Shaohua is Junqing

The chief eunuch Zhou Gonggong of the emperor came to Prince Chen's mansion.

"The Emperor has ordered that Princess Shaohua be summoned to the palace tomorrow for an audience. I decree this."

"Your humble servant Shaohua accepts your order and thanks you."

"Eunuch Zhou, please have tea in the front hall." The servant led him away.

"This is very strange. As the head of the harem, it's fine for the Queen Mother to summon me, but the Emperor, who is in charge of court affairs, also wants to summon me?"

"Perhaps you have been too popular recently and the news reached the emperor's ears, so the emperor wanted to see who you are."

"I'm not famous or sacred at all. I'm just an ordinary girl."

"In my eyes, you are not ordinary." Beitang Mo Ran whispered.

"What did you say, my lord?"

"It's okay. The King will accompany you to the palace tomorrow."

The next day, Baohedian.

"I see you, Your Majesty."

"Your humble servant Shaohua pays respect to His Majesty."

"No need to pay tribute."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"The eyebrows and eyes are as beautiful as a painting, elegant and extraordinary, the rumors are indeed true."

"Your Majesty is so complimentary."

"The emperor's uncle is here too."

"The princess lives in my house, so I must come."

"Uncle? Wait, what is your relationship? Why does the emperor call you uncle?"

"It seems that the princess has not figured out the relationship between our royal family. Let me tell you, I am the third son of the late emperor, and Prince Chen is the youngest brother of the late emperor. Although Prince Chen and I are of the same age, in terms of seniority, Prince Chen is my uncle."

"Oh, so that's it."

"This is not the court. You don't have to be restrained. Please take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"My mother has always been very picky. There aren't many people she likes. I was shocked that she would make a girl whom she had only met once a princess. So I summoned you to the palace to see what kind of person could catch her eye."

"Your Majesty, are you disappointed when you see this today?"

"No, it's stunning. My mother does have a good eye."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."

"I haven't played chess with my uncle for a long time. Now I have nothing to do. How about playing a few games with me?"

"My minister obeys."

The three of them came to the side hall. There was a large dark brown quilt spread on the floor in the middle. A low table was placed in the middle with a chessboard on it. The emperor and Beitang Mo Ran sat face to face and started playing chess, while Si Yu sat aside and watched.

"This chess piece is crystal clear and beautiful. Is it made of jade?"

"The mysterious jade from Mount Yao." the emperor replied.

"As expected, they are a royal family and can afford jade. I heard that chess pieces are usually made of stone."

"You are right. Ordinary chess pieces are indeed made of stone." Beitang Mo Ran continued.

"Like salt and iron, the mining rights of jade belong to the royal family. No one is allowed to mine privately, so the use of jade is given priority to the royal family," the emperor explained.

"I see."

The emperor and Beitang Mo Ran were playing chess, and Si Yu was sitting aside in silence. She turned around and saw some fruits on the table.

"Eunuch Zhou, is there a small knife here?"

"Princess, be careful with your words. This is the emperor's bedroom. How could there be such a sharp blade?"

"Don't panic, eunuch. I just want to cut some fruit for the emperor and the prince to eat."

"Then tell the old servant to order the imperial kitchen to prepare it."

"That's too slow. By the time they're ready to take it, the game will be over."

"What should I do? There is definitely no knife here."

"If you don't have a small knife, a large knife will do. Don't the guards outside carry knives? Can you please borrow one for me, eunuch?"

"Is this okay?"

“It’s a bit of an overkill, but it’s still okay.”

"Okay, I'll go borrow one right away."

Eunuch Zhou brought the long knife used by the guards, and with his help, Siyu cut an apple into six small pieces. Just as she was about to cut the pear, she was stopped by Eunuch Zhou.

"My father-in-law wants to say that 'li' and 'li' have the same pronunciation, and that dividing the pears is not a good idea, right?"

"Exactly."

"That's all superstition. There's no scientific basis for it. Don't take it seriously, father-in-law. It's nothing."

"I have heard of 'Imperial Learning' and 'Zongxue', but which one is this 'science'?"

"Science is a knowledge system that reflects the objective laws of nature, society, thinking, etc. It is quite profound."

"The princess knows so much. This is the first time I have heard of it..."

"It's just a little bit of fur. The fruit has been cut. Can you please return the knife to me, father-in-law?"