Lu Jinshuang's words made the First Princess pause mid-step. She shot a glare at her frivolous younger sister, then waved the musicians and servants out of the room.
Lu Shiwan walked over to Lu Jinshuang and settled into a chair nearby, a smile playing on her lips as she studied the Xi sisters. Her words, however, were directed at Lu Jinshuang. "Seventh Sister, aren't you going to introduce me?"
Lu Jinshuang beamed with pride. "Two new sisters I just adopted—found them by the roadside. Aren't you jealous?"
With that, she poured a cup of tea and handed it to Lu Shiwan. "Big Sister, thank you for this. If not for you, I'd still be stuck at Meixi Temple for a while longer."
Lu Shiwan accepted the tea with an air of calm, took a sip, and gave a light laugh. "It was nothing but a few words and a couple of tears. We're sisters—no need for thanks."
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue was momentarily baffled. So the First Princess had deliberately made a scene at the palace just to get the Seventh Princess summoned back to the capital.
She found herself gaining a new respect for the people of the capital. Truly, appearances could be deceiving.
Meanwhile, Lu Shiwan was sizing up the Xi sisters. She didn't believe for a moment that they'd been picked up by the roadside.
The reason she had blown the pastry incident out of proportion was that she knew the two children who'd been shopping had nothing to do with any princess of the capital.
Whether the jade pendant given was from the Seventh Princess or the Ninth Princess, it hardly mattered. If it was from Little Seven, then the emperor's anger would conveniently bring her back. If it was from Little Nine, then it served as a warning to Little Seven. Either way, no harm done.
She gave the sisters a gentle smile and spoke in a soft tone. "Since you're Little Seven's adopted sisters, you may call me Big Sister or Sister Wan."
Xi Weilan glanced at Lu Jinshuang, then at Lu Shiwan, and finally turned her gaze to Xi Qingyue, as if waiting for her decision.
Xi Qingyue hadn't expected these princesses to be so easygoing. She couldn't just call every princess "sister"—they hardly lacked for family, after all.
Seeing her hesitate, Lu Jinshuang laughed and spoke up. "Sister Yue, here in the capital, if you call us sisters, you two can walk around with your heads held high. It won't hurt you to call us that."
At that, Xi Qingyue smiled at Lu Shiwan and said, "Hello, Sister Wan! I'm called Yueqing."
Xi Weilan followed with a soft, sweet voice. "Hello, Sister Wan, I'm called Yuelan."
The two gave out their false names without a hint of guilt—after all, their real names and false names weren't all that different anyway.
Lu Shiwan smiled and lifted Xi Weilan into her arms, gently pinching her chubby little cheek. The more she looked, the more she liked her.
It wasn't just that the child was pretty and adorable—what mattered was that she was well-behaved and sensible, never fussing or crying. Such children were the most endearing.
She spoke with tender warmth. "Little Lan'er, next time you go shopping, you don't need to use Ninth Sister's pendant. Just say my name. Buy whatever you fancy, and have them collect the silver from Mingyang Princess Manor."
Hearing that she could save her sister some money, Xi Weilan nodded cheerfully. "Alright, Sister Wan!"
Lu Jinshuang covered her face with her hand. Xi Qingyue, on the other hand, went dark in the face—one sentence and the kid had blown their cover. This seemingly gentle First Princess was actually quite cunning, and her timing had been perfect.
Well, since they'd been found out, it didn't matter much. At least it served as a lesson for her naive little sister. She couldn't help but remind her, "Lan'er, next time you need to listen carefully before answering. Sister Jinshuang is the seventh, not the ninth."
Hearing this, Xi Weilan tilted her head, thought for a moment, and realized she'd made a big mistake. She looked at Lu Jinshuang with an apologetic expression. "Sister Jinshuang, I only caught the part about the pendant and didn't hear the rest. Who's the ninth?"
Lu Shiwan's lips curved into a smile as she lightly tapped Xi Weilan's forehead. "It's fine—Little Nine is the Ninth Sister. Just now, I misspoke. I often mix up Little Seven and Little Nine. My other sisters do the same. It's not your fault."
