The Consort, having watched for a long time without seeing Anping dismount, could not help but step forward to ask, "Your Majesty, where is Princess Anping?"
An Huang snorted, "She's behind."
"Little Anning, come back to the palace with me," An Huang said, pulling Anning, who had just alighted from the carriage, towards his sleeping quarters.
The Consort was startled and moved her lips. Just then, Baozhu beside her suddenly said, "Your Highness, look over there, isn't that the Princess?"
The Consort focused her gaze and saw a tall, graceful young girl walking towards her.
"Anping..." The Consort hurried a few steps forward.
Princess Anping stepped forward and supported the Consort, saying, "Mother Consort, why did you come out?"
She examined Anping from head to toe, finding her unharmed and her face fair.
The Consort frowned, "Why is An Ru so tanned?"
Anping replied with some indifference, "She spends all day out in the sun, how could she not be tanned?"
The Consort couldn't help but ask, "What exactly happened?"
Anping said impatiently, "Mother Consort, I'm a bit tired. Can we talk about it after we return to the palace?"
The Consort then remembered they were still outside the palace and nodded, "Let's return."
Back at Ping'an Palace, after listening to Anping's account, the Consort sighed, "Anping, you shouldn't only think of your own enjoyment. This will make His Majesty feel that you cannot endure hardships."
Anping replied, "Mother Consort, I am the Princess of An Country. Even distributing porridge to save the people is a matter for the servants. What does it have to do with me? Why should I do it myself?"
The Consort shook her head, "That's not how it should be said. Look, An Ru and An Ning, as princesses, also went. Even if you didn't actually do the work, in the eyes of everyone, you could share in the suffering of the common people. Anping, you were wrong this time."
Anping bit her lower lip and said, "But they made me stand there and get tanned, and I didn't want to. Didn't you see how tanned An Ru became? I'm about to be married, and I don't want to be dark and swarthy before the marriage."
The Consort sighed, "With rest, it will all recover. But this time, your father may be disappointed in you."
Hearing this, Anping stood up and said, "Mother Consort, I will be leaving here anyway. If he's disappointed, so be it. I'm tired from the journey."
With that, Anping left.
The Consort sighed, "This child, truly..."
"Your Highness, the Princess just didn't think it through. You don't need to be so strict about everything. The Princess will understand later," the wet nurse comforted from the side.
"Fine. As she said, she will eventually leave the palace, and I can't control her anymore," the Consort said, sighing and holding her forehead.
Anping returned to her room, so angry that she threw the handkerchief in her hand to the ground and stomped on it. What had she done wrong?
She simply didn't want to get tanned, and everyone was saying this to her. In the end, it was all Anning. Wherever Anning was, there would be no peace.
"Anning, I will make your life worse than death. If you want to marry the Crown Prince of Xue Country, you'll have to see if you have the destiny for it," Anping said word by word through gritted teeth.
Anping's face at this moment was as ferocious as a wild beast. Bao Li, beside her, couldn't help but shrink her neck, secretly thinking how frightening the Princess was.
Suddenly, Anping turned to look at Bao Li. Bao Li trembled all over, her legs weakened, and she almost fell to the ground. She endured it and stepped forward, curtsying, "Your Highness, do you need something?"
"I heard that my aunt looked for Mother Consort before, wanting to ask for Anning's hand?"
Bao Li was startled. Although she didn't understand why the Princess was asking, she nodded, "Yes, there was indeed such a thing."
"Why didn't Mother Consort agree?" If she had agreed, wouldn't that mean Anning would have no chance to marry into the Xue royal family?
"Your Highness, it seems His Majesty did not agree," Bao Li replied.
Father Emperor, it's Father Emperor again. Why does he care so much about a princess without a maternal clan?
"Bao Li, I will write a letter in a moment, and you will deliver it to my cousin."
Bao Li's heart trembled, "Your Highness, at this hour, perhaps tomorrow..."
Anping looked up at Bao Li, her gaze turning cold, "What? Do I have to listen to you when I do things?"
Bao Li quickly shook her head, "No... no, this servant will go now."
Anping handed the written letter to Bao Li.
Bao Li took the letter and left. Anping's lips curved slightly, revealing a sinister smile, "Anning, if the Crown Prince of Xue Country finds out you lost your virginity before marriage, he won't marry you then?"
Anning returned to Anning Palace. Rong Cui knelt on the ground, "Princess, this servant has sinned."
She stepped forward to help Rong Cui up, "What sin have you committed? Get up quickly."
Rong Cui shook her head, "This servant has sinned. If it weren't for this servant, how could Your Highness have suffered such a calamity?"
"Nonsense, what does it have to do with you? I was too careless and fell into someone's trap. All right, get up. Are you going to make me stand here forever? Are you not going to comb my hair?"
Rong Cui then remembered that the Princess had been comforting her since she returned. She quickly got up, "Please wait a moment, this servant will fetch water."
Anning nodded, "Go!"
When Rong Cui returned with the water, she found that the Princess had already fallen asleep on the table.
She gently placed the water basin down and draped the outer robe she had taken off over the Princess.
Anning had a dream. In her dream, there were many people: herself, Xue Changan, Xue Jingyun, and even the Crown Prince Hua Yunjin of Hua Country, whom she had met only once.
"Yan Zhao..." Anning woke up from her dream, her eyes opening to find that it was already dark outside.
Something fell from her body. She saw her outer robe on the ground. She picked it up and walked out of the inner chamber. In the outer hall, Rong Cui was standing there, seemingly asleep.
She didn't wake Rong Cui, stepped out of the sleeping quarters, and gazed into the distance. The person in her dream was not her, she could be sure of that, but she could empathetically feel the despair coming from her.
At this moment, she did not know if Xue Jingyun was interested in her as a person, or the her deep within her soul.
"Your Highness, you won. Why didn't you wake this servant?" Rong Cui said guiltily.
"I saw you sleeping soundly and didn't have the heart to wake you."
Hearing this, Rong Cui's face turned red, "Your Highness, please wake this servant next time, otherwise it would be bad if others saw."
"Bad what? This is my territory. What my people do is none of their business."
Rong Cui's heart warmed. Her Highness was so domineering and willful, but also very cute.
"Rong Cui, if you had someone you couldn't forget, and then one day you met someone who resembled that person, what would you do?"
Rong Cui was startled, "Your Highness, that would be a similar person, not the unforgettable person. Although there would be a ripple in your heart, you should be clear that this person is not the one in your heart."
"If she possessed every little detail of the person you once held in your heart, what would you do?"
Rong Cui was stunned, "Your Highness, isn't that one person?"
Anning turned to look at Rong Cui, "Is it one person?"
Rong Cui also hesitated, "It's one person, and yet not one person."