Chapter 68: The Palace, Full of Danger

The young heir refused to let Yao Yao go forward, and the emperor’s expression turned slightly unpleasant.

What did the Chengming Marquis’s son mean by this?
Was he afraid the emperor would bully a little girl?

He was the dignified Son of Heaven—how could he possibly do such a thing?

He merely wanted to summon Yao Yao over to ask her a few questions.

The empress was the first to notice the emperor’s displeasure. Fearing he might lose his temper again like he often did and frighten the children, she quickly spoke up before the emperor could say anything else:
“Young Lord, you come over too.”

Hearing the empress’s instruction, the guarded look in the young heir’s eyes slightly eased.

Before entering the palace, Madam Wei had instructed him to take good care of Yao Yao.

He must not allow her to go in and never come back.

Xie Yixing met the empress’s kind gaze and pulled Yao Yao a few steps forward.

The emperor saw how obedient the two children were to the empress and couldn’t help but let out a laugh, half angry, half amused.

The Chengming Marquis’s son was certainly protective.

He wasn’t a fierce person—why were they so wary of him?

The empress hadn’t expected her words to work so well either. Her gaze lingered affectionately on the two children.

Now that they were closer, the empress caught the joy sparkling in Yao Yao’s eyes.

“Auntie, you’re so beautiful!”

Yao Yao praised the empress without the slightest hesitation.

Standing behind her, Nanny Fang drew in a sharp breath. Though the empress had a gentle temperament, she was still the mother of the nation. Even the noble girls visiting today—including the empress’s own niece, Xu Sangning—didn’t dare speak to her in such a casual tone.

Though it was true the empress was beautiful, only the emperor had the right to say so.

The empress’s ears turned red from Yao Yao’s straightforward praise.

The emperor, noticing the pink flush beneath the empress’s fair skin, felt his heart stir slightly.

Even after becoming a mother, her skin was still as thin as it was back then.

In an instant, the emperor felt as if he were transported back to the days just after he had married her.

“What about me?”

The emperor eagerly looked toward Yao Yao.

His imperial pride didn’t allow him to be ignored.
But Yao Yao opened her big, bright eyes and tilted her head in confusion.
“‘Zhen’—who’s that? Is that your name?”

(T/N: “Zhen” is the imperial first-person pronoun used by the emperor.)

“Outrageous! How dare you question His Majesty’s title!”

A nearby palace attendant immediately stepped forward to scold Yao Yao for her impudence.

To show such disrespect to the emperor—no matter how powerful the Chengming Marquis was, he wouldn’t be able to save her.

Startled by the loud voice, Yao Yao’s round and chubby body gave a frightened shudder.

Xie Yixing saw the fear flash across her face. His brows furrowed sharply, and a cold glare immediately shot toward the palace servant.

Who did he think he was, daring to shout at Yao Yao?

The palace attendant felt his scalp go numb under that piercing glare. Before he could even look to the emperor for help, the empress spoke coldly and ordered him out of the hall.

The empress had also noticed Yao Yao’s fear. She asked gently:
“Yao Yao, didn’t someone tell you what kind of place this is before you came to the palace?”

“They did,” Yao Yao blinked her big eyes.
“Nanny Zhao told me there’s lots of delicious food in the palace, and I should eat as much as I can—because once I go home, I won’t get to eat like that again.”

“So you came here just to eat and drink for free?”

The emperor had originally planned to scold her.
But after hearing Yao Yao’s sincere answer, his anger completely vanished.

She was just a clueless little girl. As the emperor, why should he take offense?

But when she heard the words “eat and drink for free,” Yao Yao wasn’t pleased.
“I didn’t come here to freeload. It was Brother Persimmon who had to enter the palace, and I came to accompany him.”

Even back at the marquis’s residence, Aunt Wei treated her very well!

The pastries at the marquis’s manor weren’t as fancy as those in the palace, but they suited her taste perfectly.

Yao Yao stared at the emperor with righteous indignation.
Her chubby, fair face showed clear discontent toward the man in front of her.