Xi Weilan made a mental note for the future—she would need to be more cautious. These people in the capital were full of tricks, even with children.
Xi Qingyue gave Lu Shiwan a sidelong glance but said nothing. No wonder Lu Qianning had been tricked by her own biological brother. Look at these people—every one of them was two-faced wearing a gentle mask. Who knew how many they had deceived?
Lu Shiwan pretended not to notice that the sisters had mentally labeled her a swindler. She continued chatty and cheerful, offering to take them both to her manor for a visit.
Just as they were laughing and talking together, a knock sounded at the door. It was Taohua, the maid who served Lu Shiwan.
"Princess, an edict has arrived from the palace. The Seventh Princess is to report to the palace immediately. Eunuch Ji is waiting outside."
Lu Jinshuang's expression changed instantly. "I haven't even returned to my manor yet. Can't the messenger wait for me there?"
Lu Shiwan didn't look surprised in the slightest. She merely advised, "Go on. Father is angry today because of the martial robbers, so he's bound to scold everyone one by one. You won't escape it. Just don't talk back and make him faint."
Lu Jinshuang rose reluctantly and gave orders to her maid, Dongxue. "Take them around here for a while longer. When they've had enough fun, bring them back to the manor."
"Yes, Princess. I'll be sure to take good care of them and make sure they have a wonderful time."
Lu Shiwan laughed. "Why make it so complicated? I'll just take them around myself. I've got nothing to do today anyway."
But Xi Qingyue shook her head in refusal. "No need, I'll just take Lan'er around a bit on our own. I won't trouble you, Sister Wan. Dongxue, you should accompany Sister Jinshuang to the palace. The two of us are used to wandering around on our own—nothing will happen."
With that, she scooped Xi Weilan into her arms.
Lu Shiwan assumed that her probing words earlier had irritated the girl, so she didn't insist. And Lu Jinshuang remembered that when she'd first met the Xi sisters, they had seemed perfectly at ease and self-sufficient, like they didn't need anyone's help at all.
So Lu Shiwan accompanied Lu Jinshuang to the palace. Before leaving, the two, still concerned, dispatched a guard to shadow the sisters discreetly.
Xi Qingyue was fully aware of the tailing guard, but she pretended not to notice.
Leaving Xingzhu Tower, Xi Qingyue walked hand in hand with Xi Weilan along the bustling streets of the capital.
Xi Weilan was curious about everything around her. This city was more beautiful than any they'd encountered before.
Recalling what had happened in that room, she felt a pang of guilt. "Sister, I said the wrong thing earlier. I let my guard down because that beautiful sister was so gentle. Do you think she'll cause trouble for Sister Jinshuang?"
Xi Qingyue patted her head with a smile. "It's fine. She means no harm—she just wanted to confirm what she suspected. But you must not make such mistakes again. Even if it's a child talking to you, listen carefully and think before you answer. The people here are full of schemes, so they're very tricky. We're just country kids, and people will easily take advantage of us."
Xi Weilan nodded earnestly. "Yes, Sister. I understand."
The two sisters held hands and continued on their way, lighthearted and happy. Suddenly, an angry child's voice came from a carriage. "Grandmother! Those are the two kids! They're the ones who got Grandfather beaten with the board. I want to get back at them for Grandfather!"
Xi Qingyue stopped at the sound and looked up. She saw a small hand pull back the curtain of the carriage, and the next moment, a child's head popped out and stood up at the front of the carriage.
He pointed at Xi Qingyue and the others, cursing furiously, "You two little wretches, it's because of you that my grandfather got beaten. Men, seize them—I want to teach them a good lesson and make them taste what it's like to be hit."
Being scolded and threatened with capture by a mere child for no reason left the two deeply displeased, especially when they saw that the guards actually obeyed the child's order and came to grab them.
Before the guards left behind by Lu Jinshuang could step forward to stop them, Xi Weilan's pistol was already aimed at Song Qian's chest, her little face burning with anger.
