The Obsessive Crown Prince Can't Let Me Go-Chapter 29 The Cherry Feast without Cherries

Shen Yunxi coyly cast a glance at her mother in faux annoyance.

Her mother, truly... She had just taken the rare chance to showcase her talents, yet before she could hear a single compliment, her mother had cut her off.

Left with no choice, she said, "Lianxin, please escort the ladies to the Pavilion and prepare to open the banquet."

After the guests were seated, palace maids entered in a steady stream, serving aromatic tea.

This Pavilion was open on three sides, with the fourth adorned with various cherry-themed paintings and calligraphy for appreciation.

Shen Yunxi spoke gently, "Today’s banquet is named the Cherry Banquet. I specially ordered the sweetest, juiciest cherries and requested the Imperial Chef to prepare cherry mousse pastries, cherry cakes, cherry blossom puddings, cherry juice, and other delicacies and drinks for all of you. After the banquet, I have prepared a basket of large cherries for each of you to take back home and savor at your leisure."

The noblewomen and young ladies rose to express their gratitude, creating a moment where guests and host were genuinely joyful.

Lu Qianqian chirped, "The cherries from Crown Princess Consort’s residence must be better than anywhere else! I’ll make sure to eat my fill today!"

"You..." Shen Yunxi scolded playfully, "All you ever think about is eating. Such a little glutton! Be careful not to gain weight, or the Prince Consort will tease you someday!" freēnovelkiss.com

"Crown Princess Consort, you’re making fun of me!"

"How can it be teasing?" Shen Yunxi replied, embodying the gentle dignity of an elder sister-in-law, "I wonder who will have the fortune in the future to marry our esteemed, beautiful, and clever Princess Qianqian."

"Oh, stop it," Lu Qianqian pouted. "I’m far from beautiful and clever. If you ask me, of all the ladies here, only Crown Princess Consort can truly be considered both exceptionally talented and ravishingly beautiful. Don’t you all agree?"

The crowd chimed in with agreement.

But internally, they all started to roll their eyes.

This pair of in-laws, complimenting each other back and forth—could they get any more fake?

In their opinion, neither of these two women had any true talent or substance and certainly couldn’t be described as "exceptionally talented and beautiful."

The banquet was boring, and all they wanted was to finish eating quickly and return home.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, the conversation grew increasingly tedious, and still, there was no sign of the palace attendants bringing out the cherries.

Shen Yunxi’s expression became strained. Lowering her voice, she said to Lianxin, "What is the Imperial Kitchen doing, embroidering flowers?! Why are they dawdling without serving the cherries yet?! Hurry and go there yourself to urge them!"

Lianxin arrived at the Imperial Kitchen, only to find there wasn’t a single cherry in sight.

Let alone cherry mousse pastries or cherry blossom puddings!

The head steward of the kitchen spoke defensively, "We informed the Crown Princess Consort yesterday—there are no cherries left in the entire Capital. As they say, ’Even the cleverest cook cannot manage without rice.’ We beg the Crown Princess Consort not to make things difficult for us!"

Helpless, Lianxin could only brace herself and return to inform Shen Yunxi that the palace had no cherries whatsoever.

"What?!" Shen Yunxi said in disbelief, raising her voice sharply, "No cherries?!"

The guests caught wind of the commotion and turned their curious gazes toward her.

Lianxin, agitated, said, "Consort, this Cherry Banquet might not be feasible today. Why don’t we send them home now?"

Shen Yunxi’s face flushed red with anger: "What do you mean by ’not feasible’? It’s rare that I host a banquet at the Eastern Palace. How could it possibly not be feasible?! Hurry! Tell the people in the Imperial Kitchen to find a solution—if they don’t serve cherries today, I’ll have their heads chopped off!"

"The cherries in the Capital have all been sold out! Even if you chopped off their heads, they still wouldn’t be able to get any!"

Shen Yunxi’s chest heaved with fury.

