Emperor Xuanren had nothing to do at the moment. Since Xiaocao would not leave, he would naturally not chase her away. He asked someone to set up the chessboard and let Xiaocao play two games with him. It didn't matter even if Xiaocao's chess skills were only at the mediocre level. Emperor Xuanren also liked to be a teacher occasionally.
After the game started, Emperor Xuanren discovered that Xiaocao was really not humble.
"Wei Tingyu studied under Mr. Che. Anguo, didn't you study with him? Why is there such a big difference?"
Xiao Cao paused, "Father knows?"
Emperor Xuanren nodded, but did not give any explanation for the matter.
Although Xiaocao was puzzled, she did not ask any further questions. She would wait until Tingyu came back and ask him. "Maybe Mr. Che has an excellent disciple like Tingyu, so he thinks I am stupid." Xiaocao said with a smile.
"He is quite stupid. He uses all his intelligence on medicine." Emperor Xuanren pointed at the chessboard and pointed out several positions. He listed the best and second best positions one by one, appearing to be particularly patient.
Being called stupid, Xiaocao was not angry, "I am satisfied to have a strength, I am not greedy."
Emperor Xuanren glanced at her and probably knew why Xiaocao had achieved what she had today. Whether Xiaocao was smart or not, almost anyone who had dealt with her should know something about it. She put all her intelligence and hard work into one thing and was not disturbed by external things. With her unparalleled talent, how could she not be excellent
Emperor Xuanren spent all the time before the banquet on Xiaocao, a bad chess player. It must be said that only when Prince Duan was young could he be treated like this. As for Fan Wuguo, forget it, but he is a person who can't sit still. Keeping him here is probably just to punish him and then let him do his own thing, otherwise he would be asking for trouble. Emperor Xuanren obviously didn't have this hobby.
Such treatment naturally makes people even more afraid to look down on her.
Until the palace maid came to report that it was time to start the banquet.
Emperor Xuanren then brought Xiaocao over. Before the recognition of relatives and the canonization, it was Xiaocao who followed Emperor Xuanren, and it was still the same now. The person who was originally as sour as a lemon had finally calmed down a little, but now he has become a lemon again.
Naturally, this palace banquet was not as grand as the last one in which the Empress Dowager celebrated her birthday, so it was held in the palace. The Empress Dowager and Emperor Xuanren still sat at the same table, but this time the Empress Dowager smiled and called Xiaocao to join them. Emperor Xuanren also nodded and asked someone to add a seat.
Even though Xiaocao was thick-skinned, he could still feel the gaze stabbing him like a knife. His scalp felt numb. This divine grace was too great and not so easy to bear. However, it was obviously something he could not refuse.
There were clinking glasses, stringed and wind instruments, these things were of course indispensable. With the attention diverted, Xiaocao seemed calm. He just ate and drank as usual. It was no big deal, right
Toasting is always necessary at this banquet. Emperor Xuanren is not suitable to drink alcohol now, but Xiaocao, as the protagonist, cannot escape it. However, Xiaocao does not drink alcohol. She will never drink a drop of alcohol at any time or under any circumstances.
Naturally, some people would be unhappy, thinking that Xiaocao had become a phoenix and was not giving people face.
However, with Emperor Xuanren and the Queen Mother present, naturally no one dared to say anything.
Emperor Xuanren smiled at Xiaocao and said, "You are so determined. Could it be that even if I asked you to drink, you would refuse?"
"Your Majesty, you know that I have to hold a knife with my hands, which requires precision and stability at all times. Any mistake could lead to big problems. Drinking too much alcohol will affect the body. Although a little bit of alcohol occasionally has little effect, if you make an exception once, there may be a second and third time. Just like in this situation, if I drank before, I can't stop drinking later. So, I simply don't touch it at any time. Everyone will get used to it and won't let me drink anymore."
