Rongyao said, “As for Sister Wanning’s marriage, my mother consort will personally arrange it. There’s no need for any of you to worry.”
Madam Tian’s body trembled. She lowered her head and said, “Yes, yes! If Noble Consort Cui can bestow a marriage upon Wanning, it will be her good fortune—and the good fortune of our entire family.”
Rongyao said, “You may all rise.”
Only then did the others stand, shrinking their necks and hunching their backs, not daring to say another word.
Rongyao did not look at them again. She simply said to Wu Wanning and Gu Shen’an, “The two of you, sit down.”
Gu Shen’an took the seat beside Rongyao first.
Wu Wanning sat on her other side.
Rongyao asked Wu Wanning, “Hadn’t you already ordered the food?”
Wu Wanning came to her senses, stood up, and called for the manager outside, instructing him to bring in the dishes.
Baixiang Restaurant was the largest restaurant in the capital. Anyone wishing to reserve a private room had to do so a day in advance and pay the required fee.
Wu Wanning had made the reservation the day before and had even selected several must-try dishes, asking the chefs at Baixiang Restaurant to prepare them ahead of time.
The waiter received the order and immediately hurried to the kitchen to pass it on.
Before long, several servers arrived carrying dish after dish, placing them neatly on the table.
Once all the food had been served, Rongyao looked toward Madam Tian and the two Madam Liu sisters, who were still standing nearby.
“You are Sister Wanning’s elders. I wonder, do you care for her?”
Madam Tian raised her head and forced a smile. “Although I am not her birth mother, I watched her grow up from childhood. How could I not care for her?”
Madam Liu chimed in, “That’s right, that’s right. Wanning is obedient and sensible, and she’s strong as well. As her elders, we all dote on her dearly.”
Rongyao said, “That’s good to hear. From what I can see, the two of you are very kind people as well. If Sister Wanning is ever mistreated or beaten, my mother consort and I will come looking for you.”
Madam Tian dropped to her knees with a thud. “Rest assured, Your Highness. I will treat Wanning, my daughter, as well as anyone possibly could!”
Rongyao nodded and glanced at them. “It is lunchtime. Since you are here, would you like to stay and dine with us?”
Both Madam Tian and Madam Liu went pale. They hurriedly pulled their children along and took their leave.
The private room finally fell silent.
Wu Wanning wrapped one arm around Rongyao. “Rongrong, you’re really wonderful.”
Rongyao looked at her in confusion. “With strength like yours and such excellent martial arts skills, why are you afraid of them?”
“I—I’m not afraid of them!” Wu Wanning protested. “I just think they’re troublesome. Seeing them irritates me, so I’d rather stay as far away from them as possible.”
Rongyao: “…”
Hongyu could not help speaking up. “If you yield to them in everything, won’t that make them think you’re easy to bully?”
“How could they bully me?” Wu Wanning replied. “I always go to my maternal grandparents’ home.”
Rongyao stared at Wu Wanning’s face. “Strongman, you chose that courtesy name for yourself, so I agreed to call you that. But today, I feel you are unworthy of the name! I won’t call you that anymore.”
Wu Wanning’s eyes widened. She asked anxiously, “W-why not?”
Rongyao said, “You have courage but no strategy. Whenever you encounter trouble, you avoid it and shrink back. All you do is endure being bullied. That hardly makes you a Strongman.”
“I—I was wrong!” Wu Wanning hurriedly said. “I won’t be afraid of them anymore. The next time I see them, I won’t find them troublesome, I won’t let them mistreat me, and I won’t allow myself to suffer any losses! Rongrong, please, call me Strongman again. I like being called Strongman.”
Rongyao took a sip of tea. “Very well, Strongman.”
Wu Wanning beamed and quickly placed a piece of candied duck in Rongyao’s bowl. “Strongman shall serve Her Highness some food.”
“Pfft…”
Gu Shen’an, who had been sitting there with his usual stern expression, suddenly made a strange sound.
Everyone looked over and saw that his face had turned red, as if he were trying not to laugh.
Wu Wanning asked him irritably, “What are you laughing at?”
Gu Shen’an straightened his back, suppressed his smile, and said expressionlessly, “The name Strongman is truly unusual. It suits you perfectly.”
Wu Wanning stared at him for a moment. “At least you know how to speak.”
Nearby, Hongyu covered her mouth, her whole body trembling as she tried to hold back her laughter.
So much time had passed, yet every time she heard the Princess call Miss Wu “Strongman,” she still could not restrain herself.
