Upon hearing Helan Ruo's words, Tang Ning immediately looked at him in disbelief, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness. The dizziness in her head intensified uncontrollably; she seemed to...

Standing not far in front of them, Madam Qin stared at Helan Ruo, who was bowing her head and kowtowing, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Qin Qianqian looked at Helan Ruo kneeling on the ground in disbelief. She simply couldn't believe what she had just heard. Helan Ruo had taken the initiative to propose to Tang Ning?

After losing Wei Jing, He Lanruo came along.

Although Helan Ruo is a notorious playboy in the capital, his status is much higher than Wei Jing's. He is the grandson of the Duke of Guo and the son of the Princess. Even if he continues to be a playboy, with the Emperor as his uncle, he can smoothly inherit the position of Duke of Guo. At that time, Tang Ning will be a dignified Duchess.

How lucky he is!

Compared to Tang Ning, she was nothing more than Wei Jing's concubine.

Concubines were considered lowly and not even qualified to attend certain banquets in the capital.

Why is fate so unfair to her? Tang Ning also fell into the water, didn't she?

After eliminating all possibilities between Wei Jing and Tang Ning, the resentment she had previously suppressed resurfaced.

Qin Qianqian stared intently at Tang Ning's back as she knelt on the ground, and immediately clenched her fists.

While they were merely shocked, Wei Jing was so flustered that he didn't even know what to do or say.

He really didn't understand. He had just confessed his true feelings to Tang Ning yesterday and convinced her to think carefully about whether she wanted to marry him. Why... why, in less than a day, was Tang Ning suddenly proposed to by He Lanruo?

Why did things turn out this way?

And how did Tang Ning end up in the water at the Princess's residence? And why did Qianqian think he was the one who did it?

He was completely confused about everything behind the scenes. All he knew was that Tang Ning was going to marry someone else. Tang Ning, who was still his fiancée, was going to marry someone else.

Once Tang Ning agrees to He Lanruo's marriage proposal, there will be no possibility for them to be together again!

After he realized that he had fallen in love with Tang Ning.

Just thinking about such a possibility made Wei Jing feel cold. He felt cold all over, as if he were wearing only a thin shirt and standing in the snow in the dead of winter, and his teeth almost chattered.

For a moment, Wei Jing, who was staring intently at Tang Ning's back, even forgot where he was and the people standing around him. His heart and eyes could not hold anything else but Tang Ning.

No, don't.

He doesn't want it.

He didn't want Tang Ning to marry anyone else, even though she was his fiancée.

Can he not take Qianqian as a concubine? He doesn't want Qianqian anymore, he doesn't care about reputation or anything else...

Wei Jing's eyes also began to redden slightly, and then, as if possessed, he took a step forward.

While others did not notice Wei Jing's unusual behavior, Madam Qin immediately noticed the strange expression on his face.

"Young Master Helan, please get up. You're not doing this properly..."

A sudden chill ran through Madam Qin, who spoke first. Unfortunately, before she could finish her sentence, Tang Ning, whose dizziness was growing stronger, finally swayed slightly, raised her hand to cover her forehead, and fell to the side.

"Tang Ning!"

Several voices rang out in unison.

Finally, Helan Ruo, kneeling beside Tang Ning, caught her with lightning speed. It was then that he noticed Tang Ning's cheeks were alarmingly red. They hadn't been this obvious before, had they? How did they suddenly become so...?

"Tang Ning!"

Wei Jing, along with Madam Qin and General Qin, who had just been about to say something, hurriedly came to the two's side.

Upon seeing Tang Ning's complexion, Madam Qin immediately reached out to check the temperature of Tang Ning's forehead.

It's so hot.

It's all her fault. Yesterday, she knew that Tang Ning had fallen into the water, but she was so angry about Qian Qian's willingness to become a concubine that she completely forgot to ask the kitchen to make some ginger soup for Tang Ning.

What kind of mother is she?!

Seeing that Tang Ningren was already burning up like this, Madam Qin's eyes immediately reddened, and she cursed herself inwardly.

Meanwhile, General Qin had already begun sending people to invite the imperial physician who lived very close to the general's residence.

