"Daddy!" A clear and sweet female voice sounded. Luo Changqing had just returned home when he saw his daughter waiting for him in the living room. She shouted in surprise when she saw him.
Luo Changqing was naturally very happy to see his married daughter return. He quickly walked up to Luo Yaqing and looked her over carefully before saying distressedly, "Qing'er has lost weight. Did Zhou Wencun make you angry?"
Luo Yaqing was stunned and quickly explained: "No, no, my husband treats me very well, so I am not thin. Daddy is mistaken."
"How come your face has become smaller if you haven't lost weight? Qing'er, you don't have to say anything good for that boy. Father will definitely say something nice to him someday. It's his fault for not taking good care of you." Luo Changqing stroked his daughter's head and said unhappily.
How could Luo Yaqing bear to see her beloved husband being blamed by her father? She hurriedly hugged Luo Changqing's arm and said coquettishly: "Father, you really misunderstood. I just can't get used to the food in Shunyi Palace. I eat less and that's why! But it's better for a girl to be thinner. Father, don't blame my husband..."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier that you couldn't get used to the food in the palace? Daddy will ask you to take the chef from our palace back home. It's my fault that I didn't think of giving the chef as a dowry?" Luo Changqing said self-reproachfully. To his daughter, he is really a rare kind father.
Luo Yaqing did not refuse, and was deeply moved: "Daddy, you still love me."
The food in Shunyi Palace is mostly greasy and rich in meat, as if the wealth and splendor of their palace could not be displayed without heavy oils and sauces. However, Luo Yaqing had been eating plain meals with less oil and salt since she was a child, so when she suddenly married into Shunyi Palace, she could not eat well.
As a new bride, she didn't dare order any food, otherwise she would have an excuse for her sisters-in-law to be mean to her.
This time, her father asked her to bring the cook from the prime minister's residence back with her so that she could find an excuse to build a small kitchen in her own yard, and Princess Shunyi would not be able to blame her - Luo Yaqing began to learn to calculate for herself little by little.
The father and daughter talked for a long time to keep in touch, and Luo Yaqing hesitantly told the reason why she returned to her mother's home:
"… Mother said she really liked the five-color red camellia cultivated by the stepmother. She had seen it at Minister Wen's residence and had been thinking about it. My daughter thought that since it was cultivated by the stepmother, she would come back to see the stepmother to see if she could give one to her daughter… But she didn't expect the stepmother to be unwilling to do so. She said that one of the plants would be auctioned off and she would keep the remaining one for her own enjoyment…"
Luo Yaqing said with a distressed look on her face, seemingly trying to comfort Xu Shichu but actually trying to deceive her: "It's also my fault that I didn't ask my stepmother in advance, which made things difficult for her. Such a precious flower is worth a fortune, so it's normal for her to auction it off... As for the last one left, I will naturally keep it for my own enjoyment. My daughter can't take away someone else's love..."
Unfortunately, Luo Changqing didn't hear his daughter's implicit complaint to Xu Shichu at all. He said directly: "In this case, you can just buy the one from the auction and give it to the princess. What's there to worry about?"
Luo Yaqing was choked by his words. She bit her lip and quickly glanced at him before she said softly, "My daughter, my daughter doesn't have that much money."
Luo Changqing listened and said nonchalantly: "Isn't it just money? Daddy has it!"
"Dad, every kind of flower auctioned at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion by my stepmother is very precious, and the Five-Colored Red Dan must be the same. Our family is not very rich, so it's not worth it to spend so much money to bid for flowers, right?" Luo Yaqing was not willing to let Xu Shichu make so much money from her easily, and she was unhappy.
She just wanted Xu Shichu to give her the flowers for free, so she kept trying to get her father to do it indirectly, but her father never understood what she meant.
In the end, she had to speak directly: "Daddy, can't you ask the stepmother for help? Maybe if you ask, the stepmother will give you the flowers directly without auctioning them off?"
Luo Changqing was startled, then shook his head and said with a smile: "That's impossible. Xu loves money the most. Even His Majesty has to pay for the chrysanthemums he wants."
"But His Majesty is His Majesty, and Daddy is Daddy! Although His Majesty is the ruler of the world, he is a strange outsider to the stepmother. But it's different for you, father. You are the stepmother's husband, a family member. How can the stepmother be so distant with you?" Luo Yaqing defended.
"It's not that I don't want to pay for it, but my brother is getting married soon, and we will have a nephew in the future. After my mother passed away, our family's business has been mediocre. We can't make much money, but the expenses are huge... I am also thinking about my father and brother... As a member of the prime minister's family, the stepmother should also understand my father..."
Luo Yaqing was very considerate, and her words were all for the good of the Xiangfu. Luo Changqing was immediately moved by his daughter and said with relief: "Qing'er has really grown up and can understand her father and brother. Then I will try to talk to Xu."
Luo Yaqing's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he hurriedly urged, "Then Daddy, go quickly."
In other words, Luo Changqing has a huge filter for his daughter and feels that she is sincerely caring about him. If other people hear what she says, they will understand her true intentions.
So Xu Shichu met Luo Changqing and his daughter in her yard.
"It seems like every time you come here you are trying to get something from me." Xu Shichu looked at the father and daughter with sarcasm in his eyes.
This time it's even more outrageous. Before, when he came to me for something, at least he could clearly mark the price and pay for it. But now he comes to me for something, but he wants to get nothing for nothing! Lord Luo, you are really getting better at doing business. "
Luo Changqing's face suddenly became hot after hearing her words. He felt that he had indeed gone too far. However, thinking of his daughter's words, he still said shamelessly, "I took it for granted, but Madam, can you lower the price? I will pay for it."
Xu Shichu shook his head slowly and smiled, "No, it's an auction. The Prime Minister should know the importance of honesty in doing business. How can I cancel the auction for your selfish reasons?"
"Besides, it's just a camellia. Even if the Prime Minister didn't buy it, what does it have to do with you? Why did you come to me with such fanfare?" Xu Shichu glanced at Luo Yaqing who was standing behind Luo Changqing. He knew very well who was the one who wanted the Five-Colored Red Pill.
Could Luo Changqing say, "I want your flowers so that my daughter can take them to please her mother-in-law?" He couldn't say that, so he froze.
After a long while, Luo Changqing sighed and said, "Just think of it as me asking Madam to give me the remaining one, okay?"
Xu Shichu refused sarcastically: "No! I said I want to keep it for myself."