Qingmei smiled: "Princess, this is a dish that the Marquis saw newly available at Xijiang Yue during his outing, and he specially bought it and had Chu Ping bring it back."
"If you’re hungry after practicing your calligraphy, Princess, should I heat it up for you to eat?"
Bai Zhi’er put down the brush, her big eyes sparkling with light.
"Brother Fu Ce? Hmm, I haven’t seen him in two or three days either! When he returns, let’s go to the Xiuluo Guard to find him and play together."
Qingmei nodded in agreement.
But as she lowered her eyes, she saw the words Bai Zhi’er had written.
The little one had filled the whole sheet of paper—
Mother, Zhi’er misses you.
Qingmei couldn’t help but be moved.
She softened her voice and asked, "Princess, do you miss the Empress?"
Bai Zhi’er sat in the chair, blinking her big eyes, her voice soft and obedient: "Yes! Master says that when you miss someone, you have to write it down on paper."
"Because longing is silent; when you reunite with that person one day, you can show them the longing written on the paper."
"Master also said that once it’s written down, the longing reaches the ears of others, and they will know how much you’ve missed them."
The little one lifted the paper, blowing on the ink.
"I’ve missed Mother many times, and I feel I need to write two or three more sheets!"
Qingmei felt a pang in her nose.
She began to reflect on whether she had been too harsh.
The Princess was merely a child who needed her mother’s companionship.
And Su Yinling’s presence just happened to fill Bai Zhi’er’s emptiness.
Having someone like a mother to play with her and take care of her.
Suddenly, Qingmei thought, perhaps Su Yinling’s appearance could temporarily ease the Princess’s inner distress.
At this moment, Bai Zhi’er suddenly said: "Sister Qingmei, last time I did wrong."
Qingmei quickly snapped out of her thoughts: "What did Your Highness do wrong?" Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NoveI~Fire.net
"Zhi’er shouldn’t have called you a little piggy, Sister Qingmei is smart and pretty, and little piggy is a cute creature, I shouldn’t have said that."
Hearing this, Qingmei first chuckled, and then, for some reason, couldn’t help her nose feeling sore, and she pouted and began to cry.
The little one was immediately flustered.
"Sister Qingmei, why are you crying? Are you mad at Zhi’er?"
Qingmei pulled Bai Zhi’er’s small body into her arms.
She poured out all the words in her heart without stopping.
"Princess, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been so harsh and selfish, just thinking that Su Yinling wasn’t a good person, so I didn’t like her being close."
"I forgot, Your Highness is still young and just likes having someone to accompany her, I was too selfish before!"
Bai Zhi’er wiped her tears with her little hands, smelling like milk.
She softly said: "Sister Qingmei, don’t cry, don’t cry, what does this have to do with Aunt Yinling?"
Qingmei wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
She knew saying this to the Princess, the little one wouldn’t understand.
So she laughed, surprisingly emotional, with tears still in her eyes: "It’s nothing, just thoughts from my heart, Your Highness, don’t take it seriously."
Bai Zhi’er tiptoed up and opened the food box.
"Sister Qingmei, if you stop crying, Zhi’er will reward you with something delicious, Brother Fu Ce bought it, it must be fragrant, let’s eat it together."
Qingmei couldn’t help but laugh and cry: "Thank you, Princess, for making the sacrifice, but I’m not hungry."
As the two exchanged a smile, a little palace Servant came running to the door.
"It’s bad, Your Highness, Miss Su from Xinyu Palace has fallen into the water at Qinxin Lake!"
Qingmei immediately stood up: "What?!"
The little palace Servant urgently said: "It seems she fell in while trying to pick lotus seeds for the Princess!"