Lu Ping knew what the heir apparent was thinking and quickly said, "There aren't many people! Wu Yao and I have already sent some people back just now! Now, the only ones left in the mansion are the princess's personal maids, Uncle Zhong, and a few errand boys for sweeping. As for the guards, we've only left the secret guards, and the princess won't see them!"
Xiao Jingnan felt a bit more at ease.
After thinking for a while, he decided that this was the only way.
The prince and princess were used to being served. It was impossible to really ask them to do their own laundry and cooking without any maids or servants.
"Where will we live?"
Li Wanming watched for a while, then together with Chun Tao, she unloaded her belongings from the carriage.
She didn't expect the Cheng family mansion to be so big. She felt she had brought too few things.
Lu Ping said, "It's the courtyard up ahead. I... I'll show you there, cousin-in-law."
He still wasn't quite used to calling the princess cousin-in-law.
Xiao Jingnan followed behind them and walked towards the courtyard. After taking a few steps, he suddenly noticed Wu Yao hesitating behind him. So he stepped back two steps and asked, "What's up?"
Wu Yao stammered, "Zi Fu... is here too..."
Xiao Jingnan was silent for a moment and then said, "She's originally Mother's personal maid. It's normal for her to come." After saying that, he turned around and walked on.
Wu Yao didn't dare to say anything more and just lowered his head and followed behind.
Zi Fu used to be Xiao Jingnan's personal maid and had served him since childhood.
In a wealthy family, the personal maids raised beside the young master were usually destined to become concubines or secondary wives in the future. This was an unspoken rule, and Zi Fu was no exception.
Since childhood, her ambition was to become Xiao Jingnan's concubine.
However, when he was fourteen, a wandering Taoist priest predicted that if he didn't get married before the age of twenty, he would surely die young. So, he sent Zi Fu to the courtyard of the Princess of Ning.
Xiao Jingnan's thought was simple: he might not have many years to live, so there was no need to delay others.
Moreover, he had no feelings for Zi Fu. This was a good opportunity to extinguish her hopes.
Letting Zi Fu be trained by his mother for a few years and then releasing her might even allow her to find a better family.
But in Zi Fu's eyes, this meant that the heir apparent didn't want her anymore.
On the day she moved out, she cried loudly.
She couldn't understand. What did the heir apparent's marriage have to do with her becoming a concubine?
No matter which young lady the heir apparent married, wouldn't he still need her to serve him in the bedroom?
Surely, he couldn't marry a wife and then abandon his concubines?
This... was impossible!
Lu Ping once subtly advised her, "Miss Zi Fu, have you ever thought that perhaps the heir apparent only wants someone who understands him and can be with him for a lifetime?"
"I can serve in the bedroom without affecting their relationship..."
Zi Fu couldn't understand.
Which wealthy family didn't have several concubines? Especially the Prince of Ning's Mansion!
Later, when she heard that Xiao Jingnan had been forced into marriage right after passing the imperial examination, Zi Fu was so angry that she almost gritted her teeth to pieces!
A daughter of a fourth-rank general, how could she be worthy?
She heard that the girl had only returned to the capital two years ago, was vulgar, stupid, and clumsy. How could she be worthy of her heir apparent who was like an immortal? How could she be worthy of becoming the mistress of the Prince of Ning's Mansion?!
However, she also knew that it was not easy for Xiao Jingnan to get married, so she didn't dare to stop him. She could only plead with the Princess of Ning to let her come along while Uncle Zhong was tidying up the mansion.
Li Wanming was walking on the brick path. After turning through the moon gate, she saw a gorgeous woman in purple clothes standing in front of the courtyard gate.
She had a low-flowing cloud hairstyle with a red ruby and gold flower hairpin obliquely inserted.
Her purple long dress dragged on the ground. The cuffs were embroidered with complex lotus patterns, and the hem of the skirt was outlined with silver threads to form a sparkling water pattern. A slender gold silk belt around her waist accentuated her graceful figure.
