Chapter 299
Without realizing it, she tilted her head, leaned on his arm, closed her eyes, and gradually fell asleep.
Duan Gan cradled her face in his hands, half-squatting down, gazing at her tired brows with a hint of heartache in his eyes.
"Madam, you've worked hard."
He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to her brow.
He gazed at her silently for a long time, then put his arm around her shoulder, picked her up, carried her into the inner room, carefully placed her on the bed, and covered her with the blankets.
Duan Gan did not lie down beside her, but instead sat on the foot of the bed, resting his chin on the back of his hand, staring intently at the sleeping girl.
Her breathing was even, her chest rising and falling slightly, her long, curled eyelashes trembled slightly, and her tender red lips were pressed tightly together.
Quiet, well-behaved, harmless, and lovable.
It is completely different from her cheerful and lively appearance when she is awake, but she has a kind of gentle and quiet beauty.
It seems that at this moment, she also has another hidden side.
"Tao'er..."
Tao Tao wasn't fast asleep; in a half-awake state, she vaguely sensed a burning gaze fixed on her and wanted to open her eyes to see who it was.
She caught a familiar scent, and being extremely sleepy, she gradually lost consciousness.
As the warm sunlight filtered through the cracks in the window, the person on the bed drifted off into a peaceful dream without a care in the world.
Meanwhile, in another location, the Duan family hall.
Grandpa Duan sat in the main seat, waiting with other elders of the Duan family for Tao Tao to serve tea.
"Father, I've heard that this Princess Huaimin is even more domineering than the Eldest Princess. Would she come to the Duan family to serve us tea?"
The speaker was Madam Hu, the wife of Duan Zhiting, the third wife. Duan Zhiting was born with poor health and needed to take medicine and rest all year round. He had no children, and Madam Hu had always been in charge of the third wife's household.
"Yes, it's almost noon. What daughter-in-law gets up this late on her first day? She probably doesn't respect us elders because she's relying on Duan Silang."
Jiang picked up the conversation, also sensing a subtle dissatisfaction.
She was the wife of Duan Zhirui, the second son of Duan Zhirui, who served as a Grand Secretary in the Hanlin Academy. They had one son and two daughters, all of whom were married.
“Father, this young county princess has a lot of influence. With Duan Silang protecting her, we shouldn’t ask her to serve tea. Now Duan Silang is the regent. If they come, we elders have to pay our respects.”
Duan Zhiyuan is the youngest daughter of Old Master Duan. She can be described as well-educated and reasonable, but she is also extremely proud.
She married the head of the Li family in Longxi, but her husband died suddenly less than two years later, and they had no children.
She married far away to Longxi, lost her husband, and had no children to inherit the family business. She couldn't manage such a large family on her own, especially since many relatives were eyeing the position of family head.
So she simply came back.
Perhaps because she became a widow at a young age, her temper became more irritable than before, and she was even less tolerant of other people's strange looks.
"Alright, each of you should keep quiet."
Madam Xie glanced discreetly at the old man, whose face was growing increasingly somber.
Two years ago, Duan Zhiyuan, the eldest son of the royal family, passed away. She and Duan Zhiyuan had a son and a daughter. Their daughter married a leisurely prince in the royal family and lived a peaceful life in her fiefdom.
Duan Junyi's wife died in childbirth a few years ago, and he has not remarried since.
“It’s normal for Princess Huaimin to be young and not very familiar with the rules. Besides, Silang is a mischievous person, so it’s understandable that he would protect his young wife.”
"How about we go to the Privy Council? It seems we haven't been there since Silang moved out of the mansion."
"You agree, right, Father?"
Old Master Duan sighed impatiently and irritably, stood up, and was quickly helped up by the servants beside him.
"Let's go."
Everyone else stood up too, looking at each other in confusion.
"Dad? Where are you going?" Duan Zhiyuan asked.
Where else could we go but the Privy Council?
Tao Tao had just finished washing up when Duan Gan returned from the Privy Council. The two were having lunch when they heard the steward's words.
The couple, having been apart for a short time, felt like they were newly married. They even ate side by side, feeding each other bites, their affection for each other was almost unbearable.
She refused the fish he offered her again, saying, "I'm not eating anymore, I'm already full."
"Too thin. If you're too thin, you can't exert your full strength in martial arts."
Duan Gan held the fish meat dipped in sauce to her lips, coaxing her softly.
She looked troubled, glanced at him, and thinking that what he said made sense, she opened her mouth and ate the fish.
Suddenly he leaned over and kissed away the juice from the corner of her mouth, then casually served her soup.
Tao Tao was a little confused by his actions. She turned to look at the servants standing around her. They had their heads down, as if they hadn't seen anything.
He said calmly, "Go down."
Upon hearing this, all the servants left.
As soon as they stepped outside, Duan Gan put down the bowl in his hand, opened his arms to her, and said with a smirk, "Come here."
She got up, walked over, and sat in his lap.
I was wondering why I hadn't noticed how clingy he was before.
He put one arm around her waist and used the other to scoop up soup and bring it to her lips, like feeding a helpless child.
Tao Tao guessed it was just another of his quirky habits, so she took a couple of sips, then turned her head away, frowned, and said, "I don't want to drink anymore, my stomach is so full."
Upon hearing this, he put down his soup spoon and touched her lower abdomen with his large hand; it was indeed a little bulging.
Gaining weight isn't something that happens overnight; it has to be done gradually. So he finished the rest of the soup.
Are you going to the Privy Council again later?
She looked down and played with his well-defined fingers.
"I will go, but I can also bring my work home and spend time with you."
He now has a home of his own.
Thinking of this, his gaze towards her became even more tender and affectionate. He rested his chin on her shoulder and kissed her cheek.
"Hiss... Have we forgotten something?"
She turned to look at him, her face showing some annoyance.
Newlyweds are supposed to serve tea and pay respects to their elders, right? Even if it's a lowly official, they should still show filial piety. Otherwise, they might be targeted by malicious people.
"What's up?"
"It's about the matter of us going to the Duan family elders to offer tea."
"It doesn't matter."
"Wouldn't that be bad for you? What if someone speaks ill of you to the emperor?"
Duan Gan met her gaze, and seeing her worried expression, he chuckled softly, "So worried about me? You've troubled Madam."
"But you seem to have forgotten what your husband's status is now. The Regent Prince's status is not just for show."
"Even the emperor has to listen to your husband, who would dare to speak ill of him?"
Tao Tao exclaimed, her almond-shaped eyes wide with surprise, giving her a charmingly naive air.
He is now the regent, and she really didn't know that.
He was so charmed by her appearance that he couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her lips.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.
The butler stood at the door, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness, people from the Duan family have arrived."
She looked at him and found that his expression was indifferent, revealing no emotion.
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