Gluttonous Crown Princess - Chapter 29.3

In the residence of Marquis Yong Wei, at Wende Courtyard.

“Madam, look, our young miss had these specially sent back. It’s clear she’s still concerned about you,” Madam Zhang’s personal maidservant said with a bow, opening one of the boxes of Qingtuan. Seeing the gleaming green mounds inside, she couldn’t help but praise, “Oh, Madam, take a look. These Qingtuan are truly exquisite. As expected of the Imperial Kitchen’s craftsmanship.”

“They’re just some Qingtuan, it’s not worth such excessive praise,” said Madam Zhang, sitting elegantly on a divan with a poised demeanor, looking at the Qingtuan. Though she didn’t show it on her face, her heart was somewhat soothed by the maidservant’s words.

“Madam, the gift might be small, but the sentiment is deep…” The maidservant assessed her expression and advised in a gentle tone, “Are you still upset about what happened last time? Ah, why hold onto it? Our young miss is still young, suddenly leaving home and getting married must have made her feel aggrieved, so she said some childish things. Madam, as her mother, do you really need to take them to heart?”

Madam Zhang let out a sigh. “I’m not trying to hold a grudge against her, but what she said last time… Sigh, it really hurt me…”

The maidservant was momentarily taken aback, then hurriedly said some words of comfort, then added, “Alright, Madam, don’t dwell on those matters anymore. How about trying the Qingtuan? They’re a token of the young miss’s sincerity. ”

“Alright.” Madam Zhang casually picked up a piece, expecting it to be ordinary. However, after taking a bite, she froze.

Upon seeing her reaction, the maidservant wondered what was wrong and exclaimed in surprise, “Madam?”

Madam Zhang snapped back to reality and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

With that, she began eating the rose and red bean paste-filled Qingtuan, one bite after another.

Observing how much she was enjoying the Qingtuan, the maidservant chuckled and said, “Snacks made by the imperial kitchen are truly different. We also made some Qingtuan at our mansion, but I didn’t see you enjoy them like this, Madam.”

Madam Zhang appeared somewhat embarrassed. She picked up a handkerchief and covered her lips, saying softly, “It does taste pretty good. Try one as well.”

The maidservant repeatedly declined, but eventually, Madam Zhang made her take one. As soon as she tasted it, her eyes widened in astonishment, and she exclaimed, “Heavens above, this is something the immortals eat, right? In all the years I’ve lived, I’ve never had such a delicious treat… I’m not exaggerating, but to have a taste like this in my lifetime makes coming to this world well worth it.”

Madam Zhang was amused by her reaction. “That’s too much of an exaggeration.”

“Not at all, not at all.” After eating half, the maidservant didn’t bear to finish it. She carefully wrapped the remaining portion in her handkerchief, intending to take it back for her grandson.

“Madam, perhaps the young miss sent such delicious Qingtuan as her way of making amends for the incident last time,” the maidservant said. “Don’t begrudge her anymore. How can there be lingering resentment between mother and daughter?”

Madam Zhang pursed her lips, her gaze fixed on the Qingtuan as if lost in thought. Then, she softly murmured, “Making amends…?”

But what did Ah Ti even do wrong? When she had visited last time, she had neither shouted nor made a fuss, and had simply left a nonchalant remark and departed calmly.

But oddly enough, that distant and detached attitude left her deeply anxious, as if she might lose her daughter at any moment.

“Say, should I find an opportunity to visit her in the palace? I wonder if she’s adapting well to life in the palace,” Madam Zhang said, pursing her lips unnaturally. She lowered her voice, “Maybe… Maybe I’d pushed her too much in the past, which led to this resentment she holds against me…”

The maidservant didn’t know how to respond and faltered in silence.

“But everything I did was for her own good. I’m her mother, so how could I not want the best for her? How can she not see that?” Madam Zhang continued, as if explaining herself and also seeking a justification for her own peace of mind.

As for her daughter’s constant blame, accusing her of being heartless for arranging the marriage with the Crown Prince…

Madam Zhang closed her eyes with a heavy sigh. Back then, when she and Yuanyuan arranged for their children to be married, she could never have foreseen that Yuanyuan would depart from this world shortly after, nor could she have anticipated that the Crown Prince would later fall into an icy lake, ruining his health as a result.

Yet, the marriage had already been arranged, and given her longstanding friendship with Yuanyuan, how could she simply go back on her word after her passing?

Moreover, dissolving a marriage arrangement involving the imperial family wasn’t a matter that could be easily decided on her own.

Thinking back on the past, Madam Zhang felt a myriad of sorrows. She wanted to assign blame, yet found herself uncertain of whom to blame. In the end, all she could do was attribute it to the unpredictability of life and the capriciousness of fate.

—————

Having received a plethora of return gifts for the Qingtuan during the Cold Food Festival, Tao Ti contentedly recorded everything in her accounts book. She even contemplated whether she should consider sending more food to the Emperor and his concubines in hopes of receiving more rewards.

Of course, this was just a fleeting thought. If she did that too often, it might seem too deliberate.

Ever since they ate Qingtuan together and played a few rounds of the blindman’s buff the last time,  the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Princess became frequent visitors to Tao Ti’s quarters. It was as if they considered her Yaoguang Hall as a second home.

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