Lu Wanning beamed with a smile. "Uncle Emperor, Ning'er thinks that since Father is a noble prince and Brother has received many rewards, there's no need for further rewards. But Uncle Emperor, it's been so long since you last dined with Ning'er, and you're not as doting on Ning'er as you used to be when I was a child. Ning'er dares to ask Uncle Emperor to share a meal with me, okay?"
The Emperor was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. Pointing at Lu Wanning's face, he said, "Such a little imp. Are you complaining that I've neglected you?"
Lu Wanning nodded immediately. "Exactly! Ning'er has grown up in the palace since childhood and regards Uncle Emperor as my own father. Now that Uncle Emperor is busy with state affairs every day, when Ning'er enters the palace, I can only see the Empress Dowager and the Empress. If I want to ask more, the Empress is afraid that Ning'er will disturb you, so she always doesn't allow Ning'er to get close."
There was a hint of grievance in her words. The Emperor stared at her intently. Due to the relationship between his mother and the Empress, this girl had been in his presence more often than his own princesses. He remembered that when he used to visit his mother's palace, this girl would always hug his leg and act coquettishly, asking for snacks and palace flowers. She was extremely clever.
As she grew older, of course, they couldn't be as intimate as before. But the admiration in her eyes didn't seem to be fake. She was right. Her father had been away from home for years and couldn't return. In her heart, he might be closer to her than her own father.
The Emperor was moved. He waved his hand and said, "Someone, bring a seat. Today, Princess Zhaoyang shall dine with me."
The Empress was greatly shocked and quickly advised, "Your Majesty, this is against the etiquette."
The Emperor smiled and said, "Empress, why do you always stick to the etiquette? Princess Zhaoyang is not an unruly person. Today, she is asking for this small reward because of the merits of her father and brother. Can't I even grant this?"
Seeing the displeasure on the Emperor's face, the Empress quickly frowned and kept silent.
Below, Lu Hongxi and his wife were extremely anxious. But Lu Wanning happily ran over and sat beside the Emperor. She didn't ask the eunuch to serve the Emperor, but picked up a piece of perch with her chopsticks and put it into the Emperor's bowl.
"Ning'er remembers that when I was a child, Uncle Emperor always liked to feed me this dish."
The Emperor looked amiable. "Oh? Really?"
Lu Wanning wrinkled her nose. "Humph, Uncle Emperor has forgotten? Ning'er remembers it clearly."
The original owner didn't really remember. She only remembered that because she liked to eat perch, as long as she was in the palace, whether it was in the Empress Dowager's or the Empress's palace, there would always be fresh perch. They would make this dish for her every few days. Even if it wasn't in season, there would still be some in the palace.
The Emperor ate the fish. The dishes on the table had been there for a long time and were already cold. This fish was a bit fishy and not very delicious even with the sauce. But looking at Lu Wanning's bright eyes, he still nodded. "Not bad. The perch is very good."
Lu Wanning's eyes curved into a crescent, and she smiled even more proudly.
The music and dance started again. The whole hall was filled with joy. Lu Wanning entertained the Emperor like a colorful-clothed filial daughter, making the Emperor laugh from time to time and attracting the sideways glances of the concubines, princesses, and county princesses.
On the right side, the favored Princess Hekang couldn't help it. Taking advantage of the time when her father, Prince Xiao, went to toast the Emperor, she sneered and asked, "Princess Zhaoyang probably doesn't treat her own father this well, right?"
Lu Wanning pretended not to understand. Looking at her with a smile, she said, "How could that be? I don't see Father very often. At home, I also accompany Father to talk and dine like this. Uncle Emperor, Ning'er heard that in ordinary people's families, daughters accompany their fathers like this. But in the palace, Uncle Emperor always dines alone, and he can't even talk during the meal."
After saying that, she stuck out her tongue.
The Emperor clapped his hands and laughed. "I've never seen you say less."
Lu Wanning said proudly, "If Uncle Emperor doesn't allow Ning'er to talk, Ning'er won't want to accompany Uncle Emperor in the future."
The Emperor shook his head helplessly, as if in a dilemma. "Well, I have no choice but to reluctantly allow Princess Zhaoyang to speak freely during the meal."
Hekang was extremely angry. Lu Wanning even turned her head and continued to look at her with a smile. She also glanced at Prince Xiao. "Doesn't Sister Hekang accompany Uncle for meals at home?"
Prince Xiao gave his daughter a reproachful look and patted Lu Wanning's head with a smile. "This girl. Brother Emperor is going to spoil her."
Halfway through the banquet, the Emperor led some officials to the side hall to discuss state affairs. The other officials also gathered in twos and threes to talk. The concubines from each palace took the female relatives of their maternal families back to the palace, and they had half an hour to get together.
Lu Wanning naturally followed the Princess Consort to the Empress's palace.
When they arrived at Guanjugong, Lu Wanning looked up and saw Mrs. He leading He Chan and Shi Aohan coming over. When the two sides met, He Chan turned her face away unhappily.
Shi Aohan still generously saluted the Princess Consort and Lu Wanning. "May the Princess Consort be in good health. May the younger cousin be in good health."
Lu Wanning also returned the salute. "May Aunt be in good health. May Sister Shi be in good health. Cousin..."
Before she could finish her words, He Chan had already flicked her sleeve and walked in first.
Lu Wanning scratched her head awkwardly and pouted unhappily. When she saw the aunt beside the Empress at the door of Guanjugong, she quickly smiled and followed the Princess Consort with her head down, keeping silent.
The aunt's eyes flashed slightly and led everyone into the palace.
When they entered the inner hall, the Empress had changed into her daily clothes and was sitting on the upper seat with a headband on.
After paying their respects, Shi Aohan took a step forward and asked with concern, "Has the Empress's headache flared up? Han'er has studied many herbal medicine prescriptions in the folk and has made some prescriptions for headache. May I let the Empress try them?"
The Empress smiled amiably. "Han girl has a kind heart."
Lu Wanning pursed her lips, looking as if she was unhappy. In fact, she had been thinking for a long time. Just now at the palace banquet, although she was only trying to please the Emperor and seemed to be doing it on purpose, in fact, she had been paying attention to the Empress's actions. If she had only suspected before, she could be sure today that the Empress's attitude towards the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion was definitely not as kind as it seemed on the surface.
It was also obvious now that the Empress treated the He family much better than the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion.
The Empress turned her head and looked at Lu Wanning, smiling. "What's wrong, Ning'er? You look so unhappy."
Lu Wanning turned her face away and didn't say a word. The Princess Consort also kept silent and only said coldly, "Just now, Ning'er told me that she doesn't feel well. If the Empress has nothing else to do, I'll take her back first."
The Empress's fingers trembled slightly, and her face sank. Supporting her head with her hand, she said, "If you want to leave, why did you come in the first place?"
As soon as she said this, the maids in the hall immediately knelt down on the ground.
Shi Aohan also knelt down. "It's all Han'er's fault. I just saw that the Empress seemed to have a headache, and it happened to be a disease that Han'er was familiar with, so I couldn't help but say more. In fact, the Empress has the imperial physicians to diagnose and treat, and doesn't need Han'er to say more. Princess Consort, Miss Lu, please don't implicate the Empress."
Lu Wanning slightly raised her eyebrows and frowned. "Who do you think you are? Implicating the Empress?"
Shi Aohan trembled and almost fell. This angered He Chan, who immediately jumped out and shouted angrily.
"Lu Wanning, is there anything wrong with what my cousin said? You don't care about the Empress, but she does. Is that not okay? And you still show such a cold face to the Empress. Do you even respect the Empress?"