Chapter 91: Good, good, just in time

Emperor Wen Zhao had the intention of getting rid of the young prostitute, so he provided him with all the food, drink, and entertainment he could think of. Although he did not say it explicitly, the servants below were used to guessing the emperor's intentions, and they guessed it almost right. Every time they went to An to get pens, ink, paper, and inkstone, what they brought back were all very ordinary things.

Xue Yili knew clearly what Emperor Wen Zhao felt towards him, and thought that as long as he could be used, he was fine, so he didn't care much about it.

But when Ji Jinyou went to learn calligraphy from him, he saw that the broken inkstone looked worse than the one Haitang used to take notes, while Xue Yili's handwriting was extremely elegant and beautiful, and the broken inkstone was not worthy of his handwriting at all, so he always wanted to get him a better inkstone.

She often went to Chongde Hall and had seen a very beautiful inkstone on Emperor Wen Zhao's desk. She noticed it several times and found that His Majesty had never used it, so she kept thinking about it.

Seeing that Emperor Wen Zhao was easy to talk to today, she just opened her mouth and tentatively asked for it. Although she asked for it because she was angry, she finally succeeded in getting it.

After coming out of Chongde Hall, thinking that she hadn't seen Little Proton for a long time, she asked Seventeen to carry the chess pot back to Miaoyunxuan, and she brought the inkstone directly to find Xue Yili.

With such a big incident happening in the palace today, Xue Yili originally thought that the little princess would not go out. But after hearing from An that the little girl was taking Seventeen to Chongde Hall, he was thinking about going out later and blocking her near Miaoyunxuan to talk to her.

Unexpectedly, she came out after staying in Chongde Hall for only a short while, and ran directly to him to bring him the inkstone.

The Duanshi inkstone with landscape pattern that the little girl put into his hand was obviously not an ordinary item. Xue Yili's usually cold face couldn't help but break into a brilliant smile, and he asked in surprise, "Is this for me?"

Ji Jinyou tilted his head back and looked at the delicate and pretty face of Little Proton, and was stunned for a moment.

Xue Yili reached out and touched the little girl's head, and called softly, "Little Princess?"

"Ah?" Ji Jinyou came back to her senses. Xue Yili repeated the question again. She nodded her head and said, "Yes, it's for you."

This was the first time that the little princess officially gave him a gift. Xue Yili was very happy. He handed the inkstone to Cong An who was standing beside him, bowed, and thanked her solemnly: "Thank you, little princess. I like it very much."

Ji Jinyou just asked for it casually, but she didn't expect Xue Yili to thank her so seriously, which made her feel a little embarrassed. She twisted her round little body and smiled: "Hehe, as long as you like it."

The little girl smiled so hard that her teeth were showing, and she looked so naive. Xue Yili thought she was so cute that he reached out and touched the two little tufts of hair on her head, inviting her, "Little princess, come in and sit down."

Ji Jinyou remembered that she had asked Shiqi to go back first, and Shiqi looked sad with his eyes downcast. She waved her hands and said, "It's getting late today. I won't sit down."

"I have a few words to say to you. It won't take much time. Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?" Xue Yili said. Without waiting for Ji Jinyou to reply, he picked him up and turned into the house.

Ji Jinyou: "...Okay then, let's have a cup of tea." What else could she do? He already carried her into the house.

Jin Xing couldn't help laughing when she saw the two children exchanging polite greetings like adults. As per her usual practice, she didn't follow them in but waited at the door.

Cong An served tea and snacks to the two masters in the room, and then brought a cup of tea to Jin Xing outside the door. Jin Xing took it and thanked him with a smile.

Xue Yili carried the little girl into the room and put her on a chair. He then took a wet towel and wiped her chubby little hands carefully. Then he moved the snack plate in front of her and said, "Eat it."

Ji Jinyou took a piece of pea yellow and chewed it slowly. A few pieces of crumbs fell on her pink skirt. She stopped and hesitated whether to continue eating. This is the new skirt made by her mother, and today is the first day she wears it.

