Chapter 643

Chapter Four: The Three Little Ones and Niannian (4)

“Father, I didn’t expect her to be Niannian either.” The Third Prince awkwardly rubbed his nose. What a coincidence.

“Thankfully, our Niannian was found by Brother Yu, wasn’t she? If someone else had found her, your Brother Yu wouldn’t even have a place to cry,” Zhu Jingchen said cheerfully as he held Niannian in his arms.

“Father, if someone else had found her, I wouldn’t have cried,” the Third Prince retorted.

“Niannian, would you like to marry this older brother?” Zhu Jingchen asked, looking at Niannian with eager anticipation.

After all, whenever he had brought up the idea before, Xu Heming had refused.

Now that Xu Heming was away from the capital, his daughter was in Zhu Jingchen’s hands.

Wouldn’t that mean he got to decide?

Besides, as long as Niannian agreed, whether Xu Heming approved or not would hardly matter.

“Father, I’m still young.” The Third Prince hurriedly spoke up without even thinking.

He still hadn’t recovered from the shock of discovering that Niannian was actually Xu Qingshi’s ugly little sister.

He was only ten years old. How could he decide on a marriage so soon?

“Imperial Uncle, what does ‘marry’ mean?” Niannian asked, blinking her big eyes in confusion.

Zhu Jingchen was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“Marrying Brother Yu means that you’ll live with him every day from now on.”

“Does Brother Yu have a mother at home?” Niannian tilted her little head and thought for a moment before asking.

“Of course he does. Isn’t the Empress your Brother Yu’s mother?” Zhu Jingchen said, pointing to the Empress beside him.

Niannian tilted her head and looked at the Empress, then at the Third Prince. With a hint of grievance in her voice, she asked, “But the Empress isn’t Niannian’s mother, is she? If Niannian marries Brother Yu, will the Empress become Niannian’s mother?”

“You little darling. As long as you marry Brother Yu, I’ll be your mother,” the Empress said, covering her mouth as she laughed at Niannian’s adorable expression.

The Third Prince watched from the side as both his father and mother fussed over the little girl.

He felt a little unhappy.

What bothered him most was that they now wanted him to marry this little girl.

Although she was pretty now, he still couldn’t forget how ugly Niannian had looked when she was born.

What if their children turned out just as ugly?

At the thought, the Third Prince shook his head repeatedly.

“Father, Mother, I don’t want to marry her,” he said anxiously.

“Why not?” The Empress looked at her son in confusion. After all, hadn’t he liked the little girl very much when he brought Niannian back?

“She’s too ugly,” the Third Prince blurted out.

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‍entire Kunning Palace fell silent for a moment.

Niannian, who had been smiling brightly, immediately lowered her head. She had understood what Brother Yu said: he had called her ugly.

Her lips trembled, and tears quickly filled her eyes.

“Niannian isn’t ugly. Niannian isn’t ugly at all,” she said aggrievedly.

“That’s right. Our Niannian isn’t ugly. Our Niannian is a little beauty. Someone simply has no eyes,” Zhu Jingchen quickly comforted Niannian, who looked ready to cry, while glaring at the Third Prince.

The Empress’s lips twitched. Her son’s reason was completely indefensible.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” she scolded the Third Prince.

“Our Niannian isn’t ugly. She’s the prettiest little girl in the entire world,” the Empress said as she took Niannian from Zhu Jingchen’s arms and gently patted her back.

“Boo-hoo-hoo… But Brother said Niannian was ugly.” Niannian pointed at the Third Prince, then buried her little face in the Empress’s arms and sobbed.

“I didn’t say you were ugly,” the Third Prince said awkwardly when he saw how heartbroken she was.

He didn’t know how to explain that he really had thought Niannian looked ugly when he first saw her after she was born.

“I was talking about someone else being ugly,” the Third Prince added, afraid that Niannian would continue crying.

“Then does Brother think Niannian is pretty?” Niannian sniffed and looked at him nervously.

She was still too young to understand exactly what beautiful and ugly meant, but she knew that other people weren’t supposed to call her ugly.

The Third Prince looked at her delicate, doll-like face. It certainly had nothing to do with the word ugly.

He nodded and said, “Niannian isn’t ugly. Niannian is very cute.”

Niannian immediately broke into a smile. She slid out of the Empress’s arms, ran over to the Third Prince, took his little hand, and declared firmly, “Then Niannian will marry Brother.”

The Third Prince: “…”

The Third Prince was stunned. Hadn’t he merely complimented her?

How had that turned into her wanting to marry him?

“Niannian, you said it yourself. Imperial Uncle will issue an imperial decree arranging your marriage right now,” Zhu Jingchen said gleefully from the side.

“Your Majesty!” The Empress cast Zhu Jingchen an exasperated look before continuing, “We should wait until Prince An and Princess Consort of An return before discussing this.”

She silently added, If Prince An and Princess Consort of An find out that His Majesty lured their precious daughter away while they were gone, your son may not only lose his chance to marry Niannian—he may never even get to see her again.

“We’ll ask them when they return. I’ll ask them then.” Zhu Jingchen waved his hand dismissively. “Besides, Niannian has already agreed. Surely they can’t go back on their word?”

“Your Majesty, Niannian is still only a child.” The Empress sighed. She didn’t understand why Zhu Jingchen was being so childish about this matter.

“Grrr…”

A rumbling sound reached the ears of everyone present.

They all turned toward it and discovered that Niannian was patting her little belly.

“Oh! My tummy is singing!” Niannian said, then looked at them with embarrassment.

“Someone come at once. Have the Imperial Kitchen prepare some food,” the Empress immediately ordered.

Who knew how long this child had been out?

Meanwhile, at Prince An’s residence—

“Search! Search properly! Even if you have to turn the entire Prince An’s residence upside down, find them for me!” Xu Qingshi’s face was ashen, and his voice trembled.

He didn’t dare imagine where the Three Little Ones could have gone.

The gatekeeper hadn’t seen any of them leave either.

Yet they had vanished as if they had disappeared into thin air.

What Xu Qingshi feared most was that an enemy had come and kidnapped the Three Little Ones.

“Moyu, go to the Li residence and bring my maternal uncle here.” After thinking it over, Xu Qingshi decided to summon Li Tingzhou. If an enemy really was behind this, Li Tingzhou might have a way to deal with it.

Moyu had just left when Xu Qingshi heard a rustling sound behind him.

Frowning, Xu Qingshi walked toward the source of the noise.

“Second Brother, hurry up!” A childish voice came from the corner by the wall.

“I can’t get through!” Pingping said anxiously from outside the wall.

He had eaten a little too much just now.

Now he couldn’t fit through the small hole.

His body had already made it into the residence, but his bottom was still stuck in the opening.

“Oh, honestly! Who told you to eat so much?” An’an planted her hands on her hips and looked at her second brother in annoyance.