"Thank you, Mother!"
Yue Er stood up with a grin.
Xia Ruqing called over the Little Eunuch who had followed Yue Er out of the palace, and asked about Yue Er’s condition outside.
The Little Eunuch dared not hide anything, and quickly reported Yue Er’s situation truthfully.
"The Princess first went to Prince He’s Mansion and then to the Princess of Nanan’s place. The three young misses dressed as men and went to the south of the city!"
"There are a few mountains there, and halfway up one mountain there is a peach grove. The Princesses rode there to play and frolic for a while, picked some peach blossoms, and returned!"
Upon hearing this, Xia Ruqing nodded and couldn’t help but laugh.
"That’s all?!"
The Little Eunuch quickly kowtowed carefully.
"This servant dares not hide anything, please let the Empress judge!"
Xia Ruqing couldn’t hold back her laughter.
"Well... where did this Ru Kiln Vase come from?"
The Little Eunuch’s heart sank: Oh no, I forgot about this!
If he honestly said that the vase was coerced from an antique shop owner by the Princess, not only would the Princess not fare well, but neither would he...
The Little Eunuch gritted his teeth, ready to lie to help the Princess cover up.
But Yue Er spoke first.
"Mother, this thing isn’t anything rare, you can buy it all over the streets!"
"I had silver on me, so of course I bought it!"
"I definitely didn’t steal it!"
Xia Ruqing glanced at her coolly and said in an eerie tone.
"That’s hard to say!"
Yue Er, feeling guilty, touched her nose and went up to tug at her mother’s sleeve.
"Mother! I really bought it!"
"It’s just a vase, don’t you trust your daughter?"
Xia Ruqing, half amused and half frustrated, pulled away her daughter’s dark hand.
"Fine, fine! Go!"
"Quickly go bathe and change clothes, and ask the small kitchen to make you something to eat!"
She then tapped her daughter’s head lightly.
"You! When will you grow up, and look like a girl!"
Yue Er laughed and made a face before running off.
The Little Eunuch wiped his sweat and retreated as well.
Xia Ruqing instructed someone to put the peach blossoms in the vase, and ordered that dinner be prepared.
Half an hour later.
Zhao Junyao returned from Zhaochen Palace, and immediately saw the peach blossom tree on the small table.
His eyes lit up.
"What a beautiful peach branch! Where did it come from?"
Xia Ruqing nodded toward the direction of the side hall.
"Look, your daughter!"
Zhao Junyao’s mood, somber all day, finally lifted.
He toyed with the elegant bloom of the peach flowers, feeling a bit more relaxed.
"Not bad!"
Xia Ruqing said nothing and personally poured a cup of tea and handed it over.
Zhao Junyao took the tea, sipped it and his gaze inadvertently landed on the Ru Kiln Vase with a long neck.
"This vase is nice!"
"Seems like an antique!"
Xia Ruqing dismissed comment with a smile.
"What antique, it was bought by that Yue Er girl from the streets!"
Zhao Junyao’s eyebrows furrowed.
"Impossible!"
"My eyes don’t make mistakes, it must be an antique!"
Saying so, he personally took the peach branch out and poured the water out to look at the inscription at the bottom of the vase against the light.
Indeed, on a thumb-sized red seal, the two characters ’Zhi Ji’ were clearly imprinted.
"These two characters are from Zhou Zhaodi’s era in the fifth dynasty, he loved ceramics."
"This must be from that era, and made within the palace!"
Xia Ruqing was dumbfounded by what she heard.
Completely clueless about Chinese ancient history, let alone such a fabricated historical period.
Thus, she looked at Zhao Junyao with admiration and longing, her eyes filled with ’You’re amazing, I truly admire you.’
Zhao Junyao smiled gently and put the vase back, then asked.
"This really was bought by Yue Er from the street?"
Xia Ruqing nodded.
"Yes!"
"That’s what the Little Eunuch said, but..."
Suddenly recalling how Yue Er touched her nose looking guilty, it seemed things might not be so simple.
"Emperor, Yue Er wouldn’t...!" Wouldn’t have done something bad, right?
Zhao Junyao smirked, sipping his tea.
"It’s alright, no need to overreact!"
However, he had already imagined the scene back then:
A little girl picking a bouquet of peach blossoms, rushing back to the palace, but feeling it’s improper to carry the branches like this.
If she was to gift them to Mother, it naturally shouldn’t be so bare, at least buy a vase.
Thus, the clueless Little Princess entered an antique shop.
Yue Er’s eyes undoubtedly have no equal. She looked around and settled on the Ru Kiln Vase, considered the store’s treasure.
The owner absolutely refused to sell it.
Unfortunately... what Yue Er set her sights on, he couldn’t refuse.