Chapter 996: Side Story Ends (1)

Little Jiajia did not know that the fabric she had given away had caused so much trouble in the Yuan family. She did not think much of it when she was in Great Xia. The closer she got to home, the more she missed her parents. If not for the fact that she did not have wings, she would have flown back.

In the Lord Jing’an’s residence, the servants were hanging red lanterns everywhere and pasting window flowers and couplets.

It should have been a festive and lively scene, but everyone was listless.

It was New Year’s Eve tomorrow, but their princess had yet to return.

In the past, the princess would have led them to paste the couplets she wrote. To be honest, it did not look good.

However, everyone liked it. Even the Longevity Palace asked for one or two sets every year.

After pasting the couplets, the princess would also take out the prizes from her private stash and lead everyone to play cuju, pitch-pot, money, and archery in the courtyard.

In short, with the princess around, the residence was always filled with laughter.

Now, when everyone buried their heads in their work, the huge Lord Jing’an’s residence was cold and cheerless.

Empress Dowager Zhou was also looking forward to Little Jiajia’s return.

When Little Jiajia left, she only left a letter for her family. The palace only received the news the next day. If not for Xuanyuan Qi stopping her, Empress Dowager Zhou would have sent someone to chase after her.

She wanted to blame Ji Luo and Xuanyuan Ce, but the two of them went to Qinghe Prefecture to provide disaster relief. She didn’t even have a place to vent her anger.

When Xuanyuan Ce finally returned from his work, Empress Dowager Zhou immediately urged him to bring Little Jiajia back. This coincided with Xuanyuan Ce’s thoughts, so Chu Feng went to Great Xia to pick her up.

Even so, it was impossible for Empress Dowager Zhou to give Xuanyuan Ce any more leeway. She heard from the palace servants that Lord Jing’an had come to pay his respects.

She said angrily, “Didn’t I say that I’ll see him when he brings my granddaughter back? Otherwise, he can forget about stepping into the Longevity Palace.”

Nanny Gao quickly calmed her down. “I heard that Lord Chu has already picked up the princess and is on the way back. I think she’ll be here soon.”

“How long will it take? It’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow. It’s supposed to be a day for the family to celebrate. Wouldn’t I have to travel alone on the road?” Empress Dowager Zhou stroked her heart. “Oh no, I feel even worse when I think of this. Let that brat go quickly. I don’t want to see him.”

Nanny Gao had no choice but to get someone to go out and reply.

Xuanyuan Ce, who had been rejected by his mother again, felt aggrieved. He left the palace dejectedly and returned to his residence.

Only the heavens knew that he felt much worse than others.

Others thought that his daughter was playing around this time. Only he clearly realized that his precious daughter was about to be snatched away again.

“Mother chased you out?” Ji Luo went to the palace a few times and encountered a wall. Later on, she stopped going. When she saw Xuanyuan Ce return, she inexplicably gloated.

She wasn’t the only one who was despised as a daughter-in-law, Xuanyuan Ce was also getting the cold shoulder.

Her daughter was indeed amazing.

Xuanyuan Ce looked at her resentfully. “Ah Luo…”

Ji Luo laughed impolitely. “Alright, you haven’t eaten dinner yet, right? I’ll get someone to prepare dinner.”

After the servants set up the food, the couple did not have much of an appetite. Just as they were about to ask someone to take the food away, a maidservant rushed in excitedly. “Your Highness, Princess Consort, the princess is back!”

Although they had instructed Chu Feng to return early, the two of them did not have much hope that Little Jiajia would be able to reach home before New Year’s Eve. After all, Great Xia’s Chang’an was a long way from Phoenix City. It was clearly a journey that would take more than two months.

Hearing the maidservant’s words, the two of them were stunned.

After a while, Xuanyuan Ce stood up and strode out.

The maidservants in the room looked at each other. They did not understand why His Highness seemed even more unhappy that the princess had returned.

Ji Luo knew him well and rolled her eyes. “You can stay here and be awkwvard. I’ll go out and take a look.”

Xuanyuan Ce snorted and took a big bite of rice. His eyes darted towards the door uncontrollably.

“Princess.”

“Princess, you’re finally back.”

As soon as Little Jiajia stepped into the residence, the entire Lord Jing’an’s residence seemed to come to life. The maidservants and servants leaned over and bowed.

Little Jiajia greeted everyone happily. Before she entered the courtyard, she saw a group of people rushing over from afar..