Liu Zhurong’s words left the many ladies and young ladies in the room utterly astonished.
As the only prince with a different surname in Great Jin, Prince Yong naturally attracted an extraordinary amount of attention.
What had happened outside Prince Yong’s Manor half a month ago was no secret.
Many people had heard that a little beggar had clung to Prince Yong’s leg, insisting on taking him as her father.
Everyone assumed the little beggar would surely be thrown out, yet to their surprise, not only did Prince Yong’s Manor not drive her away, they actually took her in as an adopted daughter.
Were Prince Yong and Princess Consort Yong really so kind?
Would they take in any little beggar of unknown origins as their daughter?
But no matter what they thought in their hearts, since Princess Consort Yong had said so, they naturally had to offer congratulations and pleasant words on the surface.
They praised Chu Mo’s beauty and congratulated Liu Zhurong on gaining such a devoted daughter.
Chu Mo listened to the crowd’s compliments, smiling on the surface while feeling nothing inside.
Because she knew they were praising the daughter of Prince Yong’s Manor, not her.
Suddenly, Chu Mo sensed an unusual gaze. She looked up and met the eyes of a richly dressed lady.
Her expression paused slightly, and she calmly looked away.
The Marchioness of Jianan, Xu Jing—her mother in her previous life.
She pinched her palm, trying hard to suppress the hatred in her heart.
In this life, her mother was Princess Consort Yong, Liu Zhurong. She would have nothing to do with Marquis Jian’an’s Manor ever again.
Xu Jing gazed at Chu Mo, who sat beside Liu Zhurong, a flicker of puzzlement in her eyes. For some reason, she felt that the adopted daughter Princess Consort Yong had taken in looked somewhat familiar.
Before Xu Jing could figure it out, Cheng Xinyue tugged at her hand, interrupting her thoughts.
“Mother, your daughter is going out.”
Xu Jing came back to her senses. It turned out the Old Madam of the Duke of Qi Mansion had asked her granddaughters to take the girls of similar age out for a stroll.
She smiled and patted her hand. “Very well, go ahead.”
Chu Mo didn’t want to go out. She only wanted to stay by Liu Zhurong’s side; without someone familiar nearby, she felt insecure.
“Mother, I’m not going out. I’ll just stay by your side.”
Liu Zhurong smiled. “Let Banxia accompany you. You could go make some new friends.”
Chu Mo shook her head in refusal. “No, I don’t need friends.”
She hated friends. In her previous life, the only friend she had trusted had framed her for theft, leaving her unable to defend herself no matter what she said.
Having her little brothers was enough. When the chance came, she would definitely bring all her little brothers to the Capital City.
Liu Zhurong keenly noticed that Chu Mo seemed to resist the very word “friends.”
“Very well, then you shan’t go.”
Chu Mo nodded obediently.
At that moment, a loud voice sounded from outside the room.
“The Princess Royal has arrived—”
At those words, everyone except Liu Zhurong rose to pay their respects, including the Old Madam of the Duke of Qi Mansion.
“We greet Her Highness the Princess Royal.”
Chu Mo glanced at Liu Zhurong, who remained seated, thought for a moment, and did not move either, sitting up straight and tall.
The Princess Royal, dressed in magnificent palace robes, walked in slowly, her steps composed and dignified, accompanied by her daughter, County Mistress Roujia.
Seeing the Old Madam of the Duke of Qi Mansion curtsy in greeting, she stepped forward and personally reached out to steady her arm.
“Old Madam, please rise quickly. Today is your birthday celebration—there is no need for such ceremony.”
The Old Madam said warmly, “Thank you, Your Highness. Please, take a seat.”
She moved to yield the seat of honor.
The Princess Royal smiled. “There’s no need. You are the elder, Old Madam. I shall sit below.”
After several rounds of polite refusal, the Princess Royal took a seat opposite Liu Zhurong.
After taking her seat, she glanced at Liu Zhurong, then looked over Chu Mo beside her and asked in surprise.
“Princess Consort Yong, is this the adopted daughter your Prince’s Mansion has taken in?”
Liu Zhurong’s expression was cold. “Mm.”
The Princess Royal smiled warmly at Chu Mo. “She looks quite lovely. Little girl, how old are you this year? What’s your name?”
Chu Mo answered respectfully, “In reply to Your Highness, my name is Chu Mo, and I am thirteen this year.”
The corners of the Princess Royal’s lips curved up gently, her eyes soft and mild, appearing full of kindness.
