Chapter 13

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Huang Gao was still deep in thought when a white pair of pants flew over and landed directly on his sleeve.

Zhao Yi cleaned his hands, saying, “Take it away and dispose of it.”

Huang Gao looked at the white pants and was a little surprised because Zhao Yi hadn’t been like this since he turned 20.

Huang Gao was a man, so he naturally understood.

He previously thought that His Highness was pure of heart and had few worldly desires.

He snickered, and the folds on his face instantly squished together, leaving him looking quite lewd.

Zhao Yi glanced coldly at him, so he immediately changed his expression and respectfully left with the pants.

A group of imperial court maids came in and dressed him. He looked down and saw the hand that put the waistband on him.

This hand was as fair as Li Baojia’s—slender and full of feminine softness.

But it didn’t feel right.

It didn’t feel like that.

He sometimes wondered if Li Baojia had controlled his mind.

Since the last time he saw her, he has always unconsciously remembered her little face that was crying.

Her tangled and restless little hands in front of her clothes had made him unforgettable.

And last night, he even…

He now suddenly wanted to see her.

He counted the days and found that it was time for her to bring the soup again.

So he said to Huang Gao, who was serving beside him, “There is no need to stop Li Baojia if she comes to deliver soup again today.”

Huang Gao thought he had misheard and subconsciously froze. “What?”

Then he understood and said, “Okay.”

He felt that he still needed more practice because he had been increasingly unable to read His Highness recently.

Huang Gao wondered why His Highness always looked indifferent if he liked the girl. And Grand Preceptor Li had tried several times, but he still did not agree.

And he even made the girl cry last time.

But why did he give her the privilege to deliver the soup if he had no interest in her?

Huang Gao really did not know what this meant.

The Li family’s house.

As the fifteenth day of every month was the day to pay respects to Old Mrs. Li, Li Baojia should have gotten up early.

However, Old Mrs. Li had gone to Yunfu Mountain a month ago to pray and had not yet returned.

And since yesterday, Taotao has been brooding over the fact that the crown prince does not like Li Baojia, so she didn’t wake her up to deliver the soup.

Therefore, Li Baojia slept well today and got up only at sunrise.

She felt refreshed after she woke up. She really had a good night’s sleep.

She sat quietly and let Taotao and the maids do her hair. Then, seeing that the sun was shining outside, she suddenly wanted to go out for a stroll.

After returning, she was so busy with all kinds of things that she didn’t go for a walk.

And she didn’t hear from Sister Jiaying either. Moreover, it would make Sister Jiaying very tired if she went every day since she was pregnant, so she planned to reduce the frequency of visiting the assistant minister’s residence before Assistant Minister Zhang returned.

Then she took Taotao out, wanting to go to the rouge and jewelry stores she used to visit.

When the carriage arrived on the east street, she took Taotao off the carriage and walked around the street.

The imperial court was not particularly strict on the prevention of men and women. Except for those who married into the imperial palace, ordinary, unmarried ladies and women were free to go out.

Li Baojia and Taotao usually did not go out much, so they were excited looking at the dazzling stores and various snacks.

The two had a string of sugar-coated haws in one hand, and Taotao also had a hot-baked chestnut cake and hawthorn cake in her other hand. They looked busy but happy.

Finally, she bit into the hawthorn cake and entered a store called Liuyun Pavilion.

This store was not big, but it occupied the most central location in the east street, where every inch of land was expensive. However, it was pretty popular among Imperial City’s noblewomen. The new styles of headwear and jewelry found there always brought about a new trend among the girls in Imperial City.

However, not everyone was able to afford to spend money there. Li Baojia’s mother was from the Huang family of Yang Province, a famous family with a deep background. Therefore, her dowry was naturally a lot, and she was usually generous enough to give her daughter some pocket money.

Even so, Li Baojia would only go there to buy a set of top-quality headwear from time to time.

So not to mention the girls from ordinary families. And those from poor families had never even been in the shop.

But she was not there to buy something for herself. Instead, old Mrs. Li’s birthday was coming up in a month, and she wanted to buy a small Buddha statue as a birthday present.

Old Mrs. Li was very religious and attached great importance to bloodline inheritance and family status.

Therefore, she initially disagreed when Madam Qin wanted to marry into the Li family. However, because of Li Wangde’s insistence and the fact that she did not want Li Rulan to be humiliated in Duke Guangping’s family because of her identity as a concubine’s daughter, she finally agreed.

She had been different to Li Baojia since Li Baojia was a child. The first daughter of a legal wife carried a different weight with her, and she always thought of Li Baojia when there was something good.

Madam Qin was quite dissatisfied with this. Both were the children of Li Wangde, so why was there such favoritism?

And although Li Wangde spoiled Madam Qin, he could do nothing about his mother. Even when Old Mrs. Li gave jewelry to Li Baojia several times, he just ignored it.

Huang Ru’er, Li Baojia’s mother, naturally loved her, but she had a long history of resentment because of Madam Qin. Therefore, whenever she was with Li Baojia, she would talk about Madam Qin and the crown prince and urge Li Baojia to bring credit to her.

So over time, Li Baojia and Old Mrs. Li’s relationship became the closest in the family, and she would go to Old Mrs. Li’s place whenever she was free.

Just as she entered the store, the staff of Liuyun Pavilion greeted her. “What would you like?”

Li Baojia said, “I want to buy a small Buddha statue, and it should be made of gold. How long would it take?”

Then a clear female voice came from the back. “Are you going to send a gift?”

Li Baojia turned her head and saw a woman wearing a green shirt and a white skirt. She had a pair of pretty eyebrows, and her face wasn’t overly made up. And her eyes were so attractive that people couldn’t take their eyes away.

It was Su Ruhui.

Li Baojia curled her lips. If it had been before, she might have been fooled by Su Ruhui’s innocent appearance, but after living together in the East Palace for five years, she knew Su Ruhui very well.

Su Ruhui was not as desireless as she appeared. She was very ambitious.

Li Baojia had not been to the various celebrity and noble girls’ banquets after returning because she did not want to meet Su Ruhui.

She didn’t know why Su Ruhui wanted to approach her all the time.

She was not good at getting along with people with her character. If not, she would probably have been Su Ruhui’s best friend.

So Li Baojia just glanced at her and then turned back to discuss the size, price, and style of the small Buddha statue with the staff.

Su Ruhui froze. She had never been ignored so openly before.

She held back her anger and took a deep breath. Then she said, “Sending a gold Buddha statue is in poor taste. Instead, why not send some paintings and calligraphy? They are special and…”

Li Baojia turned to Taotao and said, “Pay the deposit.”

Li Baojia ignored Su Ruhui during the entire process and went straight out after paying the deposit.

Anyway, she did not need to live with such women in the East Palace in this life. So just let those women in the East Palace compete with one another. She did not want to be involved this time.

Su Ruhui stood in place, and her gaze was a little gloomy. Then, finally, the maid next to her said, “Miss, she is too arrogant. It was only that her father was the crown prince’s teacher…”

The corner of Su Ruhui’s mouth twitched. “But she is currently the most likely person in Imperial City to become the crown princess. So if I successfully enter the imperial palace, I won’t be able to avoid dealing with her.”