Chapter 24 Sisterly Affection
As soon as he returned to the Prince's Mansion, Su Wenyan used the excuse of missing his elder brother to say that he wanted to stay in the mansion for a long time, and dragged Steward Li to find him a room.
That evening, after dinner, Su Wenyan half-coaxed and half-tricked Su Wenzhen into going to catch up with him, leaving only Cui'er and Ye Wanning in the room.
Cui'er lit the lamp, tidied up the clutter in the room, and said, "Your Highness, let me help you with your washing and grooming."
"No need." Ye Wanning waved her hand and sat down at the dressing table to start grooming herself. Seeing that Cui'er behind her hadn't made a sound for a long time, Ye Wanning was a little puzzled. She turned her head and found that Cui'er seemed a little uninterested. She frowned and asked, "Cui'er, what's wrong?"
"Huh?" After a while, Cui'er came to her senses and said somewhat embarrassedly, "What was Your Highness just saying? This servant... this servant... this servant didn't hear..."
Ye Wanning looked at Cui'er with some suspicion, "What are you thinking about?"
"This servant..."
Cui'er was indeed acting strangely today; she had never been so timid before. Ye Wanning raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, what happened? Could it be..." Ye Wanning frowned. "Did someone in the Prime Minister's residence bully you?"
"No...no..." Cui'er lowered her head, seemingly unwilling to say more, but appeared extremely aggrieved.
Seeing Cui'er's appearance, Ye Wanning was a little stunned. What was wrong with this little girl today? She had never seen her like this before, no matter how much she joked with her. Ye Wanning suddenly thought of someone and looked at Cui'er with some suspicion, "Could it be... because of the Fourth Prince?"
Hearing Ye Wanning's words, Cui'er panicked and waved her hands repeatedly, "Your Highness, please don't talk nonsense! I...I...I'm just a servant..." Cui'er's tongue was tied in knots with nervousness, "The Fourth Prince...the Fourth Prince is a prince..."
Ye Wanning chuckled and looked at Cui'er, teasingly saying, "So what if he's a prince? Wenyan confessed his feelings for you at the Prime Minister's residence today! I reckon this will be all over Duyang City by tomorrow." She then thoughtfully stroked her chin, adding, "If Wenyan comes to propose then, I'll have to give him a good hard time!"
Seeing that Ye Wanning's words were becoming increasingly absurd, Cui'er interrupted her, her face flushed, "Your Highness, you're joking with me again! If you keep doing this... I'll... I'll..."
"So you're just ignoring me, huh?" Ye Wanning looked at her with a smile. "You keep saying the same two sentences over and over again."
Cui'er didn't reply, looking somewhat unhappy, and muttered softly, "Anyway, I'm not getting married. I want to stay by the Princess's side for the rest of my life."
Hearing this, Ye Wanning was stunned. Looking at Cui'er, she was speechless. To be by her side…for a lifetime… Ye Wanning's gaze softened. When she first entered this strange world, she was lost and helpless. Fortunately, she had Cui'er and Granny Sun, two caring servants, in this Prime Minister's residence. If it weren't for them…she probably wouldn't have survived these days here. She missed her former world, her family…her friends…and…everything…
Ye Wanning sighed softly, then patted Cui'er's shoulder in a seemingly casual manner, "How can you not get married? I can't hold you back. Even after you get married, you can still stay by my side."
“This servant doesn’t want to!” Cui’er’s tone was somewhat stiff. She pursed her lips. “I was sold to the Prime Minister’s mansion as a servant when I was young. I had no money or power, and because I was young, I was bullied by people in the mansion every day.” Cui’er’s eyes were a little moist. “If it weren’t for Miss taking me into her courtyard, I’m afraid I would have been unable to withstand their exploitation and would no longer be in this world.”
Cui'er looked up at Ye Wanning, "Back then, Miss was not favored, and the servants in the mansion bullied the people in our courtyard every day. Miss was indifferent by nature, and you didn't care how they bullied you, but every time it involved your people in the courtyard, you would always stand up for them." As she spoke, Cui'er wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and choked up as she said, "Because of this, Miss, you don't know how much suffering you endured."
Cui'er sniffed, "Last time, Miss attempted suicide because of the Crown Princess. I thought that if Miss died, I wouldn't live either. Later, when Miss woke up, I thought..." Cui'er's eyes were full of determination, "No matter what happens in the future, I will definitely stay by Miss's side to protect her!"
After hearing Cui'er's words, Ye Wanning was stunned. Her heart felt as if it had been filled with something warm, and unconsciously, her eyes welled up with tears. "Cui'er... I..." She wanted to tell her so much that she was no longer her mistress. Her mistress had left her forever after that incident...
Cui'er took a deep breath. "Although Miss's personality was completely different after she woke up, I know," she looked at Ye Wanning, "Miss will always be that kind-hearted Miss!"
Ye Wanning looked at Cui'er and smiled, "Cui'er, from now on, you can call me sister. Don't keep calling me 'servant' anymore."
"Ah?" Cui'er was stunned, and said in surprise, "How could this be... this servant... this servant..."
"You're not allowed to call yourself a servant in front of me anymore!" Ye Wanning said, feigning anger. "If you ever refer to yourself as a servant again, I'll just find someone to marry you off to tomorrow!"
“But…” Cui’er looked at Ye Wanning with a troubled expression.
"Anyway," Ye Wanning raised an eyebrow at Cui'er, "I only keep close people by my side. If you want to stay by my side forever, then you have to call me sister. From now on, you'll be my sister, and we'll be family. Otherwise..." Ye Wanning looked at Cui'er, her smile somewhat eerie, "I'll... marry you off to the Fourth Prince!"
"Ah!" Cui'er screamed in fright at Ye Wanning's words, waving her hands frantically, "No! No! Your Highness..."
"Hmm?" Ye Wanning looked at Cui'er with a dangerous glint in her eyes.
Cui'er blushed slightly, and quickly said, "Sister..." Perhaps she was really not used to it, as Cui'er's face turned a little red, "I..."
"Alright!" Ye Wanning smiled. Cui'er had always been a well-behaved person. Asking her to break the rules and call her "sister" now would definitely make her uncomfortable. It was better to take it slowly and not force her. Then, as if she had thought of something, Ye Wanning looked at her and asked teasingly, "Cui'er, your big reaction just now, did you not want to marry the Fourth Prince?"
Cui'er pouted, "I..."
"The Fourth Prince is a prince, you know!" Ye Wanning looked at Cui'er, raising an eyebrow. "You don't even want a prince?"
"No, that's not true!" Cui'er blushed. "I...I..."
"What's wrong with you?" Ye Wanning covered her mouth and chuckled. The girl's embarrassed look was really funny.
Cui'er's face turned even redder. "The Fourth Prince... the Fourth Prince..." Perhaps annoyed by Ye Wanning's teasing, Cui'er said loudly, "He always wears red... like a woman!"
"Who looks like a woman?"
Hearing the noise behind her, Cui'er turned her head and looked at the man who had suddenly appeared at the door. He was still dressed in red... Cui'er was startled, "Fourth...Fourth...Fourth Prince?"
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