Chapter 312: The Crown Prince

Chunzhi smiled and said, "My family is harmonious, and I am happy. When I am happy, I can't help but smile."

She could see that when Queen Wang was polite to someone, she might not necessarily like that person, but if she was casual in her words and actions when interacting with that person, she must be treating that person as one of her own.

Previously, Huo Yanran's relationship with Queen Wang was not very good, and her visit to Qiwu Palace to pay her respects was mostly out of courtesy, but now it was sincere, and the mother and daughter became much closer.

Queen Wang even felt that it was too annoying for Princess Thirteen to come and pay her respects every day, so she simply asked her to come less often.

Huo Yanran became more playful when speaking in front of her mother.

Queen Wang said, "Yanran is already feeling wronged, and you're still talking about family harmony?"

Chunzhi said, "If it weren't for the Queen Mother's love for Yanran, how could she dare to show such grievance in front of her?"

That's true.

"Your sister-in-law has noticed that you are pretending, why don't you come and sit down?"

Queen Wang smiled and scolded, then asked Huo Yanran to sit next to her.

Huo Yanran leisurely walked over to her mother's side. She first pinched Xiao Xinghui's cheek, then sat down next to Chunzhi and asked her softly, "Sister-in-law, why didn't Seventh Brother come with you today?"

The Thirteenth Princess had lived in the Chang'an Palace for some time and knew that her Seventh Brother would definitely accompany his sister-in-law to the palace if he had free time.

If you didn't come today, you must be busy.

Chunzhi looked at the Thirteenth Princess and teased her intentionally: "He, he is busy looking for a prince consort for you."

"Sister-in-law!" Huo Yanran couldn't sit still when she heard this. "Why are you making fun of me, sister-in-law?"

Before Chunzhi could speak, Queen Wang said, "Even if your sister-in-law doesn't say anything, you should pay attention to your lifelong affairs. You refused to look at the candidates I picked for you before. Now, all the young talents in the capital have to be chosen by Princess Xiling first. If she happens to pick someone..."

Queen Wang stopped talking before she finished, fearing that good things would not work and bad things would work.

"Mother, I understand."

Huo Yanran always agreed with a good attitude, but she just didn't do it.

Queen Wang had long seen through her little thoughts and said helplessly, "I see that you will not give up until you reach the Yellow River."

As long as Liu Tanhua doesn't get married, Huo Yanran will never give up.

Although Queen Wang did not say this explicitly, Chunzhi understood it.

She didn't want her joke to make the Thirteenth Princess secretly sad, so she brought up the martial arts competition to choose a husband the next day, saying with a smile, "A martial arts competition to choose a husband with the efforts of the entire city is a grand event. When the time comes, Yanran will go to the Phoenix Terrace with her mother to watch the ceremony. While joining in the fun, she can also see if there are any talented young men in the capital who catch her eye. Maybe they'll find their destiny."

"I think so too."

Chunzhi's words touched Queen Wang's heart.

Now the civil and military officials in the court are discussing that in this competition to select a husband, Liu Tanhua is the most likely to be chosen by Princess Xiling.

Huo Yanran was worried that she wouldn't be able to attend the ceremony. When she heard her mother and sister-in-law say this, she immediately nodded in agreement, "That's what I was thinking too."

Queen Wang, who was busy entertaining her grandson, took the time to glance at Huo Yanran when she heard this and said, "I hope you really think so."

Huo Yanran immediately said a few nice words to cheer her mother up.

Queen Wang held her little grandson in her arms and was coaxed into happiness by her daughter-in-law and daughter, temporarily forgetting the turmoil in the palace.

They drank tea, ate snacks, and chatted together, and the afternoon passed quickly.

The sun moved westward and soon it was evening.

After Huo Zheng finished dealing with important matters, he went to the palace to pick up Chunzhi and Xiaoxing.

When Queen Wang saw him coming, she smiled and said, "You are quite good at catching up. I was just about to have dinner served. Since you are here, let's have dinner together."

