Chapter 214 [Extra] Trip to Yangzhou
“No!”
Xiao Mingyang refused without thinking, turned around, put his hands behind his back, and walked away aggressively.
She hasn't had enough fun yet.
However, after taking a long time, the short legs remained in the same place.
Xiao Mingyang turned his head and glared at Lu Yuanduo who was grabbing his collar, "How dare you!"
How dare you stop her from moving forward!
Lu Yuanduo lowered his head to look at the little guy in front of him who was only as tall as his knees. After thinking for a while, he still did not retract his hand that was pinching the back of his collar, so as to prevent the little guy from tilting his head back and losing his balance and falling backwards.
"Well, I am bold."
His eyes just happened to meet the jade pendant tied around his waist, and Xiao Mingyang stared at it with his big eyes like black grapes.
Lu Yuanduo: "Princess, do you like this jade?"
Xiao Mingyang nodded and blinked, "It looks good."
Lu Yuanduo swiftly pulled off the jade pendant and handed it to her: "Then give it to the princess."
The ring-shaped jade pendant is slightly smaller than the palm of an adult's hand, but for three-year-old Mingyang, it is too big to hold it with one hand. He can only barely grasp the knot.
Seeing this, Lu Yuanduo squatted down and tied the jade pendant around her waist, not forgetting to continue: "The princess shook off the palace servants and ran out alone. It's just as I expected. If you don't go back now, I'm afraid you won't be able to get out again."
As soon as the words fell, the distant voice of the palace servants could be heard faintly in the distance: "Princess! Princess!"
A trace of guilt suddenly appeared on Xiao Mingyang's face. He stretched out his arms and said eagerly, "I'm tired. I want to be held."
Lu Yuanduo sighed, then bent down and picked up the delicate little princess.
The three-year-old princess was much lighter than her brother when he was three years old, and she felt like a ball of cotton when she was held in her arms.
Looking down at her face that resembled her mother's, Lu Yuanduo felt helpless but doting.
The little guy looks like her, but his temper is different.
Suddenly, his face felt painful. He saw Xiao Mingyang grab his beard and pull it. He quickly withdrew his hand and said dryly, "The Taifu has a beard, but my father doesn't."
"Father looks younger than Grand Tutor."
After a pause, Lu Yuanduo calmly explained, "Your Majesty is one year older than me, but he doesn't have a beard, so he looks a bit younger than me."
He grew a beard to appear steady and dignified, not afraid of looking old, but the same could not be said of her father.
........
Two quarters of an hour later, Lu Yuanduo sent Xiao Mingyang to the Zichen Palace.
Jiang Fusheng, who was pacing back and forth in front of the palace gate waiting for news, saw the two and greeted them with a sense of relief: "My little princess, where have you been?"
Xiao Mingyang patted Lu Yuanduo on the shoulder and he put her down.
Standing on the steps, Xiao Mingyang glanced in the direction of the main hall and asked quietly, "Eunuch Jiang, are my father and mother in there?"
Jiang Fusheng bent down and shook his whisk, smiling amiably: "Yes, His Majesty and His Majesty learned that you, the princess, are missing, and they are very worried~"
Blinking, Xiao Mingyang began to feel uneasy and asked again, "Is my royal brother here?"
Jiang Fusheng nodded, "Of course, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is here too."
Hearing this, Xiao Mingyang breathed a sigh of relief. She stepped up two steps, then turned back and held Lu Yuanduo, saying, "Grandmaster, go too. Help explain to Father, the Emperor, and Mother, the Empress."
With outsiders present, my father, the emperor, and my mother would definitely have some concerns.
Jiang Fusheng's mouth twitched slightly. It's not a good idea to help. It might just make things worse.
Your Majesty does not want Tutor Lu to appear in front of the Empress.
Lu Yuanduo naturally knew what was going on. He was silent for a moment and was about to say no: "Princess..."
"Xiaobao!"
