Chapter 546

Actually, from the moment Luo Cheng brought Li Xiaoran in, the empress dowager had already seen them.

From the beginning, the empress dowager had been secretly observing her granddaughter-in-law.

After Li Xiaoran entered the palace and saw so many people, she did not panic and walked in with a smile.

Later on, the couple met the crown prince and were mocked by him, but Li Xiaoran’s expression did not change at all. She still stood at the side with a smile as she watched Luo Cheng and the crown prince bicker.

Now, Li Xiaoran bowed to her very respectfully.

What was even more interesting was that everyone else called her ‘Imperial Grandma’, except Li Xiaoran.

It was only one word short, but it sounded different in her ears.

Although Imperial Grandma sounded noble, she was less approachable.

Calling her grandma gave off a sense of intimacy.

Just based on this alone, the empress dowager had a good impression of Li Xiaoran.

“Today, you’ll follow me! Luo Cheng, it’s rare to see you return to the capital and after today’s birthday celebration, you’ll probably bring my grand daughter-in-law back to Sichuan! Therefore, you two have to accompany me today!” The empress dowager held Li Xiaoran’s hand and let her sit beside her.

Li Xiaoran was not flattered at all. After sensing other people’s envy, she smiled.

“Grandma, sitting beside you will be so troublesome! When so many court officials and women come to congratulate you later, I’ll have to put on a good front so as not to embarrass you. Therefore, after the birthday banquet, you have to reward me with delicious food!”

At this point, Li Xiaoran revealed an embarrassed smile.

“To be honest, other than celebrating your birthday, I also came here today to try these delicious foods in the royal family! The best chefs in the world are all in the royal family, so I’m in luck today!”

With that, Li Xiaoran leaned towards the empress dowager shyly. Then, she quickly sat up straight.

This was the first time the empress dowager had been pestered by her grand daughter-in-law, so this feeling was a little refreshing.

“Don’t worry, just accompany me with Luo Cheng. We can eat whatever we want later!”

When Li Xiaoran heard this, she immediately looked at the Empress Dowager happily.

“Thank you, grandma! As expected, you treat me the best! Father eats my food all day long, but has never thought of rewarding me with something tasty! As the saying goes, courtesy has to be reciprocated. I often send him delicious food, but Father doesn’t give me any delicious food in return, so I’ve decided not to send food to Father in the future. I’ll only treat you well in the future! If you want to eat anything delicious in the future, feel free to tell me. I’m not outstanding in other aspects, but my culinary skills are impressive!”

“What? I heard you making things up about me the moment I arrived. Are you really not going to give me anything delicious in the future?” The emperor’s voice came from the entrance of the palace.

When the group saw the emperor, they stood up and bowed.

“Greetings, Father!” everyone said in unison.

“No need for formalities!” The emperor said as he strode to the empress dowager’s side.

“Girl, although today is your imperial grandma’s birthday, you can’t betray me just to flatter her!”

Li Xiaoran was not afraid of the emperor at all and said in disdain, “Father, aren’t you being reasonable? As the saying goes, courtesy has to be reciprocated. That way, the relationship will grow deeper and deeper, Every time my husband entered the palace, didn’t I asked him to bring delicious food in? But what about you? Did you ask someone to send me something delicious?”

These words stunned the crowd.

Among the emperor’s many sons and grandsons, only Li Xiaoran spoke to him like this.

This girl from the countryside was quite bold. She even dared to retort the emperor!

Of course, there were also many people who had ill intentions and were secretly mocking Li Xiaoran. They were waiting for the emperor to fly into a rage and teach this ignorant village girl a lesson.

Unexpectedly, the emperor did not get angry at all. He only raised his eyebrows.

“Is that so? Then what delicious food did you bring me today?”

“None for you today, only for Grandma!” Li Xiaoran said as she glanced at Luo Cheng.

Luo Cheng immediately understood and asked someone to send in what they had brought.

A food box was quickly delivered. After Li Xiaoran took it, she got up and knelt in front of the empress dowager.

“Today is my grandma’s birthday. I come from the countryside and can’t offer any good birthday gifts, so I personally made a birthday gift! Please take a look! ”

When the empress dowager saw this, she gestured for the nanny beside her to take the food box.

“Open it for me to see!”

When the nanny heard the empress dowager’s words, she immediately opened the food box.

There were two round steamers in the food box.

In a steamer, there were boiled peanuts, boiled corn, sweet potatoes, edamame, and potatoes.

In each steamer, there were pastries made of multgrains.

“This is a gift made by me! I hope that you’ll benefit the people and that there will be bountiful harvests!” Li Xiaoran said her blessings!

Compared to blessings about longevity, older people hoped that their lives would be blessed with good fortune.

Li Xiaoran’s birthday gift seemed simple and ordinary, but it struck a chord with the empress dowager!

“Good, good. You’re quite ingenious. I like this gift very much!”

“Then try every kind! Don’t worry, my cooking definitely won’t disappoint you.” With that, Li Xiaoran took some things and ate them. “Grandma, to show my sincerity, I’ll try them for you first!”

The empress dowager knew what Li Xiaoran meant. She was trying to show that these things weren’t poisonous.

Therefore, at this moment, the empress dowager was very touched.

Before the empress dowager could reach for it, the emperor beat her to it.

“Mother, don’t eat these things recklessly. Let me try them on your behalf!” With that, the emperor took some of each and ate them.

The others came back to their senses and all of them expressed that they wanted to try it for the empress dowager as well.

The empress dowager immediately snatched the food box and placed it beside her.

“What do you guys want to try it? This is my grand daughter-in-law’s show of filial piety! If you want to eat it, go find your own grand daughter-in-law!”