A group of people hurriedly escorted Tang Ning back to her Lanqin Courtyard.

When the maids Chun Tan and Chun Mian, who were originally guarding the courtyard, saw their young mistress walk out but be carried back in a daze, they panicked.

The entire Lanqin Courtyard was thrown into chaos.

Finally, the group of people waited for the old imperial physician to be brought in. They watched as he examined Tang Ning's pulse, prescribed medicine, and administered acupuncture. It was not until the afternoon that the group of hungry people finally learned from the imperial physician that Tang Ning's fever had subsided and that she only needed to rest.

For a moment, Madam Qin was so happy she cried tears of joy.

He Lanruo's tense nerves slowly relaxed, while Wei Jing only then realized that he had unknowingly broken out in a lot of cold sweat, and even felt a little cold when the cool breeze in the courtyard blew on him.

Qin Qianqian, however, breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the people in the courtyard, especially Wei Jing, whose brows were slowly unfurrowing. She felt that everything in front of her was extremely irritating.

It's such an eyesore.

It's just a minor heatstroke. Everyone is here, watching over Tang Ning, including her future husband. Why does Tang Ning get so much love and pampering from everyone, while she gets nothing, nothing at all!

A hint of darkness flashed across Qin Qianqian's slightly lowered eyes.

Meanwhile, seeing that Tang Ning's condition had stabilized, Madam Qin, wiping away her tears, finally had time to turn around and look at He Lanruo and Wei Jing behind her.

The focus is on Wei Jing.

Having been through similar experiences, she could easily see Wei Jing's concern for Tang Ning and the emotions welling up in his eyes.

However, having already had that kind of thing with Qianqian, Wei Jing would never marry Tang Ning to him under any circumstances.

It's not enough that Qianqian has already been sacrificed; are we going to have to sacrifice Tang Ning as well?

Could it be that all the daughters of the General's Mansion revolve around Wei Jing?

They couldn't bring themselves to do something as shameful as marrying both sisters to Wei Jing, one as his wife and the other as his concubine.

Therefore, isolating Wei Jing and Tang Ning from contact is the most crucial thing.

She only learned today that after Wei Jing left yesterday, he actually returned to the General's Mansion once. However, she was preoccupied with Qianqian's matter at the time and did not hear the servant's report clearly.

Given Tang Ning's previous infatuation with Wei Jing, she was terrified that her daughter might do something foolish.

However, although she didn't do anything foolish with Wei Jing, she did have a relationship with Helan Ruo...

But no matter what, Helan Ruo is still much better than Wei Jing.

Well, well, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. She had previously looked down on Helan Ruo, but his actions of taking everything upon himself to protect Tang Ning showed that he was a responsible man. We'll see what he does in the future.

The key is Wei Jing...

Thinking of this, Madam Qin raised her head directly, "A-Jing, the two families have already discussed the matter of taking a concubine today, so your marriage with Qianqian should be a done deal. In that case, go back and talk to the Princess Consort to get Tang Ning's name card back as soon as possible. After all, Qianqian has already been taken as your concubine, so Tang Ning can't marry you anymore, don't you think?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Jing abruptly raised his head, his lips moving as if he were about to say something. Sensing his intention, Madam Qin spoke first, smiling warmly to Qin Qianqian, "Qianqian, it's getting late. You should escort the young master Wei out of the manor. The people at the Prince's residence must be getting impatient..."

Before Wei Jing could say anything after hearing her words, Qin Qianqian stepped forward with a worried expression, "Mother, what about Tang Ning and He Lan Xiao..."

Before she could finish speaking, she saw Madam Qin give her a deep look.

"This is Tang Ning's business. Why should you, a girl about to get married, concern yourself with these things? Don't worry, no matter what Tang Ning does, on the day you marry into the Jianwang Mansion, your father and I will prepare more for you than less. After all, once you get married, you belong to someone else's family, and your father and I won't be able to control you anymore. You need to learn to take good care of yourself from now on, understand?"

Madam Qin made a pointed remark.

