Chapter 16

Qi Xinglan felt comfortable with his touch, but poor person he was hugging had to endure it all night.

The next morning, just like usual, when Qi Xinglan woke up, the man was no longer by his side.

However, Qi Chaoting came running over when he was having breakfast, with ripples on her light purple skirt.

"elder brother!"

The little girl smiled brightly, and it was obvious that she wanted to ask him a favor.

Qi Xinglan took a look and asked casually, "Why? Are you hanging out with Yan Cheng again?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Chaoting rubbed Qi Xinglan's shoulder affectionately and said, "Brother, you are so smart!"

"Don't try to get close to me." Qi Xinglan pushed her away mercilessly.

Qi Chaoting glanced at the expressionless Qi Xinglan, not daring to say a word. He then glanced at Fu Wen who was standing beside him, and the latter shook her head almost imperceptibly at her.

Qi Chaoting lowered his head in despair, thinking that there was no hope, but then he heard the person next to him put down his chopsticks and slowly spoke: "Qi Chaoting, you are thirteen years old this year, and you should know something about the relationship between men and women. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, this is indeed..."

He paused, "You are old enough to get engaged. Although your parents died young, at least I am by your side. An elder brother is like a father to you."

"If you are sure that you really like him and he really wants to marry you, then I will ask my mother to act as a matchmaker and arrange your marriage."

Qi Chaoting finally raised his head, and Qi Xinglan said, "Don't be too happy too soon. He is seven years older than you. Do you know if he has a concubine?"

"You can't get married until you are fifteen or sixteen at the earliest. Can he control himself and not bring people to his house?"

"If you can handle it, just nod."

Qi Chaoting listened to the words obediently, then nodded like a rattle, "Don't worry, brother, he listens to me in everything. If you are really worried, I will ask him to come to the royal court and promise you himself!"

"No need for that!" Qi Xinglan ruthlessly refused, and urged her, "Go ahead, let someone follow you so nothing can happen."

"Don't do anything out of line!" Qi Xinglan said the last sentence while staring into Qi Chaoting's eyes.

Qi Chaoting stood up straight immediately, "I'm only thirteen years old and I'm not stupid!"

After saying that, he left without even looking at him.

Qi Xinglan picked up the chopsticks again and ate a few bites until she was full, then stood up again.

Fu Wen hurriedly followed, "Where is the queen going?"

"Where else can I go? I can go to Chongyun Palace to arrange a marriage for that girl."

Fu Wen followed with a smile, "Ms. Chao Ting seems to be very sensible, even if she is a little young now, it's nothing."

"Girls in Xiyuan can get married when they are 13 or 14 years old. The customs of Xiyuan people are open-minded. Even if they have a lover, it is not a big deal."

—

Inside Chongyun Palace, Queen Mother Wang had finished her meal and was resting on the imperial concubine's couch.

"The Queen Mother...Her Royal Highness the Queen is here."

The Queen Mother opened her narrowed eyes and asked, "Lan'er is here?"

"Mother, I won't disturb your rest."

"No, I can't sleep this early in the morning." The Queen Mother sat up, "Lan'er, sit down quickly."

Qi Xinglan obediently sat on a chair nearby.

"Mother..."

"Lan'er needs help from mother."

"Has mother ever been a matchmaker?"

The Queen Mother was stunned, and then she remembered what Yan Cheng's mother had told her when she entered the palace. She said that Yan Cheng was always close to Lan'er's sister and always said that he liked her, but she always felt that the girl was too young, so she was reluctant to propose marriage to him.

Now he understood what it meant, and replied to Qi Xinglan: "Are you here to tell me about Yan Cheng and Chao Ting?"

Qi Xinglan was surprised: "How did the Queen Mother know that?"

"You don't have to worry about this. Yan Cheng's mother has already told me that he likes Chao Ting, but the girl is too young, and he is embarrassed to propose marriage, so he wants to wait until she is older."

Queen Mother Wang thought about it and discussed with Qi Xinglan: "Why not wait until Ting'er's coming-of-age ceremony is over before I arrange a marriage for him."

"That's perfect!"

This is exactly the result Qi Xinglan wanted. Qi Chaoting is only thirteen years old now. Even though he is old enough to know about matters between men and women, he is still a child in his eyes.

Even if the Queen Mother wanted to arrange a marriage for them today, Qi Xinglan would not be willing to do so.

Qi Xinglan finally resolved a huge worry in her heart and couldn't help showing a relieved expression on her face.

Queen Mother Wang knew that he was reluctant to leave, so she smiled and said, "Don't worry, Lan'er, it's still a long time before Ting'er comes of age. Besides, it's only a quarter of an hour's journey from Wang Ting to Yan Mansion, so she can be seen at any time."

Although Qi Xinglan's problem was solved, she did not leave immediately. After all, there would be no one in the palace if she returned, so it would be more interesting to stay in Chongyun Palace.

"A few days ago, Ah-Lin told me that he would take you out for a trip in the spring. When he mentioned you, his face was full of tenderness, which surprised even me."

"Lan'er, you don't know. I have never heard of this in the past twenty years. I thought he would just have a cold face."

Cold face?

Qi Xinglan thought of the time when they were together and how Huilin was always in a hurry. The corners of her mouth also rose. When the Queen Mother saw this, she said hurriedly, "It seems that he has never been cold in front of you?"

"Mother..."