Seeing this, Xue Yili moved a chair and sat in front of the little girl. He stretched out a hand and placed it under her chin to support it. "You eat, I'll continue."

Ji Jinyou continued eating and asked vaguely, "Little Prince, what do you want to say to me?"

Xue Yili said, "Don't run around outside so late in the future. If you have something to do, just let the palace maids handle it. If you want to see me, just send someone to call me and I'll come find you."

"Why?" Ji Jinyou was puzzled.

Every time she came, His Highness the Little Proton was very happy. When she left, he would always ask her when she would come next time. Why did she suddenly say that today?

Xue Yili couldn't explain what he meant, so he could only say in a serious tone: "There have been many major events in the palace recently, and the situation is unstable."

Seeing that he looked nervous and worried, Ji Jinyou thought he was frightened by what happened today. After finishing the last bite of the pea yellow, she wiped the snack residue on her hands with a handkerchief, patted his arm and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, my father punished those people because they did bad things. If we behave ourselves and be good people, my father won't punish us."

Xue Yili saw that the little princess had misunderstood his meaning, and said, "I am not afraid of being punished by your majesty, but there are too many people in the harem, and there are people with all kinds of intentions. It is better to be careful."

Ji Jin swung his short legs twice: "Then there's nothing to worry about."

If it were in the past, she would have been a little scared, but now she is too lazy to worry about it.

Every morning she would review the day's plot with Tong Tong, but many of the things that were supposed to happen in the original plot would no longer happen, and what actually happened was not in the original plot. It can be said that the plot has collapsed to its core.

Moreover, His Majesty and the Empress seem to be much more powerful than in the original plot. They can always find out some unknown secrets and deal with them with thundering means and without mercy.

After many shocks, she felt that no one in the harem would dare to harm anyone again.

Xue Yili couldn't help but sigh in his heart when he saw that the little princess had no sense of crisis at all, but he also knew that he couldn't blame her.

The little princess had no idea that the major events that happened in the harem were almost all related to her bucket, so how could she have a sense of crisis?

Forget it. Since it doesn't make sense, he should just pay more attention to it in the future.

Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, Ji Jinyou thought he had finished talking, so she kicked her feet and said, "My little prince, it's getting late. I'm going back now."

"I'll take you there." Xue Yili put the small piece of pea yellow that the little girl had dropped on his hand into his mouth, chewed it, and picked up the little girl and walked out.

Ji Jinyou was surprised by his series of actions and pointed at his mouth: "I ate that."

Xue Yili remained calm and said, "No problem."

Ji Jinyou looked over his shoulder at the full plate of pea yellow on the table. She really didn't understand why he was like this. After thinking about it, she felt that he must have been treated badly in the past few years, and now he was reluctant to waste good things.

Alas, poor child. Ji Jinyou sighed in his heart, stretched out his hand to hold the little proton's neck, patted his back, and comforted him silently.

Xue Yili's intelligence was extraordinary. He guessed what the little girl was thinking after a little thought. He felt the little girl's soft embrace, his spirits high, and he hugged her tighter with his arms.

Seeing that Xue Yili didn't let her go even after they left the courtyard, Ji Jinyou knew that he was going to send her back to Miaoyunxuan again. Knowing his stubbornness on this matter, she didn't bother to be polite with him.

After walking for a while, she said, "My little prince, my grandparents will come to the palace tomorrow. I have to accompany them for the next few days, so I won't come to see you."

Xue Yili was a little surprised, but then he understood that this must be a reward from that old Emperor Wen Zhao to thank the little princess and Tong Tong for revealing so much useful information to him.

He nodded and said, "Okay, then come back to see me when you have time. You can't stop learning to read for too long, otherwise you will forget everything you learned before."

Ji Jinyou: "Okay."

