Without giving it much thought, the Emperor bowed his head and asked Jiayin, "Would Fu Niu'er like to stay and play for a few days? Your Imperial Uncle's house is very big; Fu Niu'er will surely like it."
Jiayin felt a chill run down her spine. Although she didn't know why, she felt that the Empress harbored ill intentions towards her.
But the emperor clearly meant well, and it wouldn't be good to refuse him outright.
Her mind raced, and she blushed as she replied, "Uncle Emperor, Fu Niu'er also wants to play with Princess Sister, but Grandma will worry if Fu Niu'er doesn't go home tonight. Can Fu Niu'er play with Princess Sister for a while and then go home this afternoon?"
"Of course you can," the Emperor said, liking the chubby girl's filial piety and knowing that the old lady of the Li family cherished her like the apple of her eye. "The flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom. You and the Third Princess can go play there. I will send someone to take you back this afternoon."
After saying that, he turned to Li Lao Er and the village chief, "You don't need to worry, Fu Niu'er won't be mistreated in the palace."
"Your Majesty is too kind," Li Lao Er replied with a smile, though he was unwilling. "Fu Niu'er is spoiled terribly by her family. If she is naughty, please forgive her."
"I understand, you may go." The Emperor waved his hand, and Li Lao Er and the village chief kowtowed and bowed again before leaving.
The Empress prepared a reward for the Li family, said a few words with a smile, and then went to attend to her duties.
Jiayin was left behind to follow the Third Princess, who led a string of eunuchs and palace maids to the Imperial Garden.
The so-called Imperial Garden was nothing more than a larger garden.
If it were the original Imperial Garden of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, it would be quite a sight to behold, but in the new capital, it's just a converted imperial palace, and the Imperial Garden is only a dozen acres in size.
The variety of flowers and plants is not particularly large or rare.
Jiayin followed the cold-faced Third Princess, admiring the flowers along the way, and originally wanted to find an opportunity to smuggle some good varieties into her space.
Unfortunately, the more I looked, the more disappointed I became.
She was trying to figure out what excuse she could come up with to leave the palace as soon as possible.
Suddenly, the third princess in front of her stopped, and she almost bumped into her.
The Third Princess crossed her arms, shooed the eunuchs and maids aside, and then pointed at Jiayin, shouting, "You kneel down before this princess!"
Jiayin was bewildered, not understanding what was going on with this little girl.
Didn't you say you wanted to play with her?
Does playing mean kneeling all the time?
She glanced at the eunuchs and palace maids. Although they had retreated four or five steps, they were all listening intently and keeping their eyes on them out of the corner of their eyes. They could definitely hear what they were saying.
She thought for a moment, then feigned a naive and innocent look and asked, "Princess sister, didn't you want to play with me? Why do you want me to kneel down? My mother said kneeling is an apology. What did I do wrong? Did I make the princess angry?"
The third princess was still quite young, and she was somewhat bewildered by Jiayin's question.
After all, normally, if she said "kneel down," the palace maids and eunuchs would immediately comply.
Seeing that Jiayin was tilting her head and refusing to kneel, she became a little annoyed and made up an excuse, shouting, "Who told you to wear the same dress as this princess!"
Jiayin glanced at her skirt and was speechless.
The third princess wore a pleated skirt made of snow-white satin, while she wore a moon-white tulip skirt.
This tulip skirt was sewn by the embroiderers from the Marquis's residence based on a simple drawing she made. You could say she was the first person in the entire Tianwu to wear it, so how could she be the same as the princess?!
Needless to say, the Third Princess just didn't like her and was deliberately picking a fight.
She endured it all, but she truly had no good feelings towards this ordinary-looking princess.
She's good-looking, so even if she acts a little capricious, it can be called charming.
You come out with a face as big as a flattened steamed bun, two dead fish eyes, and you're trying to scare people.
Who gave you the courage to do such a thing?!
The eunuchs and maids on the side clearly felt that the princess was being unreasonable, but as servants, they hesitated whether to try to persuade her.
Unfortunately, this idea remained just that—an idea—and no one ever put it into action.
Jiayin couldn't wait for outsiders to intervene, so she had to take matters into her own hands.
She clutched her collar with a pitiful expression and asked, "Princess, can't other people wear the same dress as you?"
"Of course, I am a princess! What are you, daring to steal my father's dress from me... no, steal my dress!" The third princess thought Jiayin was scared, so she proudly raised her chin and scolded her, almost letting slip the truth.
But Jiayin understood. It turned out that the little princess was jealous because she got along so well with her royal uncle.
She really wanted to roll her eyes and kept grumbling to herself.
That's your own father. You're like a block of wood, not talking to him, not being close to him, and then blaming him in the end.
Isn't this a classic case of "if you can't have the grapes, no one else can either"?
But she could only curse in her heart; she couldn't say those words aloud.
This is the Tianwu Emperor, where imperial power reigns supreme. Her father is the emperor, and she is a princess!
She wasn't stubborn enough to argue with the princess to the death, and besides, her powerful backer, her godfather the Marquis, wasn't home!
If you can't afford to mess with them, then you can only avoid them!
So, her eyes reddened with even more grievance, "Yes, Princess, I understand. I'll go home right now and change my dress."
After saying that, she turned to leave.
The princess hadn't even had a chance to vent her anger yet, so how could she be allowed to leave? She instinctively reached out her hand.
Jiayin felt a sharp pain on her scalp, and when she realized her braid had been pulled, she was truly angry.
Bratty kids are the most annoying thing.
If we don't teach her a lesson, it would be a disservice to her for being so persistent in picking fights!
So she struggled forward with all her might, and the princess subconsciously tightened her grip as well.
Unexpectedly, Jiayin suddenly fell backward, and the princess, unable to stop herself, also fell to the ground.
The eunuchs and palace maids were startled and rushed forward.
One of them cried out, "Princess, are you alright? Where did you hurt yourself?"
The one shouted, "Quickly, call the imperial physician!"
Jiayin seemed to try to get up, but she lost her balance and ended up lying on one of the princess's legs again.
A palace maid quickly pulled her up and pushed her aside.
The princess tripped and fell on her bottom. Before she could speak, she suddenly clutched her stomach and cried out, "Ouch, my stomach hurts!"
The palace maids and eunuchs were puzzled. Shouldn't it be a sore buttock? Why was it a stomachache?
But in the blink of an eye, the princess was writhing on the ground in pain, screaming, "Help! Waaah, my stomach hurts so much! Mother, Father! Help!"
Seeing that the princess didn't seem to be faking it, the palace maids and eunuchs were terrified and became even more chaotic.
Jiayin stood to one side, her face full of fear and surprise. In fact, she secretly slipped a silver needle back into her spatial storage with a flick of her sleeve...
When the Queen heard the commotion and rushed over, the princess was already rolling on the ground like a mud pig, her face covered in snot and tears. She was already of average appearance, but now she looked even worse.
"What exactly happened?" The Empress was furious, her face turning ashen. She wanted to pick up the princess, but when she reached out, perhaps out of disgust, she withdrew her hand.
A maidservant behind her quickly stepped forward, hugged the princess, and covered up her mistress's embarrassment.
The palace maids and eunuchs were so frightened that they knelt down in unison, not daring to utter a sound.
The Third Princess, however, didn't forget to complain even though she had a stomachache. She pointed at Jiayin and shouted, "It was her! It was her who hit me and made my stomach hurt! Waaah! Mother, please avenge me! My stomach hurts so much! Waaah! Help! Mother, please help me!"
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