Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

The aroma wafted far and wide.

"There's a wonderful fragrance!" Princess Nangong Yue sniffed, her round eyes searching around, eager to find the source of the scent.

She secretly ran away to play with ants. Her mother always taught her to be obedient and follow the rules, and wouldn't even let her play with an ant.

Ants are so much fun! They're so tiny, crawling around. If no one's watching her, she could watch ants all day long.

However, at this moment, the fragrant aroma was clearly more appealing to her.

"It smells so good! Yue'er's mouth is watering."

Nangong Yue took out her small handkerchief, wiped the drool from her mouth, and then followed the fragrance forward.

The fragrance grew stronger the further she walked; it was a scent she had never smelled before.

It looked like meat, but it was different from the meat she had eaten before.

She was too young to tell the difference.

It smelled incredibly delicious.

"So many people!" Nangong Yue subconsciously stopped in her tracks.

She was a little scared. Her mother had told her to be careful with her words and actions and not to wander around the palace recklessly.

She wanted to turn away, but the fragrance lured her in, making her unable to resist.

Nangong Yue observed carefully and muttered to herself, "It looks like the market in the story of the wet nurse."

"It shouldn't be a problem to go and take a look."

She just glanced at it.

With so many people around, and her small stature, no one would notice her.

Little Nangong Yue took a few more steps forward.

"Ah!" she exclaimed in surprise, then quickly covered her mouth.

She thought she saw her father!

She had only seen him a few times from afar at banquets before, and she had heard that her father was capricious and would kill people if she wasn't careful.

My mother specifically instructed me not to get too close to my father, or something bad would happen.

Overwhelmed by fear, Nangong Yue stretched out her two small hands and covered her nose.

I won't smell it anymore; I can't cause trouble for my mother.

Then run forward as fast as you can.

Unfortunately, the little girl wasn't paying attention to her footing and stumbled.

Snapped--

It fell directly to the ground.

"Wah—" she started crying instinctively.

She cried out twice, then remembered she couldn't be discovered, so she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, but the tears kept flowing.

Nangong Yue thought she had hidden it well, but her crying had already attracted the attention of others.

The emperor looked up and saw a child lying not far away. He frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

Zhao Gou quickly ran to Nangong Yue's side, and upon looking, he exclaimed, "Good heavens, isn't this the Third Princess Nangong Yue?"

The princess is not even five years old this year. How come she came to the market all alone?

He quickly helped Nangong Yue up and whispered, "Don't call His Majesty 'Father,' call him 'Daddy,' and don't bow, understand?"

Nangong Yue wiped away her tears with her small handkerchief, looking puzzled: "My mother said that I must bow to my father when I see him."

"Today is different. Just listen to your servant. This is a market in the countryside. Your Majesty is now a commoner, and you are a commoner girl. So there is no need for formalities."

Zhao Gou patiently and persuasively explained the reasons to Nangong Yue, step by step.

He was afraid that if things went wrong, the emperor's damned experience would be ruined again, and then the little princess would also suffer.

Nangong Yue thought about it and realized that the stories told by her wet nurse about the common people seemed to be true. Since they had come to the market, she and her father were among the common people, so she should naturally call him "father".

She nodded obediently: "I know."

Zhao Gou finally breathed a sigh of relief and carried Nangong Yue toward the emperor.

As the emperor ate his braised pork intestine noodles, he glanced up and saw the child in Zhao Gou's arms, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He just wanted to be an ordinary citizen, so why were these people so blind?

Just as he was about to question her, he heard the little girl's sweet, childish voice say, "Daddy~"

The emperor swallowed his accusatory words, a hint of interest appearing in his eyes:

"You called me father?"

The name was quite unfamiliar, which made it seem strange and novel.

"Yes, isn't this a market? I'm your daughter, so of course I should call you Daddy," Nangong Yue said innocently.

She was just a child under five years old, had never been outside the palace, and had never seen a real market, so she took it seriously.

She naively believed that since she had come to the marketplace with the emperor, they should address each other as father and daughter.

Nangong Yue's eyes were full of clarity and innocence, and her face showed complete trust, with no doubt about the market in front of her.

This pleased the emperor just the right time.

The emperor was overjoyed and laughed heartily: "Yes, yes, this is a market, you should call me father."

"Come here, let Daddy hug you~"

I wonder how fathers and daughters in ordinary households get along; it would be a good opportunity to experience it for myself.

Nangong Yue was immediately placed in the emperor's arms. It was the first time the little girl had been held by her father, and she was overjoyed.

Father Emperor isn't as frightening as Mother Consort described.

Smelling the fragrance, she grew a little bolder: "Father, it smells so good! Yue'er came to the market because of the fragrance."

"Would Yue'er like to try some?" the emperor asked with great interest.

He had few children, and although he had many concubines in his harem, he only had one son, Crown Prince Nangong Jing.

He had always wanted to have more sons, but things didn't go as planned. He had few sons, let alone princesses.

Those concubines either couldn't conceive or didn't know how to raise children, and they died young.

Of those who survived, only the crown prince and a few princesses did.

He had no interest in paying attention to the princess. If Nangong Yue hadn't called herself Yue'er, he wouldn't even know her name.

As for the joy of spending time with his children, he had never experienced it. He couldn't stand the useless Crown Prince, and he didn't want to see the useless princesses either.

In addition, he usually plays with many other things and has no interest in spending time with children.

For a moment, being called "Daddy" by Nangong Yue in such a childish voice, he felt a strange sense of joy welling up from the bottom of his heart.

So he was even willing to share some of the braised pork intestine noodles he was eating.

Nangong Yue's round eyes were fixed on the braised pork intestine noodles in front of the emperor. She nodded obediently, "I want to try it. Yue'er's mouth is watering. She's drooling so much."

"Father, can Yue'er have a taste?" Nangong Yue looked up at the emperor again, her eyes pleading.

The emperor was instantly charmed. The little girl had her hair in two buns tied with light pink ribbons and a few fluffy flowers. When she spoke, her two little tiger teeth were revealed, making her extremely cute.

Who could refuse that?

No one can refuse it!

The Emperor nodded: "Of course, Yue'er can try it. Father will personally feed Yue'er."

"Thank you, Father. Yue'er loves you, Father!"

like?

The emperor was even happier to hear such a straightforward expression.

How come he never discovered he had a daughter named Nangong Yue before?