Extra 6 Little Princess
By the afternoon, the wind and snow had stopped.
The roof of the hall was covered with a thick layer of white snow. The palace servants were wrapped in thick coats and sweeping the floor. The snow on both sides of the palace road was three feet deep.
Wherever the phoenix carriage went, the palace maids all knelt down to greet it. Soon, the phoenix carriage stopped in front of the Purple Palace Gate.
The Purple Palace is the emperor's bedroom and also the place where he summons ministers to discuss matters. The furnishings of the main hall are similar to those of the Golden Palace, but it is smaller in size.
When Song Lingyi stepped out of the sedan chair, Hongju gathered the fox fur coat on her body and took care to cover the little princess in her arms tightly to prevent her from catching a cold.
"The little princess is so clingy. She will cry if she can't see the queen for a while." Hongqiu said with a smile.
The little princess lay in her mother's arms, with her big black eyes open, curiously looking at the snow-white courtyard.
When the imperial guards at the palace gate saw the phoenix carriage, they did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and hurriedly sent someone to report. Feng Tong, holding a dustpan, walked quickly over to pay his respects.
"Your Majesty is discussing government affairs with several others. Your Majesty, please wait in the bedroom."
Song Lingyi nodded and was about to go to the side hall, but she heard a creaking sound and the carved wooden door was opened from the inside.
Several officials from the Censorate bowed and left, and the one who walked to the front was Pei Zhao.
The two of them met eyes from a distance.
"Your humble servant greets the Empress." The ministers all bowed in greeting, and Pei Zhao also made a scholar's bow to greet them.
"No need to be polite."
Song Lingyi looked at Pei Zhao and asked with a smile, "I heard that Madam Pei caught a cold a few days ago. I wonder if she's feeling better now?"
The other ministers knew that the Lu and Pei families had a good relationship, and that the Empress and Pei Zhao had not grown weary of each other because of their failed marriage. They quietly withdrew, giving the two some space to chat alone.
"Grandmother is old and her health has not improved. The imperial physician examined her yesterday and prescribed medicine. I am taking it now." Pei Zhao's voice was gentle.
As he spoke, he caught a glimpse of a pair of eyes staring at him.
When he lowered his eyes, he found that the little princess in Song Lingyi's arms was blinking her thick and long eyelashes, looking straight at him, with her pink and moist little mouth slightly open.
Pei Zhao smiled faintly, his eyes curved. "The little princess is already over half a year old, isn't she? Her features are so similar to yours, Madam."
Song Lingyi looked down at the little princess in her arms, her brows softening.
Feng Tong, who was standing by, saw the atmosphere between the two becoming increasingly harmonious. He hissed softly and hurried over to pay his respects. "Your Majesty, it's cold outside. Please hurry into the hall."
Pei Zhao half-closed his eyes, and with a faint smile, he said, "It has been snowing heavily for days, and the weather is freezing cold. Your Majesty and the little princess must take care of their health. I still have official business to attend to at the government office, so I will take my leave."
After the crimson official robe walked away, Song Lingyi glanced at the tightly closed carved wooden door and then went to the bedroom.
There was a charcoal brazier burning in the bedroom, and it was as warm as spring.
As soon as Song Lingyi sat down on the soft couch, the little princess in her arms couldn't wait to push out. Although only six months old, the little princess had not only learned to crawl, but also loved to grab things. Hongqiu hurriedly moved the incense burner and chess table from the pit table.
The couch was spacious and with palace maids watching over her, Song Lingyi was not worried about anything happening. She took a book from the bookshelf next to her to pass the time.
The temperature in the bedroom was just right. As soon as she calmed down, sleepiness came over her like a tide. Song Lingyi held her chin with one hand, her eyelids became heavier, and the book in her hand fell unconsciously on her knees.
…
The carved wooden door of the main hall was opened from the outside. Feng Tong walked into the hall holding a whisk, approached the emperor and whispered a few words.
Xiao Mingyi's eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze shifted from several ministers reporting on official business to outside the hall, as if he wanted to look through the tightly closed carved lattice windows to somewhere beyond his sight.
"Please submit a written report on today's border defense affairs for the six ministries to discuss together."
The ministers in the hall respectfully said "yes", and the emperor and his ministers discussed some other matters before several ministers took their leave.
Xiao Mingyi leaned back in his chair, rubbed his brow with his hand, and returned his gaze to the spread-out memorial. He said calmly, "It's so cold today, and the Queen has come all the way to Zichen Palace. I'm afraid she's here because of Lu Qian's matter."
Feng Tong nodded and said, "General Lu's triumphant return is a great joyous occasion. His Majesty has already bestowed a reward upon General Lu. The Empress has brought the Princess here with her, perhaps for other matters."
