Chu Mo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Anyway, she had already moved into the Prince’s Mansion. She had a thick skin—as long as they didn’t explicitly throw her out, she would shamelessly cling to the Prince’s Mansion for the rest of her life.
“It’s all right, Mother. I don’t have anything else to do anyway. Being filial to Father and Mother is simply a child’s duty.”
Watching her act so excessively obedient and sensible, Liu Zhurong’s heart softened slightly, and she sighed softly.
“You child, you’re really thoughtful and understanding. Let’s eat.”
“Okay.”
Chu Mo lowered her eyes slightly, curved her brows into a gentle, docile smile, said nothing more, and sat down to eat.
Chu Xilou’s expression was indifferent; he paid no mind to Chu Mo’s attempts to please them.
Outside, behind a pillar along the corridor, a slender young figure was hiding sneakily, a pair of pitch-black eyes fixed firmly on Chu Mo inside the room, a flicker of curiosity passing through them.
So she really was half a daughter of the Prince’s Mansion.
Yesterday, after Chu Congning had run back to his own courtyard, embarrassed and annoyed, he had someone look into Chu Mo, and learned that she was a little beggar who had insisted on clinging to them, wanting to call Father King and Mother Consort her parents.
Later, Second Brother said he wanted a little sister, so he brought her back to his own courtyard.
He was truly curious, so he had sneaked over to Clear Breeze Court, and after seeing her come out, had followed her all the way to Cedar Courtyard.
Suddenly, a maid carrying a tray walked up beside Chu Congning, looking at him in confusion.
“Fourth Young Master, what are you doing here?”
Chu Congning jumped in fright. “You… why did you scare me?”
Then he lowered his voice. “Keep it down, don’t let them find out.”
The maid: “…Yes.”
Unfortunately, it was already too late. Both Liu Zhurong and Chu Xilou had heard the noise outside and spotted Chu Congning hiding behind the pillar.
“Congning, come here.” Chu Xilou’s voice wasn’t loud, but Chu Congning still heard it.
Chu Congning’s shoulders instantly slumped, and he walked into the room with his head down, taking small steps.
Liu Zhurong said, “Congning, what brings you here?”
“I… I…”
Chu Congning nervously pinched his sleeve, pressed his lips together, not knowing what to say.
Chu Mo chimed in with a grin, “Father, Mother, Fourth Brother came to pay his respects to you too.”
“Right, right, I came to pay my respects to Father King and Mother Consort.” Chu Congning nodded repeatedly.
Liu Zhurong glanced at the two of them and said lightly, “Mm, sit down and eat.”
Chu Congning sat down across from Chu Mo with his head lowered, and the servants quickly set out clean bowls and chopsticks for him.
He sipped his porridge in small mouthfuls, looked up at Chu Mo, who was taking huge bites of her steamed bun, then quickly glanced at Chu Xilou and Liu Zhurong, thinking: apart from festivals, this was the first time he’d ever eaten breakfast together with Father King and Mother Consort.
He felt a little happy~
If only Chu Mo could eat a bit more gracefully.
Oh, right, he forgot—she used to be a beggar. No one had ever taught her.
How pitiful.
Oh well, he’d just give her a few pointers later.
Chu Xilou and Liu Zhurong had also noticed Chu Mo’s eating habits. It wasn’t that her table manners were ugly—just that they weren’t refined.
She devoured a whole bun in three bites, practically wolfing her food down.
Chu Xilou frowned slightly.
Liu Zhurong wanted to say something, but remembering her background, she forcibly swallowed the words back down.
In truth, Chu Mo was already exercising great restraint. When she was a beggar, she often went without meals—one meal here, none there—so whenever she had food, she naturally had to eat it quickly, or what if someone snatched it away?
Over the years, this had become a habit: eating hastily, never daring to chew slowly. Even now, she would instinctively speed up while eating.
