Eunuch Fuhai only glanced over before hurriedly lowering his head, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. As for how shocked he was inside, there was no need to mention it.
The certain father who had only just picked up his child was clearly not very practiced. That movement could not even be called holding her; it was obvious that he was holding her under his arm.
Xiaobao squirmed uncomfortably, flailing her little body and grumbling in complaint.
“Daddy, you can’t hold the baby like this. It’s uncomfortable.”
Nangong Shiyuan gave an indifferent “oh.” “As long as you don’t fall, it’s fine.”
What else could he do?
With no other choice, Su Xiaobao had to rely on herself. Clutching his arm, she puffed and huffed as she climbed up, then sat on the crook of her daddy’s arm and leaned against his chest.
“You have to do it like this. Daddy, hold Xiaobao this way from now on!”
Nangong Shiyuan poked a finger into her soft, snowy-white cheek.
“Got it.”
Xiaobao swung her little feet, resting her chin on her daddy’s shoulder as she narrowed her eyes.
“I have to go to morning court. They’ll stay here with you. I’ll have someone prepare the palace hall beside this one for you to live in.”
Su Xiaobao gave an “oh,” her little hands clutching tightly at his clothes and refusing to let go.
“Then, Daddy, can Xiaobao go with Daddy too?”
The little one looked at him beseechingly, as though she was afraid he would run off and disappear.
Even Nangong Shiyuan’s heart softened a little under that gaze, but he still refused coldly and ruthlessly.
“No.”
The moment he finished refusing, the little milk-ball lowered her head. The light in her eyes visibly dimmed.
Nangong Shiyuan coughed. “Breakfast will be brought over later. It will all be things you’ve never eaten before.”
Su Xiaobao’s head immediately perked up again, and she looked at her daddy with bright, watery eyes.
“Really?”
Delicious food!
Nangong Shiyuan felt a little displeased. How could a little food make her give up just like that? She had no perseverance at all.
The next second, he heard the little one ask in her soft voice, “Then, Daddy, can you eat breakfast with Xiaobao?”
Nangong Shiyuan’s mood somehow improved a tiny bit more.
It was getting late. He handed the little one in his arms to one of the palace maids.
“I have to go to court. When court is over, I will eat lunch with you.”
Su Xiaobao gazed at her daddy as he left, her little eyes full of reluctance.
But soon, the palace maids carried breakfast in, and the little one’s attention was diverted.
Nangong Shiyuan gave her one last look before leaving the bedchamber with the chief eunuch.
How strange. They had only met last night, yet today he was already somewhat reluctant to leave her.
No emotion showed on Nangong Shiyuan’s face. His fingers tapped against the armrest of the sedan chair. Then, as though he had thought of something, his eyes narrowed coldly.
“Go investigate which palace servants were previously responsible for taking care of the Little Princess. Have every one of them beaten to death.”
His cold, intimidating voice rang out. Eunuch Fuhai’s heart jolted, and he hurriedly lowered his head.
“Yes.”
Everyone else who heard Nangong Shiyuan’s words lowered their heads as well, doing everything they could to reduce their presence. Their hearts tightened with fear, terrified that they might incur his wrath.
The atmosphere instantly congealed, yet Nangong Shiyuan remained as calm as though he had merely said something as trivial as, “The weather is very nice today.”
Su Xiaobao had no idea what order her daddy had issued. At that moment, she was sitting obediently on a chair, being carefully attended to by the palace maid sisters as she ate breakfast.
Looking at the table covered with all kinds of breakfast dishes, Xiaobao let out an amazed “wow.”
There was so much, and everything was so beautiful and fragrant! After tasting some, she discovered that every single dish was incredibly delicious.
Pretty Mommy really had not been wrong. As long as she followed Daddy, she would have enough to eat!
But…
She was small, and her stomach was small too. No matter how much more she wanted to cram in, she was powerless to eat all that breakfast.
In the end, as she looked at the table full of food, throwing it away was certainly impossible.
Although there was so much food in Daddy’s residence that it seemed impossible to finish it all, Xiaobao had previously been a genuine country child. She knew what ordinary people outside the Imperial Palace ate.
After working hard to farm all year, being able to harvest enough to fill one’s stomach was already very good. Eating food this refined was simply impossible for them.
“Palace Maid Sister, Xiaobao can’t finish eating. What should we do with the food that’s left?”
Xiaobao propped up her chin, her pretty little face wrinkled with worry.
The palace maid immediately knelt and shook her head. “You mustn’t call me Sister. Princess, you can just call this servant Chunxi. If Your Highness is willing, this leftover breakfast can be bestowed upon the servants.”
The food eaten by the masters was the finest and most delicious even when it was leftover. If she received such a reward, she would be so happy she would not know what to do.
“Mm-hm. You can all get up first. Xiaobao can’t eat any more, so Chunxi, you can distribute all of this to everyone.”
Chunxi happily dropped to her knees again.
“Thank you for the Princess’s reward.”
Xiaobao: “…”
Why was she kneeling again?
The little dumpling scratched her face, still quite unused to it.
She had eaten far too much, so Xiaobao puffed out her belly and walked two laps around the room. Then Chunxi suggested, “Princess, why don’t we go outside for a walk?”
Su Xiaobao wore a pretty pale-green dress, and the palace maid with deft hands had tied her hair into an adorable bun. The entire little dumpling was snowy-white and exquisitely delicate.
More importantly, she had a very good temper, and even her way of speaking was soft and gentle. After spending only this short while with her, the palace maids had all grown quite fond of this Little Princess.
“Okay.”
Her lively, large eyes rolled around before she suddenly asked, “Where is the place Daddy said I would live from now on?”
Chunxi immediately replied, “I’ll take you there.”
Then she was taken to a side hall located beside Qinzheng Hall.
Although it was called a side hall, because it was at Qinzheng Hall, it was still extremely luxurious.
Xiaobao stood at the entrance, opened her mouth wide, and exclaimed, “Wow!”
“It’s so big! Does anyone else live here?”
She had thought that the place where she would be staying after entering the palace was already big enough.
“No. His Majesty doesn’t like people living too close to his residence, so this place has always been unoccupied. Now, you’re the only one living here.”
Xiaobao happily walked inside on her short little legs. The first thing she looked at was not the house. It was obvious at a glance that it was incredibly luxurious, so there was no way the living quarters would be poor.
What she saw first was an enormous courtyard.
The front courtyard alone seemed to cover roughly an acre. Although it had been arranged very neatly, nothing had been planted in it.
Su Xiaobao’s eyes lit up as she looked at the ground.
Chunxi glanced at the Little Princess, feeling somewhat puzzled. Why did she feel that the Little Princess’s attention was entirely focused on this plot of land?
It must be an illusion.
Just as she was thinking that, she heard the Princess ask,
“Can I grow vegetables here?”
Chunxi: “Huh???”
After Nangong Shiyuan finished court, according to his usual habit, the first thing he would certainly do was deal with state affairs.
But today, after court ended, the first thing he thought of was that little creature.
“What is the Little Princess doing now?”
How could Eunuch Fuhai know? He had been following His Majesty the entire time.
“This servant will have someone ask immediately.”
“No need. Let’s go back and see.”