Why didn't you two lick the plates clean?
Da Nier arrived a little late, but the two sisters were hungry and hadn't eaten breakfast before coming to the palace.
Right now, Huo Xiaolong and Hou Xiangxiang have almost finished all the dishes on the table, leaving only a few pitiful vegetable leaves.
"I'm hungry, Nier."
"Really, you didn't even eat breakfast before getting ready. You look great today."
Huo Xiaolong even tugged at the grassland clothes that Da Ni'er had somehow gotten her hands on; they were quite pretty, and she wanted one too.
"It was made by the Imperial Household Department. The King of the Grasslands came to watch the weaving today," the Empress replied.
The woman waved her hand, and the palace maids filed out, bringing out another table of dishes one after another.
"Don't worry, there's more. If it's not enough, I'll have the servants make more."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Without any formalities, Huo Xiaolong and Hou Xiangxiang grinned and said thank you.
Da Ni'er also bowed, took her seat, and began to eat.
This is already the second round of dishes; the three of them ate a whole pot of rice alone.
"You have a good appetite."
Seeing how well the others ate, the Empress couldn't help but eat more herself.
The head maid was numb to it all. Every time these ancestors came, they would eat bowl after bowl. She had heard from the young ladies that this was how the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion usually served rice: big bones were put in a bowl and eaten.
"Would you like to take a nap after you finish your meal?"
Wei Shuyi didn't necessarily invite them over to do anything. Having lively and adorable younger relatives by her side made her happy without having to do anything.
Huo Xiaolong shook his head.
"I need to practice my skills after I finish eating, and the King of the Grasslands needs to practice too."
"What about Xiangxiang?"
The little girl put down her chopsticks, swallowed the last bite of food in her mouth, and said...
"I don't practice martial arts, but I do need to learn a set of boxing techniques. Your Majesty the Empress can learn them too; they're very good for your health."
"Okay, I'll change my clothes and learn from you in a bit."
The woman looked kind and loving, but it was the chrysanthemums in the courtyard outside who suffered.
Huo Xiaolong and Da Nier entered the palace without weapons, but they practiced boxing with Hou Xiangxiang for a while. Afterward, the two of them went to the side to practice each other's moves.
The empress was very thin, not like a willow catkin swaying in the wind, but truly just bones, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
"Your Majesty should eat more in the future, especially meat, and then come out and practice martial arts. This will help you get better."
The woman got tired after moving around for a while, so the head maid helped her sit down to rest and offered her a cup of warm tea.
"Then you should come to the palace more often to teach me. Xiangxiang must be tired too, come and have a drink of water."
Wei Shuyi handed the tea to Hou Xiangxiang. Outside the garden, behind the banyan tree, a palace maid saw the little girl drink all the tea, frowned, and then quickly left the spot.
"Your Majesty, the Empress did not drink that cup of tea; it was drunk by the young girl who often comes to treat her."
The loose skin around the woman's eyes made it difficult for her to open them, but the sharp light emanating from her eyes was still awe-inspiring.
"She didn't drink?"
"No."
"Isn't that young lady the Hou family's daughter who was recently selected as a royal merchant?"
"It is she who answers Your Majesty's words."
The old woman straightened her expression and was helped up shakily. She then gestured for the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs to leave.
"I know my own people well. They usually look down on women in the inner quarters, so why did they suddenly choose two women to be imperial merchants?"
The old palace maid supporting her was a little younger than her, but her hair was also gray.
She didn't reply, only listening to the Empress Dowager continue speaking.
"I have been in the Great Yan for so many years and have thought about it for so many years. The only way to make them no better than the grasslands is this."
"The people of Great Yan must never have mothers who have seen the world. Only by letting them see the backyard and the four corners of the earth forever will Great Yan decline generation after generation. One day, my grasslands will swallow up all the lands of the Central Plains."
"And the Marquis family of the Imperial Merchants was the first one."
The Empress Dowager glanced at the palace maid beside her, and the two exchanged a smile.
Now, all we have to do is wait for news of that little girl's death.
Being a royal merchant is not easy; power means life or death.
If you want to gain power, you must experience the pain that struggle brings.
The two drank tea while waiting for the commotion to break out on the Queen's side.
After drinking the tea, the little girl felt a stomachache.
"Your Majesty, I'm not feeling well. Could you find an older sister to take me?"
The woman nodded and said to the head palace maid beside her.
"Take her there."
Hou Xiangxiang is a doctor who takes her own pulse while walking on the street.
She had only taken a few steps when the girl turned around and rushed straight at Long'er, leaving even the head maidservant beside the Empress unable to react in time.
"Long'er! I've been poisoned!"
"What happened?"
Huo Xiaolong and Da Nier stopped. The girl in the python robe immediately pulled a jade bottle off her body. Before the little girl could speak, Da Nier pried open her mouth and Long'er poured the spiritual spring water from the bottle into her mouth.
"I... hiccup... I got poisoned after drinking the Empress's tea."
"Now?"
Huo Xiaolong wanted to ask her how she felt, but he was afraid that the spiritual spring wouldn't work, so he thought he would just fly away and carry Doctor Gu over.
These three are definitely best friends. Da Ni'er went straight for the cup, while Hou Xiangxiang clung tightly to Long'er's legs and wouldn't let go.
"No, I'm fine now. Don't carry my master. He's eighty years old and his heart can't take it."
The girl pried the child's hands off and said earnestly.
"He can."
He's used to it, Grandpa Gu can definitely do it.
“But I’m really fine now. I was actually fine just now, just a little scared, and I instinctively came to find you two.”
Da Ni'er brought over the teacups and teapot from earlier, while Xiaohaijie was hugging Huo Xiaolong's slender waist for comfort.
The Empress immediately ordered a thorough investigation, which alarmed Xiao Lanhua and the Empress Dowager.
The former came directly to check the situation, while the Empress Dowager thought Hou Xiangxiang was already dead and leisurely waited for someone to invite her over to take charge.
"Here's what I'll do: when I get home, I'll call my mom over and ask her to look for it. She's an expert on things in the palace."
Seeing these people dawdling around so busily, the girl in the python robe decided to go home and call for help.
"You, Prince Zhenbei, are you still going home to look for your mother at your age?" Hou Xiangxiang asked, looking up.
"No matter how big I am, my mom will always love me."
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