novelden Chapter 369 Are you very familiar with the princess?
Chapter 369 Are you very familiar with the princess?
dark.
After finishing his official business, Cui Yan went home.
After a busy day, I changed into my court robes and just entered the house, ready to have a hot meal.
Then his niece came over happily and called out, "Uncle, you're back?"
Cui Yan was a little confused, having just received a letter from her elder sister saying that she was preparing to return to the capital.
Judging by the time, it would take at least another half month to get to the capital, and my niece was right in front of me.
Could it be that his older sister is teasing him?
Looking behind her niece, she didn't see her elder sister, but instead saw that troublesome little girl.
Miao Miao peeked her little head out from behind Princess Rong'an and called out in a soft, sweet voice, "Uncle Cui, we meet again."
Cui Yan: ...
His brow twitched.
Why is that little girl here? And it's almost dark, isn't she going home?
Seeing her uncle's strange expression, Princess Rong'an quickly explained, "Uncle, this is Miaomiao, Aunt Lu's youngest daughter. Aunt Lu entrusted her to me to take care of for a few days. We usually stay in the courtyard and won't disturb you."
She knew that her eldest uncle liked Jing, but Miao Miao was also very well-behaved.
Besides, my uncle is almost never home on weekdays, he's always busy with important matters, and he's rarely home even on his days off.
Even at home, I'm either in the study or still in the study.
It's far enough away from their yard that it won't disturb my uncle at all.
The courtyard they are living in now is the one their mother lived in before she got married. Their uncles have kept it and have people keep it clean.
Before my father fell ill, whenever he returned to the capital, he would allow my mother to come back and stay for a few days.
They claimed it was out of concern for their mother's longing for home.
However, whenever she returned to the Cui family, she was not allowed to come back with her mother at the same time, so that they would become a hindrance to each other.
They also manipulate their words and actions.
Finally, she and her mother were free.
She can come back whenever she wants; she also wants to stay at the Cui family's house for a while longer.
The one who lost his freedom was the king.
He brought this upon himself.
Cui Yan looked at her niece with a half-smile.
The letter from my eldest sister mentioned my niece's marriage.
In terms of royal seniority, Prince Yuan should respectfully address Yuan'er as his cousin.
But this little rascal actually dared to ask to marry Yuan'er!
He was the first to object.
Yuan'er marrying that incompetent playboy from the Yuan family is like a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung.
However, the elder sister also mentioned in her letter that she intended to marry Yuan'er to Feng'er from the Lu family. Although she had never met the child, she had heard her father mention him.
He is a child of excellent character.
Although they don't seem like a good match, and he has a not-so-great father.
Overall, it's a good match.
Cui Yan's gaze fell on Miao Miao. "Yuan'er, look at you. You haven't even married into the Lu family yet, and you're already helping your husband's family take care of the children. It's true what they say, daughters grow up and leave home."
"uncle……"
Princess Rong'an blushed again, but it was quite rare to see her uncle teasing someone.
She said shyly, "The marriage hasn't been arranged yet, Uncle, please don't talk nonsense. I just feel a connection with this child."
Cui Yan smiled slightly and gestured for the two to sit down, "Don't just stand there, come and have a meal with your uncle."
Miaomiao obediently sat down next to Cui Yan.
It doesn't talk, it's not picky about food, and it's very well-behaved.
Just eat quietly.
Even though the food was still bland and didn't suit her taste, she still ate obediently.
She felt that Uncle Cui didn't seem to welcome her staying at his home for a while.
This guy holds a grudge.
But that's alright, she has plenty of patience and will give Uncle Cui some time to adjust.
Maybe I'll get used to her presence soon.
And so the three of them ate and slept in silence, quietly finishing their meal.
Princess Rong'an, who hadn't noticed it before but had lived in Lu Garden for some time, found it somewhat unsettling.
Originally, the second and third uncles wanted to invite them to stay for a meal, but thinking of the eldest uncle who was all alone and pitiful, they wanted to keep him company.
I never expected to make Miaomiao so shy.
The little one is like a completely different person; even her eating habits are very ladylike.
That's really rare.
Princess Rong'an looked at her and asked, "Miaomiao, are you afraid of my uncle?"
"No, I'm not afraid." Miao Miao shook her head.
"Although my uncle is a bit cold and serious, he is a very good person. You'll know once you get to know him."
Princess Rong'an placed a piece of poached chicken into Miao Miao's bowl, saying, "Eat more, your uncle's family doesn't eat late-night snacks."
Cui Yan: ...
Is the little girl afraid of him?
This is simply unheard of.
Despite her young age, Miao Miao is very good at reading people and her eyes are always darting around.
I have no idea what's going on in that little head of mine.
Perhaps realizing they were on someone else's turf, they toned it down considerably.
Ignoring the little one is because I'm afraid she'll say something she shouldn't at the dinner table and choke him to death.
After-dinner tea snacks.
