Chapter 235
Listening to what she said, it was almost identical to what her mother had said. Most importantly, the Emperor of Xia was her mother's biological brother, born of the same father and mother.
Tao Tao looked thoughtful, toying with the Xuanwu seal in her hand, a slight smile playing on her lips.
The fact that Xia Yuan has been searching for his sister for so many years shows that their relationship is quite good, and that he hasn't forgotten his sister just because he became the emperor of Xia.
His younger sister suffered so much hardship while living among commoners because of their struggle for the throne; when she returns, he will surely make amends to her a thousandfold.
This news was very beneficial to her, making her decision to send Leng Qiao to investigate worthwhile.
Fortunately, Xia Yuan ascended the throne; otherwise, Princess Xia Chaohua's status would have been useless.
"I understand. You can go and rest now."
Leng Qiao clasped her hands in a fist salute, turned around and pushed open the door. Coincidentally, Rong'er walked over and happily called out, "Sister Leng Qiao."
Leng Qiao nodded, said nothing, and turned to leave.
Rong'er knew what kind of person she was, so she didn't pay any attention to it. She walked up to Tao Tao and said, "Princess, an invitation has been sent from the palace."
Upon hearing this, Tao Tao glanced at the invitation in her hand and casually remarked, "Sent by the Empress?"
She nodded quickly and smiled, "Your Highness is so clever, it was sent by Her Majesty the Empress."
Seeing her examining the contents, Rong'er asked again, "There are already people waiting outside. Would the county magistrate like to go and see them?"
Tao Tao frowned slightly, got up and walked outside, with Rong'er quickly following behind.
The luxurious carriage chugled along, smoothly rolling over the bluestone slabs, while the lively sounds from outside the curtain drifted in on the cool breeze.
Seeing the cold wind rushing in through the curtains, Rong'er worried that the county princess would catch a cold, so she quickly sat down and reached out to close the curtains, but was stopped by someone behind her.
"Please lift the curtain a little; I want to see what's outside."
Rong'er turned her head and saw that the princess looked indifferent and uninterested. She thought that the princess was probably bored and wanted to see the lively scene. Considering the cold wind, she opened a small part of the room for her to watch.
"Aunt Sun, what are you going to do?"
"Go buy some firm tofu to cook with. Did your pork sell out so quickly?"
The simply dressed, tall woman carried the fish she had just bought, laughed heartily, tilted her head slightly, revealing the gauze on the side of her neck.
She picked up the fish in her hand and said, "Not yet. Business has been slow these past few days, so I'm closing up shop early. My dad twisted his ankle a couple of days ago, so I'm making him some fish soup to help him recover."
Grandma Sun looked on with envy and nodded in praise, "You're so filial. But you're getting on in years, it's time you started thinking about yourself. A woman shouldn't waste her time."
Tu Miaoling scratched her head, a dim light flashing in her eyes, and forced a smile, "We'll talk about it later."
She shook her head, sighed, and looked disappointed in him before turning and leaving.
Tu Miaoling smiled slightly and walked in the opposite direction. She happened to pass by a magnificent carriage. Fearing that she might bump into a noble person, she quickly stood aside, lowered her head, and waited without looking to the side.
Unbeknownst to her, the people in the carriage were watching her.
Tao Tao looked at the person standing on the side of the street, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and then she lowered her eyes. Only after the carriage had passed did she say, "Lower the curtain."
Rong'er was captivated by the lively scene outside and was engrossed in watching when she heard the county princess change her mind. She paused for a moment, then quickly recovered and habitually covered the curtain.
A quarter of an hour later, the carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the palace gate. After entering the palace gate, led by the guide, they walked for quite a while, when suddenly they heard a dispute coming from behind the artificial hill.
"Give it back to me! Give it back to me! You wicked woman!"
The elegantly dressed ten-year-old boy, his face contorted with rage, raised his hands high, trying to retrieve the kite that the woman before him had snatched away.
Faced with his anger, Qi Roufu acted as if she had encountered something amusing; the angrier he got, the more enthusiastically she teased him.
The palace servants around dared not step forward to stop them, for one was the emperor's son and the other was the emperor's own sister; neither could afford to offend either of them.
He could only cautiously call out, "Young prince, be careful, slow down, don't fall."
"Come on, if you catch me, I'll give it to you, hahaha."
Qi Roufu ran ahead, while little Qi Xi chased after him, her face flushed with anger, baring her teeth and brandishing her claws. Finally, unable to contain her anger, she picked up a stone from the ground and threw it fiercely at the person not far away.
Her pupils dilated in shock. She had no time to dodge and could only watch helplessly as a rock the size of half a fist came hurtling towards her. If it hit her, it would definitely disfigure her.
He knew it in his mind, but his body was frozen in place, unable to move.
"Princess! Get out of the way!" the crowd cried out in panic, but no one stepped forward to stop her.
At the critical moment, a petite figure appeared in front of her, reaching out a slender white hand to grab the oncoming stone.
The girl frowned, her face slightly cold, and casually tossed the stone in her right hand. When she opened her hand, her soft palm was red and swollen.
It hurts a little.
Qi Roufu reacted, shoved the person in front of him aside, and walked aggressively toward Qi Xi, grabbing his collar with his left hand and slapping his delicate cheek with his right.
"Princess!" Rong'er quickly helped the staggering Tao Tao up.
The crisp, resounding slap instantly jolted everyone awake.
Qi Xi was stunned, his expression one of disbelief, his eyes wide, until a burning pain came from the connection point. He let out a howl and cried out in heart-wrenching sobs.
The palace servants were both panicked and terrified, and hurriedly stepped forward to comfort their most beloved young prince.
He couldn't help but think that if Consort Liu and the Emperor found out, they would definitely be punished. So he quickly did everything he could to coax him into being happy.
"How dare you! You are a disrespectful wretch! Where has all the manners and upbringing your mother taught you gone? How dare you throw stones at your own aunt?"
Qi Roufu had no scruples whatsoever, only cursing incessantly, completely focused on venting his anger, and not caring at all that the person in front of him was the emperor's most beloved youngest son.
Given her arrogant and domineering nature, she would probably give even the emperor a good scolding.
Anyway, ever since she returned to this Celestial Empire, she's been completely reckless and will make anyone who upsets her suffer.
If it weren't for her elder brother's concern for his reputation, he would never have allowed her to return.
When she returned, she learned that they were living such good lives, while she had been living a life worse than death in Xia Kingdom for ten years.
Hearing the scolding, Qi Xi, tears streaming down her face, screamed and cursed, "You bad woman, rotten woman! Disgusting woman! You're a parasite! A whore who only knows how to seduce men... Waaah..."
Before he could finish speaking, the eunuch behind him hurriedly covered his mouth, looking at the princess with a gloomy face and murderous eyes.
"Oh, my little darling, please say less."
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