Harem Daily Life

When the Hua family's carriage arrived at the Sihai Restaurant, Hua Yuerong was so anxious that she almost cried when she saw that there were no seats available.

"Master, is that Miss Hua?" Yin Jiu stood at the window of the private room on the second floor and immediately saw Hua Yurong, who had gone into the shop and then left.

He Jin'an walked to the window and looked out. Who else could it be but his future princess? A smile appeared on his lips, and he told Yin Jiu to go down and invite someone up.

Hua Yurong knew Yin Jiu. Yin Jiu had been by her side when Prince Jin came to propose marriage that day. Upon hearing that the prince was there and there was a private room, Hua Yurong happily followed Yin Jiu upstairs.

"Second brother, the Crown Prince of Han will be coming over soon. Would it be inappropriate for Miss Hua to be here?" He Qian had specially invited He Jin'an to accompany her on her trip to meet the Crown Prince of Han.

He Jin'an glanced at her and said, "Fourth Princess can meet with her future brother-in-law, but I can't meet with my future princess? Besides, it's better to meet by chance than by invitation. Since we've already met, it won't bother you if I invite her up to have a meal with me, will it?"

He Qian dared not say anything more and smiled awkwardly: "Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. Please don't take it to heart. Then bring an extra pair of chopsticks so I can see Miss Hua. I didn't get to see her the other day."

He Xiaoliu, who was standing to the side, also said excitedly, "I've never seen her before either. I want to take a good look at my future sister-in-law."

He Jin'an patted He Xiaoliu's head with affection.

As soon as Hua Yurong entered the room, she was stared at by three pairs of eyes, and suddenly regretted coming up.

Seeing her flustered, He Jin'an quickly stepped forward and introduced her: "This is the fourth princess, He Qian. Her mother is Consort Liang. This is the sixth prince, He Dingyi, nicknamed Xiao Liu. He is the Empress's youngest son."

After He Jin'an finished his introduction, Hua Yurong quickly greeted the two of them.

He Qian calmly looked Hua Yurong up and down. Judging from her appearance alone, she couldn't tell that Hua Yurong had any outstanding qualities, but she was still pleasing to the eye. She was fair-skinned, cute, and innocent.

“I didn’t see you that day when Miss Hua got engaged to my brother. Please, Miss Hua, sit down.” Hua Yue Rong nodded. She only glanced at He Qian and was immediately struck by the beauty of the other woman. Remembering what Granny Fang had said, that one should sit with a young lady before marriage, she wanted to sit next to He Qian.

He Jin'an watched her move and said, "Sixth Brother is young, so I would appreciate it if Miss Hua could help look after him."

Upon hearing this, Hua Yurong had no choice but to walk over and sit down next to He Xiaobao. She breathed a sigh of relief; sitting next to a child was much more relaxing than sitting next to a princess.

"Sister Hua, your smile is exactly like my mother's, with your eyes and eyebrows curving." He Xiaoliu felt an instant connection with Hua Yurong.

He Jin'an personally poured tea for Hua Yurong and couldn't help but glance at the little girl. Sure enough, her smile did resemble that of the Empress Dowager.

He Jin'an thought that perhaps the reason he couldn't bear to refuse her back then was because of the clear, bright, and approachable eyes she looked into.

At this moment, footsteps sounded outside. Manager Fang personally led the Crown Prince of Han up. The door was pushed open, and He Jin'an's eyes darkened.

"Before leaving, my mother asked me to accompany my second sister to buy calligraphy and paintings, so I brought her along. Second brother and Qianqian don't mind, do they?" said the Crown Prince of Han.

"Greetings, Your Highness; greetings, Fourth Princess; greetings, Sixth Prince." Jing Yuwei also saw Hua Yurong, but she ignored her.

Hua Yurong subtly observed the newcomer, and when she caught a glimpse of Jing Yuwei's gaze, she felt somewhat uncomfortable.

The Crown Prince of Han took his seat and, smiling deliberately, said, "This young lady seems unfamiliar. May I ask which family's daughter she is?"

Just as Hua Yurong was about to introduce herself, He Jin'an said, "This is Miss Hua, the eldest daughter of the Hua family, and also my future Princess Jin, to whom I am betrothed. This is the heir of the Han Prince's Mansion, the future husband of my fourth sister, and this is Miss Jing, the second daughter of the Han Prince's Mansion." After He Jin'an finished speaking, the heir of the Han Prince's Mansion glanced at Jing Yuwei. Jing Yuwei's face slowly turned pale, and she looked at He Jin'an with affection in her eyes, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. To others, it seemed as if He Jin'an had betrayed her deep affection, which was very puzzling.

