwei helped a tipsy Long Yang into their room.

To be honest, she did not believe that the Emperor was drunk.

The Emperor’s drinking capacity was so immeasurable that even a great boozer like her mother could not beat him, so how could he possibly get drunk from just three jars of Maiden Rose?

However, the fiery-red flush at the corners of his eyes seemed to prove that he was, indeed, slightly drunk.

She had no choice but to lay him down in bed. Then she got up, fetched a damp handkerchief, and wiped his face.

As she gazed at the man, whose eyes were closed, she could not help moving closer to study his face.

Looking at the Emperor closely, she realized that his skin was flawless; in fact, he had better skin than most women did.

From his face, no one would have guessed that he was already in his thirties.

She could not help reaching out and pinching his cheek.

When he did not react to her pinching, her movements grew bolder.