The Queen Mother heard this and nodded repeatedly, "That's right, it should be so." Thinking about her son, if this girl's hands were shaking during the treatment... just thinking of that possibility made her heart tremble.
Emperor Xuanren also nodded in agreement. When someone else wanted to test his reputation in the eyes of Princess Anguo, he said, "Anguo doesn't drink. You guys should remember this in the future." This sentence of his was more effective than anything else.
Xiaocao sighed again, the throne is indeed a good thing, the person sitting on it has the final say and no one can disobey.
Halfway through, Fan Wuguo also started to act crazy. Emperor Xuanren glared at him and asked, "You ignored my words?"
"Look at what Your Majesty said. I know my sister doesn't drink, but I have to show my appreciation today. So, I have replaced the wine with tea. I have to offer my sister a glass of tea, right?" He was still a bit nonchalant when he spoke.
By the way, now she can call Empress Dowager Xuanren "sister" without any scruples. Only Xiaocao has the honor of this title. For others, no matter they are cousins from the Fan family or cousins from the royal family, it is impossible for the little overlord to call her nicely.
"You sound so affectionate."
"Isn't that what should be done?" Fan Wuguo was thick-skinned and didn't care.
Xiaocao naturally accepted the cup of tea with a smile.
After Fan Wuguo sat back down, Emperor Xuanren said to Xiaocao again, "This kid seems to get along well with both you and your wife."
"The fate between people is really wonderful." For example, she is sitting here now, and it is still very wonderful.
"The wedding date of you and Wei Tingyu had not been set before due to his health. Now that he is recovering, should this matter be put on the agenda?" asked Emperor Xuanren.
Xiaocao was really surprised by how much Emperor Xuanren knew about the relationship between her and Tingyu. "There's no rush for this. Tingyu has gotten rid of his illness now. The next step is to treat his leg. Besides, I think my parents want me to stay for two more years." Now that he's well, it's natural to settle the past. Want to get married? Haha...
Emperor Xuanren noticed Xiaocao's unusual emotions and raised his eyebrows slightly. However, he knew what was going on between them. As long as Wei Tingyu was fine, it was unlikely that there would be any other problems with their marriage. As for when to get married, it was naturally not in his power as the godfather. As long as the girl was happy, it would be fine at any time. He would just have to prepare a dowry for her when the time came.
The Queen Mother rarely inquired about the marriages of the children of court officials. After all, she was not a person who liked to match couples. She only knew about Xiaocao and Wei Tingyu's marriage, but the Queen Mother obviously didn't know Wei Tingyu very well. Now Xiaocao also called her the Imperial Grandmother, so she was naturally not very satisfied with Wei Tingyu. "As for the Prince of Pingyang, I have heard a little about it. Because of the engagement, An Guo worked hard for him, and now he is fine, which is a great advantage. But with An Guo's current status, he is afraid that he is not a good match. Otherwise, I will cancel the engagement and find a better marriage for An Guo."
Xiao Cao quickly covered her mouth and coughed lightly, managing to hold back her composure. He didn't plan on getting married in the short term, but he definitely didn't want to change his partner!
Emperor Xuanren smiled slightly, and nodded solemnly, "Mother, what you said makes sense, but marriage is a serious matter, and it cannot be treated lightly. If Anguo cancels the engagement at this time, wouldn't it make people frame Anguo, which is inappropriate."
"That's true. If the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion is sensible, they should take the initiative to cancel the engagement."
"It's not a good thing for us to get involved in this matter."
Xiao Cao glanced at Emperor Xuanren. He clearly knew a lot, but he still said this. Why did he look like he was not afraid of the trouble and was just looking for fun? Your Majesty, the wise and powerful Emperor Xuanren, your image is going to collapse.
As the prince of Wei got closer and closer to the imperial city, he kept sneezing, which made the servants instantly nervous. You know, in the past, if this prince caught a cold or something, his condition would be extremely serious and he looked like he could die at any time. Although after taking the medicine for half a month, his health improved significantly as Xiaocao said, the impression of previous events was too deep, and they became nervous reflexively.
