Qin Xue was certainly not aggrieved; she was practically overjoyed. What was there to miss about the Prince, who was cold and aloof all day? The Princess Consort was so much better—beautiful and always smiling. Besides, once the Princess Consort married the Prince, she could still return to the Prince’s mansion.
As soon as she heard she was being sent to protect the Princess Consort, she was ecstatic. However, she had to put on a show to avoid the Prince seeing through her little scheme. At the same time, she could play the pitiful, homeless girl in front of the Princess Consort to win some sympathy. Killing two birds with one stone—she was truly brilliant!
“How did the Prince know I was being bullied?” Gu Nanyin said this with little confidence. She hadn’t suffered the slightest bit of bullying; on the contrary, the young lady from the Wei family had gained no advantage from her and had instead lost all face.
“The Prince naturally cares deeply about your affairs, miss.” The Prince even inquired about whether the Princess Consort ate well at every meal, let alone such a major incident as nearly being bullied.
Gu Nanyin was deeply moved. It had only been two hours since her conflict with Wei Linger, yet Yuan Jue already knew about it and had even sent someone to protect her. This showed how much he cared for her.
Madam Gu, listening to their conversation from the side, was quite curious. She knew the Regent liked Nanyin, but hadn’t Nanyin always disliked the Regent? Why did she now speak of him with such affection?
“Nanyin, you and the Regent…” In front of Qin Xue, Madam Gu wasn’t sure how to phrase her question.
“Mother, I was previously misled and had many misunderstandings about the Prince. Fortunately, the Prince didn’t mind. Now I’ve finally realized that there is no man in the world better than the Regent. As for my past with Fang Xuan, it was my own immaturity that caused you so much worry.”
When she had liked Fang Xuan before, her mother had tried hard to dissuade her, but at that time, she had been completely infatuated with Fang Xuan and stubbornly refused to listen. Her mother must have been deeply pained, especially since she had already suffered so much because of her father and absolutely did not want her daughter to repeat her mistakes.
“My Nanyin has truly grown up,” Madam Gu said with relief. “As for you and the Regent, spend more time together, observe carefully, and time will tell if he is the right person for you. As long as you are happy, I have no objections.” Whether he was from a humble background or of noble birth, as long as he treated her daughter sincerely, it would be a good match.
Qin Xue nodded silently to herself. The Prince’s long journey to win his wife’s heart was finally seeing the light of dawn. Not only had he gained the Princess Consort’s approval, but with a little more effort, her mother-in-law’s favor was also within reach.
“Miss, someone from General Su’s side has arrived.” Qiuzhi came to report shortly after Gu Nanyin brought Qin Xue into the mansion.
“Please show them in immediately,” Gu Nanyin instructed as soon as she heard her uncle had sent someone.
As soon as she finished speaking, Qiuzhi led in a person dressed as a maid.
“Greetings, miss,” the little maid said, bowing deeply to Gu Nanyin as soon as she entered.”Please rise, Uncle. Is there something you need?” Gu Nanyin quickly stepped forward to help him up. Uncle Su Huaian had always treated Gu Nanyin as his own daughter. When Gu Nanyin fell into the water last time, the General’s Mansion sent several groups of people to visit her, and fearing she would be bored during her recovery, they even gathered many storybooks for her. If she hadn’t insisted that she might pass her illness to him, he would have come in person.
“The General heard that some fool nearly bullied you and was furious. He asked me to tell you that he will personally help you vent your anger. Anger harms the liver, so you must not get upset yourself.”
Gu Nanyin felt as though she had become fragile glass in everyone’s eyes, with them fearing she might suffer the slightest harm. As for someone like Wei Linger, she didn’t even take her seriously. But she had to admit, it felt truly wonderful to be cherished by so many people.
“I don’t take it to heart, and Uncle shouldn’t get angry either. Please take these things back for Uncle and Grandfather to nourish their health.” Gu Nanyin had Qin Xue and Qiuzhi bring over several boxes of ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms. Her health was excellent now, even better than before she fell into the water. Yuan Jue had sent so many medicinal herbs that she couldn’t possibly use them all, so she simply took a few boxes and had her maids bring them back for her uncle and grandfather. Grandfather was getting older, and Uncle trained in martial arts year-round, so these nourishing herbs were perfect for them.
The little maid stared blankly at the boxes. Who gave medicinal herbs in whole boxes like this? Moreover, these were no ordinary herbs. The little maid frowned at the ginseng in the boxes, which looked so old it seemed almost sentient. For a moment, she thought her General must have worried too much. Miss Gu’s life was clearly much better than that of the General’s Mansion—at least, she had never seen such things in her own home.
Qin Xue, noticing the little maid’s astonished gaze, felt even prouder. These were all sent from their Prince’s Mansion. The Prince truly treated the young lady with the utmost care, though by comparison, it made their own lives seem all the more pitiful.
When the little maid returned to the mansion with the boxes, General Su and Prime Minister Su fell into deep thought at the sight of so many thousand-year-old ginseng roots—things that couldn’t be bought even with money. “The young lady said,” the maid hesitated, “that she has plenty of these things, and if the General runs out, he can just ask her for more.”
General Su swallowed hard and said uncertainly, “Father, do you think Nanyin might have robbed someone?” Prime Minister Su struck him with his cane. “What nonsense! How can you speak of your niece like that?”
General Su rubbed his arm where the cane had struck—his father’s blows really hurt. “I was just joking. How could Nanyin possibly rob someone of so much ginseng?”
Gu Nanyin, meanwhile, had no idea that her boxes of ginseng had sparked such an outrageous guess from her uncle. She was planning to visit Yuan Jue. It had been half a month since they last parted. Thinking back to her previous life, what she hated most every day was seeing Yuan Jue’s face, and she avoided him whenever possible. To avoid upsetting her, Yuan Jue also tried not to appear before her. Though they lived in the same mansion, they lived like enemies.Gu Nanyin sighed. In her previous life, her father had always told her that the Regent held immense power, and if she did not marry him, everyone in the Minister’s Mansion would die. She resented the Regent for using her to threaten her father, but it was only upon her death that she realized: if Yuan Jue truly resorted to any means necessary, how could she have lived peacefully in the Regent’s Mansion for a year? Unfortunately, she had been blinded by hatred and failed to see any good in Yuan Jue.
Qiuzhi was helping her with her makeup. Seeing her troubled expression, Qiuzhi wondered, “Miss, do you not wish to see the Regent?”
“How could that be?” Gu Nanyin pushed aside her unpleasant memories and put on a smile again. “Today, make me look beautiful.”