Before he could finish speaking, he realized he was in the wrong place.
Wuxia recognized him as the Seventh Prince Chu Xu and was about to greet him when she saw him turn around and run out.
No one took this little incident to heart. Wuxia took the beaming Wushuang from Yang Tianen and settled her in the seat to her right.
Before even half a cup of tea had been brewed, Chu Xu returned.
This time, he wasn't alone; he also brought Chu Yao and Chu Ye with him.
"See, I told you the two young ladies from the Marquis of Runan's family were here, but you didn't believe me," Chu Xu said proudly, tilting his head back.
As soon as he said that, even though Yang Tianen didn't know who they were, he knew that he was acquainted with his two cousins, and he quickly got up to exchange pleasantries.
Wuxia had already introduced the three people's identities, and then added, "His Highness Prince Ying has saved Wushuang's life several times, and the Third Prince has also helped us..."
The gratitude towards Chu Yao was genuine, but mentioning Chu Ye was just a polite way of saying it. However, Chu Ye seemed completely unaware of this and casually replied, "Miss Jun, you're too kind. Our two families are related by marriage, so your sisters' affairs are our brothers' affairs. Of course, we should do our best to help."
"It's better to meet by chance than to invite them. Would Your Highnesses be willing to dine with us?" Yang Tianen's mind worked quickly. The other party was of noble status, and if he were to make an invitation rashly, it would inevitably be seen as flattery. However, since they themselves expressed that they had a close relationship with the Jun family, it would be much more reasonable for him, as their cousin, to extend the invitation.
Chu Yao and the other two immediately agreed.
Chu Ye was of the highest status, so Yang Tianen stood up and offered him the seat of honor.
Yang Tianhao also gave up the seat to the left of the main seat to Chu Yao.
As for Wuxia, who was originally sitting to the right of the main seat, she naturally wanted to get up and offer her seat.
However, Chu Ye reached out and stopped her, saying, "Miss Jun, please sit here."
The Yang brothers' expressions changed. Even if the two families had a relationship, Wuxia's age was still a factor. Asking her to sit next to the prince for a meal was disrespectful no matter how you looked at it.
“Third Prince, I’m afraid this is inappropriate,” Yang Tianhao said. “It would be more convenient for us brothers to sit next to the princes and enjoy the wine together.”
"What's wrong with that?" Chu Ye said dismissively. "Seventh Brother, tell them about the relationship between our family and the Marquis of Runan's family."
"Oh!" Chu Xu said upon hearing this. "Our sister married the elder brother of He, the first wife of the second branch of the Marquis of Runan. So, in terms of seniority, the three of us brothers are the maternal uncles of the two young ladies of the Jun family. It is only natural for us to sit next to our maternal uncles for a meal."
The Yang brothers were already aware of this relationship.
However, He Shi gave birth to Junheng, the eldest son of the second wife, who had no blood relation to Wuxia and her sisters. Now that He Shi was dead and the other party was a member of the royal family, they never expected that the three Chu brothers would care about the Jun family's kinship. However, since they brought it up themselves, they couldn't very well refute it, so they could only smile and agree.
Although Chu Xu was young, he grew up in the palace and was quite shrewd. He could guess Yang Tianen's thoughts just by looking at his expression, and immediately climbed up and sat down on the armchair to Wuxia's right.
In this way, when the Yang brothers sit down again, they will not be able to sit next to Wuxia.
Chu Xu's smug smile betrayed his thoughts. Yang Tianen and Yang Tianhao exchanged a glance, both feeling it was inappropriate to openly confront this young prince who was rumored to be extremely favored by the Emperor. Without showing any emotion, they lowered their heads and asked Wushuang, "Shuangshuang, who would you like to sit next to?"
They had watched their younger brothers grow up and knew that children of Wushuang's age often had some difficulty eating independently. If they didn't have wet nurses or maids to serve them, they would usually sit next to close female relatives for easier care.
