Chapter 724 - The Tyrannical Little Flower
“Your Highness, the young royal princess has beaten someone up at the academy. The victim’s relative is currently at the academy, asking for an explanation!” Weizi hurried in from the outer courtyard and ran towards Princess Consort Xu, who was feeding the fish by the lotus pond. Her voice held a hint of alarm and impatience.
Yu Xiaocao currently had four first-ranked personal maidservants and they were named after the four famous peonies. They were Yaohuang, Weizi, Doulu, and Zhaofen.
Yu Xiaocao picked at her ear and asked doubtfully, “Who? Who did you say beat up someone else?”
Weizi slightly panted as she replied, “Your Highness, you didn’t hear incorrectly. It was the young royal princess who beat up another student. It’s said that the student has two black eyes and a split lip. He looks quite pitiful apparently.”
“Little Guozi is only four, yet she’s able to beat someone to that degree?” Yu Xiaocao didn’t quite believe this, “That can’t be right! Are you telling me that my sweet and adorable girl had actually fought with someone at the academy? Are you sure this is right and not someone mistaking Little Mantou for Little Guozi ah?”
Little Mantou’s face resembled Xiaocao’s more, so many people often mistook him for the young royal princess from Imperial Prince Xu’s estate who liked to wear boy’s clothing. Furthermore, the true royal princess, Zhu Yunxin, looked more like her father and older brother and was often mistaken as the male twin out of the two.
Weizi also felt a bit doubtful after hearing his mistress’s questions. She quietly continued, “Your Highness, how about...this servant could go to the academy and get the details?”
Yu Xiaocao had just been at home with nothing to do, so she put down the fish feed in her hands and said, “Regardless of whether it was Little Mantou or Little Guozi, someone had beaten another student up. As their parent, if I don’t show my face, that wouldn’t be proper. Have Pipa come and dress me, I need to go to the school.”
Her previous four first-ranked personal maidservants had all been married off when they reached the age of twenty. Only Pipa stayed behind as she decided to stay with her mistress and be in charge of her clothing and jewelry.
Yu Xiaocao changed into a set of gorgeous clothing that was finely embroidered with peonies. Her hair had been combed into a simple flying immortal knot, which revealed her bright and clear forehead. It was decorated with fine pearl flowers, which made her look fresh and elegant. It contrasted beautifully with Xiaocao’s fair and exquisite skin, making her look like a fresh young maiden.
Imperial Prince Xu’s residence wasn’t very far from the academy. She got off from the carriage and had just entered the chair’s ‘office’ with the help of the doorman when she heard a familiar voice that seemed sweet and shrewish at the same time, “Shut your mouth! Even if we add them to the store, we won’t sell them to you!”
When she clearly saw the young girl inside, she didn’t expect to see her usually clever and gentle little girl currently standing in an aggressive manner with her two hands on her h.i.p.s as she regarded the little fatty in front of her with a contemptuous look. Eh? Was she truly mistaken earlier? Was this really her daughter?
“Lady Mother...this son greets Lady Mother!” The first one to spot Yu Xiaocao was her clever and quick-witted son, Little Mantou. He gave a look at his younger sister and hurried forward as he supported Yu Xiaocao’s left hand in a flattering manner.
The expression on Zhu Yunxin’s face changed slightly as she recalled what her father had repeatedly warned her about: ‘Daughter, in front of your lady mother, you must act like a young gentlewoman and not make your lady mother worried about you, alright ah? This is especially important when I’m not home. All of you must take good care of your lady mother…’
She immediately snapped her feet together and placed both hands on her abdomen as she revealed a sweet smile. The little dimples on her face were faintly discernible and her voice had become as gentle as the spring wind as she said, “Lady Mother, when did you come over? Lady Mother, please sit down. I’ll make some tea for you…”
Whether it was the wife of the imperial tutor or the crown prince, everyone’s eyes almost bugged out of their heads. Was...was this the overbearing and aggressive little tyrannical flower from earlier ah? How did she suddenly change into a sweet and adorable little child? Just what was going on?
