It wasn’t just the food that was delicious—so was the person sitting there!

Feng Jiu’er looked at Di Wu Ya, so gentle right now, and genuinely wanted to pounce on him, tear him apart, and devour him whole.

There was nothing wrong with Ninth Imperial Uncle—he was simply too good. No matter the moment, he could effortlessly make her lose herself.

Feng Jiu’er stared at him without blinking, a little carried away.

Qiao Mu coughed loudly, picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, and put it in her mouth.

Her cough pulled Feng Jiu’er’s awareness back.

Only then did Feng Jiu’er remember that besides Ninth Imperial Uncle, there were other people here too.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, hurry and eat. There isn’t much food on the ship, no one can afford to waste it. Eat quickly.”

Feng Jiu’er glanced at Jian Yi and waved her hand. “Jian Yi, you eat more too, you’ve gotten thin.”

The words had barely left her mouth before her face flushed red, and she lowered her head, scooping a mouthful of rice.

“We have meat and vegetables today—that’s not easy to come by. Everyone should eat more. We must finish all the food, don’t waste any of it.”

She accidentally bit her tongue, and only then did Feng Jiu’er realize she’d been talking too much.

She was a proud daughter of the Feng clan, yet because of one man, she’d become this incoherent—it really was a little embarrassing.

But the other party was Ninth Imperial Uncle, so she had no choice but to accept her fate.

Perhaps there weren’t many women in this world who could remain unaffected by Ninth Imperial Uncle’s presence. She was a Feng daughter, but she was still just an ordinary woman among countless others.

Jian Yi had kept a dark expression the whole time—otherwise, Qiao Mu wouldn’t have bothered interrupting the two lovebirds in their flirting.

Just as Feng Jiu’er had said, after drifting on Black Pool Lake for so long, having meat and vegetables now was truly no small feat.

Meat could be salted, and if they wanted fresh meat, they could still fish it from the water—but vegetables weren’t so easy. To make sure there were vegetables to eat every day, the brothers had put in quite a lot of effort.

Qiao Mu didn’t want a perfectly good dinner ruined like this.

She knew that Jian Yi’s temper was a match for the prince’s own, and any conflict that could be avoided was best avoided.

Jian Yi’s mood had soured considerably, especially after watching a certain man and woman interact.

He kept eating his rice, occasionally picking up a piece of vegetable or meat at random, paying attention to no one.

After all, the person sitting beside him was Di Wu Ya, and whenever he wanted to look at Feng Jiu’er, his line of sight was blocked.

Suddenly, the atmosphere grew tense, and Feng Jiu’er unconsciously looked up.

To her surprise, Jian Yi and Ninth Imperial Uncle had set their sights on the same piece of meat at the same time—both pairs of chopsticks landed on it together.

The poor piece of meat, pinched from all four sides by two pairs of chopsticks, was flattened beyond recognition.

The owners of those two pairs of chopsticks locked eyes, and in that instant the air seemed to freeze with mounting anger.

Feng Jiu’er hadn’t seen exactly what happened, but Qiao Mu and Xiao Yingtao had.

Jian Yi’s mood had already been poor, and at a time like this, no one dared to provoke him—they didn’t even dare look directly at him.

Unfortunately, there was someone else at this table who wasn’t just anyone—he was a prince, a crown prince, even a retired emperor.

He’d barely had time to warm the throne before passing it to his own younger brother—the Retired Emperor.

Fearless as ever, he turned his attention to the pitiful piece of meat that Jian Yi had claimed.

The instant Jian Yi’s chopsticks touched the meat, Di Wu Ya’s chopsticks came down too.

Di Wu Ya’s movement was so fast that, without careful observation, no one would have known it was deliberate rather than accidental. Feng Jiu’er leaned forward, glanced once at the pitiful piece of meat, then turned to look at the two men still locked in their staring match.

