The melons in the palace are exceptionally sweet.
Very fresh.
Not wilted at all.
Preserved very well.
When cut open, they're deliciously sweet.
Jiang Mianmian ate a piece and found it quite nice.
She gave a piece to Father, and a piece to Elder Brother.
Seeing Princess Grandma looking on longingly, she handed her a piece too.
Finally, seeing everyone had been given some,
Only the Old Emperor was left.
Mianmian then gave a piece to the Old Emperor as well.
Fortunately, the melon was cut into small pieces, enough to share.
Perhaps it was truly cold in winter.
Princess Huiyun felt the melon handed over by her dear granddaughter was especially sweet.
The Old Emperor found the melon given by his beloved niece particularly refreshing and tasty.
The Old Emperor hadn't actually experienced the feeling of being with close relatives for many years.
He rarely summoned the consorts and concubines in the harem anymore.
As for children, he had many, both living and deceased.
If he had invested emotions in all of them, he would probably be depressed by now.
The few princes who were still alive now only brought him troubles upon troubles.
Each prince seemed like his biggest competitor, as if waiting for his death.
The head of the family, now old, fears being replaced, fears his life changing.
He can't experience human warmth, only stark naked interests.
Including those ministers as well.
He uses the ministers to work for him, and the ministers want to gain power from him.
They're playing a grand game, somewhat complex, yet actually quite simple – coming and going, all for profit.
Thinking this way makes things much simpler, but also much less interesting.
It had been a long time since he had the feeling of a family sitting together like this.
The Emperor had always been very fond of Heir Apparent Han.
Every time little Han came to see him, he acted like a normal junior, asking for this and that, unafraid of him, righteous and confident.
But after returning from a trip to Jingzhou, it seemed little Han spent less time accompanying him in the palace.
And he felt somewhat restrained.
Now thinking about it, little Han probably discovered something.
It had been a long time since anyone sat beside the Emperor as an equal.
Princess Huiyun never understood hierarchy, and there was no hierarchy with her around the Emperor.
The Emperor, as a professional position, had lost his sense of self after doing it for so long.
It's like being a CEO, apart from work, one still needs to eat and defecate, and has emotional needs, including love, family affection, and friendship.
The Emperor no longer sought love much, with too little hormone secretion.
As for friendship, who dares to be good friends with the Emperor? Those who tried to be good friends with the Emperor were unknowingly killed off by him.
Now only Eunuch Yan remained as the Emperor's good friend, and perhaps the distant Old General Meng could be counted as one too.
So the Emperor desperately craved family affection.
But he was also very afraid of it.
Always feeling that those little brats just wanted to take his position.
But his sister had never changed.
Always righteous and confident.
"Brother, issue an imperial decree for me, I want to kill Zhou Rongrong, and that useless Imperial Son-in-law, Han Wuyong."
The Emperor had already changed out of his court robes, now wearing casual clothes, and hadn't put on the grand imperial crown, but still wore a hat, probably to cover his baldness and white hair.
Even his casual clothes were covered in dragons, but looked a bit softer.
Come to think of it, the Emperor was quite pitiful, unable to choose more fashionable patterns for his clothes, always dragons and phoenixes, limiting his aesthetic choices.
The casual clothes were relatively comfortable and soft.
He could choose a comfortable posture to lean on the warm couch.
"Who is Zhou Rongrong? The Imperial Son-in-law is called Han Yong, don't give people such names arbitrarily. Even if I am the Emperor, I can't kill people without reason or evidence."
"You've forgotten Zhou Rongrong? Wasn't she the study companion you chose for me, almost became a member of your harem, you even praised her face-to-face for being learned and talented, then turned around and bestowed her to Jiang Bai. It must have been her who switched my child and tormented my son. I don't care, you first have her arrested, and the Imperial Son-in-law too. If there's no evidence, we'll interrogate slowly, we'll eventually get the evidence out of them."
The Emperor was embarrassed, he really couldn't remember.
Wasn't Huiyun forgetful before? How come she now remembers things from years ago?
"The Imperial Son-in-law is after all your son-in-law, it's not appropriate to arrest him like this. Let's arrest and interrogate Zhou Rongrong first." The Emperor said guiltily.
Princess Huiyun nodded reluctantly.
Then she turned to Jiang Changtian and said, "Although your uncle can be muddle-headed sometimes, he treats me extremely well. In the future, if you want anything, you can ask him. Don't be shy."
Jiang Changtian hurriedly replied, "The Emperor has treated me extremely well. Although I didn't know before that the Emperor was my uncle, he still made me an Imperial Secretary, allowing me to see the Emperor. The first time I met him, I felt the Emperor was very amiable. Every day when I go to the ministry, I'm very excited to be able to enter the palace and see the Emperor. Now I know he is my uncle."
Jiang Feng also said, "Uncle Emperor knew I was getting married and even granted me the position of a sixth-rank armed guard, which is already extremely good. Minister Dong's family has also agreed to my marriage with their daughter."
Jiang Mianmian raised her hand, "Um, Uncle Emperor, can I make a request?"
Her other hand was still holding a piece of melon, her cheeks wet, having touched her face while eating the melon.
The sensibility of Jiang Changtian and Jiang Feng made the Emperor feel a bit better, at least saving face.
Emotions need to be developed through interaction. Although he liked Princess Huiyun, it was impossible for him to suddenly be very fond of the newly appeared Jiang Changtian and Jiang Feng. At this moment, even Heir Apparent Han might weigh more in his heart.
However, when facing Mianmian, it was uniquely different.
Because she looked so much like Huiyun when she was young.
He nodded slightly, looking at her encouragingly.
"Uncle Emperor, could you bestow an honorary title on my mother?"
The Emperor was slightly moved.
This was a filial child, not only looking like Huiyun but also as kind-hearted as her.
"Why?" the Emperor asked kindly.
Jiang Mianmian answered seriously, "Because Father and Elder Brother both have official positions, Mother thinks the official robes look nice, and commoners can't beat officials. If Elder Brother does something wrong, Mother wouldn't be able to hit him properly, but if Mother has an honorary title, she can feel at ease to take action."
The Emperor's expression changed from kind to dumbfounded.
Princess Huiyun looked up at the beams of the palace, noticing how straight they were.
The Emperor then burst into laughter.
