Nanny Rong smiled and said, “Is the little master hungry? Would you like this old servant to have the kitchen make something delicious for the little master?”
“Yes, yes!” Tang Rui nodded vigorously and rattled off a long list of dishes.
Braised pork ribs, soy-braised pig trotters, soy-braised chicken… a full seven or eight dishes.
There was no helping it—in this ancient era, most dishes were stews, stir-fries were rare, and they weren’t even tasty.
Hearing this string of dish names, Nanny Rong’s brow twitched. “Little master, that’s so much. Can you really finish it all?”
“I can! Before, I used to eat eighteen steamed buns every meal with my master.”
“…Eighteen?”
Nanny Rong silently stared at Tang Rui’s little belly—round and plump…
But the steamed buns in her understanding were each a size bigger than an adult’s fist! That round little belly, though not small, couldn’t possibly hold eighteen steamed buns, could it?
“Nanny, is it not okay?” Tang Rui saw her spacing out and thought she was asking for too much.
Nanny Rong snapped back in an instant. “No, no! The master is the master—you can eat whatever you want. This old servant will have someone tell the kitchen to make it right away.”
“Wait!” Tang Rui opened the little box that Concubine Li had given her—inside was a box of Silver Peanuts.
Tang Rui grabbed a handful of Silver Peanuts, then belatedly realized her hands were too small, so she grabbed another handful and gave them all to Nanny Rong. “The cooks have been working hard all day and must be tired. Now they have to work overtime too. Give these to them as their overtime pay.”
“…” Though she had never heard the term “overtime pay” before, Nanny Rong could vaguely understand what it meant.
The little master was really a good person—just wanting a meal, and she would even reward the servants.
“Yes!” Nanny Rong’s expression warmed as she accepted the Silver Peanuts. “This old servant thanks the little master on their behalf.”
While waiting for the food, Tang Rui looked around left and right, completely unable to sit still.
The Cuiweige courtyard was quite nice—the furniture was eighty percent new, and all the furnishings were complete.
On the bed was a cloth tiger sewn from fine fabric, and on the desk sat a few cute sugar figurines. It was practically tailor-made for her.
The bed was so soft too!
I wonder how Master is doing. Now that I’m not there, does she miss me?
A bit sleepy…
“Little Commandery Princess, time to eat!” The moment Nanny Rong’s voice rang out, Tang Rui’s drowsiness vanished without a trace.
Looking at the table full of dishes, drool flowed freely.
Heaven and earth are vast, but eating is the greatest matter of all!
By the time Tang Rui had eaten her fill, half an hour had passed. She had devoured all seven or eight dishes clean, even licking several plates.
As for the white rice—not a single grain touched.
Nanny Rong: “…” So she’s a master who doesn’t eat rice, only dishes.
Tang Rui, full and content, lay down on the bed. Though she was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, she still softly said to Nanny Rong, “Nanny, save the white rice for me to eat tomorrow… don’t throw it away…”
“Alright, little master, sleep now…” Nanny Rong thought to herself that leftover rice from last night could never be served to the little master—she would make fresh rice tomorrow.
Nanny Rong couldn’t sleep yet. She called for servants to bring hot water and personally washed Tang Rui clean.
Tang Rui had already fallen into dreamland and never woke up once the whole time—she was even snoring…
She slept soundly, but the women of the Prince Li’s residence couldn’t sleep at all.
The Princess Consort, Concubine Zhu, and Concubine Li took things in stride, knowing they would never have children of their own in this lifetime.
Tang Rui’s arrival filled the void in their lives and silenced the outside voices saying they were destined to die without descendants.
Concubine Zhang didn’t care either way—she had never liked Prince Li to begin with, and had only entered Li Wangfu as a concubine to fulfill her father’s dying wish.
Besides, little Tang Rui really was quite adorable, and she liked her too.
Consort Gu and Concubine Liu didn’t think the same way.
The former continued drinking alone under the moonlight, her heart growing more bitter by the moment.
The latter threw a huge tantrum after returning, cursing Tang Rui’s ancestors for eighteen generations.
…
The next day.
