How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

"Then I will not bother you any more." Sheng Shihuai raised his hand and bowed, smiling slightly, "I will take my leave."

Watching Sheng Shihuai leave, the tense Xie Chengze breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head, and his palms were full of sweat.

Although he knew that the other party would not kill him, Xie Chengze couldn't help feeling a little scared when he thought about the other party's superb martial arts skills and that killing him would be as easy as crushing an ant.

Stroking his heart, Xie Chengze looked at the only dumplings and egg soup left in the lunch box, silently said "I'm sorry", then covered the lunch box and walked back to his room.

In the room, Shen Yuan was sipping tea. He turned around after hearing the noise and said, "Your Highness, why did you take so long? I almost thought you ran away out of guilt."

His eyes fell on the familiar food box in Xie Chengze's hand, and he raised his eyebrows again, "Could the gift that Your Highness wants to give be a cake made by someone else?"

"How could that be!" Xie Chengze put the food box on the wooden table and said confidently, "These are dumplings I made myself! Even the emperor has never eaten them, and you are the first person to taste them!"

Hearing this, Shen Yuan couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. He had never expected that Xie Chengze would choose to cook himself.

And...I made it for him first.

A faint smile flashed across his lips, Shen Yuan lowered his head and opened the food box with anticipation.

The next second, the smile froze at the corner of his mouth.

...What ugly dumplings.

It doesn't matter if she's ugly or not, the key is... "Why is there only one? You've been there for so long, and you only made one?"

Shen Yuan said in disbelief.

"Ahem, one isn't enough?" Xie Chengze raised his fist and coughed twice, "It's good enough to be able to make it for you, don't be picky."

"But on this bowl and plate..." Shen Yuan looked at the traces of dumpling water left on the plate and narrowed his eyes, "It looks like there were several dumplings there before?"

"Huh?" Xie Chengze didn't expect Shen Yuan to be so perceptive. He leaned over to take a look and found that it was indeed the case. He couldn't help but say, "Oh, yes, it was because I made it too ugly, so I threw a few away."

"Eat it quickly! It may look ugly, but it tastes good!" Xie Chengze tried to cover up his guilty conscience with an urging tone. He also took the egg soup out of the food box and said, "Come on, have some more soup."

"Is that so..." Shen Yuan touched the bowl of egg soup and felt a warm and cool sensation. He glanced at Xie Chengze calmly and said, "Then I will eat it."

Put the dumpling between your lips and bite open it. The rich and fragrant gravy will fill your lips. Although it is cold, it tastes delicious. It seems that dumplings should not be judged by appearance.

"How is it?" Xie Chengze asked expectantly.

"Your Highness, didn't you try any?" Shen Yuan raised his eyebrows.

"I ate it, I ate it." Xie Chengze said subconsciously, and the next second his chin was pinched by Shen Yuan.

The man came over and sniffed, "Is that so... But why doesn't your Highness smell like dumplings?"

"..." Xie Chengze quickly covered his mouth and looked away guiltily, "Why are you talking so much while eating dumplings? Where's my New Year's present?"

Shen Yuan sat back, let go and smiled, "Your Highness, why are you so nervous? I won't eat you. It's just a dumpling. Even if Your Highness lets someone else eat it first, I will just be jealous at most. What can I do to Your Highness?"

Xie Chengze couldn't help but feel even more guilty after hearing this. He pushed the egg soup into Shen Yuan's hand and urged him, "Drink it quickly. No one has ever eaten this before."

Shen Yuan took a sip. The taste of the dumpling water overwhelmed the fishy smell of the egg liquid, so it was still tasty. After drinking the egg soup, he pushed the New Year gift on the table towards Xie Chengze.

Xie Chengze held the small box and his heart began to beat slightly.

What will Shen Yuan give him?

With the other party's clever mind, he would definitely give me a self-defense weapon, right? Well, judging from the size of this box, it should be a dagger or something?

Xie Chengze couldn't wait to open the wooden box, and the next second, his expectant smile froze at the corners of his mouth.

