4. Could it be that you are the fourth son my father raised in the Duan family?
◎You're quite the talker, why didn't you introduce yourself?◎
Feng Ran was thinking about how humans all need to have a three-day homecoming ceremony.
What, why are you talking about humans?
Oh, I won't tell you.
The original owner of this body was a pitiful legitimate daughter in the Prime Minister's mansion.
Speaking of which, the Prime Minister's mansion is quite complicated. Although it doesn't have three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines, it still has nearly ten concubines, plus all sorts of children, making it almost a hundred people.
Prime Minister Wu Renxing came from a humble background, so Wu Fengran's mother was naturally his wife who had shared hardship with him.
After Wu Renxing achieved great success, he demoted his wife to a concubine and then married the eldest daughter of the powerful Liu family in the capital. This eldest daughter of the Liu family was also a hopeless romantic, and she was convinced that Wu Renxing was her dream lover, even becoming pregnant out of wedlock.
Good heavens, the child born first is none other than the eldest daughter of the Wu family, whom Wu Fengran was forced to marry in place of her.
Wu Fengran's biological mother was very principled and refused to agree no matter what, but she had no choice but to make a request that the child in her womb would always be the legitimate child. Wu Renxing, who was a fifth-rank official at the time, agreed.
How can a child born of the principal wife have a mother who is a concubine?
The original owner's mother, in a moment of despair, passed away shortly after giving birth.
So, in a sense, Wu Fengran is both a legitimate daughter and not a legitimate daughter. Her biological father is heartless, let alone her stepmother.
"Hmph, the Wu family is interesting."
Perhaps guided by fate, Feng Ran places great importance on cause and effect.
Having received the original owner's life-saving grace and being able to eat so much delicious food, Feng Ran felt she should repay the kindness.
What? Parents are never wrong?
The wind was too strong, I didn't hear it.
However, before Feng Ran could figure out how to deal with the more than one hundred members of the Wu family, her new husband's family of fifty members arrived.
Perhaps realizing that Feng Ran and Chun Hui were at odds, Old Li arranged a new maid for her, Xiu'er.
"Princess Consort, the other relatives of the Prince are already waiting in the front hall."
"Isn't Duan Jingchuan going?" It's not fair to let the new bride go to meet her relatives on her own.
Xiuer resisted the urge to correct Feng Ran for calling the prince by his given name, saying, "Your Highness, these relatives usually do not bother the prince."
In other words, her husband never needed to pay attention to these people.
"Isn't it said that a wife should lead by example and her husband should follow her lead? Come on, let's go and invite our husbands over."
Xiuer had no choice but to lead the way.
Feng Ran then had the leisure to admire the courtyard where she was currently living.
Jinghua Courtyard is the easternmost separate courtyard of the Dingbei Marquis's residence, adjacent to the front courtyard and some distance from the back courtyard where the women lived.
She also benefited from the fact that this socially awkward prince didn't need to squeeze in with the people in the backyard.
The socially anxious girl was quite considerate; she left the main room to the girl and lived in the study herself.
The study was located in the innermost corner of Jinghua Courtyard. Stepping into the study, Feng Ran felt that the sunlight was no longer welcoming, and it suddenly became dark and damp.
There was a young servant whom Feng Ran did not recognize guarding the door to the study. Fortunately, the servant obviously knew Feng Ran.
"Princess Consort, is there something you need from the Prince?"
Feng Ran rolled her eyes. "Of course! Why would I look for him if there's nothing wrong?"
Speechless at Feng Ran's blunt tone, the servant was at a loss for words and had no choice but to change the subject, "Please wait a moment, Your Highness, while I go and inform her."
Feng Ran waved her hand impatiently.
However, she didn't want to step into that troublesome study, which looked very dark. Considering her social anxiety, she added, "Call him out and tell him I need to talk to him."
The attendant did not agree, but turned to inform the prince, since he did not know whether the prince would listen to what he said.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort says she needs to see you and is waiting at the door of the study?"
To Xiong Qi's surprise, although the Crown Prince did not answer him, he got up and walked outside, clearly intending to see the Crown Princess.
