Tianliangyuan

Chapter 463 Sister Anle

The chief eunuch personally delivered the imperial decree and a whole host of gifts to the Duke of Huguo's mansion, which naturally attracted great attention once again.

Xu Zhaozhao is still asleep, so naturally she cannot get up to receive the imperial decree.

After the chief steward finished announcing the decree, he called Xie Xiaolin aside.

"Your Excellency, congratulations!"

Xie Xiaolin laughed heartily and quickly stuffed the things in his hands into the head steward's hands: "Thank you! I will definitely treat you to a drink later."

"That's a blessing for our family!"

Xie Xiaolin's laughter subsided: "Is there another imperial decree?"

"His Majesty has always doted on the Princess, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he treats her like his own child. Now that the Princess has given birth to a pair of sons, His Majesty is overjoyed."

At this point, the chief steward's voice softened: "Has the Duke chosen the names for the two young gentlemen?"

Xie Xiaolin understood his implication: "No."

"I knew it! This kind of thing should be done by our Emperor! He said he absolutely has to attend the full moon celebration."

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty! We shall respectfully welcome Your Majesty!"

By evening, Xu Zhaozhao was completely numb after hearing Xie Zheng's story.

"You mean, I risked my life to give birth to this child, and I don't even have the right to name him?"

Xie Zheng said with a forced smile, "It's not that you're not qualified, it's that none of us are qualified now. It's obvious that His Majesty has this idea, what can we do? However, I've told my father that we can choose the child's nickname ourselves."

Xu Zhaozhao pouted, clearly unhappy.

Did Emperor Yong'an act too quickly?

What did Father say?

"What else can we say! His Majesty has already sent his chief eunuch here, how could he not understand?"

Xu Zhaozhao retorted, "Hmph! They're only bullying me because I can't enter the palace right now. Otherwise, I would definitely have a good argument with the Emperor!"

Xie Zheng was both surprised and amused: "Alright, you'd better think of a nickname soon."

Xu Zhaozhao is terrible at naming things; several of her ideas were rejected by Xie Zheng.

"Zhuangzhuang isn't a suitable name; there are quite a few people with the same name. Why don't you think of another one?"

Xu Zhaozhao lay dejectedly on the bed: "I don't want to think about it anymore! None of them are suitable. Forget it, I'll think about it tomorrow."

Xie Zheng leaned closer and said, "Wife, if we don't decide on a name tonight, we might lose our right to use this nickname tomorrow."

Xu Zhaozhao glared at her: "What do you mean?"

"Don't forget, there's also your father-in-law! If it weren't for your mother-in-law stopping him today, he would have just taken one of the children away!"

Xu Zhaozhao's eyes widened. Her father?

There are plenty of little kids at home, why are you trying to take her away?

However, given how much her father dotes on her, she might actually try to take over the right to her nickname.

Never mind, I'll think about it some more.

"How about you come up with the idea?"

Xie Zheng was taken aback: "Me?"

"Yes! You think about it, and I'll judge whether it sounds good!"

Xie Zheng was truly stumped by the question.

When he first learned that Xu Zhaozhao was pregnant, he did read a lot of books and came up with many names, but after returning, he found that Zhaozhao was obsessed with the name, so he gave up.

Unexpectedly, now they're asking him to choose a nickname?

This is really too difficult.

"How about we hear what name His Majesty has chosen first, and then decide? After all, the child will need a courtesy name when he grows up. Wouldn't it be troublesome if he had too many names?"

Xu Zhaozhao thought about it and realized it made sense!

"Then let's hear if His Majesty's chosen name sounds pleasant. If it's too difficult to pronounce, even if His Majesty chose it, it won't work! If I don't agree, the child can't use it."

"Okay, it's all up to you."

Xie Zheng's palms were sweating profusely. She really was favored by His Majesty; she dared to say such things!

Is his young wife getting a little too cocky?

If those censors heard this, who knows what trouble they would cause.

With the birth of Xu Zhaozhao's two sons, His Majesty thought of his youngest son, who was now in good health, and naturally ordered someone to summon him.

"My son, I would like to send my regards to my father."

Emperor Yong'an smiled and waved his hand, indicating that he did not need to stand on ceremony, and then beckoned him to come closer.

"Do you still remember the lady who cut the melon for you back then?"

The young prince blinked and nodded vigorously: "Your subject remembers, it's Princess Anle."

"Yes, she just gave birth to two sons and is currently recuperating at home. Her father and I grew up together and are like brothers, so I have always treated Anle as my own daughter. Now that she is weak from childbirth, I was thinking of sending you to the Duke of Huguo's mansion to check on her and her children for me. What do you think?"

"Your subject will definitely handle things well, and will make sure to take a good look at Sister Anle and your two little nephews."

Emperor Yong'an's eyes lit up and his smile deepened: "Well said! She is your sister Anle."

The young prince is eleven years old this year. Ever since he ate the melon that Xu Zhaozhao personally ate last year, the young prince has not only become healthier, but also grown taller.

In just six months, he has grown half a head.

The young prince was weak and ate little, so he was small in stature.

When the little prince appeared before Xu Zhaozhao last year, she thought he was only six or seven years old.

In just six months, the little prince has grown taller and stronger.

Emperor Yong'an's eyes lit up slightly: "You're not young anymore, and you need to catch up on the lessons you missed because of your poor health. I've asked your tutors, and they say you're doing well in your studies, but as a young man, you should go out more and, if possible, learn archery."

"Yes, Father, I have remembered."

"Go ahead. I sent a lot of rewards over earlier. While you're at it, ask your sister Anle if there's anything she's not satisfied with. Just tell me, and I'll make sure she's happy with it."

"Yes, Father."

Prince Li Guang was ordered to leave the palace for the Duke of Huguo's residence. This was the first time he had left the residence alone without the accompaniment of his elders and brothers. Therefore, the chief steward specially arranged a full ceremonial guard, just in case anyone offended the young prince again.

Since His Highness the Prince had arrived with a retinue, Xie Xiaolin and the others had no choice but to go out of the mansion to greet him.

Although Li Guang is young, he is very intelligent.

Especially considering he has so many brothers, and he is the only one who has been bedridden all this time, his mind would naturally be more acute.

He remembered every word his father said to him today.

He understood that if he wanted to gain favor with his father, he had to cultivate a good relationship with Xu Zhaozhao.

In fact, he originally liked Xu Zhaozhao as well. He always felt that Xu Zhaozhao had a kind of aura that he liked very much. It was as if he could feel at ease waiting by her side.

What he didn't know was that this was because Xu Zhaozhao had channeled her supernatural abilities into that melon; she was the source of those abilities. It was perfectly normal for Li Guang to want to get close to her and to have feelings for her.

"Lord Protector, please do not stand on ceremony. I have come here on the orders of my father, the Emperor, to visit Sister Anle."