Becoming the Empress: Golden Finger Set Under My Bed

Chapter 37: Negotiation

As she finished speaking, a man in black rushed to them with his hair bound up. After paying a respect, he looked extremely serious without any smile, “Ladies, my lord asked me to hand this to Princess Anyang. I hope my arrival does not spoil your fun here.”

Saying so, he took out a piece of silk before An Rushuang held it and handed it to Princess Anyang. The apricot silk was very delicate and of excellent quality. Seeing this, An Rushuang couldn’t help taking a look towards where the man came from before she saw there was another man in imperial robe standing in the distance.

Thinking that this noble man did arrive in time, she couldn’t help curving her lips.

Slowly unfolding the silk, Princess Anyang had some idea about it, but when she saw the character on the top, she was extremely stunned and turned to the man, “Who are you serving for?” The character was written in such a clear and excellent semi-cursive script. Princess Anyang had seen the handwriting before.

Bowing to Princess Anyang, the man said, “Your Grace, no need to worry. My lord said that he will come here soon. But it is not the appropriate time now. So he asks Your Grace to be in charge of ‘the peony’ stuff.”

Slightly dimming her eyes, Princess Anyang curved her lips and said, “What a coincidence! It has been a long time since we last saw the peony. But this time we have two flower-lovers here to appreciate it.” Saying so, she nodded to the man, “Tell your lord that I will try my best.”

Hearing this, the man bowed to Princess Anyang before leaving the tower.

Standing beside, Haya was so confused that she asked, “Did he also want to buy the peony?”

“It seems so,” replied An Rushuang before she turned to Princess Anyang.

At the same time, Princess Anyang also turned to her. They exchanged looks when Princess Anyang said a silent ‘sorry’ to Rushuang and said slowly to Haya, “Haya, I’m sorry. Although I have promised you, but this time I may go back on my word.”

Princess Anyang definitely would not give up this opportunity to strive for a place for herself. As long as she could do it well, she would have a say in the capital.

Frowning, Haya looked annoyed after hearing Princess Anyang’s words. Although she was not totally sure about what she meant, she could know that she wasn’t saying something good.

“But you promised me,” she said, getting furious.

“Yes, it’s true. But I forgot that I have promised someone that I’ll send the peony to him. I’ve only got one… how could I give it to two people?” said Princess Anyang innocuously, slightly shaking her head.

Standing beside, Zhu Xianxian and Lu Mingyue felt something was not right, but they couldn’t figure it out.

They were already surprised that Princess Anyang promised to give the peony to Haya, but now came a man in black and the peony was said to send to the other?

They had never heard Princess Anyang talking about this before when they were in the Rong Manor.

As they were confused, An Rushuang chuckled and pretended to comfort Haya, “Haya, if so, there is no turning back now. Could you please pick other peonies instead?” Seeing that Haya’s eyes were focused on the purple peony, An Rushuang knew that she liked it very much that she would by no means give up.

“No. Purple is my mum’s favourite. And it’s also my first time seeing purple peony…” said Haya determinedly, shaking her head.

After thinking for a while, Haya said, “What did he give you in exchange for this peony? Tell me and I’ll give you double. Will you give me the peony now?”

Hearing this, Princess Anyang shook her head and said in a low voice, “Haya, in Nanqi Kingdom, people value their words. If someone broke his or her words, they would be regarded as less than an animal.”

“I’m the Princess of Dongyi Kingdom. Are you sure you won’t give me the peony?”

Haya indeed hated to bully others by fame or title, but today she did something she was disgusted of.

“Even if the Princess of Nanqi Kingdom comes today, she should follow the order of arrival.” said Princess Anyang calmly as if she didn’t see Haya’s anger.

An Rushuang smiled and tried to calm Haya down, “Calm down. It should have been a lovely flower banquet today. It’s worthless to fight over those peonies. How about you both make a compromise? Although we should follow the order of arrival, Haya is here asking for the peony for her mum. What a good daughter she is! Can we send someone to ask whether the other is willing to give the peony to Haya? If he is willing to do so, that will be a happy ending to both of you.”

Hearing this, Haya was so excited that she kept saying, “Great! That’s a good idea!”

Princess Anyang also nodded, “Fine. Let’s have a try.” Saying so, she asked Qing Lu to have an enquiry.

After around fifteen minutes, Qing Lu came back. She was in a hurry and it was at noon. She couldn’t help sweating and Hong Yu quickly gave her a cup of tea.

After drinking the tea, Qing Lu gasped, “The man said that he is going to use the peony to cure his wife and he had paid a lot for the peony, so he would not give up…”

“Princess Haya, let’s go back. Maybe we can ask the King for help… he may come up with a better idea!” said the servant at the side.

Seeing Haya’s expression, An Rushuang said slowly, “I’m afraid the flower can only be found in Nanqi Kingdom. And there is only one in the world and thus it can be called as rare flower…”

Taking a sigh, Haya pulled An Rushuang’s sleeves and asked, “Tell me what I should do.” Haya somehow thought An Rushuang would help her solve the problem.

“In this world, there’s nothing you cannot buy. But sometimes people just do not give the same value.”

Recalling the character on the silk, An Rushuang couldn’t help thinking even if it was the emperor, he would have difficulties dealing such matters.