Yu Fan was already used to his little niece’s ‘quick transformations’ and it no longer phased him. Since his second sister had arrived, he could now sit back and allow this headache inducing little kid to be put into order by her mother. He leaned against the back of his chair calmly and drank the fragrant tea in front of him in a pleased manner.
“Alright ah, stop pretending! You’ve already revealed your little tail and I have a grasp on it ah!” Yu Xiaocao used her forefinger to poke at her daughter’s forehead. Apparently, the little lass was only pretending to be sweet and obedient in her midst! She really was in the running for the title, ‘the Emperor of Acting’!
“Lady Mother...this little fatty hit me and wanted to steal my things, wah wah wah...Lady Mother, you must get justice for this daughter ah!” Tears came to Little Guozi’s eyes on command and everyone could see the trail of two tears on her sweet and tender little face. Her rosy lips trembled as she raised her tearful eyes to look at Yu Xiaocao. Her whole appearance roused pity within people’s hearts.
Even the wife of the imperial tutor, who had come rampaging over, felt her heart soften. She looked at her grandson, who was taller than the girl by a head and had a body about twice the size as well. Why did she suddenly feel like the one bullying other people was her own grandson? She glanced at Little Guozi, who was silently shedding tears, and gently said, “Your Highness, it wasn’t right for Dong’er to bully you! When we get back, I’ll make sure his father punishes him appropriately. Don’t cry, if girls cry too much, they won’t be pretty anymore!”
Liang Guodong opened his two panda eyes wide and stared blankly as his grandmother, who had been ‘completely fooled’ by that lass’s tears and had defected to her side. ‘Grandmother, look again at your own grandson, just who was bullying who?’
“Child! How could you possibly steal things from your younger brothers and sisters just because you’re bigger than them? Was everything your father taught you in vain ah? You even made this old lady come out to support you. I’ve almost lost all of my face because of you!” The imperial tutor’s residence had an abundance of males and a dearth of females. In Liang Guodong’s father’s generation, they had four sons and only one daughter. In the grandchildren's generation, there were only grandsons. Thus, the wife of the imperial tutor really had no defenses against a cute and adorable little girl.
Liang Guodong pouted a bit and had accidentally hurt his split lip again. He sharply inhaled in pain. He was feeling really quite wronged, ‘Paternal Grandmother, just who was the one who insisted on making a ruckus ah? Clearly I was the one who was trying to avoid things from happening, okay?’
“Hmph! Using your strength to bully the weak has finally come back to you ah?” The wife of the imperial tutor felt her heart soften again after looking at her grandson’s colorful face.
“Come here and let Auntie take a look——oh my, just who beat you so hard ah? Look at those black eyes and your swollen lip...does it hurt? Auntie has some medicine here and as soon as you spread it on, it’ll reduce the swelling. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt a bit!” Yu Xiaocao took out a tiny medicine boxy from Doulu’s hands and took out a bottle of ointment.
After the sweet-smelling ointment was spread on his face, Liang Guodong felt a cooling effect and the painful heat had immediately disappeared. It was so comfortable. Princess Consort Xu was so gentle and had such a sweet-sounding voice. She was also beautiful and smelled fragrant. Furthermore, she made top-notch cakes, pastries and candies. Wouldn’t it be great if he was Princess Consort Xu’s son…
The wife of the imperial tutor knew immediately what her grandson was thinking. He had forgotten his own mother! He was so shameless to forget his own ancestors for the sake of food.
“Do you have any bruises on your body?” Yu Xiaocao was about to lift up his sleeve.
