Chapter 188: Too Exciting

[Oh, who is that handsome man in the crowd?]

Held by the Tyrant King, Ah Bao spotted a very handsome face among the crowd.

Everyone quietly lowered their heads, except for one person who didn’t.

The Tyrant King followed Ah Bao’s gaze and asked, “Ah Bao, are you looking at Mr. Zhang?”

Ah Bao blinked her round eyes, “Handsome guy…”

[Zhang? Oh, that must be the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.]

Yes, yes.

The civil and military officials silently gave Ah Bao a thumbs-up in their hearts.

The little princess was incredibly smart; her guess was spot-on.

[The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is undeniably a handsome man. He just got married recently. I wonder if his wife knows about his habit of sniffing socks.]

[When others give gifts to Mr. Zhang, he refuses them. Those gifts are never right; Mr. Zhang’s favorite gift is socks! Socks!]

The Tyrant King’s handsome face froze.

He glanced at Zhang Deren.

Mr. Zhang was indeed very distinguished, standing out among the crowd. Many officials liked to visit Zhang Deren for tea and chat after court, discussing his daily maintenance secrets.

But who would have thought that the handsome Mr. Zhang had a peculiar liking for smelly socks?

He even liked to collect socks!

Among officials, who would give socks as gifts?

Mr. Zhang opened his mouth, wanting to leave, but also wanting to hear more from the little princess.

For a moment, he was stuck between leaving and staying.

Would others discover his little peculiarity?

If his colleagues found out, it would…

The Tyrant King carried Ah Bao out of the temple, and the temple immediately went dark.

Behind them, a crowd of people followed. No one wanted to leave; they wanted to stay closer to the little princess and enjoy more gossip.

Recently, the officials had been extremely busy with court affairs, their spirits strained from constant work. They never expected to stumble upon such an exciting scoop today!

It was thrilling!

Truly thrilling!

The court officials, eager for juicy gossip, were practically itching to hear it all at once.

But they were also afraid of becoming the next subject of gossip.

The Tyrant King was in particularly high spirits today. He took Ah Bao back to the Yihe Palace and spent the night there.

“Mr. Zhang, please wait!” The Great Uncle called out to Zhang Deren.

Zhang Deren, feeling quite uneasy, responded, “Great Uncle, what is it?”

“Cough, cough. Mr. Zhang, since it’s the New Year, I wanted to give you a gift. Also, you’ve taught me a lot about personal maintenance. I’d appreciate more advice in the future.”

Everyone knew the Great Uncle’s favorite concubine, Concubine Xin, was about twenty years younger than him. Naturally, the Great Uncle wanted to keep her happy by maintaining his appearance.

Zhang Deren was thrilled when he received the gift.

The Great Uncle had given him a packet of socks!

The socks he loved the most!

“Cough, Mr. Zhang…”

“Don’t worry, Great Uncle. I’ll take care of maintenance matters from now on. Feel free to come to me anytime.”

The Great Uncle was overjoyed.

Thanks to Ah Bao, the matter was resolved so easily, hahaha.

“Great Uncle, may I ask you something?” Zhang Deren pondered for a moment.

The Great Uncle replied generously, “Go ahead and ask!”

“Today in the temple, did you happen to hear the little princess’s thoughts?”

The Great Uncle was stunned. “No, I didn’t hear anything. What thoughts? You don’t mean you can hear the little princess’s thoughts, do you?”

Could the Great Uncle admit it?

He dared not.

After all, he had just learned about Zhang Deren’s secret. What if one day, he became the subject of gossip? He wouldn’t have a face to pretend otherwise.

“Do tell, what is the little princess thinking? I’m really curious.”

Zhang Deren’s lips twitched. What is she thinking?

Thinking about the juicy gossip of the officials!

Fortunately, the Great Uncle didn’t hear this. Zhang Deren was relieved.

Otherwise, he’d be mortified!

How would he interact with colleagues in the future?

Zhang Deren waved his hand, politely saying, “The little princess is only one year old. What could she be thinking? It’s probably just about eating and drinking, right?”

The Great Uncle glanced at Zhang Deren, unsure if he had heard the little princess’s thoughts like he did.

Seeing Zhang Deren’s response, it seemed he hadn’t heard them.

The Great Uncle felt pleased. Such a novel thing couldn’t be heard by just anyone, could it?

If it were true, he’d have struck gold!

The little princess clearly knew a lot. If he invited her to the Great Uncle’s residence… Could he possibly learn what he wanted through her thoughts?

Ahahaha.

The Great Uncle felt proud of this idea and decided to act on it.

He didn’t know that he would soon pay dearly for this thought.

The next day, Ah Bao, feeling groggy, was carried and woke up to see the Tyrant King’s ghastly face.

[Dad? My dad woke me up so early. Don’t tell me we’re going to court again.]

[Oh my, I get four days off a month at work. Why do I have to work every day as a baby?]

[Can I skip court today and get some good sleep?]

“Good girl, today Daddy has prepared lots of food for you at court, including baby food made by the royal chef. Go and have a look.” The Tyrant King cleverly used food as bait, which was obviously very effective.

As soon as Ah Bao heard the word “food,” she perked up instantly.

At the court, Ah Bao sat on the dragon throne, smashing walnuts with the imperial seal, and had a table full of roast duck and goose in front of her.

[Early in the morning and already roast meat, Daddy really understands me.]

The ministers, who had just lined up in the court, were momentarily startled.

Their gazes at the little princess were filled with confusion, but they were happy and excited.

Today was destined to be different. With the little princess here, the day would definitely be extraordinary.

[Strange, why do I feel like the officials are looking at me differently today? I don’t seem to have any new blemishes on my face. I remember Daddy even washed my face before I left this morning.]

The Tyrant King cleared his throat softly, “If you have matters to report, do so. If not, you may leave.”

The officials had little to report today.

After all, the New Year had just passed, and the emperor had been diligent and hardworking, reviewing memorials until late into the night and then returning to Yihe Palace to entertain the little princess. With this routine, there wasn’t much pending state business.

They were merely going through the motions.

Last night, none of the officials could sleep in their beds!

They had spent the whole night contemplating the bizarre phenomena of the previous evening.

And then, suddenly, the matter of hearing the little princess’s thoughts.

More than one official concluded that it was likely because they had bathed in the divine light in the temple, which allowed them to hear the little princess’s thoughts.

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