When she saw Xiao Jingnan's figure appear at the gate, she let out a soft cry and rushed over, "My lord, I've finally seen you..."
In the blink of an eye.
Xiao Jingnan gave a look, and Lu Ping and Wu Yao immediately stepped forward to stop her!
"Brother-in-law and sister-in-law are tired. Let them rest well. We'll talk about anything tomorrow..."
The two of them pulled and dragged, almost instantly dragging away the tearful Zi Fu without giving her a chance to speak again.
The incident happened so quickly that Li Wanming didn't even have time to react to what had just happened.
"Who is she..."
Xiao Jingnan remained calm, "She's the daughter of my distant cousin-uncle, my distant cousin."
Li Wanming was stunned for a moment and then asked, "But why does she call you 'lord'?"
Because Zi Fu's cry was too soft and lingering, Li Wanming only heard the word "lord".
Xiao Jingnan: "..."
"Their family is also related to my mother's side. So, according to my father's side, she's my distant cousin, but according to my mother's side, she's my grand-niece."
...
"So complicated?"
"Yes, family relations are just this complicated."
As Li Wanming walked into the courtyard, she said, "But I think your grand-niece is dressed very expensively."
The glittering clothes and jewelry on her might cost thirty taels of silver, which was enough for a poor family to live on for a year.
Xiao Jingnan didn't hesitate for a moment:
"You don't know. She borrowed all her clothes from outside. She has to return them after wearing them today! My grand-niece is young and inevitably vain. Alas, my cousin-uncle is really troubled by her."
"Borrow? From where?"
"From the silk store and the jewelry shop! Don't you know, wife? The silk stores and jewelry shops in the capital have a new rule. If you're not satisfied with the clothes or jewelry you buy, you can return them without reason within three days!"
"Is there such a rule? Then we can also go and... borrow some clothes to wear in the future."
"Yes, wife. You can borrow as many as you like."
"Still, don't borrow too many... What if we damage them? We'll have to compensate."
Looking at her distressed look, Xiao Jingnan couldn't help but smile and said gently, "Okay, just borrow one."
...
After breaking free from Lu Ping and Wu Yao, Zi Fu angrily glared at them and said, "Why won't you let me see the heir apparent?"
Wu Yao said angrily, "Don't you even look at what you're wearing! You're dressed better than the young ladies from other families. What will Miss Li think if she sees you?"
Zi Fu was not convinced, "She's never seen good clothes. Can't I wear them? I usually dress like this in the mansion!"
Wu Yao was almost speechless with anger and shouted hoarsely:
"We're all wearing linen clothes, and you're wearing silk! Even the prince and princess are wearing patched clothes, and you still dress like this! What, are you more noble than the prince and princess?"
Hearing this, Zi Fu was a bit scared, "What did you say? The prince and princess... are wearing patched clothes?"
Wu Yao said impatiently, "Yes! Now, everyone in the mansion is trying to be simple. Only you are like a colorful butterfly!"
Lu Ping calmly said, "Miss Zi Fu, you've served the heir apparent since childhood, so there's an emotional bond. However, now the whole mansion regards the heir apparent's marriage as the most important thing. Today is the first day the princess comes here. It's really inappropriate for you to be so ostentatious."
Zi Fu said, "I just haven't seen the heir apparent for a long time..."
Lu Ping said, "I don't want to pry into Miss Zi Fu's thoughts. But please be more vigilant and don't ruin the heir apparent's important matter."
Zi Fu bit her lips and said nothing.
She actually knew very well in her heart. Now that the heir apparent was married and his life was saved, what reason did he have to reject her?
Her path to becoming a concubine was about to reopen!
As for Li Wanming...
Humph, that woman was just a tool. How could she compare to the long - lasting affection between the heir apparent and her since childhood?
Even if she managed to enter the mansion by luck and become the mistress, she would never be able to take away the heir apparent's favor from her!