Concubine Xu was naturally surprised when she heard that Emperor Zhaokang had arrived.

It was obvious which one was more important, the egg yolk cake or the emperor. She quickly arranged her hair and held the fifth prince with one hand, "Come on, follow me to welcome your father."

Before the mother and son reached the entrance of the palace, they saw Emperor Zhaokang striding in.

Concubine Xu's appearance was not outstanding in this beautiful harem, but her pair of catkins were very flexible, and she was especially good at massage and guidance. During this period, Emperor Zhaokang had been busy with government affairs and was a little tired, so he thought of coming

Concubine Xu is here, let her pinch her.

The fifth prince had always been in awe of Emperor Zhaokang. After saluting, he wanted to leave. But before running away, he had to find a way to take the box of pastries out - otherwise, he would come back after his father left and the delicious shortcakes would be gone.

I'm afraid it would have been eaten up long ago.

Emperor Zhaokang saw that the fifth prince's dark eyes were rolling, and he didn't know what evil he was holding back, so he waved to him, "Chen'er, come, my father will test your recent homework."

The fifth prince, "......!!!" A bolt from the blue.

But at this time, Concubine Xu smiled and helped, "Yes, you have been studying Mencius these days. Please recite what you have learned to your father."

Children at this age don't like to read, and the prince is no exception. But his parents were sitting in front of him with expectant faces, so the fifth prince had no choice but to step forward and endorse it with a stumbling voice.

Taking advantage of this stall, Concubine Xu placed the egg yolk cake on the table and took a piece to eat generously.

The fifth prince was so greedy that he almost cried. Is this really his biological mother?

Emperor Zhaokang also smelled a faint sweet fragrance. He looked sideways and saw that it was the shortbread that Concubine Xu had put out just now. He had obviously just had a bowl of rock sugar bird's nest soup before he came, but now... he wanted to try it for no reason.

Taste the taste of this shortbread.

Seeing his mother and concubine eating a piece, and his father also taking a piece, the fifth prince felt sad in his heart. He was thinking wildly, this is the reincarnation of cause and effect, who will be spared by heaven? He robbed his sister of food, and now his father

He and his mother-in-law came to rob him.

"This shortbread is good, is it new from the dining room?" Emperor Zhaokang asked.

"It should be so." Concubine Xu coughed lightly and looked at the fifth prince, "Chen'er, what is the name of this shortbread?"

The fifth prince curled his lips, "I don't know."

Concubine Xu thought the boy was sulking, and couldn't help but frown and said, "You kid, didn't you just eat two pieces of shortbread? I'll tell the imperial kitchen to bring more later, so you can eat until you're full.

, OK?"

The fifth prince raised his little head like an aggrieved puppy, "I really don't know."

"Then where did your shortbread come from?"

"This, this... um..." The fifth prince hesitated. In the end, he couldn't stand the double gaze of his father, the emperor, his mother and his concubine, so he had to tell the origin of the shortbread.

Of course, he did not say that he had snatched the shortbread. He only said that the sixth princess gave it to him because she respected her brother.

After listening to his words, Concubine Xu understood, "I didn't expect the skills of the East Palace cook to be so rare..."

Emperor Zhaokang didn't say much, he just glanced at the fifth prince and said, "If you can memorize "Mencius Gongsun Chou", I will ask the East Palace cook to make another one for you. How about it?"

The fifth prince looked surprised, "Really? Father, you must keep your word! My son will go read a book now. Today...oh no, I will definitely recite it tomorrow!"

*****

Tao Ti didn't know that the egg yolk cake she baked had been tossed and turned before it finally landed in the emperor's mouth. At this moment, she was leaning on the soft pillow, busy reading the posts sent by various governments.

As a princess, she also has to maintain certain social activities, such as a birthday banquet held by a certain country official, a new member of a certain prince's family, a certain general's wife is about to leave the cabinet... She does not necessarily have to go to these occasions, but invitations

Will definitely receive it.

After reading through the posts one after another, Tao Tixin said, the banquet activities for the princes and nobles of the Dayuan Dynasty were quite rich.

When she picked up a greeting card inlaid with precious stones and embroidered with gold threads, which was comparable to a handicraft, she clicked her tongue, "Whose message is this?"

This gorgeous gold wire, this shiny jewelry, this aura of richness... I love it!

Linglong looked up and said, "Back to the Crown Princess, this is a greeting card from Miss Xu of the Zhenbei Hou Mansion."

Miss Xu? Tao Ti thought for a moment, and the appearance of a chubby girl suddenly appeared in her mind——

The eldest daughter Xu Wenchan is one of the few friends of the original owner. She grew up in the border area and only returned to Chang'an the year before last.

The Marquis of Zhenbei and Mrs. Hou had always wanted a daughter, and after working hard for twenty years, they gave birth to seven sons in succession. After the couple's unremitting efforts, when Mrs. Hou was forty-two years old, the old clam finally gave birth to a pearl.

Got a precious pearl.

The Marquis of Zhenbei immediately ordered: Pamper me, pamper me hard!!

The folk customs in the frontier were already tough, and the Zhenbei Hou family pampered Xu Wenchan like jewels, gradually turning her into a chubby girl who only knew how to eat, drink and have fun.

