After Qingping had seen off the merchant caravan, she noticed her daughter, carrying a luxurious box, and the housekeeper following her, also holding a similar box as if they were about to go out.
She asked, "Where are you going?"
"Eastern Palace."
Qingping was surprised, "It’s broad daylight, the Crown Prince did not rest today, he is not in the palace."
"It’s alright, I’ll wait for him in the Eastern Palace," replied Duanhua, as if it was the most natural thing to do.
Qingping fell silent, "Are you bringing the Crown Prince gifts?"
"Yes, in the congratulatory gift from Su Rong, there are two things for the Crown Prince." She said and opened the luxurious box like it contained treasure, "Mother, look, it’s a pair of mandarin duck jade pendants that Su Rong gave us. She said that our match was heaven-sent, and we will be a happily married couple."
Qingping burst into laughter upon seeing it, "These are top-grade jades, and they have been carved into a pair of pendants, they really are extraordinary." She then spotted something in Duanhua’s hand, puzzled, she asked, "What are you doing with that silk thread?"
"Since it’s still early, I’m going to the Eastern Palace to make a cord while I wait for the Crown Prince. This jade pendant needs a cord to tie," Duanhua replied.
Qingping nodded, "Very well."
She didn’t know what else to say and turned to the housekeeper, "What’s in the box you’re holding?"
"It’s a dagger." The housekeeper hastily opened the box to show Qingping.
Understanding that Su Rong’s letter to Duanhua wasn’t seen by Qingping, she and housekeeper both had the same question, "How come there’s a dagger?"
"The dagger was given to Su Rong as a token of appreciation for saving the Crown Prince’s life. She promised to find another one for him from the weapon stash of Nanchu King after she goes to Nanchu. Now she has given it to me to give it to the Crown Prince." Duanhua said, "Oh, mother, I’ll tell you more when I get back."
"Alright, alright, go!" Qingping resigned herself to the situation. She thought how children truly grow up out of their parents’ control. She had never noticed before, but after Duanhua’s engagement with the Crown Prince, she became like this — couldn’t stay in the residence for a moment after receiving the gifts, she even rushed to the Eastern Palace to deliver them even though the Crown Prince is not there.
She hadn’t yet read what was written in the letter from Su Rong.
Soon, Duanhua got into the carriage with the gifts and left the Princess Residence for the Eastern Palace. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Qingping turned to the housekeeper, asking: "Has everything been sent to the private storeroom of the princess?"
"Yes."
"Let’s go, I want to take a look." Qingping was curious about these legendary objects, she had never really seen them and was very intrigued.
The housekeeper nodded and accompanied Qingping to Duanhua’s private storeroom with a cheerfully.
When Duanhua arrived at the Eastern Palace, the palace keeper welcomed her with both awe and respect. Now that she stepped into this palace gate again, she was not just a princess, but the future mistress of the palace, causing everyone in the palace to treat her with deep respect.
It was clear to Duanhua that the palace keeper’s attitude had also changed and had become more respectful. She personally held the two gift boxes, "I’ll be in the same yard where I previously stayed, I’ll make the cords there and wait for the Crown Prince to return."
The palace keeper was taken aback, "Eh, alright, Princess."
He cautiously asked, "If you are in a hurry to see the Crown Prince, can I send a messenger to inform him?"
"There’s no need, I’m not in a rush." Duanhua shook her head, "I will just wait here, I don’t want to disturb the Crown Prince’s work."
The palace keeper nodded, "Alright, please come this way, Princess."
The palace keeper personally escorted Duanhua to the residence where she had stayed before, arranged for some fruits and tea to be served, and then sat by her side and engaged in casual conversation.
The palace keeper voluntarily shared, "The Crown Prince has been coming back late these days, he is busy overseeing the Ministry of Housing working on the spring planting, and soon, it will be the rainy season, he also needs to be concerned about the water levels and dikes everywhere."
Duanhua nodded, "Su Rong also mentioned in her letter that she is extremely busy, she doesn’t get enough sleep every day. At her busiest times, she only sleeps for two hours a day." She sighed, "I would have collapsed already if I had to sleep only two hours a day. Ah, being a Crown Prince is really not easy."
The palace keeper nodded, "Our prince also said that the situation in Nanchu is more severe than Daliang, it’s understandable that the princess is busier. After all, she has to personally handle new matters, unlike our Crown Prince who has been the heir to the throne since childhood and has always been aware of the state affairs. Even though it was chaotic for a while, it was still manageable because it didn’t go to the root of the problem. The situation in Nanchu is different, it has been shaken to the core due to the feud between the Nangong family and the Liu’an Prince."
"Yes, ah, that Nanchu King is really..." Duanhua complained.
The palace keeper had no idea how to respond to this, so he remained silent.
Duanhua added, "Su Rong complained a lot about her biological father in her letter. Ah, it makes me feel useless when I think about it. If I had cultivated her skills from a young age, I’d go to Nanchu to help her now, no matter what. It’s all because I liked to play when I was young."
The palace keeper chuckled, "You can’t do that. If you leave, our Prince will lose his crown princess."
Duanhua laughed at his comment, "That won’t happen, everyone wants to be the bride of the Crown Prince."
The palace keeper knew just what to say, "Even so, the Crown Prince must be willing to marry her."
Duanhua was pleased with this conversation and lay her chin on her hands, "Well, who asked me to be so beautiful and likable? Even Su Rong said that the Crown Prince made the greatest deal by marrying me."
The palace keeper was surprised, he thought, did the Princess really say that? This surely favors the princess. Who is the one getting the better deal here? It doesn’t seem like his lordship is the one benefiting.
Seeing his disbelief, Duanhua deliberately took out the letter and found the page, showing it to the palace keeper, "You see, she did say exactly that."
The palace keeper leaned in to take a look and his feelings were complicated, "The princess’s words are absolutely right, it is a great fortune for our prince to be able to marry you."
Laughing merrily, Duanhua said, "Isn’t it, I also think so. If it wasn’t for the Crown Prince’s good looks, he would not have been able to marry me."
The palace keeper’s mouth twitched at her words. Her statement was quite reasonable. If it weren’t for the Prince’s appearance, even if he was the Crown Prince, the Princess would definitely not marry him. She would marry only a good looking man. He sighed, who would have thought, the Prince got his bride thanks to his good looks.
Duanhua put away the letter and gestured to the housekeeper, "You can go ahead with your work. I will start making the cord."
"Do you want me to call for some skilled assistance for you?" The housekeeper was astonished that the princess would actually make the cord herself.
"No need, I can handle it myself," Duanhua shook her head. "I will be doing it myself, my maidservant will just help me separate the threads."
The palace keeper nodded and excused himself.
Once he had left and was in a secluded area, he called for someone and instructed, "Go and inform the Prince that the princess has arrived. She’s brought a letter from the Nanchu Princess and two luxurious boxes. The princess says she will wait for the Prince to return, and she is not in a rush. Although she didn’t ask for the Prince to be made aware of this, I believe it is necessary to inform him."
The person agreed, took note of the message, and left the Eastern Palace.
Yan Huisheng was in the Council Hall and his head was aching after being argued with the ministers just till noon. He gestured the ministers to stop and asked them to come up with a flood control plan within the next two days.
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