Chapter 2

Bad boy! Wen Weili ignored Duanmu Huaixin's deliberate display and scooped up a wonton that looked very full of stuffing into her own bowl. Mm, it was really delicious. In an instant, all the unhappiness and fatigue disappeared, leaving only the full happiness of eating delicious food.

Duanmu Huaixin felt so happy after eating a bowl of hot wontons that he secretly thought that he must come to Sister Wen's place more often to eat and drink.

The two of them ate diligently, and when they were almost finished, Duanmu Huaixin picked up the porcelain bowl and drank the wonton soup in one gulp. After eating a bowl of wontons, he actually broke out in a sweat in the early spring.

Wen Weili also picked up the porcelain bowl, drank the soup in a few mouthfuls, and raised her eyebrows proudly at Duanmu Huaixin, meaning, look, even if I eat a lot, I can eat as fast as you.

Duanmu Huaixin was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. For the sake of his future plan of getting free meals, he nodded obediently and bowed to Wen Weili, saying, "Sister Wen, you are really the best."

Wen Weili happily cleaned up the dishes and prepared to take them back to the small kitchen.

"Sister Wen, the servants will take care of this. Why bother with all this trouble?"

"You don't understand. I want to use these to catch a fish." Wen Weili said mysteriously.

Duanmu Huaixin really didn't know what kind of fish it was, but he didn't want to disturb Sister Wen's interest, so he agreed: "Okay, Sister Wen, have fun, I'll take care of everything."

After Wen Weili left with her things, Duanmu Huaixin pulled his collar and decided to take a shower and rest early, as he still had to deal with those old foxes tomorrow.

Wen Weili walked over to the place where the little girl had held her before. Sure enough, she was still waiting there. She showed her gentle smile that she usually used to deceive people and patted her gently: "I apologize to my sister. The lady needs someone to serve her, so I came a little late."

The little girl was complaining in her heart, but when she saw Wen Weili apologized first, she was too embarrassed to say it out loud. After all, she was asking someone to do something for her, and maybe she would be useful in the future. "Sister, what are you talking about? I'll just wait a little longer. It's not as hard as you."

"I asked Madam, and she's not going to use the main courtyard kitchen much anymore. She said the one in our courtyard is enough," Wen Weili said. She thought for a moment and added, "Madam said she needs her food to be more refined, and she doesn't want to bother the main courtyard kitchen. It's more convenient to just cook in the small courtyard."

The little girl's heart sank, but she kept smiling, "This is a good thing. It's really convenient to cook by yourself." She took out a small piece of silver and put it on the food box, "Sister, you are really a kind person. When you have nothing to do in the future, you can go to the main courtyard kitchen to find me." She thanked Wen Weili and left in a hurry.

Looking at her back as she walked away, Wen Weili smiled playfully. Who would be so concerned about a lady who had just entered the mansion?

In the side room of the main courtyard, the little maid knelt on the ground and told everything Wen Weili had said, then lowered her head and waited for her master's instructions.

"She is indeed an extraordinary person," the neutral female voice seemed to be praising Wen Weili. "What a capable daughter of the Wen family, she actually managed to lure the prince into the palace, and she is so cautious and vigilant. I'm afraid she has big plans."

The maid beside her advised cautiously, "Master, don't worry. You are the one who controls the palace's backyard. How can a mere lady surpass you?"

"Shh, don't say such things in the future." The woman said softly, but the maid was so scared that she knelt down and kowtowed for mercy.

She signaled the maid behind her to hand a small bag of silver to the little girl, "You did a good job. Tell the princess what I said."

"Yes." The little girl took the silver and retreated respectfully.

"Go down and receive your punishment. Everyone, get out." The owner of the female voice gently rubbed her forehead. She asked the little maid who had been standing in the corner, "Who do you think this Wen family girl is a spy from?"

The maid looked ordinary, but when she looked up, she had a pair of red eyes. She shook her head, her voice hoarse, as if she hadn't spoken in a long time, "I don't know. I won't move for now."

