Princess Linjiang smiled, which was rare, and nodded gently, "It's like this. The weather is very hot now, and the prince has to run outside every day, personally with officials to check the dikes, to comfort the people and the army, and he is very tired. He usually has no appetite in the summer and can't eat much. Now he is tired, so he must be even less able to take care of it." She paused, then said, "Tell the kitchen to prepare a bowl of sour bamboo shoots and chicken skin soup. The prince likes sour and spicy food. Although it is a bit hot, it will be better after sweating."
Princess Linjiang rarely smiles, and it's even rarer for her to say so many caring words to Prince Linjiang.
Actually, since what happened before, the couple had spoken to each other very few times. Either the prince was angry and cold, or Princess Linjiang was upset and refused to give in, and the two gradually drifted apart.
Princess Linjiang made a fuss, but her situation became worse and worse, and Shen Chen's position in the prince's heart became worse and worse. What's even more infuriating is that even Concubine Yu took advantage of this favorable situation and rose to prominence. Now she has become irreplaceable in the prince's heart.
This is really not a good thing.
These people, who are held hostage by the princess, are family children brought by the princess as dowry, so it is impossible for them to go to Concubine Yu for help.
If anything happened to the princess again, they would have to suffer as well.
She never wanted to go back to those hard days of asceticism in the temple, the days when she ate pickled cabbage and radishes until she felt sick.
So now that Princess Linjiang has started to cooperate, she couldn't help but follow her words and said, "That's right, the prince has always liked sour and spicy food. He said that Jiujiang is cold and damp, and if he doesn't eat some chili to sweat, he will not be able to survive sooner or later. But he has eaten less in recent years, and he can't always find a good cook. Speaking of which, the chefs here know the prince's taste."
Princess Linjiang smiled but said nothing.
Nanny Qin understood and helped her to the couch, whispering, "It's still very close to noon. Since you have already taken off your hairpins and rings, why don't you take a rest for a while? I'll come in and call you when the time comes."
When she was in the temple, Princess Linjiang always couldn't sleep all night. After half a year, she looked haggard and pale, and her spirit was very poor. She always dozed off at the slightest provocation.
Nanny Qin knew her habits. When she saw her closing her eyes and not saying anything, she knew she had agreed and she quickly left.
After a while, Qingshuang carefully lifted the curtain and came in to add lily incense. Just as she opened the gilded unicorn-carved triangular incense burner, she heard Princess Linjiang ask her softly, "Why are you doing all these things yourself?"
"Did I wake you up?" Qingshuang lowered her head nervously, pinching the corner of her clothes, "Princess, I... you treat me too well and don't let me do anything. I... I'm bored."
When she was born, her parents both lost their jobs. It was the most difficult time for the family and the family even had difficulty getting food.
Since her mother died, the family situation has become even worse - her family relied on her mother working in the princess's courtyard to live in a respectable manner.
Although my mother lost her job later, she still had some hope. But when a person dies, there is no hope at all.
Dad is better. He is a man after all. No matter what time, as long as he is willing to save face and go out to eat and drink with his bad friends, he can always fill his stomach.
But she and her sisters could only stay at home, and they were all skinny and pale from hunger.
She once thought that her life would be like this. Either she would wait until she was old enough to find a heavy job in a laundry, or she would not even have to look for a job and would be sold by her father for a few taels of silver to a peddler who roamed the streets, or to a low-ranking servant in the mansion who had no future.
But she never dreamed that one day she would be transferred to the princess's courtyard.
The princess treated her very well. She didn't care that she had never learned the rules. She just made her the eldest maid and didn't let her do anything. Usually, the other three maids did the work, and she only needed to follow and talk.
She couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
Princess Linjiang smiled gently and waved her to come forward: "Silly child, your mother was an old lady who served me in the past. I always remember her kindness. Since you are her daughter, these are what you deserve. Why are you uneasy? Well, don't do these things in the future. These are not yours to do. Naturally, others will come."
Qingshuang was even more flattered, but she knew in her heart that the princess treated her differently, and she couldn't help but feel lighthearted: "Yes, I know."
Princess Linjiang hummed and looked at her kindly: "Okay, go out, I'll take a rest for a while."
Qingshuang carefully lifted the curtain and came out, feeling somewhat smug, but she happened to see Prince Linjiang head-on. She was so shocked that she was stunned and quickly knelt down to pay her respects.
King Linjiang waved his hand. Seeing that she was a completely unfamiliar new face, he did not feel strange and asked her casually: "Are you new here? Why are you looking for such a young girl?"
Because Princess Linjiang had overstepped her authority before, he had specially ordered everyone around Princess Linjiang to be completely replaced. Except for a few people like Nanny Qin who had refused to leave and followed Princess Linjiang around, all the others were completely replaced.
Seeing the new faces now, he couldn't help but feel that the people under him might not be reliable. They actually found such a young person to serve Princess Linjiang. How could she understand something so young? How could she take care of others
Qingshuang didn't know how to answer, but Prince Linjiang didn't wait for her to answer and just lifted the curtain and walked in.
The room was very quiet, but the furnishings were still the same as before. Prince Linjiang turned around the antique display cabinet and saw Princess Linjiang taking a nap on the couch. He was stunned.
He knew that life in the temple would be difficult, but he did not expect that Princess Linjiang would be so haggard. She looked lifeless and seemed to have aged by ten years.
His footsteps became lighter, and Qingshuang came in with tea.
Princess Linjiang opened her eyes and saw Prince Linjiang. She seemed a little surprised and was unable to react for a moment. After a while, she pursed her lips and stood up to salute.
Her hair was simply combed behind her head, making her look no different from an ordinary woman, except that she lacked her usual elegance and wealth, and also her usual unapproachability. She was much more likable than before.
King Linjiang was a little embarrassed.
After all, there was a rift in the past, and he didn't know what he felt more. It took him a long time before he nodded randomly and asked Princess Linjiang to get up.
The two were speechless for a moment.
I actually feel like there is nothing to say. (To be continued)