Xue Yili carried the little girl in his arms and walked neither fast nor slow towards Miaoyunxuan. Before they reached the door, he saw the Seventeenth Prince squatting at the door of Miaoyunxuan with his hands on his chin, looking over here eagerly.

Seeing Xiaojiu coming back, the anxiety on Seventeen's face disappeared, his big eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately stood up and ran over.

He ran closer and stretched out his little hand to pick him up: "Xiaojiu, brother will hold him."

As he spoke, he looked at Little Proton warily, with a hint of unconcealable hostility in his eyes.

Earlier, when they came out of Chongde Hall, Xiaojiu took the square inkstone and said he wanted to give it to Xiaozhizi. He said he wanted to go with him, but Xiaojiu wouldn't let him go and insisted that he go back first. He didn't want to make Xiaojiu angry, so he had to follow Haitang back to Miaoyunxuan first.

But he was very sad in his heart. Xiaojiu took him with her wherever she went, whether it was Chongde Hall, Fengyi Palace, Furong Palace, or anywhere else, except when she went to Xiaojiuzi's courtyard, she always drove him away and never let him go with her.

Originally, Xiaojiu said that he liked him the most, and even when the young master and his nephew were lying on the ground and rolling around, Xiaojiu never changed his words. But he felt that in front of Xiao Zhengzi, he, the brother, was no longer ranked first in Xiaojiu's heart.

This realization gave the little boy, who lacked a sense of security, an infinite sense of crisis.

As soon as he returned to Miaoyunxuan, he went out to the door and waited. He had been waiting for so long and was extremely anxious. Now that he saw people, he naturally refused to let Xiao Zhengzi hold Xiao Jiu anymore.

Xue Yili saw the hostility in the little boy, and the expression on his face, which had been smiling all the way, turned cold.

In the past, the little princess visited him quite frequently, but ever since the seventeenth prince arrived at Miaoyunxuan, the little princess has been taking care of the seventeenth prince like a child all day long.

The number of visits to his courtyard became less and less frequent, and he even suspected that the little princess had almost forgotten him.

In his heart, this seventeenth prince and the young prince who made the little princess roll on the ground were both people who were trying to snatch the little princess from him, and he didn't like either of them.

"Brother, why are you waiting for me outside?" Seeing Seventeen reaching out his hand to her, Ji Jinyou smiled and reached out her hand.

But it was not enough to reach Seventeen, because Little Proton actually took two steps back while holding her, avoiding Seventeen's hand.

Ji Jinyou was startled, and turned to look at Xue Yili, and saw him staring at Seventeen with a bad look. She turned to look at Seventeen again, and saw Seventeen also staring at Xue Yili with a frown on his face.

Why are these two people looking at each other with disdain? Ji Jinyou looked at this one, then looked at that one, with a confused look on his face.

Xue Yili saw the little girl in his arms looking at him with confusion, so he put away the coldness on his face, smiled and put her on the ground, reached out and touched the little tuft on her head: "Little princess, see you another day."

After saying this, he bowed to the Seventeenth Prince and said, "Goodbye."

Seventeen was not happy with Little Proton and snorted in his heart, but he did not want to lose his composure, so he returned the greeting and then picked up Little Nine: "Youyou, let's go home."

Although Seventeen had gained some weight recently due to his good eating, sleeping and good mood, he was still very thin. It was still very difficult for him to carry the chubby Little Nine. His little face turned red with fatigue before he had even taken a few steps.

Ji Jinyou was afraid that he would fall to the ground, so she hooked her two little arms around his neck tightly and negotiated with him in a gentle voice: "Brother Seventeen, Youyou, please walk by yourself."

Seventeen looked back and saw that Little Proton was still standing there, looking at him with a smile on his face. Although he didn't say anything, from his expression, he must be laughing at him for not being able to even hold his sister. Naturally, he couldn't admit defeat.

He took a deep breath, used his two arms to lift up his fat sister who had been slipping down, quickened his pace and walked into the gate of Miaoyunxuan. As soon as he entered, he whispered, "Close the door quickly."

