Chapter 175: Eat When There's Nothing Else to Do

Jiaru, as soon as she heard, stepped forward to reach for it; Little Prince quickly stopped her and ordered the servant to wash a plate as well.

Ru'er glared at Li Longji with dissatisfaction, "These are all mine, you can't eat!"

"Hehe, Little Prince doesn't eat, doesn't eat, it's all yours."

At that moment Qiao Mai finally saw him, "Ah, you were only attending to your sister and I forgot about you."

"Sister, you're being too courteous!"

Qiao Mai handed the letter and the Memorial in her bosom to Jiaru, "This is a family letter, and this Memorial is from Uncle asking you to deliver it to the Emperor."

"Weicheng's snow disaster, we've all heard about it; there should indeed be a protocol."

"Lord Wang's Memorial was submitted half a month ago, and we haven't received a reply; could it have been held back by someone?"

"It's not that there's no reply; it's that the Emperor's dragon body is in poor condition, and he's currently convalescing."

"I don't want to, but it can't be stopped; he's a Prince, but he promised not to take any consorts within five years."

"I've been coming and going for half a month; there's a pile of household matters. What else do you want to eat? I'll go out for a walk this afternoon and fetch it for you."

At this point the Meal arrived, they sat together eating, but Ru'er barely took a bite, only eating fruit.

When the mirror was carried in by a servant, Ru'er hurried to have it delivered to her bedroom.

Ru'er took out 50,000 taels of silver from her private stash and handed it to Qiao Mai.

"If you don't take it, aren't we no longer sisters?"

She took out the things she wanted, moved out two more baskets, bought from the Platform a box of spicy strips, a box of popcorn, a box of rice crisps, a box of plum‑flavored lollipops, "Eat them when you have nothing to do, treat her like a child to play with."

After the Meal, Little Prince went out on business; Jiaru took her hand into her bedroom, had the Wang Jiaru's Servant Girl open all the boxes containing mirrors, checked for any broken ones, then had someone give the old Princess a dressing mirror and a vanity mirror, then gave the current Princess a large and a small mirror, and finally dispatched the remaining mirrors one by one.

"Little Prince is already married, are they still thinking about it?"

Qiao Mai gave her a glance, thinking to herself "Hopefully," it's like that—cunning but too kind‑hearted; in such a family, a soft heart will always be taken advantage of.

"Mm, it's fine, it's just that when going out for socializing, you always run into rivals."

"Those aren't worth 50,000 taels; add these."

She hurried out of Wangfu in a carriage; when she arrived, fortunately she had an extra ounce of shrewdness and brought a few small jars of home‑made pickled vegetables: sour cabbage, kimchi, spicy cabbage, and spicy dried radish.

"The sour stuff shouldn't be eaten in excess; just a moderate amount, okay?"

Jiaru came over, smiled, took the medicine, and shoved it straight into her bosom.

"This is a bottle of fetal‑protecting medicine; you must keep it safe, preferably not use it."

"Mm, mm, I will become stronger gradually."

"Stay a few days before leaving?" Ru'er tugged her hand, cooing.

Little Prince shook his head, "The saint's heart is inscrutable; this Memorial can't be delivered, the Wang Jiaru's Old Servant can't read it now."

"So will you still give me the silver?"

"Then use these five years to give birth properly, to grow well; once you have side concubines and secondary wives, things will become chaotic—your life, your child's, will be like traversing endless mountains of fire and sea every day."

Before coming, she specially refined a batch of fetal‑protecting pills.

Qiao Mai looked out the window, truly speechless; this little thing that climbs the pole so smoothly is really unabashed.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll leave!"

She was nagging when she heard a horse whinny at the door; she quickly got up and ran outward, and the Wang Jiaru's Servant Girls, startled, hurriedly grabbed her, carefully supporting her as they led her outside.

"As long as it touches meat, touches raw fish, I want to vomit," Qiao Mai shook her head, thinking, "Fortunately I have three Dizi and one daughter, I don't have to get pregnant again; seeing a woman like this scares me."

At this moment Little Prince walked in from outside, saw baskets everywhere on the ground, and laughed, saying.