She was absolutely fed up with Qin Qianqian, who kept causing trouble and making things worse, and even felt that everyone had wronged her. Don't think that just because you've covered your tracks well, she can't see through you. She's been through more and more than Qin Qianqian has crossed. Qin Qianqian can tell what she's up to just by looking at her.

I didn't say it before, but only because of the mother-daughter relationship between the two of them, because she had been under her care for fourteen years, and because she was still young.

But ever since she threatened suicide to force her to marry Wei Jing as a concubine, she no longer cared about her.

bother.

Although she didn't know what had happened between the group before, apart from Tang Ning's confession to He Lanruo, she was certain that Qin Qianqian must have done something behind the scenes without even investigating.

Otherwise, Wei Jing wouldn't have shown such an expression, and Tang Ning wouldn't have suddenly said that she liked He Lanruo.

He's just a spineless and fickle Wei Jing, yet people are making such a scene over him. It's really too much.

Madam Qin felt extremely disgusted.

Qin Qianqian, who had just stepped forward to criticize Tang Ning, suddenly felt flustered upon hearing Madam Qin's words.

You should know that her mother had clearly said before that even if she got married, she would still be her daughter and she would never abandon her.

Unless she dies, she will definitely take care of her for the rest of her life.

Previously, when she heard such words, she felt that her mother was interfering too much, but now that her mother suddenly said she wouldn't care about her anymore, Qin Qianqian was really panicked.

Unfortunately, before she could say anything, Madam Qin had already turned around and started talking to Helan Ruo, telling him to go home as it was getting late so as not to worry the Princess.

However, Helan Ruo felt that compared to Wei Jing, Madam Qin's attitude towards him was significantly more amiable.

No one brought up the topic of marriage. On the one hand, Tang Ning's birth certificate had not yet been exchanged, and on the other hand, how could the woman's family take the initiative to propose marriage? If He Lanruo was interested, she should have gone back and asked a matchmaker to come and propose marriage herself.

After speaking with Helan Ruo, Madam Qin didn't even glance at Qin Qianqian and Wei Jing, who were still standing to the side, before entering Tang Ning's bedroom.

After she left, Wei Jing, in a daze, was escorted to the entrance of the General's Mansion by Qin Qianqian, who was also absent-minded.

Not long after they left, Helan Ruo was also escorted out. As soon as he left the General's Mansion, he went straight to the Princess's Mansion.

When he entered the princess's residence, he was surprised to find his mother sitting leisurely in the courtyard, eating melon seeds.

Because he had never gotten along well with the people in the Duke of Guo's mansion, the reason was simple: the old lady of the Duke's mansion favored the second branch of the family too much, indulging them to the point that they even wanted to suppress his mother. It was no wonder that they couldn't get along well. In addition, his father had been away from home on business in recent days. His mother, who was impatient with getting along with the people in the Duke's mansion, naturally moved into her own princess mansion, and Helan Ruo moved in with her as well.

Before Princess Qingping could even utter a sarcastic remark, Helan Ruo walked straight towards her.

Oh wow.

He walked right into a trap.

Princess Qingping laughed even harder, determined to give her repressed son a good laugh.

"You brat, what were you doing this morning...?"

She had barely begun to speak when Helan Ruo gave her mother a slight smile.

"Mother, get ready. Go to the General's Mansion in three days to propose marriage to Qin Tangning for me."

After casually uttering those words, Helan Ruo turned and walked towards her own courtyard.

Splash!

Princess Qingping was so startled by these words that she dropped her melon seeds and immediately opened her mouth wide.

No, what was it again? What did she just hear?

Proposing marriage...? In three days? Tang Ning?

After Helan Ruo had walked quite a distance, she suddenly heard screams and cheers coming from the direction of the main courtyard.

Upon hearing this sound, Helan Ruo immediately stopped in her tracks, and couldn't help but let a small smile appear on her lips.

He Lanruo returned to her room in a good mood. Just as she leaned against the couch, she suddenly remembered something and reached into her sleeve to take out a white jade hairpin.

He was supposed to return the hairpin to Tang Ning today, but he never expected that before he could return it, he would be getting another wife.