Just as dawn was breaking, Prince Li arrived.
Tang Rui: “zzzZZZ~~”
Prince Li frowned. “Get up! You’re coming to the palace with me!”
Tang Rui rolled over, dreaming of her past life where she had gone to a private club and hired eighteen handsome young men, all skilled in music and entertainment.
Surrounded by handsome men, scattering money everywhere without end—sheaven on earth.
“Get up!”
The handsome men suddenly looked at her, their hair growing longer, all eighteen faces turning into her cheap father’s deadpan face, thirty-six eyes glaring at her with sinister intent.
Tang Rui was scared awake, and the first thing she saw was her cheap father’s deadpan face.
“Ow~”
Startled, Tang Rui grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him.
The cheap father caught the pillow effortlessly, his handsome face darkening several more shades. “This Prince said—get up!”
“Your Highness!” The Princess Consort Li rushed over, shoved Situ Che aside with her hip, and scooped up Tang Rui. “Don’t be so fierce! You’re scaring Ruirui.”
Situ Che opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Concubine Zhu’s voice came from behind. “Anyway, the carriage ride to the palace takes so long. Just have the servants dress Ruirui up—there’s no need to force her up.”
“A five-year-old child is in the middle of growing. If you don’t let her sleep well, she won’t grow tall.” Concubine Zhang said with a cold face, casually patting the soft sword at her waist—it looked more like a threat than anything.
Situ Che’s brow twitched. “…Why are you all here?”
Princess Consort Li said with righteous indignation, “I am your princess consort, of course I should enter the palace with you.”
Concubine Zhu chuckled, “I need to lose weight, so I’m getting up early to exercise.”
Concubine Zhang wore a cold expression, “I have a habit of practicing boxing in the early morning.”
Situ Che: “…”
Hilarious!
When it was time to enter the palace normally, why didn’t you come with me?
And you, Concubine Zhu, you never got up before the sun was high in the sky.
Now you’re suddenly so diligent.
“Nanny Rong, hurry and help the young princess wash up!” Princess Consort Li said, then looked at Tang Rui tenderly, “Ruirui, sleep a little longer. Mother will wake you when we reach the palace.”
“Mother, I’m already awake.”
Tang Rui couldn’t sleep anymore.
She hadn’t expected that just entering the palace would bring so many mothers to see her off.
Had she fallen into a nest of blessings?
Princess Consort Li held Tang Rui the entire time without letting go, personally combing her hair.
Concubine Zhu called her maidservant to bring over the white jade bird’s nest soup and fed it to her spoonful by spoonful.
Seeing that her hair was too plain, Concubine Zhang took off the pink pearl flower from her own hair and placed it on Tang Rui’s head, smiling almost imperceptibly, “The young princess has too few hair ornaments. I’ll send more over when I return.”
Princess Consort Li didn’t say much, but her expression turned slightly unnatural.
Among the women of the prince’s residence, she, as Princess Consort Li, seemed to be the poorest, unable to even produce a decent gift.
She needed to find a way to get her dowry back, otherwise she wouldn’t even have money to buy jewelry for her daughter.
Situ Che watched the three busy women, completely at a loss.
Before Tang Rui arrived, the women of the residence all hovered around him.
Now he was completely left aside, ignored by everyone.
Qingfeng muttered quietly, “Your Highness, it seems you’ve fallen out of favor.”
Hearing this, Situ Che shot him a cold glare, then looked at the little bun being fussed over by the crowd.
This child—yesterday she was all dirty, but today, dressed up by these women, she looked like a little girl attendant beneath Guanyin’s seat.
Her hair was tied in two buns, her big eyes dark and bright, with a few loose strands of hair falling at her temples, making her little face look even more milky-white and adorable.
Bah!
Not adorable at all!
He would never forget how this daughter came to be.
After Tang Rui was dressed up, Situ Che and Princess Consort Li took her onto the carriage.
Concubine Zhu prepared a large food box and handed it to Princess Consort Li, “There’s not enough time. These are all the breakfast dishes prepared for Ruirui, let her eat them in the carriage.”