Qi Xinglan stopped her in a low voice. The latter laughed out loud when she heard it, while the former stood up and used many small movements to cover up his embarrassment.

"Mother, if everything is ok, I will leave first."

The Queen Mother stood up and touched Qi Xinglan's shoulder. She was naturally happy to see her son and daughter-in-law getting along well.

Qi Xinglan smiled, bowed and went back.

—

At this moment, the city of Xidu was bustling with noise and the sounds of small vendors shouting could be heard everywhere.

Qi Chaoting was wearing a goose yellow dress that was particularly lively, with a plain cloak covering the outside. She looked like a mischievous young girl.

"Yancheng, go buy me a string of Tanghulu. It's right there!"

Qi Chaoting pointed with his white and tender fingertips, and Yan Cheng immediately went over and bought it.

She was honest physically, but she was still being stubborn. She had obviously obeyed and bought the goods, but she still said, "Why weren't you so bold last month? You kept hiding by my side and didn't dare to say a word. If you wanted something, you just pulled my sleeve."

Yan Cheng looked over and saw Qi Chaoting had already bitten a hawthorn ball into his mouth.

He retracted his gaze and said, "Now, I have brought back an ancestor for myself."

Seeing that Qi Chaoting was still eating, he thought that the little girl must not have had a good breakfast again and her stomach must be upset.

After thinking about it, Yan Cheng advised her, "Ting'er, you should eat less. Eating too much hawthorn will make you feel uncomfortable."

Qi Chaoting said, staring at him with almond-shaped eyes: "Why do you like to control me so much? I just promised my brother this morning that you would listen to me in everything, and now you are going to refute me like this!"

Yan Cheng didn't care about the matter anymore after hearing that. He took Qi Chaoting's wrist and walked away. When he knew that the crowd was far away and the surroundings were quiet, he pressed Qi Chaoting's shoulders and asked her seriously: "Ting'er...did you really tell your cousin's wife about what happened between us?"

Qi Chaoting nodded, "Why would I lie to you about this?"

Yan Cheng let go of her shoulders, and began to think again. He nodded his head again, and finally mustered up the courage to look up and ask Qi Chaoting, "Then...cousin-law is not angry, right? You were with me when you were only thirteen years old."

After saying that, he lowered his head again.

If his sister had been deceived by someone at the age of thirteen, Yan Cheng felt that he would beat up the damn man and warn him that this was impossible.

Qi Chaoting didn't say anything, and Yan Cheng didn't dare to raise his head. He didn't know that the person in front of him was looking at him. Qi Chaoting thought that he must not know how honest and cute Yang Zu was when he was sad and lowered his head, and how much people wanted to bully him.

Yan Cheng didn't hear Qi Chaoting's answer for a long time, and he became more and more panicked. "I knew it. I even told my mother about this before. She also said that you are young, and even if she went to the royal court to propose marriage, it might not be successful..."

"Big fool."

"Ah?" Yan Cheng looked up and found Qi Chaoting looking at him as if he were a fool. He was a little confused when he realized that he was being called "big fool".

"I said you're stupid," Qi Chaoting rolled his eyes, "My brother agreed and said he would tell the Queen Mother."

Yan Cheng was hit on the head by a stuffed pancake. He looked into Qi Chaoting's eyes to confirm the truthfulness of what she had just said.

"Cousin's wife agrees?"

Qi Chaoting rubbed the tip of her nose with her knuckles. Yan Cheng saw her hands, which were frozen white, and clenched them consciously to keep her warm. He knew that Qi Chaoting was particularly afraid of the cold.

"But I don't think he's angry..."

Qi Chaoting couldn't help laughing when he saw the man's nervous expression and movements. "My brother said he didn't believe you would wait so long for me to get married. Maybe he was afraid that you would flirt with other women."

"Then I will go to the royal court today and promise to my cousin's wife in person that I will remain a virgin and will not do anything indecent to you until the day of our wedding!"

He folded his hands, clapped his left hand, and his eyes were still rolling around as he added, "I also want to swear that I will never take a concubine in this life. I only want my Ting'er!"

"Do you think my cousin's wife will agree to our being together?"

After Yan Cheng finished speaking, he looked down at Qi Chaoting's eyes in confusion. Qi Chaoting was still thinking about what he had just said about not taking a concubine in this life, and her face turned red like an apple.

"I...how should I know..." Her voice was so weak and soft that Yan Cheng almost couldn't hear what she said.

Yan Cheng was just reacting when he heard her say, "That's enough! Let's go to a restaurant and have dinner before we talk about anything else."

Yan Cheng had no ulterior motives and didn't know that Qi Chaoting's words were meant to divert his attention and make him forget what he had just said about going to find Qi Xinglan.

Holding Qi Chaoting's hand, he returned to the street.

The area of ​​Xiyuan is not very large, but the food is indeed delicious. In this respect, Qi Chaoting follows Qi Xinglan and has no dietary restrictions.

Yan Cheng knew Qi Chaoting's taste very well and ordered her favorite dishes in no time.

The two of them spent quite a while eating. Qi Chaoting thought that he should have forgotten about the matter a long time ago. Just as she was about to return to the royal court, she saw the man following her closely.

"Aren't you going home?" Qi Chaoting couldn't help but ask him.

"No, I've already said that I'm going to personally find my cousin's wife to express my feelings and loyalty to you, and I must do it!"

Qi Chaoting: ...