If Wushuang were to say she wanted to sit next to her older sister, it's unlikely the Seventh Prince would refuse to give up his seat to the youngest girl present.
Back when they went to the capital, Wushuang knew that Chu Ye had some feelings for her sister, but nothing came of it afterward, so she assumed that the Third Prince was just infatuated and far from being determined to marry no one else.
But seeing the behavior of the Chu brothers today, it's hard not to think the Third Prince did it on purpose.
To put it more bluntly, she is jealous and cannot tolerate her beloved being with other men of marriageable age.
Wu Shuang was covering her mouth and chuckling when she suddenly heard her older cousin ask her about her seat. She looked up at the round table and her eyes met Chu Yao's.
"Shuangshuang always has to stay close to me." Chu Ye seemed to enjoy the excitement, adding fuel to the fire, "Shuangshuang loves it when I feed her, doesn't she?"
Under the watchful eyes of the Yang brothers, Wushuang smiled and nodded, utterly humiliatingly.
Back then, on the round trip from the capital to Mocheng, Chu Yao indeed took excellent care of her. Whether it was feeding, bathing, dressing, or coaxing her to sleep, everything was done perfectly. He did even better than her wet nurse, Li Mama, and was only slightly less attentive than her biological mother, Yang Shi.
"Then come to my place." Chu Yao opened his arms to welcome him.
Wushuang stepped onto the stool and jumped to Chu Yao's side in a few steps. She hugged his neck, sat down in his arms, and muttered to herself, "My older cousin said that West Lake Vinegar Fish tastes the best, but I'm afraid of getting bones stuck in my bones. You have to be more careful when picking them out."
Chu Yao pinched her chubby little face and said, "Don't worry, when have I ever let Wushuang suffer any injustice?"
Wushuang smiled so hard her eyes curved into crescent moons.
Seeing Wuxia being monopolized by the two princes, and Wushuang being embraced by some prince, Yang Tiandi was so angry that his eyes turned red. He could no longer sit still, so he stood up and ran to the empty seat next to Chu Yao, jumping up and down and saying, "Sister, sit with me! I'll help you pick out the fish bones!"
Wushuang was grateful for her cousin's enthusiasm.
However, for her own safety, she dared not actually let him remove the fish bones for her.
Not to mention that after spending several days together, Wushuang already understood that Yang Tiandi was an impulsive person. Even if he could be as calm as she was... In her previous life, Wushuang was still helped by her nanny to pick out fish bones when she was ten years old. She still vividly remembered getting a fish bone stuck in her throat and suffering all night because she didn't pick out the bones carefully. Wushuang firmly believed that a six-year-old child was absolutely not trustworthy in this matter.
"I don't want you," she said, "I only like Chu Yao."
Yang Tiandi was instantly dejected after being rejected so bluntly by his younger cousin. He lowered his head for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and looked up at Yang Tiange across the table, shouting, "Even if you don't need me, it has to be Fourth Brother. Fourth Brother, shouldn't you be the one feeding your wife?"
Chu Yao raised an eyebrow in surprise. In just a few days, Wushuang had been betrothed to someone else by Jun Shu and his wife?
He turned to look at Wuxia, only to see her chuckle and wave her hand at him, clearly indicating that there was no such thing.
Chu Yao felt relieved and looked down to see Wu Shuang drooping her head in his arms, clearly looking like she didn't want to face him.
"What's wrong with Shuangshuang?" Chu Yao whispered in her ear, "Is it because you've been with me for so long that you think mature older men are better and you don't want to marry a boy your own age? Is that why you're so sullen?"
Although Wushuang's thoughts were not exactly the same as Chu Yao's, they were not far off. Caught off guard by having her secret thoughts exposed, her face flushed red.
Chu Yao was just joking, but he didn't expect Wu Shuang to be so knowledgeable despite her young age. She actually understood and even blushed, which made him even happier. He continued, "Or I can help you explain to them that the person Xiao Shuangshuang wants to marry is me?"
Who would want to marry him!