Upon hearing that Ye Jiu had more matters to attend to, Mrs. He promptly agreed, "Ah, then you better hurry, be careful, don’t overexert yourself too much, otherwise if you fall ill, your mother will be heartbroken."
"Mmm, I know." Ye Jiu replied, then left.
As he walked out of the courtyard, he saw Xiang Nan standing at the doorway.
Upon seeing Ye Jiu come out, Xiang Nan hurriedly approached and whispered, "Miss, the Prince is here, waiting in your courtyard."
Ye Jiu couldn’t believe it, "Why has he come?"
He had just left before New Year, and now he had returned after New Year’s Day. As the distinguished Prince, did he have that much spare time?
"The Prince is here to escort the shipment of sweet potatoes." Xiang Nan answered.
"Really, have we in Dongyue become so short of people that even transporting goods requires the personal intervention of the Prince? What kind of joke is this!"
Using such a poor excuse to fob her off, did she have the words ’big fool’ written on her forehead?
Xiang Nan had nothing to say; how could he, a lowly figure, guess the Prince’s thoughts.
However, thinking about it, it was highly likely that the Prince’s visit this time was specifically for the Commandery Princess.
After all, he was a father too, understanding the agony of wanting to see his daughter but being unable to.
Although she did not particularly want to welcome him, since he had come, she could not drive him away, and had to entertain him well; thus, Ye Jiu had no choice but to head back quickly.
As soon as she returned to her own small courtyard, she saw the Prince standing there. The moment he saw her return, he turned with a big smile, "My girl..."
His tightly clasped hands let Ye Jiu clearly see his helplessness. A man nearing thirty, staring at her earnestly, seemed somewhat pitiful.
No matter how hardhearted Ye Jiu tried to be, she couldn’t bring herself to ignore him.
Opening her mouth, she sweetly called out, "Father, you’ve come..."
After several months, hearing this title again made the Prince feel both sweet and sour inside.
Reaching out unreservedly, he ruffled Ye Jiu’s hair, "If this Prince did not come, you, my girl, would probably have forgotten me already, getting along so well with these people of the Ye family. How could you remember you have this real father!"
Upon hearing the Prince’s words, Ye Jiu’s first thought was that he had actually had her watched.
But then she thought, with his status, even if he was monitoring her, what could she do about it?
Not falling out with him, she could at least stay here; if they really had a fallout and he decided to take her forcefully back to the capital, it would be incredibly difficult for her to return again.
So, when facing the Prince, she absolutely couldn’t be confrontational but needed to handle him tenderly.
"Where could that be? Father, you’ve been so kind to me, you are always on my mind." Especially since every time he sent gifts, she had to rack her brain for excuses to explain them to her family.
Fortunately, Mrs. He and Old Man Ye naively thought she was adorable, which was why she had caught the Prince’s eye.
Sadly, at this moment Ye Jiu did not know that about her true origin, Old Man Ye and Mrs. He had long been aware.
Nor did she know how happy they appeared on the surface each time the Prince sent gifts, and how much sorrow they harbored privately.
Because, no matter how much they tried, they could never provide her with the honor the Prince could.
At the same time, they were constantly reflecting, whether selfishly hiding the truth they knew and keeping the child at home was right or wrong.
No matter how much they gave, they could never compare to the scant aid given effortlessly by the Prince.
This was the greatest embarrassment for them as parents.