Prince Wei knew that he was in good condition, so he was a little confused. However, if he really knew what was going on, he didn't know how exciting his expression would be.
However, for Prince Wei, canceling the engagement was absolutely impossible. Even if the Pingyang Marquisate was gone and his status as the prince of the marquisate was gone, canceling the engagement was impossible.
It was okay before, and now his body is recovering, although I don’t know to what extent. But, if you want him to let go now, it’s impossible. Whoever dares to snatch it from him, he will fight to the death.
After the palace banquet was over, everyone left the palace. Xiaocao was no exception and went back with the people from the Wen family.
However, although Emperor Xuanren did not intend to give her a princess's mansion, he gave her an imperial farm with a good location and a large area, which was what the several princes who were granted the title of king had originally desired but were unable to obtain.
Of course, this matter has not been made public yet. After all, if it is made public, well, it might not just be the princesses who are envious and jealous of Xiaocao.
Although Xiaocao left the palace, Emperor Xuanren asked her to return to the palace the next day before she left. There was no doubt that it was for Prince Duan's matter, and it would be good if the matter was dealt with as soon as possible.
When I was in the palace, I was unable to talk to Xiaocao. It was obvious that she avoided me on purpose, but there were still people who were unwilling to give up and stopped me outside the palace.
However, Xiaocao responded to the "guidance" of Prince Duan in a neither friendly nor distant manner. When it was time to show off, she still showed off. Not to mention, the other party could only be angry but not say anything, even if he deliberately scolded her as "a successful villain", she did not change her expression.
This did make the other people in the Wen family angry, but Xiaocao tried to stop them and didn't take it seriously.
As for the person who asked Xiaocao about Prince Duan's condition, Xiaocao did not mention a word. Protecting the patient's privacy is her professional ethics. It is absolutely wrong to want to know about the patient from her.
Seeing that she was so stubborn, others could do nothing about it.
Seeing that it was useless to continue, they all left. Wen Ren was also preparing to board the carriage, "Fourth sister..."
Everyone turned around and when they saw the person coming, Wen Renying couldn't help rolling her eyes. She really had no good feelings towards Wen Renxiang. However, just because she was married out of the Wen family and was still on the Wen family's family tree, she could benefit from her fourth sister's influence.
One could easily imagine what kind of life she led in the Zhang family by asking around. After all, she, "Mrs. Zhang", was never seen at any banquet outside. But today, she entered the palace, dressed in a gorgeous outfit.
"Sixth sister, you only saw fourth sister, but not us? But that's right, fourth sister is now Princess Anguo. According to etiquette, father, mother and grandmother should all be greeted. It's only right for sixth sister to greet fourth sister first."
Wenren Xiang's mouth twitched, and he greeted politely, not daring to act rashly.
"Is there anything wrong, Sixth Sister?" Xiaocao asked calmly.
"It's okay, I just want to congratulate Fourth Sister in person."
"Well, fourth sister has received it, you can go back." Wen Renying pulled Xiaocao into the carriage, not wanting to bother with her anymore.
Wen Renxiang's eyes were gloomy, but she could only endure it. Their relationship was not good to begin with, and she couldn't afford to offend them any more. With the help of her fourth sister, her life in the Zhang family was indeed better.
After the Wenren family members left, Zhang Junliang came up from behind and said, "You are such a loser. You can't even do such a small thing as building relationships when I asked you to do so." These words hit right at the heart and were really rude.
Wen Renxiang wanted to say that she was a waste, but if she really wanted to, it was Zhang Junliang's mother who was even less liked by the Wenren family, right? She was so arrogant back then, and now she is still clinging to him. Who can compare with whom
"My maiden name is Wenren, and I am Princess Anguo's cousin."
Zhang Junliang sneered, but didn't say anything else, leaving some leeway. It was also to guard against the day when he would come to ask for help in the future.