After traveling through time, I became the aunt of the loyal dog emperor

"Princess Le Yan, the emperor invites you to have dinner."

Upon hearing the message from the guards waiting at the door, Wan Ning immediately stopped chatting with her sisters, and reluctantly stood up and walked out with her lunch box.

When the emperor saw her coming in, he pretended to be calm and continued his previous actions, not even looking up at her. But behind her back, he quietly waved his hand to dismiss all the guards inside. When the tent was calm again, Wan Ning breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly, as if she had mustered up her courage, she strode to the desk, and without saying a word, she grabbed the emperor's collar and tried to rip off his clothes.

The moment he got close to her, the emperor's earlobes turned red, and he subconsciously grabbed her wrist. But he felt that this was a bit rude, so he put down the memorial in his other hand.

"What are you doing? How can I apply medicine to you if you hold me like this?" Wan Ning looked at him stupidly and asked in confusion.

"Be gentle," the emperor answered in a nonchalant tone, but he turned his face away timidly and loosened his hand.

Wan Ning listened and slowed down her movements, carefully lifted the emperor's clothes, and applied medicine to his wounds. That's right, the mysterious man Wan Ning ran into in the woods last night was the emperor. She was in a hurry to escape and was almost hit by a spear thrown at her. The blank moment in her mind stimulated her body's counterattack instinct. She fumbled around and grabbed a long stick-like object beside her, turned around and swung it as hard as she could to hit the person who was chasing her.

At this time, the emperor had recognized her identity. He was a little scared of his previous behavior, and worried about hurting her, so he did not dodge. Instead, the branch in Wan Ning's hand scratched his left arm, leaving a deep cut. When she recovered a little, the emperor held the stick she swung at him and called her name softly.

"Yanyan"

"Wow——" Wan Ning let go of her hands and squatted on the ground, crying loudly, saying while crying: "I hurt the emperor... I'm done, if the emperor knew, he would not let me go..."

She didn't forget to look up at his expression while crying. Seeing that he didn't look angry, she felt that her trick of pretending to be pitiful had worked. It was a good time to add fuel to the fire and show that she cared about him even when she was in danger in exchange for his sympathy. So she asked with a tearful voice, "How is your wound? Does it still hurt?"

"It's just a minor injury. You can bandage it yourself. There's no need to make a fuss and ruin the fun." The emperor glanced at his arm quickly and couldn't wait to look at Wan Ning who was squatting on the ground.

This was exactly what Wan Ning wanted. If the news got out, she would definitely be criticized by the ministers in the court. If it got to the ears of the retired emperor or the empress dowager, she would be in big trouble. Even if the retired emperor didn't say anything because of their brother-sister relationship, she would still be talked about to death by the people in the hunting ground.

"Really?" Wan Ning stopped crying, stood up and approached the emperor, tilted her head close to his arm and carefully observed the injury. The emperor immediately grabbed her arm and walked out. Wan Ning was afraid that he would regret it, so she asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"Apply medicine. Since you don't want others to know, at least help me treat the wound." At this point, the emperor suddenly stopped and turned back to look into Wan Ning's eyes and added, "I'll keep it a secret for you, and you'll help me bandage it. Isn't that fair?"

It was fair indeed. After all, it was difficult for one person to treat the wound on his arm. Fortunately, the wound was not serious. Wan Ning only needed to come to the emperor's tent to eat every day to help him disinfect and apply medicine.

Since it was a show, she had to do it in full. After bandaging her wound, Wan Ning sat down at the table that had been prepared for her in advance. Today's food was really delicious. It was rare for her to eat good food since she entered the palace and Xiang Wanxuan. But just as she picked up her chopsticks, she noticed that the emperor sitting opposite her was still reading the memorials sent today and hadn't started yet. Wan Ning had no choice but to put down her chopsticks in dismay. She had never accidentally looked through the memorials on the table. Although countless new ones were sent every day, in fact, each one was commented on by the emperor.

