Chapter 564 I envy her real life!
When Princess Yong heard Old Lady Zhao speak, her expression eased a little, but she still looked at Chu Ruohan and her daughter with an unfriendly look.
She sneered, "The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion is so powerful that even the old lady of the Zhao family speaks for you. Well, today, for the old lady's sake, this princess will not bother with you."
She paused, then turned her gaze towards Zhao Qingzhi, her tone much softer: "Qingzhi girl, come here and talk to me. Don't let these irrelevant people disturb our fun."
These words undoubtedly regarded Chu Ruohan and her daughter as "irrelevant people" and deliberately ignored them.
A hint of pride flashed in Zhao Qingzhi's eyes, and she replied meekly, "Yes, Princess."
She walked to Princess Yong's side, served her food attentively, and spoke and laughed, as if the tension just now had nothing to do with her.
Chu Ruohan didn't care about Princess Yong's cold treatment. She took Gu Qingchen's hand and nodded slightly to Old Lady Zhao and Zhao Qinghan.
"Thank you, old lady, for rescuing me. I'm sorry for bothering you today."
She looked at Zhao Qinghan again, her eyes gentle: "Miss, thank you for taking care of my daughter just now."
Zhao Qinghan raised his head, met Chu Ruohan's gaze, and shook his head gently, his voice weak but clear: "Madam, you are too polite. It's just a small favor."
Her eyes were clear, without a trace of flattery or fear.
Chu Ruohan had a better impression of Zhao Qinghan.
She said no more, led Gu Qingchen, turned around and left the dining hall.
Before leaving, Gu Qingchen turned around and made a small face at Princess Yong and Zhao Qingzhi, but Chu Ruohan quickly suppressed it.
Only after leaving the dining hall did Chu Ruohan breathe a sigh of relief.
"Mom, that old witch is so fierce!" Gu Qingchen complained in a low voice, wrinkling his nose.
Chu Ruohan tapped her forehead and said, "You, don't be so disrespectful in your words from now on. Princess Yong is the elder after all."
"But she scolded me first!" Gu Qingchen pouted unconvinced.
"If she scolds you, you can ignore her or talk to her properly," Chu Ruohan taught patiently, "Replying with the same vicious words will only make us look as uneducated as she is."
Gu Qingchen nodded, not quite understanding.
Chu Ruohan thought of Zhao Qinghan again, and her heart moved slightly. She asked softly, "Qingchen, what do you think of that Miss Zhao Er just now?"
Gu Qingchen tilted his little face up, thought seriously, and then spoke in a baby voice.
"That sister is very nice!"
Her brows furrowed slightly, as if she was trying to find the right words. "She smells fragrant, not the suffocating spice smell, but the sweet scent of osmanthus cake."
As she spoke, she sniffed hard, as if savoring the taste.
"And she looks really pretty when she smiles, with eyes that curve like crescent moons. Unlike her older sister, who looks like she's glaring at you when she smiles."
Children's words are innocent, but they often hit the nail on the head.
After listening to her daughter's straightforward and vivid evaluation, the last trace of doubt in Chu Ruohan's heart disappeared.
She reached out and gently rubbed the top of Gu Qingchen's head, a genuine smile playing on her lips.
"Our Qingchen's vision is indeed the best."
She had already made up her mind.
Chen Yu's sweetheart is such a kind-hearted girl. As his sister, she must help him make this beautiful thing happen no matter what.
The mother and daughter chatted and laughed, and their figures gradually disappeared at the end of the bluestone path of the temple.
However, the atmosphere inside the dining hall was still so cold that it seemed as if frost could condense.
As soon as Chu Ruohan and her daughter left, Princess Yong could no longer maintain the dignity she had forced herself to maintain.
She slammed the table, her face filled with anger. "How dare a little girl like you be so presumptuous in front of me! The tutors at the Zhenguo Mansion are truly worthy of their reputation!"
Upon seeing this, Zhao Qingzhi immediately stepped forward, stretched out her soft hand, and gently stroked Princess Yong's back to help her breathe more smoothly.
"Princess, please calm down. Why are you getting angry with a child? You're only harming your precious body..."
