The Duchess handed the waist tag back to Su Rong.
Seeing her put away the tag, she stopped all her thoughts, showing a loving smile and asked in a spoiling tone: "You child, you came to the capital city, why didn’t you go to the Duke Residence? Why did you run to the Princess Residence instead?"
What she meant was, did you come here voluntarily? If not, speak up now.
Su Rong replied with a smile: "I just arrived in the capital city and hadn’t had a chance to visit the Duke Residence before I bumped into Duanhua. We hit it off instantly and I didn’t want to separate from her. I felt it was not right to drag her away, so I simply followed her to stay at the Princess Residence."
She sincerely apologized, "I didn’t expect to disturb you in the middle of the night, it’s my inconsideration. Don’t worry, the Princess Residence is very nice, the princess is nice, Duanhua is also nice. Since I’m already here, I plan to stay a few more days. In a few days, I will visit the Duke Residence." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
What she meant was, thank you for your concern, I like staying here and I don’t plan to move elsewhere for the time being.
The Duchess looked at Su Rong. Seeing that she didn’t seem troubled at all, in fact, she appeared quite happy about living at the Princess Residence, the Duchess felt complicated, "I see, so you... you don’t plan to go with me to the Duke Residence?"
What she meant was, are you sure?
Su Rong nodded confidently, "I should have informed you in advance and sorry to make you come here all the way. I will visit you in a few days."
The Duchess sighed, "Since you and Duanhua hit it off, that’s a good thing." Feeling a need to clarify, she turned to Princess Qingping and said, "Princess, may I have a word with Su Qi privately?"
Princess Qingping had no objection, "Sure, go ahead!"
Then, the Duchess turned to Su Rong with a smile and said, "Let’s talk outside in the courtyard."
Su Rong nodded.
The two of them left Duanhua’s courtyard, went a bit farther to a deserted area in the courtyard where the Duchess asked in amusement: "How come you’ve become such good friends with Duanhua so quickly? Even choosing to stay at her place! When I heard the news, I was scared to death. I was afraid that you were kidnapped by Duanhua to the Princess Residence."
Su Rong quickly responded: "I’m sorry, it was my oversight. I didn’t expect to disturb you in the middle of the night..."
The Duchess waved her hand, "As long as you’re fine. I just want to know, what happened?"
Su Rong, slightly embarrassed, quickly narrated how she arrived in capital, encountered Duanhua on the street, won over Duanhua’s affection, changed her attitude, and talked her way into staying at the Princess Residence.
Of course, she concealed the part about her plan to annul the marriage, which was the key to open Duanhua’s heart.
It wasn’t the right time to talk about this, better to keep it under wraps for now. The only thing the Duchess needed to know was, she chose to stay at the Princess Residence on her own, even if it was just for the hibiscus cakes made by the kitchen there.
The Duchess gave a helpless laugh and tapped Su Rong on the forehead saying: "You! The cooks at the Duke residence are not bad either." Then she added: "However, the culinary skills of the cooks at the Princess Residence are indeed superb. Many mansions in the capital can’t compare. Princess Qingping is very particular and spends a lot of silver to maintain her kitchen each year. You were lured here by a plate of hibiscus cake, it says something about your taste."
This was an indirect compliment to her good taste!
Su Rong felt embarrassed, "You’re making a fool of me."
"Alright, we’re family, no need to be formal. If you want to stay, then stay!" The Duchess sighed with a laugh, "I really didn’t expect, you could tame Duanhua. She has always been a headache since childhood, especially with a mother who spoiled her rotten. You should know, because of my son Zhou Gu, Qingping and Duanhua hold a grudge against the Duke Residence. I thought you would suffer if you encountered them. But who knew you, this little girl, are so capable that you wound up living in someone else’s house just after a brief meeting."
This sort of skill, is beyond her experience in her entire life.
This moment, looking at Su Rong, the Duchess realized why her son fell for Su Rong after only one visit to Jiangning county. This young lady is beautiful, attractive, very likable, and possesses unique skills in dealing with people.
Don’t underestimate this skill. The mother and daughter pair, Qingping and Duanhua, exhaust the emperor frequently and walk arrogantly in the capital city. Although they have a bad reputation, not many dare to offend them. They are also very picky and not easily befriended by people. Especially something like being invited to stay at the Princess Residence is unheard of.
Su Rong blushed, "I never thought so either, it’s just that the hibiscus cake is really delicious."
The Duchess couldn’t help laughing, "Alright then, once you’ve had enough of the cake, you can leave."
