The Empress Dowager watched with delight as the little boy tugged at Changyin and chatted away. Apart from his soft voice and somewhat timid and shy nature, Changyin was no different from any other child!
The Empress Dowager was so overjoyed that she wept.
While the two children were talking, she quietly wiped away the tears that had welled up in her eyes, calmed herself down, and then lowered her head to say to the little baby in her arms, "From now on, Niannian can come to Grandma's house to play with Changyin often. Grandma will personally make you some delicious snacks, okay?"
The moment food is mentioned, the little dumpling's eyes light up. There's nothing bad about it. He nods his head vigorously. When he thinks of the delicious sugar buns, his eyes narrow and he swallows hard, looking very hungry.
This little greedy look immediately amused the Empress Dowager, whose eyes were still brimming with tears.
Even the ladies below, seeing the little boy's greedy look, couldn't help but cover their mouths and giggle.
Zhuangyou looked at her little darling's pathetic appearance and wanted to cover her face. She was so embarrassed that she had brought shame to the palace.
After the Empress Dowager finished laughing, she caught a glimpse of An Miaolan standing in the corner, her face ashen and her expression evasive and flustered.
Upon seeing An Miaolan, the Empress Dowager's upturned lips immediately hardened, and her face darkened.
She gently pulled Xiao Changyin into her arms, happily watching as the little girl, no longer wary of the past few days, obediently nestled into her embrace.
"Changyin, look at that girl over there. Do you remember when Hubao ran out and met Niannian? Did you see her then?" The Empress Dowager asked softly, gesturing for Changyin to look at An Miaolan.
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, the ladies who had been chatting and laughing in the room immediately fell silent, and for a moment, the hall was filled with a suffocating silence.
All eyes turned to An Miaolan, their expressions ranging from schadenfreude to worry and anxiety, or simply indifference.
An Miaolan's body stiffened abruptly, her already pale face turning deathly white in an instant, and she swayed slightly.
Changyin looked over, then shook his head at the Empress Dowager.
Upon seeing this, An Miaolan quickly said, "Your Majesty, I was standing quite far away at the time, and the county princess was blocked by the big dog, so perhaps that's why she didn't see me."
"No, Tiger Cub lay down as soon as it got to Sister Niannian. It didn't block me, so I really didn't see you," Changyin said, glancing at An Miaolan with a puzzled look.
An Miaolan wanted to say something more, but the Empress Dowager directly told Changyin what had just happened.
Although the long tone was soft, the narration was clear and organized, much like what the little baby said.
This gave everyone a new understanding of Changyin, and the Empress Dowager was overjoyed. It turned out that her little granddaughter was just frightened, not stupid.
When she looked down at An Miaolan, the Empress Dowager's face immediately darkened, her expression both stern and displeased. "The daughter of the Marquis of Xingbai, what else do you have to say!"
An Miaolan's face turned pale, and she completely panicked. She knelt down with a thud, stammering incoherently, "No, no, Empress Dowager, it's not, no, this...this humble woman..."
"Enough!" the Empress Dowager shouted sternly, waving her hand. "Nonsense! I don't want to listen to your lies anymore. Get out of the palace!"
As An Miaolan was led away, the Empress Dowager's displeased gaze swept over the ladies below.
How could she not know that An Miaolan's farce today was all because the Xingbai Marquis's mansion coveted the position of the First Prince's Consort?
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