Jiutian replied, "Alright."
Zhao Song cautioned, "Madam, you must be careful with Princess Longxiang. She is the most noble princess in our Qi Kingdom."
Before leaving, Jiutian placed a taboo on Yin Jin, a golden bell shield, and then skipped away with Madam Zhao.
Zhao Qiaoqiao did not go with them, but Madam Zhao's biological daughter, the third young lady of the Zhao family, went with them.
The third young lady was eleven years old, six years older than Jiutian, and the two could barely play together.
Madam Zhao thought Jiutian was just an ordinary child. After leaving the city lord's mansion, she gave her snacks, bought her trinkets, and even asked her if she liked jewelry.
Jiutian kept shaking his head, and she wouldn't eat even when offered snacks.
"My second uncle said not to eat or drink indiscriminately outside."
“What we gave you doesn’t include the food and drinks you ate or drank outside.” Madam Zhao held her little hand and asked, “Princess, why do you call His Majesty your second uncle?”
"My master told me to call him that."
"..." Madam Zhao changed the subject, "How old is His Majesty this year?"
"I'm seventeen."
"Oh, have the court officials mentioned selecting concubines for His Majesty?"
"No, my uncle has only been on the throne for less than half a year, so he won't be getting married so soon."
"Seventeen is a good age to get married." Madam Zhao figured that explaining marriage to such a young child wouldn't be very helpful, so she asked again, "Princess, who do you want to marry His Majesty?"
"I like them all," Jiutian said sweetly. "I'll like whoever gives my second uncle the most grain and silver."
Then, counting on his fingers, he said, "The Tibetan princess gave my second uncle one million shi of grain, the Pyu princess gave him one million shi, and the eldest daughter of the Zhang family in Lingzhou gave him one million shi..."
As she listened, Madam Zhao pondered how to gather one million shi of grain.
Watching Jiutian's little fingers constantly pinching the list, there must be almost ten names by now.
Everyone else gives a million shi of grain, but Zhao Song only gives 20,000 shi. Does he really want to be His Majesty's father-in-law? Dream on.
After a while, we arrived at the lotus pond.
Jiutian was overjoyed and grabbed the Third Miss's hand, running away. He said, "Third Miss, let's go. Let's pick some lotus leaves to take back. My uncle knows how to make lotus leaf chicken. I want to take some lotus leaves back with me."
Lady Zhao hurriedly said, "Oh dear, Princess, please don't go near the water, it's dangerous. I'll have someone cut some lotus leaves and lotus flowers for you to take with you."
She went to instruct the servants that Jiutian was playing hide-and-seek with the Third Miss and Madam Zhao. The two of them hid where Madam Zhao couldn't see them and felt very happy.
While playing, Jiutian asked curiously, "Third Miss, does your eldest young lady's mother shave her head when she chants sutras at the temple?"
The third young lady, unaware of Zhao Song and Yin Jin'an's conversation, exclaimed in surprise, "Where is eldest sister's mother in the temple? I heard she died a long time ago."
"Oh no, how could he be dead? Does the young lady know?"
The third young lady whispered, "Let me tell you, my eldest sister is not my father's daughter. My mother said she is an illegitimate child, and no one knows whose bastard she is."
Jiutian exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, so she's being married off to my uncle because she's a young lady!"
"Did His Majesty agree? Does His Majesty like her because she's beautiful?"
“My second uncle said that the emperor doesn’t choose his concubines based on their looks, but on their birth. You are from the city lord’s mansion, so if she were your own sister, she would certainly be qualified to be a concubine. But if Zhao Qiaoqiao is an illegitimate child, she definitely won’t be an option. How could my uncle take an illegitimate daughter as a concubine? There are so many women in the country, he could marry anyone he wanted.”
The third young lady thought Jiutian's words made a lot of sense and said, "I'll talk to my eldest sister about this later. We can't let this bastard steal her marriage."
As the two were talking, Madam Zhao had already asked someone to bring over the cut lotus leaves and lotus flowers. Jiutian pulled the Third Miss out, and they were overjoyed to smell the fragrance of the lotus flowers.
"Thank you, Madam Zhao, for cutting so many lotus leaves for me," Jiutian said politely.
Madam Zhao was determined to gather as much information as possible.
After asking Jiutian many questions, Jiutian answered what he wanted to answer and scratched his head, saying he would ask his second uncle when he got back.
Madam Zhao dared not ask her to inquire about Yin Jin'an, and immediately said, "This humble woman was just asking randomly, Princess, please don't take it to heart."
On the way back, Jiutian, the chubby boy, twisted his hands and said, "Madam Zhao cut so many lotus leaves and flowers for me, how about I give Madam Zhao a divination for free?"
"Ah, the princess can tell fortunes?"
"Yes!" Jiutian said, pinching her little fingers together. "Madam Zhao, you are destined for great wealth and honor, but—"
"What's wrong? Is there some kind of calamity?"
"Your family's immense wealth is being fought over. If you let it go to waste, your wealth will only be a mirage, a flower in a mirror."
The third young lady blurted out anxiously, "Mother, that bastard wants to steal my eldest sister's wealth and status. You can't let Father do whatever he wants."
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