Feng Jiu’er tossed away the fruit pit in her hand and turned to look at Xiao Yingtao. “You don’t need to wait on me either—hurry and eat! Just look at how much you’re drooling.”

She raised an eyebrow and picked up a bowl of porridge for herself.

Feng Jiu’er looked down at the vegetable porridge in the bowl, took a deep breath, and shook her head slightly.

“Xiao Yingtao, you know what? This is the first time I’ve ever found vegetable porridge so appealing.”

Rice and vegetables—it had been so long since they’d seen either that seeing them again felt like an age had passed.

“Mm.” Xiao Yingtao nodded with a smile, cupping the bowl and bringing it to her lips.

She took a small sip of the steaming porridge, delighted as a child.

“It’s plain and tasteless, and yet it’s more delicious than even big prawns—I could eat three bowls of this.”

Feng Jiu’er took a sip of porridge too and smiled with satisfaction.

She glanced sideways at Xiao Yingtao. “If you eat three bowls, will there be any left for the brothers?”

“Besides, the bowl’s this big—can your stomach really hold that much?”

The two exchanged a glance and kept eating.

A mouthful of porridge, a mouthful of roasted boar, with sweet fresh fruit waiting on the side—life couldn’t get much better than this.

The brothers came over in turns. By the time Qiao Mu and Jian Yi arrived, Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao had already eaten their fill and were helping roast meat.

Qiao Mu strode over and snatched the roasted chicken right out of Feng Jiu’er’s hand.

Without a word, she bit into it. “I’m starving to death.”

Feng Jiu’er looked at Qiao Mu, frowning, then turned her gaze to Xiao Yingtao.

“Xiao Yingtao, is your roasted chicken ready? If so, give it to Jian Yi first—he must be hungry too.”

“It’s ready,” Xiao Yingtao nodded, turning to hand the roasted chicken to Jian Yi. “Jian Yi, you eat. Qiao Mu ate yours, so you eat hers.”

Jian Yi glanced at Feng Jiu’er, said nothing, and took the roasted chicken from Xiao Yingtao’s hand.

Qiao Mu took another bite of the chicken and said, “What do you mean, I ate Jian Yi’s?”

“That’s exactly what happened,” Xiao Yingtao said, frowning at her. “At least you had a horse—Jian Yi walked the whole way on foot, and he was carrying a lot of supplies too.”

“Jiu’er said Jian Yi’s been through too much, so she wanted to roast a chicken for him personally. But Jian Yi, don’t be upset—the chicken I roasted tastes better than Jiu’er’s anyway.”

“What kind of talk is that? Don’t I have it worse off, having a horse?” Qiao Mu frowned.

“Do you know how much that horse of mine was carrying? Not like you two, with Chasing Moon carrying you—an easy ride the whole way.”

“Qiao Mu, don’t listen to Xiao Yingtao.” Feng Jiu’er walked over and took up another chicken that had been skewered on a bamboo stick but not yet roasted.

“The two of us prepared these for you two—it doesn’t matter who eats which one.”

“Miss Jiu’er, let me handle it.” A brother who had just arrived not long ago came over to Feng Jiu’er, holding roasted sweet potatoes.

Behind him were several more brothers carrying roasted sweet potatoes, fruit, or pieces of meat.

“Miss Jiu’er, General Xiao, General Qiao, please go and rest—we can manage on our own,” another brother said with a smile.

Feng Jiu’er looked around at everyone and nodded.

“All right, then you all go ahead and get busy. I’m not very good at roasting—I was worried I’d waste the ingredients.”

“No wonder that chicken turned out like that,” Qiao Mu said, shaking her head, turning to head toward the blanket.

Feng Jiu’er handed the chicken to the brother and turned to follow Qiao Mu.

“Qiao Mu, what did you say? I roasted that chicken for Jian Yi, and you ate it, and now you’re complaining?”

“If I hadn’t been so hungry, do you think I’d have cared?” Qiao Mu sat down on the blanket and picked up a piece of fruit.

