Long Chi glanced at the object in his hand and apologized to the Dowager Duchess, “We have acted absurdly in front of the Dowager Duchess. Shuang’er was just afraid for me…”
He paused before continuing, “Please don’t be angry at Shuang’er, Dowager Duchess.”
The Dowager Duchess waved it off. “How could I dare get angry at the Crown Princess? No need to apologize like this, Your Highness.”
Lu Yunshuang’s face turned as white as a sheet. She moved forward and tugged at the Dowager Duchess’ sleeve. She said pitifully, “Grandmother, I’ve made a mountain out of a molehill. I shouldn’t have reprimanded Weiwei, Grandmother…”
The Dowager Duchess pulled her sleeve away. “The Crown Princess will always side with the Crown Prince and worry for his safety. That’s how it’s supposed to be, so of course I’m not angry. Still, the next time the Crown Prince and Crown Princess decide to visit the mansion, it would be best if you two sent someone ahead of time to inform us. If something did happen to either of you before you met us in the garden, the Grand Duke Family would not have been able to help since we didn’t know you were nearby.”
Blood seemed to have completely left Lu Yunshuang’s face.
Even though the Dowager Duchess had not said anything that sounded too serious, the subtext within every word and sentence she said revealed the distinct line between Lu Yunshuang and Lu Liangwei.
Lu Yunshuang stood still, suddenly feeling helpless. It was a pitiful sight.
Long Chi was a little upset with her.
What was she doing, making a big fuss over nothing?
Regardless of her behavior, Lu Yunshuang was still her granddaughter, so the Dowager Duchess sighed when she saw her acting that way. “That’s enough. Don’t just stand there. Let’s go in and have some tea.”
With that, she took the lead and walked off first.
“Grandmother, let me help you there,” Lu Yunshuang immediately rushed forward in hopes of pleasing her grandmother with favors.
She could not let her grandmother dislike her, no matter what. She had to get back into her good graces.
Lu Yunshuang was so engrossed in her goal of pleasing the Dowager Duchess that she failed to notice Long Chi was not following behind her.
Long Chi was still standing where he had been from the start. When he saw Lu Liangwei walking over with the racket in her hand, a look flashed through his eyes as he approached her.
“Weiwei, you’re such a playful thing. This nearly hit me.” He offered the shuttlecock back to her as he said this.
Lu Liangwei felt goosebumps all over her body. She did not reach out to take it. Instead, she turned to Zhu Yu and said, “Thank His Highness.”
Zhu Yu immediately understood and walked forward quickly. She reached out to take the shuttlecock from Long Chi’s hand.
Long Chi did not even look at her as he retracted his hand and kept the shuttlecock to himself. He pressed Lu Liangwei and said, “The Dowager Duchess must be tired. Why don’t I play with you instead?”
He had watched them play for quite a while so he had an idea of how to play this strange new game.
Lu Liangwei immediately flung over her simply-constructed racket to Chu Jiu. “Have a good game with His Highness.”
Chu Jiu grabbed the racket and spared a look at Long Chi as she walked forward. “Please, Your Highness!”
The veins on Long Chi’s forehead twitched. Who would want to play with this tomboy?
He immediately got bored and flung the shuttlecock at Zhu Yu.
“You two should just play amongst yourselves.”
Zhu Yu had been watching her Miss play with the Dowager Duchess for a while, and she was itching to try it out herself. Now that she had her hands on the shuttlecock, she immediately jumped at the opportunity. “Chu Jiu, let’s play against each other?”
Chu Jiu lowered her head to look at the racket in her hand. The outer parts were made out of bamboo while the strings on the inner section were pulled together from fishing lines.
It was such a simple-looking thing, yet the Dowager Duchess and Second Miss had had so much fun playing with it.
She reached out her fingers to brush against the strings. She nodded toward Zhu Yu. “Let’s go.”
When Lu Liangwei saw that the two girls were about to play against each other, she grew interested and walked into the pavilion.
Long Chi followed her when he saw this. He borrowed a fan from one of the servants and stood next to her, fanning her gently.
Lu Liangwei noticed a light breeze coming toward her and wondered which thoughtful servant it could be. She turned to see and her face immediately darkened.
What was this scumbag Crown Prince, Long Chi, thinking of? Why was he following her around?
