Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Emperor Minghua had seen All Yuâs portrait before, but that was a few years ago. When the young man and girl walked into the morning hall, Emperor Minghua looked at the unfamiliar girl beside Qin Huai. Perhaps it was because he had been physically and mentally exhausted recently, his mind twitched, and he said, âHuaiâer, thatâs not right. How can you value looks at such a young age! I want to see you and All Yu. Why did you randomly find a beautiful little girl to fool me!â
Ah Yu said, âYour Majesty, Iâm Ah Yu.â
Qin Huai was neither servile nor overbearing. âThis commoner doesnât know what Your Majesty means.â
The eunuch beside him had long lowered his head and pretended to be blind and deaf.
Emperor Minghua:ââ¦â
There was a huge misunderstanding.
âHehe, hehe, women really change when they grow up.â Emperor Minghua found a way out for himself and exchanged a few more pleasantries before saying to Ah Yu, â1 called you here today because I often heard from Concubine Jing about a brave little girl called Ah Yu in Wangbei County who actually traveled and studied with her elder brothers all these years. From the looks of it, youâre really not bad.â
The people who saw Emperor Minghua for the first time all trembled with fear. After all, he was in the position of Emperor. Even the current nobles and officials didnât dare to look at him directly.
However, it was unknown if this little girl was a youth who knew no fear or if she really did not have any fear of him, but she actually dared to look at him casually.
Ah Yu generously accepted Emperor Minghuaâs praise and said, âThank you for your praise, Your Majesty. But if you want to praise someone, you shouldnât praise me. You should praise my family.â
âWhat do you mean?â Emperor Minghua was interested. He simply put down the memo in his hand and postured himself to listen carefully.
Ah Yu said, âOnly with the support of the family can children do what they want. For example, 1 went to school with my Big Brothers because the adults agreed. Not only did they agree, but they also arranged many things for us so that we could eat and drinkwell as we studied. If my family doesnât agree or doesnât support me, I might not be able to go out at all, or I might have already encountered an accident while traveling.â
Emperor Minghua laughed loudly. âLittle girl, itâs not bad to think that way.â
Unexpectedly, All Yu continued, âActually, Iâve always wanted to thank Your Majesty.â
âOh?â Emperor Minghua raised his eyebrows. âWhat do you mean by that? I didnât help you in your travels, nor did 1 give you any financial support.â âDidnât you? When we were traveling outside, didnât Your Majesty give us a few praises? Also, our familyâs house still has a few archways in the prefectural city, all given by Your Majesty. Grandma said that ever since those archways appeared, no one has come to cause trouble for our family. Even the surrounding local hooligans have become more cultured. Everyone says now that knowledge can change their fate and even encourages the children in their family to participate in the Imperial Examination.â
Of course, Ah Yuâs words were exaggerated, but it was not unreasonable. Because they had obtained the recognition of the Emperor on their excursion, the surrounding people would treat them differently. They had even met some scholars and received guidance from some famous people. This was a rare opportunity.
Now, the minds of the children who had gone on the excursion had improved a lot.
When Emperor Minghua heard this, he was overjoyed. He immediately clapped and smiled. âGood child, since youâve said this, 1 have to reward your family even more. However, Iâve already rewarded you for what you did in the past. Now, thereâs another small matter. If you can do it properly, Iâll give you a new reward.â
Ah Yu knew that this was the real reason why Emperor Minghua asked her to come, but she did not agree directly. Instead, she said, âYour Majesty, when our family invites people to our house as guests, we will let the guests take a look at the house first. Your house is so big. Can I take a look with Big Brother Ah You?â
To find the person who was connected to the Shared Fate Gu with Qin Huai, she had to walk around the palace.
Emperor Minghua waved his hand. âChang De.â
A pale and beardless eunuch behind him replied, âThis old servant is here.â
âFollow the two of them around. If theyâre tired, arrange a carriage for them.â
Eunuch Chang De was surprised for a moment, but he immediately hid his expression.
It was to follow them around, not to bring them around. The two words were different, and so the meaning was also different.
âYes.â
It seemed that these two people had a high status in the Emperorâs heart. He had to be careful and not offend these two little nobles..