LF Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Extra (2)

In the third month of the spring season, a magnificent scene unfolded within the palace, with a hundred flowers blooming in the Imperial Garden, and orioles and swallows singing sweetly among the branches.

Today was Your Majesty’s birthday banquet. Civil and military officials, members of the royal family, and aristocratic families were all invited. The palace was filled with joy, and the Imperial Garden was teeming with visitors.

On Your Majesty’s birthday, there were naturally countless congratulatory memorials from officials to be processed. Three-year-old Jiang Yinghua watched her father being pestered by a group of old men offering congratulations and felt utterly bored. She abandoned the large character “Longevity” she had just practiced and dragged her attending nanny and Hua Yan to join the festivities in the Imperial Garden.

Arriving in the garden, she found a sea of people, making it extremely noisy. The small child imitated her father, putting her hands behind her back, frowning, and complaining, “Noisy.”

The teaching nanny behind her chuckled softly, “Ninth Princess, if you don’t like it, let’s go back to Chengming Hall.”

Jiang Yinghua pouted her small mouth, her big eyes rolled around, and she pointed to the viewing pavilion at the highest point in the garden, “This Princess wants to go there, to have a panoramic view.”

The little one was not big, but her ability to quote scriptures was considerable. A group of people followed her up, and naturally, food, drink, and entertainment were prepared for them.

She stood at the railing, looking around, her eyes fixed on a girl in the pavilion in the middle of the lake for a long time. The girl looked about ten years old, with twin buns on her head, dressed in a plain, light blue silk dress, with a layer of light lotus-colored gauze on the outside, holding a book in her hands, reading with great interest.

Jiang Yinghua lowered her eyes to look at the lotus-colored palace dress she was wearing and felt displeased. She pointed to the girl in the pavilion and said to Hua Yan coquettishly, “Do you know who that is? She’s wearing the same color as me, doesn’t that count as overstepping?”

“Your Highness, today officials of the fifth rank and above can bring their families to the banquet, how would this servant know who she is? Besides, she can wear this color, it’s not considered irregular.”

Hua Yan, not very old herself, naturally didn’t recognize her, but having grown up with Jiang Yinghua, she knew her temperament. “Why don’t we go back and change clothes? How about wearing the newly made vermilion-colored phoenix brocade little jacket?”

Jiang Yinghua didn’t say anything, she just kept staring at this unique person. In such a noisy environment, she could actually read a book, which was quite novel.

Suddenly, a mischievous thought popped into her head. She picked up a small pastry from the table beside her and forcefully threw it down from above. Her body flashed nimbly, hiding behind a pillar, so she wouldn’t be discovered.

Mo Xueyan in the pavilion was quietly appreciating poetry when suddenly an almond crisp fell in front of the table, shattering into pieces with a “thump.” She stood up in surprise and looked around, but found nothing.

She collected the crumbs on a silk handkerchief and instructed the maid beside her, “Collect it and find a place to throw it away.” Then she picked up the book again to read.

“Bookworm!” Jiang Yinghua, seeing that her first attack had failed, got the idea of teasing her. She threw all the pastries in a dish as a game, and when she saw Mo Xueyan looking around in confusion, she chuckled.

Suddenly, the hem of a crimson purple brocade dress appeared behind her, and a pair of large hands grabbed her collar directly, lifted her up, and carried her back to the room in the pavilion. “You’re always making trouble, as soon as I don’t keep an eye on you, you cause chaos. Come with me back to the palace to study.”

“Mother~” Seeing who it was, Jiang Yinghua lowered her head and acted cute, “Today is father’s birthday, give Hua’er a day off. Mother, let go, don’t be fierce to Hua’er.”

The three-year-old child was like a little meatball, but not heavy. The Empress held her up without feeling tired. Knowing that if she put her down, she wouldn’t be obedient, she didn’t care how hard the palace servants were trying to hold back their laughter, and carried her to Kunyi Palace. “Stop with your glib tongue, that trick doesn’t work on me.”

Jiang Yinghua’s little face was wrinkled, and half of her body was suspended as she was being grabbed, no longer speaking. As they walked along the palace road, they heard a palace servant announce, “Princess Jingchen has arrived.” Jiang Yinghua’s eyes lit up, and she raised her eyelids to look, calling out in a childish voice, “Elder Sister~”

Jiang Jingche had just entered the palace from the Princess Manor and had originally intended to greet her mother first. Seeing this scene and her mother’s dark expression, she bowed and said lightly, “Did this little thing cause trouble again?”

The Empress snorted coldly, “She’s never been obedient.”

