Chapter 76 "With me here, Wanwan doesn't need to be nervous..."

Chapter 76: The Grand Tutor

The flickering candlelight could not conceal the tender and affectionate atmosphere.

Just after midnight, a soft "humming" sound reached the Emperor and Empress's ears. Thinking that their daughter had woken up, Su Wanyue's body stiffened abruptly, clearly showing her nervousness.

When she got nervous, she clung to him even tighter. She covered her mouth to suppress all her moans. Xiao Yu's temples throbbed from her actions. As he walked, he lifted her body up a little, trying to help her relax.

Not satisfied, he gently reminded her in her ear, "With me here, Wanwan, there's no need to be nervous."

Su Wanyue was still nervous. She frowned slightly and bit his neck, leaving a very shallow tooth mark, as if to remind him to be careful. But this action only excited the emperor more. Xiao Yu held her buttocks with one hand and wrapped his arm around her back with the other. In this position, he lowered his head and kissed her lips, their tongues dancing together. The atmosphere in the hall became even more romantic, and Su Wanyue was almost suffocated by his kiss.

The woman was constantly worried that her daughter would wake up and cry, while the man kept comforting her, telling her not to be nervous. After a little over half an hour, Xiao Yu carried Su Wanyue to the bathroom and washed his wife inside and out.

In the latter half of the night, a light rain began to fall outside the window. After their passionate encounter, Su Wanyue's legs were weak. The man carried her back to the bed, where the little girl was sleeping soundly, her small fists clenched tightly, her little face rosy. In her sleep, the little girl seemed to sense her mother's presence and kept snuggling into Su Wanyue's arms. Su Wanyue smiled and held her in her arms, while the emperor embraced his wife's slender waist from behind.

***

Before the age of two, the little girl was very well-behaved, but after that, she became very lively and active. Every time she went to play in the Imperial Garden, she would disappear in the blink of an eye, scaring the palace servants half to death.

Another year has passed, spring is here, flowers are in bloom, and a gentle breeze is blowing. The palace servants circled around the stone bridge in the Imperial Garden, but still couldn't find her. They became anxious and called out, "Princess, Princess!"

"Go and report to His Majesty immediately." After searching the Imperial Garden three times, they still couldn't find any trace of the little princess. One of the palace maids said.

"Your Majesty, the princess... the princess has disappeared again." Upon hearing the servant's report, Eunuch Zhou immediately went in to report to His Majesty.

Xiao Yu remained calm. After reviewing the memorials in his hand, he put down his vermilion brush and went to the Imperial Garden.

"Your Majesty, we were just playing hide-and-seek with the princess when she suddenly disappeared. We searched the entire Imperial Garden but couldn't find her." The palace servants explained with trepidation. Everyone knew that the little princess was of noble status, the only daughter of the Emperor and Empress, and the only heir to the throne in this generation of the royal family. How could they, who served her, dare not be negligent? But the little princess was very clever and mischievous, and she could easily confuse them with a game of hide-and-seek.

Xiao Yu, with his hands behind his back, looked around and walked towards the artificial hill in the Imperial Garden. The palace servants wanted to remind His Majesty that they had already searched the artificial hill, but His Majesty went to the peony bushes beside the artificial hill. He easily pulled the little princess out from there. The little princess was wearing a pink Shu embroidery dress today, with her hair in two little buns and a pink ribbon tied around her head. She was small and, hiding among the peonies, she almost blended into the pink peonies. The palace servants were in such a hurry that they really didn't expect the little princess to be hiding in the peony bushes. Now that they saw the little princess, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Their little princess was really too naughty and too clever.

Perhaps realizing she had made a mistake, the little girl stared at the emperor with a pitiful expression. Her eyebrows and face were almost identical to her mother's, so the emperor was always reluctant to be cold to his daughter. He asked indifferently, "Being naughty again?"

Compared to Su Wanyue, the little girl was still afraid of her father, Emperor Xiao Yu. She tugged at the emperor's dragon-patterned sleeve with a pitiful expression and blinked her eyes, "I'm playing hide-and-seek."

"Then this will not happen again." Xiao Yu was relatively gentle with his only daughter. He took her away from the Imperial Garden and discussed the matter with her.

"Daddy's the best!" the little girl said in her childish voice. She was still very small. After looking around and not seeing her mother, whom she wanted to see, she pouted and asked, "Daddy, where's Mommy?"

The little girl was only two years old, an age when she should be very dependent on her parents. Perhaps because the emperor had to attend court and handle memorials during the day, she was clearly more dependent on Su Wanyue. Xiao Yu looked at her gently, "Xixi, do you miss your mother?"

The little girl nodded emphatically, and Xiao Yu glanced at Eunuch Zhou, who immediately understood. He said, "This servant will go right away."

Xiao Yu led the little girl to the Imperial Study. Just then, a minister came in to report to His Majesty. Upon seeing the little princess, the minister was momentarily stunned, but his expression quickly returned to normal. Everyone knew that the Emperor and Empress doted on the little princess, and this doting was not just ordinary affection; they even had the idea of ​​handing the empire over to her.

Meanwhile, the Seventh Princess and Su Wanyue were listening to music at the Water Pavilion. The incident stemmed from a conflict between the Seventh Princess and her husband over the issue of having offspring. In a fit of anger, the Seventh Princess moved back to the palace, hoping that Nan Shao would come and coax her. However, for seven days in a row, Nan Shao did not come to coax her, which made the Seventh Princess even angrier. Realizing that this stalemate could not continue, Su Wanyue suggested going out for tea and music. The Seventh Princess was delighted and handed a peeled orange to her sister-in-law, saying, "Sister-in-law, try this orange, it's very sweet."

