Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

"It'll get cold if we take it back, and it definitely won't taste as good as it does now," Xiaoxing mumbled between chews.

She grew up with Gu Qionghua since childhood. Nominally, she was the mistress and servant, but in reality, the two got along like sisters.

"Take it back for your mother; she might be happy," Gu Qionghua said with a hint of cautious anticipation.

When the eldest princess was mentioned, Xiao Xing lost her previous carefree attitude.

She swallowed the food in her mouth and nodded: "The princess is right, the pizza is so delicious, the princess will definitely like it."

"We'll also buy grilled sausages, Sichuan-style boiled chicken, and sparkling drinks to take home!" Gu Qionghua became happier as she spoke, her eyes filled with anticipation.

After finishing their pizzas, the two reluctantly asked the restaurant staff to pack them up. They also bought grilled sausages, boiled chicken, and sparkling drinks, which were then packed into a food box before leaving Zhiwei Restaurant.

The princess's residence was grand and imposing, and upon entering, one felt an inexplicable sense of oppression.

Gu Qionghua's every move was no longer as casual as before; every gesture was exquisite and elegant, like a beautiful puppet.

She raised her chin slightly, retaining her usual arrogance, but her eyes held an anticipation and joy she had never shown before.

"Is Mother here?" She led Xiao Xing to the entrance of the Princess's courtyard.

"The Princess just went to Yong'an Pavilion; we don't know when she will return."

Yong'an Pavilion...

Gu Qionghua lowered her eyes.

Mother went to that place again.

She looked up, her smile somewhat forced: "I'll go inside and wait for Mother."

The longer the food sits, the worse it tastes.

But Yong'an Pavilion was not a place she could set foot in.

To be precise, no one but the mother could go there.

Shen Niangzi's food was wonderfully delicious, and she wanted her mother to try it, hoping it would make her mother happier.

Gu Qionghua followed the servants into the Princess's courtyard.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw a basket on the stone table. Inside the basket were needles, thread, cloth, scissors, and a pair of shoes that were half-finished.

"The Princess instructed that we should continue working on it when she returns, so we dare not tidy up," the servant leading the way said, noticing Gu Qionghua's gaze.

Gu Qionghua nodded without saying anything.

My mother has made countless pairs of these shoes.

Not just shoes, but also clothes, hats, pillows, bedding, and so on.

It was all sewn together stitch by stitch.

But in the end, it all went up in flames, turned to ashes, and was burned for her sister who died young.

To be honest, she was a little envious of her older sister.

Her mother never made her any clothes, not even once.

Gu Qionghua sat down in a chair next to the stone table and began to stare blankly.

She was three years old that year, and her older sister Gu Zhaohua was six.

The three-year-old cried and fussed, clinging to her mother so tightly that she couldn't get away.

The six-year-old sister felt wronged, believing that her younger sister had taken away the mother's love that originally belonged to her.

Annoyed by her constant pestering, the mother casually scolded her older sister.

So the older sister ran out crying, and in the slightest distraction of the servants, she fell into the pond and drowned.

Gu Qionghua doesn't remember any of these things; she doesn't remember anything at all.

All she knew was that, as far back as she could remember, her mother had been sad and distressed, even though her mother was a high-ranking princess.

Moreover, she could sense a hint of resentment in her mother's gaze.

Even though it was very shallow, she could still feel it.

"If you hadn't cried and made a fuss that day, I wouldn't have scolded Zhao'er. If I hadn't scolded her, Zhao'er wouldn't have run away. And if she hadn't run away, she wouldn't have lost her life."

She often heard her mother say this.

Gradually, she began to feel some guilt towards her sister who had died young.

She wanted to take care of their mother in place of her sister and pull her out of her grief.

So she always wanted to win and be number one in everything, as if only in this way could she make her mother see her as her daughter and make her mother proud of her.

Later, wanting to be number one became a habit, and she stopped caring about anything else. No matter what burdens she carried, all she wanted was to be number one.

Even today, when she went to Zhiwei Restaurant, Madam Shen told her not to forget the freedom of life.

Words like "free," "comfortable," and "relaxed" seem to have never appeared in her world.

Therefore, when she heard it, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Your Highness, the Princess has arrived." A servant's voice rang out from afar.

Gu Qionghua snapped out of her daze and looked up to see that it was the eldest princess returning to the courtyard.

The princess was dressed in simple and elegant clothes, her expression was calm, and her eyes were slightly moist, as if she had just been crying.

Yong'an Pavilion was the courtyard where Gu Zhaohua lived before her death. The Eldest Princess often went there and would sit for a long time.

Needless to say, her visit to Yong'an Pavilion today was also to remember her daughter who died young.

"Mother." Gu Qionghua stood up and bowed.

"What is it?" The princess's voice was very cold.

Gu Qionghua, seemingly oblivious to the coldness, said expectantly, "Mother, today I tasted some incredibly rare and delicious food in Ping'an County, so I brought some back with me. Please try some, Mother!"

Her tone was both eager and cautiously ingratiating as she spoke, pushing the food box in front of the princess.

"The durian pizza is fragrant and sweet, the bacon and potato pizza is rich and flavorful with an unforgettable aftertaste, and the grilled sausage, Sichuan-style chicken, and sparkling drinks are all very unique. Mother, you must try them!"

Gu Qionghua's anticipation was almost overflowing.

She longed for her mother to be happy, and she also longed for her mother to be happy because of her.

At this point, she was no longer the flamboyant princess, but simply a child yearning for her mother's approval.

The princess glanced at the food box briefly before turning her attention to the basket beside it.

Inside the basket were the little shoes she had only finished making.

"Put it down. I will taste it later. If there is nothing else, you may return to your own courtyard." The princess picked up the half-finished shoe, clearly preparing to continue making it.

She didn't even glance at the food box next to her.

Gu Qionghua lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing the emotions within: "Mother, you must remember to try it, things don't taste as good if they're left out for too long."

"understood."

The princess didn't even look up, her gaze fixed intently on the little shoes in her hand.

Gu Qionghua bit her lip, a deep sense of powerlessness rising in her heart.

It was as if there was an invisible and intangible barrier between her and her mother, and neither of them could touch the other's heart.

Gu Qionghua turned and left, the expectation in her eyes gone as she went.

She could even guess that her mother might not even open the food box.

My mother lives only in her own world, a world that no one else can enter.

She didn't know how hard she had to work to earn her mother's love and embrace.

......