too! If there are any unfamiliar faces, I’ll have Madam Wen guide them.”Li Laotai nodded and replied, "Alright, don't worry too much. Just do your best. Everyone knows our family is just a small farm...The maidservant standing behind the woman immediately replied, “Our mistress is Princess Long.”
"Oh, it's Princess Chang. My apologies for the oversight."
Jia Yin continued to smile, "I thought His Royal Highness wouldn't be able to come today, after all, there are many things to attend to at home. I wonder how everything is being handled in your mansion"
"In the future, don't let them run out and cause trouble again. They've completely tarnished the reputation of Her Royal Highness the Princess."
"Fortunately, I saw the Princess today and learned about the misunderstanding before. Otherwise, I would have thought the Princess was abusing her power and had someone strong-arm people into buying things!"
The eldest princess's face darkened when she heard this, and she couldn't even pretend to be nonchalant.
She looked at Jia Yin up and down, very disbelieving.
I thought it was just a child, a few words of bullying and flattering the third princess, secretly letting out some anger for myself.
To her surprise, she only said one sentence while the others spoke numerous sentences, each piercingly hurtful and showing her no mercy whatsoever.
What do kids these days eat to grow up so smart!
She was furious, but unwilling to appear as a bully to others.
So she said, "The trivial matters in our household are nothing to trouble the County Princess with. He's just a dog servant, born from peasant mud legs, utterly foolish and inept at his work. He offended the County Princess that day."
"When I get back, I'll break his legs and teach him a lesson. A peasant like him should be working in the fields, not running around wherever he pleases."
The Crown Princess had good intentions in her heart, but her mouth had its own ideas. Her words were still veiled and suggestive.
Everybody in the house knows that the Li family came from a farming background.
They rose to prominence because they supplied abundant corn and potatoes.
The princess kept calling them "mud legs" and "broken dog legs." Wasn't she just talking about the Li family
Some people frowned, others bowed their heads as if they hadn't heard.
For a moment, everyone stood by and watched.
If Jia Yin were an ordinary child, she probably would have cried by now. After all, she had been targeted ever since she stepped into the room.
But luckily, she wasn't!
She blinked with wide eyes, holding up her exceptionally adorable chubby cheeks, looking at the princess, her expression brimming with astonishment.
"Oh dear, Your Highness, why are your mouth full of mud Don't you look down on farmers who work the land Do you find them dirty"
"Then you must be living on air, not eating the grain farmers grow But that can't be right, look at your figure, air wouldn't make you this plump!"
"Jia Yin looked up and down at the plump imperial princess, and suddenly slapped her thigh, "Oh, I know! The imperial princess must be living on pig fodder and bran!"
"In our village's pigsty, those fat pigs are raised plump and round by eating this!"
"Poof!" A slightly younger matron couldn't contain herself and let out a laugh, but then quickly covered her mouth, pretending to cough.
This cough seemed contagious. After a while, almost all the ladies in waiting covered their faces with their sleeves and began coughing violently.
Both the Empress Dowager and the Empress bowed their heads to drink tea.
I don't know if they drank the tea, but their arms were shaking...
The Crown Princess's face flushed red like pig liver. She was about to slam her hand on the table when the Empress spoke, "This girl is truly interesting. She won't even take a single loss."
Jia Yin smiled, showing a row of small white teeth, and replied, "The Empress Dowager is wise! My foster father said that if you are in the right, there is nothing to fear."
"If I'm right, why should I suffer a loss That thing isn't tasty anyway. Wouldn't it be better to eat candy or fruit or some snacks"
The Empress Dowager also smiled and instructed the maidservants beside her, "Bring a stool for the county princess and have her sit by my side."
"This little girl is so perceptive. Come closer to this Empress, so that I can also bask in your aura."
Jia Yin politely bowed and thanked everyone before sitting down.
This sitting seemed to soothe away all the prickles on her body.
After that, even though the third princess glared at her from time to time, she didn't say another word.
Earlier, she took advantage of her youth to rebuke the princess, expressing that children of the Li family were not to be bullied.
People at most thought she was sharp-tongued, but more often they said the Princess was useless, unable to even bully a child properly.
But if she keeps talking nonstop and attacking indiscriminately, then it gets annoying.
It would also make people think that the Li family is arrogant and their children are poorly raised...
Thus, after about half an hour, Jia Yin had her fill of watching these ladies of the court exhaust themselves trying to please the Empress Dowager and Empress. Finally, someone came to report that the banquet was about to begin.
Then, everyone surrounded the Empress Dowager and the Empress as if they were stars surrounding the moon, escorting them out.
Jia Yin retreated gracefully to the back, followed by Grandma He and Shui Ling at a leisurely pace.
As for Shui Yun, he has been watching the birthday cake, never leaving its side!
Although the cake was given to Mr. Yi, whether it is inspection or subsequent safety assurance, it's all up to Mr. Yi.
But the origin of the cake, if it truly came from Baiyun Guan, ultimately means they would still be implicated in any trouble.
Su Yun is calm and collected, speaks little, but she's very reliable, so entrusting this matter to her is the most suitable choice.
The lord, Li Laoer, Mr. Wen, and several familiar officials were gathered together chatting.
Both the Lord and Li Er had some distractions.
There's no other reason, I just keep thinking about that chubby little one!
Although Master Feng is around, who knows if someone might take advantage of our little chubby one!
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager and others arrived soon. Jia Yin trailed behind leisurely, a smile on her small face, not looking like she had been wronged at all.
Both the Lord and Li Laer let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Originally, this Princess Jia Yin should have been seated with the elder princesses.
But the Marquis remembered to ask about how things were at Shou Kang Palace just now, so he arranged for Jia Yin to sit at the same table with him.
Naturally, the eunuch in charge of the birthday banquet wouldn't refuse such a small request.
So Jia Yin sat down beside her foster father openly and boldly, drawing the attention of all the officials around.
Jia Yin was not afraid of the stage, and she smiled and nodded repeatedly, cute and polite.
A group of youngsters, of course, wouldn't make things difficult for a little girl, so everyone smiled and nodded in response.
When the banquet was opened, the Emperor, Empress, and Dowager Empress, the three most esteemed figures of Heavenly Martial, naturally took their seats. Countless officials scrambled to present birthday gifts.
A light heart, free from cares, she savors her meal while matching the figures on stage with those on her memorized map.
She's young, but her memory is sharp. She really remembered everything.
During this time, the Marquis also presented a fine piece of jade that he had prepared.
This jade stone is of unknown origin, with water-like clarity. However, the cracks within it faintly form the character for "longevity," quite fitting for the occasion.
Also, Lao Er Li gave a painting, each of which was written by hundreds of elderly and disabled people from the relief office, making up one big character "壽"!
This thing is worthless, but it represents the people's hearts and their gratitude to the emperor.
The emperor was extremely happy and praised him a few words.
Li Lao Er was humble and refused to take credit for himself.
Other officials watched with envy and jealousy. Some kept their thoughts to themselves, but others, more superficial ones, spoke in a veiled manner, dripping with sarcasm.
Li La Er didn't care; not everyone could be liked by all.
That's just a silver ingot, and even those who view money as worthless would scorn it!and Zhao Yuru, along with others, also rushed forward, their faces filled with worry."Grandma, don't worry! There's no poison in the soup, and I didn't drink any either."Everyone let out a sigh of rel...