Moonlit Calamity: The Dragon Girl's Life of Idleness is Broken

Xiao Han stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

Emperor Sukang held the memorial, glanced at him coldly, frowned and said unhappily, "I haven't seen you lately, where have you been?"

"Your Majesty, I went to Nguyen Phung City..." Zhu recounted the events of the past few days to Emperor Sukang, omitting some details.

After Xiao Han finished explaining what had happened, Emperor Sukang's expression softened slightly. He looked at him carefully and asked, "Are you injured?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am not injured."

Afterwards, the two chatted for a while and exchanged pleasantries before Xiao Han left.

Inside Cixi Palace, the Empress Dowager was talking with Shen Anning, the granddaughter of Grand Tutor Shen. The current Empress Dowager was Grand Tutor Shen's sister, and thus Shen Anning's great-aunt.

The Empress Dowager is over sixty years old and well-maintained. In addition, she is kind-hearted. In her youth, she was the Empress and was greatly favored by the Emperor. Now, as the Empress Dowager, no one dares to cause her any trouble.

She didn't care about the affairs of the harem and only focused on living her own life. In her youth, she possessed both talent and beauty, and now she looks to be only in her early forties.

Shen Anning has delicate features, fair and smooth skin, beautiful appearance, and a refined and elegant demeanor. She is a gentle and graceful young woman.

Born into a scholarly family, she possessed a refined and gentle demeanor.

Today she was dressed in a light blue silk robe, with a set of exquisite hair ornaments in her hair, including a gold hairpin, and a pair of delicate white jade earrings. A gentle smile graced her face.

Today, the Empress Dowager wore a magnificent robe embroidered with auspicious dragon and phoenix patterns, and a gorgeous phoenix crown inlaid with rubies, highlighting her noble status.

With her nails painted red, she pulled Shen Anning down to sit, looking at her kindly: "Anning! It's been quite a while since you came to the palace to chat with me. I'm so bored by myself."

Shen Anning replied shyly, "Grandmother, please forgive me. I've been studying a lot lately and haven't been able to find the time. I promise I'll visit you often in the future."

The Empress Dowager looked at her with pity: "It must have been arranged by my old brother!"

"When I was young, I couldn't escape his clutches either. He would make me read books and learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting every day. Just thinking about it gives me a headache," she said, chuckling.

Shen Anning laughed along, "So, when my great-aunt was young, my grandfather also disciplined her so strictly!"

"That's right! But now that I think about it, it's all thanks to my brother for pushing me, otherwise I wouldn't be living such a comfortable life now."

Shen Anning said softly, "Great-aunt's blessings are naturally great."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand: "Let's not talk about me anymore. You've come of age now. Has my old brother found you a good family?"

The Empress Dowager generally disliked arranging marriages for others or matchmaking them together. She felt uneasy if the two people didn't end up together, so she usually didn't get involved in these matters.

She didn't want to cause herself any trouble; she had the attitude of "I won't go looking for trouble, and trouble shouldn't come looking for me."

Now when asked, it's only because they're her family members, and they mention it out of concern, but she has absolutely no intention of playing matchmaker.

Shen Anning lowered her head shyly: "Not yet! Anning is still young, so I'm not in a hurry. I want to stay home and spend more time with my grandparents, father, and mother."

Ning Meng, the aunt beside the Empress Dowager, joked, "Miss Cousin is both beautiful and talented. I bet the wealthy young men in the capital are practically wearing out our door trying to marry her!"

"Auntie, please stop teasing An Ning," Shen An Ning said shyly with a slight smile, turning to Aunt Ning Meng.

The Empress Dowager pointed at Aunt Ningmeng, glanced at her and smiled faintly: "You shameless thing, my grandniece is thin-skinned, you are not allowed to make jokes about her."

"However, An Ning! Marriage is not something to be taken lightly; you must carefully select and scrutinize each other." The Empress Dowager's smile vanished as she earnestly instructed.

Shen Anning replied seriously, "Yes, this matter still needs to be decided by my grandfather, father, and mother."

In large families, children's marriages are not their own choice. They are arranged by their parents and matchmakers, and are usually decided by the parents and elders. They require that the families be of equal social standing and class, and family interests are also involved. The status and economic situation of the other family must be considered, and if they are officials in the government, there are also political considerations.

The Empress Dowager nodded in agreement: "I do have a few grandsons who haven't married yet, right, Ningmeng?" She turned to Ningmeng and said.

