"Uncle, Jiayin has come to see you! She has brought you some delicious fruit!"

Jiayin quickly stepped forward, smiling as she placed the basket on the desk before bowing in greeting.

"Get up quickly!" The Emperor hurriedly raised his hand to gesture for her to rise, jokingly saying, "I thought you were so happy counting silver every day that you forgot about your imperial uncle!"

"Of course not! I can't forget my imperial uncle!" Jiayin smiled, revealing her white teeth, just as she had when she was a child, showing affection for the emperor.

She picked up a large white jade melon and presented it to the Emperor with a pained expression, saying, "Uncle Emperor, look at this white jade melon, it's selling like hotcakes in the shops."

"I managed to save this after a lot of trouble. Uncle, you must reward me with some good things later, otherwise I'll lose out!"

The Emperor laughed heartily upon hearing this, and said to the Marquis and Chief Eunuch Yi, "Look at how bold this girl is! She actually dared to do business right in front of me today!"

The Marquis nodded with a smile, but Chief Steward Yi took the white jade melon and said, "Your Majesty, this is because the Princess treats you as an elder."

"Everyone knows that the princess likes money. But to be able to get the princess to give up money and send over the white jade melon, only you in the world can do that."

Sure enough, the Emperor laughed even louder and urged Jiayin to sit down quickly.

Chief Eunuch Yi went down to cut the melon, and took the eunuchs and maids with him as well.

The room was quiet for a while, so the Emperor chatted with Jiayin about everyday matters.

"I heard that your shop is doing very well; I've even heard people in the palace mention it."

Jiayin looked very proud, but she pretended to be modest, waving her little hand and saying, "No, no, business is just so-so."

The Emperor couldn't help but laugh again, and said to the Marquis, "Cousin, this girl is afraid that I will steal her business!"

The Marquis replied, "It wouldn't be easy for the Emperor to take it. She's been like this since she was little. Once she gets her hands on the silver, no one can take it away."

"I only stayed in the military camp for a few days, and when I came back, I found that she had set up the shop. To be honest, she's quite capable."

Jiayin quickly protested, "My godfather also said that Grandma and the others went to find a wife for my second brother, and they all left. You, Dad, and Uncle are not coming back either."

"I'm all alone on Broken Gold Beach, so pitiful."

"I open a shop to earn some money, just to make myself happy!"

The Emperor's eyes flashed, and he spoke up for Jiayin, "Yes, cousin. We've finally returned from the northern expedition. There's not much to do in the army, so we've left it to the deputy general. You should come back and stay for a while longer to recuperate."

"I'm waiting for you to take back Jiangbei in one fell swoop next year!"

After saying that, he asked Jiayin, "You just said your second brother is getting married? Is it a girl from the south?"

Jiayin casually peeled a banana and gave it to the Emperor, then ate one herself, saying, "Yes, my second brother rescued him at sea."

"They say this girl's whole family was killed by bad guys, she was so pitiful. But this girl was also tough, she found a way to take revenge herself. And then..."

"I made a mistake in my calculations and almost lost my life, but my second brother saved me at the critical moment."

"My grandma said they were going to see for themselves what the girl was like."

"If she has good character and my second brother likes her, then we'll marry her. If she doesn't, we'll adopt her as a goddaughter and help her find a good family to marry into, so she'll have a good future."

The Emperor nodded, "The Li family has always acted with such integrity."

The two men she married before didn't come from prominent families either.

As long as the boy is happy, the Li family never stops him.

But it must be said that the Li family had good judgment; the granddaughters they married were all filial and sensible, and their lives were very harmonious.

Jiayin breathed a slight sigh of relief when she saw the Emperor nod.

Just then, Steward Yi brought in the sliced ​​white jade melon, and she changed the subject, talking about how difficult it was to grow white jade melons.

It was also said that Lu Zong almost cried while eating melons because he missed home.

Then, taking the opportunity, they brought up how Lu Zong and his elder brother met and became friends.

Even the fact that the Marquis just gave Lu Zong a horse has become gossip.

The Emperor listened with a smile, but whether he truly took it as gossip or not, Jia Yin didn't care.

This means that things have been officially approved. From now on, anyone who brings up this horse, or makes any claims about collusion between the Marquis of Xinting and the Lu family, will have no chance.

And so, the Emperor and Jiayin ate and chatted, with the Marquis occasionally responding, and Steward Yi playing the good straight man; the room was quite lively.

Perhaps the Emperor wanted to discuss some state affairs with the Marquis alone, so he said to Jiayin, "The Third Princess has been ill recently and has been staying in her room without coming out."

"Go see her on my behalf, talk to her, and try to persuade her."

"You two grew up together, so she might listen to what you have to say."

Jiayin thought to herself, "What the hell is this about growing up together since we were little?"

It's already a favor that she and the Third Princess didn't fight when they met...

But she couldn't say that out loud, so she pretended to be happy and followed Eunuch Feng to Zhilan Palace.

Jiayin originally thought that the Third Princess would definitely not want to see her. She would just stand outside the gate of Zhilan Palace for a while, which would be considered completing her task. Then she would leave the palace and wait for her godfather.

To everyone's surprise, after the message was relayed, the Third Princess actually let her in.

The only solution is to deal with whatever comes our way...

The third princess sat on the bed in a silk nightgown, her hair draped over her shoulders. Her face was so thin that only a strip remained, and her usual arrogance was gone. She looked like a pitiful little girl who had been mistreated.

However, the look in her eyes when she looked at Jiayin still carried a hint of resentment.

Jiayin bowed to her, but she didn't say anything.

Jiayin secretly rolled her eyes, disregarding all rules, and sat down on a chair near the fire pit.

Seeing a plate of roasted chestnuts on the table, she picked one up, sniffed it, and started peeling and eating it.

The chestnuts were freshly roasted, very fragrant and sweet, but a little dry.

Jiayin then instructed the head palace maid who was waiting nearby, "Please trouble you to brew a pot of fruit tea for this princess."

The head palace maid, ever protective of her mistress, noticed that Jiayin showed no respect for the princess and was itching to reprimand her.

Unfortunately, the princess remained silent, and she dared not speak.

Seeing Jiayin eating and drinking freely and asking for tea, how could she possibly listen to her?

However, the princess waved her hand and ordered, "Go and prepare tea. Do not come in unless I give the order."

The head palace maid was very worried, but she could only retreat with a complicated expression.

Seeing that Jiayin was still eating comfortably, the Third Princess couldn't help but speak first, "Do you know what? Li Jiayin, I envy you."

"I envy your family's lively life. I envy your grandmother and parents who are willing to risk their lives to protect and cherish you. Even someone like the Marquis treats you like a precious gem."

"I admire your boldness even more, your ability to do whatever you want. If you like snacks, you open a shop; if you like fruit, you sell fruit—you never have any reservations!"

"Even here with me, you're so casual, eating and drinking as if you're not afraid I'll poison you or punish you..."