"Why are you here?" Xiao Yu took the gilded food box from her hand. It was warm to the touch and carried a faint scent of osmanthus. "What 'surprise' have you brought?" Chen Weiwan blinked her large, watery eyes and looked into the hall. She caught a glimpse of the emperor and the empress dowager on the throne. She immediately put away her smile and bowed politely. Her voice was as sweet as honey: "Your servant greets the emperor and the empress dowager! I heard that the empress dowager loves sweets, so your servant specially made 'Thousand-layer Osmanthus Cake'."
She opened the food box, and inside, indeed, were four perfectly square cakes, their snow-white crust dotted with golden osmanthus flowers. The sight of them made the empress dowager swallow. But as soon as she took her first bite, she burst out laughing, her pearl pendant trembling. "You little girl, why did you put ginger slices in your cakes?"
Chen Weiwan's eyes widened immediately, and she blinked innocently, her goose-yellow sleeves swaying in a lovely arc as she moved. "Your Highness, this is a new sweet and spicy health-preserving recipe I've created. It's both refreshing and a welcome relief! Yesterday, I heard that Concubine Xian felt incredibly energetic after eating my health-preserving pills, so I thought I'd give you a taste of this 'sweet first, spicy later' flavor."
"What a 'sweet first, bitter later'!" The emperor laughed so hard that he slapped the armrests of the dragon throne, and the rosewood echoed. "I think you treat the entire harem as your 'laboratory for cheating people'!" Shen Weiwan stuck out her tongue and secretly tugged at Xiao Yu's sleeve. The lilac cuffs brushed against the jade belt hook at his waist.
Seeing this, Xiao Yu hurried forward to smooth things over. He deliberately put on a stern face and looked at Shen Weiwan, but there was a smile in his eyes: "Why don't you apologize to your mother?" Shen Weiwan smiled and moved closer to the queen mother. She lowered her voice and spoke mysteriously as if sharing some shocking secret: "Don't be angry, queen mother. In fact, I have prepared a 'real' beauty cream for you. I guarantee that it doesn't contain any pepper powder! I'll have Chuntao bring it to you later. After applying it, it is guaranteed to be more effective than the 'Imperial Concubine Drunk' in the rouge shop in the West Market~"
The Queen Mother was so amused by her that she extended her pearl armor and tapped her forehead: "You mischievous girl! Forget it, since you are so good at coaxing people, I will let it go." The Emperor watched from the side and suddenly sighed. He said to Xiao Yu: "Forget it, with such an interesting daughter-in-law, I am afraid that my harem will be very lively in the future."
Upon hearing this, Shen Weiwan immediately became energetic, and the hem of her goose yellow skirt swayed: "Father, it's so lively! I'm planning to open a 'Royal Edition of the Museum of Scams' in the palace, and you will get 50% of the ticket money!" The emperor laughed so hard that even the copper bells hanging on the corners of the hall were jingling. The eunuchs and palace maids beside him lowered their heads to hold back their laughter, and their shoulders shook like fallen leaves in the autumn wind.
Xiao Yu shook his head helplessly, and stretched out his hand to rub the top of Shen Weiwan's head. The coral bead hairpin in her black hair swayed gently: "Okay, okay, stop fooling around in front of father and mother." Shen Weiwan stuck out her pink tongue, but took advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention and secretly winked at the emperor, causing the emperor to laugh again, and even the cinnabar pen on the dragon table was shaken and rolled around.
As the sun began to set, Xiao Yu and Shen Weiwan withdrew. As they exited the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the setting sun stained the palace path a honey-colored hue, stretching their shadows far out, like two intertwined silk threads. Shen Weiwan suddenly grasped Xiao Yu's hand, her goose-yellow sleeves entwining with his dark hem. A sly glint flashed in her eyes. "Your Highness, guess what 'surprise' I just prepared for Father?"
Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow, his face deliberately stern. "Trying to trick Father again?" Chen Weiwan pulled an oil-paper package from her sleeve pocket and carefully opened it—it contained shimmering rock sugar and curled chrysanthemums. "I added this to the pre-rain Longjing tea he often drinks," she tilted her chin up, like a small animal offering a treasure. "It clears away heat and internal heat, and it's sweet!" Xiao Yu couldn't help but smile. The golden glow of the setting sun fell on the coral beads in her hair, making her cheeks look like ripe peaches.
"This is called 'appeasing someone's taste'!" Chen Weiwan raised her chin and kicked the stones on the ground with the tip of her shoe. "Isn't my father worried that I will betray him? I want to be a 'caring little cotton-padded jacket' so that he won't be able to scold me~" Xiao Yu looked at her sparkling eyes, and his heart felt like it was soaked in warm water. He couldn't help but hold her hand tightly, and the warmth of her palm came from his fingertips.
The two walked slowly, the moss beneath the palace walls shimmering in the setting sun. Shen Weiwan suddenly remembered something and looked up at him, her eyelashes casting tiny shadows under her eyelids: "Your Highness, my father just asked you if you would cheat him. What was your answer?" Xiao Yu's lips curled up into a wicked smile, and he deliberately leaned close to her ear: "This prince said that before you cheat someone, you would first ask him if he wants to invest in the spoils."
"Ah!" Chen Weiwan punched him in anger, her goose-yellow sleeves brushing against the jade pendant on his waist. "How could I be so obsessed with money!" Xiao Yu dodged with a smile, but took the opportunity to pull her into his arms, wrapping her in his black robe. "Okay, okay, I know you're the best. But seriously, don't act foolishly in the palace anymore. If you make Father and Mother unhappy..."
"I know, I know!" Chen Weiwan muttered in his arms, her voice nasal, "But if they bully me again, I will definitely pay it back!" Xiao Yu looked down at her angrily and couldn't help laughing. He gently rubbed her red ear with his fingertips: "Okay, okay, I'll pay it back for you."
In the setting sun, their shadows clung together as they passed through the palace walls, heading towards the General's Mansion. Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Emperor was holding a cup of Longjing tea, prepared by Shen Weiwan, and observing the blooming chrysanthemums in the tea. Suddenly, he turned to the old eunuch beside him and said, "If I really bought into her museum, what percentage would I get?"
The old eunuch lowered his head, his beard shaking from trying to hold back his laughter: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, Miss Shen will probably give you the 'Best Audience Award', and you won't have to buy a ticket to visit the museum in the future!" The emperor laughed heartily, picked up the teacup and took a sip. He felt that the rock sugar in the tea seemed to be more soothing than all the sweetness he had tasted before.
It seemed that this future daughter-in-law, despite her somewhat erratic nature, was like a multicolored pebble thrown into a tranquil lake, stirring ripples throughout the palace and bringing unexpected joy. The emperor, watching the setting sun outside the window, couldn't help but shake his head. The golden dragons on his bright yellow robe gleamed softly in the twilight, and a doting smile played on his lips, one he barely even noticed. Perhaps, with such an unconventional daughter-in-law, the days ahead would be even more tortuous and interesting than the Nine-Curve Bridge in the Imperial Garden.
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