As the dignified Crown Princess Consort, she couldn’t even produce cherries for a banquet she had announced. Instead, the guests had been left waiting. What kind of joke was this?!

Unable to contain herself, she shouted, "Didn’t the Crown Prince buy up all the cherries? He surely has some—go ask him for them!"

Lianxin trembled as she knelt: "Consort, His Highness is not in the Eastern Palace today."

Shen Yunxi’s face darkened: "He surely ran off to see that vixen again!"

Their back-and-forth conversation reached the ears of the guests.

The ladies exchanged knowing looks—they understood.

Shen Yunxi had invited them to indulge in cherries at her so-called Cherry Banquet, yet no cherries were to be found.

They’d painstakingly risen early to bathe, get dressed, and groom themselves only to endure this indignity. Wasn’t this all intentional humiliation?

How could Shen Yunxi manage like this? A proper Crown Princess Consort incapable of preparing basic ingredients for a banquet—how could someone like her ever hope to rule the empire as Mother of the Nation?

Or perhaps, Shen Yunxi simply didn’t respect them enough to bother preparing in advance!

An elderly lady rose and, with a composed but stern expression, announced, "Since the Consort hasn’t prepared the necessary food, I think we shall take our leave."

She was the most esteemed matron in the Capital. Six of her sons had died defending the border, leaving behind several young grandchildren. Despite her advanced age, she personally managed the General Mansion and raised her grandchildren with painstaking care, molding them into capable men who either headed to the border or joined the imperial bureaucracy. Their family was hailed as a household of loyal servants to the state.

Even when meeting the Emperor, she was greeted with utmost respect as "Old Madam."

Yet here she was, having taken the rare occasion to visit the palace, only to go hungry at Shen Yunxi’s banquet!

It was laughable!

"Wait!" Shen Yunxi panicked. "Please don’t be in such a hurry to leave! I promise the cherries will be served shortly! Lianxin, hurry and help Lady Chen sit down!"

But sitting idly like this was no solution.

Shen Yunxi, thinking quickly, suddenly remembered a cherry tree within the Eastern Palace.

She immediately ordered Lian Ye, "Don’t we have a cherry tree here in the palace? Go pick some cherries from it!"

"But Consort," Lian Ye hesitated, "the cherries on that tree are bitter, sour, and tiny. They’re not edible!"

"Idiot! At this point, does it matter? Just having cherries is better than none! Hurry and get them!"

Left with no choice, Lian Ye hurried off with palace attendants to climb the tree and pick cherries.

Shen Yunxi feared the mood would grow cold and forced a warm, congenial smile. "Rest assured, everyone. Since it’s called the Cherry Banquet, there will undoubtedly be cherries. Please be patient. In the meantime, while we wait, let me guide you all in appreciating the calligraphy and paintings here. Look, these cherries on the painting are so plump and round... gulp."

She gazed at the painted cherries and audibly swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

The Pavilion was deathly silent.

Everyone clearly heard her swallowing.

Lady Chen shook her head in disappointment again and again.

To have a Crown Princess Consort like this—it was truly a misfortune for the realm.

After about half an hour, Lian Ye finally returned with the palace attendants.

The freshly picked cherries were presented in bowls and placed on the tables before the noblewomen and ladies.

Their reaction was one of speechless dismay.

These cherries were small, unripe, hard, and even had wormholes!

A Crown Princess Consort hosting a grand banquet only to serve such fare—how insulting was this?

Was it that she didn’t respect them, or that she didn’t respect their husbands and families?

Shen Yunxi enthusiastically encouraged them, "Don’t be discouraged by the size of these cherries. They were personally grown by me in the palace. They may look sour, but they taste sweet. Lady Chen, you must be famished—please give them a try!"

Lady Chen, feeling sorry for her youth and ignorance, reluctantly swallowed her pride and picked up a cherry to try.

Crunch! The hard cherry broke one of Lady Chen’s remaining teeth.