Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Qing Shuang answered from outside.

Soon, the door was opened, and nine-year-old Xue Wan followed Qing Shuang in, smiling as she entered, carrying a food box.

However, as soon as she stepped inside and saw three people sitting on the couch, she was immediately stunned.

The door had been closed earlier, and she had thought only her cousin Xue Ning was inside. She hadn’t expected two other guests to be there.

Although it had been a long time since they last met, she quickly recognized them after a glance. The two young ladies and the young gentleman, dressed in luxurious attire and with extraordinary appearances, were the princess and the second prince of the Eastern Palace.

What puzzled her was why the prince’s gaze was cold and devoid of goodwill, as if he were scrutinizing some kind of villain. That look made her heart pound.

And her cousin, who usually greeted her warmly whenever they met, didn’t move today. She just sat on the couch, looking at her with a faint smile.

Earlier, when Qing Shuang had come to her house to call her, saying her cousin missed her, she had been so happy. She had quickly made some peach blossom pastries, which she had just learned to make, and brought them over, hoping to share them with her cousin.

But now, seeing her cousin like this, her heart pounded, and she tightened her grip on the food box.

Although her cousin usually didn’t allow her to address her as "Princess" or kneel, now that the two royal highnesses were present, she couldn’t disregard the rules of hierarchy. Despite her inner turmoil, she mustered the courage to step forward, kneel, and pay her respects: "This humble girl greets the Prince and the two Princesses."

Princess Huayue gazed at her kneeling cousin with mixed emotions but didn’t let her kneel for long. "Rise," she said.

Xue Wan stood up and picked up the food box she had placed aside. She had intended to walk over and hand it to her cousin, but when she met her cousin’s complicated gaze, she froze, not daring to move forward.

Princess Huayue stared at her cousin, momentarily lost in thought.

Her third uncle’s family had few female children. Although Xue Wan was the daughter of a concubine, she was the eldest girl in her third uncle’s household and the only one close in age to her. As cousins living nearby and with their fathers being close, they had grown up playing together.

Xue Wan’s temperament was similar to Hui Er’s—both were quiet and shy.

But Hui Er was naturally quiet, simply not fond of activity. As the daughter of the Crown Prince’s family, doted on by her parents and elder brother, Hui Er was always poised and graceful, exuding royal grace in every gesture.

Xue Wan, on the other hand, had a timid and submissive personality because her mother came from a humble background. She was not favored by her stepmother, nor did her father give her much attention.

When she was young, Princess Huayue had inadvertently discovered that if she got closer to Xue Wan, her third uncle and aunt would treat Xue Wan more kindly, and her life at home would improve.

She remembered that year when she was five and Xue Wan was four. For some reason, they had both been especially fond of playing with mud.

Once, they had played house in her third uncle’s garden. Xue Wan had pretended to be the owner of a pastry shop, making many beautiful mud pastries and decorating them with flowers.

She had played the role of a customer, carrying banknotes made of leaves and a small basket to buy pastries.

They had even bargained seriously, but for some reason, they couldn’t agree on a price and started quarreling.

Xue Wan had said she wouldn’t sell the pastries anymore and started to gather up the mud pastries. She had refused and tried to grab them, but Xue Wan wouldn’t let her.

As they struggled, the pile of mud pastries fell and shattered. The usually timid Xue Wan had actually scratched her.

She, who had never been scratched before, immediately slapped back.

Xue Wan had been stunned for a moment, then sat on the ground, clutching her mud pastries and wailing.

What had started as a fun game had ended in such a mess. She had been furious too, and after saying, "I’m never playing with you again," she had run away crying.

A few days later, when her anger had subsided, she had gone to play with Xue Wan again.

But as soon as they met, she noticed that the little girl had become much thinner. Xue Wan had hugged her arm, crying uncontrollably, snot and tears running down her face, saying, "Cousin, I’ll do whatever you say from now on. I’ll make as many mud pastries as you want. Please don’t ignore me."

She still remembers her pitiful look to this day.