Haitang and Jinxing had been following closely, having seen the silent competition between the two little boys. Upon hearing what was said, they looked at each other and could not help laughing. They were afraid of embarrassing their little prince, so they endured it and agreed, bowed to Xue Yili outside the door, and closed it.

As soon as the door was closed, Seventeen immediately put Xiaojiu on the ground and secretly shook his sore arms.

Ji Jinyou had sharp eyes and saw it. She tilted her head to look at him and asked, "Is Youyou too heavy?"

Seventeen was afraid that Xiaojiu would not let him hold her next time, so he immediately shook his head like a rattle: "It's not heavy, not heavy at all, it's very light."

The little boy lied with his eyes half closed, causing Jin Xing and Hai Tang to finally burst out laughing. Ji Jinyou also giggled and deliberately imitated him: "Youyou is so gentle."

Seventeen tried to hold it in again and again, but finally he couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a chuckle.

The two children held hands and ran into the house together like two happy little birds.

"Mother, Youyou is back."

"Mother, we are back."

---

The next morning, Concubine Ru woke up early and asked Jin Xing and Hai Tang to help her dress up carefully. She took out all the expensive jewelry that she was too lazy to wear on other days and decided to dress up well and be in the best condition to welcome her parents whom she had not seen for many years so that they would feel at ease.

Seventeen also got up very early today. After getting ready with the help of the palace maids, he stood beside Concubine Ru and looked at her without blinking.

Seeing this, Concubine Ru smiled and asked what was wrong. The little boy blushed and said that his mother was pretty, which made Concubine Ru smile happily. She hugged the little boy into her arms and kissed him hard: "Our Seventeen is also pretty."

After being kissed by Xiangxiang's mother, the little boy blushed and turned to run inside: "Mother, I'll go call my sister."

When I arrived at the bedroom, I saw a plump white girl in a pink undershirt, lying on the bed with her legs spread out, snoring softly. She looked like a cute little pig with her chubby face.

Seventeen was very curious. He lay down beside the bed, went over to pinch the little girl's chubby hand, and called softly: "Xiaojiu, wake up quickly, grandpa and grandma will be here soon."

Ji Jin slowly opened his eyes, and after a moment of trance, he came to his senses. He twisted his body, rolled over and sat up, and used his two little hands to push his hair to the sides. He looked around, and in a naive voice, he just woke up and asked, "Where are grandpa and grandma?"

"Mother said that we will be entering the palace soon, so we have to hurry." Seventeen said, reaching out to take the new clothes placed beside and giving them to Xiaojiu to wear. He put them on quickly with skillful movements.

Then he carried the little girl to the bedside, took her little shoes and put them on her, and then carried her to the outer room: "Mother, Youyou is awake."

Ru Fei had just finished cleaning up when she looked up and saw Seventeen leading the neatly dressed little girl out. She smiled and praised, "Our Seventeen is getting more and more capable."

Seventeen smiled and pushed the yawning girl in front of Concubine Ru: "Mother, comb my sister's hair."

Ji Jinyou leaned on Concubine Ru's lap and said, "Mother, when can grandma come?"

Ru Fei's tone was unable to conceal her excitement: "It's almost there."

It was said to be almost time, but the wait lasted for a full hour and a half. Youyou and Shiqi kept running to the gate of the courtyard to look, and they finally arrived at Miaoyunxuan after they had almost digested their breakfast.

Xu's mother was accompanied by Dangui, the chief maid of Fengyi Palace, while Xu's father was personally escorted here by Liang Quan, the general manager of Chongde Hall. Dangui and Liang Quan escorted the people here and did not stay long. They said goodbye and left with a smile.

After many years, she finally saw her parents again. With red eyes, Concubine Ru suppressed her excitement. After all the palace maids and eunuchs in Miaoyunxuan paid their respects to Xu's father and mother, she welcomed the two into the house.

