Cai Bende was scared out of his wits.

If anyone else had said that, he might have been flustered, but not afraid.

For an official of his rank, this was nothing... Even if they really meant to punish him, he'd have to be taken back to the capital to stand trial.

But Ning Chen was different.

He held military command over the whole realm, and on top of that he was Her Majesty's husband.

One word from him, and Cai Bende would be dead with nowhere left to bury him.

"Mercy, my lord prince! Pardon, my lord prince! This official admits the fault, this official admits the fault..."

But Ning Chen ignored him and asked evenly, "Which of you is Fang Zhihe?"

A lean-faced man of about forty in a blue official's robe bowed. "This official, Fang Zhihe, greets my lord prince!"

Ning Chen glanced at the bowl in front of him, drained to the last drop of broth, and smiled. "Was it good?"

Fang Zhihe shook his head. "My lord prince, it wasn't good. It had no taste at all!"

"Fang Zhihe, how dare you! You say the noodles the prince gave you weren't good? That's rank treason."

The official next to Fang Zhihe had jumped in at once to scold him.

Fang Zhihe bowed with his fist in his palm. "Please don't be angry, my lord prince. This official is only telling the truth. A little salt would have made all the difference."

Ning Chen turned to the official who'd rebuked Fang Zhihe. "If you say this prince's noodles are good, why is there so much left?"

The man went white. His voice shook. "Please forgive the offense, my lord prince. This official didn't finish them, not because they weren't good, but because they were noodles bestowed by my lord prince, and this official couldn't bear to eat them."

Ning Chen: "..."

Sure enough—the character for official, 官, has two 口 mouths in it. They're good for eating and good for talking. (TL Note: The lower part of 官 "official" looks like two stacked boxes, each like 口…