Su Wanyue obediently took the oranges. They hadn't even sat down for a short while when the person the Seventh Princess had been longing for arrived. The Seventh Princess glared at him arrogantly and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I came because I was worried about the princess's safety." Nan Shao was a military general with a cold and hard expression. He explained after hearing the Seventh Princess's words.

"The capital is so peaceful, how could there be any danger?" But his explanation only made the Seventh Princess angrier. She glanced at him and spoke coldly.

Nan Shao asked with a doting tone, "Is the princess still angry?"

The Seventh Princess snorted, pretending she was mute. Nan Shao sighed helplessly, "Your Majesty, I can explain."

Seeing this, Su Wanyue was about to leave with Qin'er when Eunuch Zhou, holding a whisk, came over eagerly, "Your Majesty the Empress."

When Su Wanyue saw Eunuch Zhou, she thought something had happened. Eunuch Zhou looked troubled and said, "It's nothing else, it's just that the princess misses the Empress. No matter how His Majesty tries to coax her, it's no use. The princess hasn't even had lunch yet."

Upon hearing this, the Seventh Princess hurriedly said, "Sister-in-law, you should go back quickly, I'll go with..."

The Seventh Princess, as her aunt, doted on the little girl the most, so of course she couldn't bear to see her sad and upset. But going back with Nan Shao? No way, she hadn't even planned to go back with him yet.

"Your Majesty and I will return shortly," Zhou Heng said, pressing on with the Seventh Princess.

Since he had said that, the Seventh Princess had no choice but to comply. She remained silent and admitted it.

Su Wanyue nodded slightly, took a few graceful steps, and boarded the carriage to return to the palace.

The Empress's phoenix carriage was already waiting at the palace gate. When the young eunuch from the Imperial Study saw the Empress approaching, he drawled, "The Empress has arrived."

Hearing the sound, the little girl in the inner palace struggled to get off the kang (heated brick bed). The palace servants were startled and quickly picked up the little princess. As soon as the little princess got off, she ran outside. As soon as Su Wanyue gracefully entered the palace, the soft, fragrant little girl rushed into her arms, saying, "Mother, you're back!"

"Why didn't Xixi eat on time today?" Su Wanyue bent down, picked her up, and asked softly.

The little girl snuggled against her and said sweetly, "I want to wait for Mommy to come with me."

Hearing this, Su Wanyue couldn't help but kiss her little face. The little girl smiled and kissed her mother on the cheek as well. "Then Mother will have dinner with Xixi."

As the little girl grew up, Xiao Yu worried that his wife would be tired, so he went over and supported her arm, saying, "Let me do it."

Su Wanyue gave him a playful glare. She wasn't that fragile. The little girl behaved exceptionally well in front of Su Wanyue, obediently eating a bowl of rice porridge, a bowl of milk soup, and a few small pieces of soft, glutinous pastry. Then, with a sweet expression, she asked Su Wanyue, "Mother, can Xixi sleep with you tonight?"

“Of course…” Su Wanyue never refused her daughter’s request. As soon as she opened her mouth, the emperor put a piece of pigeon meat in her bowl and said in a deep voice, “Xixi is all grown up now and it’s time for her to sleep alone.”

Su Wanyue couldn't help but retort, "But Xixi is only two years old."

Two years old, how come you're all grown up?

Just as she was about to say that if His Majesty disagreed, she would take Xixi to sleep in the side hall, Xiao Yu guessed what his wife was going to say first. He slowly said, "But when I was her age, I had already established my own household. Xixi is different from ordinary princesses. I know that Wanwan loves her daughter, but I have already decided to make her the Crown Princess. She will definitely have to stand on her own in the future. Let her sleep alone tonight. There are wet nurses and palace servants to take care of her. Wanwan, please don't worry."

The emperor was already looking for a tutor for his daughter; otherwise, his wife would pay less and less attention to him.

Su Wanyue pondered for a moment, then smiled gently at her daughter and said, "Then tomorrow at noon, Mother will put Xixi to sleep."

The little girl pouted, held up her little finger, and said in a soft, sweet voice, "Then Mother must keep her word."

"Definitely." Su Wanyue made a pinky promise with her, and the little girl was delighted. She skipped and hopped out to swing. Before going to bed that night, Qin'er told her about the little princess playing hide-and-seek in the Imperial Garden that day. Su Wanyue smiled. The little girl was still too mischievous.

Xiao Yu entered after processing the memorials and, seeing the smile on her face, couldn't help but ask, "Wanwan, what are you thinking about that makes you so happy?"

Su Wanyue: "I was thinking that Xixi has a rather lively personality, I wonder who she took after."

"That must be from Wanwan." The emperor, wearing only a single garment, came over and embraced his wife, chuckling softly.

Su Wanyue raised her eyebrows slightly and asked him, "What if she takes after her husband?"

“My father-in-law once said that Wanwan did whatever she wanted when she was young. If others didn’t do what she wanted, Wanwan would protest. Wasn’t Wanwan just as mischievous and naughty as Xixi when she was little?” Xiao Yu chuckled as he looked at her, playing with her fingers. It was one of Xiao Yu’s regrets that he hadn’t met his wife when they were young.

"By the way, does Wanwan have someone in mind for the tutor who will be teaching Xixi?" the Emperor asked.