Upon learning that her second brother had become emperor, Xiao Yun had been dreaming of eating delicious food on the streets of the capital.
They say old ginger is spicier, but even this seemingly mild-mannered old ginger, the princess, was quite effective, managing to trick her daughter with just a few words.
Xiao Yun pursed her lips, blinked her phoenix eyes, and after a long while, finally managed to squeeze out a layer of mist.
"Mother, I will tell you the truth. Please don't refuse to take me to the capital. I will not be able to eat or sleep without you by my side."
Looking at her daughter's bright, watery eyes blinking, it seemed as if tears were about to fall at any moment.
Aunt Cai dotes on the clever and mischievous second young lady the most. Seeing Xiao Yun's appearance, her heart aches. Even though she knows that the princess is just bluffing, she still feels sorry for her.
Due to the rules, I could only stand by anxiously, unable to interject.
Princess Yannan's heart softened, and she waved the handkerchief in her hand, "Don't cry, your mother will take you, okay? Tell me what happened."
Xiao Yun knew her mother would fall for her act, and instantly stopped crying and started laughing.
Then she blinked again, and after her eyes cleared, she recounted the whole story of how she found the portrait that day.
"You mean the portrait just flew out of thin air?"
"Hmm! If Mother doesn't believe me, you can ask Jing'er. If there's even the slightest falsehood, I'll accept whatever punishment Mother may give Yun'er."
Jing'er nodded vigorously a few times, "It's true. The wind was very strong that day. The Second Miss thought the doll in the painting was beautiful, so she copied it."
Jing'er, thinking that her mistress couldn't produce a painting that would satisfy the princess, simply confessed everything at once.
After hearing what the master and servant had to say, Princess Yannan was even more confused.
She turned to Aunt Cai and said, "Aunt, tell me, the second brother is busy with official duties all day long, and his painting skills aren't that good. This painting doesn't look like something he painted himself?"
Aunt Cai gave a slight curtsy. "What Your Highness says is absolutely right. The Second Miss picked up the painting that day behind the Emperor's courtyard. The painting could only have been blown over from the Emperor's courtyard."
The princess kept calling him "Second Prince," so Aunt Cai, being careful with her words, had started calling him "Your Majesty."
"The painting must have been fabricated by the second son in the courtyard, but who is painting what the second son looked like as a child? Why? They just wanted to paint him, so why not paint him now?"
The princess was very satisfied with her children, all of whom were handsome and refined.
Xiao Yun's eyes darted around, then suddenly widened: "Could it be that Second Brother has taken a mistress? Is this child Second Brother's own flesh and blood?"
After saying that, as if he had discovered something extraordinary, he slapped his thigh and said, "Yes, this is my nephew. Mother, look at his eyebrows and eyes, there's no mistake."
Princess Yannan was stunned by her daughter's words and quickly stopped her, saying, "Don't talk nonsense. Your second brother is not that kind of person."
"Why does my second brother always refuse the marriage arrangements that Mother makes for him?"
Why?
The eldest son used to be in poor health, which delayed his marriage proposal. Now that he is better, he often sends paintings to Miss Su.
The second son is healthy but not interested in women, which is indeed unusual.
Could it be that the second son really has a girl he likes?
But why didn't he bring it home?
Could it be that the woman is of lowly status and is afraid that he will not accept her?
That's how human thinking works; once the seed of doubt is planted, it will take root and sprout wildly.
Before long, the princess also came to believe that the child in the painting was her own grandson.
"Congratulations, Your Highness, the Emperor has a little prince!" Aunt Cai congratulated him with a beaming smile.
"Aunt, once all the guests have left, pack your things immediately, the sooner the better."
"Your Highness, rest assured, this old servant can get everything sorted out in just one day."
Seeing that her crisis was over, Xiao Yun picked up the portrait and looked at it again and again.
"Mother, I love my little nephew so much, hehe! Look how much he looks like me."
As she spoke, Xiao Yun handed the portrait to her mother.
"Mother, guess how old my nephew is?"
Before the princess could speak, Aunt Cai chuckled and craned her neck to look at the child in the painting, saying with certainty, "Four years old, definitely four years old."
She raised all four children in the Prince's mansion by herself, and she could tell their ages at a glance.
"Four years old, ten months of pregnancy, that means the child was conceived five years ago. Auntie, can you help me recall where the second child went five years ago?"
"Five years ago, this old servant has no recollection of it."
Xiao Jingzhao rarely spent time at the mansion, so how could Aunt Cai know his whereabouts?
“It doesn’t matter if we don’t know. We’ll go to the capital and find out. The child is already so old. We must bring the child’s mother into the palace no matter what.”
Princess Yannan reached out her hand to Xiao Yun, "Give the painting to your mother."
“Mother is holding it.”
"I don't want your drawing, give me the original."
Seeing her mother put down the portrait, Xiao Yun realized that she had hidden the original painting.
"Jing'er, go and bring the painting to Mother."
Jing'er quickly brought the original painting, and the princess's eyes lit up.
She couldn't help but glare at her daughter, "Look at other people's drawings, their faces are as pink and tender as peach blossoms in March. And look at your coloring, you've painted my grandson's face like a monkey's bottom."
"It's not that serious. The second young lady's color is only slightly darker." Aunt Cai was afraid that the second young lady would be scolded and start crying again, so she quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Aunt, don’t spoil her. Yun’er is too impulsive. Once she’s in the capital, you have to teach her manners properly.”
Aunt Cai smiled and slightly curtsied, "Yes, this old servant understands."
Xiao Yun pouted, not daring to argue, for fear of upsetting her mother and having to leave her in Yannan again.
This time, the result of the discussion between the father and mother was that the mother would send her and her sister to the capital.
My older brother has someone he loves and has no plans to leave Yannan for the time being.
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