Chapter 429 Truly a Flower Fairy Descended to Earth
The Empress spoke casually, but Daiyu couldn't just sit down like that.
Although Daiyu often does this in private, it is not appropriate for today's occasion.
Daiyu bowed respectfully before speaking.
"Daiyu was worried about her father's health, so she couldn't eat during the day or sleep at night, which inevitably made her look a little haggard, and the Empress noticed it at a glance."
"Poor child, I had hoped to reunite you and your father and enjoy family time, but instead I've sent you back to care for your ailing father. How is your father doing now?"
The Empress kept asking Daiyu questions.
"I'm feeling much better now, otherwise I wouldn't feel comfortable going out."
Daiyu glanced at the expressions of the ladies. Some looked relieved, some were uneasy, and most were expressionless, showing no emotion.
"Very good, very good." The Empress seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "We have come all this way, and it has made Lord Lin sick for so long. It makes us seem like unwelcome guests. I feel really bad about it."
“Your Majesty, all land under heaven belongs to the emperor. How can you be a guest? You are the host!” Daiyu was a little angry when she heard this. What kind of time is this? Does the Empress still want to put her father on the fire?
If the Empress is a guest, then who is the host? In this city of Suzhou, besides his father, the governor, who else dares to be the host?
Although this is a fact that everyone knows, who dares to admit it?
Does the Empress's statement mean she still won't let her father have a moment's peace?
Daiyu quickly retorted,
“My father is the steward of the Emperor and Empress, and he manages this place for you. You cannot treat him as the master of this place just because he manages it.”
Daiyu spoke eloquently, and the Empress regretted her earlier slip of the tongue, but fortunately Daiyu smoothed things over.
“Yu’er is right.”
The Empress, holding Daiyu's hand, looked at the crowd.
“Some of you know her, and some of you haven’t. This is the daughter of Lord Lin Ruhai, the Princess Jiangzhu, personally bestowed by the Emperor, and also my junior sister, Lin Daiyu.”
The young girls nearby, who had never seen Daiyu before, stood up and bowed to her after hearing the Empress's introduction.
"I've long heard of Lord Lin's daughter, that she's a fairy descended from heaven. Seeing her today, I can confirm that her reputation is well-deserved."
"That's right. I've heard that in the capital, every time Princess Jiangzhu has her birthday, all the flowers in the Lin family's courtyard will bloom. It's only after the first month of the lunar calendar, just before the Flower Festival in February. So many flowers blooming at the same time is to celebrate the Flower Fairy's birthday."
The ladies laughed and joked.
“I have also attended Princess Lin’s birthday banquet, and it is indeed true. Even the lotus flowers in the pond, which should not bloom until June or July, managed to bloom a few flowers on the Flower Festival.” This was a lady from the capital, who strongly testified that what she said was true.
“Why do I say Princess Lin looks so familiar? I just remembered that I visited the Flower Goddess Temple in the capital last year, and the portrait of the Flower Goddess hanging there looks exactly like Princess Lin!” A lady from Suzhou stared at Daiyu for a while and then suddenly spoke up.
Daiyu smiled helplessly and glanced at the Empress.
"Senior sister, let me clarify this again, otherwise the rumors will get more and more outrageous."
The Empress was engrossed in watching the play when she heard this and nodded dismissively.
"Ladies, my family has a large greenhouse and a hot spring resort. Since my birthday falls just after the first month of the lunar calendar, when the spring chill is still in the air, it's really difficult to have flowers blooming everywhere. So, in order to make sure I have a proper birthday celebration, my family has been filling the entire greenhouse with all kinds of flowers since the winter before the new year, and we've also been growing lotus flowers and other plants in the hot spring resort... All of this is so that I can have a lively birthday celebration on Flower Festival, and also so that my relatives and friends can feel the breath of spring a little earlier."
Daiyu never expected that she would have to explain herself again today.
"You don't need to think I'm being extravagant or wasteful. The flue for our greenhouse is connected to the underfloor heating inside the house. Winters in the north are bitterly cold, and the underfloor heating has to be on every day. We only need to use the residual heat to keep the whole greenhouse warm as spring. As for the hot spring estate, there's no need to mention it. It's rarely used anyway, so it's just sitting idle." Daiyu was really afraid that someone would use this as an excuse to find fault with her, so she quickly added a sentence to make amends.
"What's wrong with you?" the Empress said, feeling sorry for her overly cautious nature. "Your father saved you, a mere child, and spent all his wealth on you. It's only right that he does so. There's no need to be so careful!"
The ladies who initially harbored some ulterior motives all suppressed their thoughts upon seeing how much the Empress protected Lin Daiyu.
What followed was nothing more than the ladies subtly inquiring about Lin Ruhai's illness, and Daiyu, who disliked such roundabout ways of speaking, found it somewhat tiring to deal with.
However, it was clear that these people had been bothering the Empress for a long time before Daiyu arrived. Now that Daiyu had taken over, the Empress was happy to have some peace and quiet.
Daiyu glanced at the Empress with a sorrowful look, then resignedly pondered the unspoken meanings behind the ladies' words...
After Yuan Hongqu brought Daiyu over, she was asked to leave.
The matter outside has not completely come to an end. Lin Ruhai will still act as bait today, so Yuan Hongqu really cannot let her guard down.
She thought that Daiyu, being in the Empress's presence, would hardly suffer any grievances or even minor setbacks, so she didn't pay much attention to this matter.
When a maid who accompanied Daiyu came to find her and told Yuan Hongqu everything that had happened on Daiyu's side, Yuan Hongqu immediately broke the pen in her hand, and the ink smeared the entire sheet of paper.
She gave the emperor a deep look, then turned, bowed, and withdrew.
"Your Majesty, my child hasn't been out for a long time, and I'm afraid she'll get dizzy again in this situation. Perhaps I should take her back first?" Yuan Hongqu strode in without any politeness.
Today she is wearing the official robes of a third-rank official, her hair is styled in a bun, and she wears a silver crown.
In addition, she deliberately lowered her voice, making it difficult to tell whether she was male or female for a moment.
The girls sitting near the Queen were somewhat panicked. Such a young "man" had suddenly appeared here, and they had nowhere to hide.
But then Princess Lin, like a swallow returning to its nest, flew over and pounced into the man's arms.
The girls stared wide-eyed. This Princess Lin was so bold and unrestrained, hugging and cuddling with a "man" in front of so many people.
"Lord Yuan, have you finished with the matters at the front?"
When the Empress saw Yuan Hongqu approaching, she perked up and hurriedly asked.
Yuan Hongqu glanced at her, and the Empress smiled apologetically.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of Daiyu. If there's anything else to do, please go ahead and attend to it."
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