Xia Zheng received the look from Lin Yuan and cracked a slight smile, shaking his head. He knew his mother best, and even after hearing about all this, it wasn’t a matter of looking down on them, it would be good enough if she could hold back her tears.
Xiao Linshuang sat on her older sister’s lap, and started telling Princess Anle about their family’s misfortunes, from Lady Liu’s childbirth to the early death of their first brother, from Lin Jiaxin breaking his leg to the point where he could now stand up, to Lin Yuan’s near-drowning in a pig cage at the hands of her grandparents and uncles, and now her transformation into the boss of two shops. She even spoke about Lin Yuan’s reputation as the Little Disaster Star, not omitting a single detail.
The little girl was young, and sometimes her words didn’t quite flow together, but Princess Anle not only showed no signs of irritation or impatience, she actually grew more and more excited. In the end, she had the poor little girl sit on her own lap.
Xia He and Qiu Ju stared wide-eyed at the woman holding the little girl tenderly, scarcely able to believe this was their madam.
After listening to Xiao Linshuang’s rambling story, Princess Anle let out a long sigh, "I really didn’t expect, that such things could happen."
Qiu Ju bowed and handed Princess Anle a handkerchief, softly consoling her, "Madam, not everyone is as kind-hearted as you. Didn’t my own father sell me just to feed my younger brother? Miss Xiaolin is actually quite fortunate. At least, she has a loving father, and a very capable older sister."
After speaking, she gave Lin Yuan an admiring glance. Was this young lady really only twelve years old? Hearing the hardships Xiao Linshuang had just described, it was hard to imagine they were endured by the frail girl smiling so sweetly before her. When she herself was twelve, she was still crying and pleading with her father not to sell her. If she had had the courage and boldness of the young girl at that time, she believed she wouldn’t have been sold so easily to the human trafficker by her own father.
Princess Anle wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes with the handkerchief and nodded, clasping Lin Yuan’s small hand tightly in hers, "Good child, you have suffered."
Lin Yuan had not expected that Princess Anle would truly not disdain her for all this—especially when Xiao Linshuang mentioned her nickname Little Disaster Star and the incident of her wielding a kitchen knife. At that moment, she was actually very nervous. As the villagers used to say, which family would accept a notorious and fierce woman like her?
However, the compassion in Princess Anle’s eyes was genuine. She really felt for her, didn’t want to let her go. For Lin Yuan, aside from Lady Liu, this was the first time she felt this kind of sentiment from an outsider.
Lin Yuan smiled and shook her head, feeling an urge to act spoiled in her embrace, "I’m not wronged."
Princess Anle saw her defiance and strength and nodded inwardly, "It’s good that you’re all better now. Your mother finally has given birth to a little brother, and your father’s leg is also about to heal. What’s more, you girl, you’ve even become the boss of Fuman Building. I’ve heard that your tofu is so good that even in the Capital city, people are remembering it all the time."
Princess Anle glanced at Xia Zheng with a smile. Even though she hadn’t specified who it was, Xia Zheng understood.
At the time, in order to get the Emperor to speak well of him to his father, he had secretly sent someone to deliver a batch of freshly made tofu to the Capital city at breakneck speed. Unexpectedly, even though Lin Yuan didn’t make it herself, the tofu still won that person’s favor. That person even sent several letters, asking him to send more.
Xia Zheng was no fool. He wouldn’t do anything without an ulterior motive. He had been keeping the Emperor’s appetite on a string for so long, and now that his mother had come, she even brought up the matter. It seemed that the Old Emperor was truly longing for that tofu, having asked Princess Anle about it personally.