It was simply… too difficult.
The Princess actually took Miss Wu at her word and called her Strongman in all seriousness. It was absolutely hilarious.
Hongyu did not even dare spread the story around.
In the end, she still failed to hold back her laughter.
Wu Wanning had sharp eyes and keen ears. She looked suspiciously at Hongyu. “Sister Hongyu, are you laughing?”
Hongyu covered her mouth and laughed so hard she could barely straighten up. “Those villains have been driven away. I’m just so happy that I couldn’t help laughing.”
Wu Wanning stuffed meat into her mouth as she ate heartily. “Oh, I see. Sister Hongyu, why do you laugh so much? Every time I see you, you’re laughing nonstop.”
The laughter Hongyu had finally managed to control burst out again when she saw the two innocent faces before her—Miss Wu’s and her own Princess’s.
She wanted to say that it was because every time Wu Wanning was around, the Princess called her “Strongman.”
She found it absolutely hilarious.
Rongyao was already used to Hongyu’s fondness for laughter. Whatever she was laughing about, it was fine—as long as she was not crying. While eating the candied duck, Rongyao said to her, “Sister Hongyu, sit down and eat with us.”
Hongyu held her stomach and wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. She found a seat and sat down, continuing to laugh. “Yes.”
Outside Baixiang Restaurant, Madam Tian and the others quickly climbed into their family carriage, their faces looking worse than the last.
Madam Liu’s body was still trembling slightly. “Second Sister! Was that really a princess? How could a princess leave the palace so casually?”
Madam Tian clenched her handkerchief tightly. “At first, I didn’t recognize her either. Five years ago, I was fortunate enough to see Grand Princess Fuxi. At the time, Princess Fuxi was still a soft, chubby little dumpling. Who would have thought that after growing up and stretching out, she would become so beautiful—and that her bearing would be so imposing?”
“Of course she was imposing! She’s a princess, after all!” Madam Liu exclaimed. “Look at Wu Wanning now. Ever since she entered the palace as a companion to the Princess, she’s had someone to rely on and fears no one. Sister, you should have sent Wanfang to compete for the position of companion back then. Then the one with power would have been you!”
Madam Tian was filled with regret as well. She glanced at the daughter sitting beside her, who was a hundred times more outstanding and beautiful than Wu Wanning, and wished she could return to five years ago and switch her daughter with Wu Wanning.
Then her daughter would have become Princess Fuxi’s companion, and Wu Wanning would certainly still be under her control.
Unfortunately, there was no turning back once the arrow had been loosed. Even if she regretted it now, there was nothing she could do.
“Yes, Mother. Why didn’t you let me become the Princess’s companion back then?” twelve-year-old Wu Wanfang asked.
Madam Tian said, “How many years has it been? Have you forgotten already? When we learned that the palace was selecting companions, I told you that if you were chosen by the Princess, you would have to leave me and live in the palace. You refused to go no matter what, so I simply took Wu Wanning instead. Who would have thought that silly girl would actually catch Princess Fuxi’s eye?”
“If I had known how prestigious it would be to serve as the Princess’s companion, I would have dragged you there by force, no matter what.”
Wu Wanfang pressed her lips together, her eyes filled with regret.
Madam Liu said, “It’s too late to say anything now. But Wu Wanning is still a member of the Wu family, after all. You’re her mother, so whatever happens to her in the future, she’ll still have to listen to you. It would be easy for you to discipline her, Sister.”
Madam Tian looked at Madam Liu as though she were a fool. “Didn’t you hear what Princess Fuxi said just now? She was warning us not to bully Wu Wanning. If anything really happened to Wanning while she was under our care, Princess Fuxi would surely come after us! Noble Consort Cui has enjoyed the emperor’s favor for years and has both a son and a daughter to rely on. She’s even more influential than Her Majesty the Empress. How foolish would I have to be to follow your advice and offend Noble Consort Cui and Princess Fuxi?”
Madam Liu hurriedly said, “Sister, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not telling you to bully that girl, Wu Wanning. I’m telling you to treat her even better. Think about it—Wanning is now one of Princess Fuxi’s most trusted companions! They grew up together and are the closest of friends. When Princess Fuxi chooses a husband in the future, she’ll certainly rely on Wanning to help her judge the candidates. If Wanning often says good things about our Young Master Yuan in front of Princess Fuxi, perhaps the princess might take a liking to our Young Master Yuan!”
Madam Tian’s eyes lit up, and she abruptly turned to look at her son.