Jiang Yinghua, as if she had found a life-saving straw, wriggled her short legs incessantly. The Empress reluctantly let her go, and she pounced straight at Jiang Jingche. Her small body only reached Jiang Jingche’s knees, and she hugged her leg and mumbled softly, “Sister, Mother is fierce.”

Jiang Jingche pulled her out from the complicated robes and said softly, “What mischief did you get into again? Tell me, let your sister see.”

“Um,” Jiang Yinghua tilted her small head, puffing up her chubby little face like a pufferfish, “No, I just teased a silly little sister I didn’t recognize.”

“She threw a dish of pastries at the back of the head of the Marquis’s daughter, and you don’t think you’re wrong?” the Empress questioned in a cold voice, “Wasting things is also inappropriate, all the rules and etiquette have been learned in vain.”

Jiang Yinghua timidly hid behind Jiang Jingche, her little hand pulling on Jiang Jingche’s scarf, wrinkling it, and whispering, “I was wrong, okay?”

Jiang Jingche chuckled and said softly to the Empress, “Mother, Hua’er is still young, please don’t be angry, just teach her slowly.”

Seeing that Jiang Jingche was willing to mediate, Jiang Yinghua poked her little head out and looked up at Jiang Jingche, “Sister, let’s go find Father. You haven’t been to the palace for a long time, Father has been talking about you several times.”

Jiang Jingche knew this child’s tricks all too well. She just didn’t want to go to the Empress’s palace, and she didn’t dare to leave on her own, so she pulled someone to take the blame, to legitimately sneak back to find a backer.

“Father is meeting with ministers right now, would it be okay for Hua’er to play in Mother’s palace for a while?” Jiang Jingche bent down, her face full of smiles, her voice unusually gentle.

Jiang Yinghua’s eyes rolled around, “Then sister go to my room, I learned several big characters today, I’ll write them for sister to see, okay?”

By all means, she just wouldn’t enter the Empress’s palace. The Empress saw through her thoughts, and since today was a good day, she didn’t plan to delve into it, “Che’er, go with her, come back later.”

Unable to resist the little ancestor, Jiang Jingche took Jiang Yinghua to the side hall of Chengming Hall. The two walked along the palace road bathed in the morning light, and the passing palace servants all looked at them with envy.

After nearly an hour of stalling, Jiang Yinghua had exhausted all her tricks, and there was nothing left to show off, so she couldn’t keep Jiang Jingche. She had no choice but to act cheeky and said with a smile, “Sister is the best, Hua’er won’t go find Mother, sister just say Hua’er is asleep, okay?”

Jiang Jingche raised her hand and gently flicked her forehead, “Little thing, you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve. If you really don’t want to go, just stay in the hall and be good. The palace is crowded today, don’t run around.”

“Mmm, mmm, mmm, Hua’er won’t go out, sister go find Mother quickly.” Jiang Yinghua’s wish had come true, her sister was no longer appealing, and she urged her to leave with a straightforwardness that showed she was definitely a simple person.

Jiang Jingche couldn’t do anything about this three-year-old younger sister. If she said she was stupid, she was usually clever and could write at three years old; if she said she was smart, she was habitually mischievous and clearly expressed her joys and sorrows.

Jiang Yinghua refused to leave, so she went to the Empress Dowager’s Palace to sit for a while. As it approached lunchtime, the mother and daughter came to Chengming Hall together. From a distance, they could hear the noise in the hall:

“Ooh~ Riding a horse, faster, faster, Father wants to be a BMW that travels a thousand miles a day, giddy up! Giddy up!” It was Jiang Yinghua’s gleeful voice.

“Clop, clop, clop, clop… Hua’er sit tight, Father is going to speed up… Clop, clop, clop…” This thick voice filled with joy and happiness was Your Majesty’s voice.

The mother and daughter in the corridor looked at each other, their faces very complicated. The Empress quickly entered and pushed open the palace door, only to see Jiang Yinghua riding on Your Majesty’s neck, her little hands patting his back, laughing particularly cheerfully. And Your Majesty, panting, was running around the hall carrying the ancestor on his back, his face red.

Your Majesty was over forty years old, and the Empress was worried, so she stopped him, “Your Majesty, stop, how can you let a child ride on your head and make trouble?” After saying that, she took a deep breath and glared at Jiang Yinghua, “You’re becoming more and more presumptuous, come down!”

“I’m in a good mood today, so I’m playing with the child. Empress, don’t be angry, don’t scare my little Hua’er, right?” Your Majesty steadily placed her on the ground and raised his hand to pat her little head.

In front of Your Majesty, Jiang Yinghua was fearless and nodded particularly mischievously, “Mmm, mmm, mmm.”

Jiang Jingche entered and bowed to Your Majesty, “Father,” then turned her eyes to Jiang Yinghua’s fancy little face and teased, “Hua’er, what did you draw on your face?”

