Jiayin rested her chin on the small windowsill of the tool shed, idly munching on fruit. Just as she was wondering if she should sneak off to relieve herself, she finally saw the Emperor leading a large entourage in the distance.
She quickly pulled a chili pepper from her spatial storage, rubbed it on her eyes, and immediately tears streamed down her face from the spiciness.
Then she lay on the ground, rolled around a few times, and quickly put on a pitiful beggar's makeup.
The Emperor ordered the door to be opened, and the setting sun shone into the room. Amidst the old and dilapidated wooden furniture sat a chubby girl with her knees drawn up to her chest.
Her once clean clothes were now filthy, her chubby face was blackened, her big eyes were red, and tears were still clinging to her eyelashes. She looked so pitiful.
At that moment, his guilt and anger reached their peak.
"Fu Niu'er, don't be afraid, your imperial uncle has come to pick you up." The emperor squatted down and reached out his hand to the chubby girl.
Jiayin seemed a little dazed, and it took her a long time for her big eyes to focus. Then she got up and rushed into the Emperor's arms like a little cannonball, crying her heart out.
"Waaah, Uncle Emperor, Fu Niu'er is so scared! Waaah, Fu Niu'er really didn't hit Princess Sister's stomach! It's so dark here, Fu Niu'er wants to go home, wants Grandma, wants Mom, waaah, Godfather, save me! Godfather, save Fu Niu'er!"
The little girl was truly terrified, her sobs choking her throat, which made the Emperor feel even more guilty.
"Alright, alright, Fu Niu'er, don't be afraid, your imperial uncle is here... It's all the Third Princess's fault, your imperial uncle will punish her to avenge Fu Niu'er." The emperor wasn't just saying this to coax the child; he genuinely wanted to punish the Third Princess properly.
Fu Niu'er was a little guest he left behind, but the Third Princess, as the host, didn't treat her well and even bullied her.
That's fine. Children have likes and dislikes. Perhaps the two just don't click.
But for a princess to feign a stomachache, causing chaos and then blame it on a younger guest, is a sign of poor character.
I originally thought that the Empress had taken good care of the Third Princess and had taught her well.
Now it seems he misjudged her; the dignified Empress took her anger out on a child simply because the Marquis didn't want to marry her maternal cousin.
Even the princess was influenced by the empress, and her behavior became so wicked!
He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and personally carried Jiayin to her feet and back to the Imperial Study.
The chief eunuch was very perceptive and had already found a clean set of clothes for her.
The palace maids helped Jiayin wash her face, comb her hair, and change her clothes.
Jiayin had originally only used two pearl chains to tie her braids, but now the pearls had fallen off and she didn't know where they had gone.
The chief eunuch then presented a set of extremely precious headdress and jewelry.
The small and exquisite hair ornament has a base of red gold and is inlaid with small rubies in the shape of flowers.
A small collar, adorned with a reddish-gold dragonfly and topped with large ruby eyes.
There was also a necklace of pure gold, adorned with gemstones the size of pigeon eggs.
A pair of large, openwork bangles inlaid with rubies...
In short, the entire headdress set, consisting of seven pieces of jewelry, is an absolute masterpiece.
Jiayin was crying "sadly" just now, but now she is happily playing with the jewelry, and there is a hint of a smile on her face.
The Emperor watched from the side and gave the chief eunuch an approving look.
The chief eunuch breathed a sigh of relief.
The Emperor reached out and adjusted the dragonfly pendant on the chubby girl's chest, then smiled and asked, "Does Fu Niu'er like it?"
"I love it! Thank you, Uncle Royal!" Jiayin squinted her red and swollen eyes, smiling to reveal a row of small white teeth. Then she suddenly stopped smiling and asked somewhat helplessly, "Uncle Royal, is this Princess Sister's jewelry? If Fu Niu'er wears it, will she be angry?"
