Li Su walked over and replied, "Granny, the Eldest Princess has agreed to help me find my birth parents."
"That's wonderful, the Eldest Princess is such a good person. You must treat her well." Though the old woman was frail, she could see how much the Eldest Princess cared for Li Su; otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered to take in this old, worn-out woman to care for her so meticulously.
"Mm, I know."
The old woman looked at Li Su, whose appearance was exceptionally handsome, and sighed, "Back then, you came to my doorstep begging. To not eat for free, you even carried two large vats of water for this old woman.
This old woman felt you were someone who would repay kindness, so I took you in. It's just that I have no skills and couldn't get you registered. Otherwise, you wouldn't have to hide all the time, being targeted by bad people.
But thankfully, you met the Eldest Princess. It shows you are blessed. In the future, if your background turns out to be extraordinary, don't forget to repay the Eldest Princess."
"Granny, rest assured." Li Su's eyes held a smile, seemingly happy about the old woman praising the Eldest Princess.
As evening approached, Qiao Ci came to find Li Su. The old woman was also present and quickly bowed to Qiao Ci, who stopped her, "Granny, no need for such formalities. I'm here to see Li Su about something."
Li Su followed Qiao Ci out.
The two arrived at a quiet place.
"Princess, you only needed to send someone to notify me; there was no need for you to come personally," Li Su said softly.
"Your background has been investigated. If there are no surprises, you should be the Second Prince of Fengming Kingdom who went missing ten years ago. That jade pendant is indeed the personal item of the Second Prince of Fengming Kingdom." Qiao Ci stated directly what he was eager to know.
"Fengming Kingdom... did you, did you find out why that Second Prince went missing?" Li Su's heart began to race, and he felt a little nervous.
"Imperial Palace secrets are not fully known." The plot also didn't mention the specific reason. Judging by the nature of each world, it was likely just his extreme bad luck.
"Mm." Li Su's gaze was deep, lost in thought.
"What do you plan to do? Will you actively search for them, or shall I have someone release the news to them, letting them find you?" Qiao Ci gave him two options.
He hadn't expected to have a choice. Seeing her consider him so much, Li Su suddenly lost the desire to undertake the arduous journey to find his relatives.
Moreover, he wasn't sure if they would still want him as their son. He replied, "Let them come find me. If they truly care about me, they will surely come looking. If they don't, then from now on, I will contentedly be your male consort."
"Alright, little male consort," Qiao Ci teased.
She was quite pleased with his choice; she also didn't want her 'cub' to go on a long journey to recognize his relatives.
Regardless of the reason, as royalty, failing to find a missing prince after seven years meant either incompetence or a lack of genuine effort.
Hearing her tease him like this, Li Su couldn't help but start to anticipate.
If he truly was a noble prince, then he would have a grand wedding.
If he was just someone abandoned, then he would stay by her side peacefully, without contention, until she grew tired of him.
*
Zhao Shimei was no longer a驸马 (imperial son-in-law) and used his connections to secure a minor position. Upon realizing it had no great prospects, he set his sights on Qiao Ci again, hoping she would reconsider.
As a result, every time he tried to approach Qiao Ci, he would be severely beaten by her men and then dragged into the street to be publicly humiliated. Facing the pointing fingers of the crowd, he began to doubt if he was truly that inadequate.
One day, after his facial injuries had finally healed, he went out for a stroll and saw a thief snatch a man's wallet.
He didn't pay attention at first. The next second, he saw the man's fair and rosy face and realized it was a woman, a beautiful woman with a rather heroic aura.
Quickly, he grabbed the thief who passed by him and, thinking himself quite dapper, smiled, "Stealing is not the act of a gentleman..."
Eldest Princess's Mansion.
Qiao Ci learned that Zhao Shimei had hooked up with Li Churuan but showed no reaction.
Little Spoon, however, became anxious, "That Zhao Shimei has said a lot of bad things about you to Li Churuan. When she comes to find her brother, she might very well prevent you from being with Li Su. Your 'cub' might have to return to Fengming Kingdom with her, and you two will be separated!"
"Sweet love, host, please pay more attention!"
"Oh." Qiao Ci narrowed her eyes, enjoying the shoulder massage from Cui Zhu, seemingly unconcerned by Little Spoon's words.
Little Spoon was momentarily stunned, feeling a bit like the emperor wasn't worried but the eunuch was.
Three days passed. Li Churuan was too busy getting acquainted with the customs and culture of Tenglong Kingdom with Zhao Shimei, and did not come to the Princess's Mansion to look for anyone.
Little Spoon was perplexed again, "Host, why isn't she in a hurry at all? Instead, she's following Zhao Shimei around, eating and drinking. It's truly strange. She clearly came to Tenglong Kingdom after getting news about Li Su."
"That's why they say she's the powerful Eldest Princess, and you're just a little system who was tricked out of points~"
Little Spoon felt a surge of shame and retorted, "Little Chopstick and Little Fork are my good friends. They didn't really deceive me; they were just a bit short of funds. Look, Little Chopstick, who could only eat by taking loans, can even return ten thousand points to me at once~"
"Oh." Qiao Ci replied perfunctorily.
Half a month flew by. Li Su, from initial nervousness and anticipation, had now reached a state of calm. By this time, if the Fengming royal family wanted to acknowledge him, they should have arrived long ago.
On this day, Li Churuan came to visit the Princess's Mansion. Upon learning her identity, Zhao Shimei arrogantly followed along.
Hearing that someone was visiting, Qiao Ci instructed the guards at the entrance to let Li Churuan in.
Seeing Li Churuan enter while he was denied entry, Zhao Shimei's expression darkened, but he still spoke to Li Churuan amicably, "You go in. I have some grievances with the Eldest Princess, so I won't be entering. It would be detrimental to you if I offend her later."
Li Churuan, always haughty, felt her dignity challenged when someone she brought along was refused entry. She said coldly, "He is my person and came with me, so there is no reason to leave him outside."
"The Eldest Princess has ordered that mad dogs and Zhao Shimei are not allowed to enter the Princess's Mansion." The guards at the gate were dutiful and unyielding.
Upon hearing this, Li Churuan felt as if the term "mad dog" was referring to her, and her imposing aura instantly grew by two meters and eighty centimeters. "Tell your princess that since she treats guests like this, I will not enter. As for Li Su, I will have to trouble her to arrange for someone to return him."
Seeing her speak with such confidence, and concerning the Princess's new favorite, Li Su, the guards, fearing they might delay the Princess's important matters, softened their tone, "Please wait a moment, little one will go report to the Princess immediately to see if any accommodation can be made."
Li Churuan felt a slight sense of satisfaction from this, standing aside with a cold face, exuding impatience.