Extra 7 Daily Life, Gossip
When Qingwu took his daughter's hand and stepped into the inner room of Minghua Palace, the sunset in the sky was casting the last piece of gorgeous purple and gold on the window frame.
The room was warm and the lights were already on.
She looked up and saw Grandmother Xiao Yuluan sitting opposite Shangshu Ling Shen Yushan, playing chess. A relaxed smile crossed their faces, clearly enjoying a lively conversation. Qingwu understood, her lips curling slightly as she subconsciously tried to quietly withdraw, but the empress's sharp eyes caught her.
"Why are you leaving?" Xiao Yuluan put down the chess piece in her hand, her voice filled with undeniable kindness. "I miss my Yi'er so much every day I haven't seen her. Come here quickly."
Qingwu could only smile as he approached. Yuzhu behind him understood and carefully placed Xiao Yi into the empress's already open arms. Qingwu quietly sat down on a nearby chair, watching the scene unfold with a gentle gaze.
Beside Xiao Yuluan, the Minister of State, Shen Yushan, watched the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren enjoying themselves together, his expression softened. He casually picked up a delicate rattle from the low table and gently shook it twice in front of the little princess, producing a crisp, "dong dong" sound.
Xiao Yi's big, dark eyes were immediately captivated, and she stretched out her little hand to grab it. Shen Yushan, deliberately teasing her, retracted his wrist slightly, letting the little guy's grasp slip. This happened twice, and the expression on Xiao Yi's delicate face changed from curiosity to confusion, and then a slight frown formed on her brows.
When Shen Yushan shook the rattle for the third time, Xiao Yi stopped reaching out. She pursed her lips slightly and turned her head away, burying her face in her great-grandmother's arms, leaving only the back of her head facing the Minister of the Chancellery. Her expression clearly showed a hint of a bad temper.
"Look at you," Xiao Yuluan couldn't help laughing and glared at the man beside her, "Did you make our Yi'er angry?"
The nearly sixty-year-old Shangshu Ling was actually embarrassed by the empress's anger. He hurriedly bowed to the small person in the empress's arms, and said in a joking tone, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have teased the little princess. My lady, please forgive me this time."
He had just been joking, but who would have thought that the little girl in the empress's arms would actually turn around at the sound. Her face was serious, her dark eyes glancing at Shen Yushan's raised hands, then at his apologetic smile. Then, she nodded her chin solemnly and said clearly:
"I forgive you."
After saying that, she stretched out her little hand, steadily took the rattle that Shen Yushan handed to her sincerely this time, and started playing with it by herself.
This series of reactions, clever, opinionated, and with an unquestionable "dignity," made Xiao Yuluan laugh out loud. She gently stroked the child's soft hair, her eyes filled with pride and fondness:
"Look, our Yi'er is so young, yet she's already so opinionated and magnanimous. She knows when to argue and when to stop. She speaks out when she's wronged, and forgives when she receives an apology. She's truly an extraordinary child."
Qing Wu blushed slightly after hearing these words. "Grandma, you're praising me too much. I'm just following my nature."
Qing Wu was being modest, but Xiao Yuluan was not. She looked at the little Xiao Yi in her arms with a look of deep expectation in her eyes, "Our Xiao Yi is extraordinary. She will definitely have great fortune in the future."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Ji came in from the warm room again. He first bowed to Xiao Yuluan and then sat down next to Qingwu.
"What are you talking about? It's so lively."
Xiao Ji's gaze first fell on his daughter. Seeing that she was having fun, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
Before Qing Wu could reply, Xiao Yuluan spoke with a smile that was not yet fully revealed: "She was just praising our Yi'er. Lord Shen just teased her and she got angry. But once Lord Shen apologized, she generously forgave him. She's quite magnanimous."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ji exclaimed in a very respectful manner, "Really? Is our Yi'er so amazing?"
If ordinary children were praised like this by their parents, most of them would show a proud expression, or at least be very happy. However, Xiao Yi was different. There were so many elders around her praising her, but she seemed not to hear them and was still concentrating on playing with the rattle in her hand.
Qingwu gazed at his daughter, feeling a pang of pride. From birth, this child had displayed a remarkable calmness, unlike other infants who relied on crying to express their needs. If she remained silent, others would simply mistake her for a shy and introverted child; but when she spoke, her words were clear and unequivocal, their meaning unmistakable.
Her gaze grew softer as she meticulously observed her daughter's every move. Suddenly, she noticed something unusual and whispered, "Hey, look, Yi'er is playing with this rattle with only one hand."
After her reminder, Xiao Yuluan, Xiao Ji and Shen Yushan all focused their attention on the little hands.
Sure enough, Xiao Yi held the small rattle steadily in his right hand. His fingers pinched the handle of the rattle and flexibly curled and loosened it back and forth. The rotation of the handle naturally drove the small hammers on both sides to hit the drum surface, making a regular "dong dong" sound.