Cui Yan had fruit and walnuts prepared.
Last time at Prince Jing's place, he noticed that the little guy liked to eat these things.
When I get home and close my eyes, I can't help but recall the scene of my eldest and youngest eating nuts together, the crunching sound of which still echoes in my ears.
Two similar faces also appear in front of me from time to time.
He suspected he was possessed, because now whenever he saw the little girl, he would think of Princess Yuqing.
Also weird.
The child looks like Yuqing, not her parents.
Seeing Uncle Cui staring at her blankly, Miao Miao handed him a walnut. "Uncle Cui, I can't open it."
After she finished speaking, she blinked her big, watery eyes at him.
Cui Yan felt her frozen heart begin to warm up.
He subconsciously took the walnuts, picked up a small hammer, and started tapping them unconsciously.
He was in charge of cracking the walnuts, and the little guy was in charge of eating them.
There's a supply shortage.
Miaomiao watched as the small hammer struck the walnut again and again, causing it to crack open and reveal the milky white kernel inside.
She took the walnuts and ate them quickly, then sighed, resting her chin on her hand, "Uncle Cui is too slow at cracking them, and the walnut kernels he peels out are all broken. You have to control the force well; too heavy and you'll break the kernels, too light and you won't get any kernels out."
Cui Yan: ...
He felt like he was feeding a little mouse, and the little girl was eating faster than the mouse itself.
He must be insane! Instead of using perfectly good servants, he's cracking walnuts himself. He's gone mad!
Now I'm being looked down upon by a little girl, and she's teaching me how to crack walnuts...
The little girl clearly can't even crack a walnut herself, yet she speaks as if she makes perfect sense.
Cui Yan turned and handed the hammer to the servant, saying, "You strike it. Find a few more people to strike it together, and strike it many times."
Princess Rong'an was seeing her aloof uncle being teased for the first time, and she couldn't help but laugh.
I can't imagine him having a daughter.
Perhaps, if he spends more time with Miaomiao, he might develop the urge to get married.
She remembered that tomorrow was her uncle's day off.
The next morning.
Princess Rong'an said she was unwell.
Early in the morning, someone was sent to invite Cui Yan, who was preparing to go out.
Leaning weakly against the couch, she said, "Uncle, I'm not feeling well today, so I'm entrusting Miaomiao to you."
Cui Yan was a little nervous. "What's wrong? I'll send someone to fetch a doctor."
“No…” Princess Rong’an said somewhat embarrassedly, “Uncle, please have someone make me a cup of ginger tea. I’ll drink it and rest for a while.”
"Then...you should rest well."
Cui Yan understood; her mother and elder sister used to drink ginger and honey water too.
There are always a few days each month when I feel lethargic and don't want to move, so I just lie there.
Princess Rong'an then instructed, "Uncle, Aunt Lu instructed that Miaomiao must study and write every day."
"Okay, I'll teach you."
"She's too young to play the piano, but we can teach her to draw or play chess."
"Yuan'er, don't worry about it, I'll teach you."
After Cui Yan finished speaking, he awkwardly led Miao Miao out of the room and instructed the maid to take good care of the princess.
Miao Miao understood; Sister Yuan was menstruating.
This future sister-in-law is far too competent; even in this situation, she still doesn't forget to assign her homework.
However, upon further reflection...
Wait a minute, didn't Sister Yuan's period already come this month?
What is she trying to do?
Does she want the Grand Secretary to supervise her child's calligraphy practice?
……
All day long.
The Grand Secretary didn't even leave the house.
He took Miaomiao to the study and tirelessly taught her to recite poems and idioms, watching her write.
I also got to experience what it's like to be an old father.
One head and two big.
My heart, which had just warmed up, is now burning with anger again.
I feel like my head is about to burst into smoke.
Watching the little guy write crooked words on the paper, with ink stains scattered here and there.
Cui Yan, who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, frowned.
He crumpled the messy Xuan paper into a ball and threw it away.
Suppressing his anger, he patiently said, "Miaomiao, rewrite it."
Jiang Miaomiao raised her little face, looking completely innocent.
"...Uncle Cui, your requirements are too high, even higher than my second brother's. I'm just a child. Why don't you teach me how to write it step by step? I guarantee you'll be satisfied with what I write."
No, you're not a child.
You were sent by God to torment me.
You can't be too lenient or too harsh, you can't hit or scold him, there's just no way to deal with this little guy.
Cui Yan pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Write it yourself, and I'll help you step by step. What's the difference between that and what I write?"
They even said they'd guarantee your satisfaction.
That kid deserves a beating.
Jiang Miaomiao pursed her lips and handed Cui Yan a cup of tea. "Uncle Cui, don't get angry. Stagnant liver qi can lead to many problems, such as headaches, hair loss, and premature aging..."
Uncle Cui is just like his second brother.
terrible!
Miaomiao then wrote her masterpiece on the pristine white paper...
