Consort Rou wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, looking at Mu Qiangwei. What kind of magic did this princess possess that had bewitched her son? In the past, her son would never have bothered with such a small amount of food. Her son wasn't asking her for rent; he was clearly just looking for an excuse to spend more time with her.
Is this princess simply naive, or is she extremely cunning and deliberately hiding her true nature?
“Since my son enjoys your cooking, why don’t I go out of the palace to try it sometime? I’ve been eating palace food all the time lately, and my appetite has been a bit lacking.”
Mu Qiangwei nodded: "Qiangwei only makes home-style dishes, which may not be as exquisite and delicious as those made in the palace. I wonder if Your Highness will be able to adapt to them?"
Consort Rou murmured, "Home-style cooking? Home? I really want to try some home-style cooking. How about this, tomorrow I'll tell the Emperor that I'm going to leave the palace to see my son, and you can make preparations then."
"Your Highness can just go directly there. The home-cooked dishes that Rose makes are all grown in the small courtyard, so there's no need for any preparations."
Consort Rou asked in confusion, "You planted it? Did you plant it yourself?"
"Yes, the garden is full of roses on one side of the courtyard. It's the season for them to bloom now, and they're so beautiful. There's also a pergola next to the flower trellis. It would be perfect to sit under it and admire the roses right now. On the other side of the courtyard, the garden grows vegetables and raises chickens and ducks. I have plenty of other ingredients in the kitchen, enough for us to eat, so there's no need to prepare anything more to avoid waste."
Consort Rou looked at her with a smile in her eyes: "Alright, Qiangwei, please prepare."
Just as Mu Qiangwei was about to say something, You Xuanyi strode in.
"Mother, I heard you summoned Qiangwei. She is in poor health, so please don't make things difficult for her."
Consort Rou looked at him with annoyance: "Yi'er, I just called my daughter-in-law to have a chat, how is that making things difficult for her?"
You Xuanyi glanced at Mu Qiangwei and saw that she was sitting perfectly fine in the chair. Could it be that he had misunderstood?
"Rose, you....."
Mu Qiangwei stepped forward and bowed: "Your Highness, Her Majesty didn't make things difficult for me. We were just chatting about everyday things. Besides, Her Majesty is coming to the residence tomorrow to eat the food I cooked."
"Really? However, the food you cook is barely palatable to me; I'm afraid Mother Consort won't be used to it."
He was afraid that if his mother went there, she would make things difficult for Mu Qiangwei, so he decided it was better not to let his mother go.
Consort Rou pouted, wondering if she could still keep her son. He came in complaining about her first thing, and then he kept defending the princess. This kid must have lost his heart.
"You Xuanyi, what? Does this mean only you can eat the food made by Qiangwei? Can't your mother eat it?"
When You Xuanyi heard his mother call him by his full name, he knew he was about to get angry, so he quickly stepped forward and grabbed Consort Rou's arm.
"Mother, I didn't mean to stop you from eating. It's just that you're leaving the palace and taking a carriage. I'm worried you'll get tired."
Consort Rou pulled his arm away: "Are you unwilling to let your mother get tired, or unwilling to let Qiangwei get tired?"
You Xuanyi rolled his eyes: "What does Mother think?"
Hearing the conversation between the mother and son, Mu Qiangwei blushed slightly. Even if she was naive, she could understand the meaning behind their words.
Consort Rou waved her hand: "Alright, take her away. If I don't let you take her, who knows what they'll say about me later."
You Xuanyi pulled Mu Qiangwei and turned to leave. Mu Qiangwei still bowed to Consort Rou before following You Xuanyi and leaving.
Only after the person had disappeared from sight did Consort Rou return to her soft couch and sit down.
"Granny, do you think Yi'er is serious this time?"
The old woman poured her a cup of tea: "Your Highness, let the young people handle their own affairs. Besides, this servant doesn't think that princess is the type to cause trouble. His Highness is not young anymore; it's time for him to give Your Highness a grandson."
Consort Rou took a sip of tea: "What the old nanny says is true, but I don't know what this princess is thinking. You see, from the moment she came in until she left, she kept calling me 'Your Highness, Your Highness,' but she never called me 'Mother Consort.' Does she not want to marry Yi'er, or what is going on?"
"Your Majesty, have you forgotten that when she was to marry into this country for political reasons, we had someone investigate her background? It was precisely because she had no background that we accepted her. Besides, she suffered so much hardship from a young age, so she probably just wanted to find a place to settle down and didn't want to have any more expectations."
Consort Rou nodded: "That's possible. Let's not worry about that for now and observe first. Anyway, we have a long future ahead. If she has any disloyal intentions, I won't let her stay by Yi'er's side. Nanny, go and prepare things for our trip out of the palace tomorrow. We need to prepare some gifts for our trip out of the palace to freeload!"
The old woman bowed and withdrew, saying, "Yes, Your Highness."
After the nanny left, Consort Rou leaned back on the soft couch, imagining what Mu Qiangwei had looked like just now.
Whether they are human or demon, they cannot escape her eyes. After all, she has held a high position in the harem for many years and is not easily fooled.
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