Huo Zheng smiled and replied, "Okay."

Female official Gao took the palace maids to serve the meal, and the dishes were quickly delivered from the imperial kitchen, filling a whole table.

The mother and her children were seated in the hall, talking, when the eunuch outside announced, "The Emperor has arrived!"

"He's even quicker than you," Queen Wang whispered to Huo Zheng, and then she and everyone else stood up to greet him. "May the emperor be well and safe."

The emperor saw Huo Zheng and his wife, Xiao Xinghui, and Huo Yanran all there, and said with a smile, "The Queen's Qiwu Palace is bustling with activity today."

Queen Wang said calmly, "Qi Lang and Chun Zhi will be leaving the capital soon. I want to see my grandson more often, so I'll ask them to bring the child to the palace while they're still in the capital. After all, it will be difficult to see each other in the future when we're thousands of miles apart, so every moment we see him now counts."

The emperor was not annoyed by her choking, but smiled and said, "Zi'an is a delicate and lovely girl, no wonder the queen likes him so much."

As he spoke, he reached out and scratched the tip of Xiao Xinghui's nose.

Xiaoxing reached back and grabbed the emperor's grandfather's fingers, and wouldn't let go, with quite a bit of strength in his grip.

Chunzhi wanted to go forward and tell Xiaoxing to let go quickly, but was stopped by Huo Zheng.

Seeing this, Queen Wang sighed softly, "The Emperor doesn't like little Zi'an, but little Zi'an really likes you, his royal grandfather."

"What are you talking about, Queen? Have I ever disliked little Zi'an?" The emperor replied, "I was the one who gave him the name Zi'an."

Queen Wang said, "If the Emperor truly loves little Zi'an, why not appoint him the Crown Prince of Xizhou before he leaves the capital?"

The emperor thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Since the queen has said so, I will have someone draft an edict right away."

Chunzhi and Huo Zheng looked at each other, saluted together, and said in unison: "Thank you, father."

Royal families usually request to appoint a crown prince when their eldest son has grown into a teenager and is beginning to show his potential.

Xiao Xinghui was still in his infancy. Huo Zheng doted on this eldest son and believed that he was his heir. He thought of asking for a title for him when he grew up a little, but he didn't expect that his mother would bring up this matter directly in front of his father today.

The emperor agreed directly.

Perhaps it was because Huo Zheng was going to leave Beijing in a few days, and the emperor himself knew that it was a bit wrong to promote him in public but demote him in secret.

It is also possible that Huo Zheng was blamed for ordering the selection of a husband for Princess Xiling.

In short, the emperor agreed on the spot to enthrone Huo Zian as the Prince of Xizhou.

That evening, the emperor, the empress, and their two children had dinner together in Qiwu Palace. The daughter-in-law and the little grandson sat at the same table. Xiaoxing Hui grabbed a shrimp and gave it to the emperor's grandfather. The emperor was stunned for a moment, and then laughed out loud. For the first time in his life, the family seemed to be in harmony.

After dinner, Chunzhi, Huo Zheng and Huo Yanran took their leave first, while Xiaoxing stayed back in Qiwu Palace to keep the Empress Dowager company.

Queen Wang was completely concerned about her little grandson and was ready to see the emperor off, but the emperor said he wanted to stay overnight in Qiwu Palace.

Today is neither the first nor the fifteenth day of the month.

It had been a long time since the emperor stayed in Qiwu Palace except on this special day.

Queen Wang nodded, and then the emperor's grandfather and grandmother would sleep with their grandson together.

Let Little Ando get closer to the emperor, so that the emperor will pay more attention to this little grandson in the future.

Chunzhi and Huo Zheng walked out of the palace in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The palace path was long, with green tiles and red walls. Huo Zheng held her hand, more intimately than when they first got married, with affection in his eyes.

Chunzhi walked forward with him and asked softly, "General Zhao wants you to come over, but have you found out who is behind the assassination?"