so she chased after her. Just as she was about to pick up her granddaughter, she was startled by a pair of glowing green eyes outside the cave entrance."Wolf! Wolf! Come quickly, the wolf is here!"Th...He originally thought this kumquat was just for good luck and wouldn't taste very good. Unexpectedly, it was extremely sweet, and he was even happier.

"Good, this gift is truly excellent, Funiu'er put her heart into it, I am very pleased."

Jia Yin smiled and narrowed her eyes, "It's great that Huang Bo likes it. I watered and fertilized it for so long, it wasn't in vain."

"Your Majesty, you must be tired from reviewing the memorials. Why don't you have an orange It's fresh and thirst-quenching right off the tree! When I have something good later, I'll bring it to you!"

Having said that, she pointed to the wooden box again and told Yi, the manager, “There's a six-tier birthday cake in here for our Big Dong. Please keep an eye on it, Yi, and make sure no one touches it!”

"Master Yi, let me quickly offer this cake to the birthday feast," he said with a smile. "I'll present it to the esteemed master and all the officials. We can share in the festivities and perhaps attract even more customers for our shop, wouldn't that be wonderful"

"Haha, Manager Yi is too amazing, that's exactly how it is. In the future, when Manager Yi isn't at the palace anymore, we definitely need him to be our store manager!"

Jia Yin didn't mind at all, and publicly poached someone right in front of everyone, which made everyone laugh.

The emperor even pointed at her forehead, "In the whole world, only you dare to take away the chief manager right in front of me."

"Oh, come now, esteemed sir, don't be so stingy! I'm only doing this for the sake of our shop's business!" Jiayin struck a pompous pose, even stroking a nonexistent beard on her chin, causing the Emperor to laugh uncontrollably.

Outside the door, the eunuchs and maidservants who had been listening to the sounds from inside straightened their bent backs slightly.

Such a Longevity Festival, starting with the emperor's laughter, is sure to go smoothly...

After chatting for a while, the Emperor didn't wait for the Marquis to speak before calling Feng Gonggong, who usually helped Yi Zuo-tong with chores. The Emperor personally instructed him on a few things.

Then, Jia Yin followed Feng Gonggong to Shou Kang Palace to greet the Empress Dowager.

This was Jia Yin's first time seeing the Empress Dowager after she had been in the new capital for several years. She felt a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

Speaking of which, this Empress Dowager was also a ruthless woman.

She is not the biological mother of the current emperor.

Even when the previous emperor was alive, she wasn't favored. But she took advantage of his death and the current emperor's unsteady footing to seize half the power.

For so many years, it has held firm, standing shoulder to shoulder with the emperor, never yielding an inch.

It was precisely because of this internal strife that the national strength gradually weakened, giving the nomadic tribes outside the pass an opportunity to break through the border defenses and force the imperial court to relocate south, ceding half of its territory.

Such severe consequences finally awakened the neutral officials in the court, who began to stand on the emperor's side.

This is also the reason why Xin Ting Hou was able to succeed several times when vying for military power.

Of course, after obtaining military command, how to achieve strict discipline in the army and achieve victory after victory depends on Xin Ting Hou's own abilities!

Especially in the autumn, with abundant harvests of corn and potatoes, Tianwu no longer suffered from famine.

The Man tribes were so intimidated by the defeat that they dared not approach the Golden Sands River, further enhancing the Emperor's prestige.

The Empress Dowager grew increasingly silent. Everyone speculated whether she would retire from power, giving up the struggle for control of the government and allowing Emperor Tianwu to establish a stable and clean court...

Jiāyīn usually doesn't pay attention to these things, but she pieced together this information from bits and pieces heard from her family and the Marquis.

In her view, although the Lee family is now considered a nouveau riche, they remain staunch supporters of the monarchy.

But compared to those old-established families and wealthy clans, it is insignificant.

The Empress Dowager's faction, or even the Empress Dowager herself, wouldn't consider the Li family to be such a thorn in their side.

