When Chu Yu dragged her heavy feet back to the Princess Mansion, she found the mansion in a flurry of activity.
The mansion was cleaned every day and was already spotless. But now, the servants were still bustling about. It seemed they were determined to dig up the stones on the ground and wash them all over again.
She suppressed her doubts and made her way back to her own courtyard.
Now, her living quarters were vastly different from when she first moved in.
Rare and precious flowers and plants could be seen everywhere. All the furnishings in the room were the most luxurious. Compared to Wutong Residence, it was only inferior in terms of location and scale.
All these things were given by Fu Qingya.
In the past, whenever Chu Yu came back, she would always stop in front of these things for a while. But today, she was in no mood. As soon as she returned, she called over a few maids and asked what was going on in the mansion.
"His Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen are coming to the mansion tomorrow."
Chu Yu frowned.
Don't ordinary emperors and queens usually prefer to stay in the palace all their lives? Why could the emperor and queen in this story come to the Princess Mansion?
Just as she was wondering, several young servants came over.
Each of them carried two exquisitely carved food boxes. Even before the lids were opened, the aroma of the food wafted out.
Without saying a word, they put the food boxes in the yard and left.
Xiao Cui stepped forward and opened one of the food boxes. She couldn't help exclaiming, "Miss, these are all delicious!"
Chu Yu went over to take a look and saw that the boxes were filled with rare and sumptuous delicacies. Her heart softened.
It was really nice to have Fu Qingya around.
"Miss, look! There's bird's nest and shark fin. I bet even the princess doesn't usually eat this well. Young Master Fu really has genuine feelings for you!"
Hearing this, Chu Yu blushed shyly and scolded, "Don't talk nonsense. Young Master Fu is a married man."
Xiao Cui didn't care at all. "So what if he's married? If he can't be held by his wife, it's all in vain.
Miss, stop thinking about that. If you don't eat soon, these dishes will go to waste!"
Xiao Cui grinned and reached out to pick up the bird's nest and shredded chicken soup. "Miss, I've never eaten bird's nest in my life. Since there are so many good things, can I have this bowl?"
"This..."
Chu Yu looked at the bowl of soup in her hand, looking reluctant.
Not to mention that Xiao Cui had never eaten it in her life, Chu Yu had only eaten it a few times!
"Miss, don't you always treat me like a sister?" Xiao Cui looked at her pleadingly. "Miss, just give it to me, please!"
Chu Yu took a deep breath and glanced at Dou Kou and Pei Lan from the corner of her eye. "If you want something to eat, take it too."
Dou Kou and Pei Lan both shook their heads.
They had always served Chu Ming and had learned the rules of the maids in the capital. Even though Chu Yu said she treated them like sisters, they didn't dare to really treat Chu Yu as a sister.
Seeing that they both refused and Xiao Cui still showed no sign of putting down the soup, Chu Yu had no choice but to say, "Then take it and drink it."
Xiao Cui responded with a smile. Then, regardless of the fact that Chu Yu was about to have a meal and needed her service, she directly carried the soup away.
Watching her back, Chu Yu felt a nameless anger well up inside her.
She took a deep breath, but still didn't have a good attitude towards Dou Kou and Pei Lan. "What are you standing there for? Come and serve me."
Pei Lan subconsciously stepped forward. Dou Kou's face showed a strange look for a moment, but she still stepped forward and served Chu Yu according to the rules.
But in her heart, a question quietly emerged -
Wasn't it said that all people were equal?
However, Chu Yu didn't have the time to care about the expression of a maid.
She was busy enjoying the big meal.
The portion of the meal was really too large. After the meal, there was still a lot left. Chu Yu told Dou Kou and Pei Lan to take it down and divide it.
After eating her fill, her mind started to work.
There were still a few days left until the end of her mission.
Since ordinary means couldn't do anything to Jiang Ning'an, she had to use extraordinary means.
There were so many items in the system mall. There must be something that could help her.
Chu Yu returned to her room, told the maids not to come in to serve, and then opened the system mall to carefully select.
---
The next day at the third hour of the day, the emperor and the queen arrived.
They didn't make a big fuss when they traveled. They only brought some guards and maids.
As soon as they entered the door, they were very surprised to see Jiang Ning'an already waiting in the hall. "My girl, why did you get up so early today?"
On normal days, this girl would surely still be lingering in her bed at this time.
"Isn't it because I knew Uncle and Aunt were coming, so I got up especially early?" Jiang Ning'an said.
The emperor poked her on the forehead with his finger. "You, your words are really much nicer now!"
Jiang Ning'an pouted dissatisfiedly. "Uncle, weren't my words nice before?"
The emperor glanced at her. "Don't you have any idea?"
Jiang Ning'an turned around and threw herself into the queen's arms, making the queen laugh non - stop.
"Your uncle is just bad at talking. Let's ignore him. Didn't your uncle say he would give you gems yesterday? I've brought the biggest and clearest ones for you. Come on, let's go and see how many pieces of jewelry we can make."
Sure enough, Jiang Ning'an's attention followed the queen.
The emperor gritted his teeth and silently cursed her for being ungrateful.
Just as the emperor was about to follow them, he heard De Shan report, "Your Majesty, Young Master Jiang is here."
Hearing the voice, Jiang Ning'an in front turned around and said, "Oh yes, Young Master Jiang is also coming today. Please invite him in quickly."
De Shan didn't even wait for the emperor to say a word and turned around to leave.
The emperor couldn't help wondering, "When did the two of you get together?"
"He... has helped me many times," Jiang Ning'an said.
The emperor nodded.
When Jiang Ye came, Jiang Ning'an was picking out gems.
Jiang Ye's gaze lingered on her for a moment, then he withdrew his gaze and saluted the emperor and the queen according to the rules.
"Get up."
Jiang Ye got up and took his seat as he was told. His gaze involuntarily fell on Jiang Ning'an again.
Jiang Ning'an was tossing a stone.
It was an unpolished rough stone, about the size of a baby's fist, and was a quiet blue all over. At first glance, it was very valuable, but in Jiang Ning'an's hands, it was no different from an ordinary thing.
The two most noble people in the world, the emperor and the queen, were no different from ordinary elders at this moment. Their eyes were full of doting when they looked at Jiang Ning'an.
Jiang Ye looked at Jiang Ning'an and was lost in thought without realizing it.
It wasn't until the emperor's voice sounded, "You still don't go home now?"
Jiang Ye came back to his senses and subconsciously met the emperor's gaze. "Yes. It doesn't make any difference whether I'm at home or not."
The emperor sighed. "Your father is no good either."
Jiang Ye silently twitched the corner of his mouth.
This "either" was really thought - provoking.
"However, you still have to go back and take a look. Otherwise, after your father passes away, are you going to let an outsider inherit the family business?" the emperor said. "The marquis title of your family has nothing to do with your father."
The Jiang family got the title of Marquis of Xuanping because of the late Marquis's wife, Fang Wanyao.
If Jiang Ye hadn't been too young back then, this title should have been given directly to him.