Chapter 157: Foil

The Princess of Annan beckoned to Su Liluoluo, saying, "Liluoluo, come here and let me take a goodly look at you." Seeing the Princess treat Su Liluoluo with such favoritism made Su Baihan burn with anger. She could only stand at the lower end, entirely unable to do a thing.

Su Liluoluo took dainty steps with bashful grace, letting the Princess of Annan clasp her hand and lavish her with praise, "Liluoluo, you must look after Anping well in the days to come. This child of mine has been spoiled rotten by me; if there are any matters, you must bear with her somewhat."

Hearing the underlying hint in her words, Su Liluoluo nodded repeatedly and replied, "It is my absolute honor to be on good terms with the Princess. To speak the truth, I regard the Princess as my younger sister, so naturally I shall assist her in whatever arises."

The Princess of Annan beamed with delight, patting Su Liluoluo's hand gently as she held it. "Liluoluo truly possesses an extraordinary bearing." Standing to the side, Su Baihan was reduced to a mere foil. She opened her mouth, wishing to interject, but found no opportunity.

The Princess of Annan gazed fixedly at Su Liluoluo. Both her son and daughter favored this girl. Although the rumors outside painted Su Liluoluo in an unfavorable light, their Annan Prince's Estate cared nothing for such gossip. Moreover, Su Liluoluo possessed her own shops and lacked for no wealth.

The Princess stroked Su Liluoluo's hand, observing her gentle and graceful demeanor, and then glanced at the anxious Su Baihan beside her—the contrast in their nobility was instantly apparent. Seeing her in the flesh proved that the rumors outside were indeed untrustworthy and unworthy of belief. When the Prince had previously hinted at the marriage to the Prime Minister, there had been no response whatsoever. The Princess of Annan looked at Su Liluoluo with tangled, hesitant thoughts, not knowing how best to proceed.

Sensing the shifting and uncertain attitude of the Princess of Annan, Su Liluoluo's heart rose and fell along with it. Beside them, Su Baihan grew frantic with exasperation. "Your Highness..."

"What is the Fourth Young Miss about?" The Princess of Annan recovered her wits, realizing she was still holding Su Liluoluo's hand. She lightly released it and looked toward Su Baihan with utter incomprehension.

Su Baihan's eyes turned red with grievance. She had never been so coldly ignored before, and all the things she had yearned for in her heart had now come to naught. "The Princess is so fond of Elder Sister; Han'er merely feels envy."

The atmosphere in the room instantly stiffened. The Princess of Annan listened in astonishment to Su Baihan's untimely remark. With a stern face, Su Liluoluo pulled on Su Baihan's sleeve and hissed in a low voice, "What are you doing? Do you still think you haven't embarrassed yourself enough?"

Matron Wei, who stood beside the Princess of Annan, already wore a severe expression as she said, "The Fourth Young Miss is entirely lacking in decorum. Her Highness has yet to question anyone, yet you suddenly interrupt. Is this the bearing of a young lady of a noble house?"

Princess Anping rolled her eyes at Su Baihan and looked at Su Liluoluo with sympathy. With an inner sigh, Su Liluoluo stepped forward to make amends, saying, "My Fourth Younger Sister acted only out of momentary anxiety and spoke amiss. I beseech Your Highness to forgive her."

She tugged at Su Baihan's sleeve. Su Baihan stood frozen to the spot, unable to utter even half a word. Seeing the dark expression on the Princess of Annan's face, she finally snapped back to her senses. Panic filled her eyes, and with a trembling voice, she pleaded, "Spare my life, Your Highness! Han'er spoke wrongly; Han'er did not mean it."

Su Baihan fell to both knees on the floor, kowtowing with loud thuds. Her face was ashen, and her heart was already aflutter with panic. Had she known, she would never have uttered those spiteful words of jealousy. Having now offended the Princess of Annan, how could she ever hope to become the Heir's Consort?

Su Liluoluo also joined in pleading for mercy on the side. If Su Baihan were to be punished today, she would undoubtedly return home and twist the facts with all sorts of nonsense, and by then Su Liluoluo would not be able to escape culpability either.

"Calm your anger, Your Highness. Han'er is still young and her offense was unintentional. If Your Highness must punish someone, as her elder sister, I am willing to take the punishment in her stead." Su Liluoluo knelt beside Su Baihan, her resolute expression causing the Princess of Annan to sigh.

Feigning anger toward Matron Wei, the Princess said, "You are truly something, Matron. What would happen if you frightened the Prime Minister's daughter? Rise quickly, Liluoluo. Your younger sister merely made an unintentional slip; how could I hold it against her?"

Su Liluoluo hastily kowtowed to express her gratitude. Princess Anping could no longer be bothered with anything else; she personally helped Su Liluoluo to her feet and sharply scolded Su Baihan, "Fourth Young Miss, I beg you to use your brain next time you speak. It would be fine if you alone were punished, but do not drag Liluoluo Sister down with you."

