Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1093 An Insurmountable Gap

He Yinuo pouted: "Brother, you're a grown man, how can you compare your beauty with your sister? Aren't you ashamed?"

He Xiaobao and He Xiaoliu stared speechlessly at their Crown Prince brother.

"Ahem~ Just kidding..." He Yucheng coughed lightly, "You're the most beautiful in the world, okay?" After saying that, he picked up an abalone and handed it to his sister's bowl as an apology.

He Yinuo's eyes darted around: "I'm the most beautiful? Then Mother~"

He Yucheng was so angry he almost laughed. Was this some kind of blatant attempt to put him in a bad light?

He looked at Tao Yanyan expectantly: "Mother, you gave birth to a sister who is so sharp-tongued that no one can argue with her."

Tao Yanyan was used to the siblings bickering and had long been immune to it. She picked up a chicken wing for each of them and put it in their bowls: "Eat your food properly. If you want to bicker, do it later."

He Yucheng ate in silence, but in his heart he was thinking that he should find an opportunity to ask later if He Yinuo had forcibly taken the sachet. Given Su Xing's soft-hearted nature, she would probably give He Yinuo whatever she wanted.

After finishing her main meal, He Yinuo needed to have some snacks to fill the gaps. He Xiaobao and He Xiaoliu went back to their rooms to do their homework. He Yucheng strolled leisurely into He Yinuo's room, picked up one of He Yinuo's snacks, and stuffed a bite into it haphazardly.

"Why haven't I seen you wearing the pink jade that the Empress Dowager gave you lately?" He Yucheng asked leisurely.

He Yinuo chewed and chewed: "I've been wearing emerald green lately, and pink jade doesn't look good on me. Just then, Su Xing made me an emerald green sachet, which is perfect for wearing with my clothes. Look, brother, isn't the embroidery beautiful? It's embroidered with clusters of flowers, I love it."

He Yucheng looked over and saw that the sachet was embroidered with even stitches and fine lines, and the workmanship was indeed excellent.

"She embroidered it herself?"

He Yinuo nodded: "It's been almost half a month since I started embroidering, and I've pricked my fingers several times. I told her that there's a Imperial Wardrobe with embroiderers in the palace, but she wouldn't listen and insisted on embroidering one for me."

He Yucheng was somewhat annoyed: "Isn't it strange for a woman to give another woman a sachet? Perhaps Su Xing wanted to embroider it for some young master, but you intercepted it."

Upon hearing this, He Yinuo rolled her eyes: "How could that be? She's with me all day long, where would she meet any young master? Besides, I'll show you the evidence." As she spoke, she opened the sachet and took out a large gold bead, which made He Yucheng's lips twitch.

"Everyone else uses sachets to hold dried flowers and spices, but you're doing something else, using gold beads."

"I smell so good that I don't need any perfume. Besides, I love gold the most, so of course I'll wear gold. Look, my name is embroidered here, of course it's specially embroidered for me."

He Yu accepted the sachet and saw that there was a small piece of cloth sewn inside, on which the character "诺" (nuò, meaning "promise") was indeed embroidered.

He Yucheng: "..."

Why do I feel a little disappointed?

He Yinuo took back the sachet and refilled it with the large gold bead: "What don't I, He Yinuo, have? Why would I need to steal someone else's sachet? Ha, that's hilarious!"

In a small courtyard in the east of the city, Su Xing, by candlelight, repeatedly looked at the sachet in her hand that she hadn't given away, feeling somewhat downcast.

This was embroidered together with the sachet she gave to the Fifth Princess. That one was embroidered with clusters of flowers, while this one is embroidered with peace and joy. Inside the sachet, there was also a small strip of cloth sewn on, with the character "承" (Cheng) embroidered halfway. Lately, she has been hesitant, wanting to continue embroidering, but also finding it difficult to continue.

She knew she shouldn't be delusional. With her family background, how could she possibly be worthy of the Crown Prince? It was an insurmountable gap, one on earth and the other in heaven.

Every time she accompanied the Fifth Princess to the palace, she would have the chance to meet the Crown Prince once or twice out of ten. She would always greet him respectfully, never daring to reveal the slightest hint of anything. The Crown Prince was truly too wonderful, so wonderful that she wanted to get closer to him, but it was precisely because he was too wonderful that she could never get close to him.