The six year old little fatty was already aware that there was a difference between s.e.xes. He hurriedly grabbed onto his sleeve and blushed, “No, I really don’t have any…”
“Oh! It looks like you’re a little embarrassed!” Yu Xiaocao quipped as she offered the ointment in her hand to the wife of the imperial tutor, “This ointment was personally made by me. Young kids, ah, always end up hurting themselves in some manner or another. After using this ointment, it can reduce swelling and pain. My children had ended up beating up your grandson so badly, so I apologize to you. I’m truly very sorry!”
Her children? Little Mantou wanted to express his own innocence. It was clearly the sole work of his younger sister, so why was he getting pulled down into the mud?
The residence had hired a famous teacher to teach the children martial arts and equestrian skills. In Yu Xiaocao’s eyes, her daughter was only joining in on the fun. How could she know that her youngest daughter had already been trained by her father into a thorny little tyrannical flower when she was unaware? When she looked at the wounds on the little fatty’s face, she felt like it had to be the joint work between the two twins.
“Lady Mother, do you not love Guozi anymore ah? Lady Mother...wah wah wah!” She had cried so pitifully yet her lady mother had summarily ignored her. In fact, her mother spent more time with that despicable fatty and even personally spread ointment on him.
Her father had once told her that if they didn’t listen and used their skills to bully others, their mother wouldn’t love them anymore. She didn’t want that! She didn’t want her mother to dislike and ignore her! The fake tears she had originally been crying were now transformed to true distress.
Yu Xiaocao sighed and used a handkerchief to wipe away the tears on her daughter’s face before bending over and carrying her. She looked at the little lass in her arms and asked, “I haven’t scolded you or punished you. Why are you crying then?”
“Lady Mother, Guozi knows that I was wrong. In the future, Guozi will never hit other people again.” Zhu Yunxin hugged her mother’s neck and candidly admitted her fault in the matter.
Xiaocao stroked her daughter’s head and gently asked, “If you understand that you did something badly and apologize, you’re still my little treasure. So tell me, why did you fight someone else?”
Little Guozi buried her face into her mother’s neck and stated in a somewhat embarrassed manner, “Today, I wasn’t good and brought the malted chocolate drops you made to school.”
When Yu Xiaocao heard this, she already had a good idea of what had happened. Her daughter must have bragged about the new snacks she made and the little fatty couldn’t resist the temptation. In the end, he had become like that.
“Liang Guodong stole the malted chocolate drops that I had given Liang Guoquan, so I couldn't stand it and beat him up. Lady Mother, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have brought the food you made to school to show off. I shouldn't have beat someone up and done it such a fierce manner…” Little Guozi truly expressed her remorse in a very sincere manner.
The wife of the imperial tutor felt her face first turn green, then red, and finally white out of fury after hearing the story. No wonder when she asked her grandson what had happened, he had hemmed and hawed and refused to tell the truth. All this ruckus had happened because he was the one trying to steal food from others ah! She even ran over furiously to find the academy to make them explain things in a proper manner to her...she truly had no face left to see people!!
“Child, how could you possibly steal food from your thirteenth younger brother? Didn’t I tell you that as the older brother, you need to take care of your younger brothers ah?” The wife of the imperial tutor pulled on his ear and scolded him roundly.
Liang Guodong had a wronged expression on her face, “In the past, my thirteenth younger brother had asked for my sponge cake to eat when he was hungry. He promised me then that the next time he had something good to eat, he would give it to me...who would have thought that he didn’t truly want to give the malted chocolate drops to me? When I ate them, he suddenly started crying.”
Following that, he had been beaten up. Furthermore, he had been pummeled by a little girl who was much younger than him and it had been a one-sided fight. He was innocent, alright?
The truth was now in the open. Although her daughter had fought for the sake for her classmates, it was still wrong of her to hit others. Yu Xiaocao had her daughter apologize to the little fatty and then gave him a box of malted chocolate drops as an apology gift. She also gave him an invitation to come over whenever he was free along with his thirteenth younger brother to the prince’s estate to play.
However, many people now knew that the young royal princess from Imperial Prince Xu’s estate was a tyrannical flower and shouldn’t be offended…