Su Li had neither sympathy nor Schadenfreude for the landlady.
She had a feeling that this matter was not over yet.
If it were in a story, this would seem like the perfect ending.
The girl tormented by her stepmother finally found her happy place and lived happily ever after with the prince.
The evil stepmother and stepsister who had wronged her also received their well-deserved retribution.
Her father also finally realized his misjudgments and returned to her side, making everything so beautifully resolved.
But does real life really turn out to be this ideal?
As the saying goes, even your own teeth and tongue have their fights during chewing, let alone maintaining routine life after the passion fades.
Where is there no bump or bruise, even between mother and daughter there’s lingering resentment, and can a couple remain as close as ever?
Moreover... Cinderella was only able to become the princess because all the elements of right time, place, and people were aligned.
In fact, if there were any minor mishaps in this process, whether Cinderella could become a princess might still be another story.
For example, if the prince had known Cinderella’s true identity beforehand, he would have realized she was not the noble princess everyone thought she was.
Or, if the prince had not declared his promise in front of everyone, he might have reneged in private.
Anyway... Su Li felt that a girl’s marriage life, who transformed from a sparrow to a phoenix and ascended to the seat of a princess, would not always be smooth sailing.
But she had not expected the happy times to be so brief.
Si and others ran a small eatery still managed by the landlady.
Apart from Si and his friends, the shop had originally employed a few helpers, who had quit for various reasons.
Luckily, business was too slow to need so many workers anyway.
Compared to those helpers who always gave strange looks, the landlady preferred this group of young people.
These young men worked hard, and the young women didn’t talk too much, and even though they were always reproached by her two foolish daughters, they never genuinely seemed upset.
Quite good, quite good.
The landlady had no idea what Little Cutie and others were really thinking.
Arguing with two sisters who were clearly of below-normal intelligence, wasn’t that beneath dignity?
Caring for the intellectually disabled is everyone’s responsibility.
Fortunately, the landlady didn’t know their real thoughts or else...
It’s better not to know sometimes, perhaps ignorance is a bit more blissful.
Watching the two foolish sisters acting silly every day, their mean mouths were somehow endearing.
As long as they were not lacking food or beautiful clothes and jewelry, they managed quite well.
Su Li and the others maintained a bizarre balance living with these two foolish sisters.
After all, fools make for good entertainment; every now and then, they could enjoy the spectacle of the sisters bitterly competing against each other.
However, this tranquility was soon broken.
The landlady’s ex-husband, Cinderella’s father, came knocking.
When Su Li led the man in, his face was unnaturally awkward.
However, he quickly organized his words, not needing anyone to guess, and laid out his intentions openly.
"I would like you to visit the Imperial Palace and spend some time with my daughter in a few days... After all, you two were once mother and daughter."
"I am a man, and it is not appropriate for me to always enter and leave the palace, and she has been without a mother since she was young, plus the Princess keeps sending me letters saying she is somewhat afraid..."
The former wife didn’t wait for her ex-husband to finish speaking, cutting him off with a cold laugh, "Do you think I’m stupid, or do you think I’m a foolish nice person?"
Su Li also joined in, sitting beside them and cracking sunflower seeds.
In the many worlds she had been to, it seemed that men always shared a common trait.
They always seemed to think they could move a woman with the cheapest of sentiments and request favors without the proper attitude of asking.
Even knowing that his second wife was a person who prioritized interests above all else, he did not change this perception.
He was just instinctively trying to achieve his goal without paying any price.
Is there really such a good deal in the world?
Seeing his ex-wife speak without a trace of sentiment, Cinderella’s father was displeased, but the merchant’s slickness allowed him to keep some of his emotions in check, adding, "I can offer you some benefits..."
Though rumors outside continuously claimed that this evil stepmother was very unkind to her stepdaughter in recent years, being a shrewd businessman, he could see that his second wife was not so malicious.
Otherwise, he would have separated from her long ago, and why else would he trust her so much to manage all his household and business affairs?
Madam: "I want your most profitable shop."
"That’s impossible..."
"It seems your love for your daughter really isn’t much then."
After a lengthy negotiation, Cinderella’s father agreed to give two fairly good shops he owned to his ex-wife.
Su Li didn’t expect that the Madam would ignore the requests of her two foolish daughters who also clamored to see the palace and instead insisted that Su Li accompany her.
Regarding this, she didn’t explain; in front of the two silly sisters, she always wielded iron-fisted tyranny, practicing a tyrant’s rule of absolute authority.
Anyone who disagreed would be corrected until they complied.
The sisters dared not vent their anger at their mother, but they were unreservedly rude to Su Li.
They had always disliked this beautiful woman.
However, though they could glare daggers at her, they dared not verbally abuse Su Li.
They always felt there was something quite terrifying about her.
Si and the others also found it strange that the Madam was going to see Cinderella, but why bring someone along?
Su Li simply raised an eyebrow, casting a meaningful glance at the Madam.
Cinderella’s father seemed very anxious; he had left from here in the morning, and right after midday, the carriage to pick them up was already waiting at the door.
It seemed he truly was very eager alongside paternal love.
Su Li didn’t object and obediently followed the Madam into the carriage.
She was also curious about how the ending of an "end" fairy tale story would develop.
The Prince’s Imperial Palace still resided within Fairy Tale Town, only in a direction opposite to where they were currently, requiring half a day’s journey by carriage.
Only as darkness fell did the carriage finally approach and view the spires of the Imperial Palace in the distance.
By the time they reached the gates of the palace, it took quite some time, and Cinderella, who had now become the Princess, was already anxiously waiting at the iron gate.
Seeing Cinderella, the Madam’s face unbelievably showed a shocked expression, her gaze sweeping over her again and again, still unable to believe that the person in front of her was her stepdaughter.