Chapter 30
Lu Dieqing was in a daze as she was half-pulled into the house by her mother and saw the table laden with dishes.
When the food was delivered, it had been in exquisitely crafted food boxes. Even now, the heat had not completely dissipated. The room was filled with the aroma of food.
Lu Dieqing recognized at a glance that these were the same dishes from their meal at Jufengxiang Restaurant today.
Now there was no doubt.
All these dishes had been sent by the Crown Princess.
But…
Lu Dieqing hadn’t yet taken the candied haw effigy off her shoulder. She held it half in her arms, her small, palm-sized face showing a mixture of confusion and regret.
When she was sharing the candied haws, she had only given Her Highness one. Because she had thought that such common folk things… Her Highness was used to a life of luxury and would probably not care for them, so she hadn’t given her more.
But as soon as she got home, she saw the dishes from today’s meal.
Someone like the Crown Princess could actually be so thoughtful and considerate, thinking of bringing things back for her parents to taste.
Sob, sob, sob. She felt an inexplicable guilt.
Lu Dieqing’s eyes reddened.
Lu He, however, thought her daughter was just overjoyed and said to her, “Ai, although I don’t know why a noble in the palace would bestow such delicious food, let’s not worry about it. Let’s treat today as the New Year. Come, Qingqing, go wash your hands and eat. Eh? Why are you carrying so many candied haws?”
It had to be said, the shock of the table full of dishes had so occupied Lu He and her husband’s thoughts that for a moment, they hadn’t even noticed the candied haw effigy Lu Dieqing was carrying.
Only after she entered the door did they realize that their daughter had not come back empty-handed, but was carrying such a large effigy on her shoulder.
“Where did this come from?” Lu He hadn’t seen candied haws in many years. Seeing so many bright red candied haws, her expression even seemed to become younger.
A brilliant smile bloomed on Lu Dieqing’s soft, tender face.
“I brought them back from outside the palace!”
Lu He was startled. “You left the palace?”
It was an unspoken rule that hostages could not leave the palace. If hostages could move about freely, they couldn’t be called a form of house arrest.
The Chaoying Kingdom was a great nation. It had conquered too many subordinate states, and being unwilling to form marriage alliances, it had taken in many hostages. For the sake of convenience, they were all crammed into the most remote palace.
Since coming to the Chaoying Kingdom, Lu He had never taken a single step outside the palace gates. She had never heard of any hostage who had been able to walk out of the palace gates while they were still alive.
Her daughter had actually left the palace today?
Lu He forgot about the table of dishes. She helped Lu Dieqing put the candied haw effigy aside and then asked what had happened.
Lu Dieqing stammered, her beautiful almond eyes looking at the candied haws, then at her mother.
“I followed behind some people and went out with them…”
When this person lied, it was very obvious. Her face was a little red, and her eyes were evasive.
Lu He was her mother. How could she not see the peculiarity?
“You. Is the imperial palace so easy to sneak out of? The guards on duty are all staring at you. Would they let you out just like that?”
Lu He herself had grown up in the Shan imperial palace. Of course, she knew how heavily guarded the palace was. Ordinary people simply couldn’t get out.
Unless one had a handwritten order from a member of the royal family, or a waist token, otherwise… wait.
Lu He suddenly remembered that a few days ago, her daughter had asked her about waist tokens. She looked at Lu Dieqing sharply and said suspiciously, “Whose waist token did you get?”
Lu He’s mind was sharp. She had immediately thought of the key point.
This only daughter of hers was good in every way, but the problem was this very “goodness.” This child couldn’t keep a secret, and her nature was too simple. This might also be related to having been in the deep palace for so long and not having read much. Although Lu He had taught her daughter how to write, the lack of books and the opportunity to broaden her horizons had inevitably made Lu Dieqing seem a little too naive about many things.
Lu Dieqing was stunned, in disbelief.
“Mother, how did you know?”
She had kept the matter of the Crown Princess giving her the waist token a closely guarded secret, not telling a single soul. But her mother had guessed it in an instant. She was truly amazing.
Lu He reached out a finger and tapped her daughter on the forehead.