Qingrun's anxious voice came, and Yun Wan came out of the hall and walked down the stairs. All he saw was his daughter. "Where have you been? Why are you so messy?"
Not to mention the dust and grass on her clothes, even her carefully combed hair was scattered here and there. There were originally two symmetrical pearl flowers, but now only one was left.
Realizing that his mischief had caused his mother to worry, Xiao Mingyang lowered his head, rubbed his index fingers together, and smiled softly, "I went a little too far when playing hide-and-seek."
Still a little far? I understand the word game.
Yun Wan was both angry and amused.
Lu Yuanduo took only one look and then lowered his eyes, concealing the restraint and forbearance in his eyes. He forced himself to look away and waited quietly by the side.
Emperor Jingxuan arrived a moment later, his eyes narrowed slightly, "Why is Lu Qing here?"
After confirming that the child was safe, Yun Wan noticed that there was another person standing next to him.
When she found out it was Lu Yuanduo, she was surprised for a moment.
Lu Yuanduo bowed and explained, "I happened to meet the princess on the road. I thought Your Majesty and Your Majesty must be worried about her, so I personally escorted her here."
He explained what had happened. Emperor Jingxuan frowned slightly, then relaxed his eyebrows and replied calmly, "Thank you for your help, my dear."
Lu Yuanduo: "It's just a small favor. I have important matters to attend to. I will take my leave."
He lowered his eyes and retreated, suppressing all his emotions to the deepest part of his heart, and returning to being the stern and unkind Master Lu he had been before he became an adult.
The only thing he could do in his life was to wholeheartedly assist the child he had watched grow up.
.........
Inside the Purple Palace, Xiao Mingyang, with his hands in his pockets, looked up at Yun Wan, who had a stern face, "Mother! Mother! Queen Mother, Xiaobao was wrong."
She took a small, tentative step forward, and after receiving encouraging looks from her father and brother, she quickly rushed to Yun Wan's face and snuggled into her arms.
"Xiaobao will never dare to leave the palace maids alone again. Xiaobao knows he was wrong. Will you forgive me, mother?"
Seeing that her mother did not refuse, she put her arms around Yun Wan's neck, pouted her little mouth and kissed her, her little baby voice sticky: "How about you punish me, Mom? Mom, I like you so much~"
Yun Wan almost lost her composure, and tried to straighten her lips, snorting: "Mother dare not punish you, lest your father and brother be distressed."
Hearing this, the father and son looked at each other.
"I don't feel bad, I don't feel bad! Xiaobao, listen to me! Whatever I say is what I will do!"
Xiao Mingyang shook his head, rubbing his soft baby fat against her face, and kept saying sweet words.
When his daughter started to act coquettishly, it was so annoying that Yun Wan's anger had long since disappeared.
I don’t know who this little girl inherited her personality from, but as long as she opens her mouth, she can make people dizzy and want to open their hearts to her.
When Yun Wan was about to give up, Emperor Jingxuan spoke up at the right moment: "Madam, Mingyang is still young, so please don't spank him. How about some other punishment?"
Asui glanced at him.
Emperor Jingxuan held his head high and chest puffed out, his expression calm.
How can a rough-skinned boy and a delicate-skinned daughter be the same?
He feels so distressed when his daughter pouts.
Ah Sui was speechless. He straightened his sister's messy hair and said gently, "Mother, how about punishing Xiaobao by not allowing him to eat snacks for three days to teach him a lesson?"
His sister was greedy, so he thought this punishment was too severe.
Little Mingyang spread out his five chubby fingers and said, "Five days! Mommy, I can't eat cakes for five days, okay?"
She knew she had made a mistake today and decided to punish herself for two more days, mainly to let her mother see her sincerity in repenting.
Little Mingyang put his chin on Yunwan's chest and raised his chubby face to act cute.
Yun Wan raised an eyebrow and said sternly, "You said that yourself?"
"Yes!" Xiao Mingyang nodded and swore, "I will never eat secretly!"
At most, I would secretly take out the hidden candies and preserves and take a look at them.
