Chapter 183: The Princess Demon Lord's Daily Life of Slacking Off Chapter 183: Audience with the Emperor

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Yan Qianqian

An Wang jumped down from the carriage first, then turned to carefully help the people in the carriage alight. Once everyone was steady, they walked together at a steady pace toward the familiar imperial palace.

Along the way, palace attendants saluted and greeted An Wang one after another; for this noble and highly respected prince, no one dared to be the slightest bit negligent.

Passing through palace after palace and corridor after corridor, the group finally arrived at the Yudi. An Wang signaled a guard to step forward and whispered, "Go report to Your Majesty at once: say the Princess and Prince of Dongying Guo have come to visit."

Hearing this, the guard's expression turned serious, knowing this was no small matter; he quickly and respectfully assented, then hurried into the Yudi to make his report.

Not long after, the guard hurried out and said to An Wang and the others, "Your Majesty invites you all into the hall." An Wang nodded slightly and stepped into the Yudi first. Shangguan Xingyan and Shangguan Xingyu followed closely behind, while Yan Si, Yan Shuang'er, Qianqian, and the others filed in one after another.

When everyone entered the Yudi, the Emperor was seated at the desk handling state affairs. Seeing so many people arrive at once, the Emperor was slightly taken aback, but this look of surprise lasted only a moment before he quickly regained his composure.

Shangguan Xingyan and Shangguan Xingyu said in unison, "We pay our respects to the Dachang Emperor!" Their voices were clear and pleasant, as melodious as an oriole leaving the valley. Immediately after, An Wang led the other children in bowing together, saying, "We pay our respects to Your Majesty!" For a moment, the entire Yudi was filled with an atmosphere of solemnity and reverence.

The Emperor smiled at everyone and said slowly, "My beloved subjects need not be so formal. Today I have summoned you all here; I imagine you all have some guesses in your hearts. As for me, I will no longer beat around the bush—I will get straight to the point."

After speaking, his gaze fell upon Princess Shangguan, Qianqian, and Shuang'er, and he continued, "Princess Shangguan, Qianqian, and Shuang'er—if you find it dull and boring staying here, you may go stroll in the Imperial Garden. The flowers in the Imperial Garden are blooming beautifully these days, a sight to behold; I believe you will all like it."

Hearing this, Shangguan Xingyu hurriedly rose and bowed to thank him, saying in a coquettish voice, "Thank you, Dachang Emperor! Since that is the case, my two younger sisters and I will go out to play for a while."

Qianqian beside her also quickly stood up, smiling broadly as she said to the Emperor, "Huang Bobe, Qianqian will come back to play with you later~" The Emperor nodded with a face full of kindness and replied, "Good, good, go on." Yan Shuang'er also bowed to the Emperor and said softly, "Your subject daughter takes her leave."

Afterward, the three walked out of the Yudi side by side. Worried they did not know the way, the Emperor turned to Eunuch Sun beside him and instructed, "Eunuch Sun, find an opportunity to send a clever little eunuch to lead the three of them; do not let them get lost."

Eunuch Sun quickly bowed and assented, then hurried away. Not long after, he brought a little eunuch who looked quite clever and bright before the three of them, and instructed the little eunuch to serve them well.

Thus, led by the little eunuch, the three walked toward the Imperial Garden chatting and laughing. Along the way, they admired the scenery along the path and from time to time let out peals of laughter like silver bells.

Not long afterward, a magnificent and splendid Imperial Garden came into view. In the garden, flowers of all kinds vied in beauty, purple and red in profusion, fragrance overflowing, intoxicating to behold.

Qianqian was the first to exclaim in amazement: "Wow! This Imperial Garden is so huge! It's more than three or four times larger than my An Wangfu!"

She looked left and right excitedly, her big eyes full of surprise and delight. Shangguan Xingyu and Yan Shuang'er were also deeply captivated by the scenery before them, praising it without end. Qianqian had always thought the garden of the Wangfu was already a sight to behold, but only after stepping into the Imperial Garden did she realize her previous thoughts had been too narrow.

This was practically an ocean of flowers, colorful and vying in beauty. It turned out that the flowers in the Imperial Garden were not only local common varieties, but also many rare species specially brought in from distant places—things the An Wangfu did not possess.

Every morning, the servants carefully watered these flowers, making every bloom exceptionally bright and charming. Gazing at the flowers before her—red as fierce fire, yellow as the proud sun, pink as rosy clouds—Qianqian could no longer contain her joy and curiosity, and ran forward.

One moment she ran to the left to admire this drippingly gorgeous peony, the next she turned to the right to appreciate that fresh and unworldly lily; her affection was plain to see.

Just then, Qianqian suddenly discovered that hidden among the flower bushes was a small and exquisite Liang Ting. The Liang Ting was built of flawless white marble, its roof carved with exquisite patterns, surrounded by lush vines and flowers, like a fairyland. And on the stone table in the center of the Liang Ting, a set of exquisitely refined tea utensils and several plates of delicious pastries were neatly arranged.

Thus, the three walked into the Liang Ting together and sat down slowly. Qianqian's gaze was instantly drawn to the tempting pastries on the table; she impatiently reached out her small hand, about to pick up one to taste, when Yan Shuang'er beside her spoke up in time to stop her: "Qianqian, have you forgotten what happened at the last banquet? How dare you be so bold as to eat things randomly!" Hearing this, Qianqian drew back her hand as if shocked by electricity, a hint of embarrassment on her face.

Seeing this, Shangguan Xingyu sitting beside her could not help but laugh softly and said, "It seems our Qianqian still listens to Shuang'er jie!"

Qianqian lowered her head slightly, a shy blush rising on her cheeks, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly in a bashful smile, but she did not utter a word. At this moment, Yan Shuang'er hurriedly laughed and explained: "It's all because at the last Imperial Banquet, she ate and drank without restraint, truly frightening us!"

Hearing this, Shangguan Xingyu's curiosity was instantly aroused, and she hurriedly asked, "Oh? What exactly happened? Tell us quickly!" Thus, Yan Shuang'er began to tell her about what happened at that Imperial Banquet with great enthusiasm.