After returning to Marquis Jian’an’s Manor, she was scolded many times for this and took quite a few beatings.
The beatings were one thing, but they wouldn’t even let her eat her fill. Though she’d often gone hungry as a beggar too, at least she’d been free back then.
After finishing breakfast, Chu Mo and Chu Congning left together.
Chu Congning’s gaze kept drifting toward Chu Mo without his noticing, but the moment she turned to meet his eyes, he would immediately put on a cold face, furrow his brows, and feign an annoyed expression.
Chu Mo blinked. “Fourth Brother, are you still mad at me?”
“Hmph.” Chu Congning turned half his face away, squeezing a muffled cold snort out of his nose, refusing to answer.
Chu Mo softened her tone, coaxing him gently. “I know I was wrong. I’ll never make you angry again.”
Chu Congning lifted his chin high and said stubbornly, “Who cares about your apology, you liar.”
Chu Mo reached up and poked his chin. “Don’t lift your chin so high, or your crown will fall off.”
Chu Congning: “…”
Chu Congning slapped her hand away, his eyes full of shock and reproach. “Why are you poking my chin!?”
“I saw the hair in your nostrils,” Chu Mo said, perfectly serious.
Chu Congning froze for a moment, then it hit him. He cried out and clapped his hands over his nose, the tips of his ears flushing an uncontrollable light red.
Seeing such a big reaction, Chu Mo pressed her lips tightly together, her shoulders trembling slightly as she fought to hold back the laughter about to spill out.
Watching her barely contain her laughter, Chu Congning’s eyes suddenly went wide as saucers. He stood stunned for a long while before belatedly coming back to his senses.
“You tricked me again!”
He leaned forward slightly in anger, his tone both furious and mortified, the tips of his ears burning red. He raised a hand and waved it vaguely at her.
“You’ve gone too far, liar. I’m never speaking to you again.”
Seeing that he was genuinely angry, Chu Mo coughed lightly and hurried to coax him. “Fourth Brother, I was wrong. Don’t be angry. I was only joking.”
Chu Congning simply couldn’t bear this grievance. Everyone in the Prince’s Mansion ignored him, left him out, didn’t take him seriously—even this half-daughter whom Father King and Mother Consort hadn’t even formally acknowledged yet dared to bully him.
He clenched his fists slightly, tears welling in his eyes, and turned to stride away.
Chu Mo chased after him, talking nonstop. “Fourth Brother, why do you think I don’t joke with anyone else, only with you? It’s because I like you. I like talking to you, I like playing with you.”
Chu Congning’s footsteps stopped abruptly. His eyes widened slightly, and his cheeks flushed crimson at a visible speed, the red spreading from his jaw all the way to the tips of his ears.
“What… what nonsense are you spouting?”
Chu Mo said, “I’m not spouting nonsense. Fourth Brother, you’re the best brother in the whole world. I like you the most.”
“Really?” Chu Congning didn’t even realize there was a trace of expectation in his own voice.
“You’re not going to trick me again, are you?”
Watching him act so awkward and fidgety, Chu Mo couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
Hearing her laughter, Chu Congning grew even more embarrassed and furious. He glared up at her sharply, his eyes full of mortification.
“You’re laughing! So you really did trick me again!”
Chu Mo leaned forward slightly, drawing a little closer. “Let me tell you a secret. I’ve never cried in front of anyone. When I’m sad, I always hide away and cry in secret.”
Chu Congning looked at her suspiciously. “Really?”
“Of course.” Chu Mo nodded. “How about this—from now on, when you’re sad, come cry to me, and when I’m sad, I’ll go cry to you?”
Hearing this, Chu Congning clenched his palm and said in a muffled voice, “I only cried once yesterday. I won’t cry anymore from now on.”
What kind of man cries and whines all the time? He would never cry again.
“Huh? Oh, all right then,” Chu Mo thought for a moment. “So can I come find you when I feel like crying in the future, Fourth Brother?”