Chapter 43: The deal is just to hope that the princess will see Ayuan less often.
When Jiang Chengyou was recovering at home, Song Baoyuan had promised him that she would take him out to play once he recovered. To help him concentrate on school, Song Baoyuan decided to fulfill her promise and took him and Sui Sui to Qushui Villa.
The sky was clear and sunny that day, and the children were very happy. They let go of their mother's hands and ran away.
In contrast, Song Baoyuan's energy was not as strong. She just sat under the tree and watched them chasing each other in the mud from a distance.
Princess Liu'an arrived half an hour late and brought with her some exquisite snacks made by the palace chef.
She walked over, looking around. "Didn't you say you were bringing the kids out to play? Where are the kids?"
Song Baoyuan pointed to the muddy ground. The two clay dolls were almost unrecognizable.
"Uh." Princess Liu'an sat down against the pile. "Forget it, let's talk about business first."
She brushed off her skirt and said, "I already know that Madam Lu is looking for you. It's just a question. Why don't you just ask your cook?"
Song Baoyuan lowered her eyes and did not answer immediately.
"Aren't you afraid that if she comes to your senses, you'll become an accomplice in destroying someone else's family?"
Liu An had some guesses, and seeing her expression, he knew it was almost certain.
"That's ridiculous." Liu An shook his head.
She sat up straight, crossed her arms, and said seriously, "Then today, I will teach you the third thing."
She was as serious as a teacher teaching a lesson, "That is, you are not responsible for other people's lives."
"After all, that's their family affair, what does it have to do with you?" Liu An disagreed. "They got to this point because Lu Shuran chose to marry her husband even though she knew he had someone else in his heart. It's because Chang Yunbai accepted the family's arrangement, but chose to obey her rebellious heart many years later. It's also because your cook, in her time of need, chose to seek help from her old lover who already had a family. Even if their family falls apart in the future, it was entirely their own choice. How can you be blamed for just taking in a homeless girl?"
Song Baoyuan was amused by her exaggerated expression.
"Just like, if I deliberately let someone spread the rumor in front of you that Jiang Shaoqing entered the palace to marry the daughter of the Sheng family, wouldn't I feel that I am responsible for the collapse of your relationship?"
Song Baoyuan: “?”
Liu An grinned, "That's what I call, the human heart is unpredictable."
"You, you..." Song Baoyuan couldn't help but recall the night of the confrontation, and her ears turned red. "Do you know how embarrassing I was that day?"
"It's good to be embarrassed!" Liu An said happily, "Just think about it from now on. After all, you've already embarrassed yourself. What else can you be afraid of? What's there to be shy about?"
Song Baoyuan was suddenly stunned.
"In short, you have to believe in yourself. You didn't do anything wrong." Liu An said, stretching and giving her time to sort out her thoughts. Then he said, "I have to take this opportunity to remind you of another thing."
"Mrs. Lu said that because of you, your cook is also under the protection of Jiang Shaoqing, and therefore has the confidence to sell her at a high price. Since Mrs. Lu is dissatisfied with this, why not go directly to the source of the problem and solve it by going to Jiang Shaoqing?"
Liu An sighed, "To put it bluntly, it's just bullying the weak and fearing the strong. A magnanimous person may be loved and respected. But if you are too magnanimous, you will easily provoke people who will take advantage of you."
She spread her hands and said, "Do you understand?"
Song Baoyuan certainly understood such a simple truth, so she nodded.
"Not bad." Liu An narrowed his eyes in satisfaction, "This boy is teachable."
"mother!"
Song Baoyuan's pupils trembled.
The two clay dolls ran towards her as if they were running a race.
“Don’t, don’t…”
"mother!"
Jiang Chengyou, the older brother, was even quicker and threw himself into his mother's arms. Jiang Suisui, unwilling to be outdone, climbed onto his mother's back.
"Mom, do you think the star I made for you looks pretty?"
"And the sun I made!"
Their mud-covered claws danced before her eyes, and Song Baoyuan felt suffocated. "Wow, it looks great! Wow, it's good!"
Her sudden embarrassment made Liu An's eyes widen in shock, and he silently distanced himself from them. Seeing their "motherly love and filial piety", he temporarily gave up his original desire to have a cute baby.
Liu An clapped his hands and watched the fun. When he looked up, he saw someone coming over who could make the scene even more interesting.
Jiang Keyu walked closer, saw the situation clearly, and her eyelids twitched.
"Daddy!" Jiang Suisui shouted happily and ran towards him.
Jiang Keyu unconsciously took a half step back and said anxiously, "Stop!"
Jiang Suisui hurriedly stopped and stared blankly with her eyes wide open.
Daddy is so fierce. She bit her lip, unable to hide her grievance, "Woo, woo."
"Eh?" Jiang Keyu hurried forward, took off his coat and wrapped her up before hugging her in his arms, coaxing her softly, "Did you scare Sui Sui? Daddy was wrong. Can you hold me for a bit?"
"Yeah." Jiang Suisui responded with sobs.
Jiang Keyu patted her back to comfort her, then turned to look at her son and Song Baoyuan.
Song Baoyuan's face was scratched by some little devil, leaving claw marks.
She held Jiang Chengyou in her arms, her eyes filled with confusion, "Shouldn't you be at the Dali Temple?"
"It's nothing important, so I came here." Jiang Keyu couldn't help laughing when he saw her.
What are you laughing at?
Song Baoyuan touched her face and ended up with mud on her hands.
She lowered her head, took out a handkerchief and wiped herself.
"Jiang Chengyou, stand still!" Jiang Keyu suddenly said seriously, "It's not enough to get yourself dirty, you still want to lean on your mother?"
