The harem is too complicated; the empress, a lazy bum, wins by doing nothing.

Chapter 411 (Extra Chapter) (First Encounter 2)

She paused for a moment, then stood up and gave a proper bow, "Wanwan greets... um... Brother, may you be blessed."

Jiang Yuxian's smile froze. The etiquette was too proper, so proper that it created a huge distance between him and her.

He doesn't like this feeling.

Jiang Yuxian quickened his pace and stood in front of her. "You know I'm a prince?"

Shen Qingwan nodded and bowed again, "Replying to Your Highness...replying to the Prince, during dinner...just...just..."

Jiang Yuyan looked at her, feeling uneasy and unable to speak clearly, yet still displaying impeccable manners, and frowned deeply. "Are you afraid of me?"

Shen Qingwan nodded, then shook her head. "My mother told me that I should bow to you when I see you. You are a prince, you are... which prince? Oh dear, I can't remember which prince you are."

As she spoke, she anxiously and helplessly fidgeted with her fingers. Seeing that she was about to cry, Jiang Yuxian walked over to her and sat down.

Then he patted a spot next to him and said, "You sit down too."

Shen Qingwan hesitated for a moment, then sat down next to Jiang Yuxian. After struggling for a while, she placed the osmanthus cake she was holding in front of him. "Brother...brother...brother, do you want some osmanthus cake?"

Jiang Yuxian was still a child, but at this moment he was acting like a little adult in front of his innocent little sister. His expression was slightly serious. "Osmanthus cake is too sweet. I don't like sweet things."

“Then…” Shen Qingwan pondered for a while, “Then if brother… if my brother doesn’t eat, I…”

She paused for a moment, then asked, "May I eat it?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuxian couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Aren't these your pastries? You have all the pastries in your hands, so you can eat them if you want. You don't need to ask anyone else."

Shen Qingwan's eyes lit up, and a broad smile spread across her face.

She carefully held the osmanthus cake out to her, took a small bite, and said with great satisfaction, "Brother...Brother, are you really not going to eat any? It's really delicious!"

Jiang Yuxian shook his head with a chuckle.

She was so young, and had grown up in Rongcheng. She probably had never been to the palace, and naturally had never seen a prince.

Presumably, her family had explained things to her in detail after lunch today, but she... didn't remember much!

Jiang Yuxian sighed, "You can call me Jiang Yuxian, or you can call me Brother Xian."

Brother Xian?
Shen Qingwan turned her head in a daze and glanced at him. She felt that the three words together were a bit awkward and seemed even harder to remember.

It's not as easy to remember as "brother" or "elder brother".

"what……"

Shen Qingwan suddenly screamed and jumped up from the ground, her face pale, scattering the osmanthus cake she hadn't finished eating all over the ground.

"what happened?"

Seeing her frightened expression, Jiang Yuxian also stood up.

"insect!"

Shen Qingwan turned pale with fright and jumped up and down. She grabbed Jiang Yuxian's sleeve in a panic, "Brother Xian, a bug!"

It must have been raining just now; an earthworm crawled out of the soil in the yard.

Let alone these soft, boneless, wriggling worms, even a tiny fly can scare her into screaming on ordinary days.

It's understandable that she, a girl, is afraid of insects, but Jiang Yuxian doesn't seem to be much braver than her. Although he spreads his arms to protect her behind him, his pale face and uncontrollable trembling fingertips are undeniable.

But he had just asked someone to call him "Brother Xian," so how could he lose face over a mere worm?

But he rarely saw such things in the palace. Even if they were there, the servants would clean them up long ago, so he would never see them.

Jiang Yuxian stared intently at the earthworm, carefully crouched down, stretched out his arm, picked up a stone from the flower bed next to the steps, and threw it at it with lightning speed.

He usually practices martial arts, but at this moment, he was either too nervous or too scared, or the night was too dark.

Jiang Yuxian threw a stone, but instead of hitting the earthworm, it startled the earthworm, causing it to wriggle quickly on the ground and crawl towards them.

"what……"

Jiang Yuxian and Shen Qingwan both let out a scream almost simultaneously.

The two unconsciously hugged each other, but Jiang Yuxian quickly realized what was happening and calmed down.

He moved his lips, but before he could figure out what to say to save face, he hesitated.

A crisp sound of a door opening came from behind me, particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Jiang Yuyan was probably disturbed by their sudden, startled noises.

He came out of the house, picked up a stone, walked past the two people, and stood in front of the earthworm. He smashed it down heavily, as if afraid that he wouldn't kill it in one hit. He smashed it several times until the earthworm lay motionless on the ground.

He straightened up quickly, turned around and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.

Jiang Yuxian: ...

Shen Qingwan: ? ? ?

The two exchanged a glance, neither daring to remain seated in the courtyard.

A commotion came from outside the door, and Shen Wenqian led Jiang Wenying in.

Jiang Wenying, who was walking at the front, had his narrow eyes slightly lowered, and a hint of coldness seeped into them, as if he had just experienced something outside.

Those following behind him naturally kept a distance from him, not daring to get close.

Only Jiang Yuxian turned his head in the direction of the sound, and when he saw who it was, he quickly ran over and called out, "Father Emperor."

Jiang Wenying's expression softened a bit, and he waved to the people behind him, "That's all for today, we'll discuss it again tomorrow morning at Chenshi (7-9 AM)."

After saying that, without waiting for the people behind him to react, he took Jiang Yuxian's hand and walked towards the room that had been arranged for him.

Shen Wenqian exchanged pleasantries with everyone for a while, and after everyone dispersed, he picked up Shen Qingwan, who was standing in the courtyard, and said, "Wanwan, why are you still up so late? Didn't your father tell you that you need to go to bed early so you can grow taller?"

“Father, it’s not that Wanwan is timid, but Brother Xian is also afraid of bugs.”

Brother Xian?
Upon hearing those three words, Shen Wenqian abruptly stopped in his tracks. "Brother Xian? Which Brother Xian?"

"That's the guy who was standing with Wanwan just now." Shen Qingwan finished speaking and pointed in the direction Jiang Yuxian had left.

羡？
Jiang Yuxian?
The Emperor's most favored son, the son of Consort Ying?

“Wanwan, that brother is a prince. We should call him ‘Age’ (Prince), not ‘Xian Gege’ (Brother Xian),” Shen Wenqian said patiently.

"It was Brother Xian who told me to call him that, Father, another brother, who gave Wanwan a piece of osmanthus cake today..."