Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

After she finished her meal, Mu Jinchen went to his study to handle official business, while Su Qianrou secretly returned to the Su residence.

Meiran-in

Lin Rong and Granny Li were talking about something.

Su Qianrou came in and asked, "What are Mother and Granny Li talking about?"

"Why are you back?" Lin Rong was both surprised and delighted to see her.

Su Qianrou walked up to her and said, "I missed you, so I came back to visit."

Lin Rong was somewhat skeptical. "Did you have a falling out with the prince?"

"No, we're fine."

"real".

"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?"

"What happened to Xiaoyu?" Lin Rong couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Mom, don't overthink it. Nothing's wrong. I just came back to see you."

Seeing that she still didn't believe her, Su Qianrou said helplessly, "Mother, if you keep this up, I won't dare to come back next time."

Lin Rong then stopped saying anything and simply told her to sit down.

So Su Qianrou sat down to the side and asked, "Mother, what are you and the nanny whispering about in the room? Let me hear it too."

"What can I say? I'll just talk about the Marquis of Anping's residence."

"What happened to the Marquis's residence?"

“Your grandfather wants us to move back in.”

"Move back? He's really dreaming. Back then, he was afraid my father would cause trouble for the Marquis's mansion, so he separated us without a second thought. Now that he sees we're doing well, he thinks there's something to gain and wants us to go back. He's shameless."

"It's fine if you say this here, but you can't say it outside. No matter what, he is your grandfather. If other people hear this, they might gossip."

"I know," he said, then asked, "What are you and Dad thinking? You're not really going to move back, are you?"

"Do you think we're stupid? We finally managed to move out, how could we possibly move back?"

“I’m afraid you’ll agree to their request out of filial piety.”

"Don't worry, it won't happen."

"That's good." Then, Su Qianrou felt a little sleepy and asked, "Mother, is my courtyard still there?"

"What are you saying? Even if you get married, you're still our daughter. Do you think we'd neglect you? Remember this: the Su family will always be your home. You can come back whenever you want. Your courtyard will always be there."

Su Qianrou held Lin Rong's hand and said coquettishly, "I knew Mother was the best to me."

"You're married but still so childish."

"Didn't Mother say that even if I get married, I'll still be your daughter? So isn't it normal for me to act childish in front of you?"

Lin Rong said indulgently, "Yes, in front of me, you will always be a child."

Su Qianrou looked at her happily, then said, "Mother, I'm a little sleepy. I want to go back to Youlan Courtyard to sleep for a while."

"Go ahead, I'll have someone call you for dinner later."

"Okay," Su Qianrou said, then got up and left.

Lin Rong watched her retreating figure, her eyes filled with unwavering worry.

Granny Li asked, "Is Madam worried about the Princess?"

"Look at how listless she looks. She clearly hasn't slept all night. She probably had a fight with the prince, but she won't say, and I don't want to ask."

"Madam should trust the Princess; she can handle it."

“I’m afraid things aren’t simple, otherwise she wouldn’t have come back.”

Granny Li couldn't help but worry as well, after all, Su Qianrou was someone she had watched grow up, and she was no different from her own child.

They never expected that Su Qianrou hadn't slept all night, but not because of a conflict with Mu Jinchen. On the contrary, it was because the two were so close that they couldn't bear to part, which made her tired.

Youlan Courtyard

When Su Qianrou woke up, an hour had passed.

When she woke up and was about to get out of bed, she was surprised to see Mu Jinchen sitting on the couch reading a book. She couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Jinchen put down the book in his hand and walked towards her.

Su Qianrou instinctively gripped the blankets tightly, then looked at him warily.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?"

Su Qianrou thought to herself, "Even if I didn't tell you, you still came looking for me." But she certainly couldn't say that. "Seeing that you were busy, I didn't tell you."

"I thought you had secretly run away behind my back."

"Where can I run to... No, why should I run? I haven't done anything wrong."

Mu Jinchen smiled and said, "Alright, get up quickly. Madam Su has sent someone to summon us to have dinner in the front hall."

"Ok".

The two then went to the front hall.

Everyone immediately stood up and called out, "Your Highness, Your Highness's Consort."

“We’re all family, there’s no need to be so formal,” Mu Jinchen said.

Su Qianrou then asked, "Father, how have you been lately?"

"I'm fine, but you look like you've lost weight."

"No, I think I've actually gained a lot of weight."

“He looks thinner to me too,” Su Mingxuan said.

“It seems I’ll have to make sure you eat more in the future, lest Lord Su and Young Master Su think I’m mistreating you,” Mu Jinchen said, putting his arm around Su Qianrou’s shoulder.

"Your Highness, please forgive us, that's not what we meant," Su Jing'an and Su Mingxuan hurriedly knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

"Lord Su, Young Master Su, please get up. I have no intention of blaming you."

"Father, elder brother, there's no need to be nervous. The prince was just joking. Get up quickly," she said, reaching out to help them up.

Su Jing'an and Su Mingxuan then got up.

Su Qianrou secretly glared at Mu Jinchen.

Mu Jinchen felt somewhat innocent, but didn't say anything.

Then, Su Jing'an said, "Your Highness, please."

"Lord Su, please sit down. I will stay with the Princess."

Su Jing'an looked at Su Qianrou, and seeing her nod, he walked to the main seat and sat down.

The others also took their seats.

"I didn't know Your Highness was coming, so I didn't prepare any of your favorite dishes. If Your Highness doesn't like these, I'll have the kitchen make some more," Lin Rong said.

"It's alright, this is fine."

"These are all my favorite foods. Sure enough, my mother loves me the most."

"Eat as much as you like."

"Ok".

"Please, Your Highness," Su Jing'an said.

Mu Jinchen didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of shrimp, and put it in Su Qianrou's bowl.

Su Qianrou was already used to it and casually picked it up and put it in her mouth.

The others were somewhat surprised, but they didn't say anything and continued eating as if nothing had happened. However, the more they ate, the more shocked they became, because Mu Jinchen took care of Su Qianrou the whole time. Even when he was drinking with Su Jing'an and Su Mingxuan, he didn't forget to serve Su Qianrou food.

As for Su Qianrou, she just focused on eating.

Finally, Lin Rong couldn't bear to watch any longer and said, "Rou'er, give the Prince some too. He hasn't eaten much yet."

"Oh," Su Qianrou then picked up a piece of chicken from Mu Jinchen's plate and put it in his bowl.

"Don't worry about me, just eat by yourself."

So Su Qianrou really ignored him and continued eating by herself.

Lin Rong felt helpless about this and thought to herself that she needed to find an opportunity to talk to Rou'er about it.

Before long, Su Qianrou was full.

"Don't put any more food on my plate, I'm already full, you can eat it yourself."

"You're full after eating so little."

"You know I eat lunch late."

"Then eat this," he said, putting the shrimp into her bowl.

Su Qianrou did not refuse, picked it up and ate it, and then chatted with Lin Rong and Song Shiyu on the side.

Mu Jinchen drank with Su Jing'an and Su Mingxuan.