Chapter 338: Can You Really Only Marry One?
Li Yuzong, standing by the door, took a sharp breath at the sight and silently bowed his head.
Zhao Mingyan raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "When did you get here?"
Only then did Jiu Jiu remember her manners. In a crisp voice, she said, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor! May you live ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"
But the little one was sitting in Emperor Wu Su’s lap, so her bow was merely for show.
Zhao Mingyan looked at her adorable, rosy-cheeked face and resisted the urge to give it a pinch.
He said, "Didn’t we agree before? There’s no need for such formalities between us."
Jiu Jiu tilted her head up, then lowered it again. "You did say that, but..."
Zhao Mingyan asked, "But what?"
Jiu Jiu said, abashed, "Mother married someone else. Our agreement doesn’t count anymore."
The smile on Emperor Wu Su’s lips froze.
Jiu Jiu counted on her fingers. "Only the man who marries my mother can be my father, and only then can we be a family."
Zhao Mingyan’s chest heaved a few times before he finally asked, "Is that what your mother told you?"
Jiu Jiu shook her head. "No, I said it."
The little girl tilted her head back, gazing at the magnificent, golden palace that was easily ten times larger than the Wei Family’s estate.
Jiu Jiu’s small body rested softly against his chest as she called out expectantly.
"Your Majesty the Emperor."
Zhao Mingyan hummed in acknowledgment and lifted his gaze, signaling for the two men in the hall—who had been straining their ears to listen—to leave at once.
Lu Juan and Duan Mingfeng scrambled to their feet, bowed, and began to exit the hall, just as a naive, childish voice piped up.
Both men froze, their backs stiffening in unison.
"Can my mother marry more than one person? Can she really only marry one?"
Lu Juan clenched his fists, struggling to keep from bursting into laughter. Duan Mingfeng was so startled that he let out a cough.
At the entrance, Li Yuzong waved his horsetail whisk, hurrying them along.
From his vantage point, he could see just how terrifying Emperor Wu Su’s expression had become.
Silence returned to the hall. Zhao Mingyan’s expression shifted unpredictably, but he finally let out a few sighs and gently ruffled the little girl’s hair.
Jiu Jiu copied him, sighing as she asked, "Is it really not allowed?"
"It is against the law," Zhao Mingyan said in a low voice.
Jiu Jiu had learned quite a few laws in the Upper Study Room, several of which concerned matters of marriage.
She had long been puzzled by this. Her little brow furrowed as she asked.
"This law is unreasonable. Can’t you abolish it?"
"How is it unreasonable?" Emperor Wu Su asked.
Jiu Jiu said unhappily, "Why can a woman only marry one man, but a man can marry many women?"
"Your Majesty the Emperor has so many consorts in the harem, but my mother only married one man. By that count, she’s the one losing out."
Emperor Wu Su’s eyes darkened. Some things were not as simple as a child imagined.
Jiu Jiu patted her little chest and declared, "When I grow up, I’m going to marry eight or ten men! When I get tired of living in one place, I’ll move to the next. Whoever I miss, I’ll go stay with them."
This time, it was Zhao Mingyan’s turn to frown, his brows knitting together tightly.
He stared at the little girl. Her face was still so innocent and sweet, yet she was already thinking about marriage.
’I’ll have to find some time to ask if any little rascals in the Upper Study Room have been getting close to Jiu Jiu.’
GRUMBLE GRUMBLE.
A sound erupted from Jiu Jiu’s stomach, echoing through the vast Diligent Governance Hall.
"Li Yuzong, serve the meal!"
Chief Li, who had been waiting at the door, quickly led the Palace Attendants in. "Your Majesty," he said with a broad smile, "I’ve been waiting for some time. The Imperial Kitchen has prepared several new dishes for you to try."
Jiu Jiu’s eyes were glued to the food containers carried by the Palace Attendants. She leaned her small body forward, so close she nearly pressed her face against them.