They made up and went back to playing in the mud, with Xue Wan running the pretend pastry shop and her being the customer.

Xue Wan happily ran off to make mud pastries, while she gathered leaves to use as pretend money.

When she returned with a basket of leaves, she noticed Xue Wan, sleeves rolled up, kneading mud, her arms covered in bruises.

She asked Xue Wan what happened, but the girl just shook her head, claiming she’d bumped into something. When pressed, she refused to say more and burst into tears.

She had Qing Shuang look into it and learned that after she’d run off crying from her uncle’s house, Xue Wan had been scolded by her stepmother and pinched by the maids. On top of that, she’d been locked in a dark room for two days, given just one bun and a bowl of water a day.

Guilt and fury overwhelmed her. She threw down the basket and wanted to confront her aunt, but Qing Shuang stopped her, saying it was her uncle’s family business.

From then on, she couldn’t stand Xue Wan’s stepmother, who always greeted her with a big, fake smile.

After that, she never fought with Xue Wan again and often played with her, always including her in her own gatherings.

She kept an eye out for signs of Xue Wan being beaten again, but thankfully, she never saw any.

Xue Wan clung to her like a shadow, following her every word.

Xue Wan had always loved making pastries, starting with mud as a child and using real ingredients by age seven or eight.

Every time Xue Wan created something new, she’d let her taste it first. If she liked it, Xue Wan would keep making it until she couldn’t stand it anymore.

It was incredibly thoughtful of her.

She truly cherished Xue Wan as a sister.

So, in the original story, when Xue Wan invited her to the manor, she went without a second thought.

But after hearing A Tong’s words, she began to doubt, wondering if Xue Wan had teamed up with others to hurt her.

But knowing Xue Wan, she didn’t believe she would.

Especially after she fell into the water, Xue Wan risked her life to save her, even falling in herself.

But now, she was torn.

The room fell silent. Xue Wan, seeing her cousin staring at her without a word, grew uneasy and timidly called, "A Jie?"

Princess Wen’an noticed her cousin’s hesitation and tugged her sleeve, whispering, "A Jie, let’s not jump to conclusions. We’ll wait until we’ve seen Nuo Er."

Princess Huayue snapped out of her thoughts, nodded, and smiled, "A Wan, have a seat."

Seeing her cousin’s familiar smile, Xue Wan relaxed and shyly stepped forward, holding out the food box. "A Jie, the peach trees in my backyard are blooming. I’ve been learning to make peach blossom pastries and wanted to practice more before sending you some. But when Qing Shuang called me earlier, I made a batch. Try them and see if you like them."

"Thanks," Princess Huayue said, taking the box and setting it on the table without a second glance.

Seeing her cousin thank her but not open the box right away as usual, Xue Wan grew uneasy again.

Her cousin had once told her not to overthink or worry about others’ expressions, so she could live more freely.

She’d been trying to follow that advice, but her mind kept racing. Now, she couldn’t help wondering if she’d upset her cousin. She wanted to ask but didn’t dare.

Her cousin could be short-tempered, but she was always kind to her.

Her cousin never left her out of any gatherings. Except for going to the palace, whenever her cousin went to play at other girls' houses, she always took her along. No matter when she introduced her to others, she would always hold her hand and loudly say, "This is my sister," never ashamed of her status as a concubine's daughter, nor did she ever look down on her for being timid and not good in social situations.

Though my sister never said it outright, whenever my parents were around, she would be especially affectionate towards me. I knew she was doing it to show me respect.

It was precisely because of my sister's good relationship with me that my mother and I had an easier time at home.

If my wonderful sister is mad at me, it must be because I did something wrong.

Now that there are guests, it's not the right time for me to speak. So, when the guests leave later, I must apologize to my sister.

Yes, that's it.

Once she decided, Xue Wan felt slightly more at ease.

Princess Huayue saw Xue Wan's discomfort, but she couldn't pretend nothing happened. She pointed to a chair nearby: "Sit down."

They sat in silence for a while, and the atmosphere turned very awkward.

