Chapter 177 Entering Prince Zhao's Mansion

Qing Wu said nothing, but just hugged Xiao Ji gently.

He and she are really somewhat similar, one suffers because of his mother, the other suffers because of his father.

A moment later, Xiao Ji, who was in Qing Wu's arms, reached out and hugged her back, holding her tightly, as if to draw warmth from her.

"It's okay, you still have me. Let's leave the palace. Don't see him unless necessary."

Qing Wu rubbed his cheek, her soft and smooth face soothed Xiao Ji's heart, but made him hug her tighter. He felt that only Qing Wu could understand his pain now, that kind of tangled family affection.

Even though Xiao Yuancheng had been cruel to him recently, he had been a kind father in the past ten years. Even though he knew he was pretending, he was determined not to be soft-hearted, but he couldn't help but keep a glimmer of hope in his heart.

It was like Qingwu knew that Madam Zheng didn't love her, but when the night was quiet and everyone was asleep, she still felt a little heartache when the memories came to her mind.

"Okay, let's go out of the palace."

They left the palace to live their own simple life.

*

The next morning, Xiao Ji and Qing Wu left the palace and went to the most luxurious palace in the capital with the emperor's reward. As soon as they got off the carriage, they saw Baozhu and Fugui standing in front of the door.

Not only had the palace been cleaned thoroughly, but the things in the palace had also been packed up by Baozhu and Fugui and brought to the palace. Even the two civet cats they adopted were squatting at the door. When they saw Qingwu and Xiaoji coming down, they immediately greeted them with their tails raised.

Baozhu followed behind and explained with a smile: "The food in the palace has been distributed to the villagers. Xiao Huang and Xiao Lihua no longer have tasks, so I brought them here."

Qing Wu looked at the kittens rubbing against the edge of her skirt and said angrily, "They are part of our palace, so of course we have to bring them here."

Nanny Xia heard this as she got off the carriage behind. Looking at the luxurious palace before her, she couldn't help but sigh with joy, "Is this what it means when one person achieves enlightenment, everyone else benefits? We are all blessed by the Madam, no, the Princess. I am also able to live in such a fine place with the Princess."

Although she used to be Madam Zheng's wet nurse, the Zheng family had been in decline since the previous generation and was only a fourth-rate family in the capital. Even the Xi family had only become a second-rate family in the past two years. However, Madam Xia was no longer valued by Madam Zheng, so she had not seen many things.

"Madam, what you said is true. You helped me when I was down and out. You are my relative and friend. I am grateful to you. Why do you belittle yourself?"

Although Nanny Xia had not helped her much, it was enough that she chose her between her and Madam Zheng. Such emotional value and such affirmation made Qingwu more determined.

She was not wrong, it was Mrs. Zheng who was wrong, so she would not sacrifice herself to please Mrs. Zheng.

Qing Wu bent down and touched the small pear blossom rubbing against the hem of her skirt, and said softly, "And if we're talking about being blessed, it's because of the prince."

As she spoke, she gently scratched the cat's chin with her fingertips, and the little pear flower purred in comfort. The boy couldn't help but squint his eyes when he heard this.

He chuckled twice, then straightened his expression and glanced around at Zhao Tongfugui and the three people from Qingwu who had lived in the palace. He said, "What do you mean by taking advantage of me? You are all the people who accompanied me through the lows. I am grateful to you. As long as I am around, I will not treat you unfairly."

After all, they were not as good as Uncle Zhao and Fugui who grew up with Xiao Ji, and they were always nervous. When they heard Xiao Ji still using the word "I" to them, Nanny Xia, Yuzhu and Zhuzhu felt more confident and grateful.

As he said, after entering the palace, Zhao Tong became the housekeeper of the palace, and Nanny Xia and the two Zhu'ers also became managers in charge of the backyard.

Nanny Xia had previously served as the mistress's chief steward, and although her place was now several times larger, she still had her own rules. Yuzhu and Baozhu were a little panicked. They had previously been afraid that Xiao Ji would not use them, but now that he had really given them power, they were afraid.

"Mother...Mother, this...we don't know how to do it either..."

When they served Qingwu in the past, all they did was serve tea, wash clothes and cook. How could this housekeeper know how to do that?

"Yes, Princess, we haven't even learned to read yet. We can't take care of these account books, expenses, and so on."

They had previously thought that since they were still serving as the head maids beside Qingwu, their words carried more weight than before, and other maids called them sisters and said some nice words to them. Who knew that she would be in charge right from the start?

Although she had been called the princess for three or four days, Qingwu still felt a little uncomfortable. When she thought that a girl like her who loved to travel around the world, practice medicine, save lives, farm and cook had become the princess of a high and mighty country, she felt it was a bit absurd.

But Qingwu was definitely worthy of being a princess judging by her appearance. She had a good family background, outstanding looks, and nothing wrong with her behavior. At this moment, Qingwu was somewhat glad that she had learned those etiquette rules.

However, this does not mean that she is grateful to Madam Zheng. Qingwu will always remember Madam Zheng's harshness towards her, as well as the condescending attitude and verbal attacks from the mother and daughter.

His mind returned to the two little maids in front of him. Meeting Yuzhuzhu's slightly anxious eyes, Qingwu thought for a moment and made a decision.

"You don't have to wait on me during this time."

Hearing this, Baozhu and Yuzhu were shocked. Yuzhu could still hold back, but Baozhu's eyes turned red. "Madam, don't you want us anymore?"

Qing Wu was amused by Bao Zhu's reaction and quickly reached out to pinch her round cheeks: "Silly girl, how could I not want you?"

She took the hands of the two maids and explained in a gentle voice, "I want to invite a female teacher to come to the mansion to teach you how to read and do accounting."

Yuzhu and Baozhu's eyes widened when they heard this: "How...how can this be possible?"

"Why not?" Qing Wu chuckled. "Things are different now. You've been with me for so long, do you still have to serve tea and water for the rest of your lives?"

Nanny Xia also advised at the right time: "My wife is now the princess, and she is in charge of the entire palace's property. If you can't read and don't know how to recognize your debts, how can you help the princess's wife in the future?"

Older women are more experienced. Nanny Xia thought more about it. Prince Zhao was the Queen's legitimate son, and she was also aware of the condition of his leg. It was fine. The lady's future fortunes might not be limited to this. After all, she was old and could not help the lady for a few more years. She would have to rely on Baozhu and Yuzhu in the future.

After being reminded by Nanny Xia, the two little maids immediately thought of a lot of things. They didn't want to lose their position in Qingwu's heart in the future, so they both nodded.

At this time, Xiao Ji, who had been sitting aside playing with the cat, also spoke up, "I do have a candidate here. I plan to invite him over to teach the two Zhu'er."

Qing Wu's eyes suddenly lit up. Although she wanted to hire a female teacher for the two Zhu'er, she had not yet decided on the person. "Who is it?"

Xiao Ji didn't reveal her identity first, but just said: "I have to go there in person."

This made both Zhu'er feel pressured. Yuzhu hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, Princess, we are of low status and do not need a famous teacher..."

Qing Wu also looked at Xiao Ji, but saw him chuckle and shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Even if she doesn't ask me to be my master, I will go there anyway."

As he was speaking, Zhao Tong hurried in to report: "Prince, Princess, someone is coming from the residence of Princess Mingyi, the guardian of the country."