Zhang Xiantao felt as if she were facing a formidable enemy. She had a gut feeling that this princess wanted to take revenge on her, and that she was definitely not going to have a good night. Damn it, why did she always seem to clash with every princess? Whether they were real or fake princesses, they all seemed to be incompatible with her.
Xingxing led a group of palace maids and eunuchs towards the garden outside the main hall. To be precise, all these people were arranged by the Empress. Wherever Xingxing went, the palace maids followed.
Zhang Xiantao followed Xingxing for a while in a daze, her mind a jumbled mess, not knowing what she was thinking, until Xingxing spoke up, "You mistook me for a princess that day, didn't you? You thought a princess from the palace was caught red-handed sneaking out of the palace?"
How does she know everything?
“…Hmm.” Zhang Xiantao couldn’t deny it, so she responded with a muffled voice.
"You have a grudge against that Ye Ling'er? Your attitude that day wasn't good; it was practically insubordination." Xingxing stopped and tilted her head slightly, waiting for her answer.
"It's not that we had any grudges. It's just that I'm impulsive. I mistook her for a princess and rushed over without thinking, hoping to find something to hold against her." Little did she know that not only did she mistake the person for someone else, but she also got a lecture.
"You're quite bold, daring to pick a fight with the princess. Is it because your father and brother are guarding the border for the Great Jin Dynasty that you're so arrogant?" Xingxing asked seemingly casually.
Zhang Xiantao's heart suddenly skipped a beat. She was indeed impulsive and quick-tempered, but she wasn't really stupid. She was still aware of things. This princess had only been back in the palace for a few days, yet she asked such questions at such a young age. It sounded like the emperor had sent her to test her.
In all honesty, her father and brother were loyal to the Emperor and the court and had no intention of rebelling. They had been guarding the frontier for many years and had not returned to the capital to reunite with their family for several years. They usually kept in touch through letters. If this aroused the Emperor's suspicion, it would be too disheartening.
Zhang Xiantao was filled with mixed feelings, including resentment and a sense of injustice for her father and brother.
Xingxing, though small, was precocious and seemed to know what she was thinking. She continued walking forward and calmly said, "Don't overthink it. I was just asking casually. Father and Mother didn't know I would suddenly call you out, so they couldn't have given me any instructions."
"Are you serious?" Zhang Xiantao asked blankly, then slapped her forehead, feeling incredibly stupid for actually asking that question.
She glanced at the little girl in front of her. It was all because the princess looked so deceptive. She was wearing a smoky pink dress, and the jewelry in her hair was simple yet gorgeous. Her face was delicate and cute, and her voice was soft and sweet. This made her lose her guard for a moment, which is why she answered her in a silly way.
"This princess never lies. That day you suddenly rushed over and blocked my way, and even berated me fiercely. I was very angry. But after meeting you today, I feel that you are not as arrogant and domineering as you seemed that day, so I want to be friends with you," Xingxing announced solemnly.
Zhang Xiantao was taken aback. Be friends? The idea of her being friends with a princess seemed completely out of place.
First of all, there is a significant age difference between them, and secondly, they had already had some unpleasantness. Now that the two of them suddenly want to be friends, Zhang Xiantao feels that it is a bit outrageous.
“I’ll be of marriageable age in a few months after the New Year. My mother has been arranging a marriage for me. I’m already this old. Is the princess sure she wants to be friends with me?” Zhang Xiantao was very uneasy. She felt that the princess was teasing her, so she did not hesitate to belittle herself to dispel the princess’s idea.
Xingxing was quite surprised to hear this, and turned to look at Zhang Xiantao, "You're getting married soon? Have you found a husband yet?"
"...Not yet. A good man has to be found slowly, there's no rush. I'm only fourteen, still young. It's not too late to get married at twenty." Zhang Xiantao was a little irritable when she talked about marriage. In the past two years, her mother had been looking for people to find suitable marriage partners for her, but she had secretly sabotaged all of them.
As she grew older, her mother became more and more anxious about her marriage. As the legitimate daughter of General Dingyuan, she had no trouble finding a husband. There were plenty of noble young men in the capital who were willing to be engaged to her, but she didn't like any of them and didn't want to get married for the time being.
Because of her secret interference, she ruined several seemingly good marriages, which almost drove her mother to the brink of illness. This caused her great distress, and she didn't know what to do. If she were to sabotage another marriage that was about to take place, her mother might really fall ill from worry.
She wasn't worried about anything except that her mother might fall ill.
"So you wanted to get married at twenty? But if all the good men are taken by then, won't you be unable to find a good husband?" Xingxing said earnestly.
Zhang Xiantao choked, but ultimately didn't impulsively retort. She just muttered, "If they're all gone, so be it. I'll just never get married in my life."
For some reason, the conversation suddenly turned to the topic of whether or not to get married. Xingxing and Zhang Xiantao had an in-depth conversation about it for half an hour, mainly about living with the husband's family after marriage and how bad the husband's family could be.
“You’re from a farming family. In wealthy families, the mother-in-law has to follow many rules, such as morning and evening greetings. If you encounter a husband who doesn’t care about you, life will be even harder. The whole family bullies the daughter-in-law, and she’s caught in the middle. Even when she goes back to her parents’ home, her family can’t do much for her…” Zhang Xiantao told Xingxing all the stories she had heard about the plight of married women.
Xingxing nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, I don't know how daughters-in-law in wealthy families live. I only know that some mothers-in-law in farming families are very mean and biased. They kick their unloved sons and daughters-in-law out to separate from the family, without giving them money or food, and just drive them away."
"It's over. Seeing that their son and daughter-in-law, who have separated from the family, are living a good life, they even want to come and take things from us. If we don't give them what they want, they'll threaten to kill themselves, cry, make a scene, and even hang themselves, letting everyone outside spit on them and drown them."
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