~ IN TERMS OF COMPREHENSIVENESS, MU YUNYAO LOST ~
Xu Qi smiled and said, “I just returned to the Capital today to visit the Grand Princess, but I heard that the Grand Princess came to Baohua Temple to repay her wish. I should have been waiting quietly at the foot of the mountain, but I really missed the Grand Princess, so I came up here. I wonder if the Grand Princess rest in her room now?”
Mu Yunyao slightly nodded. “The Grand Princess is in a small courtyard in one of the rooms on the easternmost side.”
Xu Qi was so happy, “The wind is getting strong now, so it might snow in a bit. Miss Mu, please don’t get the wind here to prevent it from getting cold. You should better hurry back to your room to get warm.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Miss Xu.”
At this moment, Jin Lan and Jin Qiao rushed over. Upon seeing Xu Qi, who talked to Mu Yunyao, they first knelt and said, “Miss, there’s a breeze. Madam has ordered her servants to come and find you.”
“Got it. This is Miss Xu, the daughter of the Grand Princess’s adopted son, Lord Xu.”
“Greetings, Miss Xu.”
“There’s no need for the two ladies to be so courteous,” Xu Qi had a gentle smile on her face, and her face was filled with elegance and gentleness. Her appearance was not the best, but her bearing was expressly bright and generous. “Oh, it’s snowing. Let’s go back to the room quickly.”
Mu Yunyao raised her head to look at the sky. A small snowflake floated down, so she stretched out her hand to catch a snowflake. When the snowflakes touched her warm fingers, they instantly melted into water droplets that carried a slight coldness. “Let’s go.”
When she returned to the courtyard of Grand Princess Yi De, her cloak was immediately pulled off by Qu Mama. “Young Miss has returned. The Grand Princess discovered that it was snowing and was afraid that Young Miss at Baohua Temple was not used to eating, so she had someone prepare a pot for her. It’s best to eat a pot in the winter when it’s snowing.”
“Qu Mama, Miss Xu is coming.” When she found that Qu Mama didn’t notice Xu Qi on her side, Mu Yunyao quickly gave a voice to remind her.
Qu Mama raised her head in surprise and hurriedly slapped herself lightly on the cheek, “Look at this servant’s eyes. I actually didn’t notice, Miss Xu. When did you return from Yanzhou? Why didn’t you send a letter in advance? Your Royal Highness Grand Princess was still muttering about it earlier.”
“When Father heard that the Grand Princess was going to stay in the Capital for a few more days, he couldn’t help but worry for her, so we hurried over from Yanzhou.”
“Look at the cold air on Miss’s body. Come in quickly and warm yourself up. This servant will go tell the Grand Princess right away.”
Grand Princess Yi De has discussed with Su Qing the dress styles that Mu Yunyao should be wearing when coming of age ceremony. Hearing Qu Mama’s report, she showed a surprised expression, “Xu Fei and Xu Qi are back?”
“Yes, and Miss Xu Qi also went up the mountain. She’s currently waiting in the outer room.”
The Grand Princess Yi De’s forehead twitched, then she smiled. “That child is also very thoughtful. Let’s go out and meet her outside.”
Seeing Grand Princess Yi De walkout, Xu Qi quickly went up and greeted, “Greetings, Your Royal Highness.”
“Quickly get up. Today’s weather is surprisingly cold, and the road is not easy to walk on. It’s hard for you to catch up to me, come over and let me take a look at you. You look much thinner than before.”
Xu Qi stood up and saw some wrinkles on the hem of Grand Princess Yi De’s skirt. She quickly squatted down and helped to arrange it, her movements exceptionally smooth and natural, “Father was worried about the Grand Princess, so we hurried along the way. The carriage is about to fall apart.”
Looking at her movements, the Grand Princess Yi De extended a hand to help her up. “Quickly sit down and rest. Your father’s temper is always so restless, and he didn’t listen to many times. Right, have you met with Yunyao yet?”