Little did she know that Yun Wan had already seen through her evil intentions, and immediately had the box where her daughter hid her snacks emptied.
At this moment, the little guy was still laughing, "Mom! Mom! Xiaobao loves mom the most!"
Yun Wan held her waist to prevent her from falling, but she felt something cold in the palm of her hand. She took it out and found that it was a ring-shaped jade pendant.
She examined it carefully and asked in confusion, "Where did this jade come from?"
Yun Wan was sure that this was not her daughter's thing.
Xiao Mingyang: "It belongs to Master Lu. It looks nice. He gave it to me."
She had experienced too much that day and was drowsy at the moment. She glanced at the jade pendant and pushed it to Yun Wan. With a wave of her hand, she said arrogantly, "Do you like it, mother? Give it to me!"
The other hand snatched it away even faster: "I think this jade is quite good. Why don't you give it to your father?"
Emperor Jingxuan never showed displeasure to his daughter and always had a smile on his face.
Xiao Mingyang forced himself to open his eyes. "Alright, then I'll give it to Father. Please take good care of it."
Emperor Jingxuan nodded, his smile not reaching his eyes: "Yes, Father will definitely."
Asui: He heard the sound of gnashing teeth.
A few days later, Emperor Jingxuan ordered the Yongzhang Palace to be completely closed and no one was allowed to enter or leave at will. The palace servants who delivered the meals only needed to place the meals in the designated location and did not need to enter.
In the ear room of the Ye Ting Palace, when Fuling arrived, Xiao Cui was sitting in front of the bed, enduring the pain and rubbing the bruise on her shoulder.
She had no money to buy medicinal wine, so she could only rub it raw to heal the bruise.
When she heard that Aunt Fuling, who was beside the Queen, was looking for her, she did not dare to delay and quickly tidied her clothes and went out.
At this time, many people gathered around curiously, and the person who was leading the bowing and scraping was the nanny who was in charge of her.
Fuling's eyes fell on the thin girl in front of her, "Are you Xiao Cui?"
Xiao Cui nodded nervously.
Fuling directly stated her purpose: "Qiyun Palace is short of a maid to clean the place. Are you willing to go?"
Xiao Cui was shocked when she heard this, and then nodded: "Yes! I am willing!"
Fuling nodded slightly and handed her a bottle of medicinal wine: "Take it and use it. After you recover from your injuries, take your bag and go to Qiyun Palace to take up your post."
As she approached, she whispered, "Thanks to the little princess for mentioning you in front of the queen, you did a good job that day by not actually taking the little princess there."
Xiao Cui's heart was shaken, and she immediately understood: "I swear to be loyal to Her Royal Highness the Princess until death!"
Fuling is satisfied and is a smart person.
Others were jealous, thinking that Xiao Cui had turned a disaster into a blessing and was about to rise to the top.
........
Time flies like an arrow.
In the 25th year of Jingxuan, after the northern Rong people were defeated, their largest tribe voluntarily surrendered to Da Qi. The two tribes had frequent trade exchanges, and Da Qi enjoyed peace and prosperity, ushering in an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity.
It happened that Asui was sixteen years old. Emperor Jingxuan wanted to train his son, so in March of the spring, after Asui's birthday, he issued an edict announcing that he would go on an inspection tour in the south and ordered the crown prince to be regent.
Moreover, on the day the imperial edict was issued, he took Yun Wan and boarded the official ship to Yangzhou, leaving Asui alone holding the imperial edict and almost biting his teeth.
Little Dezi, the eunuch De who was now beside the Crown Prince, said with a smile, "Your Highness, His Majesty has placed the unapproved memorials on the imperial desk before leaving. You can review them at will."
Ah Sui didn't even glance at the pile of memorials. "Where's Xiaobao? Why haven't I seen her in the past two days? Did she go out to play outside the palace again?"
The ten-year-old Mingyang was no longer satisfied with staying in the palace and often ran outside the palace to find people to play with.