“Oh? Only thirteen? And your birth parents?”
“Dead.”
The Princess Royal froze for a moment, not expecting Chu Mo to be so blunt.
After a moment, she recovered, and a polite, gentle look of sympathy appeared on her face, a faint smile floating at the corners of her lips—though the depths of her eyes remained cold and unreadable.
“Is that so? How unfortunate. But fortunately, you have now joined the Prince’s Mansion and become a daughter of Prince Yong’s Manor. From now on, wealth and glory will naturally accompany you.”
Chu Mo beamed. “That’s right! The first half of my life was lonely and miserable, without father or mother. I suppose Heaven took pity on how wretched I was, so it let me meet such wonderful parents.”
The Princess Royal’s gaze shifted to Liu Zhurong, and she said with a half-smile, “You and the Prince are deeply devoted to each other, a perfect match in harmony, and you have four sons, each of them remarkable in bearing—truly dragons and phoenixes among men.”
“It’s only a pity you never had a daughter—not even one by a concubine.”
“Prince Yong is a man of such extraordinary character and bearing. If he had a daughter of his own blood, she would surely inherit his finest looks and grace. In time, she would surely outshine all others and be the most peerless beauty in the entire Capital City.”
As her words fell softly, the hall instantly sank into dead silence.
Everyone present lowered their expressions, each silently keeping their own thoughts to themselves.
Who in the Capital didn’t know that the rear courtyard of Prince Yong’s Manor was completely empty—there had only ever been the Princess Consort, Liu Zhurong.
No secondary consort, no honored concubines, not even a single chamber maid.
The world said the Princess Consort Yong was blessed with great fortune, to have married such an upright, powerful man who ruled over all he surveyed—one husband, one wife for a lifetime, with her husband’s utterly exclusive devotion.
Who in the whole Capital didn’t envy Liu Zhurong?
But hearing the Princess Royal’s words, everyone understood them in an entirely different light.
On the surface, it sounded like regret that the Manor had no daughter, but in truth it was a veiled jab—pointing out that Prince Yong doted on one woman alone, that the Princess Consort had monopolized his favor for years, forbidding him any other women. Too domineering. Too jealous.
And a reputation for jealousy, once it spread, would be far from good.
Even Chu Mo could tell something was off about those words. She looked at Liu Zhurong, then at the Princess Royal, scratching her palm, not understanding what conflict existed between the two.
But she was now part of Prince Yong’s Manor, and naturally she couldn’t just stand by and watch her mother be slighted.
Chu Mo asked, “Your Highness the Princess Royal, do you have children?”
The Princess Royal shot her a glance. “This palace naturally has children.”
“Then you must have both sons and daughters, surely?” Chu Mo asked, looking at her with utter sincerity.
The Princess Royal’s face changed slightly.
Liu Zhurong gave a soft laugh. “Momo, the Princess Royal has only one daughter.”
Chu Mo gasped, looking mortified as she apologized to the Princess Royal. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, I didn’t know you had a daughter. I thought you were like my mother, with sons as talented and handsome as my brothers.”
“But you’re still young—you’re sure to have eight sons in one pregnancy someday.” Chu Mo offered her heartfelt blessing.
The Princess Royal: “…”
County Mistress Jiarou could no longer sit still. She shot to her feet, pointing at Chu Mo and shouting loudly.
“A beggar mongrel—what makes you think you have any right to speak here?”
Liu Zhurong’s ever-calm and composed face darkened abruptly, her brows and eyes covered in a layer of frost.
“What do you mean by that, County Mistress Jiarou? Since when did my daughter of Prince Yong’s Manor become a mongrel?”
County Mistress Jiarou’s voice turned shrill. “Princess Consort, she’s nothing but a fatherless, motherless beggar of lowly birth. How could she possibly be a daughter of Prince Yong’s Manor? She’s unworthy!”
“Whether she’s worthy or not is not for you to decide.” Anger showed on Liu Zhurong’s face, her attitude utterly unyielding.
“Apologize.”
“What? You want me to apologize?” County Mistress Jiarou’s eyes widened. “I won’t. I refuse to apologize to a beggar mongrel.”
The moment those words fell, the atmosphere in the room turned razor-tense, and no one dared make a sound.
One was the Princess Royal, the other the Princess Consort Yong—neither could be offended.
The Princess Royal spoke with a light laugh. “Princess Consort, it was merely childish banter between the young ones. Why take it to heart?”