In other words, he could only take a look at each memorial. She didn't understand why he had to take it so seriously?

"Are you not satisfied with today's meal?" the emperor keenly noticed her abnormality and asked with concern.

"No, I just have a question to ask, but I don't know whether I should ask it or not?" Wan Ning put her hands on the table and leaned forward as if trying to close the distance between them.

"But it doesn't matter."

"Oh, it's not a tricky question." She waved her hands sheepishly, leaned back in her chair, and said with a serious expression, "I want to ask, do you prefer the Queen Mother or the Emperor?"

The emperor waited earnestly for Wan Ning's question, but unexpectedly received such a nonsensical one. He could not help but cough. However, he still put the memorial in his hand back to its original place, walked to his own dining table, picked up the chopsticks, and gave the unique dish on his table to Wan Ning.

"It's so nice. No matter how busy you are, you should remember to eat, and eat happily. If you are reading a book while I am eating next to you, I can't eat in peace, and I have to worry about whether I am disturbing your ears. Right?" After saying this, she raised her face with a bright and sunny smile.

The emperor nodded in agreement, thought for a moment, and then said, "Last time we met, I told you that Yanyan can just call me Ziheng from now on. There is no need for us to be so rigid. If you don't like this name, you can call me by the same name as when you were little. Do you still remember how you called me before?"

Wan Ning naturally didn't know, not to mention that she and Ziheng had never met before. Even if she was really Princess Le Yan, they hadn't seen each other for more than ten years. Who would remember the title before the age of five?

She shook her head to show that she didn't remember, which also extinguished Ziheng's hope. But she couldn't bear his lonely expression, so she pointed to her head and said self-deprecatingly: "You know, my brain doesn't work well."

It's not that I feel lonely, it's just that I have verified a guess of mine. When Ziheng was a child, he was with Le Yan almost every day. He watched her grow from a newborn baby to a lovely little girl, and he really treated her like a sister. So compared to the identities of aunt and nephew, he prefers the roles of brother and sister. Later, many things happened to both of them, and time took away many things. In the days when the two did not see each other, this brother-sister relationship was gradually covered in the trivialities and complexity of daily life.

"Since I don't remember anything about the past, why don't we get to know each other again now. From now on, I will call you Ziheng in private, and you can call me..."

Wan Ning hadn't finished her words when she was interrupted by a guard outside the door reporting something. He then walked in carrying an extremely exquisite lunch box.

"Your Majesty, Princess Le Yan, the Prime Minister's daughter, Miss Du Ruodu, has specially sent some special delicacies and asked to see you at the door."

"It's not convenient today, let her go back," the emperor replied coldly.

"I have already replied to her. Miss Du asked me to present this to His Majesty. The message said that she was worried that His Majesty would not have an appetite in the hunting grounds, so she prepared some in advance. Please enjoy it, Your Majesty."

"Send it over."

The guard bent over and walked forward respectfully, placed the lunch box on the table, opened the lid, and took out the dishes one by one and placed them on the table.

The emperor just glanced at them coldly and continued to eat what was already on the table. Wan Ning was very curious. The food sent by the prime minister's daughter must be good. She walked to the emperor's side and looked carefully to see if there was anything special about them compared to what she ate every day.

"Yanyan, would you like to try it? It tastes delicious."

Wan Ning frowned. The dishes in front of her looked completely unrelated to the word "delicious": there were only three dishes in total, a few slices of cabbage on a snow-white porcelain plate, a bowl of rich and sticky-looking soup, and a plate of green pastries. No matter how large the servings were, they were all mediocre and people had no expectations for the taste.

But since Ziheng had said so, she had to give him the face. She weighed the pros and cons and put a piece of cabbage leaf into her mouth. At that moment, the delicious taste rushed straight to her head. In other words, this dish, which looked plain and even a little simple, was the most delicious food she had ever eaten. She couldn't help but pick up another piece.