He gave Qiao Mai a deep look, but she didn't respond to his words.

Ru'er, that pig‑brain, trusts Qiao Mai too much; can she really go out once and bring all this from home? She doesn't even think it through.

"As a mother, be firm; even if you married into this place, you must face all this, otherwise your child will suffer."

"Oh? The Crown Prince doesn't act as regent? No one handles state affairs?"

"Keep them to eat slowly; some can be kept, some cannot; figure it out yourself."

Qiao Mai smiled, poured herself a cup of hot tea and took a few sips.

Qiao Mai glanced at her belly; now her spiritual perception could extend a hundred meters outward, and she saw only two tiny spots attached to Ru'er's uterine wall.

"Can you eat spicy? I also got you some of my pickled spicy radish."

"Wow, wow, wow, they're all so tasty!"

"Do you want him to take a concubine?"

"With your good words, I'll give birth to a pair of dragon‑phoenix twins."

Ru'er's little mouth fell silent, "So scary."

Ru'er opened her two watery big eyes, as if she had suffered a great grievance.

"Can't."

The servants got onto the carriage, hurried to move things into the house, while Ru'er stood aside, salivating.

"It must be twins; this Wang Jiaru's Servant Girl is fortunate, she doesn't even need to break the news—when the month advances, any Daifu can deliver twins."

"Mm, sister, I know you're hungry; wait, the Meal will arrive soon, I'll eat with you."

"Hehe."

"Got it, I'll go out to look for it now; tomorrow morning I'll leave, I won't talk to you anymore."

"Mm‑hmm."

"Ru'er?"

"This is capital; you need capital to buy these, right?"

She would rather be injured and bleed than become pregnant.

But when Little Prince placed the fruit before her, she instantly smiled and began eating joyfully,

"Big sister got her these snacks again, what a skill!"

No choice, Qiao Mai took several hair ornaments from the cross‑body bag she always carried and gave them to Ru'er.

Jiaru slept through until dusk, opened her eyes and looked for Qiao Mai; when she asked, she learned that she still hadn't returned.

"Don't be ridiculous, you and I are sisters forever."

"You're being both sour and spicy; it can't be a dragon‑phoenix twin, can it?"

"Fine, drop it. First I treat my husband well, then my child, then your grandfather and grandmother, and only then do I get to you."

"Take a nap."

"I ate some sour fruit at noon, so now I don't feel as nauseous or want to vomit."

When she entered the Keting, she circled around the food.

"Ah, the Prince can have side consorts and concubines; you know the royal concubines aren't like those of ordinary families."

"Haha, I don't care; I think you're the best to me, and that's the best."

"Can—"

"Spicy strips, eat them."

"I got you something to eat, really owe you; you still worry about me?"

"Your little mouth is sweet; no wonder Little Prince likes you so much. You've been married to him for so long—how's life here for you?"

Qiao Mai got up and left, truly couldn't bear it; a pregnant woman seemed to have turned into another person. I thought she would grow a bit, but unexpectedly she shrank instead.

"Alright, find more of the things I want to eat, okay?"

"I want taro, I want bamboo shoots, I want your family's sticky Corn, I want strawberries."

"Coming back only now, you scared me to death."

Qiao Mai directly put the Memorial back into her bosom; after Ru'er finished reading the letter, she wiped her tears.

"Can't we stay a few more days?"

"Hehe, thanks sister, I knew sister is best to me."

"Everything sister gives is good."

"Alright, thanks Little Princess!"

It is said most pregnant women love this bite, so a jar was pulled out from a space like a pocket.

"Quickly wash the taro clean and steam a few; what is this?"

"Mmm, so tasty—popcorn, crispy rice, haha, I also love to eat."

"Think again about what to eat; tomorrow when I set off I'll start the journey back."

"Nothing else; once my pregnancy stabilizes, I'll go back to see you."

When Little Prince heard this, he set his face sternly, "Even if the pregnancy is stable, you mustn't wander recklessly. The road is bumpy; if you miss your family, invite your father‑in‑law and mother‑in‑law over. This is my first child, it must be well cared for."

"Hmph, you're being overbearing; I won't bother with you."

(End of chapter)