The Princess's Mansion, the backyard bedroom.
The princess's black hair fell behind her, and her unpainted face finally showed some signs of age. However, her dignified and elegant figure overcame the fatigue of her age, and instead gave her a sense of laziness that was not usually seen.
She leaned against Luohan's bed, wearing a coat, her eyes fixed on the pink little girl.
The little girl looked very busy. She took stacks of cakes and side dishes from the door, then came to her side, smiled cheerfully and asked her to wait for a moment.
Soon after breakfast was almost ready, the little kid walked to the bed, moved a small stool seemingly clumsily, then held the edge of the bed with one hand and stood up on the stool.
In a short while, he would be able to reach eye level with the eldest princess.
"What a beautiful morning! Good morning, auntie!"
The energetic greeting completely broke the silence in the room. Then the maids came in one after another, holding toiletries in their hands, and stood in a row behind Jiang Qingqing.
The eldest princess had a stern look of confusion at the beginning, but in the end, following Jiang Qingqing's lively greeting, her serious brows relaxed slightly and revealed a gentle smile.
"Qingqing, what are you doing? Why don't you sleep well and grow up in the morning? Why are you running to the old woman's room to serve her?"
Jiang Qingqing imitated the eldest princess and immediately put on a stern face. Her long brows were wrinkled, making her look silly, and her little red lips looked like they could hold a pound of flesh when they were pouting.
"Aunt, what nonsense are you talking about? The so-called prime of life is what you should have at your age. You have a certain amount of life experience, maturity and fullness, and you also have the coquettishness that only women can have."
She stared into the eldest princess' eyes with a very frank look, as if she was speaking sincerely from the bottom of her heart.
The princess felt warmed by her words. She smiled and waved her hand, "You little girl, you are not very old, but you have so many things to say."
Jiang Qingqing thought that the princess was praising her for being sweet-mouthed, and she handed the princess the toiletries in the order that the maid had instructed her in the yard.
The eldest princess looked at the little girl seriously, and her small actions and details made people feel warm from the bottom of their hearts.
The last step of rinsing the mouth was up. Jiang Qingqing picked up the teacup from the tray and first touched the wall of the cup with the back of her hand to make sure the water was neither scalding nor hot before handing the cup to the eldest princess.
"I wish I had a girl as considerate and warm-hearted as you..." The moment the eldest princess took the teacup, she let out a long sigh, as if she was lamenting that she would never have children in this life.
The maid beside her also had a melancholy expression and looked at the eldest princess with a little regret.
The atmosphere that Jiang Qingqing had finally livened up suddenly fell again.
"What's the big deal? Auntie can just treat Qingqing as her daughter. Qingqing's blood is from Auntie's!"
She quickly raised her eyebrows and spoke anxiously, trying to break the gloomy atmosphere.
The eldest princess looked up at Jiang Qingqing's words, with a look of astonishment and surprise in her eyes, which made her not know how to respond to the words of this child for a moment.
Jiang Qingqing seemed not to realize that she had gone too far. She reached out and gently lifted the eldest princess' wrist, and said carefully, "Aunt, rinse your mouth quickly, or the tea will get cold."
Confused, the princess listened to Jiang Qingqing's words, took a sip of tea, and spat it out into the spittoon of a maid beside her.
Before she reached out for the handkerchief, Jiang Qingqing had already prepared it with a handkerchief. After the princess finished vomiting, she quickly reached out to wipe the tea from the princess's mouth.
"Qingqing is right. You and I are of the same blood..." After the eldest princess calmed down, her eyes were covered with a layer of burning gaze again.
Jiang Qingqing nodded vigorously. She looked at the eldest princess's eyes, which had regained their light, and she heaved a long sigh of satisfaction in her heart.
What she hated most was other people looking at the world with a pessimistic attitude. Jiang Qingqing was also very happy to be able to make someone happy.
The eldest princess regained her spirits and asked the maid to help the little princess down from the dangerous stool. Then she took the initiative to extend her hand in the direction of Jiang Qingqing.
It had been so long since she spoke to a child, and the eldest princess was afraid that her cold words would hurt the little guy's heart.
Jiang Qingqing did not hesitate at all. She immediately raised her hand and held the royal aunt's fingers. She looked up at the eldest princess's delicate face.
"Let's eat something to fill our stomachs! We agreed yesterday that we would go to Fanlou today to personally check out the dishes. Aunt can't use other excuses to not go this time."
Jiang Qingqing didn't feel awkward at all, and was as lively and pleasant as usual, and did not bring any burden to the eldest princess in terms of "recognizing her relatives".
With such a thoughtful and caring little girl around, the gloom that had been condensed between the eldest princess's brows for a long time dissipated a lot.
The master was happy, and the servants in the mansion also breathed a sigh of relief, shaking off the gloom that had lasted for many years.
The servants in the mansion couldn't help but feel happy and admired Princess Dunming.
What makes her happy is that the master's happiness is brought by the little princess; what makes her admirable is that the little princess's eloquence can actually help the master resolve his worries.
The princess was in such a good mood that the entire princess's mansion looked brand new.
Princess Qi Yang paid a visit at the usual time, and as soon as she stepped into the Princess's mansion, she could feel a difference from yesterday.
"What's going on today? Are you all going to cut new clothes together? Everyone is smiling so brightly."
Princess Qi Yang looked at the servants passing by, all of whom had smiles of joy on their brows. It would be fine if it was just one or two, but it seemed that every servant she met had a smile on their face to varying degrees.
That's strange.
The maid who led the way tilted her head slightly, with a slight curve on the corner of her mouth, and said with a smile: "Nothing, the princess will know why when she sees my wife in the backyard."
These words completely aroused Princess Qi Yang's curiosity.
She walked quickly to the backyard and entered the main hall. Before she had time to greet everyone, she heard the eldest princess's rather pleasant voice.
"The young master of the Fengchen family just walked away with an embarrassed look on his face?"
Princess Qi Yang paused slightly as she stepped into the house. She had known the eldest princess for some time. When she had talked to her before with the help of the empress dowager, the eldest princess had never been so happy and relaxed.
She couldn't help but look up at Jiang Qingqing, who was gesticulating with her hands as she told the story. The admiration and emotion in her eyes became more and more obvious.
"That's right. When I was in the Imperial College before, I couldn't stand his attitude. He thought he was superior to others. Tsk, I don't even think I'm superior to others. I don't know who he's trying to show off to when he's so arrogant."