Chapter 343

The lotus flowers at Prince Qi's residence were arranged by Princess Consort of Qi when the Fǔguó Gōng residence held a banquet earlier; she had the idea and asked someone to arrange them.

Now the temperature is just right, the lotus has opened more than half, looking very gorgeous and bright.

Song Kuan had been stunned by the lotus before; seeing Ren Shu Han's bewildered look, he didn't want to embarrass his companions, so he invited her to go see the lotus together.

Meng Jiangdong listened on the side, shaking his little head: "This is good, let's go look!"

Both companions said they wanted to go; Ren Shu Han pressed her lips and smiled in reply.

The three of them went together to see the lotus; before long, Sui Sui and the others also came over.

The companions happily viewed the lotus, had dinner, played a while longer, then each returned to their rooms to sleep.

Ren Shu Han still clung to Sui Sui, and Sui Sui also liked this gentle older sister, holding her hand and saying, "Older sister long, older sister short, older sister is good here, older sister is pretty there."

Ren Shu Han had never seen such straightforward praise; facing Sui Sui like this, being praised made her feel a bit light-headed, as if her steps were not touching the ground.

She thought, this feeling is not only not bad, it also makes her very happy.

Ren Shu Han thought, she likes Sui Sui, such a cute little sister.

Compared to those sisters in the residence…

That sense of contrast became even stronger.

If she weren't the residence's princess, Ren Shu Han would even ask her mother to bring her back to the residence to be her own little sister.

Who wouldn't love such an adorable, utterly sincere child? Ren Shu Han felt that holding Sui Sui's hand while falling asleep made her feel as if even her dreams were filled with a honey-like sweetness.

The next day, the weather was overcast, the air humid throughout, looking as if it were about to rain.

Today there was no early court, but Prince Qi was still not free.

The Empress Dowager, because of the matter of Princess Yangyang's remains, has been lingering sick in bed, not improving, and Prince Qi also worries.

So today he still needs to enter the palace.

However, he didn't need to leave early, so Prince Qi fed Sui Sui her morning meal, watched her go to class, and only then prepared to depart the residence.

As a result, before he could leave, a report came from the gatehouse: people from the He mansion had arrived.

Master He brought his wife and the Fourth Young Master He Dai to the door to express their thanks.

They had previously said that once the prince returned to the residence, they would certainly come in person to express their thanks.

They didn't come yesterday because they considered that everyone had to attend early court and there were governmental duties to attend to, so they avoided it.

Today everyone is relatively free, and Master He even took a half-day off specially to come over.

Upon hearing that the He mansion had arrived, Prince Qi did not rush to leave; he signaled the gatehouse to receive them politely, while he himself led the residence's staff out to greet them.

The He mansion brought over as much as two carriages' worth of thank-you gifts.

Those who originally kidnapped He Dai were also remnants of the Su family.

Because Elder He is a minister of the Da Li Si, they wanted to kidnap He Dai, this noble and precious young master, to threaten Elder He into submission.

To this end, they also sacrificed many deeply buried covert agents.

Over the past month and a half, the emperor's side has followed these covert agents and uncovered many more remnants of the Su family.

Actually, it's not entirely Su family remnants; there are also many remnants of other people.

However, the Su family remnants are numerous and powerful, and with someone behind the scenes guiding them, others have also joined in.

After Master He brought his wife and He Dai inside, the He couple first clasped their hands in salute; receiving Prince Qi's gesture that no ceremony was needed, Master He hurriedly pulled He Dai over.

He Dai used to be very lively, with a streak of unreasonable arrogance in his nature.

He is only ten years old this year, young, indulged by his parents, doted on by his grandmother, and also cherished by his aunt the Noble Consort; with so many people pampering him, it's not surprising that his nature has become twisted.

After experiencing the kidnapping, He Dai has become much more honest.

At this moment, he knelt properly and performed a great salute to Prince Qi and his consort.

Regarding the rescue, Master He actually doesn't know the details; coming to the residence today, he also intends to ask and express his gratitude.

Prince Qi graciously accepted He Dai's salute.

He is a junior, and I indeed saved him.

However, Sui Sui also truly saved the person.

So, after the rites were completed and everyone sat down to chat, Prince Qi frankly said: "That day, it was also my obedient eyes that saw it; otherwise, I would not have noticed the abnormality of that carriage."

Upon hearing that, Master He immediately understood that this 'obedient one' was the residence's young princess.

In a few days will be the small banquet for her identity; Master He thought that then he would prepare a heavy gift.

The original gift was already not light, but if there is also a life-saving favor, then this gift must be changed.

Madame He was also pondering this matter in her heart.

What should be given? The gift she had prepared was a set of ruby headpieces, extremely splendid and precious.

Now thinking about it, Madame He feels it's not enough, far from enough.

Just a set of headpieces; even if the gems are precious, what treasures does the Prince Qi residence not have?

So, what should be changed to? Madame He smiled and chatted while pondering in her heart.

Soon she thought of a certain treasure.

That was a hairpin crown bestowed by Noble Consort He two years ago, with a gold base and pearl decorations.

That hairpin crown is noble yet not lacking in elegance.

The base of gold shines brightly, radiating a wealthy luster; the pearls used as decoration, about a thousand in number, varying in size, are strung together into pearl strings, finally formed into tassels, unevenly lengthened as decoration, making the hairpin crown appear noble and elegant.

The hairpin crown was originally bestowed by His Majesty; Noble Consort He was initially quite pleased with it, but later she took a liking to something else, so she bestowed it upon Madame He on her birthday.

Madame He felt the hairpin crown was too ostentatious, and moreover, given her age, it seemed unsuitable to wear, so she had kept it pressed at the bottom of a chest.

Her original plan was to wait until her eldest son's marriage, then take it out as a betrothal gift to demonstrate the He family's sincerity.

However, now it could be considered to take it out as a life-saving thank-you gift for the Fourth Young Master.

Madame He had formed an idea in her heart, but her expression showed not the slightest sign of it.

Sui Sui was still in class; after Master He heard about it, he had no intention of disturbing her, and simply expressed his thanks repeatedly.

After everyone exchanged pleasantries for a while, Prince Qi naturally wanted to keep them for a meal.

Master He had originally intended to refuse, but thinking he had not yet met the Young Lady of the Commandery, he politely declined a bit and then agreed.

When Sui Sui was eating lunch, she saw guests arriving at the Residence.

She tilted her head, blankly looking at the unfamiliar adult and at a somewhat chubby little boy, then quickly turned her head to look at Feng Xuanrui: "Brother, who are they……"

That day, although she had seen He Dai's face from afar, at that time He Dai was quite disheveled, clearly unlike the well‑groomed, aristocratic young master before her.

Sui Sui naturally did not recognize the person, and she was still a bit dazed.

The second watch.