Susu nodded obediently and even explained the origin of her name.

The Crown Princess was quite surprised and looked at He Jiu Niang, saying, "She's so young, yet she speaks so fluently?"

He spoke so logically and clearly, it's amazing how smart all the kids I've met lately are.

She should rub against it more often, so that the one in her belly can also benefit from this intelligence!

"Yes, such a smart child is rare; only a fool wouldn't like him."

She was implying something, and Xiao Susu took it to heart. It turned out that her two uncles and that bad uncle were all fools, which was why they didn't like her.

The Crown Princess, oblivious to these details, casually asked, "Isn't Susu in Jingzhou? Did you send someone to bring her here?"

"No, that's not true. Someone deliberately brought them here, and my little darling suffered a lot because of it!"

He Jiuniang sighed and recounted the actions of Hu Sheng and his wife, which had angered the Crown Princess to the point of almost causing her to miscarry.

As a mother myself, I couldn't bear to see my child suffer like this. Looking at my well-behaved little Susu in my arms, my heart ached terribly.

"Who is this Hu Sheng you're talking about? How could he commit such a heinous act? I'll send someone to investigate him thoroughly; he might have blood on his hands!"

He Jiuniang then explained Hu Sheng's identity again. The Crown Princess snorted coldly and said, "He's just a lowly sixth-rank official. How dare he cause trouble at the General's Mansion? You absolutely cannot let this kind of person get away with it! No, I'm angry just listening to this. I'll send someone over right now to teach him a lesson!"

As she was saying this, she was about to send someone out of the palace on business when He Jiu Niang hurriedly stopped her: "Your Majesty, please don't be in such a hurry. I already have a way to teach those two a lesson. But if things get out of hand, Your Majesty will have to stand up for me!"

That was the real purpose of bringing Susu into the palace: to let the Crown Princess meet her and, incidentally, to get her support.

After all, the Lu family is currently in the eye of the storm. If things escalate, those with ulterior motives will definitely try to pin this on Lu Baichuan.

Without a second thought, the Crown Princess agreed: "Of course, how could I stand by and watch you be bullied!"

The Crown Princess wasn't stupid; no one else could have fooled her so easily. The main reason was that she trusted He Jiu Niang's character, and besides, she genuinely liked this little girl. Although she already had a daughter, who could resist having a few more sweet little girls?

"By the way, the main reason I came to the palace today was to ask Your Highness if you would like to return to Jingzhou with me? Your Highness has been wanting to go for a while, and I'm going back in a few days anyway, so why don't we go together?"

He Jiu Niang then got down to business. The Crown Princess was very interested, but considering her current situation, she hesitated and said, "I would naturally like to go, but now that I am pregnant, I am afraid it is not advisable to travel."

This was a rejection, so He Jiuniang said, "That's true. If Your Highness isn't going, I'll go back by myself. But I won't stay long. It'll only take about half a month to go back and forth. I'll bring my mother and the children from my family to the capital to stay for a while and broaden their horizons."

In fact, if the Crown Princess wanted to go, He Jiu Niang could certainly guarantee her health, but she also understood that the Crown Princess had her own considerations, so she didn't say anything more.

The Crown Princess nodded and said, "That's right. I will host a small banquet at that time, and you can bring them all to the palace to play."

"OK!"

He Jiuniang readily agreed, and after speaking with the Crown Princess for a while, the Crown Princess gave Xiao Susu some gifts. Then she took Susu away to check on the old emperor's health.

The old emperor was in a fairly good mood when he learned of her arrival. However, he was puzzled when he saw that she had brought a little girl with her. He whispered to Consort Liu, "Didn't the couple only have one child, Gou'er? They haven't seen each other for a while, and they've gone to hide and had such a big daughter?"

Consort Liu was surprised that the old emperor would say such a thing and almost burst out laughing. She covered her mouth and whispered, "Your Majesty, please don't joke. That little girl doesn't resemble General Lu or Madam Lu at all. How could she be their child?"

The old emperor nodded solemnly and asked He Jiuniang, "Where did this child come from?"

"I found it."

He Jiuniang answered quickly, seemingly not at all surprised by the old emperor's question.

The old emperor: ……

Consort Liu: ...

This completely baffled the two of them.

He Jiuniang acted as if nothing had happened and said to Susu, "Susu, greet the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine."

"Greetings, Your Majesty. Greetings, Consort Yang."

Susu was very obedient and spoke sweetly.

The old emperor and Consort Liu looked at each other in disbelief. Good heavens, a forced kinship?

Although that's what they thought, as elders, they still had to act like elders, so they both reacted quickly and had someone deliver a gift to Susu.

The old emperor gave him a small jade pendant, exquisite and delicate, a warm jade suitable for a child to wear.

Consort Liu presented her with a pair of gemstone-encrusted earrings, a fashionable style suitable for all ages, the kind that any girl could wear.

He Jiuniang looked at it and asked the old emperor with a smile, "Your Majesty, could you send something that isn't too expensive, something that Susu can wear every day?"

Both the jade pendant and the gemstone earrings are quite expensive and not suitable for her to use; she would feel bad about it.

The old emperor was bewildered by her, not knowing what tricks this woman was up to, but he still thought carefully about what worthless things he had.

He Jiuniang reminded from the side: "It's the kind that's worthless, the kind you can throw away without feeling bad."

The old emperor finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "What exactly do you want to do?"

"Hehe, it's just borrowing the momentum! I guarantee it's absolutely harmless and won't damage the Emperor's reputation!"

He Jiuniang raised one hand as if making an oath, appearing extremely serious.

The old emperor: ……

Why doesn't he believe it?

He took a deep breath and said, "What exactly happened?"

"Oh, it's nothing serious. Someone was bullying your newly adopted granddaughter, and I had to retaliate. Otherwise, wouldn't I be embarrassing the Emperor?"

He Jiuniang smiled brightly, but what she said was shameless.

The old emperor was speechless. His newly adopted granddaughter?

His gaze fell on Susu. Oh, it's her. Then it's alright.

It was indeed just recognized.

It was the kind of forced thing.

"Who bullied her?"

The old emperor frowned. If they had really been bullied, he could have simply issued an edict to teach them a lesson. Why go through all this trouble?

"Oh, there's just a couple. Once I've dealt with them, Your Majesty will know who they are."

He Jiuniang kept it a secret, saying that having several powerful backers would make her less burdened when she was causing trouble.

The things the Crown Princess had just given her were quite valuable, and she couldn't bear to damage them.

Then let's just come and take advantage of the old emperor.

Seeing that she wouldn't speak, the old emperor didn't bother to ask any further and simply said, "Then take whatever you think is suitable!"