Zhuang You smiled gently and explained to the little girl in a soft voice, "We're going to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager. The little princess ate so many snacks here, shouldn't we thank the Empress Dowager?"

The little dumpling nodded in agreement, gave a sweet, gentle smile, and said earnestly, "Niannian wants to thank the Empress Dowager for her hospitality. Niannian also wants to tell the Empress Dowager that her family's pastries were really delicious, and Niannian accidentally ate a little too much!"

As she spoke, the little dumpling reached out her tiny hand and quietly touched her round little belly. She smiled shyly and buried her face in Zhuangyou's fragrant and soft shoulder.

Zhuangyou smiled gently and quickly led the little baby to the entrance of the main hall, where they were stopped by the eunuch guarding the gate.

However, the first thing the little eunuch guarding the gate saw was Changyin being held by Xia Yi.

The two eunuchs stared wide-eyed in shock, looking incredulously at the dusty Changyin, then at the now quiet Hu Bao, and were so excited they were incoherent, "Little...Little County Princess?!"

Zhuangyou smiled and explained to her, "This dog probably likes children. It suddenly ran over and gave us quite a fright. But our little princess, who wasn't scared at all, said a few words in her sweet, childish voice, and the big dog calmed down."

The little eunuch then noticed Zhuangyou holding the baby and hesitated for a moment.

The little boy was just brought into the palace by Emperor Chongjin today, and many people don't know that Emperor Chongjin originally planned to bring the little boy to pay respects to the Empress Dowager tomorrow, because the Empress Dowager is having a banquet today.

"May I ask which family you belong to, Madam? Do you have an invitation? Today's flower banquet is for the selection of a consort for His Highness the First Prince. Only unmarried noble ladies from various families have been invited. Madam and children are not allowed to enter." The young eunuch guarding the gate spoke politely.

Zhuang You smiled gently, put down the little baby in her arms for the time being, and then took out the token of the Hengchang Prince's Mansion from her bosom.

"Please inform the Empress Dowager that this servant is a household servant of the Prince of Hengchang's residence. Our little princess entered the palace on her first day and unexpectedly stumbled into the Empress Dowager's flower banquet. This servant thought that before taking the little princess back, we should first pay our respects to the Empress Dowager."

Upon hearing that it was the residence of the Prince of Hengchang, the young eunuch respectfully accepted the token.

After confirming, she quickly smiled and stepped aside to invite her in, "So you are the aunt from the Prince's Mansion. Please come in. Please have the little princess and our little county princess rest in the corridor for a while. I will go and inform her right away."

As he spoke, the young eunuch glanced at Changyin and couldn't help but exclaim, "I had heard before that the young lady of the Hengchang Prince's Mansion was a lucky star reincarnated, and it's true what they say! As soon as she entered the palace, our little county princess was finally able to be served properly! Our Empress Dowager can finally put her mind at ease after all these days of worry."

"Not at all, perhaps it was already going to be better, but it just happened to be around when our little princess was there," Zhuangyou said with a smile, then lowered her head...

"A little princess? Niannian?"

Zhuangyou looked at the empty ground, her expression changed, and she immediately looked around.

The little eunuch's expression also changed abruptly. He had just seen Zhuangyou put the little baby down, how could the little dumpling be gone in the blink of an eye?!

Zhuangyou, being "experienced," noticed that the path behind her was completely clear and there was no sign of Cha Nian's small figure. So she asked the young eunuch, "May I ask, sir, were any new snacks served in the palace when we arrived?"