"Shen! Yuan!"

The young man roared, "What kind of New Year's gift is this?"

Shen Yuan blocked his ears in advance and said as a matter of course, "What's wrong, Your Highness? I heard that this Snow Jade Cream is a fairy product that can only be used by princes and nobles. It is delicate, refreshing and does not hurt the skin. Your Highness, please remember to use it well~"

"This is a gift from me to you!" Xie Chengze clenched the snow jade cream in his hand and said through gritted teeth.

Even the sentence he just said was what he gave to Shen Yuan when he was in Yizhou!

"No, no, the Snow Jade Cream that Your Highness gave me is here!" Shen Yuan patted the sachet on his waist and smiled meaningfully, "I always carry it with me and dare not let anyone else do it."

Xie Chengze: ...

Special grandma's.

Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. I only gave him one dumpling... but he made it himself!

He doesn't need snow jade cream!

Xie Chengze curled his lips and said unhappily, "That's fine. I'll leave it to the prince's wife in the future."

Hearing the words "Prince's Consort", Shen Yuan's eyebrows twitched, and the next moment, Xie Chengze felt that the Snow Jade Cream in his hand was gone.

"What are you doing?" Looking at Shen Yuan's big hands playing with the Snow Jade Cream, Xie Chengze said angrily, "Are you going back on your word again?"

"After thinking it over, I think it's not appropriate to give His Highness the Snow Jade Cream." Shen Yuan took out another small wooden box from his sleeve, "Let's give this instead."

This was the New Year's gift that she really wanted to give him, but seeing that Xie Chengze had been lying and only left an ugly dumpling for herself, she took out the snow jade cream and teased him.

"Huh, I knew it!" Xie Chengze was immediately happy. He couldn't wait to open the small wooden box, only to see a pair of silver ball tassel earrings inside. The tassel silver wire was hammered to be as thin as a cicada's wing, and the pair of small silver balls were also engraved with intricate patterns. It was obvious that they were carved by a highly skilled craftsman using his inner strength, which could not be produced by ordinary craftsmen.

"This couldn't have been made by you..." Xie Chengze couldn't help but look at Shen Yuan. Although the tassel earrings looked like they were made with sophisticated craftsmanship, the style was very simple. They seemed like they were made with a straight male aesthetic rather than by a meticulous craftsman.

Shen Yuan took a sip of tea, his tone was light, but his words were full of playfulness, "These are earrings that I made myself. Even the emperor has never worn them. Your Highness is the first person to receive them!"

Xie Chengze: ...

This person is so annoying!

Will he die if he is not exposed?

Xie Chengze snorted in dissatisfaction, then picked up the earring again, and then noticed something strange. He shook it and asked, "Is there something in this silver ball?"

"Poison was added."

"!!!"

Xie Chengze was startled. He quickly observed the silver ball carefully. "That's not right. Wouldn't silver turn black if it's contaminated by poison?"

"Not all poisons can be detected by silver needles." Shen Yuan took the earring from his hand, bent down and turned the young man's cheek, gently inserted the earring into the other's earlobe, and then gently fiddled with the tassel with his fingertips, inadvertently scraping the back of the young man's earlobe, causing the young man to tilt his head slightly.

"What I put in your Highness is a rare odorless and highly poisonous substance that cannot be detected by ordinary means." Shen Yuan said slowly in his ear, "Your Highness likes to release Wuhen and Wuji so much. It is not safe to leave them alone. If you are caught, they might use them."

"Then why don't you give me a dagger?" Xie Chengze always felt that poison was not as useful as a dagger. "What if someone tied my hands? How can I poison them?"

Shen Yuan smiled, "I believe Your Highness has the brains to trick the kidnappers into untying me."

"But..." He paused, staring at Xie Chengze jokingly, "I don't believe that Your Highness, who is so weak, has the strength to beat the kidnappers with a dagger."

Xie Chengze: ...

Xie Chengze roared: "Shen! Yuan!"