The palace servants followed the instructions in advance and went about their business, staying far away. Haitang and Jinxing, one guarded outside the door while the other stayed inside the hall to serve.

Looking at their daughter whom they had not seen for many years, Xu's father and mother could not hold back their tears, but they still bowed to Concubine Ru first according to the rules.

"Your humble servant pays respects to Her Majesty the Concubine."

"Your Highness pays respects to Her Majesty the Concubine."

Seeing her elderly parents kneeling down to pay respect to her, the tears that Ru Fei had been holding back suddenly fell. She moved aside and accepted the greeting with all her might, then cried as she went to help them up, "Dad, Mom, I am an unfilial daughter... Hurry up and get up."

Seeing this, Shiqi and Ji Jinyou also stepped forward to help: "Grandpa, get up quickly, grandma, get up quickly."

"Good children, good children." Father Xu and Mother Xu stood up. Father Xu picked up Seventeen and Mother Xu picked up Nine. The couple looked at the two delicate and lovely children and were very happy.

But when he thought that Youyou was already three years old and this was the first time they saw her, and he missed the birth of the child, the full month celebration, and the one-year-old celebration, he felt very sad and cried with his face covered.

Ji Jinyou stretched out her hands to hug Xu's mother's neck, kissed her on the face, and coaxed her in a baby voice: "Grandma, don't cry, Youyou will give you some candy."

As she spoke, she lowered her head and rummaged around in her waist pouch for a long time before pulling out a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus candy wrapped in oil paper. She peeled off the paper and fed the candy to Xu's mother, "Grandma, taste it and see if it's sweet."

The sweet-scented osmanthus candy filled with sesame seeds was so sweet that it filled Xu's heart. She felt even more upset, but with such a well-behaved child coaxing her, she couldn't cry anymore. She smiled and nodded, "Tian, ​​Tian, ​​our Youyou is so well-behaved."

Ji Jinyou chuckled and winked at Seventeen, who then took out a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus candy from his waist pouch and fed it to Father Xu: "Grandfather, have some candy."

"Good boy, good boy." Father Xu felt very relieved as he ate the candy which was sweeter than honey.

Earlier in Chongde Hall, His Majesty had spoken to him about the Seventeenth Prince. He was still worried at the time, fearing that the child would be six years old and that the concubine would not be able to take good care of him. He had not expected that he would be such a well-behaved and sensible child.

After they finished eating the candy, the sadness in their hearts faded away and they both smiled.

Concubine Ru helped Xu's father and mother to sit down, and then asked the two children to get down, kneel in front of Xu's father and mother, and kowtow solemnly to greet them.

Mr. and Mrs. Xu hurriedly stood up and helped the adult and two children up, and then the family sat down again.

Mother Xu took her daughter's hand and looked at her carefully. Seeing that she looked very healthy and happy, she felt relieved but still asked, "Tinghe, have you been okay these years?"

Life in the palace cannot be described simply as good or bad.

She had Youyou, and now she has seventeen more. Whenever she thinks of these two children, her heart is filled with happiness and joy.

But over the years, I have experienced grievances, sadness, and difficult times.

But Ru Fei did not intend to tell her parents about the difficulties, so as not to worry them. She smiled and said, "You can see that my daughter is doing fine."

Then she pulled Seventeen and Youyou over and said, "Look, mother, these two children are as pretty as your daughter, aren't they?"

Father and Mother Xu laughed out loud at their daughter's cheeky words. Mother Xu reached out and took the two giggling children into her arms, and glared at Ru Fei: "My two grandchildren are much prettier than you."

This remark caused everyone in the room to laugh out loud.

---

At the Seventh Prince's residence, the long-servant woke up the drunk Seventh Prince and whispered, "Your Highness, Concubine Ru's parents came to the capital yesterday and have now entered the palace."

The Seventh Prince suddenly came to his senses and sneered: "Okay, okay, you came just in time."