The Emperor quickly reassured the sensible chubby girl, "Don't worry, this was originally prepared as a birthday gift for you. Your godfather always tries to extort some good things from me whenever he comes to see me, so your uncle decided to give it to you personally. You can wear it without worry!"
"I'm sorry you had to play with the princess today. You should still come to play next time, but you can only accompany your uncle to eat good food. You won't have to play with the princess anymore, okay?"
"Okay!" Jiayin nodded and readily agreed, saying in her soft voice, "Grandma said that Fu Niu'er isn't money, so not everyone will like her."
“Princess sister may not like money, but Imperial Uncle does! Fu Niu’er likes it too. In the future, if the pastry shop makes money, Fu Niu’er will give half to Imperial Uncle. Consider it a partnership between the two of us!”
The Emperor couldn't help but laugh out loud. In the whole world, the only person who would dare to ask the Emperor to open a shop together was this naive and chubby girl in front of him!
The head eunuch quickly handed over three pastry recipes, saying with a smile, "Consider these pastry recipes His Majesty's investment capital. Fortunately, the imperial chefs were generous and gave us two extra recipes for their signature pastries; otherwise, the investment would seem rather meager."
The Emperor joked, "Oh dear, what a loss! I gave you the pastry shop, and now I'm giving you the recipe, but I only get half the shares. It's not a good deal."
Jiayin blinked her big eyes and argued, "Uncle Emperor, it's very hard for me to be the manager! I have to figure out the snacks, keep accounts, and catch the thief if someone steals them. It's really not easy."
The Emperor and the Chief Eunuch laughed again, and the Emperor said, "Good, as long as Fu Niu'er is happy, you have all the things. Do whatever you want with them. Your Imperial Uncle will wait for you to hand in the account books at the New Year, and then you can use the money to buy some good food."
"Uncle, rest assured, I guarantee I'll complete the mission." Jiayin imitated her adoptive father's personal guards, giving an awkward military salute, which made the Emperor laugh again...
Li Lao Er and the village chief left the palace but didn't return to the village. Instead, they waited outside the palace, hoping to hear Jia Yin's voice and go home together.
Originally, it was thought that they would have to wait until sunset, but soon after the sun began to set, the chief eunuch personally took Jiayin's hand and led a line of junior eunuchs carrying trays out.
Li Lao Er and the village chief quickly went to greet them. Jia Yin ran forward with a grin, showing off her necklace to her second uncle, "Second Uncle, Second Uncle, look! It's a birthday present from my Imperial Uncle!"
Li Lao Er could tell at a glance that his little niece had been crying. He tried his best to suppress the question that was about to burst out of his throat and forced a smile as he replied, "She looks good. Fu Niu'er looks good in anything."
After saying this, he bowed to the chief eunuch and said, "Is Fu Niu'er being naughty? Thank you for your concern, Chief Eunuch."
The chief eunuch turned away, refusing to accept the courtesy, and instead bowed and apologized, "My lord, this old servant is unworthy of your courtesy. In truth, it is this old servant's fault for not taking good care of the princess."
"When the princess and the princess were playing, they had a little disagreement. The emperor has already punished the princess severely, moved her out of Kunning Palace, and assigned two strict nannies to discipline her. The emperor likes the princess very much and said that she can come to the palace to play anytime in the future."
Are they having a tiff?
Li Lao Er's eyes flashed; he simply didn't believe this explanation.
But he replied, "It's normal for children to quarrel today and make up tomorrow, it's alright."
The chief eunuch quickly instructed the junior eunuchs to load the gifts onto the Li family's carriage, and said with a smile, "These are all gifts from the Emperor to the Princess. The Empress has prepared something else, which will probably be delivered tomorrow."
"Alright, thank you for your hard work, Steward." Li Lao Er had no interest in pleasantries, simply replying before bending down to lift his little niece into his own carriage...
Here's a late update~ My little one's sixth shot, I hope he gets better soon, staying up all night is making me bald!
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