How dared Su Baihan say another word? She kowtowed frantically and promised, "Han'er will never dare again next time, never dare again..."

"Get up, lest outsiders think I am somehow mistreating the Fourth Young Miss." The Princess of Annan cast a glance at the maidservant beside her. Su Baihan was helped to her feet, two trails of clear tears already hanging on her face.

Su Liluoluo had no choice but to softly comfort her, "Younger sister, quickly dry your tears and save your elder sister some worry." After admonishing Su Baihan, she began to recount some amusing anecdotes of her time with Princess Anping at the estate, which brought smiles back to the face of the Princess of Annan.

After chatting in the room for a while, the hour grew late. Su Liluoluo took Su Baihan and rose to take her leave. The Princess of Annan did not press them to stay longer; the mere sight of Su Baihan brought an unfriendly look to her face. However, she offered a soft parting plea to Su Liluoluo: "Liluoluo, you must come often in the future to keep Anping company, and we can chat more. What you have to say is very pleasing to the ear."

Whenever Su Liluoluo spoke of matters concerning Princess Anping, the Princess of Annan's eyes would light up, and she would wish to hear a few more words. Little did she expect Su Liluoluo to be returning to her residence already, which made her feel somewhat reluctant to part with her.

"Liluoluo will obey Your Highness. As long as Your Highness does not disdain me, I will certainly come often to keep the Princess company in the future." Though Su Liluoluo answered with agreeable compliance on the surface, inwardly she felt a trace of nervousness. She had no wish to step foot outside her manor for a good while; if her life were to be taken by plotting villains, she would have no time left even to weep.

Finding it inconvenient to keep them longer, the Princess of Annan sent attendants to escort Su Liluoluo and her party to the gates. Princess Anping watched them board their carriage before turning back into the mansion.

The moment she sat inside the carriage, Su Baihan could no longer contain her pent-up frustration and roared at Su Liluoluo, "Su Liluoluo, what did you mean just now? Did you deliberately watch me make a fool of myself before the Princess?"

"What kind of words is Younger Sister uttering? If Elder Sister had not helped you just now, would Younger Sister have cleared this hurdle so easily?" Seeing that the moment she left the Prince's Estate, Su Baihan had cast the recent event to the winds and turned around to blame her instead, Su Liluoluo found it utterly laughable.

Su Baihan felt half-crazed with frustration. Upon second thought, she realized she had indeed spoken out of turn, yet words of apology simply could not cross her lips. She could only mutter under her breath, "As an elder sister, you are naturally bound to help me when I get into trouble."

"Younger Sister speaks with such reason. Just now in front of the Princess, Elder Sister also spoke on your behalf. Since the Princess did not blame you, why must Younger Sister dwell on it so much? Let this elder sister offer you a word of advice: do not speak idly upon returning to the Prime Minister's Estate. If Mother were to find out that you offended the Princess, heaven knows how she would lecture you." Su Liluoluo offered this seemingly casual, gentle reminder while anxiously watching for Su Baihan's reaction. If the girl stubbornly insisted on snitching, there was nothing she could do to stop her, and she would inevitably suffer a severe scolding from Yao Ruoshui.

Su Baihan rolled her eyes for a long moment, then stiffened her face and said, "It was merely a trivial matter; how could I possibly speak of it to Mother? As for you, however, if I hear any rumors flying about, I will certainly not let you off lightly." Her face remained stern, tinged with a veiled warning.

Having achieved her objective, Su Liluoluo immediately smiled and said, "Rest assured, Younger Sister, I am not one to wag my tongue." With a few exchanges of words, an agreement was struck between them. Upon returning to the Prime Minister's Estate, Su Baihan and Su Liluoluo went to Yao Ruoshui's chambers to give their reports before retiring to their respective rooms.

Su Liluoluo hurried back to her quarters. Seeing her bead with sweat from rushing, Liuzhu asked with concern, "What is the matter with my Lady? Is there something you are looking for? This maid might be able to help."

Su Liluoluo shook her head and headed straight for the inner chamber. Seeing the maidservants wanting to follow her inside, she said in a firm voice, "None of you are to enter. I wish to be alone for a while; close the door properly."

Liuzhu and Liuyue exchanged a perplexed look and could only obey the command. Unlocking her vanity case with a key she kept on her person, Su Liluoluo discovered the military tally resting safely inside. She let out a sigh of relief and locked the case back up just as it was.

Her heart pounded fiercely, beating much faster than usual and causing her great discomfort. Leaning against the head of the bed, she stared blankly at the trinkets on the dressing table. This military tally was a burning potato in her hands; if anyone were to discover it, her little life would instantly be forfeited.

"Perhaps I should seek out that maidservant who claimed to be close to my mother and ask if anyone else knows about the military tally." Having made up her mind, Su Liluoluo began plotting a proper excuse to visit the nunnery and question the nun.