“I just happened to meet Miss Mu at the entrance of the temple. It’s all thanks to her for guiding the way.” Xu Qi’s face was full of smiles as she spoke with a sense of closeness to Mu Yunyao.
The Grand Princess Yi De waved her hand, gesturing for Mu Yunyao to come forward. “Xu Fei is my adopted son, so you should call him Uncle. Xu Qi is one year older than you, so you can call her Elder Sister Qi.”
Mu Yunyao smiled as she nodded, curtsied, and said, “Greetings, Elder Sister Qi.”
“Little sister Yunyao doesn’t need to be so polite. I’m the one taking advantage of you here.” Xu Qi intimately held onto Mu Yunyao’s hand. “I’ve always wanted to have a little sister, but unfortunately, other than my two brothers, I’m the only other girl in the house. Usually, I don’t have anyone to talk to, but now I’ve got what I wanted.”
After Xu Qi finished speaking, she noticed Su Qing standing beside Grand Princess Yi De. With a questioning look in her eyes, she asked, “May I know who this lady is?”
Mu Yunyao opened her mouth and said, “This is my mother.”
Xu Qi bowed without hesitation, “Greetings, Madam.”
“Miss Xu is too polite.”
The Grand Princess Yi De smiled as she spoke. “Enough. All of you, sit down. I’m afraid the entire trip here has been so cold. Have Qu Mama order someone to set the table. We need to eat something warm and tasty.”
Very soon, the food was served. A hot pot was placed on the table with steam rising from it. Although it was all vegetarian dishes, it was still exceptionally delicious.
Seeing that the food was almost done cooking, Mu Yunyao wanted to move her chopsticks, but she saw that Xu Qi had already stood up, skillfully helping the Grand Princess Yi De prepare the dishes.
Mu Yunyao’s finger trembled slightly as she placed the dish into Su Qing’s bowl.
“The Grand Princess should eat more tofu. Remember that last year, you were in the Palace, and you still missed the vegetarian dishes from Baohua Temple.”
The Grand Princess Yi De nodded. “It’s hard for you to remember.”
“I remember every single thing about the Grand Princess.”
“Don’t be busy. Let’s sit down and eat together.” During this period of time, the Grand Princess Yi De, Su Qing, and Mu Yunyao had eaten together and used the distinctive dishes of the maidservants. It was just like ordinary people. But after getting used to it, she felt a kind of warmth. Now Xu Qi stood aside and waited attentively, making her think that the meal was less delicious.
Xu Qi did not listen to the Grand Princess and waited for her to finish eating. Then, she sat down to the side and simply ate two bites.
After eating, Mu Yunyao returned to her room to rest. Jin Lan and Jin Qiao helped make the bed with a small entanglement on their faces, “Miss, what do you think of Miss Xu?”
Mu Yunyao raised her head. “It’s the first time we’ve met. Where I can tell you how people are?”
“This maidservant looks at that Miss Xu quite frank and had generous character. I don’t know why, but I kept feeling that she has some sort of enmity towards Miss? Do you think it’s because Grand Princess Yi De wants to acknowledge you as her granddaughter? Thus, She was unhappy?”
“Don’t talk nonsens. Lord Xu is the adopted son of the Grand Princess. If you carefully calculated things, she could be considered the Grand Princess’s adopted granddaughter. Even if Grand Princess Yi De recognizes me as her granddaughter, I would not be a problem to her. Why is she holding any hostility towards me?”
Jin Qiao pouted and said in a small voice, “Just like the Su family. They even related by blood to the Madam. Aren’t they just doing everything possible to persecute them? Sometimes, people’s hearts are the most difficult to fathom to guess. If they can’t think about it, they will do some confused things.”
“Don’t think about all that nonsense. I think the Grand Princess also has some feelings for that Miss Xu. Don’t make things difficult for her just because of some suspicion.”
“Yes.”
I had a feeling that the adopted family felt threatened by Yunyao and her mom. Just wait til Yue Wang hears of it… 😑
ReplyDelete