Chapter 871 The Truth - Twenty Years Ago 32

When the two countries came to pay tribute, the royal sons took turns accompanying the other side to experience the local customs and culture in the capital. Everything seemed so peaceful and harmonious.

Gu Jin's wedding date was fast approaching. Although the two families had a falling out at the palace last time, neither side dared to do anything to Ji Xiangwan.

That day, Ji Xiangwan was pulled out of bed early to wash and dress, and then, escorted by her elder brother, she boarded the Gu family's wedding carriage.

The capital was adorned with ten miles of red dowry. As the legitimate daughter of the first wife, Ji Xiangwan received a considerable dowry from her mother. Watching the dowry chests being carried out, the General's wife and the second young lady of the General's mansion were seething with resentment.

Originally, the general's wife intended to leave all of this dowry to her daughter. However, because Ji Xiangwan was going to marry into the Marquis's family, the general, in order to avoid being ridiculed for his family, gave it all to Ji Xiangwan.

"Mother, are all these things really going to be given to that little bitch?"

Miss Ji said unwillingly, while the General's wife looked at her daughter and said angrily, "Of course it's true, otherwise why bring it all up?"

“Daughter, you must strive to be successful in the future. It would be best if you could choose a husband from a better family than her. Even if I have to beg, I will make sure your father provides you with the most generous dowry.”

The general's wife spoke to Miss Ji, who nodded very seriously upon hearing this.

However, their hopes were ultimately dashed. In the end, Miss Ji not only failed to marry into a wealthy family, but her dowry consisted only of her mother's meager share.

The Gu family's wedding banquet was not particularly grand. Some prominent families, seeing that the Gu family head was not doing anything, simply sent some gifts.

But to everyone's surprise, after the gifts were delivered, they heard that several princes and two crown princes from neighboring countries had come to offer their congratulations in person.

Now, those who originally didn't want to go immediately changed their clothes and rushed to the Gu family.

The Gu family hadn't prepared for this many people for their banquet, and the kitchen staff and maids were suddenly extremely busy.

The old lady was surrounded by the ladies chatting about everyday matters, while the Marquis was receiving unprecedented compliments. However, in the Marquis's eyes, this was not something to be happy about.

He knew that these people were all after his son. His son passed the provincial examination at the age of eighteen, and almost entered the palace examination at the age of twenty-one. Now he is about to turn twenty-four and can participate in the imperial examination to enter the officialdom.

Such achievements will only make his youngest son even more forgotten.

He outwardly greeted the guests with kindness, but inwardly he was thinking about how to make his son less favored.

The old lady chatted with the guests for a while, and seeing that she was getting tired, she bid farewell to everyone and went back to the backyard to rest.

The eldest princess and the old lady were relatives, and the seventh prince often brought her to play when she was a child. So, seeing the ladies huddled together in the front yard was quite boring, so the eldest princess took Princess Baiyun to the back yard of the Marquis's mansion.

"Speaking of which, I should call Prince Gu my cousin. It's a joyous occasion that he's finally able to marry the Ji family's daughter. But I wonder if we two will be able to have our wish fulfilled as well."

Over the course of their time together, the two had become close friends who could talk about anything. Furthermore, since the Seventh Prince and Crown Prince Bai Xu had a better relationship than others, they naturally understood each other even better.

“A few days ago, my elder brother, the Crown Prince, paid a visit to His Majesty. From His Majesty’s words, it seems that he wants Sister Zhaohe to choose for herself. I think Sister Zhaohe will soon become my sister-in-law.”

Princess Baiyun liked the Eldest Princess very much, and her own brother also seemed to have feelings for her, so Princess Baiyun was very supportive of the marriage.

"Really? Is that really what Father Emperor means?"

Upon hearing this, the eldest princess was overjoyed.

"Of course it's true. Would I lie to my sister?"

"Of course not, but what exactly do you and my Seventh Brother mean?"

The eldest princess's question hit the nail on the head. Princess Baiyun naturally knew what she was thinking, but the seventh prince spent all his time looking for his elder brother, the crown prince, and was always in his brother's room. Sometimes she even wondered if he had ever paid any attention to her at all.

"Perhaps the Seventh Prince only sees me as his friend's sister."

Princess Baiyun was clearly a little discouraged, but the eldest princess patted her on the shoulder and said, "Don't be discouraged. Maybe Seventh Brother is just a little slow on the uptake. I'll find an opportunity to ask him what he thinks in a few days."

Seeing how much the eldest princess cared about her, Princess Baiyun nodded with satisfaction.

After the two finished speaking, they were about to talk about something else when they saw the old lady walking over from afar.

As the younger generation, the eldest princess led Princess Baiyun to pay their respects to the old lady. When the old lady saw that Princess Baiyun was also there, she invited the two of them to go to her courtyard.

"When I saw Her Highness the Princess from afar at the last palace banquet, I thought she was as beautiful as a fairy. Now that I see her up close, she is even more beautiful than she was that day."

The old lady looked at Princess Baiyun. Gu Jin had told her about Bai Xu saving her when she returned that day, and the old lady remembered it. Naturally, she was a little more polite to Princess Baiyun.

"With your delicate and graceful appearance, you are truly unworthy of such praise from the old lady."

Princess Baiyun was surprised to be praised so highly by her elders, and immediately declined to comment. However, the eldest princess disagreed.

"If someone like you is considered ugly, then there are no beautiful women left in the world!"

The eldest princess had no inhibitions around the old lady, and spoke much more freely.

"Princess Showa is still as lively as ever, just like when she was a child."

When the old lady looked at the eldest princess, she thought of her own sister, and when she thought of her sister, she thought of the items her sister had been keeping. Perhaps her sister had given the items to the princess.

Her eyes flickered, and the old lady looked at the eldest princess and asked, "Princess, have you been well in the palace? Is there anything difficult for you?"

The eldest princess didn't understand why the old lady would ask this, so she immediately shook her head and said, "It's all fine. My father and mother treat me very well, and there's nothing difficult about it."

"That's good. His Majesty and the Empress both love the princess dearly, so they will surely choose the most suitable husband for her this time."

The old lady glanced at her mother beside her and said, "Go and get my dressing case."

Upon hearing this, the mother withdrew and soon presented the items to the old lady.

The old lady searched inside for a while, and finally her gaze settled on a gold hairpin.

"This is the dowry my mother gave me before I married into the Marquis's family. The princess will soon be going to marry a foreign ruler, and I have nothing good to give her. This gold hairpin is a small addition to her dowry!"

The old lady handed the phoenix hairpin to the eldest princess. The eldest princess found the texture of the hairpin somewhat familiar, took it and stroked it for a while, when suddenly something came to mind.

"My maternal grandmother gave me a gold hairpin before she passed away, which looks somewhat similar to this gold hairpin."