"Sigh~" Su Xing put away the sachet and needlework. For her, staying by the Fifth Princess's side, working diligently, and supporting the family were the most important things. She would never be able to get close to the Crown Prince in this lifetime; this was her fate.

On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Crown Prince of Xia and his Crown Princess visited the Great Zhou. The Xia delegation entered the capital city gates in a grand procession, and the streets on both sides were filled with onlookers.

Inside the carriage, He Yanran lifted the curtain and looked at the rows of shops on both sides, and said with a smile, "I haven't been back for a year, and the capital is bustling again."

Kang Pingzhi massaged her shoulders: "In a little while, we'll go to the palace to pay our respects to His Majesty and the Empress. Then I'll accompany you back to the Yong Prince's residence. In the evening, we'll go out shopping. Don't you love the snacks of the Great Zhou? We'll buy a lot to go with our drinks when we get back."

He Yanran nodded and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

After their marriage, Kang Pingzhi withstood the pressure and, no matter how much the Xia court officials pleaded with him, refused to take a concubine, and instead showered her with affection. Now, she was the envy of all the noble ladies of Xia.

Although some people always make sarcastic remarks, saying that as a princess from another country, her favor wouldn't last long and she'd never be able to dominate the family, so what? After all, she had been the emperor's favorite. Life is about living in the moment; why worry about the future if you're happy now?

In the Hall of Diligent Governance, Kang Pingzhi brought He Yanran to pay his respects, followed by more than a dozen Xia Kingdom officials.

He Linzhang sat on the dragon throne and said softly, "Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Xia, there is no need for such formalities. You have come from afar, so the Ministry of Rites should receive you properly and not neglect you."

Minister of Rites Wang stepped forward: "Yes, Your Majesty, I obey your decree and have already made all the necessary preparations."

Prince Yong suddenly said, “Brother, Yan Ran has been away from home for more than a year, and he has only been back for a short time. Why don’t you stay at Prince Yong’s residence?”

He Yanran raised an eyebrow and looked at Kang Pingzhi. Kang Pingzhi said, "That's very good. It will be good for my son-in-law and Yanran to be by Father's side and fulfill our filial duties."

Since Kang Pingzhi and He Yanran were both willing, He Linzhang had nothing to say, and it was only reasonable for He Yanran and his wife to return to the Yongwang Mansion to live.

A welcoming banquet was held in the palace, attended by Empress Tao and Consort Xian. The children, who hadn't seen He Yanran for a long time, surrounded her and chattered incessantly. After the banquet, the other envoys from Xia Kingdom returned to their post stations, while He Yanran and Kang Pingzhi followed Prince Yong back to the Prince Yong's residence.

In recent years, Princess Consort Yong had devoted herself to raising the young prince, and her relationship with Prince Yong was rather ordinary and respectful. When Prince Yong brought the two of them into the mansion, she remained calm and instructed the steward to arrange for them to stay in a courtyard on the west side.

“Mother, His Highness the Crown Prince and I should stay in my original courtyard. I’m more familiar with it.” He Yanran said. Princess Yong was taken aback and hesitated for a moment, “That courtyard is a bit small. Why not move to the west courtyard? It’s more comfortable there.”

He Yanran smiled and said, "It's alright. I've lived in that courtyard for over ten years. It's rare for me to come back. Mother, there's no need to arrange another place for me."

Seeing her insistence, Princess Yong glanced at Prince Yong and had no choice but to have the steward take the two of them down to rest.

"Your Highness saw it. It's not that I didn't want her to have a better place to live; it's that she insisted on choosing the old place herself," Princess Yong said calmly.

Prince Yong hummed in agreement: "Her original courtyard was a bit small, but it was quite exquisite. Most importantly, it housed the memorial tablet of her birth mother. I suppose that's why she chose to live there. Well, she's been staying at the manor these days, so treat her kindly. After all, she's the future Empress of Xia, so you mustn't be disrespectful."

Princess Yong felt somewhat uncomfortable. The child she had once despised was now enjoying an increasingly prestigious status, and she was even expected to serve him. It was truly difficult for her to accept this.