"Jiutian, you're back?"
"Second Uncle, I'm back!"
Yin Jin'an quickly went over and reached out to touch her head. Sure enough, it was still her round little head, only she had grown a bit taller.
Like an old father who has been longing for his son's return, he said incoherently, "It's good that you're back. It's almost New Year's, and I was thinking that you might come back any day now."
"Are you hungry? Would you like some steamed buns again? I invited the steamed bun seller to the palace. He's been idle in the palace for seven years. It's good that you're here; he finally has something to do."
"It's so cold outside, where have you been? Why aren't you wearing warm clothes?"
"Where's your Taoist robe? I prepared several sets for you, they're all inexpensive, don't worry, they just have a lot of cotton stuffing inside..."
The guards and secret agents around them all had tears in their eyes. Xiahou Yan had no choice but to remind them, "Your Majesty, should we let the princess go in first?"
Yin Jin'an suddenly woke up, looked at Jiu Tian standing at the door, and asked Xiahou Yan, "Xiahou Yan, what's going on? I had another dream! How come it felt so real, I even heard her speaking?"
"Your Majesty, you're not dreaming, Princess Longxiang has really returned," Xiahou Yan said. "You touched her head, and it was warm, wasn't it?"
“I used to dream that when I touched her head, it was warm.”
"This time it's for real..."
Jiutian couldn't hold back any longer. She ran over and grabbed his hand, tears streaming down her face. She said, "Second Uncle, it's me, Jiutian. I'm really back. Touch my hand, oh dear, it's freezing cold."
Yin Jin'an smiled brightly and said, "Then come in quickly."
He took Jiutian's hand and strode into the palace, the carriage following behind. As they walked, he said, "If you don't like it, I'll have someone remove it tomorrow."
“I like it very much, Second Uncle. It’s great, much better than before,” Jiutian quickly said.
If her second uncle really demolishes the palace, she will become a criminal. This is the hard-earned money of the common people!
For some reason, after leading her into the palace, Yin Jin'an seemed to realize something and stopped talking so much, silently going to the kitchen.
He said to Jiutian, who had come along, "Dumplings before boarding, noodles upon arrival. You play for a while, and I'll make you a bowl of hot noodles."
He was very serious about kneading and rolling out the dough, and even carefully chopped some scallions.
The imperial kitchen cooks didn't want him to do it, but Xiahou Yan waved them off, telling them not to stop him. So they all stood trembling a short distance away.
Which emperor cooks for his nephew?
Besides their own Aotian Emperor, there's no one else.
His noodles were pretty good; they were springy, rolled out evenly, and had plenty of fillings, including shredded meat, eggs, and vegetables. He was also generous with the amount of oil.
After finishing cooking and placing it on the table, I said to Jiutian, "It's too cold outside, have a bowl of noodles to warm yourself up?"
Jiutian didn't refuse and placed the little tiger mask on the table. The morning sunlight shone through the window onto the two of them.
Yin Jin'an watched Jiu Tian eat heartily, and only then did he realize that Jiu Tian had really returned.
Jiutian knew that he should not say anything now, as long as he ate all the noodles his second uncle made, he would be the happiest.
The bowl of noodles was quickly emptied; Jiutian was truly stuffed.
Rubbing her stomach, she said, "Second Uncle, my stomach hurts from being so full."
Yin Jin'an gently patted her head: "Silly girl, you can stop eating if you can't eat anymore, why eat so much?"
"But it was made by my second uncle himself, and I haven't had it for seven years."
“I haven’t cooked in seven years either, so I’m sure what I made was terrible. I’m so glad you ate it all,” Yin Jin’an said. “Let’s go for a walk and digest our food.”
"Second Uncle, isn't the palace preparing a banquet?"
“I wasn’t prepared. They work hard all year round, so I won’t keep them around during the New Year. I’ll let them go home and reunite with their families.”
"But how will you celebrate the New Year, Second Uncle?"
"What's wrong with this? It's no different from any other day. I've been living alone since I was a child. It's just that some of my childhood friends have all gotten married, and we've all gradually drifted apart."
As they walked and talked, Jiutian said, "Second Uncle can also get married. It would be more lively in the palace if there were more children running around."
At this point, Xiahou Yan immediately said, "Yes, yes, Your Majesty, you see, the princess also thinks so, it's not that we servants think so."
Yin Jin'an shook her head: "Jiutian, my second uncle doesn't know how to be a good father. It would be better if he hadn't been born than to ruin his life."
"But doesn't Second Uncle really like Jiutian?"
"So nine days is enough."
"..."
The two left the palace incognito.
As they walked, Yin Jin'an said, "This street is a bit more bustling than when you walked here. Can you wear women's clothes? Can we not buy anything too expensive?"
"OK."
Jiutian didn't tell him that she had now been "unsealed," because she was afraid that her second uncle would frantically buy her expensive items like her father and mother had.
Too much love, too much pressure, will frighten the child.
Relatively speaking, Jiutian felt more comfortable being with Yin Jin'an.
Yin Jin'an went to a sugar dumpling shop to buy Jiu Tian a string of sugar dumplings, and even bought her a paper windmill.
Since Jiutian wanted to eat steamed buns, he bought her freshly baked ones, which would taste better.
Jiutian couldn't eat anymore, so he asked him to take it, and he ate everything that Jiutian had left without hesitation.
"Second Uncle, why are you eating the leftover pancakes?"
"Since becoming emperor, Second Uncle has realized that money is not enough and food is extremely precious. The half-cake you have left is a staple food that many ordinary people cannot afford!"
Yin Jin'an said, "Qi is located inland, so it is impossible to carry out maritime trade. Qi also has few rivers and little rainfall, with drought in nine out of ten years... I never knew that money was a worrying thing before, but after becoming emperor, I worry about silver and food every day."
Only after becoming emperor did I truly understand why these countries were so keen on fighting: because they didn't have enough food to eat, so they were always thinking of robbing.
The State of Qi is now many times richer than when Jiutian left, but there are still people starving.
"Has your second uncle's hair turned white from exhaustion?"
"Well, not really. It was Wang Can and the others who did the work. My second uncle didn't do much. He just talked to Yulong Kingdom about borrowing some grain seeds and participating in overseas trade..."
When Yin Jin'an mentioned the Jade Dragon Kingdom, she suddenly thought of Bei Chen, who had come with Jiu Tian, and frowned, saying, "I think I saw Bei Chen here too? Why is he with you?"
Jiutian's eyes immediately reddened again.
Since her return, my second uncle has probably been too excited and has completely ignored everything else.
Only now do you realize it?
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