As he touched the shape of the items in his purse, Rong Fuhai smiled; he knew there was something fishy going on.

Over the years, he has seen clearly that Consort Rou is not as simple as he imagined.

The Emperor may not know that the person in charge of the Huicui Pavilion is very well-known to him, and his daily income is no exaggeration.

Presumably, the Eighth Prince's plan is that since the Emperor has bestowed this marriage upon you, you have no choice but to marry him.

Even if Huicui Pavilion is mysterious, isn't it just a merchant?

What right do you have to cause trouble for the royal family? It's just asking for death. I never expected that the little girl would be so strong-willed and not swallow her anger in silence.

Sitting in the carriage on the way back, Rong Fuhai grinned as if he had seen a joke.

He finally remembered the purse Zhao Qingyan had given him.

The little girl actually called him "uncle," instead of calling him "father-in-law" like everyone else.

This pleased Rong Fuhai greatly.

As a man, who would willingly become a father-in-law unless forced to do so? That would be a death sentence.

Didn't you see those nobles, when they saw him, with fawning smiles on their faces and contempt in their eyes, as if he were blind or something?

Only this little girl showed no contempt in her eyes, and her calling him "Uncle" made Old Rong feel very comfortable.

This was the first time since he entered the palace as a eunuch that someone had treated Lao Rong like a man.

That "Uncle" really touched Rong Fuhai's heart.

The reason Zhao Qingyan called him that was simply because she had watched too many TV dramas in her previous life and knew that eunuchs were all insecure.

That inferiority complex can easily turn into something abnormal, so let's make a good connection. Calling someone "uncle" is nothing, but unexpectedly, it actually moved an old man.

He opened the purse Zhao Qingyan had given him and poured out a piece of black jade.

The front is engraved with "A Collection," and the back with "Food." Along with the sign, a piece of paper was also poured out, which read:

"With this jade token, I can enjoy free access to delicacies from all over the world at Hui Cui Ge for life."

Rong Fuhai laughed, a truly hearty laugh. This little girl had given him a lifelong meal ticket.

This means that apart from not providing him with a place to stay, he was provided with all his food.

Regardless of how expensive or difficult it is to book a meal at Huicui Pavilion, or how many ulterior motives that young girl might have, Rong Fuhai accepted her kindness and affection.

Upon returning to the palace, Rong Fuhai hurriedly went to report back to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, I have failed to obey Your Majesty's decree. There may be a misunderstanding. Zhao's daughter, Yan Ming, is already engaged in her hometown, so she has not received the decree."

All of this can be understood by simply asking Han Xuri, the heir apparent of the Duke of Protectorate.

Furthermore, she had never met the Eighth Prince before today, so how could there be any mutual affection between them?

As soon as Rong Fuhai finished speaking, the emperor was stunned into silence.

Didn't they say she was already pregnant? When Consort Rou first mentioned it, he was quite disgusted with the girl's lack of propriety and thought she was unworthy of being a royal daughter-in-law.

It turned out to be a misunderstanding; the couple had actually been engaged, and the man didn't even know his son.

Since the day I ascended the throne, I have never lost face so badly, nor have I ever done anything so ridiculous.

At the same time, a subtle dislike for Zhao Qingyan began to creep into his heart.

How could they be so ungrateful? So many people dream of marrying into the royal family but never get the chance.

Why should a female merchant like you refuse?

Under heaven, all people are subjects of the king; who dares to disobey the emperor's will?

If he weren't so well-mannered, this emperor would probably have already swept everything off the table.

"Your Majesty, shall we request an audience with the heir of the Duke of Protectorate?"

In a fit of rage, the emperor blurted out, "Why call him?"

Rong Fuhai forced himself to speak.

"Young Master must know Lady Zhao, and surely knows the reason behind this."

After all, the emperor was not a foolish ruler. Once he calmed down, he wanted to know who this little girl who dared to disobey the imperial decree was.

"Crown Prince Xuan".

As soon as Han Xuri entered the council hall, he felt the oppressive atmosphere emanating from the emperor. Normally, he would just give a perfunctory bow.

Today, the Emperor's uncle actually didn't let him get up.

He didn't say anything, but he already roughly understood where the emperor's temper came from.

The fact that Zhao Qingyan defied the imperial decree in public is now known to almost everyone in the capital, so it has naturally reached his ears long ago.

If I hadn't been busy visiting the houses built by Zhao Han's construction team today,

He didn't know that houses could be so sturdy and so simple.

Just as she was secretly rejoicing at being able to cooperate with Zhao Han, she learned of the news that Zhao Qingyan had been betrothed.

Therefore, he hurriedly tried to go straight to the palace, but Zhao Han stopped him and told him to go back to his residence first.

So the two went their separate ways.

"Uncle, who upset you today?"

Tell your nephew what happened, or I'll go beat that guy up and avenge you.

Han Xuri, kneeling on the ground, broke the tense atmosphere in the hall by speaking first.

The emperor kept his head down as if he hadn't heard.

He continued working on the official documents in his hands, and only after a quarter of an hour did he look up at his eldest nephew kneeling on the ground.

"The sun is rising, why are you still kneeling there and not getting up?"

"Get up quickly. Tell me, is there anything you haven't told your uncle about lately?"

Han Xuri never expected the emperor to ask him this question.

Looking completely bewildered, I asked, "Is there anything I haven't explained? No."

He then slapped his forehead.

"Hehe, hehe, Uncle, there's something I haven't told you yet. I've been so busy lately that I forgot."

The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking to himself,

"Hehe, this kid has really grown up; he's even learned to be cunning now."

Han Xuri didn't dare wait for the emperor to ask any more questions and took the initiative to say, "Uncle, your nephew has found Dongsheng."

A single sentence, like fireworks exploding in the sky, startled the emperor.

After a long pause, he said in a trembling voice,

"You mean your little nephew? Really? Is it Dongsheng?"

Han Xuri nodded.

So he recounted where and how he found Xu Dongsheng, and explained why he hadn't immediately told the Emperor.

One reason was that Xu Dongsheng wanted to maintain the status quo; the other was that Xu Dongsheng originally intended to take the imperial examinations.

He was also confident that with his knowledge, he would surely be able to enter the Golden Palace and see the Emperor's holy face.

I figured I'd see him sooner or later, and it would be a big surprise, but I was so busy that I forgot to mention it.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, his dark eyes fixed on Han Xuri.

Han Xuri got goosebumps from staring at him.

Suddenly, the emperor sprang up and rushed towards Han Xuri.

"You brat, you think you're all grown up now?"

How dare you keep such a big thing a secret? I think you're asking for a beating...

Seeing the emperor's posture, Han Xuri got up and ran away.

He knew he couldn't run too fast, otherwise his uncle, the emperor, would be unhappy, but he also couldn't let the emperor catch him right away, otherwise he would lose the fun of disciplining the child.

"The uncle hit his nephew."

"You can't do that. I already said, if you hurt me, it'll be my uncle who'll be heartbroken."