The words weren't written, they were drawn.
Cui Yan gritted his teeth; he already had a headache.
With a sigh and a shake of his head, he said helplessly, "Miaomiao, who taught you to write like this? It's so ugly, it looks like chicken feet."
"The princess taught me," Miao Miao blurted out without thinking.
Uncle Cui has a sharp tongue. How could he say her handwriting looks like chicken feet? Don't all children's handwriting look like that?
It's perfectly normal for a beginner to not write calligraphy well; she's not some kind of exceptionally talented person.
Cui Yan didn't believe it. "How could that be? Princess Yuqing's handwriting is so beautiful. This is what you wrote..."
He, who was always sharp-tongued, couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh to a child.
So I shut up.
The little guy is good at reciting poems and prose; he remembers them quickly and has a good memory.
This handwriting is so bad it's unbearable to look at.
I've given up. Write whatever you want. It's not like it's your own child; there's no need to be so serious.
"Stop writing, have something to eat and rest for a bit."
Miao Miao put down her calligraphy brush and looked at him curiously, "Uncle Cui, are you very familiar with the princess?"
“Not familiar at all, not familiar at all,” Cui Yan immediately denied.
"Then how do you know the princess writes well? You must have seen her."
"Never seen it before, not familiar with it."
“It doesn’t matter if we’re not familiar with each other. I’ll give Uncle Cui a gift.” Miao Miao said, calling Xi’er in. But Xi’er had disappeared somewhere and it took a while for her to come in.
Where is my folding fan?
Xi'er took the fan out of the box and handed it to her.
“Uncle Cui, my mother said that we should be grateful and reciprocate kindness. You gave me calligraphy practice books and taught me to read, so I have prepared a gift for you as well.” Miao Miao handed him a folding fan.
Cui Yan took the fan with great interest and opened it.
Amidst the mountains and rivers, two lines of text came into view...
Once you've seen the ocean, other waters seem insignificant; once you've beheld the clouds of Wushan, other clouds seem pale in comparison. I casually stroll through the flowerbeds, too lazy to look back; half my heart is devoted to cultivating the Tao, half to you.
Cui Yan's old face instantly turned red, red all the way to his ears.
Holding the folding fan, he was stunned for a long time.
Jiang Miaomiao pretended not to see, put the walnut kernels in her mouth, and continued eating walnuts.
But secretly, he was delighted.
That's the correct reaction; how could there be no reaction?
The poem on the folding fan is from Yuan Zhen's "Thoughts of Separation".
It is a tender love poem, without a single word mentioning love, yet every word is filled with deep affection.
She also secretly took it from under the princess pillow.
This wasn't written for Uncle Cui; she took her head off and used it as a ball to kick around.
Can……
As he watched, Cui Yan's expression changed.
He looked somewhat disappointed.
He put the folding fan away and returned it to the box. He then solemnly said to Miaomiao, "I appreciate Miaomiao's kindness. You stole this fan from Princess Yuqing, didn't you? You should return it to her. I imagine this item is very important to her."
Jiang Miaomiao: ...Uh! What's going on?
When Uncle Cui saw the princess's belongings and her writings, shouldn't he be reminiscing about her? Why did he react this way?
What went wrong?
Could it be that this poem wasn't for Uncle Cui, but for the princess's mother or someone else?
"Uncle Cui, what does the poem on the fan mean? Why is it important?" Jiang Miaomiao opened the folding fan and looked at Cui Yan with a blank expression.
They seemed determined to get to the bottom of things.
Cui Yan picked up her teacup, took a sip, and concealed the emotions in her eyes and brows.
After a long pause, he slowly spoke, "This poem... is a poem of mourning, a remembrance and lament by the poet Yuan Zhen for his deceased wife... Take it back, and do not give it away casually again."
In memory of my deceased wife... my deceased husband...
Jiang Miaomiao was instantly emo.
She had forgotten that the princess's mother had a deceased husband.
This is indeed a poem of mourning, but it is also a love poem. It seems that Uncle Cui's problem lies with his mother's deceased husband.
This is a huge misunderstanding.
It seems the princess must have been quite demanding in the past, and her father was such a devoted man that he never married.
Prejudice is indeed a mountain in people's hearts that cannot be moved.
Jiang Miaomiao's eyes darted around, and she said very readily, "Uncle Cui, you're wrong. What you said is different from what Princess Mother said. Mother said this was written by a poet for his beloved, not a poem of mourning."
She said it was a love poem, so it was a love poem.
Cui Yan was stunned, his heart filled with mixed feelings, and he opened his mouth but didn't know how to explain.
Miao Miao was getting anxious seeing her father's cluelessness, so she turned to Xi'er and said, "I want a bronze mirror, give me a bronze mirror."
"I'm going right now." Xi'er dashed off in a flash.
She looked anxious.
Neither the princess nor Prime Minister Cui had mouths; luckily, there was the young master.
……