High-class maid

"That's right, Zhen'er is still getting engaged." The Emperor remembered that the Crown Prince was also getting engaged, and the date set for him by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau was in the first month of the lunar calendar.

Consort Ru and the Second Prince lowered their heads and remained silent. They knew they were no match for His Highness the Crown Prince, and it was better to remain silent than to say more and make more mistakes. In any case, once the Emperor spoke, the marriage to the Minister's family was inevitable sooner or later.

"I will be hosting a banquet for my ministers on the Lantern Festival. You should prepare a gift for Feng'er and send it to the Minister's residence. Make sure you are not impolite," the Emperor instructed Consort Ru.

"Yes, Your Majesty, please rest assured, I have already made preparations." Consort Ru had nothing to do all day in the harem, and now that she finally had a chance to use her talents, she had already made the arrangements.

"Your Majesty, would Consort Ru like to have her meal served?" the nanny asked as she stepped forward at the opportune moment.

Consort Ru dared not make decisions for the Emperor; she could only watch him.

"It's almost noon, quickly serve the meal," the Emperor ordered, glancing at the sky outside the window.

Consort Ru's smile deepened; the family of three was enjoying a harmonious and heartwarming time together.

Shangshu Mansion.

"Madam, the gatekeeper received a letter from the Princess, saying she wishes to pay you a visit at the end of the year," the old lady whispered in her ear.

"Princess? We haven't been in contact for years, why would you come to visit me out of the blue?" The old lady asked, puzzled.

Since her granddaughter was kidnapped, the princess has never shown her face in the capital. One reason is to keep a low profile and avoid attracting attention from outsiders, and the other is to make it easier to find her granddaughter.

So when the old lady heard this person, she thought she had misheard.

"If the old lady doesn't want to see her, why not pretend to be sick?" the nanny suggested, knowing that her old lady had never liked dealing with people from the palace.

"No! No matter what, she is the Emperor's sister. How can I pretend to be sick and not see her? What if something has happened? Go and invite the Madam here." The old lady looked at the sky. She had just finished lunch and thought that the Princess would arrive soon.

She's getting old and her mind isn't what it used to be, so let's invite her daughter-in-law over to keep things in order.

"Mother, is there something urgent?"

Liu, who was preparing her daughter's dowry inside the house, was suddenly summoned by the old lady. Their relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had always been harmonious, and the mother-in-law did not want to disturb her unless there was something important.

Therefore, when Liu heard that the old lady was looking for her, she put down her work and rushed over.

"You may all leave," the old lady said without explicitly stating it, but instead dismissed everyone.

"Mother? What is it that even the nannies can't hear?" Seeing this, Madam Liu became even more nervous. Could it be that something had happened at the Minister's residence?

"Don't be nervous. The gatekeeper just sent word that he received a letter from the Princess. She will be coming to our residence around the end of the day. I've come to ask you if you've been hiding anything from me lately?" The old lady gestured for her to sit down and asked gently.

"The Eldest Princess? I haven't heard anything about her for many years. The last time I heard the ladies mention her was when her granddaughter came back from the temple. I haven't had any interaction with her since then." Madam Liu also looked puzzled.

"This is strange. What is the Princess doing here all of a sudden? Oh well, let's just wait and see." The old lady couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped thinking about it.

“Mother has never liked to have too much contact with people in the palace, and everyone in our household has followed her instructions. I don’t think we have offended the Princess,” Liu said reassuringly.

The old lady nodded. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were both very uneasy. Just as Liu was about to lose her composure, the sound of the old woman greeting them came from outside the door.

May the Princess enjoy boundless blessings and peace, and may the Lady of the Township enjoy boundless blessings and peace.

Liu hurriedly got up and helped her mother-in-law. The two women went side by side to greet the princess and her family.

"This humble woman pays her respects to the Princess." After saying this, Madam Liu was about to help the old lady kneel down.

"Don't be so polite, don't be so polite, old sister. It's been so many years since we last met, why are you so distant with me?" The princess smiled slightly, reached out to help the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law who were bowing, and said to Old Madam Xiao.

The old lady breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was good that the other party hadn't come with a stern face; they must have just come to kill time.

"Propriety must not be disregarded. It is an honor that a princess of noble birth would deign to speak with an old woman like me," the old lady said, leading them into the house.

"Please sit down, Your Highness. This young lady must be your beloved granddaughter," the old lady said, helping the princess to the head seat and sitting down to her left.

“That’s right. My daughter has been recuperating in the temple for many years, and now she’s much better. I was worried she’d get bored, so I brought her out for a stroll,” the princess said, looking at Zhang Yuzhu with affection.

"The village head looks just like you." The old lady wasn't flattering her; Zhang Yuzhu really did resemble her.

Following her mother-in-law's words, Liu looked over, and what she saw startled her greatly. Wasn't this the maid who had returned to the capital by boat that day?

"What's wrong?" The eldest princess asked with a smile, looking at the dazed Liu.

Zhang Yuzhu smiled slightly at Liu Shi. She recognized this aunt; she had met with her that day and Liu Shi had nodded before she boarded the boat.

"No, it's nothing. I just thought the village head looked familiar, and I was a little rude. I hope you won't take offense." Liu was only stunned for a moment before she returned to normal.

"My girl, she came back from Jinling that day on the Minister's boat. It's not surprising that Madam recognizes her," the Princess said with a smile.

"Isn't the village head recuperating at the temple? What's going on?" Now it was the old lady's turn to be puzzled. She looked at her daughter-in-law with suspicion.

"Was the person on the boat that day really the village head?" Liu was shocked.

The eldest princess smiled and nodded, then recounted how her granddaughter had been abducted to Jinling.

The old lady, being old and soft-hearted, had already teared up as she listened. She looked at Zhang Yuzhu with loving eyes and said...

"Good child, you've suffered so much. There were rumors in the capital that you were kidnapped, and I didn't quite believe it. But it turns out you really were kidnapped by those heartless people!"

"Yes, thankfully my granddaughter met a good person, otherwise, I would not rest in peace even if I died." As the princess spoke, she couldn't help but shed tears.

"I never imagined that the good deed done by my servants would save your granddaughter. It seems that everything is predestined. Now that the village lord's hard days are over, good days are ahead."

Liu wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and comforted her.

"We came here to thank the little maid who saved Zhu'er that day. Your kindness to servants is well-known in the capital. We never expected that even the servants in your mansion would have such compassionate hearts."

The eldest princess praised.

"Which maid is it?" the old lady asked Liu.

“Reporting to Mother, it is Xing’er from your courtyard,” Liu said.

"So it's this girl. She's always been decisive, and now it seems she's kind-hearted too," the old lady praised.

They were even happier praising the people in her courtyard than praising her, since one after another the maids in her courtyard had climbed the social ladder, and now that one of them was well-behaved, the old lady was also proud.