Chapter 62: Sneaking in Huahua

Beyond his appearance, the Empress was more curious about his temperament.

She hadn’t heard any reports of the young heir of the Marquis of Chengming getting into disputes with anyone along the way.

Although he had harmed Princess Junhe on New Year’s Eve, the Emperor hadn’t pursued the matter—not merely for the sake of the Marquis, but also because the princess was partially at fault.

The Empress had later sent people to the teahouse to investigate what had happened, and learned that there had been a young girl with Xie Yixing at the time—around four or five years old, plump and round.

Originally, she had assumed that any girl close to the young heir would be a child of the Wei family, but the teahouse owner had revealed that the girl he had protected—even defying the princess to do so—was just an ordinary servant girl.

The Empress’s gaze subconsciously shifted toward Xie Yixing’s side, and sure enough, she spotted a small, chubby-faced little girl.

She was indeed quite adorable—no wonder the young heir liked her.

The Empress did not call them forward, but after saying a few words, she instructed her son and a few of the palace’s other princes and princesses to take the children out to stroll through the gardens.

It wasn’t time for the banquet yet, and with her pregnancy far along, she didn’t have the energy to entertain everyone personally. She allowed the children to spend time together and bond.

The Emperor had sent word that once he finished his duties, he would join her for the meal.

But the Empress suspected he had ulterior motives. For years, the Marquis of Chengming had hidden his son away, always making excuses when the Emperor invited him to bring the boy to palace banquets. Now that he had finally relented, the Emperor must be eager to get a good look at the child.

The Empress figured the Emperor’s hope of mocking the Marquis would be dashed.

He had often joked to her that the Marquis must be keeping his son hidden because he was too ugly to be seen in public. But as it turned out, not only was the boy not ugly—he was even more handsome than many of the Emperor’s own sons.

After tonight, the Emperor might be nursing another blow to his pride.

The Empress made an excuse that she needed to rest for a while and waved at Xu Sangning. “You’re about the same age as the other young ladies. You’re bound to have much in common. Your grandfather rarely lets you leave the estate, so take this opportunity to enjoy yourself.”

Xu Sangning obediently left the hall, but as soon as she stepped outside, she was surrounded by three young noble boys.

She recognized them immediately—the young grandson of the Duke of Anguo, the grandson of an official in the Hanlin Academy, and the youngest son of the Assistant Minister of Revenue.

She gave a polite bow and tried to walk around them, but they blocked her path, forming a human wall. “Where is Miss Xu heading? Why don’t we accompany you?”

Though young, the three boys were already quite arrogant and domineering.

In this group were many spoiled sons and daughters of noble families, raised with privilege and indulgence. Most of them looked down on each other, and only a few formed cliques based on shared temperaments.

They had long heard that the granddaughter of the Duke Xu’s family was a peerless beauty, and upon seeing her today, they were indeed amazed.

Despite their young age, they were no strangers to the ways of women—having grown up among sisters and maids.

In fact, two of them already had families selecting personal maids for them—clean and healthy girls to be raised in their quarters for a few years to nurture feelings and make future arrangements easy.

Such practices were not uncommon in noble households, but Wei Shi disdained the idea of her son being surrounded by such vulgarity from a young age. Plus, Xie Yixing himself disliked too much social interaction, and the marquis’s household had few people and a quiet back courtyard, so it remained untainted.

Among the three boys, the Duke of Anguo’s grandson held the highest status. He brazenly looked Xu Sangning up and down, a smirk playing on his lips. “Sangning-meimei, why so quiet? Is it because you’re shy and don’t know what to say?”

Xu Sangning sensed their ill intentions. Though fear flashed in her eyes, she reminded herself that this was the imperial palace—not a place where they could act out as they pleased. They wouldn’t dare do anything to her here.

But the more silent she remained, the more enthusiastic the three boys became.

“Miss Xu, just because you have an empress for an aunt, you think you can ignore the grandson of the Duke of Anguo? That’s some nerve you’ve got.”

“I-I didn’t…”

Xu Sangning was alone, surrounded by the three of them, with no way to escape.

At that moment, Yao Yao—who was currently hiding under a pillar stuffing pastries into her mouth with Xie Yixing—caught sight of the trembling figure not far away. She immediately recognized her as the girl who had spoken to her earlier.

Her eyes widened, and she stared straight ahead, even forgetting to finish the pastry in her hand.

“Brother Persimmon, what are they doing?”

Yao Yao pointed at the four locked in a stalemate, her eyes filled with confusion.

She wasn’t far away and could clearly see the panic flashing across Xu Sangning’s face.

Xie Yixing glanced over briefly but had no interest in getting involved. Despite his parents repeatedly warning him to fake illness during the palace visit, he treated their advice like wind in his ears—completely indifferent.

Besides, the courtyard was filled with pastries. If he pretended to be sick, how could Yao Yao enjoy them?

He used more pastries to distract her curiosity and had no intention of meddling.

Yao Yao’s bright eyes sparkled with joy as she looked at all the delicious treats she had never seen or tasted before.

“There are so many good things to eat in the palace! Yao Yao wants to live here forever!”

At her words, Xie Yixing’s expression darkened. “If you stay in the palace, what about me?”

He was definitely going back to the marquis’s residence. If Yao Yao stayed in the palace, they’d be separated.

No way. He wouldn’t allow that to happen.

If he hadn’t reminded her, Yao Yao wouldn’t have even thought about it. A moment later, the little girl began to pout.

Did this mean she couldn’t enjoy pastries and be with Brother Persimmon at the same time?

Why couldn’t Brother Persimmon just move into the palace?

Nanny Wu seemed to sense the little girl’s confusion and quickly crouched down, brushing the frost from her shoulder and whispering, “Yao Yao, you mustn’t speak carelessly here.”

Yao Yao nodded. She had already remembered this rule before entering the palace. It was just that everything here was so unfamiliar to her.

Although Xie Yixing had been briefly displeased, he soon realized that Yao Yao had stayed by his side the whole time, undisturbed by others. Wasn’t this basically their own little world?

The thought made him smile uncontrollably. But just as he was happily feeding Yao Yao pastries, a faint hissing sound came from Yao Yao’s pocket.

Not only did he hear it, but Nanny Wu also did.

Her face instantly turned pale—worse than if she had eaten dirt—and she immediately grabbed Yao Yao’s arm, her eyes nearly bulging out of her head. “Yao Yao! Don’t tell me… you brought Huahua here?”

Yao Yao stopped chewing, blinked, and guiltily lowered her little fist to tug at the hem of her clothes.

Though she said nothing, her expression betrayed her.

Nanny Wu glanced nervously around. She hadn’t expected the usually well-behaved Yao Yao to secretly bring her little snake, Huahua, into the palace.

If someone found out… it would be a capital offense!

If only she had thought to check Yao Yao’s pockets beforehand! Who would have thought they’d contain not only pastries—but also a snake!