Although Jiang Chengyou stood up straight, he was very dissatisfied, "Why don't you talk about your sister!"
"You're the older brother. If your sister does something wrong, you're certainly responsible," Jiang Keyu scolded. "Not only do you not reflect on your actions, but you even dare to talk back?"
Jiang Chengyou groaned and rolled the mud in his hand into a ball in dissatisfaction, but he only dared to throw it at his father's feet.
"Don't say that about him." Song Baoyuan defended, "We're out here to have fun."
Jiang Keyu hesitated to speak, raised her hand and wiped away the mud on her chin with her fingertips, then nodded in compromise.
The sudden touch made Song Baoyuan dazed, but she quickly came to her senses.
"Okay, go ahead and play," she said gently. "If you want to play something else, I'll take you to change clothes first."
"I don't want to play this anymore, I want to go boating!" Jiang Suisui jumped out and said.
Jiang Chengyou didn't dwell on his unhappiness, "Then I'm going fishing!"
"Okay." Song Baoyuan took the two children by the hand and stood up. "Then let's go change clothes first."
Before leaving, she bowed to Liu An and glanced at Jiang Keyu again.
Jiang Keyu nodded and watched them leave.
"Jiang Shaoqing isn't going to follow them?" Liu An tapped his chin with his index finger, his mouth raised thoughtfully, "It's not appropriate for us to be alone here, a man and a woman."
Jiang Keyu turned around with a faint smile on her face, but her eyes were cold.
He bowed and said, "Jiang greets the princess."
His tone was cold and heartless, a stark contrast to the way he had just been. Liu An had no choice but to restrain himself and become wary.
"Does Jiang Shaoqing have anything to say?"
"As Your Majesty said, the princess is intelligent." Jiang Keyu said calmly, "I heard that the princess is interested in becoming an envoy."
Liu An raised his eyebrows, "It is true."
She probed, "Jiang Shaoqing must have heard about this from His Majesty. Right now, Jiang Shaoqing is the only one who holds such high esteem in front of His Majesty. So, next time I see His Majesty, I wonder if Jiang Shaoqing could say a few good words for me."
"If Your Majesty is willing to listen, then it's not impossible."
Liu An understood, "I wonder what Jiang Shaoqing wants."
Jiang Keyu smiled and said, "It's not a difficult thing, I just hope that the princess can see Ayuan less often."
Liu An was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed out loud, covering his mouth with his hands, as if he had heard something funny. "Why, Jiang Shaoqing, are you afraid that I will lead her astray, or that I have other intentions towards her?"
Her tone was strange. "Jiang Shaoqing has such good intentions. Do you plan to let her know? If she knows, will she be so moved that she will cry?"
Hearing her sarcasm, Jiang Keyu's heart sank.
"No wonder Ayuan said that men are always self-righteous." Liu An touched his chin, "I'm curious, you said she hasn't been in contact with many men, why would she think so."
She smiled and hummed, "Jiang Shaoqing, you just solved my confusion."
"Really?" Jiang Keyu didn't seem angry. Instead, the smile on her lips deepened. "It is my honor to be able to help the princess solve her doubts."
Liu An's expression suddenly changed, as if he was threatening her.
It is obviously not a wise choice to offend this person now.
She put on a stiff smile, "Jiang Shaoqing, you're worrying too much. Ayuan and I are friends. If we weren't allowed to meet, who could she tell about her worries? Who could she talk to when she's confused? Jiang Shaoqing wouldn't want her to suffer alone, would he?"
Worried, confused?
Jiang Keyu was slightly stunned.
"Although I'm definitely not as close to Ayuan as Jiang Shaoqing, but Jiang Shaoqing is a man after all, so there are some things that are inconvenient to talk about."
For example, is he self-righteous? Jiang Keyu thought.
Liu An continued, "Ayuan has a simple mind, but Jiang Shaoqing is His Majesty's right-hand man and is busy with official duties, so it's inevitable that he won't be able to take care of her. But I often have free time."
She said seriously, "I can chat with her, entertain her, and listen to her complaints. I'm afraid Jiang Shaoqing can't do these things."
"After all, even though you've been husband and wife and siblings, you two don't seem to know each other very well."
Jiang Keyu unconsciously clenched her palms.
Suddenly there was silence.
Liu An turned his face away, closed his eyes, and slapped his mouth lightly. Why couldn't he hold it back?
"Ahem." She cleared her throat. "Besides, although I'm of no other use, at least I have the status of a princess, which can protect her to some extent. Moreover, if I can successfully represent our dynasty on a diplomatic mission abroad, I will be away from the capital for at least a year or two. What is there to worry about for someone who is leaving, Jiang Shaoqing?"
The last few words made Jiang Keyu a little shaken.
"I've said so much, what do you think, Jiang Shaoqing?"
This seems to have become a done deal.
She said she simply wanted to be friends with Ayuan, but Jiang Keyu definitely didn't believe it.
But she was right.
Ayuan will definitely be happier if she has friends.
Jiang Keyu thought, at worst he could just facilitate the envoy's affairs and send the person in front of him out of the capital in a few months.
Even if it doesn't work, this person is just a princess without real power and does not pose a big threat.
"I wonder what the princess and Ayuan talked about just now?"
There's hope, Liu An thought.
With this person mediating, her chances of becoming an envoy are much greater.
She smiled and said, "It's just some girlish talk. I said the lotus cakes at the Zhenxiu Pavilion were delicious, and she said the willow leaf hairpins at the Linlang Pavilion were pretty. I said the men at the Yaofang were handsome, and she said..."
Oops, I just said it casually again.
In his peripheral vision, Jiang Keyu's face indeed showed a look of dissatisfaction.
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