Xiong Qi was secretly delighted. If the Crown Princess could really change the Crown Prince, that would be a great thing.
A short while later, Duan Jingchuan came out of the study.
Whether it was due to visual perception or because Duan Jingchuan's aura was too eerie, it was unclear.
From Feng Ran's perspective, Duan Jingchuan's face was pale, his eye sockets were slightly sunken, and there was a faint bluish tinge under his eyes. He looked both gentle and gloomy.
She stood in the sunlight, gazed upon by Duan Jingchuan's eyes, which seemed to pierce the darkness. Feng Ran frowned, a rare occurrence; something about this man was truly off.
Duan Jingchuan's language skills were clearly better than yesterday. Although he didn't get too close to Feng Ran, he nodded and smiled, calling her "Madam."
However, even with his gentle tone, Feng Ran felt it was somewhat fake, and she really wanted to tear apart his hypocritical tenderness.
"Husband, Xiu'er told me today that I need to meet your whole family. I've never met so many people before. Would you like to keep me company?"
Feng Ran completely used the title of "husband" as a guiding principle for Duan Jingchuan's actions. This man was contradictory; he didn't like her, but he also earnestly fulfilled his responsibilities as a husband.
However, Feng Ran didn't want to analyze Duan Jingchuan's thoughts. In her opinion, as long as he was useful, that was enough. As long as he was her provider, it didn't matter whether she called him husband or father.
Seemingly surprised that Feng Ran would ask him to meet someone else, Duan Jingchuan was slightly taken aback, but he obediently nodded.
Feeling a bit bored, Feng Ran casually asked the servant standing next to her, "What's your name? Are you serving by my husband's side?"
The servant replied respectfully, "Your Highness, this is Xiong Qi. I was also planning to pay my respects to Your Highness today and introduce everyone in the household."
Feng Ran ignored Xiong Qi's attempt to shift the blame and instead focused on the name.
"A bust?" She scanned Xiong Qi's chest from the neck down to his waist and abdomen. "You don't have one."
Xiong Qi was somewhat confused, but Feng Ran's gaze was so unrestrained that he couldn't ignore it, and his face turned bright red. If the Crown Princess and the Crown Prince weren't right in front of him, Xiong Qi would probably have fled underground.
Duan Jingchuan seemed to belatedly understand the meaning behind Feng Ran's words. When he saw Feng Ran's gaze sweeping over him, he immediately took a small step back and half-hid behind Xiong Qi.
Feng Ran twitched her lips. "Husband, let's go. Don't keep your sisters waiting."
Duan Jingchuan answered softly, "I don't have a sister."
Feng Ran stared at Duan Jingchuan as if she had discovered a new continent. "Husband, you said four extra words today. If you don't have a sister, do you have a brother or sister?" As she spoke, she took another step closer to Duan Jingchuan.
Duan Jingchuan's body stiffened, but he did not dodge.
Just as Feng Ran was enjoying the pleasure of bullying honest people, Xiong Qi felt a little sorry for their young master and took the initiative to explain, "Princess Consort, the young master has one biological sister, and the rest are brothers born of concubines: one elder brother, one younger brother, and two younger sisters."
"So prolific?" Feng Ran's mouth gaped open in surprise.
Xiong Qi took a deep breath. "Your Highness, it should be that the Prime Minister's family has more children."
Is this mockery? It must be mockery. Feng Ran pursed her lips, not taking it to heart, because she had already seen the whole family.
"Who are those older women?" Feng Ran pointed to the charming middle-aged women in the distance.
Xiong Qi quickly glanced around and lowered his voice, "Princess Consort, please be careful what you say. Those are the Marquis's concubines."
"So many!!!" No matter how much Xiong Qi tried to lower his voice, it was no use. Feng Ran raised her voice by eight decibels.
Now all the girls and boys in the front hall could hear what was happening.
Xiong Qi told himself to stay calm. He was just a servant and should learn from his master's composure, but he really couldn't stay calm.
I had heard from Steward Li before that the Crown Princess's behavior was different from that of ordinary people, but I didn't understand it then. Now I understand it a little better. How am I supposed to respond to this? Is it too difficult for a servant like me?
