ARTTEDSBGT Chapter 48
Despite the somewhat cold att.i.tude of the Princess Yongning, Lady Li was still enthusiastic, pulling Li Suwan forward and introducing her, “This is the daughter of your servant, who is about to come of age. Today, I specially brought her to meet the princess.”
Li Suwan approached obediently, bowing shyly, “Your Highness, the daughter pays respects to Princess Chang.”
Princess Yongning stared at her for a moment, a polite smile on her face, saying, “Rise.”
Then, she turned to Lady Li and said, “Your daughter looks good; you are truly fortunate, madam.”
Lady Li, pleased with the compliment, had a radiant expression, unable to stop smiling. She replied, “My daughter is simple and dull, not worthy of entering the grand hall. Princess, your praise is too kind. In the future, I will rely on you to guide and advise her.”
Princess Yongning smiled and was about to speak when Xiao Yan, standing nearby, suddenly interjected, “Indeed, she’s somewhat lacking in refinement.”
Lady Li intended to be modest but didn’t expect someone to echo the sentiment. The smile on her face froze. If it were any other day, she might have retorted immediately, but the speaker was the Crown Prince. For a moment, she didn’t know how to respond, and she couldn’t understand why Xiao Yan was targeting her.
Thinking it over, it dawned on her that it might be because she didn’t immediately bow to him when they met at the entrance of the princess’s residence, possibly causing displeasure in the Crown Prince.
Lady Li hurriedly explained, “Your servant was ignorant and failed to recognize His Highness earlier. Please forgive my lack of manners.”
Upon hearing this, Princess Yongning looked puzzled and asked Xiao Yan, “What’s going on?”
Lady Li briefly explained the situation, thinking it wasn’t a big deal. After all, not everyone could recognize the Crown Prince, and she did pay her respects once she realized. Moreover, the heir to the throne shouldn’t be so petty, right?
Who knew that Xiao Yan did not let it go at this point. Instead, he smiled and said, “Why does it sound like your words are not working in my ears?”
Lady Li was immediately shocked and knelt down in a hurry, sincerely and fearfully saying, “I dare not. It’s a misunderstanding, Your Highness. I did not say that Your Highness’s ears are not working.”
Xiao Yan’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, and he responded with a slight uplift in his tone, “So, are you saying now that I misunderstood at that time? My ears are not working?”
Lady Li, never expecting that the prince would pick a quarrel over his ears today, became anxious, and even beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She said, “No, I didn’t mean that, Your Highness.”
Xiao Yan sneered, “Then what do you mean? Either you scolded or I misunderstood. Is there a third possibility?”
The Eldest Princess glanced at him, knowing that Xiao Yan was deliberately making things difficult for people. She couldn’t help but shake her head with a hint of a smile, but the next moment, the smile disappeared upon hearing Lady Li’s words.
“Lady, at that time, I was reprimanding Zhizhi, not insulting His Highness. Please judge it correctly, Your Highness.”
The Eldest Princess’s face darkened, and her voice became displeased, “Why did Lady Li reprimand her?”
Lady Li felt extremely distressed and wished she could go back in time to slap herself. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn’t have said those words.
At this moment, Li Suwan gathered her courage and answered with a trembling voice, “It’s, it’s Zhi sister. Mother saw Zhi sister and was very happy, wanting to call her over. However, Zhi sister ignored her, and mother reprimanded her casually. It seems that His Highness misunderstood. She did not mean to insult you.”
“Yes, yes,” Lady Li hurriedly said, “I dare to swear to the heavens, I absolutely did not speak ill of His Highness. It’s all a misunderstanding. Please judge, Your Highness.”
Princess Yongning held her teacup, gently blowing on the steaming hot liquid, and said, “People, at times, may be negligent, occasionally missing a word or being preoccupied with other matters. It’s not uncommon. Madam, why are you so impatient, resorting to scolding so hastily? It makes you appear vulgar.”
Madam Li, now regretful to the core, replied repeatedly, “Yes, yes, the princess is right. Every mistake is my fault. I will pay attention next time.”
Sweat trickled down her back; finally, this matter was smoothed over. Madam Li was allowed to stand up, but she dared not look at the troublesome Crown Prince again. The Eldest Princess graciously offered her a seat, and she could only pull Li Suwan to sit at the far end. On the contrary, Li Zhizhi sat between the Eldest Princess and the Crown Prince, with the Seventh Princess even leaning on her, offering her pine nut candy. The two chatted and laughed as if no one else were present, yet the Eldest Princess showed no signs of blame.
Madam Li found this very strange. She couldn’t comprehend why Princess Yongning liked Li Zhizhi so much. Clearly, there was nothing exceptional about her.
As for Li Suwan, she looked at the new clothes on Li Zhizhi. She recognized the fabric, Lingbo Silk, which she had seen Zhao Shan’er wear at the spring banquet. It was a gift from the Emperor, worn only by palace ladies. Zhao Shan’er, being proud, only had a short jacket made of it, flaunting it to the sky.