Meanwhile, the princess's trusted maid received the little girl's message but didn't fully trust her. She casually gave her some rewards and let her go. As for the arrangements for the new wife, all arrangements would have to wait until the princess woke up in the morning.

On this side, Wen Weili returned to the room and saw that Duanmu Huaixin had already washed up and gone to sleep, so she happily occupied the entire bathtub and prepared to take a fragrant flower petal bath.

This is a natural hot spring pool unique to Prince Huai's Mansion. When it was agreed that Wen Weili would go to Prince Huai's Mansion to avoid disaster, Duanmu Huaixin decisively ordered people to give the best courtyard in the palace to Wen Weili. Not only the hot spring pool, but also a small kitchen, a greenhouse, a lake, and a garden were all available.

This is what Duanmu Huaixin said to Lord Wen: Since Sister Wen married me for the sake of the overall situation, it has already been an injustice to her, so I will definitely let her live happily and comfortably in the mansion.

Lord Wen sighed deeply at that time and finally agreed to let his daughter enter Prince Huai's palace.

In the bathing pool, Wen Weili lay on the stone wall, splashing water with her snow-white feet.

Zhiyun helped Wen Weili massage her shoulders and suddenly sighed, "Miss, I am sorry for being so talkative today, but I just want to ask you one thing, don't you really feel sorry?" She was sent to Prince Huai's Mansion in a sedan chair and became a lady without a name or status. Even if she could divorce in the future, it would be difficult for her to find a good family from then on.

Wen Weili chuckled softly and said calmly, "A perfect groom and a long wedding dress might be every woman's dream, but it definitely doesn't include me. My father loved my mother very much, didn't he? He traveled with her all over the world, climbing mountains and crossing rivers together, seeing everything in the world. We loved each other so much that we would die if we were apart, but in the end, he still took a concubine."

Steam was curling up in the pool, and in the hazy light, Wen Weili's words seemed to be soaked in water, so heavy that Zhiyun wanted to cry.

"Okay, why are you talking so much?" Wen Weili scooped up a handful of water from the pool and splashed it on Zhiyun. "Hey, come play in the water with me."

Zhiyun raised and lowered her fists, but had no choice but to play the childish water-splashing game with the young lady in the bathtub.

All night long, the bathing pool in Madam Li's courtyard was filled with laughter, which made those who listened attentively even more frightened.

Duanmu Huaixin woke up at the first light of dawn. In his dreams, he'd felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on him, immobilizing him. When he woke up, he saw Wen Weili sprawled across the bed, half her arms and legs pressed against him. No wonder he felt so heavy; it was Sister Wen's doing.

Duanmu Huaixin pinched Sister Wen's delicate nose and watched her groan due to breathing difficulties. "Don't touch... Good Zhiyun... Let me... sleep a little longer..."

It was obvious that they had been playing until very late. Duanmu Huaixin smiled and withdrew his hand. He put on his middle clothes and went to a small room next to the wing to wash up. According to Sister Wen, this was the "washroom" for the convenience of "separating wet and dry areas". He didn't understand what it was, so he just followed Sister Wen's arrangements. But it was indeed much drier.

After washing up, Duanmu Huaixin took the clothes prepared beside him and put them on. Before leaving, he leaned close to Wen Weili's ear and whispered, "Sister Wen, I'm going to court. Make me something delicious tonight."

I didn't expect Sister Wen to answer, but Wen Weili grabbed Duanmu Huaixin's sleeve and replied dreamily, "Hmm... Xinxin... come back... delicious food..."

Duanmu Huaixin was silent for a moment, then said with an almost inaudible smile, "...Okay."

Seeing Wen Weili's hand clutching her sleeve, he didn't want to disturb her sleep by moving too much, so he pulled a dagger from his robe and gently cut the sleeve, finally freeing himself from the shackles. As for this robe, he could only return to his own courtyard to change into another one.

