Before hearing what Princess Huian knew, Su Xiaoqi had always thought Princess Huian was greedy or had itchy hands, wanting to learn pastry making from Shen Mingzhu.
After hearing her words, Su Xiaoqi finally understood that Princess Huian had probably come specifically to find her.
“Sister Xiaoqi, I heard Guard Cen say that this time, various countries are coming to celebrate Emperor Uncle’s ascension, with the intention of marriage alliances.
The royal family is screening suitable princesses and county princesses to marry out.
And other countries have also brought princesses, I heard the Princess of Southern Yue has taken a liking to Lord Shen.”
The words startled Su Xiaoqi, who immediately stood up.
“What…”
A princess fancied Shen Yun.
Actually, she shouldn’t have been so surprised by this.
After all, Shen Yun was good-looking, smart, witty, and extremely capable.
Anyone with eyes could see that.
It was just that the noble ladies of the Daliang Dynasty knew he was already married.
They, with their noble status, naturally wouldn’t stoop so low to compete with her for him.
But this foreign princess was clearly not someone who would be easy to deal with.
She had indeed taken a fancy to Shen Yun.
Princess Huian, afraid Su Xiaoqi would think her words lacked credibility because of her young age, quickly brought up Guard Cen Mo, who was by her side.
She said that Cen Mo had a brother who was an official in the Ministry of Rites, and this brother had been following Lord Shen closely for the past two days to receive the envoys from Southern Yue.
These were things he had witnessed firsthand.
The Southern Yue princess was named Yi Jiang. She was very different from the women of Daliang.
Her skin was dark, and her personality was extremely open. When Shen Yun received them at the post station, she took an instant liking to him.
She was very direct with him, stating that she was sent by her country for a marriage alliance, that she fancied him, and asked if she could marry him.
Su Xiaoqi listened and frowned slightly. Her heart stirred, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Oh, then does the County Princess know what he said?”
Princess Huian glanced at Su Xiaoqi and stuck out her tongue a little sheepishly:
“This, this… when I heard about it, I was too anxious and forgot. I forgot to ask.
If Sister Xiaoqi wants to know, I can call Cen Mo over. Sister Xiaoqi, don’t worry, Lord Shen is definitely not that kind of person.”
Princess Huian had also seen how well Shen Yun treated Su Xiaoqi during these days.
And her mother also constantly praised him in front of her.
Saying that when looking for a husband, one should find someone like Shen Yun.
Su Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow. She knew that Princess Huian meant to comfort her.
However, she had always been accustomed to being high and mighty in her own residence.
She lacked interaction with peers.
She didn’t realize that her words, instead of comforting her, felt somewhat offensive.
If it hadn’t been Princess Huian telling her this today,
even if it had been someone like Zhao Xiaohua or Su Yuru, she might have categorized it as a provocation.
But since it was Princess Huian, Su Xiaoqi could understand.
However, considering her age, she would eventually get married.
She still needed to know what to say and what not to say.
Don’t just blurt out everything you know without considering the time or occasion.
It was fine that she told her these things today.
Although she found it difficult to accept emotionally,
she knew that Princess Huian meant no harm and was genuinely thinking of her.
“County Princess, thank you for rushing to inform me, but I need to tell you.
It’s fine that the person involved is me.
If it were someone else in the future, please don’t speak so directly to them. Some people don’t like to hear the truth.”
Princess Huian blinked her eyes and thought about it before nodding. She actually understood the reasoning; she just hadn't thought it through at the moment.
“Sister Xiaoqi, did I say something wrong?” she asked, looking more cheerful and confident than before.
But Su Xiaoqi now realized that all of that was superficial.
Deep down, her nature was still timid.
She felt a pang of sympathy and hugged Princess Huian, saying, “No, no, no, you didn’t do anything wrong.
You did nothing wrong.
I know you were concerned about me and couldn’t help but tell me.”
Seeing the instantly fragile Princess Huian, Su Xiaoqi regretted being too hasty in teaching her.
She hadn’t considered her actual situation and could only comfort her repeatedly.
It took a while to quell the despair in her heart.
She realized that although Grand Princess had gained some understanding of Princess Huian’s education recently,
due to her natural temperament,
she might have lacked patience in educating her children, and thus her tone inadvertently showed when speaking to Princess Huian.
