Chapter 651

Chapter Twelve—The Three Little Ones: Niannian 12

“Watch your mouth!” The Empress glared unhappily at the Third Prince. Inwardly, she cursed the clueless boy. Did he not know that a wife had to be coaxed and pampered?

“Things here are more or less settled, but my parents are still in Jiangnan.” Niannian merely smiled shyly.

Naturally, she still had to return to Jiangnan. Although she had her uncle’s family in the capital, she still preferred the freedom and ease of life in Jiangnan.

“Your parents should be returning to the capital too, shouldn’t they?” The Empress glanced at her son, who was gazing at Niannian with such eager anticipation, and secretly found the sight amusing.

Even so, she turned gently toward Niannian, thinking that it would be wonderful if Niannian could become her daughter-in-law. The girl was obedient, sensible, and beautiful. Any children they had would surely be adorable. At the thought of a lovely little baby calling her Grandmother, the Empress could not help imagining the scene.

“Xu Qingshi’s marriage should be settled soon too, shouldn’t it?”

Before Niannian could answer, the Empress continued, “I still remember how your elder brother took things from your grandmother’s private collection and gave them to that little Gu girl.”

The Empress recalled how Xu Qingshi had sent no small number of gifts to the Grand Princess’s residence back then.

Worried that the gifts were too valuable, the people at the Grand Princess’s residence had brought them to Prince An’s Manor.

That was how The Old Princess learned that her grandson had actually taken those things to coax the little girl at the Grand Princess’s residence, who had been only a few days old at the time.

“Really?” Niannian had never heard any of this about her elder brother. She was exceedingly curious.

She had never imagined that her usually steady and composed elder brother could take things from his grandmother’s private collection just to make a little girl happy.

“Of course. At the time, your grandmother even thought he wanted to take those things to please your mother.” Thinking of it, the Empress could not help laughing as well.

“I had no idea that Big Brother secretly sent Sister Gu so many nice things. I’ll definitely have to ask him about it when I get back.” Niannian’s eyes curved into little crescents as she spoke.

The Third Prince noticed the smile in her eyes. He began wondering whether he ought to give her something as well.

Seeing that Niannian wore only a few plain hairpins, he thought that his mother must have plenty of beautiful jewelry. He would go and take some later, then give it to her.

For the moment, the Third Prince was so focused on giving Niannian jewelry that he forgot everything in the Empress’s palace had been custom-made according to the regulations for the Empress. Niannian would not dare wear any of it.

Seeing the way her son stared at Niannian without even blinking, the Empress shook her head. Back then, even when the Emperor had suggested arranging a marriage between them, this boy had been unwilling.

“Now that the Gu girl has already reached marriageable age, if your elder brother doesn’t return to the capital soon, she may end up becoming someone else’s wife.” The Empress looked at Niannian.

She was already thinking that once Xu Heming and Li Zhiwei returned to the capital, she would find a way to arrange the two young people’s marriage as well.

“Your Majesty, thank you for reminding me. I will certainly pass this along to my parents.” Niannian bowed to the Empress once more.

She was already thinking that she should pay a visit to the Gu family. She was curious to see what Sister Gu, the girl her elder brother had cared about since childhood, looked like now that she had grown up.

“There’s no hurry. The next time I invite Nuonuo to the palace, I’ll invite you as well. You’re about the same age, so I’m sure you’ll have plenty to talk about.” As she spoke, the Empress winked at Niannian.

Although she did not say it aloud, Niannian understood that the Empress wanted her to help keep an eye on things for her elder brother.

“Your Majesty, when Sister Gu comes to the palace, please don’t forget to invite me too,” Niannian said ingratiatingly.

The two exchanged a knowing smile. The Empress occasionally glanced at her son, thinking that she had secured quite a bit of time for the foolish boy to remain in the capital—and had also created another opportunity for Niannian to come to the palace.

As for whether her silly son could win the girl’s heart, there was nothing more she could do to help.

After all, if Niannian was unwilling, then even if the Emperor personally bestowed the marriage, Xu Heming would still find a hundred or a thousand excuses to refuse it.

At that thought, the Empress began to worry for her son again.

“Your Majesty, the Second Miss has arrived.” Eunuch Li’s voice came from outside.

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‍Second Miss he referred to was the Empress’s younger sister, Cheng Qingli. Even though Cheng Qingli had married Zhang Yanchu, the people in the Empress’s palace still familiarly addressed her as the Second Miss.

“Oh, my! Who is this beautiful young lady?” Cheng Qingli walked in from outside without waiting for the Empress to say anything.

She had been doted on by the Empress ever since childhood, and the Empress’s palace was as comfortable to her as her own family home.

This was something even the Emperor tacitly approved of.

The moment Cheng Qingli saw Niannian, her eyes lit up. She loved pretty young girls, but unfortunately, she had given birth to four troublesome sons instead.

Looking at Niannian’s radiant beauty, Cheng Qingli was dazzled. At the same time, she felt that the girl looked somewhat familiar.

Seeing the enthusiastic look in his maternal aunt’s eyes as she stared at Niannian, the Third Prince immediately stepped in front of Cheng Qingli.

“Aunt, what brings you to the palace? Aren’t you supposed to be at home looking after my cousins?”

The Third Prince did not know what else to say, so he came up with a clumsy excuse.

“Oh, Xiao San’er, move aside. Your cousins are old enough now. They can simply follow your uncle,” Cheng Qingli said. She did not understand why the Third Prince had suddenly brought up her children.

Besides, how could she be thinking about those troublesome boys right now? What she wanted was a sweet, soft little daughter.

“Greetings, Aunt Qing.” Niannian was startled at first, but then quickly realized that this must be Cheng Qingli, the owner of Qingyu Studio.

“You are… Niannian?” Cheng Qingli froze when Niannian addressed her as Aunt Qing.

Then she remembered that, apart from Wen Xiu’s children, the only ones who would call her that were Li Zhiwei’s children. And Li Zhiwei had only one daughter—Niannian.

“Aunt Qing, it’s been so long. How have you been?” Niannian smiled and nodded before asking politely.

“Oh, Niannian, I’m sorry! It’s been far too long since I last saw you. You’ve grown so beautiful that Aunt Qing couldn’t even recognize you. My goodness, how did you grow up to look like this?” Cheng Qingli stared at Niannian with undisguised envy. How had Li Zhiwei and Xu Heming been so lucky?

They had actually managed to have such a sweet and beautiful daughter.

“Niannian, why don’t you come stay at my house from now on?” Seeing how lovely Niannian was, Cheng Qingli could not help entertaining the thought of taking her home.

After all, her own household was full of boys. It hardly seemed fair.

The Third Prince immediately grew anxious when he heard this.

Could his aunt be planning to have Niannian become her daughter-in-law?

His eldest cousin was only two years younger than Niannian. The Third Prince could no longer sit still.

“Aunt, the cousins are still young. They’re at the age when they need to focus on building their futures,” the Third Prince said anxiously.