Noticing her cousin wasn't looking at her and that the prince kept giving her cold looks, Xue Wan sat on the chair, her head down, her hands clutching her clothes without realizing it.

Though Princess Wen'an thought the girl looked pitiful, she had seen too many people pretending to be weak in the palace and couldn't judge whether she was good or evil.

Besides, she sided with her sister; she'd follow her sister's lead.

After a brief silence, Princess Huayue spoke to Qing Shuang, who was waiting at the door: "Qing Shuang, go check with my mother to see if Nuo Er is awake."

Qing Shuang acknowledged and turned to leave.

Before Qing Shuang returned, a familiar voice called from outside: "A Ning, are you there?"

The three on the couch smiled and hurried out. "Brother." "Cousin." "Cousin."

Xue Wan recognized her cousin's voice and also got up from the chair, silently following them out.

They all rushed to the courtyard and saw Xue Song standing with Shen Weiyan, and they were all surprised and asked how he got there.

Shen Weiyan smiled: "There's not much going on in the palace. I heard you were all here, so I came over. I didn't expect to run into cousin outside."

After they laughed, Xue Song noticed Xue Wan standing a few steps away, looking down and anxious. Knowing that his cousin was always introverted, he stepped forward to greet her with a smile: "Wan Er is here."

Xue Wan finally found the opportunity to speak and quickly paid her respects to the crown prince and her cousin.

Seeing her about to kneel, Shen Weiyan reached out and stopped her from a distance: "No need for formalities, stand up."

Hearing this, Xue Song pulled his cousin up and patted her shoulder, silently comforting her.

Then he beckoned and took his sister a few steps away, asking in a low voice: "I heard Nuo Er is here, so I left the shop in a hurry to come back. Why is Wan Er here too? It might be inconvenient to talk later. Should you send her back first?"

Princess Huayue looked complicated: "Brother, I specifically asked Qing Shuang to bring her here. You'll know later."

"Also, brother, you came back just in time. Let Nuo Er see how you are now."

As they spoke, Qing Shuang came in from the courtyard gate and quickly walked over, saying: "Princess, the little princess is still asleep, but Miss Coral said she should wake up soon. The princess said to come over."

Princess Huayue didn't delay and waved her hand: "Let's go, let's go play with Nuo Er."

When they arrived at the princess's courtyard, they saw Shen Zhinuo had already woken up and was being held by Princess Lanzhen, being fed red bean sugar water.

Shen Zhinuo saw a group of brothers and sisters coming in at the courtyard gate and clapped her hands happily: "Doggy, come out."

The little black dog jumped out: "Young Master, A Tong is here."

As the group approached, everyone's expressions shifted, except for Xue Wan, who remained unaware and silently stood at the edge.

"Brother," Shen Zhinuo reached out to Xue Song, wanting him to hold her and also to let the dog lick his face.

Before her cousin could reach out, Princess Huayue unexpectedly brought over a little girl she didn't recognize and said with a smile, "Nuo Er, this is my cousin, her name is Xue Wan. She came to play with me, so I brought her to meet you. She knows Hui Er and our second cousin."

Seeing that her sister had specifically called her to meet the little princess, Xue Wan's eyes welled up with tears, and she bowed to Shen Zhinuo, "Xue Wan pays her respects to the little princess."

It was Xue Wan? Shen Zhinuo's big eyes lit up, and she grabbed Xue Wan with both hands, telling her not to kneel.

Then she thought, "Doggy, let's check Xue Wan first to see how she ends up."

Everyone held their breath and waited in silence.

Xue Song, hearing this mysterious conversation for the first time, fixed his gaze intently on the little girl in front of him, trying to see if he could discern anything.

The little black dog naturally obeyed, circling Xue Wan once, then after a search, it directly said, "That day, after Princess Huayue was taken away by Princess Lanzhen, Xue Zhiting also returned to the city directly, completely ignoring his daughter Xue Wan. With the father not caring, the servants naturally didn't care either. Within two days, Xue Wan fell ill and died."