Although the emperor found it strange that his daughter was so well-behaved, she was, after all, his own daughter, so how could he not be pleased that she was so filial?
So he not only ate a few bites of the birthday cake, but also tried on the shoes, and even though they didn't fit perfectly, he still praised them.
The third princess's face was flushed; she was overjoyed.
The Emperor said, "It's kind of you to go to such lengths to prepare this birthday gift. A few days ago, the south presented a lot of pearls. I'll have Steward Yi pack a box for you to take back and enjoy."
"Thank you, Father!" the Third Princess quickly thanked him, but after thinking for a moment, she hesitated and said, "Father, may I ask for a different reward?"
"What, don't you want pearls?"
The emperor didn't take it seriously, thinking his daughter wanted something like jewels or brocade.
Unexpectedly, the Third Princess said, "Father, I know that Princess Kangle's cake shop is half owned by you. Would you please give this to me as a reward?"
The Emperor frowned and was about to refuse, but the Third Princess spoke first, pleading with red eyes, "Father, I was ignorant and arrogant before, which disappointed you."
"I've been reflecting on this a lot lately, and I think there must be a reason why Father Emperor likes the Princess. I also want to learn more from the Princess by running the shop together."
"Your daughter also wants to please Father Emperor and bake a delicious cake for him!"
After saying this, she wiped away her tears, lowered her head, and looked dejected. "Father is the ruler of the country. I don't want to be called stupid and bring shame to Father..."
"Nonsense! You are a princess, who would dare to say you are stupid!" The emperor couldn't bear to see his daughter like this and was about to agree, but Chief Eunuch Yi "accidentally" knocked over a teacup.
The teacup fell to the ground. Although it did not shatter, it spun around several times, making a loud and jarring noise in the quiet hall.
Chief Steward Yi quickly knelt down and kowtowed to beg for forgiveness. The Emperor waved his hand, not blaming him, but changed the words he had wanted to say to the Third Princess.
"Don't underestimate yourself. Go back and rest first. I'll think about this matter and then we'll talk about it."
The Third Princess glared fiercely at Steward Yi, wishing she could devour him alive.
We were so close to succeeding, but this old geezer had to come along and ruin everything!
She wanted to keep pestering him, but unfortunately, the Emperor had already seen her glance earlier.
The Emperor knew perfectly well what was going on.
His daughter hadn't changed her ways, so he spoke again, saying, "Go down."
The third princess had no choice but to reluctantly leave.
The Emperor rubbed his temples, and seeing that Chief Eunuch Yi had brought out fresh tea, he took a sip and asked, "Speak, what exactly happened that stopped me earlier?"
Chief Steward Yi quickly knelt down and whispered the story of how the Third Princess of Shou Kang Palace had first challenged the Princess, even repeating the Third Princess's words clearly without omitting a single one.
The Emperor slammed his teacup down, angrily exclaiming, "This fool! I thought she had truly changed for the better, but I never imagined she could utter such outrageous words!"
Steward Yi couldn't help but think to himself, "The Third Princess is hopeless."
Even if you want to scold the princess, you should think it through first!
The terms "vixen" and "seductive" refer to a woman having an ambiguous relationship with a man.
But the princess is only a few years old. If word gets out, no one will say anything good about her; instead, they'll say the emperor is infatuated with a child...
How will the Emperor face the Princess after this?
Moreover, if the Marquis treats the Princess like his own daughter, what will he think of the Emperor?!
But he only thought about it; if he actually said it out loud, he wouldn't be able to live anymore.
So he changed his tune and advised, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. The princess is still young and can be taught slowly."
"However, the princess has always disliked the county princess so much. If the emperor really lets her run the shop with the county princess..."
"I'm afraid the two young girls will quarrel every day, and then the emperor will have to judge cases every day. He can't be biased towards either of them."
Sure enough, the emperor's headache only worsened. "Luckily you reminded me, otherwise there would never be a peaceful day."
Steward Yi quickly stepped forward and helped the Emperor press his head down, then suggested with a smile, "Your Majesty, the Third Princess has always been interested in the Princess's shop. If we really don't let her try it, it might become a worry for her."
"This servant thinks that although the princess is young, she is intelligent and insightful. Perhaps Your Majesty would like to summon her and ask her a few questions if you have some free time these days?"
"Perhaps the princess is willing to do business with the princess, or perhaps the princess is not, but there are other ways that have the best of both worlds."
The emperor smiled when he recalled the chubby girl's mischievousness.
"You're right. I'll remind you whenever I have a spare moment these next few days."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Chief Steward Yi replied respectfully.
Night gradually fell, and the world became shrouded in darkness.
In the Broken Gold Beach, the main room of the Li family courtyard had its door half-open for ventilation, and sweet potatoes and a handful of chestnuts were roasting on a brazier inside.
Grandma Li, Tao Hongying, Li Lao Er, Mr. and Mrs. Wen, Jia Huan and Wen Juan were all listening to Jia Yin talk about things in the palace.
The awl in Old Lady Li's hand pierced the sole of the shoe fiercely, as if the sole were the face of the princess.
After hearing her granddaughter's retorts, she couldn't help but burst into laughter and praise her granddaughter.
"Yes, that's how you should scold her. Shameless thing, she even bullies a child of only a few years old. She should just go and kill herself!"
Madam Wen added, "I had heard that this princess was very kind and low-key, never ostentatious. I thought she was a good person, but I didn't expect that rumors are really unreliable!"
Tao Hongying snorted, "Money can move people's hearts. Since there was no prior connection, of course she's willing to put on an act to gain a good reputation."
"Now that her Jiulianzhai shop has lost business to Fu Niu'er's shop and she's losing money, she's gotten anxious and her true colors have been revealed."
Wenjuan felt sorry for her sister-in-law and rarely spoke up, "And that Empress Dowager, she has a noble status and is not young, why is she instigating others to bully Fu Niu'er?"
Grandma Li immediately waved her hand, signaling her granddaughter-in-law not to say anything more, and finally instructed, "Some things are better left unsaid."
"I think that apart from the Emperor, everyone else in the palace is not on good terms with our family. We should keep our distance from them and try not to have any contact with them in the future."
Everyone nodded.
Other families might hope to enter the palace more often and compete for the emperor's favor, but the Li family genuinely hoped that the people in the palace would forget about them.
They prefer a peaceful and quiet life to a life of luxury and wealth.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
Less than three days after the birthday banquet, people from the palace came to deliver the good news.
Not to mention the Li family, even Jiayin was a little confused, unable to guess why the Emperor wanted to see her.
But no matter how unwilling she was, Jiayin couldn't disobey the imperial decree...
So, she quickly tidied herself up, changed her clothes, and went to the palace with Granny He and Shui Ling.
Today, the Emperor finished reviewing the memorials early, which was unusual for him, and didn't even think to summon Jiayin to the palace.
I had planned to go to the garden to admire the plum blossoms, and perhaps even bump into a concubine or something.
As a result, the third princess came back again, pestering and begging, pleading, repenting, and making promises...
He was so annoyed that he had Steward Yi bring Jiayin over.
Jiayin sat opposite the Emperor, across the large desk, holding a bowl of hot tea, her big eyes wide with surprise.
In his heart, he was already cursing the emperor to death. As expected, emperors are all big jerks and completely unreliable!
Serving you at midnight~
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