"Ah-- Ahah..." he laughed quietly, the worried creases at his brows smoothing out. 'Someone has to, after all'. . . Even for all of the women around me, my loneliness is so apparent that my young daughter is aware of it, hm...? "Thank you, nǚér. Your sincerity gives me happiness."
Yuanzong watched as she seemed to drift off in her thoughts, curious as to what she could be thinking about. He wouldn't ask, of course, but that wasn't a problem. Peaceful moments like this were hard to come by, whether due to his duties as emperor, or his voluntary extracurricular activities. Time spent with his younger children was often filled with laughter and rambunctious personalities, which was all well and good and perfectly delightful in its own right. A quiet walk in the garden with a child who genuinely seemed to enjoy his company and was able to relax around him, though? It was hard to recall many other instances of such an occurrence. He spent quite a bit of time in his second son's company, and Jin seemed comfortable enough with him, but it was definitely a different sort of comfort than what he was experiencing with Qimei now.
Callused digits reached forward to push back a few locks of hair that the gentle breeze or walk had shifted away from their comrades, hope that the action wouldn't startle her at the forefront of his thoughts. The princess was fifteen now, though, and probably too old to have her father fussing after her appearance.
Looking at her so closely, however, something about her caught his eye. Were her lips painted...? And was that the blush of makeup, or just the heat? Squinting, Hao tried to discern if there were any other highlighted areas on Qimei's face, though she turned and donned what seemed like a nervous expression, obscuring much else, and so for the moment the emperor chose to ignore it. If she had been wearing makeup, was it for the sake of looking like a grown palace lady, or out of curiosity, or was she perhaps trying to catch someone's attention..?
Nonsense. His daughter was far too young for that, and nothing was likely to come of her meeting a man, anyway. After all, who would touch the emperor's daughter when it could mean such.... harsh punishment?
Ah. But that brought him back to one of his earlier worries, didn't it? Did Qimei wish to get married? Even if she did, she was too young for such things. Too young, indeed, no matter what anyone said.
"Good, good. You should remain mindful of it at all times, though I am happy to hear that you are well." What was with her reaction to being asked about her studies, though? The young princess certainly seemed nervous about something. Perhaps she was struggling a bit and didn't want to admit to it more than she already let on? That was all right, of course. He had no doubts against the education that any of his children were receiving, no matter the subject material, so even if she were a little behind now, her tutors would more than likely be able to set her on the right track.
"That is the important part: That progress is being made. I have faith in your abilities, my daughter."
Spotting an attractive flash of colour nearby, Yuanzong silently bade her to wait while he walked a few paces away and bent down. Rising again a moment later, a cheerful smile gracing the Son of Heaven's now-untroubled visage, he made his way back over to the princess and motioned for her to lean forward as his hand displayed a small, simple flower of yellow colouring.