The emperor hadn’t expected that after letting the girl off the hook for her disrespect, she would now be holding him accountable instead.

What a bold, carefree little girl.

Yao Yao kept staring at the emperor, and for some reason, he began to feel strangely familiar to her.

Though Xie Yixing hadn’t spoken a word, a hint of displeasure also flickered in his expression.

Just as the emperor was about to get some answers from Yao Yao, Li Yunsheng arrived with Noble Lady Yuan.

She wore a long white gown that trailed to the floor, with delicate butterflies embroidered at the collar. Her black hair was pinned up with a silver butterfly hairpin. She looked elegant and graceful.

Noble Lady Yuan gave a formal bow.
As she raised her eyes, her gaze swept to the chubby girl standing beside the empress—and her calm expression instantly rippled with emotion.

Was she imagining things?

Why did the little chubby girl beside the empress look so much like Yao Yao?

Noble Lady Yuan had grown up in the southern frontier, learning horseback riding, archery, and martial arts from her father and brothers. She had lived freely and boldly.

Until last year, when her father went to war and was ambushed by enemy forces, forced to commit suicide.

After his death, her brother took over his position to defend the border.

Her birth mother had passed early, and now her father was gone too.

Afraid it would affect her marriage prospects if she stayed too long in the south, her brother petitioned the emperor for a good match on her behalf.

Unexpectedly, the emperor directly brought her into the palace as a consort.

Perhaps to the emperor, marrying the Son of Heaven was the best possible match.

Since then, she had been trapped within the palace walls, losing her freedom.

Back when she was still in the south, Noble Lady Yuan often visited the Yu family with her father.
She had been childhood best friends with the eldest daughter of the Yu family.

Even after entering the palace, she had tried all means to correspond with her friend through letters.

Just a short while ago, she learned the Yu family had returned to the capital.
She originally wanted to request permission from the empress to leave the palace and visit them.

But unexpectedly, the Yu family was suddenly convicted and their household raided.

She learned the male members were to be executed after the New Year, and the women were to be sent to military brothels.

She had been ready to spend her own dowry to bribe officials and buy the women’s way out.
But before she could send the money, she heard their punishment had changed from brothel conscription to exile.

Yet exile was still unbearable, so she still wanted to use her money to ease their suffering on the journey.

Then, after the empress became pregnant, the emperor issued a general amnesty.
The Yu family’s women were once again reclassified—not exiled, but enslaved.

Everything happened so fast, she didn’t even know where to send the money anymore.

Fortunately, she had already contacted her brother and friends in the capital.
She begged them to use money and connections to buy the Yu family’s madam, eldest daughter, and Yao Yao from slavery.

She would never let them suffer at the hands of strangers.

Maybe she missed the Yu family too much—so she had started seeing illusions.

At the same time, Yao Yao’s eyes lit up the moment she saw Noble Lady Yuan.

It was Sister Yuan!

Yao Yao hadn’t expected that she’d see Sister Yuan on this palace visit.

She hadn’t seen her in such a long time. Her older sister once told her that Sister Yuan had gotten married.

At first, she didn’t understand what “getting married” meant—until her sister told her that Sister Yuan had gone to live in the capital.

Later, when their family also moved to the capital, they still didn’t see Sister Yuan.

Yao Yao pestered her older sister to take her to visit, but was told that they couldn’t enter the place where Sister Yuan lived.

So Sister Yuan was in the palace!

Noble Lady Yuan noticed the chubby little girl smiling brightly at her from a distance.

Just as she was about to speak, a handsome young boy beside her covered her mouth.

Fortunately, the emperor and empress’s attention was still on Noble Lady Yuan, so they didn’t notice the two children’s little exchange.

Xie Yixing had immediately noticed Yao Yao’s excitement.

He instinctively tried to figure out why she was suddenly so animated.

Following her gaze to Noble Lady Yuan, a wave of unease washed over him.

Yao Yao was still young, and her willpower was weak.

Could it be that she was impressed by all the beauties in the palace and wanted to stay?

No wonder his mother had warned him to keep a close eye on her.

The palace truly was full of danger!