However, even if that day ever comes, the Li family won't be afraid!

By then, the Li family was already powerful and prosperous.

Whoever dares to oppose the Li family will be reduced to ashes!

Lost in thought, he arrived at the Shoukang Palace.

Today, many women of the palace went to kowtow. However, only a dozen or so were qualified to go to Shoukang Palace to pay their respects.

After the eunuch loudly announced, Jia Yin followed Feng Gonggong into the room.

Feng Gong, with a smile, addressed the Empress Dowager seated at the top: "Empress Dowager, Princess Kangle has entered the palace to celebrate the Emperor's birthday. The Emperor has sent me to escort the princess here to pay respects to you."

Jia Yin entered the room with her head slightly bowed, but her eyes darted around, taking in everyone present.

To her surprise, the Empress was not as cold and domineering as she had expected. Instead, she had a kind and gentle smile on her face.

She wore a sapphire blue, six-blessings welcoming door flower pattern jacket, holding a string of prayer beads in her hand, just like the usually pampered and wealthy dowager of a noble family.

She was seated beside the Queen, and on the Queen's side sat the Third Princess.

The two women seated on either side were strangers.

Hearing what Feng's father said, Jia Yin knelt down and kowtowed, saying crisply: "Kang Le County Princess Li Jia Yin pays her respects to the Empress Dowager, wishing the Empress Dowager peace, happiness, and good fortune in all things."

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, “Rise! This is the first time I have met Lady Kangle. Come, lift your head so that I can take a good look at you.”

Jia Yin wasn't afraid, she raised her head and looked at the Empress Dowager, smiling sweetly.

The little girl was plump and adorable, dressed in festive attire. Her smile crinkled her eyes, making it easy to fall in love with her.

As expected, the Empress smiled and nodded in approval, praising, "No wonder the Emperor loves the County Princess like his own daughter. She is indeed a good child."

While others might not have thought much of it, the Third Princess was quite displeased.

She blurted out, "Hmph, temptress! You've captivated the emperor, who knows what you're after!"

The house fell silent instantly. The several women who had been about to chime in with Too-tai’s words swallowed them back in a hurry, almost biting their tongues.

The Empress should have chastised the princess at this moment, but she was not a woman of many words. These days, all she could think about was giving birth. After hearing the Dowager Empress's words, she drifted off.

She thought that if she could become pregnant as soon as possible, even giving birth to a princess would be good...

For a moment, no one came to the rescue, and the scene was quite awkward.

Jia Yin truly disliked the Third Princess, but her stepfather had repeatedly warned her not to suffer any grievances...

So, she was now staring at the Third Princess with a look of utter astonishment and asked, "What are you saying, Third Princess Foxy Bewitching"

“Such filthy words, how could they come out of a princess’s mouth Was it taught to you by your grandmother!”

That princess should be dragged down and beaten to death! Even if she can't teach properly, she shouldn't make the princess talk like a commoner, with such filthy words all the time!

And if the princess doesn't like me, she can just scold me! Your Majesty treats me like his own daughter, yet you call me a flirt Isn't that saying your Majesty is senile...

"Your father is the emperor, the ruler of a nation! Princess, how utterly unfilial!"

"Enough!" The Empress spoke up just in time, interrupting Jia Yin's words and saving the Third Princess from being further berated.

The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "I thought the princess was beautiful, but I didn't expect her to have such a sharp tongue as well. It's truly remarkable."

A woman sitting to the left of him, who appeared to be over forty years old, was wearing a stone-green embroidered robe with round neckline and floral patterns. She also chimed in, "Indeed, Empress Dowager, the county princess doesn't have a silver tongue. How could she possibly charm so many people"

Jia Yin turned her head to look at the woman, her face full of curiosity. "Who is this"

Here are three more chapters! time they reached the city gate, the sun was already high in the sky at three o'clock.Zizhou Prefecture was originally just a fairly prosperous region in southern China. However, it suddenly became t...