Seeing the little girl practically transform into a ravenous little wolf, the Emperor was amused, but his heart also ached for her.
Zhao Mingyan shot him a look. "You’re getting more and more careless in your duties."
Li Yuzong quickly bowed his head. "It is all my fault."
Once the meal was served, Jiu Jiu revealed her astonishing appetite. She devoured a bowl of clear water-bamboo soup, her mouth stuffed with cherry pork while her eyes were already fixed on the osmanthus shark fin.
Zhao Mingyan paused, his chopsticks hovering. A question formed in his mind. "How much does a child this age normally eat at every meal?"
Li Yuzong hesitated. ’I don’t know either,’ he thought. ’I’ve never cared for a child this young. But a healthy appetite should be a blessing, right?’
"Should I send someone to ask the Palace Attendants who serve the Young Master?"
Zhao Mingyan said simply, "Go to Qianyuan Hall and bring Yuan Heng here."
Li Yuzong accepted the command and withdrew.
Zhao Mingyan took a silk napkin and wiped the sauce from the corner of Jiu Jiu’s mouth. Frowning slightly, he asked, "Don’t they feed you enough at the Wei Family estate?"
Jiu Jiu swallowed the cherry pork in her mouth and licked her lips. "Mother and Lan Zhi don’t let me eat a lot."
She held up two fingers to gesture. "I can only eat this much at most."
Zhao Mingyan moved all the dishes the little girl seemed to enjoy closer to her.
He himself only took a few bites before setting down his chopsticks. Just watching Jiu Jiu eat was, in itself, a kind of pleasure.
When Yuan Heng entered, a profound look of surprise flashed in his dark eyes.
First, because Jiu Jiu was in the Imperial Palace, and in the Diligent Governance Hall of all places. Second, because his Father-Emperor, who had always treated everyone with cold indifference, was gazing at her with such a gentle expression.
He knelt and greeted him formally. "Your son greets the Father-Emperor."
"Rise," Zhao Mingyan said. "Sit."
Seeing Yuan Heng, Jiu Jiu pushed the plate of cherry pork—which only had two pieces left—toward him, her big eyes blinking winsomely.
"Young Master, eat."
Of all the dishes on the table, this was her absolute favorite: crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and delightfully sweet.
But Yuan Heng remained perfectly still.
This was, after all, the first time the father and son had met since Emperor Wu Su had "regained his clarity."
Yuan Heng sat ramrod straight in his chair, his chin slightly raised. His gaze was fixed forward, and he showed no reaction to Jiu Jiu’s words.
Li Yuzong set out a bowl and chopsticks for him, then retreated to the back again.
Zhao Mingyan glanced at Yuan Heng and tapped a finger on the tabletop. "Eat first. We can talk later."
Only then did Yuan Heng pick up his chopsticks. His eyes flickered with longing toward the crimson cherry pork before him, but he reached for a piece of the Clear Soup Yue Chicken instead.
Jiu Jiu simply picked up the plate, placed one piece of the pork in his bowl, and popped the last piece into her own mouth.
She ate without a hint of formal etiquette, savoring the sweet and fragrant morsel with relish.
Yuan Heng stared down at his bowl for a moment before finally eating the piece of cherry pork. A light instantly sparked in his dark eyes.
The father and son’s posture and table manners were very similar—both were equally reserved.
But with a little girl who was so full of passion for food beside them, the atmosphere at the table grew much livelier.
Jiu Jiu patted her round, full tummy, then turned and lifted her face toward the Emperor.
Zhao Mingyan understood immediately. A smile touched his lips as he took a silk napkin and gently wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth.
Yuan Heng watched this, stunned. ’When has Father-Emperor ever been this gentle...?’
Jiu Jiu’s eyes darted about. She picked up a clean napkin, grabbed Yuan Heng’s arm, and, lifting her own chubby, lotus-root-like arm, held the napkin to his mouth.
Yuan Heng intercepted the napkin, recoiling slightly.
Like a little overlord, Jiu Jiu climbed onto her chair.