Unlike most young children, she did not use both hands and shake it randomly. Instead, she seemed to have mastered the most labor-saving and efficient way to play without any instruction, with a control that was beyond her age.
This subtle point caused a momentary silence in the warm room. After a few breaths, Shen Yushan said with admiration, "I am not even as good as a one or two-year-old child... I am ashamed."
"Don't even mention you. Even I rubbed this rattle with both hands when I first got it today."
Everyone discussed Xiao Yi's action for a long time. Xiao Yuluan even started planning Xiao Yi's education: who would teach him, which great scholar would teach him, and what he would learn...
After half an hour, Xiao Yi, who was at the center of the discussion, suddenly said, "I'm sleepy."
This childish announcement, like a perfect pause, instantly interrupted the heated discussion about the future blueprint in the warm room.
Everyone was stunned, and then burst into laughter.
Xiao Yuluan was the first to react. She caressed her great-granddaughter's soft head lovingly and said softly, "Yes, we were so excited talking that we forgot the time and woke up our Yi'er."
Qing Wu quickly stood up and took her daughter from Xiao Yuluan's arms. As soon as the little girl fell into her mother's warm embrace, she leaned her little head on her shoulder with great dependence.
Xiao Ji also stood up and bowed to Xiao Yuluan, saying, "Your Majesty, it's getting late, and Yi'er is tired. Let's take her back to the East Palace first."
Xiao Yuluan nodded and said, "Go back quickly, be careful not to catch a cold."
Yuzhu stepped forward from the side and handed over the cloak. After the mother and daughter were ready, Xiao Ji held his daughter and walked out of Minghua Hall side by side with Qingwu.
The chill of the winter night hit him, and he carefully wrapped his daughter's cloak tighter.
After taking a few steps, he subconsciously turned around, only to see Shangshu Ling Shen Yushan still standing in the brightly lit corridor of Minghua Palace.
Xiao Ji was a little confused. He stopped and turned around to ask with concern: "Minister Shen, it's getting late and cold. Why don't you go back home early? If there is anything, why not discuss it with His Majesty tomorrow?"
As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Shen Yushan was stunned and hesitated to speak.
Qing Wu even pinched Xiao Ji's arm directly. Xiao Ji was slightly startled and looked at Qing Wu in confusion. Qing Wu said with a forced smile:
"The Minister of the Chancellery may have something urgent to do. Let's go back quickly. Yi'er can't stand the cold."
After saying that, he dragged Xiao Ji out. When they were quite far away, Qing Wu scolded him, "Why are you so tactless?"
At this time, Xiao Ji still didn't notice, "What's wrong?"
Seeing that he was still bewildered, Qing Wu couldn't help but feel both angry and amused. She lowered her voice and pointed out, "Lord Shen and Grandma don't have an ordinary monarch-subject relationship."
Xiao Ji paused: "What do you mean...?" He turned his head to look in the direction of Minghua Palace and saw the last figure of Shen Yushan entering the palace.
"He had an old relationship with my grandmother when he was young..."
Xiao Ji was stunned for a few seconds before reacting and stammering, "Old...old love?"
"What else do you think?" Qing Wu saw that he finally understood and glanced at him helplessly, "If not, why is Minister Shen still single?"
Xiao Ji was a little stunned by the shock of this information. Thinking of the tacit understanding and trust between his grandmother and Minister Shen that went beyond the relationship between a monarch and his subjects, it was indeed extraordinary.
"So that's how it is..." He muttered, and then a trace of annoyance appeared on his face, "Then I just..."
"It's really embarrassing." Qingwu's face was also slightly hot. It was not appropriate for them, the younger generation, to discuss the past affairs of their elders.
Xiao Ji coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment: "I was rash..."
He paused, his voice lowered, and looked up at Qing Wu, "The Minister of Chancellery seems to be quite a bit younger than Grandma, right? How did you know? ... Is there anything else?"
Now that Xiao Yuluan was the Empress, some of the people around her seemed normal to Xiao Ji, just like Emperor Yang, who, even after reaching sixty, still had many handsome men by his side. The fact that Grandma was next to the Minister of the Chancellery was already quite acceptable.
"How would I know... This is a secret between us women. As for whether there are other secrets...wouldn't it be better if you had someone observe a few?"
It is wrong to spy on the emperor, but he was spying on the emperor as a man.
Xiao Ji sent someone to inquire about this, and found out that besides Shen Yushan frequently entering and leaving the palace, the Marquis of Zhenbei was no less frequent. It was also heard that the new top scholar from last year was also quite favored by His Majesty...
Oh, that number one scholar just turned thirty this year. Because his grandparents and parents died one after another, he couldn't take the imperial examinations for eight years. It wasn't until last year that he finally won the first place. Of course, he's still single at an advanced age...
Good guy, really good guy...
"Is it true? Qingqing, please tell me about it."
The Crown Prince said this coquettishly after coaxing his daughter back to sleep.
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