“You. How many secrets could you have that I don’t know about? Out of the blue, you asked me that day who could be given a waist token by a member of the royal family. At the time, I thought you were just curious. Connecting it with today, how could I not know what’s going on?”
Lu Dieqing was extremely dejected. She hid in Lu He’s embrace, acting cute and playful.
“Mother, Mother, Mother, you’re not angry with me, are you? The person who gave me the waist token meant no harm.”
Perhaps because the Crown Princess’s reputation outside was too bad, and her mother had been sent here from afar by the defeated Shan Kingdom because of Chaoying’s overwhelming military might, Lu Dieqing was a little afraid that if her mother knew she was close to the Crown Princess, she would be sad.
Lu He rubbed her daughter’s little head and gave a look to Bai Ming beside her.
Bai Ming immediately got up, took two skewers of candied haws from the effigy, and handed them to the mother and daughter.
Lu He took the candied haws and first gave one to her daughter.
“Alright, I’m not angry with you. Hurry and have a taste. Let me see what the candied haws my daughter brought back for me from outside the palace after so much hardship taste like.”
The first bite was for Lu Dieqing.
Lu Dieqing was immediately embarrassed. She stood up from her mother’s embrace, obediently took her own candied haw, and said in a small voice, “Mother, I’m all grown up. I’m not a little child anymore.”
Hearing this, Lu He first smiled, but then, thinking that her daughter had already come of age but had not had any ceremony because she was not in the Shan Kingdom, her heart was filled with guilt and sorrow.
After a long moment, Bai Ming, who was at the side, said, “Let’s eat first. The food is getting cold.”
Only then did the family of three sit down at the table to eat.
Lu Dieqing ate the least. She had just had a full meal before, and her stomach hadn’t digested it yet. When her parents put food on her plate, Lu Dieqing shook her head like a rattle drum.
“I was full when I came back.”
She smiled guiltily, not daring to say that she had eaten with the Crown Princess.
Lu He could see that her daughter was hiding something, but she just shook her head and ate with a helpless smile.
“She’s grown up and has little secrets she doesn’t tell me anymore. Ai.”
Lu Dieqing said anxiously, “Mother!”
Lu He teased her, “If you had the ability to hide your thoughts so well that not a trace of them showed on your face, I wouldn’t have found out. Don’t you think so?”
In the future, when Qingqing returns to the Shan Kingdom, she will inevitably encounter people and things that are not so clear-cut. Occasionally, a person must also learn how to hide and disguise their emotions. Otherwise, it will be easy for others to see through her and set traps.
Listening to her mother’s words, Lu Dieqing was lost in thought.
Her first reaction was to think of the Crown Princess. The other seemed to be the kind of person who wouldn’t immediately show what was on her mind, who could hide it without a trace.
Should I learn from the Crown Princess how to be watertight?
*
Night fell.
It was time to whisper secrets to her dear little doll again.
Lu Dieqing stroked her wooden doll, feeling regretful that she hadn’t been able to buy good materials today.
But it didn’t matter. She could drip some more blood and perform the spiritual awakening again to make the doll even more spirited.
Truthfully, Lu Dieqing dreaded pain. The sting of the needle piercing her skin never lessened. Yet whenever she imagined the day her doll would finally become truly hers—a kindred spirit, heart and soul entwined—every prick felt worthwhile.
Lu Dieqing closed her eyes, took out an embroidery needle, and was about to prick her fingertip again.
“Lu Dieqing.” A voice suddenly came from her mind.
The embroidery needle nearly fell from the little girl’s hand. She subconsciously looked back.
The wooden doll lying on the bed was quietly looking at her. Its features were still lopsided, but it exuded a “living” spirit.
“Xinxin!” This time, Lu Dieqing really did drop the embroidery needle. She turned around and picked up the wooden doll.
“I’ve discovered something strange, Xinxin. It seems you only come to life at night. Where are you during the day?”
Lu Dieqing held up her wooden doll. As she looked at it with concentration, a trace of confusion appeared on her exquisite little face.
The wooden doll didn’t move, as if it hadn’t heard her words.
—Where am I during the day? With you.