Ziheng just laughed secretly at her overjoyed expression, then handed the bowl of soup to her.

"You really don't want to eat it? This cabbage looks ordinary and no different from other cabbages, but you'll never believe it, it tastes so rich. Come and eat it together, or it won't taste good if it gets cold."

Ziheng rejected her recommendation and signaled her, "Try this soup again."

Take a closer look at the soup, it exudes a golden luster, and take a sip, it has a rich flavor. The meat in the soup is extremely rich, and every taste spreads from the mouth to the stomach, warming the whole body.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?" Wan Ning asked Ziheng happily for confirmation.

"Yes, have you eaten it before?" Ziheng asked.

"I have eaten it, but it's not as good as this one," Wan Ning replied with a wry smile, thinking that if the instant noodles and potato chips with the taste of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall were counted, she had eaten them. Thanks to the fact that the flavors of instant noodles and potato chips have become more and more diverse over the years, she has learned the taste of many things.

"They are boiled cabbage, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and this mung bean pastry. The crust is crispy and the inside is tender. These three dishes are the signature dishes of An Ning Tower, the largest restaurant in Nanye City." The emperor explained patiently.

"The taste is really good. It seems that Miss Du Ruo really put a lot of effort into it. But is An Ning Tower close to here? I also want to bring Xiang Wanxuan's sisters to eat together." Wan Ning asked curiously. After all, the dishes were still hot when they were delivered to the hunting ground. Since Miss Du Ruo could buy them, they must not be far away.

"It's very far away, but in the best location in the city center. There are many signature dishes that are worth visiting." Although Ziheng praised it highly, he never picked up his chopsticks. He just sat quietly in the chair and watched Wan Ning eat happily.

She suddenly thought of how difficult it was to get these three dishes here, and thought the prime minister must have made a great effort. Moreover, since there are so many signature dishes, why did Du Ruo choose these three dishes that the emperor likes the most? And why was Du Ruo still chasing Mu Xiu with Qing Yu two days ago, but today he is so considerate to the emperor?

"Du Ruo is going to be the queen in the future." The words that she had previously treated as a joke echoed in her mind. Wan Ning put down her chopsticks hesitantly, looked at Ziheng with some worry, begging him for an answer.

"Does Miss Du Ruo like you?"

Ziheng was a little surprised, but suddenly he picked up some food for her and replied in a somewhat numb tone, "She is the imperial concubine chosen by the emperor."

"Do you like her?" Wan Ning was stunned for a moment, then continued to look into the emperor's eyes and asked.

He dodged, looked away, and answered irrelevantly: "It's not important."

"Then do I have to marry her?" Wan Ning asked.

Silence, a long silence, and the answer has emerged in the silence.

As a modern young person, this incident deeply impacted Wan Ning's cognition. She thought that the emperor was the most noble, powerful and free person in this era. She didn't expect that Ziheng, as the emperor, still couldn't decide his own marriage. The imperial family is the most ruthless. Today he can sacrifice the emperor's marriage, but tomorrow she, as the eldest princess, doesn't know what she will be sacrificed.

Although she didn't know what she had to sacrifice, she knew that as long as she was the princess and one day she needed to sacrifice, she would have no choice.

Wan Ning stood there in a daze. Ziheng's answer made her feel a little scared about the life in the royal family. A tear flowed from the corner of her eye involuntarily. Seeing this, Ziheng stretched out his slender fingers and gently wiped away the tear with his fingertips.

He may not understand why she was crying at this moment, but he also felt her helplessness and hated his own weakness at this moment.

Maybe it's the grief of the rabbit's death, maybe it's the empathy at a certain moment, maybe it's the mutual sympathy between a chess piece and a puppet. Or maybe it's that I want to do too much, want to protect too much, and fear that I can't do anything.

"Yanyan." Her red lips opened slightly, but that was all.

Wan Ning still couldn't figure out why she ran out of the tent after Ziheng wiped her tears, and why she kept hiding from him until they met again at the horse race.