"The manor is large and has many affairs to be taken care of. Xiaoshi, arrange a room for Second Miss to rest in. Send some daily necessities over as well. Handle this appropriately."
"Yes, Princess Consort." Xiaoshi went off to take care of what had been asked of her, while Bai Rong'er asked in a spoiled manner, "Big sis, it's a rare thing for me to be here in the Prince Li Manor like this. Can I sleep together with you?"
Ye-mama nearly toppled over when she heard that. The prince rested at the princess consort's place every single night. Or rather, it should be said that the princess consort had already moved to the prince's courtyard. Staying in the courtyard where the prince lives, was that appropriate? Still, she couldn't be blamed for her ignorance. Even in small households, so long as families possessed even a little bit of authority, wives and concubines usually lived in separate places. The master of the household would also have a residence of his own. How would he be like any typical couple, always residing with his wife and not staying beneath different roofs even when her monthly periods came?
Still, since the prince being willing to do so, they, as servants, were really not in a position to question him. It was just that this suggestion of this second miss was really too inappropriate. The personality of this young lady was really far from comparable to that of their Princess Consort.
"This is the Prince Li Manor. There are rules everywhere."
"Yeah, I know. Big sis, can you take me around the manor for a tour?"
"I really haven't the time. I'm too busy with preparations for the banquet. Ye-mama, find two maids to show the second miss around."
"This old servant complies." Like this, the girl was still causing up trouble even though she'd wanted to come over to help. Still, she probably wouldn't cause much of a problem if it was just touring the manor. If they were too distant and they realized that she wasn't the previous Bai Xiangxiu, real trouble might crop up.
Sadly, the girl whom she'd thought would be fine still ended up causing trouble in the end.
Having prepared lunch for herself and Long Heng at noon, a maid ran in from outside, reporting, "Princess Consort, Your Highness, Second Miss got into a fight with your cousin in the garden."
"Second Miss?" Long Heng had just returned, not knowing that someone had come visiting from the Bai family.
Bai Xiangxiu said rather despondently, "My younger sister."
"I see."
"I'll go take a look." When had that cousin come as well? Things were really getting chaotic in the Prince Li Manor. Well, since they were about to hold the family banquet, it was only natural that guests would be coming. Still, wasn't it a little too early for this younger cousin to arrive?
Bai Xiangxiu was at the head of the group rushing to the small garden. There, she saw two young girls fighting it out, pushing each other back and forth. While it wasn't as barbaric as Bai Xiangxiu and Lin Qianzi's fight before, it was sufficient for one to realize that the two of them were going at it seriously.
"Stop! What are you doing?" She was truly enraged. Of all the times to be fighting! Guests might be arriving at any moment now. With the two girls going at each other in the Prince Li Manor so unbecomingly, didn't they know what kind of gossip might spread as a result?
"Big sis, this woman bullied me." Bai Rong'er threw herself into Bai Xiangxiu's arms as she sobbed.
"She's your younger sister? How fitting." The cousin snorted instead.
"What are you trying to say?" Bai Rong'er turned back towards the cousin and yelled. Her expression changed by the time she looked back to Bai Xiangxiu, "Big sis, this woman is clearly mocking you."
Bai Xiangxiu rubbed her head. "Cousin, I'm really sorry for my younger sister's rudeness. You there, send His Highness' cousin back."
"Big sis, as the lofty Princess Consort, why are you even apologizing to her? Isn't she just some cousin! It's just based on her relationship with the old madame, but she's already off coaxing her grandson now. This Prince Li Manor is yours..."
Slap! Bai Xiangxiu reached out and slapped her. This younger sister of hers was really too arrogant. If her sister continued speaking like this, it would only cause more trouble for her. While this cousin held no actual authority in the Prince Li Manor, if she really offended the old madame due to this incident, Bai Xiangxiu would have a tough time in the Prince Li Manor even if she was the princess consort .
"You, you actually hit me!" Bai Rong'er was stunned, never having thought that her sister would slap her even when she had clearly been speaking up for the latter.
"Send the lady cousin back. You, follow me," Bai Xiangxiu responded.
Having been slapped in front of everyone, a despondent Bai Rong'er had originally wanted to cause a scene. Still, she didn't dare utter even a single word when her sister glared at her. Since when had her gaze become so authoritative? Bai Rong'er actually inexplicably followed her sister back as meekly as a lamb. When she entered the study, she saw a man with an even greater aura of authority seated within. His gaze was cold, a chill emanating from his entire body. Despite his handsome looks, she was immediately frightened into lowering her head as soon as his gaze fell on her.
"Xiu'er, has your Bai Family dedicated all their efforts to just educating you? Has no one ever taught her before that she needs to curtsy when seeing this prince?"
At Long Heng's words, Bai Rong'er immediately reacted, dropping heavily to her knees, "I greet, I greet Your Highness."
"Ye-mama, send her back. Tell the Bai family that if they ever have the intention of letting her out of the house, they should re-educate her first."
"Yes."
Long Heng's aura was so intimidating that Bai Rong'er actually didn't dare to rebut him at all. Most importantly was how those others around her were acting. Even that princess consort sister of hers dared not speak at all, with the servants frightened into kneeling on the ground. If she were to speak now, wouldn't she be killed on the spot?! She was quickly ushered into a carriage whilst harboring such doubts, to be sent back to the Bai Manor. That couldn't be! She still hadn't accomplished her goal in having come here yet. She wanted to meet Song Jiaoyue and let him know that she was Bai Xiangxiu's younger sister. After she had done so, he would likely start thinking about her. At that time, wouldn't the chances of a marriage between them go much higher? Still, never would she have thought that she might actually be shooed away because of Prince Li's cousin.
Having considered all this, she decided that she would not be going home and stubbornly insisted on getting off the carriage. Unable to deal with her, the carriage could only come to a halt. In the end, she nearly fell down in her haste to disembark.
"Ah..." A hand supported her. Raising her head, she discovered that it was actually a veiled woman. "Thank you."
"I've never seen a girl as beautiful as you before! Still, you look like you have something on your mind!" That veiled woman seemed to be concerned about her as she furrowed her brows in query.
"What else could I be thinking about? I've just been kicked out." Perhaps due to the other party's goodwill in assisting her and her concerned words, Bai Rong'er actually felt that she had been dealt an injustice. As soon as she felt wronged, the rumbling of her stomach reminded her that she hadn't even eaten yet.
The veiled woman actually laughed, "How about we have some wine at the tavern? Since destiny has had us cross paths here today, this big sister will treat you."
"How could I possibly do that? You saved me! It should be me treating you."
"Don't compete with me! Treating a great beauty like you would be my pleasure."
Bai Rong'er's face turned red as the veiled woman pulled her into a tavern. She seemed to be of a rather high birth, with two male servants even following by her side with extreme deference. She was formidable in her extravagance as well, ordering dishes that Bai Rong'er had never tasted in her life before.
Suddenly, she felt like this woman was actually even more noble than her elder sister. Thus, emboldened by the wine, she spilled out all the injustices that had been dealt to her, from the matter of the Bai family to that of the Prince Li Manor. It was already late when she finished, with that woman consoling her all the while, even giving Bai Rong'er many precious gifts during their talk. Then, they arranged to meet the next day. She would help Bai Rong'er brainstorm a plan to get Song Jiaoyue to see her in a different light.
Long since having been overawed by the grand disposition of this big sister, Bai Rong'er deeply believed that she could be of help to her.