The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Chapter 330 Palace Banquet 2

Peacefulness.

Perhaps the night wind blew away the clouds.

A crescent moon gradually revealed its face.

Although it was a waning moon, its light was exceptionally bright.

Shen Shuhua suppressed her slight discomfort and smiled as she invited Zhao Ruhui to sit beside her.

"How could your mother blame you? Do you like jade bracelets? Or do you like the Empress?"

When Zhao Ruhui heard Shen Shuhua's words, her heart skipped a beat. How could she forget that she had heard from the palace maids that the Empress and her mother did not have a good relationship?

She feigned panic and quickly explained, "Ming'er just likes jade bracelets. I've never seen such a fine bracelet before."

"I think this jade bracelet must be very valuable. Since the Empress gave it to me, I can't refuse. I can only stay in front of her a little longer."

"Did Ming'er do something wrong?" she asked, her eyes slightly red as she looked pitifully at Shen Shuhua.

Seeing her pitiful eyes, Shen Shuhua's previous displeasure temporarily disappeared.

Why is she in such a hurry again?

"If you like jade bracelets, your mother has a few nice ones, the colors of which are perfect for you to wear now."

"The color bestowed upon you by the Empress is not suitable for your current age."

Zhao Ruhui glanced down at the bracelet and said, "Then I will put this bracelet away."

"If you like, feel free to wear it and play around with it."

"It was bestowed upon you by the Empress. You may wear it if you wish."

"Yes, I understand." He then touched the jade bracelet again.

Shen Shuhua glanced at it without showing any emotion.

"I heard that you invited Wanyue's friend to the palace today?" The Emperor's voice suddenly came from above.

Shen Shuhua smiled and said, "Yes, isn't it a coincidence? Just that day, Wanyue returned to the palace and mentioned that her sister Cao'er had actually come to the capital."

"I thought that she had taken good care of Wanyue, so I invited her over."

The Emperor nodded. "Speaking of which, where is Wanyue?"

"She must have taken her sister Cao'er somewhere for a stroll," Shen Shuhua said to the Emperor with a smile, covering her mouth with a handkerchief.

His eyes were filled with doting affection for Wanyue.

Seeing this, Zhao Ruhui felt a surge of jealousy.

"I ran into her in the Imperial Garden today. My sister Wanyue and her sister Cao'er are very close. Even I, her own sister, am quite envious!"

"Oh?" The Emperor became interested and glanced at Zhao Ruhui. "Is Ming'er jealous?"

"You and Yue'er are sisters, but you haven't spent much time together yet. Once you spend more time together, your relationship will definitely become even closer."

"Your subject knows, it's just that I feel Sister Wanyue is exceptionally kind to this Shen Cao."

"Anyone who doesn't know her would think she's Wanyue's older sister."

"Watch your words!" Shen Shuhua said softly, trying to stop him.

Zhao Ruhui then realized that she had said the wrong thing.

How can the royal bloodline be arbitrarily fabricated?

She quickly knelt down, "Father, please forgive me. I misspoke."

The Emperor gave her a meaningful look, and after a long while, he told her to get up.

Sigh, since I didn't raise her from a young age, I guess I don't have much of a bond with her.

He always felt that his feelings for this daughter were very strange. Logically speaking, he should feel especially indebted to his daughter who had been lost and found again.

However, whenever he felt pity for her, some of her actions would make him very disgusted.

"Father, Mother, Sister Wanming, what are you talking about?" Wanyue's voice suddenly came from beside me.

The Emperor smiled and said, "I was just talking about you. You were nowhere to be seen, and you're only showing up now."

Although there was blame in his words, there was no blame in his tone.

Wanyue smiled and walked skillfully to the Emperor, took his hand, and said coquettishly, "Father, this is just the beginning, and I haven't delayed anything."

The way he did it so skillfully clearly meant he did it often.

Zhao Ruhui clenched her fists under her clothes. They were both the Emperor's daughters, but why did the Emperor treat her so differently from Wanyue?

"By the way, Father, I want to introduce someone to you."

"Your mother told me that your beloved sister Cao'er has arrived in the capital," the Emperor said to Wanyue with a smile.

That gentle gaze moved even Shen Cao, who was standing to the side.

When she heard Wanyue mention her, she quickly stepped forward to pay her respects to the Emperor, Empress, and Imperial Concubine.

The Emperor smiled and told her to get up, and Shen Cao walked to the side.

Wanyue quickly walked up to Shen Cao and pulled her a few steps forward.

The Emperor looked up at Shen Cao and found it strange. Although the girl below him had an ordinary appearance, her almond-shaped eyes seemed very familiar to him.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of pity; he knew very well that it wasn't a man to a woman, but a father to a son.

“Shen Cao, right? Take a few more steps forward.”

Shen Cao took a few steps forward, and the Emperor could see her more clearly.

What a pair of bright eyes.

"My daughter is very playful, and it's all thanks to your care that she's been taken care of. What reward would you like?"

"This humble woman dares not accept any reward; these are all things this humble woman should do."

Hypocritical, Zhao Ruhui looked at Shen Cao with a cold smile.

"Father, Sister Cao'er plans to open a restaurant in the capital. The restaurant is currently short of a piece of calligraphy. I would like to ask for a piece of your calligraphy on behalf of Sister Cao'er."

Wanyue stepped forward, took Shen Cao's arm, and spoke to the Emperor.

"Haha, you are like that. In that case, I will reward you with a piece of calligraphy."

Shen Cao quickly knelt down to express her gratitude.

She obtained the calligraphy of the King of the Great Xia Kingdom so easily.

If you hang it in her restaurant, even if the food is terrible, you'll probably still make a fortune.

"Sister Wanyue always calls this Miss Shen Cao 'Sister Cao'er.' May I ask how old Miss Shen Cao is this year?"

Zhao Ruhui suddenly spoke up, "You are Wanyue's older sister, so I should call you older sister too, but judging from your age, you should be about the same age as me."

"I'm afraid it would be presumptuous of me to call you 'older sister'."

He turned out to be a merchant, indeed not a respectable person. When the emperor bestowed a reward upon him, he only asked for a piece of calligraphy.

Shen Cao first bowed to Zhao Ruhui before speaking, "This humble woman is sixteen years old this year, and her birthday is on the seventh day of the first lunar month."

With a "snap," Shen Shuhua dropped her cup after hearing Shen Cao's birthday.

She and Wanming share the same birthday!

“Since Miss Shen Cao is the same age as me, I will call you Miss Cao’er.”

"I just don't know who gave you such a name, Grass, Grass makes people sound lowly."

Zhao Ruhui looked at Shen Cao with obvious mockery in her eyes, which Shen Shuhua noticed, and she felt uncomfortable again.

"It's just a name, how can it be considered noble or lowly?" Wanyue spoke up to help Shen Cao out of the predicament.

Zhao Ruhui clearly wasn't going to let Shen Cao off the hook, and continued, "Don't Shen Cao's parents like her? Daughters are treasures in every family. Which parent doesn't want their daughter to be as precious as a pearl? How could they give her such a name?"

"Where is grass lowly?" Before Shen Shuhua could even speak, she heard someone voice her thoughts.

Turning around, I saw Shen Cao standing tall, speaking with neither arrogance nor servility.