“Qiao Mu.” Feng Jiu’er came over to her, frowning slightly.

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“I heard you, I’m not deaf, no need to be so loud.” Qiao Mu glanced up at Feng Jiu’er with a roll of her eyes.

The moment she finished speaking, she popped a jujube into her mouth.

Just as Feng Jiu’er was about to say something, Xiao Yingtao came over and took her hand.

“Jiu’er, don’t be upset! Your chicken wasn’t as good as mine anyway—Qiao Mu chose it, so think of it as a reward for Jian Yi.”

Feng Jiu’er turned to look at Xiao Yingtao, eyes narrowing slightly.

Xiao Yingtao let go of her arm and sat down next to Qiao Mu, pulling out a peach.

“Jiu’er, look, there’s a peach—how did I miss it earlier? Here, this peach for you, it’s bound to be very sweet.”

Xiao Yingtao looked at Feng Jiu’er, her smile sweeter than the peach itself.

As if nothing at all had just happened.

Feng Jiu’er looked at the two of them sitting there, took a deep breath, and let it out forcefully.

Behind her, Jian Yi picked up an unroasted chicken and came over. “Jiu’er, are you full already? Let me roast one for you—how about that?”

Feng Jiu’er turned to look at Jian Yi, her brow furrowing deeper. “What’s this? Even you find my roasting distasteful?”

“Of course not.” Jian Yi shook his head. “A woman as lovely as you has no need to know how to do this.”

“I’ll go roast one for you—you eat some fruit first.”

Watching Jian Yi the hero turn to leave, Feng Jiu’er’s mood lifted considerably.

She shrugged and turned back to look at the two seated.

The moment Feng Jiu’er turned, Xiao Yingtao and Qiao Mu both coughed lightly at the same time and looked away.

“Xiao Yingtao, Jian Yi said you’re not good-looking,” Qiao Mu said flatly, tearing off a piece of meat from the roasted chicken.

“Qiao Mu, I recall your roasted chicken is quite delicious too,” Xiao Yingtao shot back, refusing to be outdone.

The two of them did have some self-awareness, though—compared to Jiu’er’s looks, who could possibly compete?

Still, as two fairly attractive women themselves, who would willingly admit to being unattractive?

Feng Jiu’er raised an eyebrow, walked over to sit between the two of them, and picked up the cloth sack.

She chose a piece of fruit she liked from the sack and wiped it with her sleeve.

“Jian Yi’s right—being good-looking has its perks. Whatever I want to eat, I’ve got handsome men to serve me.”

Feng Jiu’er glanced at Qiao Mu, then at Xiao Yingtao, and blinked smugly. “Isn’t that right?”

Qiao Mu and Xiao Yingtao both let out a cold snort at the same time, turning their heads away from the smug one between them.

Xiao Yingtao hugged her peach, took a bite, and after swallowing slowly, said, “You make it sound like nobody else has a man willing to wait on them?”

“Tch! My man’s just been delayed by something. With him around, I wouldn’t need anyone to roast chicken for me either.”

“Cough…” The moment Xiao Yingtao’s words landed, Qiao Mu seemed to choke on something.

“Are you all right?” Feng Jiu’er and Xiao Yingtao both turned to look at Qiao Mu at the same time.

Qiao Mu looked back at the two of them and rolled her eyes.

Xiao Yingtao swallowed the bit of fruit in her mouth with a gulp.

“Qiao Mu, are you all right?”

“If you two stop talking, I’ll be fine!” Qiao Mu glared at the two of them and looked away.

“Jiu’er.” Xiao Yingtao tugged at Feng Jiu’er’s sleeve. “See if your Third Imperial Brother has any free time—arrange to meet him.”

“Meet my Third Imperial Brother for what?” Feng Jiu’er asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Only he can help Qiao Mu now,” Xiao Yingtao said, hugging her peach and taking another bite. “Once he’s here, Qiao Mu’s illness can finally be cured.”