Di Daughter's Strategy - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

In the pavilion, several people were chatting idly, and the atmosphere was pleasant. Luo Yi’er had already drunk three cups of cloud and mist tea, but she still hadn’t seen Luo Qian return. Her eyes lightly scanned the crowd and she asked Qingya with a smile: “Has County Lord Anru, not come over today?”

Qingya looked around and didn’t see her, which also surprised her: “The people in the mansion said she came, maybe she went somewhere else.”

She took a sip of tea and glanced at Prince Fang Jinyu, whispering in Luo Yi’er’s ear: “Hey, doesn’t she know fifth royal brother is here? Otherwise, given her personality, she wouldn’t have gone elsewhere.”

Luo Yi’er was listening calmly at first, but when Qingya’s words became more and more outrageous, she quickly glared at her and scolded her softly: “Don’t talk nonsense, what if someone hears you?”

Qingya shook her arm, her elegant eyebrows curved with a smile, and she whispered: “She dares to do it, so why can’t others talk about it?” As she said this, her eyes involuntarily showed a hint of admiration. Sometimes she wished she could be like Anru, boldly expressing her feelings to the person she liked, but she didn’t dare.

Just as she finished speaking, she saw a figure in red walking quickly towards them. She smiled lightly: “Look, she’s here.”

Luo Yi’er turned to look and saw Anru coming from a distance. She understood the situation and smiled warmly, reminding Qingya: “Be more reserved.”

Luo Yi’er saw the woman in red and couldn’t help but glance at Prince Fang Jinyu. She happened to see him looking at her, and Luo Yi’er’s eyes paused, her charming eyes slightly stunned. Then she lightly bit her lip and turned her head away, raising her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, accidentally revealing her fair and jade-like neck.

Prince Fang Jinyu lowered his eyes, and a hint of emotion rippled in his heart, making his eyes slightly darker. The sound of light footsteps approached, and he raised his head again, looking at the newcomer with a gentle smile.”Anru pays her respects to the Prince of Wen!”

As soon as Anru stepped into the pavilion, she saw Prince Fang Jinyu’s figure, and her eyes showed a hint of shyness, but also involuntarily revealed joy. She bowed and curtsied crisply, her red sleeves fluttering, and then she raised her head with a smile.

Prince Fang Jinyu seemed not to notice her thoughts and gently raised his hand: “Anru, no need to be formal.”

“Thank you, Prince Wen.”

Anru had always liked Prince Fang Jinyu’s gentle and refined demeanor, and now her face turned slightly red. She glanced at Prince Fang Jinyu’s attendants, hinting for someone to make room for her. One of them was about to stand up, but Prince Fang Jinyu cast a calm glance at him. The attendant froze and then lowered his head, as if he hadn’t noticed Anru’s hint.

Anru didn’t see Wang Fang Jinyu’s glance, and when she saw the attendant didn’t move, her brows furrowed. She wanted to get angry but didn’t want to lose her composure in front of Prince Fang Jinyu. She pouted slightly and glanced at the seat next to Prince Fang Jinyu, calling out to him affectionately: “Brother Yu…”

She had grown up with Prince Fang Jinyu and was familiar with him, so in informal occasions, she liked to call him that.

Prince Fang Jinyu’s brows furrowed slightly, and his smile became a bit faint: “Alright, Anru, sit down.”

Anru was taken aback, and seeing that he didn’t seem to understand her intentions, she felt a bit disappointed. She looked around and saw that the closest seat was two people away from him. She had to suppress her emotions and coldly glared at the attendant next to Prince Fang Jinyu before sitting down in the nearest seat.

Princess Qingya smiled secretly and then composed herself, saying to Anru with a smile: “Why are you just getting here? We thought you’d be wandering around until the end.”

County Lord Anru, took a sip of tea and casually replied: “I just wandered around.” Then she turned to Prince Wen and started chatting with him.

Luo Yi’er didn’t pay much attention to what was happening in the pavilion, thinking it was just normal. She kept a portion of her attention on observing outside the pavilion and soon saw Luo Qian slowly walking over from that direction.
Luo Qian found a seat in a corner and sat down.

Luo Yi’er slightly curled the corners of her lips. Prince Fang Jinyu’s eyes flashed, and he turned his head to follow her gaze. He saw Luo Qian sitting in the corner, wearing a light blue long dress, with a refined face and a cold demeanor that indeed drew attention.

He narrowed his eyes, thinking that the person who had been staring at him earlier must be her. His previous doubts resurfaced.
They shouldn’t have met before, so why did she react so strongly when she saw him?

Anru had been watching Prince Fang Jinyu and noticed that he was looking outside the pavilion for a long time without looking back. She furrowed her brows and looked in the same direction, seeing Luo Qian. Her eyes turned cold, but she still smiled: “Brother Yu, what are you looking at?”

Prince Fang Jinyu’s train of thought was interrupted, and he withdrew his gaze, looking at Anru calmly: “Nothing.”

Anru’s expression froze, and she knew he was a bit unhappy. She felt a bit flustered and became even more dissatisfied with Luo Qian.
“She just has a face that’s passable, and she dares to flirt with Brother Yu so openly?”

Anru suddenly raised her head and smiled at Luo Yi’er: “I just met the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Qi’s mansion at the curved bridge. Why didn’t you let her come in, Miss Luo?”

The pavilion fell silent for a moment, and others looked at Anru with surprise. Bringing the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Qi’s mansion in?
If Luo Yi’er really brought her in, the one who wouldn’t be willing would be her.

The topic suddenly fell on her, and Luo Yi’er wasn’t surprised. She gently put down her teacup, looked at Anru with warm eyes, and smiled softly: “I brought my elder sister over today to let her relax. If I brought her in, she might feel constrained, which wouldn’t be good.”

