"Wei'er, your mother knows you've suffered, but Wei'er, I'm doing all this for your own good. So there are some things you can't do, understand?"

The gentle young man in the audience fell silent.

The entire palace seemed to fall into an eerie silence.

"Your subject understands."

The palace, now filled with sound, felt even more oppressive than before.

Consort Ru looked down at a face that resembled hers, her eyes filled with an inscrutable expression.

How can one find so much good fortune in this palace?

After the young man left, Cuiyue Palace fell into an eerie silence once again.

The magnificent palace locked away those inside, and also those outside who wanted to get in.

At Donghua Gate, Xie Mingwen happened to see Xie Chenwei's back as she walked past in a sullen and hurried manner.

She raised a slight brow with her phoenix eyes, her tone playful: "What trouble has our third brother gotten into? Why is he so unhappy?"

Despite always wearing a gentle and kind facade, none of the courtiers knew what he was thinking. However, it was rare to see him so openly displaying his gloom.

Xie Mingwen was in a good mood; as long as his plastic brother and competitor was unhappy, he was happy.

His trusted aide, who had gathered information from nearby, returned with the news: "Your Highness, the Third Prince just returned from Consort Ru's place, and that's how it happened."

"Consort Ru." Xie Mingwen stroked the dark jade Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist. It seemed he had said something that displeased his third brother again.

"I know, my good brothers all know to be filial to Mother. Let's go see Mother today too."

"Yes, Your Highness."

...

A few days later, at the Marquis of Weining's residence.

Bai's mother was somewhat puzzled when she received the visiting card from the Jiang family.

"My lord, Madam Jiang from the General's Mansion has arrived. What should we do?" Bai's mother, unable to make up her mind, approached the Marquis and asked.

Bai Mojin hesitated for a while. They were probably discussing the marriage of their two children. Well... let's stick to the original plan. The eldest daughter is good in appearance and temperament, but she can't offer much benefit in terms of health. It would be better for her to marry into the General's Mansion. The younger daughter is not as good as the eldest, but she is healthy. If she marries the eldest prince, she can become a concubine and give birth to a son or daughter. The benefits will be endless in the future.

Bai Mojin, who had been plotting something, had made up her mind.

"Just like before, Yin'er will marry."

Bai's mother was unaware of Bai's father's intentions, but she was ultimately relieved for the sake of her youngest daughter.

"Then I will speak with Madam Jiang first today."

...

In the main hall, the two families sat together, each with their own thoughts, and tacitly refrained from calling their children.

Bai's mother, who wanted to speak first, suppressed her shame and prepared to say a few polite words, but was interrupted by Madam Jiang, whose purpose was clear.

"Why……"

"It's been a long time since I've seen Madam Bai, so I won't refuse. Madam Bai, I've come this time specifically for my son's marriage."

“Madam Bai, as you know, our family has only had one son for generations. He’s my only son, and he’s been on the battlefield since he was little. I couldn’t sleep well day and night back then, afraid that something might happen to him outside.” As she spoke, Jiang’s mother touched the corner of her eye with a handkerchief, her eyes filled with melancholy.

Upon hearing the topic of worrying about the child, Bai's mother, as a mother herself, nodded sympathetically.

Seeing that Madam Bai had taken it to heart, Madam Jiang continued:

"My child is already in her mid-twenties and still unmarried with a son or daughter. So, we don't mean to pressure you, but we just want to get her married before she goes to the battlefield."

"It's just that this child only has brotherly and sisterly feelings for our Bai Zhenzhu. It wasn't until she saw your eldest daughter last time that she realized the feelings in her heart."

"So, my dear in-laws, why don't we arrange for your eldest daughter to marry Chengxi, since they are a perfect match?" Madam Jiang said with a smile.

Bai's mother's eyes widened.

...

In one morning, Mrs. Jiang, who had successfully replaced the previous person, gracefully withdrew from public life.

Bai's mother seemed somewhat dazed.

The idea of ​​having her eldest daughter marry Jiang Chengxi in place of her younger daughter was incredibly difficult to achieve; she suddenly even felt a sense of absurdity.

Unable to express her feelings, Bai's mother recounted the completed task to Marquis Weining.

Marquis Weining didn't have as many messy thoughts as Bai's mother. Since the matter had been accomplished, what did it matter what the process was? As long as the result was right, why bother?

"Now that Yin'er and General Jiang's marriage is settled..."

"In a couple of days, find an opportunity to let the two younger ones get to know each other better."

"good."

Upon hearing that their eldest daughter had been kept in the dark, the couple both showed signs of guilt.

The next day, Qingyin looked at Bai's mother, who rarely came over, her delicate and thick eyelashes drooping slightly.

"Mother."

"Yin'er".

The mother cried out in a complicated manner.

Looking at her fragile yet beautiful eldest daughter, Bai's mother felt a sense of pride at having given birth to such a stunning daughter, but also a little guilty and hesitant. In the end, she did not reveal the marriage arrangement she had made for her.

“You’ve been feeling better these past few days. My mother has a manor with hot springs to the east. Why don’t you go for a walk outside and soak in the hot springs for a while? It will be good for your health. Go and have some fun.”

Qingyin nodded obediently: "Okay, Mother, I will go."

Looking at her eldest daughter, who was clearly much more well-behaved and beautiful than her younger daughter, Bai's mother's maternal love was slightly moved.

"Your mother will give you one hundred taels of silver. If there's anything you like, feel free to buy it."

"Yes, Mother."

Somewhat unexpectedly, Bai's mother accepted the not-so-small silver note from Qingyin and handed it to Xiangling for safekeeping.

After finishing her speech, Bai's mother couldn't find anything else to talk about with Qingyin, so she eventually left.

Watching Bai's mother's retreating figure, Qingyin felt completely calm.

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