Née Wei said to Née Liu, full of praise, “No wonder you always boast about this child. She is indeed very intelligent and sensible. Xue’er [Liu Ruixue] told me the other day she had met a good meimei. This, I don’t have many daughters, only Xue’er. You’er, why don’t you be my goddaughter? And call me Godmother?”
Zi You did not refuse. She calmly and formally kneeled in ceremony. “This child pays respects to Godmother. Wishing Godmother good fortune!”
Compared to Wang Yiping, Zi You would rather call Née Wei “mother.”
Liu Ruixue saw this and happily grabbed Zi You’s hand. She was beaming with joy. “This is great! Now you’ve really become my meimei!”
Zi You feigned anger and coquettishly said, “What? So you didn’t treat me as your real meimei before?”
“No,” Liu Ruixue hastened to explain. “I did before and even more so now.”
“Haha…” Everyone heard and laughed.
Admidst the laughter, Zi You said regretfully, “But You’er cannot come often to visit Godmother. You’er is afraid that by being to close to you, Fourth Gongzhu will make trouble.”
Née Wei disdained, “Don’t be afraid, You’er. She’s the daughter of a little consort. She doesn’t have the ability to touch our Duke Anguo fu.”
Zi You shook her head. “Godmother, since ancient times, monarchs are suspicious. They are afraid of and don’t want to see powerful external forces. As the saying goes, one rather offends a gentleman than a vile character. I have already offended a vile character. I don’t want to implicate Duke Anguo fu. One must have the heart to guard against others.”
Née Liu also nodded. “Yes, sister-in-law. You’er is right. We won’t harm others, but we should guard against them.
Née Wei reluctantly nodded. She regretfully said, “I originally wanted to hold a banquet to formally recognize Zi You as my goddaughter. Can’t it be done? I’m not reconciled!”