“Miss Hua is truly blessed. I never expected that you would find the Prince by simply picking someone off the street that day. However… the Prince was dressed in a very noble manner that day. Miss Hua must have paid close attention when searching for him.”

Jing Yuwei's words clearly implied that Hua Yurong was scheming, a snob, and perhaps even knew the prince's identity and had chosen him specifically.

Hua Yue Rong frowned; she always felt that Miss Jing opposite her was full of deep hostility towards her.

She wasn't some naive young girl who didn't understand social dynamics. After a quick thought, she figured out the source of Jing Yuwei's hostility towards her. She gave He Jin'an a displeased look—"Hmph, it's all your fault for causing all this trouble!"

He Jin'an's lips twitched, and he inexplicably understood the little girl's gaze.

Seeing Hua Yurong and Prince Jin exchanging glances, Jing Yuwei became even more furious: "What, Miss Hua isn't refuting this, does that mean you're admitting what I said is true?"

Hua Yuerong frowned: "Miss Jing, how could you make such a conjecture? I know that the infighting in the inner quarters of your high-ranking families is fierce, and every single one of you has a lot of ulterior motives. Not everyone is as cunning as you. That day, I simply chose him on the street. Whoever didn't back down was considered to be willing to get engaged. It just so happened that the Prince stood still and didn't back down at all, so I chose him directly. What's wrong with that?"

Jing Yuwei narrowed her eyes: "Perhaps the prince didn't hear clearly, or perhaps he agreed out of consideration for you and to avoid embarrassing you in front of so many people. Don't you even know your family's status? You dare to try to curry favor with the prince's mansion!"

Jing Yuwei's words were already quite disrespectful to Hua Yurong, and Hua Yurong's face turned red with anger.

“Miss Jing, you are mistaken,” He Jin’an interjected promptly. “I am sharp-eyed and discerning, and I voluntarily stood here waiting for Miss Hua. There is nothing as Miss Jing claims. Moreover, I must remind Miss Jing that I have personally visited the Hua family to propose marriage, witnessed by Marquis Ningyuan and my maternal grandfather, Lord Tao. My father and mother have also given their approval. As for any talk of climbing the social ladder, Miss Jing, please refrain from mentioning it again. I urge you to be mindful of your words regarding matters of the royal family.”

Jing Yuwei almost cried, her hands clenched tightly under the table, almost breaking her palms.

Seeing that things were not going well, the Crown Prince of Han immediately advised, "My younger sister has always been straightforward, I hope you won't mind her, Second Brother. Alright, alright, we're here to eat today, let's eat quickly. The dishes at Sihai Restaurant are absolutely superb, Miss Hua, please have plenty later."

With the Crown Prince of Han smoothing things over, Jing Yuwei didn't refute He Jin'an, but her eyes were fixed on him, unable to look away.

Hua Yurong was in a bad mood while eating, but fortunately He Xiaoliu was well-behaved and cute, and kept pestering Hua Yurong to feed him. Hua Yurong was slightly distracted and ignored Jing Yuwei.

Unexpectedly, after dinner, Jing Yuwei invited He Jin'an to go with her, ostensibly to buy calligraphy and paintings, and He Qian chimed in. Hua Yurong didn't want to go at all, but she didn't want her future husband to accompany another girl to a calligraphy and painting shop, so she could only remain silent and follow along.

He Jin'an picked up He Xiaoliu and reached out a hand to grab Hua Yurong's hand.

Hua Yue Rong's ears turned red, and she looked up at him.

"Sigh, there are a lot of people on the road, I'm afraid we'll get separated."

Ignoring the surprised looks of the crowd, He Jin'an casually led his future princess ahead.

Hua Yuerong felt that Fang Mama hadn't taught her enough the other day. Why hadn't she taught her how to walk when her future husband grabbed her?

A strange tingling sensation came from her palms, and Hua Yurong's mind went blank. She didn't even know how she walked. It wasn't until she arrived at the calligraphy and painting shop and her hands were released that she came back to her senses.

He Jin'an wasn't much better; on a whim, he grabbed the other person's little hand. The soft little hand rested obediently in his palm, plump, just like the paw of the cat he'd recently adopted.