Who says the prince is weak and can't take care of himself?

"Why are you looking at me?"

Qi Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled and opened his mouth: "Meat."

Tang Ling couldn't help but laugh at Qi Xiao's greed, so she fed him another mouthful of mutton and asked, "Do you regret hunting only those birds?"

"Isn't it better to just sit back and enjoy the harvest without having to hunt myself? I have to thank you, Ziyi, for this, otherwise I would have gone hungry tonight."

Maybe it was because of the wine, the smile on Tang Ling's face was much more casual, no longer as restrained as before, the smile was slight and shallow, and the smile on his face made him look like an "ordinary person", with both joy and sorrow. Qi Xiao thought that this was the lively look that Tang Ling should have.

"I'm not treating you for nothing." Tang Ling also took a bite of the mutton. The rich, fragrant and tender taste stimulated his taste buds, making him nod his head continuously.

"Huh? How can there be a reason for eating a few bites of your flesh?"

"It's... a return gift."

"A return gift? No way. My little white snake is only worth two pieces of meat? And I roasted the meat myself? No way. That's too insincere."

"You roasted the rabbit meat, but not the mutton." Tang Ling held the mutton and shook it in front of Qi Xiao, deliberately provoking Qi Xiao.

Qi Xiao freed up one hand and grabbed Tang Ling's wrist in his hand. He pretended to be angry and stared at Tang Ling.

The two of them were already sitting close together, and Qi Xiao reached out and pulled Tang Ling a few inches closer to him. The night in the mountains was thick, and the blazing bonfire could only illuminate a small area. Everything else was shrouded in darkness, and only the person before him was clearly visible.

Qi Xiao suddenly pulled her close, staring at her intently. He forgot what he had been about to say, as if frozen. Tang Ling felt strangely flustered by Qi Xiao's gaze. She nervously avoided his gaze for a moment, unconsciously licking her lips. Qi Xiao suddenly noticed that Tang Ling's lips were a deep crimson, like a woman in the boudoir who had carefully applied makeup, which made him even more greedy...

Tang Ling was held captive by Qi Xiao and stared at constantly, so she had no choice but to give in and whispered, "Okay, I was wrong, I was wrong, Your Highness, please forgive me."

Qi Xiao slowly loosened Tang Ling's wrist, stifling a smile and saying with a stern face, "I won't eat your food for free. I'll give you a bowl of clear soup noodles when I return to Yuanjing."

Tang Ling was amused by Qi Xiao's words. Thinking of the noodle soup from that little noodle shop, she missed it so much that she burst out laughing. "Then Tang Ling would like to thank His Highness in advance."

"The little white snake is a gift for you, there's no need to return the favor." Qi Xiao turned over the roasted rabbit meat in his hand, sprinkled some salt on it, and brushed a layer of chili powder on it. The rabbit meat was already a little brown and could be eaten soon.

Tang Ling saw that Qi Xiao had a serious expression, but she couldn't guess whether he was seriously roasting the rabbit, or seriously... Tang Ling was suddenly confused, frowned and turned her head away, replaced the mutton in her hand with a wine pot and a wine cup, and drank two glasses in a row.

"What wine? Let me try it too." Qi Xiao nudged Tang Ling with his elbow.

Tang Ling just poured the third glass of wine and handed it directly to Qi Xiao.

Qi Xiao looked at the wine cup in front of him, then looked at Tang Ling. Something seemed to be wrong, so he put down the rabbit meat in his hand, took the wine cup but looked at Tang Ling.

Tang Ling smiled slightly and said, "The imperial wine of the palace is indeed extraordinary, a fine wine."

"What's wrong?" Qi Xiao could see Tang Ling's perfunctory smile. He took a sip of the wine. The wine was good, but Tang Ling had just drunk it in a hurry. How could he taste anything? She was clearly thinking about something else, and her momentary distraction didn't even hide it from Qi Xiao.

"Captain Yao saw you catching the little white snake, didn't he? His Majesty must have known about it. He gave it to me like that. Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?"

"Worried about me?" Qi Xiao asked seriously.

Tang Ling hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'm worried about myself. I'm afraid that if I accept a gift that's too expensive, I'll get into trouble."

"Oh, in that case, then give it back to me. It would be my fault if I implicated the young marquis." Qi Xiao was very decisive and did not leave Tang Ling any leeway. It was clearly a joke, but he seemed to take it seriously.

The rabbit meat was roasted. Qi Xiao carefully removed the bones with a knife. Two wild rabbits were less than half a plate of meat, but the aroma was as good as mutton, with a spicy fragrance.

"I forgot to ask, do you like spicy food?" Qi Xiao handed the rabbit meat to Tang Ling, as if he had completely forgotten the topic of the little white snake as soon as he turned around.

Tang Ling reached out to take the rabbit meat, but she hadn't figured out how to start the conversation. Should she just follow Qi Xiao's lead and let it go?

"Don't you like spicy food? Try it. It's a unique recipe and I guarantee it's delicious. You'll definitely like it." Qi Xiao was like a street vendor, trying hard to sell his roasted rabbit meat to Qi Xiao. Tang Ling looked at him expectantly, and she seemed embarrassed if she didn't finish the whole plate.

Tang Ling didn't eat spicy food often, but he couldn't resist the look Qi Xiao gave him, so he took a bite. The spiciness made him cough, and his eyes turned red from coughing.

“Is it that spicy?”

"Cough cough cough..." Tang Ling nodded. The spiciness burned from his throat all the way to his stomach. His face and ears turned red, and he broke out in a sweat.

Qi Xiao found it hilarious to see Tang Ling looking so unrefined for the first time. He also took a bite of the rabbit meat himself, and it was so delicious that it stretched from the tip of his tongue to the strands of his hair. It was indeed the flavor it should be, but it was not something Tang Ling could handle. He couldn't help but burst out laughing, repeatedly saying to Tang Ling, "Sorry, sorry, it's too spicy. I'll grill you another one that's not spicy."

Tang Ling was so spicy that she drank a cup of tea but it still wasn't enough, so she had to drink some wine. However, Qi Xiao stopped her, saying, "Don't drink so much. Just bear with it for a while. I'll go get you some tea."

"I...cough cough, I'm fine."

Qi Xiao suppressed his laughter and stuffed a mouthful of mutton into Tang Ling's mouth. "Hold on, tea will be here soon."

As soon as Qi Xiao left, Tang Ling couldn't wait to take a sip of wine. The strong taste of the wine mixed with the spicy hot sauce and the tender and fragrant meat made the taste surprisingly good. Tang Ling seemed to suddenly understand why Qi Xiao said it would be delicious and that he would like it.

Tang Ling ate another bite of rabbit meat and took another sip of wine. When Qi Xiao returned, Tang Ling was already eating uncontrollably, sweat splattered on her forehead, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

"What's wrong? Okay, okay, stop eating and have some tea."

Tang Ling took the teacup and said with a smile, "You didn't lie to me. It's really delicious."

Qi Xiao looked at Tang Ling crying and laughing, feeling both amused and helpless. Young Master Duan Fang suddenly lost his composure, but Qi Xiao liked it very much. He liked it so much that he unconsciously reached out and gently wiped the sweat off Tang Ling's forehead. His fingertips lightly touched the corner of his eyes, but he was reluctant to withdraw his hand to take away the little tear.

Tang Ling coughed suddenly, dodged Qi Xiao lightly, turned sideways, drank the tea, and poured another cup.

Qi Xiao gently rubbed the warmth on his fingertips, but it seemed to burn his heart.