Upon hearing this, both Gao Changhong and Lan Xing were momentarily surprised. Gao Changhong clenched his fist tightly under his sleeve, but he still concealed all his emotions on his face.
"Okay, I promise you, let's call it even for today."
He looked at Mo Hanyu with a doting expression and smiled, trying to let bygones be bygones regarding the matter of Lan Xing apologizing.
But Mo Hanyu could easily guess his thoughts. She wasn't fooled at all. After smiling and taking Gao Changhong's hand, she looked at Lan Xing with a beaming smile.
"Today, for the sake of the prince consort, I'll waive the kneeling. But you must verbally apologize to me!"
"I did nothing wrong."
Lan Xing's expression was cold, and she stubbornly replied.
"My lord, look at her. It's not that I'm disrespecting you, but she dares to talk back to me like this even in front of you. Do you know how she offends me when you're not around?"
Mo Hanyu immediately became anxious and amplified Lan Xing's audacity to an extreme.
Gao Changhong frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then looked at Lan Xing with a complicated expression.
"Ruan Ruan, apologize to the princess."
His voice was soft, but you could still sense his caution.
When Mo Hanyu heard Gao Changhong call out "Ruan Ruan," her eyes immediately darkened.
"Changhong, I didn't do anything wrong. Don't you even know what just happened? What did she do to me and my son? It wasn't my fault, yet you're telling me to apologize to her. Do you even have any sense of reason?"
Lan Xing looked sadly at Gao Changhong and accused him.
She could accept his marriage to a princess, but that didn't mean she could accept him helping the princess to recklessly and unreasonably trample on her dignity.
Gao Changhong felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. His breathing became heavy, and he wanted to question Mo Hanyu, but Mo Hanyu spoke first.
“My lord, whatever the reason, I am a noble princess. She struck me, which is an offense against the royal family. I only asked her to apologize. Is that not enough?”
Offending the royal family!
This accusation could be quite serious.
No amount of reason matters when it comes to the dignity of the royal family!
So Gao Changhong swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his throat, and once again coldly turned his face away from Lan Xing and said, "She's a princess, so you should apologize!"
"No, I will never apologize!"
Lan Xing gritted her teeth stubbornly, but tears, which she could no longer hold back, fell down in a patter.
Gao Changhong caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye and felt a pang of heartache. He longed to go forward and hug him, but he couldn't.
His wings aren't strong enough yet, and the princess has just married into the Gao family. He'll need the princess's help to climb the social ladder in the future, so he has to appease her now.
"Father, Mother did nothing wrong. It was this aunt who was bullying Mother. You must stand up for Mother!"
At that moment, Gao Yuanbin's soft, sweet voice rang out from the side.
Mo Hanyu then remembered the bastard child beside her, and she immediately spoke up, "Your Highness, did you see that? Not only did she offend me, but she also made this child call me aunt!"
Even if he doesn't acknowledge me as his legal mother, he should at least address me as Princess! If she doesn't apologize today, I will take this child back and discipline him!
this......
Gao Changhong looked extremely troubled. His son was clearly only a three-year-old child. Children speak without thinking and have no understanding of such matters of hierarchy.
Moreover, it's normal that they didn't react immediately since it was their first time meeting the princess, but it's also understandable that Mo Hanyu would use her status to cause them trouble.
Now, he really had a hard time defending himself.
"Okay, I apologize, but please don't hurt my child!"
When Lan Xing heard that Gao Yuanbin was to be taken away and saw the helpless look on Gao Changhong's face, she knew that Gao Changhong could not protect them today.
So, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and apologize to Mo Hanyu, feeling wronged.
Mo Hanyu smiled with satisfaction, then coquettishly took Gao Changhong's arm and left together.
Lan Xing stood alone, holding Gao Yuanbin, watching them leave from the doorway, tears streaming down her face like broken beads.
*
In the following months, Gao Changhong indeed did as Mo Hanyu requested, either staying at her place or in her study, and never staying overnight in Lan Xing's house.
Even if they came to see Lan Xing, they would only come over for dinner at most, and as soon as it got dark, Mo Hanyu would send someone to call them away.
He and Lanxing grew increasingly silent. Every time, Gao Changhong would try to hug her gently, but from some point onward, Lanxing became like an emotionless piece of wood in response to his embraces.
Gao Changhong naturally felt these changes clearly. He was in great pain and could only keep forcing himself to work hard and try to break free from Mo Hanyu's control as soon as possible.
He thought that once he reached the pinnacle of the Northern Desert regime, when even the emperor had to give him some face, he would only dote on his Ruan Ruan.
But he didn't know that his Ruan Ruan was gradually drifting away from him with each passing day.
Three months later, Mo Hanyu became pregnant, and Gao Changhong was relieved, finally no longer having to force himself to touch her.
Mo Hanyu stroked her flat stomach, a happy and proud smile on her face.
"Qiu Lan, what do you think the woman from Xi Yue Courtyard would look like if she found out I was pregnant?"
Mo Hanyu asked her personal maid in a low voice.
"How could she dare to show any expression? Your Highness is so noble, if she knew, she could only kneel on the ground and congratulate you."
The maid smiled obsequiously.
"Is that so? Then I'd really like to see that scene."
Mo Hanyu raised an eyebrow, her eyes flickered, and she seemed to have thought of something new.
"Qiu Lan, come here..."
She leaned close to the maid's ear and whispered her instructions.
In the afternoon.
Gao Changhong accompanied the pregnant Mo Hanyu for a walk in the back garden. He carefully supported her, as if she were a precious treasure in his hands.
"My lord, what do you think we'll do if I give birth to a daughter this time?"
Mo Hanyu asked with a smile as she walked.
"My daughter is wonderful too, as smart and beautiful as a princess."
Gao Changhong smiled ingratiatingly.
"What if I give birth to a son? You already have an eldest son born out of wedlock. If I give birth to a son, will you leave your family property to my son or that woman's son?"
this......
Gao Changhong paused for a moment.
He didn't like the princess, but the child in her womb was his own flesh and blood, so he couldn't be completely heartless towards him.
"Tell me, do you not like the son I gave birth to, and want to give everything to that son?"
Mo Hanyu urged her on.
"How could that be? The princess is my wife, so naturally he is the son I bore for her."
Seeing that Mo Hanyu was getting agitated, Gao Changhong naturally wanted to calm her down first, which is why he spoke so casually.
But he didn't expect that his words would be heard clearly by Lan Xing, who was standing behind the rock.
Is the princess pregnant?
Did they have a child together?
Lan Xing's heart instantly turned ice-cold. The sun was shining brightly, but she felt as if she were in the dead of winter.
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