Chapter 652

Chapter Thirteen: The Three Little Ones—Niannian, Part 13

“You may not want to get married, but you can’t stop your cousins from doing so. As the ancients say, one should start a family before establishing a career. Your eldest cousin, Little Heng, is also at the age when he should be getting married.”

At first, Cheng Qingli had never considered marrying Niannian to her own son. But after hearing the Third Prince’s words, she suddenly saw the light.

That was right. She had never been able to give birth to a son, but if Li Zhiwei’s daughter married her own son, wouldn’t that solve her problem?

When Niannian was little, she had often followed Cheng Qingli around, calling her “Aunt Qing.”

“Oh, Little Niannian, you’re back! Why didn’t you tell your Aunt Qing? I would have taken you to Qingyu Pavilion for something delicious.” Cheng Qingli gazed eagerly at Niannian.

“Aunt Qing, I already went to Qingyu Pavilion yesterday. The food there is still as delicious as it was more than ten years ago. It’s just that when I went to eat, I couldn’t even get a table.” Niannian looked at Cheng Qingli with an aggrieved expression.

Cheng Qingli was stunned at first. Then she slapped her thigh and said remorsefully, “Oh, Niannian, this is your Aunt Qing’s fault. I didn’t make the proper arrangements. Next time you go, just give them my name. I’ll have a table reserved for you whenever you want. How does that sound?” Cheng Qingli looked at Niannian somewhat awkwardly.

“Then thank you, Aunt Qing. But promises are only words. Shouldn’t you give me some token to prove it?” Niannian coaxed her playfully.

“Of course.”

Without a second thought, Cheng Qingli handed Niannian the jade token representing the proprietor of Qingyu Pavilion.

“Auntie!”

The Third Prince could no longer hold back.

She had even given Niannian the jade token of Qingyu Pavilion. Could it be that his aunt really intended to let Cousin Heng compete with him for Niannian?

The more the Third Prince thought about it, the more anxious he became.

He turned to the Empress and asked, somewhat displeased, “Mother, aren’t you going to stop her?”

The Empress looked innocently at Cheng Qingli and Niannian, then at her son, who seemed to be in an extreme hurry. For a moment, she had no idea what he was thinking.

Li Zhiwei had always been close to Cheng Qingli. When Niannian was little, she had often followed her own younger sister around as well. Wasn’t it only natural that the two of them would be close?

“What’s wrong with him?” Cheng Qingli asked, puzzled. Her nephew, who usually avoided her whenever he saw her, had not only stayed behind this time but was also acting as though he were about to lose his temper. She turned to Niannian in confusion.

Had something happened before she arrived that she didn’t know about?

Niannian shook her head. She had no idea what was wrong with the Third Prince either.

Seeing her son’s frantic expression and then glancing at Niannian, the Empress sighed. Fine. For her son’s sake, she would help him.

“A Li, have you asked Zhaonan whether he agrees to your plan of having Niannian marry into your family?”

“Why would I need to ask him about something like that? I can make the decision myself.” Cheng Qingli failed to notice the meaningful look her elder sister was giving her. Her mind was entirely occupied with figuring out how to bring Niannian home with her.

“A Li, you should ask Little Heng about it too. After all, he’s the one who’ll be getting married. You can’t make the decision on his behalf.” The Empress thought to herself that she absolutely could not let her younger sister steal her future daughter-in-law.

“Sister, you don’t need to worry about that. Whatever I like best, Little Heng is sure to like as well.” Cheng Qingli was quite confident about this.

“Aunt Qing, are you talking about Little Heng? What does he look like now?” Remembering Wen Yiheng by Cheng Qingli’s side when they were children, Niannian felt a little nostalgic. Wen Yiheng was two years younger than her, and she had always used her status as his two-years-older older sister to order him around and send him on errands.

At the thought of it, a smile appeared on Niannian’s lips.

She really did miss those days. After all, she had always been the youngest one in the Prince An’s residence.

“Why don’t you come with your Aunt Qing to see him later? That boy has grown into quite a handsome young man.” Cheng Qingli smiled.

“I’ll have him take you to Qingyu Pavilion for something delicious,” she added.

“Sure! Then Niannian will have to make sure Little Heng brings enough money,” Niannian said with a smile.

“Niannian!” The Third Prince roared furiously upon hearing this.

“Your Highness?” Niannian looked at the Third Prince in confusion.

Had she said something wrong?

“Xiao San’er, what are you doing? Niannian hasn’t done anything to you.” Cheng Qingli looked at the Third Prince unhappily.

“Auntie, this has nothing to do with you.”

With that, the Third Prince shoved Cheng Qingli aside, grabbed Niannian, and pulled her toward the exit.

“Hey—”

Cheng Qingli was about to say something more, but the Empress stopped her.

“All right. Can’t you see what’s going on?” The Empress looked at her younger sister in exasperation.

“What?” Cheng Qingli stared at the Empress, utterly baffled.

“That boy likes Niannian,” the Empress said with a helpless sigh.

“Hm? So he wants to steal his cousin’s bride?” Cheng Qingli immediately became displeased upon hearing this.

“What do you mean, steal his cousin’s bride? Your son hasn’t even met Niannian yet. Yu’er and Niannian have known each other for years, and they already have an excellent relationship.” The Empress took her younger sister’s hand and explained with a laugh.

“Sis, you can’t favor your son like this. My son is no worse than yours. A good girl like Niannian is bound to be sought after by countless families—that’s only natural. Since they’re cousins, shouldn’t they compete fairly?” Cheng Qingli was thinking of her own son while also remembering that the other boy was her nephew. She couldn’t bear to give up, so in the end, she decided they could both let Niannian choose.

Niannian could marry whichever one she liked.

Imperial Garden

“Your Highness, please let go of me first.” Xu Niannian was inexplicably dragged along by the Third Prince. She felt she could barely keep up with his pace.

At that moment, she could clearly sense that the Third Prince was furious, but she had no idea what she had done to anger him.

“Xu ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‍Niannian, is toying with me really that amusing?” The Third Prince’s eyes were bloodshot as he gripped Niannian’s hand and questioned her.

“Your Highness, Niannian doesn’t know what you’re talking about.” For some reason, Niannian felt a sudden sense of panic.

She couldn’t understand it. How had the Third Prince suddenly become like this?

“Xu Niannian, I, Zhu Hanyu, have feelings for you! So can you please not marry Wen Yiheng?”

The Third Prince sighed. With no other choice, he gritted his teeth and looked at Niannian as he asked her.

“Huh?”

Niannian was stunned. He had feelings for her?

She hadn’t done anything, had she?

How had the Third Prince suddenly fallen for her?

“What? You said you would marry me and become my imperial consort. Are you trying to go back on your word now?”

Seeing that Niannian still looked utterly bewildered, the Third Prince could no longer hold back and questioned her.

“I—”

Niannian was just about to say that she had never promised to marry him, but then something seemed to surface in her mind. Perhaps she really had said it.

At that thought, Niannian’s face went pale.

Oh no. She had forgotten that she’d said something like that.

“I... I don’t remember.” In the end, Niannian decided to pretend she had forgotten. She absolutely could not admit it.

Otherwise, she was afraid she might never make it out of the imperial palace.