Chapter 122
When she saw Zheng Xuening walk out, Lu Dieqing was so shocked her heart almost stopped for a moment.
Aiya, aiya, aiya, why did Ningning just walk out like that?
And she can even greet my mother so calmly, calling her “Auntie.”
She looked at Zheng Xuening, then couldn’t help but quickly turn her head to look at her mother’s expression.
Originally, she had thought that her mother, who had been so strict with her in the past and had repeatedly told her not to be bullied, would not be able to help but show a stern face when she saw Ningning, or say something unpleasant.
But why did she feel that her mother’s expression was slowly becoming more amiable?
That was a face like a spring breeze.
The last time she had seen her mother look so benevolent, Lu Dieqing had forgotten when it was.
The broom in Lu He’s hand was quickly thrown behind her and was caught by Bai Ming, who had walked out with quick eyes and hands.
“Your Highness, you don’t have to be so polite. To be able to be so… so in love with our Qingqing, as a mother, I am also happy for her.”
Behind his wife, Bai Ming’s eyes widened. He felt as if he didn’t even recognize his wife anymore.
Lu He had never used such a benevolent attitude to talk to people before.
Let alone in such a soft and gentle voice.
Lu Dieqing was also so surprised that her mind went blank. She suspected that her mother had been stimulated too much, which was why she was… talking like this.
Zheng Xuening, facing Lu He, smiled politely.
“Auntie, you don’t have to worry. Qingqing is under my protection. I will never let anyone bully her.”
As she said this, her peripheral vision glanced at Lu Dieqing.
The girl’s eyes were like a startled little kitten, wide and round.
This reaction was truly adorable.
Zheng Xuening’s heart itched again, as if she had been scratched by a little kitten a couple of times.
“I should have visited you earlier, Auntie. But I only just returned with Qingqing yesterday. Thinking that your family was having a reunion, and you probably didn’t want to be disturbed, I didn’t come over.”
She said to Lu He with a serious face.
As if Lu He was not some hostage of the Shan Kingdom in the Chaoying Kingdom, but just the mother of her beloved, an elder she needed to respect.
The Crown Princess had almost never been so polite to anyone in the past twenty years.
Even to the current Emperor of the Chaoying Kingdom, she would just nod faintly and call him “Father.” When had she ever been so genuinely amiable?
And so, with one Lu He intentionally being warm, and the other Zheng Xuening intentionally cooperating, the two of them actually managed to make the atmosphere harmonious, sweeping away the previous awkwardness.
This made Lu Dieqing look at the two of them talking with a sheepish expression. She looked back at Bai Ming.
The father and daughter looked at each other, for a moment not knowing how to respond.
“How about we have breakfast at home?” Bai Ming muttered in a low voice.
Lu Dieqing hesitated for a moment. “I wonder if she would be willing?”
In her impression, Ningning had never liked to be in contact with strangers.
To be able to talk to her mother like this today, and to be so smiley, was almost like a different person from the past. It was already giving her a lot of face.
And to stay for breakfast?
Heavens, Lu Dieqing couldn’t imagine it at all.
But an hour later, when the four of them were sitting neatly at a square table for a meal, Lu Dieqing was still in a bit of a daze as she lowered her head and ate the rice in her bowl.
Ningning can also talk and laugh with people while eating?
Completely not in line with what I remember.
At the dinner table, Lu He looked at Zheng Xuening opposite her, and the more she looked, the more pleasing she found her.
“We didn’t know Your Highness was staying. The food we made is simple. I don’t know if it’s to your taste, Your Highness.”
She said politely.
Zheng Xuening’s peripheral vision caught a glimpse of Lu Dieqing’s little head, which was almost hidden in her bowl. She curved her lips and smiled.
“Auntie, you’re being so distant with me. Just call me Ningning, or Xuening, like Qingqing does. I’m not a picky eater. On the way to the forbidden land with Qingqing, whatever she ate, I ate.”
The Crown Princess, who had never been part of an atmosphere-setter, had almost never had the experience of a family of four eating together like this.
But this did not stop her from learning on the spot for her future wife how to get along.
The most important thing was to dispel their fear of her, to make this unfamiliar atmosphere disappear and become more relaxed.
Zheng Xuening almost deliberately said a few more words, from time to time bringing the topic to their common focus—Lu Dieqing.
They both knew in their hearts that the girl who had been burying her head and not saying a word since she had come to the dinner table was the bond that tied them together.
Lu Dieqing really didn’t understand. How could her mother and Ningning get along so well at first sight?
So surprising, so very surprising.
The girl looked at her mother, then at her beloved at her side.
One little head, having to look in two directions, was really not enough.
“You have rice on your face,” Lu He said helplessly.
In the past, she hadn’t felt it, but today, with Zheng Xuening sitting opposite her for comparison, she suddenly felt that her daughter was a complete child and had not grown up at all.
Hearing that there was rice on her face, Lu Dieqing instantly sat up straight and touched her left cheek.
“The right side,” Zheng Xuening slowly reached out her hand and casually wiped her right cheek.
Lu Dieqing’s face instantly turned red. “…Thank you.”
Lu He looked at this scene with a meaningful gaze.
She could more or less see that her daughter held a significant place with the Crown Princess.
Before, she had only heard her Qingqing mention the Crown Princess and say how good the other was. In her heart, she had always been a little wary.
After all, an heir in a high position could not have a simple personality. Yet the other could get along so well with Qingqing?
She was really worried that her daughter would be bullied.
But after talking with Zheng Xuening face-to-face like this today, the worry in her heart was mostly gone.
Some people, you know their personality after one look. That kind of pride carved into their bones would not deign to put on an act.
This sense of pride in Zheng Xuening was particularly strong.
But the other was willing to look her in the eye, and even treat her and Bai Ming with the etiquette of an elder. Lu He was very clear in her heart about the reason.
Wasn’t it because of Qingqing?
This was a respect that came from loving the house and its crow.
Otherwise, with the other’s status, why would she bother with a hostage like them?
Schemes and intrigues could not stand up to great power and status.
At the Crown Princess’s position, if she wanted something, with a single command, she could get it. There was no need to go to such lengths.
Unless she was willing.
After the meal was finished, Lu Dieqing almost trotted out of the courtyard with Zheng Xuening.
The moment she went out, the little girl’s aura gradually rose.
The steps she took with her little legs became bigger, and she also became more confident.
Zheng Xuening walked by her side, looking at the girl showing her the back of her head. She quickened her pace to catch up, bent down, and asked her, “What’s wrong? Are you angry?”
When it came to coaxing people, the Crown Princess was becoming more and more skilled when it came to her little rabbit. She almost didn’t have to think about it.
Lu Dieqing took a few quick steps, stopped, and suddenly turned her head.
“…I’m not angry.”
Her exquisitely carved little face was so beautiful that her almond eyes, with a blink, seemed to have many stars flying out of them, making one’s heart soften.
“Why were you so enthusiastic with my mother just now?”
The girl couldn’t help but ask.
Zheng Xuening looked at her and thought seriously for a moment.
“Do you want to hear the truth, or a lie?”
Lu Dieqing said without thinking, “Of course, the truth.”
“You were like a different person just now. I’m not used to it…”
Zheng Xuening looked at her and slowly smiled, her shimmering phoenix eyes filled with a melting warmth.
“Because I want your mother to think that I am a reliable person who can be entrusted with a lifetime, a good match.”
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump…
In Lu Dieqing’s chest, her little heart was pounding like a drum again.
Ah, I’m going to be dazed by Ningning.
How can she be so! So good at pleasing people!
Awu, I want to eat Ningning, eat her in one bite!