Ning Meng knew the Empress Dowager's temperament, so she didn't think too much about it. They were just chatting about everyday things. That's all. She just picked up on the topic and started talking about it, and Ning Meng just went along with it.

Ning Meng smiled and said, "Yes, apart from Prince Yu and Prince Rui who have married their principal wives, Prince Jin, Prince Ning, Prince Qi, Prince Xuan, and Prince Qin are all still unmarried!"

Emperor Sukang had nine sons and ten daughters.

The eldest prince, Xiao Qian, is only twenty-two years old now. Two years ago, he married Ye Zhiyao, the daughter of the Minister of War.

The second son, Prince Rui, Xiao Yin, was twenty-one years old. He married his princess a year ago; she was Feng Yiqiu, the granddaughter of the Minister of Personnel.

The third son, Prince Xiao Yue of Jin, is twenty years old. He is the legitimate son of the Empress and is not yet married.

The fourth prince, Prince Ning, Xiao Zheng, is nineteen years old and still unmarried. A year ago, he requested permission to go to the frontier for training and is currently not in the capital.

The fifth prince, Prince Qi, Xiao Mo, is nineteen years old and still unmarried.

The sixth son, Prince Xuan, Xiao Can, is eighteen years old and still unmarried.

The seventh son, Qin Wang Xiao Han, is eighteen years old and still unmarried.

The eighth son, Xiao Heng, is fourteen years old and has not yet been granted the title of king. The ninth son, Xiao Yi, is eight years old.

The eldest princess is twenty-five, and she has married six men so far, while the other four are still young.

Emperor Sukang's eldest sons were all handsome and tall, and his daughters were beautiful and gentle.

Emperor Sukang himself was handsome, and the concubines in the palace were all beauties chosen from among thousands. There were no ugly children in the royal family now.

Several princes who were of marriageable age but had not yet married were also one of Emperor Sukang's headaches.

The Empress Dowager looked worried: "Yes! Several princes are now of marriageable age."

Then she waved her hand and said, "Never mind, I don't care about these things. Let the emperor worry about it!"

Ning Meng knew the Empress Dowager would react this way. She didn't care about such things and disliked worrying. She smiled and teased, "Empress Dowager, don't you want to hold your great-grandson soon?"

The Empress Dowager shook her head: "There's nothing we can do. The children have grown up and have their own ideas. Let nature take its course! Look, the eldest son had a daughter, and he's only brought her in to show me two or three times. It's been quite a while since she's come to see me!"

Seeing this, Aunt Ningmeng suggested, "Then, I'll have Princess Yu bring her great-granddaughter in for you to see."

"Alright, the children are young, don't make them go through all that trouble."

Over there, after Xiao Han came out of the Imperial Study, he headed towards Cixi Palace.

"Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother... here," a head peeked out from behind the artificial hill.

"Xiao Jiu?" Xiao Han stopped and turned to look at the artificial hill. "What mischief are you up to hiding in there?"

“I didn’t,” Xiao Yi said as he walked out from behind the artificial hill.

"Then what are you doing hiding inside all by yourself? Why aren't any palace servants with you?" Xiao Han asked, beckoning him over.

Xiao Yi felt a little guilty: "I shook them off," and then hopped over towards Xiao Han.

"Were you sneaking some chicken legs in there?" Xiao Han could tell what was going on just by looking at his hands and the grease on his mouth.

Xiao Yi pursed his lips, wiped his mouth, and laughed, "Hehe, you found out. I knew I couldn't hide it from Seventh Brother."

"Seventh Brother, don't tell Mother, or you'll get a scolding when we get back."

Xiao Han stepped forward and poked his forehead: "You knew you'd get scolded, yet you still sneaked food. Don't you know you can't eat too much greasy food? You'll get a stomachache later, and no one will be there to help you."

With his hands behind his back, Xiao Yi looked guilty and quickly explained, "No, I didn't eat much today."

"By the way, Seventh Brother, I haven't seen you in so long. Where have you been?" Xiao Yi looked up and asked innocently.

Xiao Han patted his head: "Brother has some errands to run. Have you been studying hard and listening to your teacher?"

Xiao Yi nodded emphatically, "Study hard and listen to your teacher."

"Mmm...good girl..."

"Oh dear, Ninth Prince, where did you hide? This servant has been searching for you everywhere." Xiao Sen, the eunuch accompanying Xiao Yi, hurried over with small, quick steps.

"This servant greets Your Highness and pays respects."

"No gift."

Xiao Yi peeked out from behind Xiao Han and made a face at Xiao Sen, "Hehehe..."