But Li Zhizhi wore a whole set of Lingbo Silk! Not to mention the sparkling gold and silver embroidery, and the exquisite flower patterns, all given by Princess Yongning. Just now, at the gate, Li Zhizhi was clearly not wearing this outfit. The more Li Suwan thought about it, the more envious and jealous she became, feeling sour as if she had eaten unripe green apricots.
The mother and daughter stared at each other for a while. Madam Li, with caution, continued to converse with the Eldest Princess. However, for some reason, unlike the last time at the Cien Temple, the Eldest Princess’s att.i.tude this time was somewhat cold, with words that seemed perfunctory.
Madam Li was anxious, not knowing where the problem arose. Seeing that it was getting late, she took advantage of a moment when Princess Yongning and Xiao Rulei were chatting happily and brought up the matter of the coming-of-age ceremony.
“Initially, the Eldest Princess entrusted the coming-of-age ceremony to you. Today, I specially came to visit to inquire if there’s anything I, as your humble servant, can a.s.sist with. Please feel free to let me know.”
Upon hearing this, Princess Yongning finally turned around, glanced at her, raised an eyebrow, and smiled, “No need for your help, I will take care of it myself.”
Lady Li, with a smile on her face, said, “Yes, yes, the Eldest Princess will naturally handle everything thoroughly. This humble servant has been overly concerned.”
In her heart, she still had some doubts, such as the ceremonial dress for the coming-of-age ceremony, the accessories for the head and hairpin, whether she should prepare them herself, and what exactly did the Eldest Princess mean by handling everything? Did the Eldest Princess’s residence cover everything, or did the Li family need to prepare something?
But Princess Yongning obviously had little interest in further discussion. Pressing on might only annoy her and make the Li family seem too petty. Therefore, Lady Li decided to be prepared on both sides – to prepare a set in her own mansion. If the Eldest Princess’s residence was willing to take care of everything, that would be the best outcome.
This trip seemed to be in vain, and Lady Li almost got scolded. She bowed her head a few more times, and in the end, she had to take Li Suwan and leave quietly.
Once they left, Princess Yongning exchanged glances with Li Zhizhi, Xiao Yan, and the others, then couldn’t help but laugh.
On the way back to the mansion, Lady Li scolded Li Zhizhi a few times. She originally wanted to scold the crown prince for being too cunning, but she was worried about prying ears and held back. She ended up bottling up her frustration, making herself extremely uncomfortable. Finally, she held onto Li Suwan and advised, “The anger today was all for your sake. In the future, you must rise to prominence and bring honor to our family, surpa.s.sing that Li Zhizhi.”
Li Suwan obediently agreed, saying, “Mother, rest a.s.sured, your daughter understands.”
In the late evening, after a whole day of wandering, Li Zhizhi finally returned to Shuyue Pavilion. She was a bit tired, so Haitang came to give her a shoulder and back ma.s.sage. Looking around, she asked, “Has Li Suwan come?”
“No,” Yulan entered from outside the door, draping the freshly washed and dried clothes over her arm. She said, “People of high status often forget things. I think that young lady is going to avoid work again.”
Li Zhizhi thought for a moment and said, “How can that be? I worked hard all day today, and she can’t just laze around.”
So she asked Yulan to go to the Purple Wisteria Garden to call someone. After almost half an hour, Li Suwan came slowly. Li Zhizhi skillfully instructed her to work, and Li Suwan reluctantly did as she was told, occasionally glancing back at her.
At first, Li Zhizhi didn’t notice. When she looked over for the fourth time, she suddenly said, “What are you looking at? If you look again, I’ll gouge out your eyeb.a.l.l.s and use them as stepping stones.”
Li Suwan jumped in fright, and the cloth in her hand fell to the ground. Yulan and Haitang burst into laughter. Li Zhizhi wore a mischievous smile, and Li Suwan, realizing she was being teased, became both angry and embarra.s.sed, her eyes turning red.
Li Zhizhi propped up her chin and said with a playful smile, “Dear sister, I was just joking with you. Please don’t cry, okay?”
Li Suwan stared at her with resentment, suddenly asking, “Why aren’t you wearing that dress? Could it be that the Princess Yongning refused to give it to you?”
Li Zhizhi was taken aback, only then understanding the meaning behind her words. The dress was meant to be worn during the coming-of-age ceremony, and today she had just tried it on. Naturally, she wouldn’t be wearing it back. However, this young lady seemed particularly concerned…
Li Zhizhi touched her chin, then pretended to show a disappointed expression, sighing, “That dress is indeed beautiful, but the Princess said it’s only for the coming-of-age ceremony, so she wouldn’t let me wear it back.”
Upon hearing this, Li Suwan’s eyes suddenly lit up, showing a delighted expression, “Is it prepared for the coming-of-age ceremony?”
“Yes,” Li Zhizhi smiled, her eyes curved, “Today, she just asked me to help with trying it on.”
When these words reached Li Suwan’s ears, she naturally interpreted them in another way.