The prince woke up at his new wife's place in the morning, but he actually went back to the main courtyard to change his clothes! And the new wife was still not up, not even coming to pay her respects to the princess!

The information revealed by these two things made everyone pay more attention to the new wife. The prince has always been very particular about rules and has never given any woman such an honor. But today he made an exception for a lady named Li. When thinking about the information from the spy last night that the prince had been playing with this woman all night, the atmosphere in the backyard of the prince's mansion suddenly became solemn.

Wen Weili, who slept until almost noon, was completely unaware of this. Just as she was about to order some soup to fill her stomach, she heard Zhiyun deliver the tragic news, "What did you say? The princess wants me to order from the main courtyard kitchen?!"

"Yes, Miss, the order was given by the princess herself." Zhiyun was also helpless.

"Didn't you tell her that we would cover all the food expenses for the kitchenette?"

"I did, but the princess said that if we were in the main kitchen, she would cover the cost of the ingredients, so we don't have to worry." Zhiyun asked Wen Weili tentatively, "Is the princess trying to control us?"

"Yes, she must know that the kitchen is my Achilles' heel and wants to control me." Wen Weili said with a sad face, holding Zhiyun's hand tightly, "No, Zhiyun, I must not be deprived of the right to cook as I please!"

"Then what do you want to do?" Zhiyun shook her master's hand comfortingly. "Will you tell the prince tonight?"

"If Xinxin comes to solve this problem, I will only become more high-profile, which is inconsistent with my original purpose." Wen Weili rejected Zhiyun's proposal.

"Are you really coming into the mansion with a purpose?" Zhiyun was very surprised. She didn't expect that her master, who had always been lazy, was just pretending!

"Of course, my goal is to eat, drink, and have fun in the palace and spend my days leisurely. This is such a noble goal, Zhiyun, don't you think? Zhiyun, Zhiyun, don't leave, Zhiyun."

Zhiyun withdrew her hand expressionlessly, turned around and walked out, "I am worried too much, you can definitely solve it yourself, I will go to work."

It's bad. I teased her too much and Zhiyun got angry. Wen Weili quickly coaxed her, "Don't, Zhiyun, my plan really needs your help. I can't complete it without you."

"Okay, you tell me what to do." Zhiyun stopped and was about to leave.

"First, let's put on some fancy makeup."

After dressing up, Wen Weili, covered in jewels, walked out of the courtyard and headed towards the princess's main courtyard.

The women in the palace were gathered in the princess's room gossiping, wondering whether the new lady had suffered a loss or was going to ask the prince for help. However, they didn't expect that the new lady would ask to see the princess directly, and they couldn't help but wait to see the show.

"Greetings to the princess." Seeing a room full of beautiful girls, Wen Weili just bowed slightly to the princess, as casually as if she was greeting her sisters at home.

The maidservant beside the princess showed anger on her face, but the princess did not lose her temper. She looked Wen Weili up and down with her beautiful eyes: she wore a golden bun on her head, a red gold hairpin with a small bird holding a pearl, a ruby ​​pendant on her neck, a dark blue embroidered belt on the edge of her skirt, and double rings with a pattern of flying wings. She wore a narrow silver jacket embroidered with hundreds of butterflies and peach-red flowers, a dark blue jacket with gold-thread buttons, and a muslin skirt with emerald cloud patterns. Her clothes were brilliantly embroidered, like a fairy concubine.

This wasn't a greeting, this was definitely a demonstration! Everyone was amazed, but they grew increasingly wary.

"Mrs. Li, are you here for something?"

"I have something to say. Princess, my diet has always been different from others. The prince specially set up a small kitchen for me in the courtyard. May I ask why, Princess, you want me to eat in the main courtyard kitchen?"

"How dare you! You actually..." the old woman standing next to the princess shouted harshly.

"Don't worry about it, Wang Po." The princess looked at Wen Weili with a half-smile, "Is my kitchen in the main courtyard not enough for you?"