Anru’s purpose in saying this wasn’t focused on Luo Yi’er. She smiled, showing some enthusiasm and interest: “Let her come over, then. To be honest, we haven’t met the eldest daughter of the Luo family yet.”

The smile in Luo Yi’er’s eyes faded slightly. Although Anru wanted to target Luo Qian, her words were also a challenge to Luo Yi’er. It sounded like the Marquis of Qi’s mansion never let illegitimate daughters go out. Luo Yi’er smiled calmly: “If the County Lord wants to see her, I’ll have her come over.” After saying that, she turned her head and instructed Linglong to call Luo Qian over.

Anru felt satisfied in her heart, but before she could show her triumph, she heard Luo Yi’er ask Princess Qingya curiously: “We’ve been sitting for a while, why haven’t we seen the County Lord of Fengling yet?”

Anru’s expression froze, and her smile disappeared instantly. She coldly looked at Luo Yi’er, who smiled back with a faint expression.

County Lord Fengling was also a daughter of Prince De, but Anru was the legitimate daughter, while County Lord Fengling was born to a concubine, Side Concubine Yao. At that time, Side Concubine Yao was deeply favored by Prince De, and it was rumored that Prince De once wanted to depose the legitimate wife and promote Side Concubine Yao.

Side Concubine Yao gave birth to a daughter, and before the daughter was a hundred days old, Prince De requested the emperor to grant her the title of County Lord. At that time, Anru was already three years old and hadn’t received a title yet.

It was also on that occasion that Prince De, to avoid being accused of favoring his concubine over his wife, simultaneously requested the emperor to grant Anru the title of County Lord. Later, as Anru grew older, some incidents occurred in Prince De’s mansion, and the concubine was suddenly deposed.
County Lord Fengling lost favor, but she had been favored for over ten years, so her life wasn’t too difficult.

These reasons made County Lord Fengling a thorn in Anru’s side, and mentioning her would cause pain. Usually, others wouldn’t dare to mention her in front of Anru, but Luo Yi’er wasn’t afraid.

Qingya, who was partial, pretended not to see Anru’s expression and smiled elegantly: “I heard she’s been ill, so she declined the invitation.”

Luo Yi’er smiled and said lightly: “Oh, she’s ill again.”

Anru’s face froze again, and she clenched her hands tightly, sneering: “If Miss Luo misses her, she can go visit her at the prince’s mansion.”

Luo Yi’er raised her eyelids, her smile unchanged: “The County Lord is joking. I was just curious and asked. If the County Lord doesn’t like it, I won’t ask again.”

Before Anru could say anything else, Linglong had already led Luo Qian in. Luo Qian had been sitting fine when Linglong suddenly came over. She furrowed her brows, knowing trouble had arrived, and she couldn’t avoid it. She had to follow Linglong.

She wanted to avoid it, but she didn’t know how many people outside the pavilion were looking at her with envy as she walked in.

As soon as Luo Qian entered, she didn’t even have time to greet Luo Yi’er. She looked up and saw Prince Fang Jinyu. He was casually looking at the lake outside the pavilion and turned his head when he heard footsteps. His lips curved into a gentle and elegant smile.
Luo Qian felt a pang in her heart and couldn’t help but think of the cold and desolate scenes in the cold palace in her past life.

She quickly snapped back to reality, but the subtle change in her expression was still noticed by someone with ulterior motives. She took a deep breath, bowed, and greeted the people in the pavilion: “Your servant pays her respects to the Prince of Wen, the Princess, and the County Lord.”

Prince Fang Jinyu seemed not to notice her expression and said gently: “No need to be formal.” As he lowered his eyes, he flicked the jade pendant on his clothes.

Qingya’s expression also became calm, and she was still a bit cold towards Luo Qian because of that person. Anru smiled ambiguously, her lips curling up.

Luo Qian didn’t look at everyone’s expression. She seemed a bit uneasy and leaned towards Luo Yi’er, asking hesitantly: “Third sister?”

Luo Yi’er smiled lightly: “Elder sister, you don’t need to be nervous. County Lord Anru, wanted to meet you.”

Luo Qian’s brows furrowed imperceptibly. County Lord Anru wanted to meet her? She thought of something and couldn’t help but look at Prince Fang Jinyu. He was holding a cup of tea, smiling gently, and his fingers moved slightly in a place where no one could see. Luo Qian felt a bit sour in her heart.

This was the most familiar expression she knew. She forcibly shifted her gaze away, her thoughts still a bit chaotic. Then she heard Anru’s cool voice: “What is the eldest daughter of the Luo family looking at?”

Luo Qian instantly snapped back to reality and lowered her head: “Your servant was rude.”

In front of outsiders, Luo Yi’er wouldn’t let Luo Qian be. “It’s okay, don’t be too nervous. Prince Wen is very approachable.”

As she said this, she turned to Prince Fang Jinyu and smiled: “Prince Wen, don’t scare my elder sister. If she gets sick after going back, my mother will lecture me.”

Although she wouldn’t let Luo Qian be, she wouldn’t hesitate to give someone a hard time when needed. She used a handkerchief to gently wipe her mouth, her eyes filled with a soft smile.

Prince Fang Jinyu chuckled and shook his head without saying anything. His gaze towards Luo Qian became slightly cooler.

When Luo Yi’er intervened, Anru naturally couldn’t continue to make things difficult for Luo Qian. Luo Qian breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, and her gaze towards Luo Yi’er was a bit complicated. She harbored resentment towards Luo Yi’er, but she couldn’t deny that Luo Yi’er’s behavior was what the family expected from a legitimate daughter – always maintaining the family’s dignity.

At this moment, An Chong suddenly walked into the pavilion from outside, his expression serious: “Your Highness, the Emperor has sent someone to summon you to the palace.”