The day's adventure had left TanTan absolutely starving.
Unfortunately, having Prince Li seated directly across from her made it difficult for her to enjoy her meal, even with FangFang sitting between them.
The reason was simple: ever since they had taken their seats, Prince Li had been staring at her suspiciously without saying a word.
Unable to tolerate it any longer, TanTan finally spoke up.
"Do you have something to say to me, Prince Li?"
She had gathered her courage to ask before she lost her patience and told him to stop staring.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Prince Li replied.
TanTan frowned. She didn't understand what he meant, but as far as she was concerned, she had nothing to explain.
"I don't have anything to tell you."
"Really? On the contrary, I believe there's quite a lot you need to tell me. For starters, you still haven't explained why you went to that gambling house."
"A gambling house? What's that, YangMu?"
FangFang immediately became interested in their conversation.
"It's nothing, FangFang!"
TanTan hurriedly covered FangFang's ears before shooting Prince Li a sharp glare.
"You can't talk about gambling or work-related matters in front of a child!"
Prince Li wasn't accustomed to having meals with FangFang, so he had momentarily forgotten how attentive the little girl could be whenever adults talked.
He cleared his throat.
"Very well. We'll discuss it after dinner."
Just then, Aunt Tong came in to serve the dishes, as she usually did.
Among the various dishes on the table was a beautifully roasted chicken. The sight immediately reminded TanTan of the honey-roasted chicken she hadn't even gotten the chance to taste earlier.
What a waste!
She couldn't help feeling a pang of regret.
FangFang noticed TanTan's gaze lingering on the chicken. Wanting to get some for her, the little girl stretched out her hand.
Unfortunately, her little arm wasn't long enough to reach it. Besides, the plate was positioned much closer to Prince Li than to them.
Noticing FangFang's struggle, Prince Li offered,
"Do you want some chicken, FangEr? Let YiFu get some for you."
He picked up his chopsticks and prepared to cut a small piece.
But FangFang shook her head.
"No... It's for YangMu. YiFu, please give it to YangMu."
Both Prince Li and TanTan were surprised, especially TanTan. She hadn't realized that FangFang had noticed her longing gaze.
A mischievous smirk suddenly appeared on Prince Li's face.
"Ah, I see. Perhaps your YangMu doesn't like roasted chicken after all. According to my report, she even threw away that famous honey-roasted chicken when she was dealing with those swindlers."
"YangMu, did you really do that?"
FangFang widened her eyes in disbelief. She couldn't understand why TanTan would throw away perfectly good food. Wasn't that impolite?
TanTan shot Prince Li an angry glare.
He deliberately brought that up now just to embarrass me in front of FangFang!
"I only did that because those men were bad, FangFang. They were trying to hurt someone weaker than themselves..."
TanTan tried to explain, hoping FangFang wouldn't get the wrong idea from what she had done.
"Really, YangMu?"
"That's right! I can testify to that."
Suddenly, two figures appeared at the entrance. They had apparently overheard the conversation, and one of them immediately decided to join in.
QingQing stepped forward with a smile.
"You know, little girl? Your YangMu is actually a very brave woman!"
XiaoRue, who realized how impolite it was to interrupt someone else's dinner, quickly stepped forward and apologized to Prince Li and TanTan.
"I'm sorry, XiaoJie. Prince Li. I actually asked Miss QingQing to wait outside, but she insisted on coming in to tell you herself that we had arrived."
Although Prince Li was somewhat annoyed by their unexpected interruption, he didn't want to appear to be a discourteous host.
Instead, he glanced at TanTan with an unhappy expression, clearly expecting her to take responsibility for the guest she had invited.
Only then did TanTan realize that she hadn't asked Prince Li for permission before inviting QingQing to stay at the mansion.
However, she had already promised QingQing that she could stay.
Noticing the awkward situation, QingQing seemed to understand what was going through TanTan's mind. She quickly stepped forward and greeted Prince Li politely.
"Please forgive my intrusion, Prince Li. Young Madam HuaMuTan was kind enough to invite me to stay here, and I'm truly grateful for her hospitality. However, my real intention is to help Young Madam, so I hope I can repay her kindness in some way."
Prince Li raised an eyebrow.
He wasn't accustomed to hearing anyone speak of HuaMuTan's kindness.
"Did your sister agree to this arrangement?"
His suspicious tone made QingQing feel slightly nervous.
"Yes... She knows about it."
"Hmm... Is that so?"
Prince Li fixed his gaze on QingQing.
I find it hard to believe Lady FengHuang would willingly allow her younger sister to get so close to HuaMuTan.
The way he questioned QingQing irritated TanTan.
"Prince Li, I'm the one who invited her here, so there's no need to interrogate her like that!"
TanTan stood up.
"Don't worry. We won't bother you or cause any trouble in your mansion. Now, if you'll excuse us... Come on, QingQing. I'll show you to my room."
Seeing TanTan about to leave, FangFang immediately grabbed her hand and looked up at her sadly.
"But, YangMu... You promised to eat with me."
"That's right. Why are you in such a hurry, wifey? I haven't even finished speaking with you yet. And you should keep your promise."
Prince Li gave her a smug smile, clearly with no intention of letting her leave so easily.
Then he turned toward the servants.
"Aunt Tong, prepare another bowl. Let our guest join us for dinner first. I'm sure you've had a long day and must be hungry too. And XiaoRue, you may go and have your dinner as well."
XiaoRue looked toward TanTan for permission. TanTan nodded, silently telling her that she could leave.
But before XiaoRue could move, QingQing suddenly spoke up.
"Ah, Prince Li, thank you for your kind invitation. But I wouldn't want to disturb your family dinner. Why don't you let XiaoRue accompany me instead? We can have our meal together while waiting for Young Madam HuaMuTan to finish hers. Isn't that right, XiaoRue?"
Without waiting for Prince Li to respond, QingQing took XiaoRue's hand.
"Come on! We shouldn't disturb them any longer."
And just like that, she pulled XiaoRue out of the room.
Prince Li and TanTan could only watch as the two women disappeared through the doorway.
TanTan then turned to Prince Li with a puzzled expression.
Why did he suddenly become so considerate?
Before she could finish thinking, a loud rumbling sound came from her stomach.
"Wah! YangMu, you must be very hungry! Your stomach is making such a loud noise!"
FangFang's innocent remark made Prince Li burst into a chuckle.
TanTan's face turned bright red.
"Ahem... That's right. Let's just eat now..."
She quickly sat back down, picked up her bowl, and began helping herself to the food.
She decided to ignore Prince Li completely, especially since he was still watching her with that irritating smile on his face.