"Xiao You, take them to the inn to rest first, then go home and rest yourself. I'll cook for you when I'm done here."

Xiao You, being heartless, left with the two of them upon hearing this, and enthusiastically introduced the place to Man Niang, saying, "Our Anping County may be small, but it's quite interesting. Our puppet shop is right next door; you'll be in charge of it later."

Liu Jiuniang was stunned when she heard this. What? She actually wanted to be the manager of the puppet shop?

Xiao Gu, are you sure this isn't just a joke?

No, she has to go back and ask what happened.

Gu An'an was unaware that a fire had broken out behind her. When she returned home, she was relieved to find the house spotless.

There's nothing much going on at home, otherwise I wouldn't be in the mood to clean.

She had been traveling a lot during this period, and now that she was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), her nerves relaxed, and she slowly fell asleep.

When I woke up, it was getting dark outside, and I could hear laughter and chatter in the courtyard.

"Your Majesty, you're awake."

The little girl's soft voice rang in her ears, and a wisp of hair blew by, making Gu An'an laugh. "Bao'er, did you miss your mother?"

The little girl quickly slipped into bed, snuggled up to Gu An'an, and her watery eyes darted around like glass beads. "I've been thinking about it. My older sister said I should practice one big character every day. Once I finish copying that stack of calligraphy books, Her Majesty will be back."

But my sister was lying.

In fact, she had already copied two stacks of calligraphy templates before the Empress returned.

Gu An'an hugged the child tighter and kissed the sweet and soft little girl. "Mommy missed you too, Bao'er. Look at the gift I gave you. Do you like it?"

Gu An'an casually picked up a small yellow chick from the bedside table and watched the little girl's reaction with anticipation.

"Wow, this one is cuter than the previous one."

Although she had long accepted the fact that her needlework was utterly inadequate compared to Mei Niang's, Gu An'an was still slightly hurt. "Wasn't she cute before?"

"That ugly-cute one isn't as cute as this one."

A note from the author:

Little Yellow Chick: My dear mother, why are you all so well-behaved and cute, while I'm just ugly-cute?

Gu An'an: Maybe it's because you're their biological child?

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