Eunuch De lowered his head and whispered, "The little princess is probably on the boat that Your Majesty is on right now."
"This is the creed the princess left for you."
He quickly took out the creed left by Xiao Mingyang from his sleeve.
Asui unfolded the paper and saw that it was written in bold and eloquent words:
Brother, please rest assured and supervise the country. I will come back to tell you about the customs and people of Jiangnan!
Xiaobao, stay. Hee.
Thinking of his clever sister, Asui couldn't help but laugh.
He carefully folded the letter and put it in the bamboo tube on the table, not forgetting to instruct:
"Go tell my mother and father that Xiaobao is missing."
If they didn't remind him, his father, who was hoping to spend some time alone with his mother, would find out that Xiaobao had secretly followed them. Then he would probably have to wait until Xiaobao couldn't hold it in anymore and appeared in front of them.
If this happens, it will be delayed for who knows how many days. Not only will Xiaobao suffer, but his mother will also be worried and scared.
He had seen through it: the older his father got, the stronger his possessiveness of his mother became.
.......
On the Southbound Grand Canal, a huge official ship was sailing on the river. The ship had three floors and was like a huge monster. It was guarded inside and out by disguised imperial guards.
Official ships were not prohibited from carrying goods and merchants, but no one was allowed to enter or leave the third floor. Those who were astute guessed that there must be an important person on this ship.
As for how powerful this big shot was, they had no idea, but they could conclude that the ship was very safe.
In the central wing on the third floor, Yun Wan leaned on the man's broad chest, looking at the shimmering river outside the window, her pretty face showing a calm expression.
Emperor Jingxuan stroked her cheek and asked softly, "Are you still sleepy?"
Yun Wan shook her head: "I'm not sleepy anymore."
In the first two days after getting on the boat, Yun Wan was not very adaptable to the river surface and slept drowsily for two days. He only recovered his energy today.
"I haven't seen you for many years. I wonder what the situation is like in Yangzhou now?" she sighed.
For various reasons, even as the queen, Yun Wan has not found a suitable opportunity to return to Yangzhou in these years, and unexpected events often happen before her departure.
At first Yun Wan felt lost, but later she figured it out.
If you are always delayed by other things, it means that now is not the best time to travel.
Emperor Jingxuan stroked her hair again and again, and said lazily, "With my wife here, it's the best situation."
Yun Wan complained that this man was becoming more and more smooth-talking.
"I wonder if leaving these two siblings in the capital will cause trouble?"
She held her chin and looked at the scenery on the river. Without the children around, it was much quieter, which made her a little uncomfortable.
Emperor Jingxuan: "Madam, don't worry, Asui won't make a fuss. If Xiaobao makes a fuss, Asui will comfort him."
Thinking of the two children, Yun Wan was dissatisfied: "My husband is really something. Asui is only sixteen years old. She rashly took on such a heavy burden. She might be much thinner when she returns to the capital."
Emperor Jingxuan said, "Madam, I was already fighting on the battlefield when I was sixteen, and I was only eighteen when I took over the mess left by the previous emperor. Our son is lucky."
What he didn't say was that if he hadn't been delayed by the Rong people's affairs in the previous two years, he would have wanted Asui to be regent when he was fourteen years old.
"He is the crown prince, he must go through trials and tribulations."
"He is young now, and I am in my prime and have plenty of energy. I still have the energy to cover for him if he can't solve the problem."
Yun Wan could hear him praising her, so she simply agreed with him: "Yes, yes, yes, my husband is still very thoughtful. Asui will definitely understand your painstaking efforts."
No matter how old a man is, he always likes to hear praise from his beloved wife.
Fluttering——
A white dove flapped its wings and flew closer, finally circling and landing on the wooden pole by the window.
Emperor Jingxuan reached out and untied the letter from the white dove's leg, chuckling casually, "It's only been a few days since our son's letter arrived. Could it be that this kid is already missing us?"
The moment he unfolded the letter and saw the contents clearly, his expression suddenly changed.
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