She continued laughing for a while, "Did you not bring any maidservants with you when you entered the capital? Only a guard? Do you want me to send a couple of maids to accompany you?"
Su Rong shook her head, "No need. Don’t worry, I’m not scared since I dared to move in."
Upon hearing these words, the Duchess felt relieved, "Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. The family is still waiting for the news, so I’ll go back first."
Su Rong nodded.
Then, the two of them returned to the Cangjiao Pavilion. The Duchess exchanged a few polite words with Princess Qingping, "Please take care of Su Qi."
Princess Qingping bluntly replied, "Madam, you jest. Lady Su Qi is a guest of Huahua’s at the Princess Residence. You can rest assured!"
If the Duchess had any doubts before, she now felt reassured. She said her goodbye to Princess Qingping and left the Princess’s Residence.
After climbing into her carriage, the more the Duchess thought about it, the more she sighed. If this news were to leak out, who would believe it? Who indeed could believe it?
After seeing off the Duchess, Qingping returned to her quarters. Upon seeing her return, the Crown Prince immediately asked, "What did the Duchess want? Did she cause any trouble?"
"No." Qingping was in good spirits today, mainly because of the Crown Prince. Therefore, she found everything pleasing and did not wish to make things difficult for the Duchess, especially since Su Rong wanted an annulment.
She briefly recounted the conversation in which she did not trouble anyone at all.
The Crown Prince let out a sigh of relief, "That’s good. It’s better to get along with others. If we ever face difficulties, we can ask for their assistance more easily in the future."
As a princess, Qingping could not have everything her way. Especially now that the Princes were growing up, if anything went wrong, the Princess Residence could get dragged in and possibly couldn’t recover from the consequences.
On any other day, Princess Qingping would have retorted, but today she simply nodded her agreement, indicating that what he said made sense.
The Crown Prince wore a small smile on his face.
After seeing off the Duchess, Su Rong and Fen Ling resumed their meal. Looking at Su Rong’s carefree manner, Duanhua felt a complex mix of emotions.
"Aren’t you going to eat anymore, Princess Duanhua?" Su Rong observed Duanhua cease to eat and stare, and she asked her.
Duanhua watched as she picked up another piece of knuckle with her chopsticks. Eating something so greasy late at night, "Aren’t you afraid of gaining weight?"
"I’m still growing," Su Rong answered her, " I’ve always been unable to gain weight no matter what I eat."
Duanhua was jealous, mumbling, "You eat so much yet you’re still so slim."
Su Rong nodded, "Because I exercise a lot every day, I’m not the type that sleeps right after eating, or eats right after waking up." She sincerely advised Duanhua, "Princess, you seem to have poor stamina. Today, you could barely walk two streets without getting exhausted. You should exercise more."
If she hadn’t brought it up, Duanhua would have been fine, but now she could feel her feet aching. She stood up, "You two carry on."
As she walked towards her room, she ordered, "My foot seems to be chapped. Where are the two jars of solid fat jade cream that Zhou Gu sent? Bring them to me."
The maid agreed and immediately went to find them.
Fen Ling couldn’t believe that Duanhua used solid fat jade cream to treat chapped skin, she hummed, "What a luxury."
Su Rong nodded in agreement, "Yes, such a waste!"
After they had their fill, the maids cleared away the dishes, and then brewed a pot of tea.
Fen Ling sipped her tea in surprise, whispering, "Even this tea is pre-rain spring, I didn’t expect not only the Crown Prince to pou it out, but even Duanhua Princess would let us drink this high-quality tea."
Su Rong too hadn’t expected Duanhua to offer them such tea, she praised, "The Princess is really generous."
Fen Ling nodded.
After drinking tea for a while, Fen Ling suggested, "Sister, shall we take a stroll?"
"All right." Su Rong stood up.
They asked a maid for lanterns, each taking one, and they stepped out the door.
Duanhua heard the noise, and called out to them through the window, "What are you doing?"
"Going for a stroll, do you want to join, Princess?" Su Rong asked.
"No." Duanhua had just applied the cream to her foot and didn’t want to walk any further. She thought to herself that these two were indeed remarkable. Their physical strength was incredible. It was no wonder that, though Su Rong was startlingly skinny, it seemed like a gust of wind might blow her away, all she ate was evidently well-digested.
Su Rong and Fen Ling did not intend to wander far. They carried their lanterns, while strolling round and round in the courtyard of the Cangjiao Pavilion.
Watching them for a while, Duanhua thought that when her foot was better, she could also join them for a stroll. It looked quite enjoyable — laid-back and carefree, and was utterly soothing for the heart.
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