Therefore, Princess Huian’s disposition had become somewhat like it was before.
She sighed and did her best to appease Princess Huian.
After she had somewhat recovered, Shen Mingzhu finally arrived.
She also brought baked yogurt made by Zi Ling.
This was a way of eating that Su Xiaoqi had come up with at the beginning of winter.
Ancient times were not like modern times, where using ice was inconvenient.
However, the capital city in winter had a lot of frozen ice.
Using ice blocks was quite convenient.
Taking advantage of this, Su Xiaoqi, referencing some dishes from modern dessert shops, made many delicious items.
Zi Ling and Shen Mingzhu were once completely engrossed in the kitchen by her recipes.
They were both people with an exceptional love for food.
Of course, they didn’t just make food for eating;
they genuinely enjoyed it.
Especially Shen Mingzhu, who would often hide in the kitchen to research food.
She thoroughly studied the recipes given by Su Xiaoqi and even came up with new recipes through analogy.
These were then sold at Chen Jin Ji and Liu Yuan, always receiving a wave of praise.
This time, being idle, she was still in the kitchen with Zi Ling, secretly researching food.
So, when Su Xiaoqi sent someone to ask Zi Ling to make food, she was there too.
Without a word, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.
Besides making the fried yogurt that Su Xiaoqi had requested, she also made french fries, fried chicken nuggets, and popcorn chicken.
Upon seeing them, Su Xiaoqi sighed, her hand on her forehead. Today was a Western fast-food series.
However, she worried that after the siblings ate them, they might become addicted to the taste and grow into very large people.
But it was too late to say anything now; the food was already served.
Outside, Bao Ge’er, drawn by the aroma, had already followed them in.
He looked at the table full of delicious food and cheered, then went up to Su Xiaoqi and asked if Sister Mingzhu had made it for them.
Shen Mingzhu didn’t speak, but smiled gently, rubbing her hands.
Su Xiaoqi said:
“You, you are quite a clever one. Isn't it your Sister Mingzhu who made it?
When she heard you were coming, she pulled Zi Ling into the kitchen and tinkered for a long time to make these.
They are all freshly fried. Look, your Sister Mingzhu’s hands are splattered with oil.”
“Sister Mingzhu, you’ve worked hard. Later, I’ll ask my mother to send you a tube of ointment. It’s made by Sister Xiaoqi, and it’s very effective.”
Listen to what this spirited Bao Ge’er said.
Su Xiaoqi couldn’t help but laugh, “They say to offer a gift borrowed from someone else, but you, on the other hand, are offering it right in front of me.”
Bao Ge’er chuckled. Just then, Su Xiaoqi used a silver skewer to pick up a chicken nugget and fed it to him.
“It smells so good, and it tastes so delicious. What kind of chicken nugget is this? Why is it different from what I’ve eaten before?
Sister Mingzhu’s hands are so skillful. If I grow up, can I marry you?”
“Pfft…” Su Xiaoqi, who had been leisurely drinking milk tea, spat it out abruptly at Bao Ge’er’s words.
She looked around and saw that Shen Mingzhu’s face had turned bright red.
Princess Huian also looked completely at a loss.
She felt she couldn’t speak properly, but her younger brother was even worse.
Listen to his words…
Despite her timid nature, she couldn’t help but glare at Bao Ge’er.
Su Xiaoqi realized that at this moment, she really couldn’t play the shrinking violet or pretend that nothing had happened.
Otherwise, if Bao Ge’er developed with such thoughts and values, it would be problematic.
She put down her milk tea, scooped a spoonful of fried yogurt, and fed it to him, reminding him:
“Uh, that’s probably not necessary. Your Sister Mingzhu is much older than you. By the time you grow up and want to get married, Sister Mingzhu will have already married.”
“Oh no, that won’t do, cough cough… that won’t do.
I want to marry Sister Mingzhu, and I’ll see who dares to marry her!” Bao Ge’er became anxious.
Hearing that Sister Mingzhu was to marry someone else, how could he agree?
Hey, this child was even getting worked up.
Su Xiaoqi suddenly felt a headache.
She felt she couldn’t handle the little brats of this era.
Their thought processes were too peculiar.
Thinking about food made them think about getting married.
How old was he?
Six years old, for goodness’ sake.