The little boy looked curiously at the Empress Dowager behind him and saw a satisfied smile in her eyes.
She turned back and looked at the radiant smile on Consort Xue's face, as if she understood something, but upon closer reflection, she couldn't quite put her finger on what she understood.
All she knew was that she felt a little uncomfortable, and as a result, her bright eyes dimmed, as if a little tail was drooping unhappily.
The adults didn't notice the little boy's emotions, and Consort Xue paid even less attention. Although she kept looking at the little boy, she kept glancing at the Empress Dowager out of the corner of her eye. Seeing the look in the Empress Dowager's eyes, her smile grew even wider.
Before the little one could say whether she liked it or not, she took the little one's hand, which was adorned with a string of agate beads, and explained to her, "Niannian, this string of agate beads was blessed at a Buddhist temple. I've been wearing it since I was pregnant with your older brother. It's an auspicious item. Niannian, don't you like it?"
The little girl found Consort Xue's smile extremely irritating. She pouted and subconsciously glanced at Sister Zhuangyou.
Zhuangyou simply smiled gently at her.
Seeing that her older sister Zhuangyou wouldn't help her, the little dumpling puffed up her cheeks angrily, turned around and looked at Consort Xue again. In the end, under her intense gaze, she obediently nodded and said in her childish voice, "I like it."
However, Zhuangyou knew that her little darling didn't like it. Look at her pouting lips, she looked so wronged, and her babyish voice was drawn out in a long, drawn-out way. She was clearly waiting for someone to interrupt her.
However, Zhuangyou pretended to be ignorant, and only after the little baby finished speaking did she step forward with a smile and say to Consort Xue, "Your Highness, our little princess is probably tired and sleepy from playing. Why don't you let me carry her away?"
Consort Xue nodded in agreement without changing her smile upon hearing this.
So, Zhuangyou finally rescued her listless little darling from the "tiger's mouth".
The Empress Dowager, however, looked at the little bundle of flesh with his back to her and smiled with even more affection.
She glanced at the time and stopped Zhuangyou, who was about to leave with the little baby in her arms. "It's getting late, I think. How about we start the banquet later, and Niannian can have dinner at the Empress Dowager's house before going back to sleep?"
The moment food was mentioned, the little dumpling, who had just been listlessly perched on Zhuangyou's shoulder, immediately perked up, her eyes sparkling, and her dimples dangling from the corners of her mouth.
The little dumpling nodded happily, his sweet little voice saying, "Okay!"
The Empress Dowager couldn't stop laughing when she saw the little boy's greedy little face.
Zhuangyou sighed helplessly, looked down and scolded her little darling who was swallowing his saliva in his arms without any manners. However, the little darling buried his head in her shoulder and pretended not to see her scolding.
After giving the order, the Empress Dowager stood up first and led everyone to the banquet.
Zhuangyou made an excuse to feed the little princess some water, and then left behind the others with the baby in her arms.
Ahead, the little boy could still faintly hear the Empress Dowager saying to Consort Xue, "I remember that the agate bracelet was something the Emperor personally went to the Imperial Temple to ask for for you when you were pregnant with Han'er. Are you willing to give it to Niannian?"
Then, Consort Xue's laughter rang out.
The little boy's spirits, which had just been high, immediately wilted again after hearing Consort Xue's words.
She nestled pitifully in Zhuangyou's soft, fragrant embrace, pouting her little lips, looking very unhappy.
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