Princess? Deal? Pawn?
These words filled Jin Xiting's mind and lingered. She couldn't believe that the usually gentle Ninth Prince would treat her as a pawn. Hadn't they agreed to open the East and West Buildings together? She couldn't believe that her father, who was so kind to her, would treat her as a tool for transaction. She didn't know if she could believe Jin Xiyan's words.
Jin Xiyan continued to speak, and the words that came out of her mouth were as ugly as they could be, and she even cursed Jin Suting's mother.
"Don't say anything more!" Jin Suting stood up suddenly, keeping the last bit of rationality, "I don't believe a word you say!"
But she really believed it. If there was no trick here, why would her father be so confident in letting her and the Ninth Prince go out alone, and why would the Ninth Prince be so good to her.
And why, when they could obviously find a better chef, they chose her, a young lady with no experience, to be the head chef of the East and West Buildings?
There were so many questions, but she didn't realize them at the time.
After much hesitation, Jin Suting finally knocked on the door of the old general's study.
It was Yu Jingfeng who opened the door. He saw Jin Suting was stunned for a moment, then made way for her to enter.
As soon as he entered the door, the old general saw his daughter's angry face.
"You go back first." This was said to Yu Jingfeng.
"Yes, Dad." Yu Jingfeng went out and closed the door.
As soon as Yu Jingfeng left, Jin Suting asked, "Do you want me to marry the Ninth Prince?"
The old general was a little surprised when he heard this, "Who told you that?"
"Then it seems to be true." Jin Suting sneered. It seemed that her father did not love her that much and could be just a pawn.
The old general sighed, his face full of worry, and said to her earnestly, "I'm doing this for your own good."
"For my own good?" Jin Suting asked, "How much benefit did the palace give to your father to allow you to sell your daughter like this?"
The old general looked incredulous. "Why do you think so? Did someone tell you something?"
"I guessed it myself," Jin Suting said angrily, "Do you all think I'm a fool?"
"Calm down for a moment." The old general stood up and walked over to Jin Suting. "Daddy wants to ask you, do you really want to marry the Ninth Prince?"
Did she really want to marry the Ninth Prince? She didn't want to be reduced to a pawn, but deep down, she still had feelings for the Ninth Prince. Jin Suting was at a loss for words.
"Dad can see that you are also interested in the Ninth Prince. This is a perfect marriage." The old general advised earnestly.
"Oh, I don't know." Jin Suting was confused now. "Why do you want me to get married so early?"
"This..." The old general didn't dare tell Jin Suting the truth. He didn't have much time left. "Isn't this for your own good?"
"The same thing again. Forget it. You didn't tell me after I asked you. I'm going back." Jin Suting shrugged and walked out the door.
The old general sighed behind her, "Su'er, when will you grow up?"
——
In the blink of an eye, it is New Year's Eve, and every household is decorated with lights and lanterns.
The children were not afraid of the cold and set off small firecrackers in the snow, lighting them and running away.
Every explosion made a loud noise.
The dishes made in the kitchen this year are very rich, including eight-treasure duck, steamed pork with rice flour, black chicken soup, braised lion's head... and of course Jin Suting's favorite sweet and sour spare ribs.
This was her first New Year's Eve in Fuding.
At the New Year's Eve dinner table, the old general sat in the middle, with Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Wang sitting next to him. Following in order were the eldest son Jin Wade, the eldest daughter Jin Suting, and the third daughter Jin Xiyan.
The atmosphere was joyful. Jin Wade filled a glass of wine and toasted the old general: "Dad, Happy New Year! This glass is for you!"
"Good, good, Happy New Year!" The old general smiled from ear to ear.
The remaining people at the table also toasted the old general. Halfway through the New Year's Eve dinner, the old general, under the influence of alcohol, announced something, "Someone just came from the palace and said they want to hold a banquet to select a concubine for the crown prince."
The old general's words were like a depth charge. The dinner table suddenly became quiet, and even Jin Suting's hand holding the sweet and sour pork ribs was suspended in mid-air.
The old general looked at everyone's reactions and poured himself a glass of wine while saying, "All the unmarried daughters in our family must go."
Wang seemed to see hope when she heard this, and Jin Xiyan was also very excited.
Jin Suting took a bite of meat and thought while chewing, what does this have to do with me?
Mrs. Lu's face looked very unhappy. Jin Xiwen had just been married, and the prince started to choose a concubine. Didn't this mean she missed the opportunity to become the crown princess?
"After the Lantern Festival, the date for selecting a concubine is set for the 18th day of the first lunar month," the old general said to himself. "Both of our daughters must prepare well. Even if they don't want to be the Crown Princess, they must not lose face for the General's Mansion."
The last sentence seemed to be said to Jin Suting, and she stuck out her tongue guiltily.
Jin Xiyan was thinking, who wouldn't want to be the Crown Princess? She was so silly! On that day, she had to dress up beautifully and outshine all the other beauties!
After New Year’s Eve, it’s the Spring Festival.
Opening her eyes with difficulty, Jin Suting stretched and jumped out of bed.
She didn't stay in bed for a rare time, so she opened the window. The cold breath in her face made her shiver. Breathing the fresh cold air, a beautiful day began again.
At this time, Qin'er came in from outside and saw that Jin Suting opened the window without wearing a cotton jacket. She hurriedly picked up the cotton jacket and wrapped it around her.
"Miss, you will catch a cold like this." Qin'er is obviously one year younger than Jin Suting, but she acts like an old nanny.
Jin Suting wrapped herself in her cotton-padded jacket and pointed out the window, "Qin'er, look outside! The firecrackers we set off yesterday are covered by the snow!"
Tan Er looked out the window and said, "Yeah, there's so much snow!"
"Let's go build a snowman!" Jin Suting suddenly had an idea. It had been so long since winter began, but she had never built a proper snowman!
"Okay!" Tan Er was also very excited, "But Miss, you have to put on your clothes first, so you don't catch a cold later!"
In this way, Jin Suting wrapped herself in three layers of thick cotton-padded jacket, wore thick deerskin boots, and built a snowman with Qin'er outside Suxuan Courtyard.
Jin Suting's little hands were stained red by the cold snow, but she couldn't make a snowman.
She got several small balls, but after several unsuccessful attempts, Jin Suting simply started a snowball fight with Qin'er.
The round snowball hit the thick cotton jacket and broke into pieces with a "pop".
Qin'er was not to be outdone. She grabbed a handful of snow from the ground and threw it at Jin Suting.
Jin Suting hid while laughing, and kept grabbing snow from the ground. She threw it at people without caring whether it was rolled into a ball or not.
Qin'er's sensitivity was much higher than Jin Suting's, and she couldn't hit the target.
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