“It’s the character ‘King,’ Hua’er wants to be the king of the forest, a little tiger.” Jiang Yinghua pointed to the cinnabar mark on her forehead and replied very proudly.

Jiang Jingche was puzzled, “Why do you want to be a little tiger for no reason?”

“Because Father said, Mother is a ‘tigress,’ then Hua’er is a little tiger, roar.” Jiang Yinghua blinked her big eyes, speaking very seriously, and accompanied it with a funny face, stretching out two fleshy little paws to gesture like a tiger showing its power.

Before she finished speaking, the three adults present were already full of black lines. The Empress’s glare at Your Majesty was carrying 100% lethality. The old father, who had been miserably tricked by Jiang Yinghua, drooped his head rather awkwardly, covered his forehead with his hand, and remained silent.

Jiang Jingche, who was on the side, glanced at this troublemaking little thing with a complicated expression, and quickly bowed to the two petrified Buddhas, “Child withdraws.” After saying that, she pulled the ignorant and innocent Jiang Yinghua and quickly fled this tense and dangerous place.

They had only walked a few steps when they heard a helpless and aggrieved voice from behind, “Che’er, take her to your manor tonight, I don’t want her anymore.”

“Huh? Why doesn’t Father want Hua’er anymore?” Before Jiang Jingche could answer, Jiang Yinghua blinked her big round eyes, looked back, and took the opportunity to break free from Jiang Jingche’s hand.

Jiang Jingche simply scooped her up from the ground and carried her away. Jiang Yinghua struggled unhappily, flapping her arms, pouting her mouth and said, “Sister put me down, Father hasn’t answered me yet.”

“Think clearly, Mother’s stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat will definitely have your share.” Jiang Jingche pinched her little face lightly, “Are you going to play by the lake, or go back?”

Jiang Yinghua laughed happily when she heard this, “Hahaha the tigress is going to show her power, then I’m going to play by the lake.”

“Living ancestor.” Jiang Jingche muttered unhappily, let go of her hand and wanted to put her on the ground, but the little one clung to her neck and refused to come down. She had no choice but to pretend to be annoyed and scare her, “Hurry down and walk on your own, you’re so heavy. What will it look like if the foreign ministers see you later?”

Just as they arrived at the lakeside, several daughters of aristocratic families came to greet Jiang Jingche. Jiang Yinghua took the opportunity to sneak off to play elsewhere. Suddenly, she heard several young masters in front of her discussing:

“Princess Jingchen has long reached the age for marriage, but Your Majesty is hesitant to decide, I wonder whose family she will end up in?”

“I heard that today’s banquet has invited young masters from various families, so there is an intention to choose a good husband for the Second Princess. I wonder which of you brothers will have the honor of winning the beauty.”

“Yo, let’s brothers say quietly, the Princess’s arrogant temperament, whoever gets her back, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to subdue her, ahahaha.”

Little Jiang Yinghua knew very little about human affairs, but hearing them coveting her own sister in a strange tone, she was so angry that her face turned red and her neck was thick. Turning around to find a stone to throw, she saw a palace servant passing by with a decorative lantern and directly grabbed it and threw it towards the corridor where those people were.

“Ninth Princess, you can’t!” The palace servant was flustered, and when she saw the candle inside burning the young master’s robe, she was dumbfounded. A clever one quickly went to find Jiang Jingche, who was not far away, “Second Princess, something bad happened, Ninth Princess set someone on fire!”

“What?” Jiang Jingche was shocked, lifted her skirt and hurried to find the troublemaking ancestor, only to see the person standing with her hands on her hips, looking angrily at the young master rolling on the ground and putting out the fire on his body.

“Hua’er!” Jiang Jingche’s face showed anger, “Today is Father’s birthday, how can you be so reckless?”

“They bullied sister,” Hearing Jiang Jingche’s angry reprimand, Jiang Yinghua pursed her small mouth, and big pearls of tears slid down her eyes aggrievedly, “They all want to marry sister, and they said it so badly, wuwuwu…”

Jiang Jingche was stunned for a moment. This little thing would actually protect someone and stand up for them? Although the method was wrong, it sounded particularly comfortable.

Seeing that she was crying as soon as she said it, her face full of tears, Jiang Jingche’s anger completely disappeared, and she stepped forward to pick her up, “Okay, don’t cry, sister will take you to another place.”

The palace servant looked blank. How should the arson be handled? They boldly asked, “Your Highness, these young masters here?”

“Throw them in the lake.”

Jiang Jingche left without looking back, leaving behind a group of palace servants looking at each other. At this time, the little one lying on Jiang Jingche’s shoulder stuck out her tongue at the group of people rather smugly.