In the flower hall, Su Hui listened quietly as the girls discussed the techniques of burning incense.
Just as she was engrossed in listening, someone tugged at her sleeve, "Sister Su, shall we go for a walk?"
Su Hui turned around and saw Xiao Dai looking at her with a smile.
He stood up and said, "Yes, the chrysanthemums in the Prince's mansion are in full bloom. Let's go to the garden."
Xiao Dai always called her Sister Su. Su Hui felt that her status was too low and that this form of address was inappropriate. However, Xiao Dai said that there were not so many rules in the Prince's Mansion, and since she was younger than her, she should naturally call her Sister.
The two arrived at the garden.
Su Hui thought about her older sister in the capital, and how her older brother and younger brother had already set off for the capital. She missed her older sister very much and was determined to visit her in the capital next year.
"We part ways today, and we'll meet again someday," Su Hui said vaguely.
Xiao Dai glanced around and said directly, "Sister Su, my mother and I are about to set off soon. There's something I'm not sure if I should ask."
A blush suddenly rose on Su Hui's cheeks.
She could roughly guess what Xiao Dai was going to ask.
Thinking of that pure and gentle person, her heart fluttered, and she lowered her head shyly, saying, "Miss, please speak frankly, and I will tell you everything I know."
"My elder brother is in love with you, you can tell, right? I want to know if Sister Su also likes my elder brother?"
Su Hui was surprised by Xiao Dai's blunt question, and her face turned as red as a boiled shrimp.
Thinking of the disparity in their family backgrounds, she replied, "My family is of ordinary background and is not worthy of the eldest young master. Miss Xiao, please keep this to yourself and avoid being laughed at for saying that my Su family is overestimating itself."
Xiao Dai grabbed her arm, her face full of anxiety, "Sister Su, my mother and father are not people who care about social status. I just want to hear the truth from you."
She understood her elder brother's intentions. Her mother originally wanted to send a matchmaker directly to the Su family to propose marriage, but her elder brother said that the person he was looking for must be someone who reciprocated his feelings.
It would be too abrupt to propose marriage so abruptly.
Xiao Yun was about to go to the capital, and she didn't want her older brother and Sister Su to miss out on a good match due to their guessing game.
"The eldest son is exceptionally talented and has a refined and elegant demeanor. He is gentle and polite to everyone. In Laiyang City, I am not the only one who admires him." Su Hui subtly expressed her admiration for Xiao Kang.
Having received confirmation, Xiao Dai excitedly grasped Su Hui's hand tightly, "Sister Su, I'm so glad to hear that."
The two were whispering in the garden when Xiao Dai caught a glimpse of her elder brother's figure under the veranda.
They say that those who are of one mind can understand each other perfectly, and that's so true.
People in the corridor stopped and looked this way, and Su Hui happened to look up as well.
Separated by a patch of alluring chrysanthemums, their eyes met. Xiao Kang smiled and nodded slightly as a greeting to Su Hui.
Su Hui gave a slight curtsy, her cheeks flushing red as she lowered her head, looking beautiful and charming, even more so than the golden-backed red chrysanthemums in front of her.
Xiao Kang and Su Hui were both people who upheld propriety and knew right from wrong. Although Xiao Dai couldn't wait for her elder brother and sister Su to get married, she was still eager for them to get married.
Due to the strict separation between men and women, the two returned to the flower hall.
That evening, Xiao Dai told her mother the good news. The princess immediately summoned the steward and instructed him to find a matchmaker to come to the mansion the next day.
When Su Hui returned home, she told her mother what Xiao Dai had said.
Mother Su was filled with anxiety. She said to Su Hui, "I can't believe it's true. I wanted to find you a well-educated and respectable family, but the Wang family's standards are too high."
“Mother, I did hesitate. The eldest son is gentle and learned. If the Prince’s Mansion doesn’t mind the difference in social status, it would be wrong for us to be coy. My elder sister said that mutual affection is the best.”
"Your elder sister also said not to marry into a family that takes concubines. With a family like the eldest son's, there will definitely be three or four wives and concubines in the future."
Su Hui thought for a moment and said, "The prince has not taken a concubine, and the eldest son may not take a concubine in the future either. I know this. If there is a day when I am rejected, I will ask to leave."
Su Hui fell in love with the young master Xiao when they met at the temple that day, but due to the difference in their social status, she buried her feelings deep in her heart.
Later, upon receiving a painting from Young Master Xiao, the young girl, just beginning to experience romantic feelings, felt hope rekindled.
Today, Xiao Dai asked her frankly, and she realized that the young master Xiao was on the same page with her. She decided to take a gamble, and he was worth it.
The next day, as expected, the Prince's Mansion sent a matchmaker to the Su family to propose marriage.
When Su's mother and Su Huai'ren saw that their daughter was truly in love, Su Huai'ren knew better than anyone in the entire city of Laiyang that the eldest son was exceptionally talented and renowned.
With the marriage arranged, the two families exchanged betrothal gifts, and Su Hui returned the favor with a token of affection.
The keepsake was a double-sided embroidered table screen, a decorative piece, which Su Hui embroidered herself.
Xiao Kang couldn't bear to leave the screen given to him by his beloved to gather dust on the table. The embroidery was exceptionally exquisite, and it even emitted a faint fragrance.
He admired it so much that he treasured it.
Aunt Cai and her maid hurriedly packed their luggage.
"Your Highness, starting tomorrow, we should address you as Empress Dowager."
"Sigh! Why do I feel old whenever I hear the word 'Empress Dowager'?" The princess sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"It's because the Prince didn't want that position; the Princess Consort could have been Empress," Aunt Cai said with a smile.
"You're already a grandmother, so why not just be the Empress Dowager!"
Recalling the scene of countless beauties in the capital and the ministers constantly submitting memorials to the emperor urging him to take concubines, the princess thought being the empress dowager was quite nice.
Seeing her master's expression, Aunt Cai suppressed a laugh.
Just then, the prince walked in from outside. Aunt Cai, thinking that her mistress and the prince were about to part ways, waved her hand, and all the maids in the room followed her out.
“My lady is right. I will be the retired emperor, and you can be the empress dowager. After a while, when the border is stable, General Zhan will guard this place, and I will go to the capital.”
The couple were deeply in love, and in recent years, with no war, they rarely separated.
Seeing that there was no one else in the room, the Prince of Yannan gently pulled his princess into his arms, patted her back softly, and gently instructed her, "The second prince is a man of his own mind. Don't interfere too much in everything. As for the child, let him make his own decision."
With her cheek pressed against her husband's broad chest, inhaling the familiar scent, the princess hummed in agreement.
After a moment, she gently raised her head and straightened his clothes. "I understand. If the child really exists, I will not interfere no matter who the mother is. Now that Kang'er's marriage is settled, I feel at ease."
Two days later, a group of people left Laiyang City.
Once the carriage left the city, Xiao Yun was like a happy little bird, occasionally lifting the curtain to look at the scenery on both sides of the official road.
"Big sister, do you think big brother will know to take Sister Su home later?"
Su Hui came to see him off this morning. Xiao Yun felt that her older brother didn't know how to please girls, and she was very worried about him.
Xiao Dai reached out and pinched her younger sister's rosy cheeks. "Look how anxious you are. Sister Su is already engaged to Big Brother. It won't be a problem for the two families to visit each other. Big Brother isn't stupid. Of course he knows to take Sister Su home."
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