Thinking of this, Helan Ruo's lips curled up again.

He then tentatively brought the hairpin to his nose, and to his surprise, even after so long, the hairpin still had a faint fragrance.

As he continued to sniff, he began to worry about Tang Ning's health again.

It must be because she fell into the water at the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet yesterday, and then, not only was she exposed to the wind, but she also put her clothes back on before they were completely dry. Women are inherently delicate, so it's perfectly normal for her to get sick.

Thinking about this, Helan Ruo's brows furrowed involuntarily.

At this moment, Helan Ruo completely forgot that since meeting Tang Ning, she hadn't thought about Ji Muqing in the palace for some time.

Meanwhile, at the General's Mansion.

As darkness fell, Tang Ning's curled eyelashes finally trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Tang Ning, you're awake?"

She had just opened her eyes when Madam Qin's overjoyed voice rang in her ears.

"Thank goodness you're finally awake! You scared your mother half to death, you know? You've grown up so much, how come you don't know how to take care of yourself? You just fell into the water yesterday, I forgot, how could you forget? Why didn't you ask Chun Tan and Chun Mian to make you some ginger tea to warm you up? You didn't even know you were sick. Do you know how worried your mother is?"

Madam Qin stroked Tang Ning's cheek with affection.

But her words, pointing directly to her falling into the water, startled Tang Ning. She immediately sat up, stammering, "I...I..."

Finally, she pursed her lips and acknowledged the fact that she had fallen into the water, "Mother, how did you know I..."

Before she could finish her question, Madam Qin had already taken out a small garnet earring from her sleeve and handed it to Tang Ning. "Hasn't your mother praised you for doing a good job, for keeping the drowning incident a secret and not ruining your reputation?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Ning shook her head slightly.

“Then let me tell you now, Ningning, you did a great job. Although you accidentally fell into the water, you didn’t let anyone know, which ruined your reputation. You even got Young Master Helan to cover it up for you.”

Hearing this, Tang Ning's surprise deepened.

"What? You think you can fool your mother?"

Seeing the fear and worry in Tang Ning's eyes, Madam Qin felt a pang of heartache and immediately pulled her into her arms. "It's all my fault. My Ningning went through so much hardship to finally return home, but she's treated like a guest who could leave at any moment. It's all my fault."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ning's eyes instantly reddened, and her body trembled slightly.

It wasn't that she wanted to act, but rather that the body reacted this way immediately upon hearing those words.

Upon sensing Tang Ning's reaction, Madam Qin's heartache deepened, and she hugged Tang Ning even tighter.

"It's alright, it's alright. Mother will definitely pay more attention to Ningning's feelings and take better care of Ningning from now on, okay?"

"Um……"

Tang Ning responded with a sob in her voice.

The two embraced for an unknown amount of time before Madam Qin's voice finally rang out again.

"If I'm not mistaken, Helan Ruo should send someone to propose marriage a few days later once the betrothal gifts are returned by the Prince Jian's residence. Although you haven't grown up by my side since childhood, I still want you to be happy and content in the future. Don't marry someone hastily out of spite. I mentioned you earlier because I was worried that you wouldn't have a good life in the future, and I also wanted to put some pressure on Helan Ruo. I hope you won't blame me..."

"I won't……"

"It's alright if you do marry. I haven't been doing a very good job since you came back, so I've been interfering a lot in your marriage. It's your life, so let others say what they want. If you don't want to get married, that's fine too. Whatever decision you make, I'll stand by you."

“Mother, I will marry him, I am willing to marry him. He Lanruo is actually not bad at all.”

Tang Ning said this softly.

"If you're willing to marry him, then I'll accept his proposal."

"Um."

The mother and daughter talked for a long time before Tang Ning smiled and leaned against the headboard, watching as Madam Qin carefully closed the door to her room.

Tang Ning raised an eyebrow at this.

Or is it too late?

If only it had been like this long ago...

Forget it, there's no point in saying these things now.

Three days later, Qin Tangning from the General's Mansion and He Lanruo from the Duke of Guo's Mansion got engaged.

The entire capital was shocked.