The man behind the imperial desk pondered for a moment, stroking the eagle-shaped jade ring. His voice was low and deep, "The last time I saw Lu Qian was when we went to Huaizhou City to suppress the pirates. He was a man of quick wits and great courage. I even tried to persuade him to join the government, but he ignored me. I didn't expect him to secretly go to Youzhou to join the army."
At this point, he chuckled and said, "With such courage, it's no wonder he was able to raid the enemy camp."
Feng Tong listened silently and echoed, "General Lu would surely be delighted if he knew that Your Majesty praised him so highly."
That faint smile quickly faded.
Xiao Mingyi's eyes darkened, and he tapped the finger that was holding the memorial. Although he admired Lu Qian, he had not forgotten his feelings for Ah Li.
"How long has the Queen been waiting in the side hall?"
"Your Majesty, it has been more than half an hour." Feng Tongdao.
After two moments of silence, Xiao Mingyi stood up from behind the imperial desk and went to the side hall.
In the quiet side hall, apart from the crackling of the charcoal in the charcoal basin, the only sound was a very faint snoring from the soft couch. The palace maids standing nearby were about to salute when Xiao Mingyi raised his hand to interrupt them and signaled them to be quiet.
The person who was reclining on the couch and taking a nap was not woken up, but the little princess who was nestled in her mother's arms turned around and saw her father who suddenly appeared. She was obviously a little excited.
Xiao Mingyi took a few steps closer and first handed the child to Hongqiu next to him. Then he put one arm around her waist and the other around her knees. With both arms exerting strength, he held Song Lingyi horizontally in his arms and walked towards the bed inside.
For fear of waking the person up, I moved very gently.
Perhaps because she had stayed up late the previous night and hadn't slept well, Song Lingyi lay on the soft mattress, showing no sign of waking. Xiao Mingyi sat down beside her bed, reaching out to gently stroke her sleeping face, as white as jade. He stared at her quietly for a moment, then leaned over and pecked the corner of her lips.
There were still some government affairs to be dealt with in the main hall, so he couldn't stay there for too long. When he left the bedroom, he took the little princess away with him.
It has been freezing cold lately, and the little princess is wrapped up tightly like a snowball. Xiao Mingyi holds her in his arms while reviewing memorials, and his touch feels great.
The rustling sound of ink and brush could be heard in the deserted main hall.
The little princess, who had been able to quietly nestle in her father's arms and nibble on her fingers at first, had now lost her patience and was trying to climb onto the imperial desk.
The emperor, who was busy at his desk, stopped writing, curled his thin lips slightly, smiled silently, held her buttocks with one hand, and helped her climb onto the table.
But Xiao Mingyi obviously underestimated the little princess's ability to cause trouble. Not only did she crawl all over the imperial desk, she also overturned the neatly stacked memorials. Her small body was "buried" in the memorials, and she looked at her father with pitiful and innocent eyes.
“…”
Xiao Mingyi's hardened heart softened again.
He stroked the little girl's soft head, 'rescued' her from the memorials, placed her on the other side of the imperial desk, and coaxed her softly, "Be good, these memorials haven't been reviewed yet, you can't play around."
The little princess didn't understand, so she was quiet for a while and then went to play with the jade seal next to her.
Snap——
Xiao Mingyi was concentrating on reviewing the memorials from the Ministry of Works. Turning his head, he saw the little princess playing with the jade seal. The ink was stained on her clothes, and the words "Received the Mandate from Heaven, May You Live Long and Prosper" could be vaguely made out.
The man's heart was pounding, and he was about to open his mouth to scold when the pair of big, round, black eyes looked at him again, with a clear and pure look.
“…”
After two breaths of silence, he rescued the jade seal from the little princess.
"Be good. Your father will need it later. Can you play with this, Yan'er?" Xiao Mingyi took out a token from the pen collection and handed it to the little princess.
One side of the token is engraved with "Order" and the other side is engraved with "As if I were here in person".
If it were anyone else, they would have held it respectfully, but the little princess only took one look and then pulled it aside, staring at the jade seal with her big round black eyes, her attitude was very clear.
The father and daughter confronted each other in silence.
After a moment, the little princess pouted and pretended to cry.
Xiao Mingyi was shocked and quickly stuffed the jade seal into her little hand.
The weight of the jade seal must be very heavy for a half-year-old child, but the little princess loved it so much that she happily held it tightly in her arms.
When it was time to use the imperial seal, Xiao Mingyi could only pick up the little princess and stamp it with her hand.
Feng Tong watched the whole thing from the side, secretly clicking his tongue in amazement. From ancient times to the present, only the little princess had been able to "act wild" at the imperial desk.
Two quarters of an hour later, Song Lingyi woke up from the dragon bed in a daze. She learned that Xiao Mingyi had been there and had taken the little princess away. She was thinking about the purpose of coming to the Zichen Palace. She confirmed with the eunuch that all the ministers had left and went straight to the main hall.
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