Duan Jingchuan, who was standing to the side, also paused for a rare moment, glancing at Feng Ran almost imperceptibly, but Feng Ran caught him with her sharp eyes.
"If you want to see it, my husband, just look. I don't mind."
No, I don't want to see it. I was just scared by you. These were Duan Jingchuan's true feelings.
Feng Ran's shout finally drew the attention of everyone in the front hall.
One of them, a middle-aged woman, walked over gracefully, hands on her hips and a handkerchief in her hand.
Feng Ran called her "middle-aged woman" not because she wasn't pretty, but because this woman gave off the feeling of having flour plastered all over her body. Every frown and smile was flaky. Her alluring attire and movements, paired with her flaky face, were simply nauseating, making people want to vomit but unable to.
Clearly, the visitor had ill intentions. This middle-aged woman, with a mocking expression, immediately launched into a series of loud, hoarse laughs. "I've heard that the Crown Princess stole my sister's thunder and came here as a substitute bride. The Crown Princess is truly audacious; she and the Crown Prince are a perfect match."
Before Feng Ran could decide which fist to use, a young lady of about thirteen or fourteen years old spoke up, her voice extremely arrogant and disdainful.
"You're Second Sister-in-law? Yesterday, the maid told me that she saw Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law being very affectionate, but I didn't believe it. Now that I see Second Brother accompanying Second Sister-in-law, I can see that Second Sister-in-law is quite capable. I think Second Brother won't blame you for secretly changing the marriage." She emphasized the word "Second" in her words.
Feng Ran was speechless. Did these people have their heads on their necks?
It's not hard to tell from her words that this thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl with a spoiled and unreasonable demeanor is Duan Jingchuan's younger sister.
Listening to her words, it was as if the arranged marriage and her contempt were blatantly displayed on her face, completely disrespecting her second brother.
Feng Ran rolled her eyes. "If you can't speak properly, then don't spew nonsense. It stinks."
After speaking, she went straight into the front hall, casually found a seat to sit down, and saw that Duan Jingchuan was about to sit next to Feng Ran. Xu Yiniang, who was sitting in the main seat, looked rather unpleasant. If the old Marquis found out that the young master was sitting next to her, she would be in big trouble. "Young master, please sit here."
Duan Jingchuan ignored her words and sat down next to Feng Ran on his own.
Aunt Xu couldn't sit or stand comfortably, so she had no choice but to stand there, since there were no empty seats.
Feng Ran crossed her legs, leaned back in her chair, and slammed her fist on the table. "What's wrong? Didn't you say you wanted to meet me? Let's all introduce ourselves. You all know me, but I don't know you. Let's start with you." She nodded at Aunt Xu, indicating that she should go first.
Seeing the situation, everyone knew that the Crown Princess was clearly backed by the Crown Prince, so they didn't dare to go too far.
Aunt Wang, who had spoken first, now seemed like a gourd with its mouth sawed off, silently walking to a corner and remaining silent.
Legend has it that Duan Jingchuan's younger sister also looked unwell. She was about to say something, but upon seeing Duan Jingchuan's expression, her body stiffened, and she reluctantly shut her mouth.
Feng Ran turned around to see what Duan Jingchuan's expression was, but only saw the fluffy bangs on Duan Jingchuan's forehead, his whole face buried in his neck. She whispered to Duan Jingchuan, "You look pretty fierce."
The two were sitting quite close together, and Feng Ran's breath wafted around Duan Jingchuan's ear, making his earlobes feel slightly numb. He shifted back uncomfortably and continued to play dead.
Feng Ran had grown accustomed to Duan Jingchuan's silence and directly pointed at Aunt Xu, "Aren't you quite talkative? Why don't you introduce yourself?"
Aunt Xu, who had just been stunned by the blow, had already recovered and said to Feng Ran in a nonchalant tone, "Princess Consort, I am the Marquis's concubine, surnamed Xu, and I am considered half an elder to you. How can you be so rude? The Wu family is truly well-mannered."
Feng Ran didn't even lift her eyelids, and casually retorted, "Aunt Xu, how do you know so much about manners? Are you perhaps my father's adopted son in the Duan family?"
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