Chapter 5

Zhao Yan angrily carried his breakfast, walked through the corridor to Cao Ying's room, and threw it in front of Cao Ying, who was eating, and shouted, "Cao Ying, I know the Empress asked you to supervise my convalescence, and I know you hate me, but you can't use public resources for personal revenge by feeding me this swill every day!"

"Your Highness, be careful with your words. Is everything you don't like swill?" To Zhao Yan's surprise, Cao Ying also stood up angrily and shouted back, without even wiping her mouth. Zhao Yan could see a grain of millet still on the corner of her lips.

"I... " Zhao Yan was originally full of anger, but when he saw the food on Cao Ying's plate, he immediately felt at a loss for words. The food on her plate was exactly the same as his, the only difference being that Cao Ying's was almost finished, while his was untouched.

"I... I am at least a Prince of the Song Dynasty, and I am also a patient. How can I eat this every day?" Zhao Yan was being unreasonable, as he simply couldn't eat these vegetables and tofu anymore.

"What's wrong with this? Our dynasty has always been frugal, and the imperial family sets an example for the whole country. Even the Emperor and the Empress have very simple diets. Moreover, Your Highness is unwell and should not eat meat, so you can only have these light meals. Besides, there's nothing wrong with this food. I eat the same every day. If this were in an ordinary household, they would be lucky to have such meals!" Cao Ying was also very angry. Marrying someone like Zhao Yan was already a great humiliation, and now she had to supervise his convalescence, only to find him picky about the food. To her, this was just making trouble for no reason.

"Fine, I don't mind the light meals, but I am a Prince of the Song Dynasty and receive a substantial salary every month. Can't we use some of my salary to improve my diet? Eating vegetables and tofu every day, I'm almost becoming a monk!" Zhao Yan stood his ground, not feeling he was in the wrong. He also knew that the Song Dynasty's salaries were famously generous. As a prince, he received 300 guan (a unit of currency) every month, plus a large amount of cloth and grain, which together were worth several hundred guan. This was enough to cover the entire princely household's expenses.

"Slap!" As soon as Zhao Yan finished speaking, Cao Ying took a stack of bills from a small box and slammed them on the table, her delicate face full of anger. "Your Highness, you seem to have a short memory. Look at these first!"

Zhao Yan was startled by Cao Ying's sudden anger. Although he saw her as a young girl not much older than his former students, ancient women seemed to mature early. Zhao Yan always treated Cao Ying as an adult, even though she was only fifteen or sixteen.

"June 3, Jiayou 6, Zhao Yan owes Gao Liang 1,000 guan; August 16, Jiayou 6, Zhao Yan owes Cao Song 1,300 guan; February 23, Jiayou 7, Zhao Yan owes Huyan Ping 2,100 guan..."

As Zhao Yan read through the bills, he became increasingly shocked, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The stack of bills was all Zhao Yan's IOUs, totaling over twenty, each for no less than 1,000 guan, with the largest being 5,000 guan. Together, these bills amounted to about 50,000 to 60,000 guan. How did the young Zhao Yan manage to accumulate so much debt?

"Your Highness, have you finished reading? These are just a part of your debts. I have already had the money sent to pay off these debts. There are still 63,710 guan left to pay. In a few days, I will have some of the princely household's assets and my dowry sold to cover the remaining debt. Although it may not be enough, the remaining debt won't be too much. The princely household can save for a few years to pay it off!" Cao Ying said coldly, having lost all hope in her marriage. Other women enjoyed their marriages, but she had married a wastrel and now had to bear a huge debt, even using her dowry to pay it off. Was there a more unfortunate woman in the world?

Zhao Yan felt a bit guilty when he heard that Cao Ying was willing to sell her dowry to pay off the debt. Although these debts were from the previous Zhao Yan, he now occupied the body and identity of the other Zhao Yan. According to the principle of equivalent exchange, he couldn't enjoy the rights without taking on the obligations, and these debts were one of his obligations.