Her voice was so soft that water could drip out of it, and every word she said touched Princess Yong's heart.
"That's true," she said, changing the subject, sighing seemingly unintentionally but with a hint of meaning. "The Zhenguo Mansion is currently enjoying the Emperor's favor, so it's only natural for the children there to be a little spoiled. Ordinary families like us naturally can't compare."
These words not only elevated Princess Yong, but also quietly demoted the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to a position of bullying, and by the way, made his own family look pitiful.
Princess Yong really enjoyed it, her expression eased a lot, she took Zhao Qingzhi's hand and patted it, with a look of genuine approval in her eyes.
"You are such a thoughtful and sensible child."
Old Lady Zhao standing by kept her eyes down from beginning to end, as if in a trance, oblivious to everything that was happening before her.
But she was twisting the Buddhist beads on her knees a little faster.
Zhao Qinghan, on the other hand, sat quietly in her seat, her eyes fixed on the almost untouched plate of delicate white pastries in front of her. Her long eyelashes drooped, hiding all her emotions.
The sandalwood that filled the room seemed unable to suppress the suffocating hypocrisy and clinging.
On the return carriage, without outsiders, the atmosphere became even more depressing.
Old Madam Zhao finally opened her eyes. She didn't look at Zhao Qingzhi, but her gaze seemed to penetrate the wall of the car and look into the unknown distance.
"Qingzhi, you handled yourself very well in front of the princess today." Her voice was flat and it was impossible to tell whether it was praise or criticism.
Zhao Qingzhi was delighted and quickly moved over with just the right amount of admiration on her face.
"My granddaughter just feels sorry for the princess and can't bear to see her suffer such trivial humiliation."
"Oh?" Old Lady Zhao finally turned her head, her cloudy yet shrewd eyes fixed on her. "Are you worried about the princess, or are you worried about your own future that hasn't yet been achieved?"
This question was like a bucket of cold water poured over my head.
The smile on Zhao Qingzhi's face froze instantly, and the color drained away completely. "Grandma... your granddaughter didn't..."
"Whether it is true or not, you know it clearly in your heart, and I can see it clearly too." Old Lady Zhao interrupted her explanation with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
"Clinging to the powerful is a shortcut, but it's also the most dangerous single-plank bridge. What kind of personality does Princess Yong have? Can you really not see through it? One day she can favor you with a kind word for you, and tomorrow she can abandon you like a worn-out shoe for an even more kind word from someone else."
The old lady sighed, her tone heavy, "Our Zhao family is a family of scholars. We rely on being upright and honest, not on these servile and underhanded tactics!"
These words made Zhao Qingzhi blush, lower her head, and dare not refute a single word.
Old Lady Zhao's gaze slowly shifted to her second granddaughter, who had remained silent the entire time.
"Qinghan," she said, her voice slowing down. "You haven't said a word today. What are you thinking about?"
Zhao Qinghan raised his head, and his eyes, as clear as water, appeared particularly bright in the dim carriage.
She was silent for a moment before she spoke softly, "My granddaughter was thinking that although Miss Gu's words were a bit sharp, she never left the topic of her mother behind."
"If anyone bullies her mother, she will pay them back double."
She paused, as if organizing her words, a glimmer of longing in her eyes.
"My granddaughter feels that she lives a very...real life."
"Unlike us, who have to think three times before saying anything, thinking about whether it will offend people and whether it will benefit them."
These words left both Old Lady Zhao and Zhao Qingzhi stunned.
Old Lady Zhao stared at her blankly for a long time before she let out a long sigh with a complicated look in her eyes.
She stretched out her dry hand and gently placed it on the back of Zhao Qinghan's hand.
"You silly child..."
Zhao Qingzhi sat opposite, listening to her grandmother's sigh of pity for her sister, and found it extremely irritating.
She lowered her head, with submissive eyes and a pair of hands hidden in her wide sleeves, tightly wrung the handkerchief.
Why?
Why did she get a lecture in return for her deliberate efforts to curry favor with the powerful?
And Zhao Qinghan did nothing but made a few inappropriate remarks, and he could get his grandmother to look at him differently?
reality?
In this capital, truth is the most useless thing! The only truth is to survive and live better than others!
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