Seeing that the little girl hadn't moved for a while, Jin Shanyao poked her back with her finger. "You haven't given me the peanut candy yet."
The little girl twisted her body and said awkwardly, "I'm allergic to peanuts."
"It's alright, I won't give you any... Go get it, I'm waiting..." Jin Shanyao barely finished speaking when the little girl suddenly turned around, her eyes red as she looked at her.
She was already pretty, and with her age of eleven or twelve, her accusing expression made Jin Shanyao a little flustered. She quickly handed her a shortbread.
"Fine, don't take it then... I didn't really want to eat it, why are you crying... Sweetie, have a pastry to sweeten your mouth."
Jin Shanyao lowered her voice as she spoke, "This cake, only my table has it... the other tables don't... have some."
She stuffed the pancake into the little girl's hand, supported her shoulder and helped her back to her seat before letting out a soft sigh of relief. As she turned her head, she saw Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi looking at her at the same time.
Meng Anci, in particular, seemed to be spitting fire in his eyes. Jin Shanyao, "What's wrong? Do you want some peanut candy?"
Meng Anci gritted his teeth and said, "Auntie, that pastry you gave away was snatched from my hand."
Jin Shanyao then remembered that there seemed to be a small hand holding the pastry just now, and she coughed awkwardly twice.
"I'll have Qing He make it for you when we get back. Qing He's cooking is much better than this!"
Meng Anci softly, turning his face away from her... His aunt had changed. She had actually snatched the pancake from his hand for a little girl. He was no longer his aunt's darling.
I'm unhappy...
The little girl sitting in front overheard their conversation, and looking at the sesame seed cake in her hand, she figured she had successfully provoked him. So she looked up at the young prince again.
The young prince was staring intently at her, his face ashen... The girl inwardly groaned, "No, what's wrong now...? Didn't I already manage to snatch a pastry?"
Xiao Changchuan thought angrily, "That auntie is indeed cunning... It seems I have no choice but to take action myself."
When the banquet reached the point where people were free to move around, officials and women of the household came out of the main hall to watch the various acrobatic performances that His Majesty had invited from the common people.
Jin Shanyao was staring at the fire-breathing performer with adoration when she suddenly heard a soft laugh.
"Auntie, we meet again."
Meng Anci and Meng Anzhi turned around subconsciously and saw a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy staring at their aunt with unfriendly eyes, while their aunt was still smiling.
"Your Highness... how have you been?"
"Young Prince??? "Meng Anci suddenly looked at Xiao Changchuan... The emperor who holds the emperor hostage to command the princes has appeared. Damn it, he's only a sixth-rank official. When will he be able to wield absolute power?
Meng Anci, harboring a treacherous mind, stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes narrowed as he sized up Xiao Changchuan... How could I first make him emperor, and then use him to command the other lords?
It's not the god-like opponents I fear, it's the pig-like teammates. What if he's not thinking straight... and he can't even push the ball up? Just as he was lost in thought, someone pinched his lower back hard.
Turning his head, he saw his sister looking at him expressionlessly, but he could read the calmness in her eyes...
Meng Anci a deep breath. "Sister, you are a stumbling block on my road to success."
Ouch... Meng Anci gasped in pain and secretly grabbed Meng Anzhi's hand; if he pinched any harder, it would turn blue.
Jin Shanyao didn't notice the siblings' subtle movements; she had already been challenged by Xiao Changchuan. "Auntie... do you dare come with me?"
Meng Anzhi instinctively tried to stop her, but Jin Shanyao calmly, "You can wander around as you like, I'll be right back..." She then turned to Xiao Changchuan, "Let's go... my little prince... don't fall asleep again this time!"
Xiao Changchuan clenched his fists in anger.
Their commotion was witnessed by Shi Chong, who had been hiding in the shadows. His expression darkened instantly when he saw Meng Anci holding Meng Anzhi's hand.
Just as Shi Chong was about to step forward to greet him, he saw the newly appointed second-place scholar Zhao Zhiyuan, walk over.
He didn't know what he said, but it made Meng Anzhi chuckle. It was a smile that Shi Chong had never seen before, sincere and radiant.
Three months have passed since he was injured and rescued. However, Meng Anzhi has always only given him a faint smile, and recently, she has politely declined his invitations several times, which has made him very unhappy.
At first, Shi Chong didn't take Meng Anzhi seriously, thinking she was just a merchant's daughter with no background. Only after returning to the capital and investigating did he discover that she was actually the older sister of the newly appointed top scholar in the imperial examination.
This is getting a bit tricky...
If she were just an ordinary merchant's daughter, she could have liked him without a second thought. But she was the sister of a top scholar, so those methods of coercion and enticement were ineffective.
Giving her some sweet words and accepting her into the family won't work; a proper marriage proposal is necessary. Shi Chong stared at her bright, smiling face, momentarily lost in thought.
He was taken back to the Shi Residence at the age of five, and from then on he knew that what he wanted could only be obtained by his own efforts. From being selected by the emperor to be a spy in the Northern Rong, to his current official position and favor, all of this was the result of his own hard work.
From the moment he first saw Meng Anzhi, he made up his mind: he was determined to have this girl.
Meng Anzhi was unaware that she had been targeted by a madman; at that moment, she was listening to Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan chatting.
Zhao Zhiyuan was just saying that once when Meng Anci was copying a book, he got tired and went to the outhouse to squat for half an hour. He was dragged out by Lord Zhen and given a good scolding.
Meng Anci laughed heartily, "Hello... You once got tired of copying books and fell asleep on the table... When Lord Yan came to check on you, I woke you up..."
Meng Anci mimicked Lord Yan's manner, putting his hands behind his back and scolding, " Lord Zhao, have I given you too much work? Letting you sleep here, do you think the Hanlin Academy is your home?"
He looked at Meng Anzhi as he spoke, "Sister... guess what he said?"
Meng Anzhi considered Zhao Zhiyuan's style of doing things and smiled, "My lord... I've been copying books."
"Pfft..." Meng Anci chuckled. "You're right about people. That's exactly what he said, and he got a scolding from Lord Yan..." Afterwards, he even asked me, "That shouldn't be the case. How did Lord Yan find out he was sleeping?"
Zhao Zhiyuan stood opposite Meng Anzhi, not stopping Meng Anci, letting him tell his embarrassing stories.
Meng Anci, "Because he had ink stains on his cheeks, he thought he wouldn't be discovered if he sat up straight. Hahaha... Who knew he'd already been exposed."
Meng Anzhi burst into laughter. She subconsciously looked at Zhao Zhiyuan, her gaze meeting his directly. Zhao Zhiyuan n't flinch, a smile playing on his lips, his cheeks slightly flushed as if he'd had a drink.
Meng Anzhi looked away somewhat awkwardly. Meng Anci's gaze swept over the two of them, then he took Meng Anzhi's hand. "Sister... come on, let's go watch the fireworks."
After saying that, he left Zhao Zhiyuan behind and went straight away.
In the distance, Shi Chong watched this scene with his eyes lowered, his fingers slowly clenching.
Zhao Zhiyuan.
I heard that he was the grandson of the former Imperial Academy, but unfortunately his family was not good; he only had an uncle who passed the imperial examination, so he was ultimately a merchant.
He never failed to get what he wanted. He took a deep look at Meng Anzhi's Shi Chong figure, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.