Harem Daily Life

Chapter 823 1 I feel close to you when I see you

"Where is the second brother? I can't see him anymore." He Xiaobao looked everywhere for him but couldn't find him. He was so anxious that he turned around and around and asked He Xuan.

He Xuan wiped his mouth and said, "Your second brother said he wanted to meet up with his classmates today, so he asked for leave from mother. You'll be able to see him tomorrow."

He Xiaobao tilted his head, looking unhappy: "I want to go out and play, go out and play." Normally, when he attended banquets, it was always his second prince who took care of him. Today, his second prince was not there, and He Xiaobao felt a little lonely.

He also didn't expect the Crown Prince to play with him, because the Crown Prince was always quarreling with the Fifth Princess. The two of them were either fighting over food or toys, which was too childish.

He Xuan looked around and saw that she had almost finished eating, so she took He Xiaobao's hand and pulled him out of the main hall and went to the side hall.

Princess Ding received the look from Prince Ding and had no choice but to stand up and leave the main hall. She stayed outside for a while and easily found the side hall.

The maids knew that this was Princess Ding, so they naturally did not stop her. He Xuan was quite surprised. She stepped forward and greeted her, and Princess Ding directly held her hand.

He Xuan hadn't expected Princess Ding to be so enthusiastic, even more so than her own grandmother, the Queen Mother. Princess Ding looked He Xuan up and down and couldn't help but praise her, "The eldest princess is truly beautiful. I met your mother back then, and she was already a very graceful young lady when she was your age."

Mentioning her deceased mother, especially during this festival of family reunion, couldn't help but make He Xuan feel a little sad.

Princess Ding noticed her expression was off, so she sighed, "Look at me, I'm always bringing up things that shouldn't be brought up. Okay, enough about that. I just couldn't help but think of her when I saw you looked a bit like your mother. By the way, how have you been these past few years?"

He Xuan calmed herself down, helped Princess Ding sit down, and said, "My mother has been dead for many years. All these years, I have been raised by Queen Mother Tao. Queen Mother has been very kind to me and treated me as her own child. I have been doing well."

Princess Ding smiled and said, "I see that Empress Tao is very young. The fact that she treats you this way shows how kind she is. The moment I saw you, I felt a sense of familiarity. You are about the same age as my granddaughter. I was supposed to bring her here today to meet you cousins, but unfortunately, she... has a chronic illness and doesn't like to go out. I'll send a carriage to pick you up another day. You can stay at our Ding Palace for a few days. Is that okay?"

He Xuan was stunned. Although she had stayed at other people's houses before, the places she had stayed at were the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion and the Tao family. She had never stayed overnight and was always taken back that night. After thinking about it, she refused, "We must ask Queen Mother before going out. Only with Queen Mother's consent can we go out."

After mentioning the Queen, Princess Ding couldn't say anything more, so she smiled and said, "That's right. After all, the harem is under the Queen's jurisdiction, so it's only natural to get her consent."

To avoid embarrassment, He Xuan asked about the condition of Princess Ding's granddaughter: "I wonder what illness your granddaughter has? Has she consulted a doctor in the capital?"

A flicker of nervousness crossed Princess Ding's face as she evaded the question, "It's not really an illness, she's just shy of strangers and likes to stay in her room. When she was in her fiefdom, a few of her friends would come over to spend time with her. Now that she's back in the capital, she doesn't have any playmates, so she's even less inclined to go out. If you have time, go and keep her company, okay? After all, her mother and I are elders, and we can't get along."

He Xuan was a well-behaved and kind-hearted person. The person in front of her was a grandmother who loved her granddaughter, so she did not refuse outright.

"Well, if there's a chance, I'll go visit you."

Seeing that the first step of trust had been established, Princess Ding stood up to say goodbye. Before leaving, she took off a jade green bracelet from her hand and insisted on giving it to He Xuan as a gift. He Xuan couldn't refuse, so she had to accept it, thinking that she would return the gift when she had the chance.

He Xiaobao, who was playing nearby, looked at Princess Ding who had left, then looked at his elder sister, and asked curiously, "Who is she? She didn't talk to the baby."

He Xuan finally came to her senses. Princess Ding had indeed spoken to her the moment she came over, without even bothering to greet the little boy beside her. She frowned. No other wives had ever been like this before; they had always only greeted her.

Suppressing her doubts, He Xuan took He Xiaobao outside to play for a while. Until He Xiaobao yawned and it was almost time for him to go to bed, she took Xiaobao back to the banquet and handed him over to his wet nurse.

Looking at the bracelet on her hand, He Xuan thought for a moment, then quietly took it off and handed it to the maid beside her, asking her to go back and find a box to put it away.

Three days later, Princess Ding returned to the palace, specifically to invite the eldest princess to her residence for a gathering. Tao Yanyan looked at Princess Ding, who had arrived accompanied by Consort Xian, and said with a smile, "Xuan'er is indeed the most gentle and graceful woman in her daily life, and is well-liked by the elders. Let me ask her if she has any plans today. If not, I'll let her stay for half a day and bring her back in the evening."

Princess Ding thought that a few hours would be enough, so she smiled and chatted with her friends, waiting for the Queen to ask.

As soon as Tao Yanyan left the main hall, he asked Qingfeng, "When did Princess Ding become close to Xuan'er? She came here directly to invite him today, which means they must have met and spoken before."

Qingfeng thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps it was during the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet. It would be impossible to encounter it at any other time."

Tao Yanyan didn't bother to guess, so he asked directly after meeting He Xuan. He Xuan didn't hide anything and told him about the day when Princess Ding came to greet her and mentioned her granddaughter's illness. She also asked her maid to find the bracelet Princess Ding had given her and show it to Tao Yanyan.

"Mother, I cannot refuse, so I have to accept it. I have also prepared a gift in return. Why don't you take it to me, Mother? I don't want to owe her a favor."

The maid brought another headdress for Tao Yanyan to see. Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "Your mother will come back later. You can keep this box."

After having the maid take off the headdress, Tao Yanyan said, "Princess Ding said she wants you to go to her house to meet her granddaughter, your distant cousin. She said you are well-behaved and lovely, and you are sensible. She wants her granddaughter to get close to you and become your close friend. Do you want to go?"

Thinking about how she had already promised Princess Ding that day, and now that she had come to invite her personally, He Xuan said, "She's mentioned it twice already, so I'll go. I'll go quickly and come back soon. I won't stay any longer."

Tao Yanyan respected He Xuan's opinion. The little girl was already fifteen years old, and she couldn't control her all the time and make all the decisions for her, so she nodded and said, "Then go with her later. I'll send someone to pick you up in the evening."

Princess Ding, who successfully received He Xuan, suppressed her fear and returned to Prince Ding's Mansion chatting and laughing all the way.

He Xuan was taken to the room of the eldest lady of the mansion. As soon as she entered, she felt something was wrong. Several maids were also frightened by the dark room.