"Well... these IOUs don't specify when to pay, and no one has come to collect. I think we should delay it for a while. I will find a way to pay off these debts in the future. We can't let the entire princely household suffer because of the debt. We shouldn't be too frugal with daily expenses!" Zhao Yan said awkwardly. After all, Cao Ying was his wife, and he didn't want her to suffer just after getting married. Besides, he wasn't too worried about the debts. As a穿越者 (time traveler), he had over a thousand years of knowledge more than the Song people, and he was confident he could find a way to make money.

Cao Ying clearly misunderstood Zhao Yan's intentions. Given her poor impression of Zhao Yan, she thought he was trying to avoid paying the debts, which made her face turn red with anger. She slapped the table and shouted, "Daughters of the Cao family never owe anyone anything, and we always pay our debts. From now on, I will be responsible for the princely household's expenses, so there's no need for Your Highness to worry!"

Zhao Yan didn't expect his good intentions to be met with such a rebuke. His face turned red with embarrassment, and in a fit of anger, he turned to leave.

"Wait! The Empress asked me to supervise your convalescence, and diet is essential. Please finish your meal before you leave!" Before Zhao Yan could leave, Cao Ying suddenly spoke again.

"What if I don't eat?" Zhao Yan's anger flared up again when he heard that she was forcing him to eat. He turned around and stared at Cao Ying.

"This is the princely household. If the Prince doesn't want to eat, no one will force you. However, I am responsible to the Empress. If the Prince doesn't eat, I will have to report it to the Empress!" Cao Ying calmed down and said coldly. She didn't really want to supervise Zhao Yan, but if his health worsened, she would also be held responsible.

"Fine! You win!" Zhao Yan had no choice but to sit down and eat his breakfast, as Cao Ying had mentioned the Empress, his mother, Empress Gao. The previous Zhao Yan had left him few memories, but the most vivid was of Empress Gao. For some reason, the previous Zhao Yan seemed to fear his mother. When Empress Gao visited him last time, she didn't seem too concerned about her son. She asked a few casual questions and then asked Cao Ying to supervise him, without saying anything caring. Was it true that the imperial family had no affection, even between mother and son?

Thinking of his emotionally distant mother and the memories left by the previous Zhao Yan, Zhao Yan felt a bit wary of Empress Gao. There was no need to cause trouble over small matters, so he obediently finished his meal. He had his own tricks for dealing with unpalatable food. When he was in school, the cafeteria food was often boiled vegetables with occasional bugs or flies, and the taste was terrible. But as long as he closed his eyes and imagined delicious food, the meals didn't seem so bad.

Zhao Yan quickly finished his breakfast, put the bowl and chopsticks on the table, and glared at Cao Ying. "I'm done. You were supposed to supervise my meals, right? Fine! I can walk around now, so there's no need to bring meals to my bedroom. From today on, I will eat with you every time. I want to see if you can keep eating vegetables and tofu!"

Zhao Yan turned and left, determined to stick to his plan. He didn't believe that a pampered young lady like Cao Ying could keep eating vegetables and tofu with him. He was confident that she would eventually improve the meals.

Unfortunately, Zhao Yan overestimated his own endurance. "It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go from luxury to frugality." Although Zhao Yan had suffered in the past, he had never deprived himself of good food since adulthood. This had made his taste buds very picky. He also underestimated Cao Ying. Perhaps she naturally preferred a vegetarian diet, or she had a stronger willpower. After half a month of eating vegetables and tofu, Zhao Yan felt like he was going to a torture chamber every time he went to the dining room, while Cao Ying always ate her meals gracefully.

During dinner one day, Zhao Yan aimlessly poked at the tofu on his plate, sipping the millet porridge half-heartedly. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and coughed. "Cao Ying, we are the princely household. As the head of the princely household, having only one dish per meal is a bit too undignified, isn't it?"

Cao Ying looked up from her meal and, to Zhao Yan's surprise, nodded. "As a prince, having only one dish per meal is indeed undignified. Xiaodouya, add another dish for the Prince tomorrow!"

Cao Ying continued eating, while Zhao Yan was puzzled. Based on his understanding of Cao Ying, she wasn't usually so easy to persuade, especially since she disliked him so much. He couldn't believe she would agree so readily.

Zhao Yan's confusion was resolved the next day. At breakfast, he found two dishes in front of him, but they were just a dish of vegetables and a dish of tofu.

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**End of Chapter**