She doesn't know how to play music, calligraphy, calligraphy, embroidery or flower arranging. Instead, she loves dancing with knives and guns, playing with cats and dogs. In addition, thin and fair skin is regarded as the beauty of this dynasty, so Xu Wenchan is fat and has dark skin... like

She is like an outlier among noble ladies.

During a certain banquet, Xu Wenchan was being made drunk by the ladies for fun, and she felt uncomfortable and aggrieved. At this moment, the original owner appeared——

There was no grievance, the original owner just handed her a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

But such a small act of kindness made Xu Wenchan burst into tears of gratitude, and from then on she regarded the original owner as her first good friend in Chang'an City.

As for the original owner's attitude towards Xu Wenchan, according to the remaining memories in Tao Ti's mind, well, he is neither close nor exclusive... he can barely be called a friend, right?

Tao Ti opened the post, and the content was very simple: Miss Xu wants to come and play with her in the future.

After thinking for a moment, Tao Ti said to Linglong, "Get a pen and paper. I will answer this letter personally. As for the others, you sort them out. If you want to give gifts, give them according to the regulations."

"Yes." Linglong agreed and quickly came back with pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

Tao Ti bit the tip of her pen and thought for a while, then finished writing and welcomed her to the East Palace.

It is very likely that she will have to live in this Great Yuan Dynasty for the rest of her life, and she cannot always be alone. Although she does not necessarily need to remarry after the divorce, she can make a few close friends.

She thinks this Miss Xu is quite nice, enthusiastic and sincere, much better than the bunch of plastic sisters in Yongwei Marquis' Mansion.

Linglong was slightly surprised when she saw the Crown Princess replying in person, "The Crown Princess has a good relationship with Miss Xu?"

Tao Ti gave a soft "hmm" and carefully handed the written reply to Linglong, asking her to send it out as well.

****

It was night, and the sky was a thick ink color with no moon or stars.

Zixiao Palace.

Fu Xirui waited for Pei Yan to finish the medicine. As soon as he came out with the bowl, he saw Li Gui, the steward in front of Emperor Zhaokang, coming through the night.

Fu Xirui hurriedly stepped forward to say hello, "General Manager Li, what kind of wind brings you here at this hour?"

Li Gui hugged the fly whisk and said, "Your Highness, have you rested?"

Fu Xirui said, "I just drank the medicine, and I'm still reading inside now."

"Your Highness is really hard-working. But you should also persuade him more. Studying is important, and health is even more important."

"Yes, yes, yes." Fu Xirui responded, and then asked, "Mr. Li, what are you...?"

Li Gui snorted and said, "Yesterday, the fifth prince got a portion of the shortbread made by your East Palace cook, and he liked it very much. But the amount of shortbread was not large, and the fifth prince could not eat enough. Seeing that the fifth prince was so greedy, your majesty said

If the fifth prince can memorize the book, let the cook of the East Palace cook him another one. Guess what, the fifth prince really stayed in his room and memorized the book for a whole day. Although he stumbled back, His Majesty was very happy.

...No, please ask me to come over and invite the cook."

Speaking of this, Li Gui looked at Fu Xirui with a smile, "I don't know who the imperial chef is? The desserts he makes can satisfy the masters so much. This time he will become rich!"

Fu Xirui was confused, cook? What kind of cook? The fifth prince didn't come to the East Palace at all. Where did he get the East Palace cakes?

"I wonder what the name of that pastry is? What style is it?"

"It's round, such a small piece, so golden and beautiful. Tsk, the smell is so fragrant, I was greedy when I smelled the fragrance."

Fu Xirui's expression froze. Listening to this description, could it be...the egg yolk cake that the Crown Princess made yesterday?

In the hall, Pei Yan was wearing a thin robe, with a light cyan gown embroidered with bamboo leaves draped over his broad shoulders. His black hair was tied up. Under the warm yellow candlelight, his overly handsome face looked as if it was not a mortal.

.

Seeing Li Gui coming, he coughed twice and smiled gently, "Manager Li, do you have any orders from the emperor?"

Li Gui hurriedly explained the purpose of coming here, and at the end he did not forget to express concern, "Although it is spring, it is still a bit cold at night, so Your Highness should wear more clothes."

Pei Yan responded, and Fu Xirui said cautiously, "Your Highness, I think... the shortbread the fifth prince wants to eat should be the egg yolk shortbread made by the Crown Princess."

Li Gui was shocked, "That was actually done by the Crown Princess?"

Pei Yan smiled lightly, "She likes to make snacks when she has nothing to do. She must have given a box to Xiaoliu yesterday, but I don't know why Xiaoliu gave it to Fifth Brother."

Li Gui was in trouble for a while. If he was an ordinary cook, he could just take him to Mingyue Palace. But now it is the Crown Princess who makes pastries!

Naturally, Pei Yan also knew Li Gui's difficulties and said softly, "General manager Li, why don't you go to Yaoguang Palace with Gu to see if there are any left, and you can take them back to restore life."

Li Gui naturally didn't get what he asked for, so he quickly thanked him.

Fu Xirui followed behind, a little confused: His Highness could just send him to Yaoguang Palace for this kind of matter, so why did he need to go there in person?

Could it be that... His Highness is thinking about the Crown Princess and wants to place her in Yaoguang Palace?!

****

Tao Ti was about to go to sleep when she suddenly heard Pei Yan coming and was a little surprised.
To be continued...