There was a hint of anger in Ninth Imperial Uncle’s eyes, but Jian Yi’s expression was even more severe—the way he looked at Ninth Imperial Uncle even carried a trace of killing intent.

Heavens! What was happening? She just wanted the family to have a peaceful meal together—was that really so difficult?

If Ninth Imperial Uncle and Jian Yi actually came to blows, forget about having no food to eat—the entire ship might end up destroyed.

Feng Jiu’er gave a “gulp,” swallowing the rice in her mouth, and immediately stood up.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, Jian Yi, um, I…” Feng Jiu’er blinked, looking at the piece of meat.

She picked up her chopsticks and joined the “fight” for the meat. “This piece of meat looks delicious—could you let me have it?”

The moment Feng Jiu’er’s words fell, both handsome, formidable, and ill-tempered men withdrew their chopsticks.

This cold war only gradually subsided once Feng Jiu’er had eaten the unfortunate piece of meat that had caused all the trouble.

Feng Jiu’er sat back down, hastily swallowing the meat responsible for the whole incident, then turned her gaze to Di Wu Ya.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, do you want this kind of meat? Let me pick a piece for you.”

With a “crack,” Jian Yi slammed his chopsticks down hard on the table.

“Jian Yi.” Feng Jiu’er stood up again. “You want meat too, don’t you? I’ll pick you the biggest piece.”

Jian Yi was angry, and Feng Jiu’er didn’t dare ignore it. Most of the time, coaxing Ninth Imperial Uncle was enough to settle things, but coaxing Jian Yi was a bit harder.

What’s more, judging by the expressions on Jian Yi and Di Wu Ya’s faces, even though Feng Jiu’er hadn’t seen who had picked the meat first, she had reason to suspect Jian Yi had set his sights on it first.

Feng Jiu’er picked up a piece of meat, leaning almost against Di Wu Ya in the process, and placed it in Jian Yi’s bowl.

“Jian Yi, eat.” She gave him a faint smile and added another piece on top.

“This is the first time our whole family has eaten together. You and Ninth Imperial Uncle both like this kind of meat—I’ll have Yu Jingfeng make more of it from now on.”

Feng Jiu’er’s face was full of pleasant smiles as she sat back down in her chair.

“Ninth Imperial Uncle, you have a piece too, this one’s really good.” She picked up a piece and placed it in Di Wu Ya’s bowl.

“Everyone, eat up, it’s getting cold.” Feng Jiu’er looked up at Xiao Yingtao, who’d clearly been badly startled, and at Qiao Mu, who was pretending nothing had happened, and nodded.

“We’re not far from the Feng clan’s port now. If Feng Qiongcang finds out we’re coming, he definitely won’t let us dock easily—there’s a tough battle ahead.”

“Thank you all for your hard work, for my father’s sake.”

Di Wu Ya reached out and rubbed Feng Jiu’er’s head before picking up his chopsticks again.

He took a mouthful of rice, his gaze toward Feng Jiu’er gentle, as though the earlier incident hadn’t affected him in the slightest.

As for Jian Yi, Feng Jiu’er couldn’t see him, but she could hear the sound of his chopsticks.

Thankfully, this little storm had passed.

They were all family now—surely there would be plenty more chances to eat together in the future?

She had no idea when these two would truly come to accept each other’s existence.

Feng Jiu’er watched Di Wu Ya purse his lips slightly, then withdrew her gaze and picked up her bowl.

Qiao Mu wasn’t much affected either, continuing to eat steadily.

Xiao Yingtao had been thoroughly frightened, taking a long while to recover before she resumed eating—but a trace of fear still lingered in her eyes.

To remain calm while dining at the same table as Ninth Imperial Uncle, one would have to be no ordinary person.

Jian Yi, however, was the exception—not only calm, but utterly unwilling to back down.

Forget Xiao Yingtao—even Qiao Mu couldn’t help admiring Jian Yi for it.

Thankfully, it had all turned out fine in the end, and they could finally settle down to a peaceful meal.