Reborn as Murong Fu: This Time I'm the Protagonist

Chapter 489 The Little Thief of the Imperial Kitchen

In a sense, the Chu princess was also his sister-in-law. Facing this face that bore a striking resemblance to Abi, Murong Fu felt a strange, indescribable feeling. It was somewhere between a guilty conscience and self-deception, and perhaps a touch of... excitement?

Faced with the Chu princess's pretty face, which was both shy and angry, Murong Fu had an inexplicable urge to pinch her cheeks. She looked similar to Abi, but had a completely different personality. If he pinched her cheeks, she would probably cry for a long time.

The Chu princess stared at Murong Fu with her bright, lively eyes for a long while before slowly speaking. Her first words made Murong Fu's heart skip a beat: "When you first saw me, you were stunned. What made you so surprised?"

Murong Fu couldn't help but catch his breath: Are women's sixth senses really that accurate?
When Murong Fu saw the Chu princess's true face, he was indeed slightly stunned. He then struck her down. However, the fact that she could notice his subtle changes in expression under such circumstances was truly terrifying.

Murong Fu laughed and said, "Princess, you are indeed very intelligent. When you revealed your true face just now, I was indeed shocked by your beauty and lost my composure for a moment. I hope you will forgive me."

The Chu princess was slightly taken aback, a hint of joy flashing across her face before her eyebrows shot up: "Well done, Murong of Gusu! To learn the tricks of those wandering rogues to deceive ignorant village women, don't you think it's unbecoming of your status?"

Murong Fu's eyes narrowed, and the smile on his face slowly disappeared. He said solemnly, "I was impetuous just now. When I saw the princess's true face, I was stunned because the princess looks extremely similar to someone I know, which is why I lost my composure."

The Chu princess's lips curled into a sly smile: "Oh, you've changed your excuse. Well then, tell me, which of your old friends do I bear a striking resemblance to?"

Murong Fu looked at the Chu princess's mischievous expression and found it amusing. Suddenly, he had the idea to tease her. He quickly thought of a joke and said with a smile, "If I am telling the truth, Your Highness, please don't be angry."

The Chu princess laughed and said, "Alright, I'm not angry. But if you're talking nonsense, I'll tell my brother."

Murong Fu thought to himself: I do hope you will tell your brother.

He suppressed a laugh and said, "Your Highness looks quite similar to my wife. She's just a little older."

Although this was not the era when Neo-Confucianism was prevalent, telling a woman so boldly and bluntly that she looked very much like his wife was almost no different from harassment.

Sure enough, after hearing Murong Fu's words, the Chu princess blushed, her cheeks turning bright red all the way to her ears: "You!"

After a long pause, he stamped his foot and exclaimed, "You lecherous scoundrel!"

He turned around and ran away in a huff, actually getting angry.

Murong Fu chuckled mischievously: "Ha, that's all? Trying to pull those tricks on me? You'd better practice!"

Murong Fu smiled and shook his head deliberately, pretending not to notice the Chu princess who was secretly watching him from a corner, and continued walking forward. Although Murong Fu intentionally slowed his pace, after several turns, the Chu princess still hadn't disappeared from sight.

After a while, Murong Fu turned around and couldn't see the Chu princess anymore. He was taken aback: "Huh, is she really angry?"
Well, the palace is so big, it's not really appropriate to wander around on your own without anyone to guide you, is it?

I should have called Tong Guan to stop.

Speaking of which, where did the Empress Dowager live again? Murong Fu was a little dumbfounded. He wanted to ask a eunuch, but after looking around, he couldn't find a single person.

Before I knew it, I had staggered to a row of houses with a plaque in the middle that read "Imperial Kitchen".

Upon seeing these three words, Murong Fu unconsciously thought of a certain gluttonous old man in the imperial kitchen who had fed the emperor leftovers for three months. He immediately felt playful: Why not follow suit?
Murong Fu was hesitating when he heard a very faint sound coming from the imperial kitchen twenty paces away. Upon closer listening, he could also hear a faint breathing sound.

Murong Fu was overjoyed: Someone's here? We've come to the right place.

Murong Fu walked a few steps to the door of the imperial kitchen. The door was bolted, but Murong Fu paid no attention. He flicked a very subtle sword aura through his fingertip, and the door was opened.

Murong Fu pushed open the door and entered. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a child who looked like a eunuch clinging to the roof beam, struggling to climb up. The sound of Murong Fu's entrance startled the eunuch. Before Murong Fu could speak, a scream rang out, and a small figure fell from the roof beam.

At that height, a fall, while not necessarily fatal, would likely result in broken arms or legs. Murong Fu, unwilling to let his unintentional disturbance lead to a tragedy, hurriedly flew forward, scooped up the rapidly falling eunuch's body, performed a somersault in the air to dissipate the force, and landed steadily on the ground, straightening the eunuch's body and setting him down.

Unexpectedly, before Murong Fu could speak, the little eunuch clapped his hands excitedly: "That's so much fun! That's amazing! What's the name of this move? Can you teach me?"

Seeing the little eunuch dancing with excitement, Murong Fu was momentarily at a loss for words.

A quick glance revealed that the young eunuch appeared to be about eleven or twelve years old, and his clothes were no different from those of ordinary eunuchs. However, his alert and cunning eyes were something that could never be seen in the usual submissive eunuchs.

Murong Fu became suspicious, but smiled calmly and said, "Alright, I can teach you. But you have to tell me first, what are you doing here in the Imperial Kitchen all by yourself?"

Seeing that the young eunuch showed no sign of panic despite being caught in his furtive activities, Murong Fu immediately became suspicious. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the eunuch's handsome features, bearing a striking resemblance to Emperor Zhezong of Song, whom he had just met. He quickly formed a guess in his mind. Seeing the so-called eunuch's excited expression, Murong Fu deliberately kept quiet, intending to tease him.

The young eunuch glanced at Murong Fu's attire and, seeing that he didn't seem to be from the palace, assumed the man didn't recognize him. He then decided to have the man entertain him, so he feigned innocence and said, "I heard the Imperial Kitchen recently received a jar of konjac sauce, a tribute from Zhenla (Cambodia). It seems there's only one jar of it in the entire Song Dynasty. Out of curiosity, I thought I'd try some. I'd just climbed onto the roof beam when you walked in. I don't care, you have to compensate me."