Water Reflects Peach Blossoms

Jiang Ruan said so and did so.

When she sensed a vague gaze in a certain direction, she would look in the direction of the gaze. After doing this for a while, she no longer felt like she was being stared at.

However, there is another way of looking, which is not to peek secretly, but to look openly.

After all those secret gazes disappeared, this person's gaze became extremely obvious, so intense that Jiang Ruan could not ignore it, and felt quite restless.

She looked towards the source of her gaze. Donghua, who was leaning on the cushion, saw her looking at her and gave her a gentle smile that made her feel like a spring breeze, like snow turning into spring.

Donghua handed the spiritual fruit he had cut to Jiang Ruan: "This is the spiritual fruit from the Heavenly Palace, would you like to try it, Ruan?"

Jiang Ruan didn't take it, but he didn't rush. He just handed the plate to Jiang Ruan steadily.

Jiang Ruan: “…”

She stared into Donghua's eyes for a long time. The trick that worked on others didn't work on Donghua at all. Instead, he stared back at her with ease.

He seemed to enjoy her gaze on him.

The stalemate between the two quickly attracted the attention of some immortal officials in the hall.

Hearing the faint whispers around, Jiang Ruan was the first to give in, took the plate from Donghua's hand and put it on his own table.

"Don't you want to try it?" Donghua said with a smile, "This is the best one I've picked after a long time."

Not only is this old immortal shameless, but why is he still asking for more?

Jiang Ruan was not a person without temper, and he immediately glared at Donghua. Unexpectedly, Donghua was just stunned for a moment, and then the smile on his face became even brighter, as if he had seen something new.

Sitting behind Emperor Donghua, Siming was puzzled. He leaned forward to get closer to Donghua and asked quietly, "How can the Emperor be so happy even when being glared at?"

Donghua's voice was leisurely, "The more Ah Ruan acts like a spoiled child in front of me, the more affectionate she is towards me. Furthermore, this is the first time I've been glared at by Ah Ruan, and I find it quite novel and delightful."

Sima Ming's body, which had been stretched out, returned to its original position.

I thought to myself, so the Emperor likes this. No wonder all those female demons and fairies who wanted to climb into the Emperor's bed were thrown out by the Emperor. It turned out that they didn't find the way. The Emperor liked to ignore him and even glare at him.

Donghua's gaze shifted slightly from Jiang Ruan, his voice sinking slightly as he asked, "In Siming's heart, do I really enjoy being abused?"

Oops! I forgot the Emperor's mind-reading ability again!

Siming knocked his head against the table. "How could that be? It's only because the Emperor likes Miss Jiang that he's willing to do everything he wants. If she wasn't Miss Jiang and still dared to look down on the Emperor, he would have thrown her out of the Heavenly Palace long ago..."

Because it was at the banquet, Siming tried to explain in a low voice and did not attract anyone's attention.

Donghua finally felt relieved: "That's good to know."

He didn't like Siming talking about his past in his heart, and he didn't like Siming thinking that if someone treated him the way Jiang Ruan treated him, he would also fall in love with that person.

Nonsense!

If that person wasn't Jiang Ruan, Donghua would have thought it was a joke.

Donghua's gaze was still there, and Jiang Ruan wanted to run away as soon as she could because of him. This was even more uncomfortable than when everyone in the hall was secretly looking at her. She felt it was extremely unbearable.

She turned her head and looked at Donghua again.

Donghua handed Jiang Ruan a plate of fish he had just picked out of the bones. "I just removed the bones. Ruan, please try it. If you like it, I will ask the royal chef to make it every day."

Haode Tianjun, who was sitting in the upper seat, took in every move of everyone below. When he saw Donghua diligently handing fruits and fish to Jiang Ruan, and making no secret of his henpecked nature, he immediately said that he couldn't bear to watch it!

The dignified Emperor Donghua was acting like this in public. It was simply... couldn't he see that the two of them had become the focus of the hall? Even he, the Heavenly Sovereign, was being ignored...

Hearing Haode Tianjun's thoughts, Donghua gave a wink to Siming who was sitting behind him.

Sima Ming understood immediately, stood up and organized a group of immortal officials to line up and toast Haode Tianjun.

Looking at the delicious fish on the plate, Jiang Ruan refused: "I'm already fasting, I don't need to eat."

Donghua expressed a different view: "We now eat whole grains and enjoy delicacies from land and sea just to satisfy our appetite, not to fill our stomachs. It can also be considered a way to pass the time."

Seeing that Jiang Ruan didn't want to eat, Donghua pretended to take the fish back: "If you don't like it, then I'll eat it. It won't be a waste."

Jiang Ruan quickly stopped him: "No! Fish is an irritant. You are seriously injured and still can't eat it."

Donghua is her patient now, so naturally she has to stop him from doing anything that would be detrimental to the healing of his injuries.

Donghua smiled and handed the fish over, and Jiang Ruan had no choice but to take it.

"It would be a waste to leave it alone. This fish is not easy to prepare, and it suits your taste. Try it." This time, Donghua's voice did not carry any affection that would make Jiang Ruan uncomfortable. Instead, it was a recommendation in a casual tone.

Jiang Ruan picked up the chopsticks and took a bite, and his eyes immediately lit up!

This fish… is truly delicious! The fish is soft and melts in your mouth! There’s no fishy smell at all, and the sweet and sour taste fills your mouth, whetting Jiang Ruan’s appetite, which was originally not in the mood for food!

When Jiang Ruan came to her senses, she had already eaten up the fish.

She blinked, feeling a little embarrassed, and looked at Donghua secretly. Unexpectedly, she met Donghua's eyes full of tender smiles.

Jiang Ruan's face suddenly burned: "You...don't look at me!"

"Then where to look?" Donghua asked with amusement.

"Look anywhere you want, but don't look at me."

"But, Ruan, look at the way I'm sitting." Donghua waved his sleeves, letting Jiang Ruan see his incongruous, unbridled, and domineering posture. "I usually sit like this, so my eyes will naturally look in your direction."

Jiang Ruan said: "My father said that this is not a proper way to sit."

Donghua: "..."

Sima Ming, who was trying to get the immortal officials to continue toasting Haode Tianjun, almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

Donghua wasn't choked by Jiang Ruan's words. Instead, he went along with it: "Your father is right, but I've been sitting like this for hundreds of thousands of years. Even if I wanted to change, I'd probably just subconsciously follow my habits."

"Why don't you come sit next to me? With your supervision, I'll be able to sit upright."

Jiang Ruan naturally didn't believe his words: "Don't try to trick me, I won't fall for it."

"How dare I lie to you?" Donghua found Jiang Ruan adorable the more he looked at her. A hint of laughter mingled with his clear voice, "It's just that I can't control myself. Like the drug-drinking incident before, I only drank every last drop because you were watching me."

After he finished speaking, he realized that Jiang Ruan's attention was no longer on him.

Donghua followed Jiang Ruan's gaze and saw a small figure sitting next to the eldest prince's wife Le Xu.

The little girl in the costume of the Celestial Clan sat upright next to Le Xu, staring at a plate of exquisite pastries in front of her.