Chapter 266 The Emperor asks Jin Cheng

Xu Wan nodded and said distressedly: "No, I have never held an older child. Jin Cheng and the others are too heavy for me to hold."

Mrs. Wei was amused by her: "What's so good about holding this little brat? When he was little, he always pestered me to hold him, but he was not obedient and kept moving around, which was very tiring."

Xu Wan could already imagine that scene, it was indeed very strenuous.

Madam Shen and the Crown Princess were close friends. When she heard Xu Wan and Madam Wei chatting, she quietly went to ask the Crown Princess. Not long after, she saw the Crown Princess look up with a smile and call them over.

Madam He said excitedly, "Madam Shen is still amazing. Come on, sister, the Crown Princess must have agreed to let you hold the little princess."

"Ah? Ah?" Xu Wan was pushed over with a confused look on her face.

The Crown Princess was lowering her head to comfort the little princess, and told her to let Xu Wan hold her to reduce the child's fear of strangers. After Xu Wan came up, she handed the child to her: "One hand supports the shoulder, the other hand supports the waist and hips..."

Xu Wan took over the little princess curiously.

"It's soft indeed." She teased the little princess. The little girl stared at her with her dark eyes, making a soft sound, and suddenly grinned at her.

"She smiled, she smiled..." The maids said in astonishment, "The little princess is most afraid of strangers, but she is not afraid of Madam Zong."

Xu Wan was suddenly honored with this honor, and she felt even happier and more curious. She lowered her head and continued to make the little princess laugh.

The Crown Princess chuckled and said, "If it weren't for you, this child wouldn't have been conceived. Xu Wan, you are the great benefactor of me, His Highness... and the little princess."

Xu Wan smiled and said, "You are too polite, Crown Princess. It is the little princess who is smart. She knew to reincarnate into the East Palace early and become the daughter of the Queen and His Highness..."

Then she lowered her head and said to the little girl in her arms, "Little Princess, you will be very happy."

Seeing her gentle appearance, the Crown Princess couldn't help but ask, "Do you like children?"

Xu Wan nodded and smiled, "I like it. That's why even though it's a headache, I still feel it's very lively and homely when there are so many naughty kids in the mansion."

The Crown Princess couldn't help but laugh: "No wonder you were able to teach them so well, it turns out there's a reason why you like them. Previously, many famous teachers in the capital were helpless with them, which made the masters very worried."

Xu Wan smiled and said, "It's not just my credit."

She meant something. The Crown Prince would often send people to give them debate topics and study directions. Although His Highness was not in the Marquis' Mansion, he was also one of the teachers of the key classes.

The Crown Princess naturally understood what she said and nodded in agreement.

When Xu Wan returned the little princess to the Crown Princess, she lowered her voice and asked, "Your Highness, why is His Highness so anxious?"

The Crown Princess met her gaze, her smile unchanged: "I never interfere in your Highness's affairs. If he doesn't want to talk, I won't ask."

Xu Wan smiled, knowing that she wouldn't get an answer, so she backed away and tried to leave.

Unexpectedly, the Crown Princess raised her eyes and said seriously, "His Highness is a very, very, very good person. He will not harm them. Don't worry."

Xu Wan smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your advice, Madam."

Although she also felt that His Highness would not harm the children, his recent abnormal behavior always made her feel uneasy. Now with the Crown Princess's assurance, she was completely relieved.

As night fell, the four young dandies, wearing clothes that glowed in the night, began to run around in the crowd again, shouting as they ran:

"I'm the brightest!"

“My light shines the brightest!”

"I am the glory of Wenquxing!"

"I still cherish the glory of my life!"

Zong Wenxiu: “…”

Even though I wasn't wearing the same clothes as them and was staying far away from them, I still felt like I was digging my toes into the ground. Why did I feel awkward not joining in?

The four little dandies were all very cool and when they got excited they set the whole place on fire. All the kids, old or young, were either led around by them or ran around them, with constant laughter and shouting.

It's so noisy, just like Chinese New Year.

The palace had not been so lively for a long time. The noise made by the children could be heard from far away. The emperor and his ministers were watching the singing and dancing from a distance. After hearing the noise outside, they suddenly felt that the slow singing and dancing was boring.

"What's going on outside? What happened?" the emperor asked, putting down his wine cup.

The eunuch replied, "Your Majesty, it was a few adults' children playing around. They were wearing clothes that glowed at night, and the children nearby were dancing along with them. Would Your Majesty like to call them over to take a look?"

The prince's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he reminded her: "Since it is a piece of clothing that glows at night, you won't be able to see it once you bring it into the house."

The emperor nodded and smiled, "That's right. Let's go and see what the glowing clothes look like. Let's see how happy these children are."

As they spoke, they stood up and walked over, asking people to turn off most of the street lights. When they got closer, they saw four children dressed in bright colors dancing. The dance was not formal, but just random. But the children were very happy, holding hands and playing with each other, and the maids and servants beside them even followed the beat, as if it was a bonfire party on the grassland.

The emperor had lived in the palace for a long time and had not seen such a grand occasion for a long time. He smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad, these children really know how to play. Who are they from?"

The eunuch smiled and replied, "Young Master Wei Xinglu from the Wei Yushi family, Young Master Shen Yibai from the Shen Shangshu family, Young Master He Zheng from the He Shangshu family, and... Young Master Zong Jincheng from the Yuanyang Marquisate's Zong Xiaohouye family."

As soon as the eunuch finished speaking, all the ministers and the emperor looked at the prince. The prince has not yet refuted the rumors about the father and son in the capital.

The emperor just smiled and said, "Heng'er, I heard earlier that you had a falling out with Zong Zhao, how come you are so close to his son now? I heard that the Zong family also asked the Eastern Palace for help in the last dance house case."

When something happened to a minister's child, his first reaction was not to report to the authorities but to go find the prince. Anyone would have such wild thoughts.

The prince said gently, "Father, the child is innocent. How could I be angry with his son because of Zong Zhao? As for the dance house case, it was because Zong Jincheng reported the title of the Marquis' Mansion at the time, but the other party was still not afraid. The Zong family was afraid that there was something behind it, so they came to ask for help from me."

"Oh, then that does make sense. But...is this child really Zong Zhao's son?" the emperor asked with a chuckle.

The ministers were shocked, thinking that it was still the emperor who had just spoken. If they had any questions in their hearts that they dared not ask, they would have to wait for the emperor to ask them. They could just wait and see.

The prince smiled and said, "Father, you are putting me in a difficult position. You have to ask Zong Zhao whether the child is his or not."

The emperor said with a smile: "Forget it, forget it. This is the family affair of the Zong family. If I keep asking about it, I'm afraid the old marquis will lose face."

The ministers laughed softly.