"I'm worthless to you; I'm not like Huaishang."
Huaishang had just arrived when he heard this at the door, and he felt as if he had been struck by a thousand tons of damage.
He had originally wanted to complain to Prince of Jin about how Mianmian had donated a thousand taels of silver for incense oil today, which was making him extremely distressed, but now he decided to hold back.
Just like Yanran said, he's valuable!
He had "sold himself" to Mianmian; he couldn't afford to antagonize her or put the prince in a difficult position.
What if the prince actually upholds justice for him?
That won't work.
"Come in," Prince of Jin said calmly.
Huaishang pushed open the door with a bitter face, bowed to the Prince of Jin, and then looked at Yanran with resentment.
Yanran showed no embarrassment at being caught, and said with a smile, "Uncle Huai, I was just praising you, and here you are."
Huaishang wore a bitter expression and remained silent.
Does he have to thank her?
The Prince of Jin ordered his men to escort Yanran back.
Yanran said, "I'll say one last thing before I leave. Father, Mu Ziyu has gone to the capital."
He did indeed go to the capital.
In fact, he had guessed it the moment Qu Hua appeared, and now that Yanran had confirmed it, he no longer needed to have anyone investigate.
"Qu Hua said she wanted to play with me, let me try to get some more information out of her," Yanran said. "Alright, Father, Uncle Huai, you two go ahead with your work, I'm leaving now. I need to go back and write a letter to Mother."
She needs to give herself a good compliment.
"Wait," Huaishang called out to her.
"What's wrong?" Yanran turned around, her smile radiant.
"You were amazing today." Huaishang gave you a thumbs up. "You've grown up! You'll be even more amazing than your mother someday."
Back then, Xiao Mo took good care of him, Huaishang treated her like an older sister.
While he was proud of Yanran, he also wanted to mention his sister.
The beauty has passed away, and nearly ten years have gone by in the blink of an eye.
Yanran smiled at him before leaving.
Huaishang's eyes welled up with tears, and she reached out to wipe them away.
Yanran encountered Zhao Kuo standing under a tree in the courtyard.
"Zhao Kuo, you were really good today." She laughed. "I'm not bragging, but even before the match started, I knew you guys could win."
Zhao Kuo was somewhat excited.
The young woman actually took the initiative to talk to me.
He stammered, "Not bad, not bad at all. The young lady is amazing, the young lady is truly amazing..."
It was a stunning entrance that captivated millions and left an indelible impression on him.
Yanran didn't linger, waving her hand and saying, "I'm leaving."
"Take care, young lady," Zhao Kuo said awkwardly.
Yanran left quickly.
Back home, she wrote a letter to Tang Zhuyun while biting her pen.
She had intended to praise herself, but she was so lacking in vocabulary that she wrote several dry and uninspired letters.
Finally, to sum it up in one sentence. "Dragon boat race encounters assassins, 23 people shot dead."
When Tang Zhuyun received the letter, she thought that everyone had shot and killed a total of twenty-three assassins. She never expected that it was Yanran's doing all by herself.
Yanran tossed her pen with a sigh of relief, confirming once again that she was indeed not cut out for studying.
Writing this letter is like suffering from constipation for years; she's really not cut out for it.
Yanran stayed up all night, so she woke up late the next day.
She was awakened by Jiang'er.
"Young lady, wake up, the princess has come to see you."
"Princess?" Yanran yawned, lazily opening her eyes, her mind slowly returning to normal. "Qu Hua?"
"It is indeed the Princess," Jiang'er said. "She is currently sitting in the flower hall waiting for you. If I hadn't stopped her, she probably would have come in already."
Yanran: "... It's okay, she's not quite right in the head, you'll get used to it over time."
They're impulsive and unpredictable, it doesn't matter what they do.
She got up, put on her clothes, quickly washed and combed her hair, and then came out with her hair casually braided into a plait hanging down her back.
Qu Hua had already drunk two cups of tea, and she was still somewhat excited to see her come out.
"Shall we go horseback riding today?"
Yanran: Why should I go horseback riding with you? Are we that close?
But one shouldn't be rude to someone who's smiling, and besides, we still need to find Mu Ziyu through Qu Hua, right?
So Yanran said, "Let's do it another day, I need to rest."
"That's true. How long have you been practicing martial arts? How old are you this year? Who is your master?" Qu Hua asked a series of questions, showing none of her previous aloofness.
Yanran answered them one by one.
To bridge the gap, she brought up Qu Nian.
"... My father was injured, and it was thanks to the Crown Prince's help that he survived."
She couldn't figure out Qu Hua's thoughts about what the Prince of Jin was doing in the capital, and dared not speak openly about it.
Qu Hua: "Why did you bring him up? It makes me feel uneasy."
Yanran: "..."
"I heard my mother mention that he led troops to attack the Northern Yi. I hope he won't turn into a fool this time," Qu Hua said with a look of disdain.
Making me run around cleaning up his mess, ugh!
Yanran: "Although I shouldn't interfere in other people's affairs, I haven't treated you as an outsider. Why are you and your brother so... different?"
"Because he's a pervert, let's not talk about him. Yanran, do you think it's still okay for me to go and learn riding and archery at my age?" Qu Hua asked with great interest.
Yanran: "It's not late, but I think you're just riding the wave."
Qu Hua: "Give it a try, I'm just killing time anyway. You can be my mentor!"
The boy is good, but he can't do this one thing every day.
"I can't, but you can practice with me. I'm planning to teach Little Tangyuan soon, and my cousin will learn with me."
"Okay!"
Qu Hua was very happy.
Jiang Ruo came to find Yanran, heard about this, and expressed that she wanted to join as well.
Yanran: "Alright, come on, if you can last three days, you win."
Qu Hua didn't know who Little Tangyuan was, so when she saw the little snowball drooling, she was completely stunned.
"Her?"
Whom does she think she's to be insulting by letting her learn alongside this little toddler?
However, when she actually drew her bow, Qu Hua was dealt another blow.
This bow looks fine, so why can't I draw it?
Why can that Little Tangyuan ball be filled to the brim?
They're clearly the same bow!
No, the Little Tangyuan balls must be specially made.
Feeling humiliated, Qu Hua said, "I'll try Little Tangyuan's bow."
The Little Tangyuan was given to her generously.
She likes all pretty older women.
The Qu Hua cannot be opened.
She pulled hard, but still couldn't pull it apart.
Yanran watched from the side, amused. "Her bow is heavier than yours; you can't even draw your own, let alone hers."
Qu Hua said that she has fallen in love with Little Tangyuan again.
This family is eccentric, but she's really something else.
The women, young and old, quickly became acquainted.
When Qu Hua arrived at the Prince's residence, Mu Ziyu was waiting outside. This big fish had taken the bait on its own...