Madam Ding finally suppressed her anger, which she had been holding back for a long time.
After all, there were guests at home.
She wondered why she hadn't seen her daughter for so long; it turned out she had gone to look for Xiaoran.
"Sweetie, you must tell your mother where you are going in the future, otherwise, your mother will worry."
"Mother, Tian Tian understands." Knowing she was in the wrong, Ding Tian obediently agreed. Finally, she pulled He Jinran to the Ding family garden, saying she had a lot to say to him. This made Madam Ding frown repeatedly. In the end, she quietly followed along.
Beneath the lush trees and along the long corridor, He Jinran found a place to sit. Looking at Ding Tian, who had blossomed into a graceful young woman, he couldn't help but chuckle and tease her:
“Sweetie, I still remember you when you were little, about the size of a thumb.”
"Brother Crown Prince, you're only the size of a thumb." Ding Tian said unhappily, glancing at her own fingers.
“I watched you grow up.” He Jinran recalled how you were initially rejected by the Ding family, but later came to them uninvited.
Ding Tian: "You're not that much older than me, yet you speak like that."
"Let's compare and see," He Jinran said, pulling Ding Tian to her feet and comparing their heights. Ding Tian, though at a disadvantage, refused to back down.
"I'm only thirteen, and you're already sixteen. Wait until I'm sixteen, and I promise..."
“Definitely what? You’re not as tall as me, no matter how tall you are.” He Jinran said as he leaped onto the corridor floor.
But when he saw Mrs. Ding standing in a daze not far away, he awkwardly sat back down.
At this moment, Madam Ding's mind was filled with the phrase, "Crown Prince Brother"...
Finally, I verified it myself.
He Jinran spoke succinctly and simply, and Madam Ding's expression became respectful.
However, the lack of previous enthusiasm made He Jinran realize that being in a high position can sometimes be a source of trouble.
Madam Ding suddenly changed her attitude.
He Jinran was no longer as casual as before, and left without lingering.
Ding Tian was reluctant to leave...
Finally, Ding Tian was pulled back to her boudoir by Madam Ding, who began to lecture her.
…………
On the day Qiu Dazhi and Zhang Yuyan got married,
Mrs. Ding was angry and refused to visit.
Master Zhang knew that his words that day had been somewhat harsh, so he personally went to Madam Ding's house to apologize.
Finally, Madam Ding had no choice but to calm down and was persuaded to come.
She took Ding Tian and followed Master Zhang to the gate of the Zhang residence.
Afterwards, Master Zhang, who was busy at home, went to greet the guests.
The Zhang family's home was bustling with activity like never before.
After all, their daughter was going to marry Qiu Dazhi, a man with a promising future.
Madam Zhang can finally hold her head high today.
No, it should be said that ever since she gave birth to her son, she has started to feel proud and confident. However, now, because of her eldest daughter's marriage, she has become arrogant and has completely lost her previous timidity and inferiority complex.
Ever since they learned that Zhang Yuyan had married into a higher social class, the concubines of the Zhang family have all been trying to curry favor with her.
So much so that she walked with a gust of wind.
Upon seeing Madam Ding arrive, she gave a light hum, then put on her signature smile.
"Auntie, I thought even your brother couldn't persuade you to come."
After saying that, she didn't forget to glance at Ding Tian, who was standing next to Madam Ding.
Just then, her beloved son, eleven-year-old Zhang Xiaogongzi, came running and jumping to her side.
Mrs. Zhang smiled and moved forward, taking her son's wrist and slipping a handful of candy into his hand.
"Little one, here's your sister's wedding candy. Eat it and share in the joy."
Young Master Zhang picked up a wedding candy, unwrapped it, and ate one.
"So sweet! Mother, my eldest sister is finally getting married today." The young master Zhang implied that if his eldest sister hadn't gotten married, he would have been ridiculed to death by his friends.
After saying this, he looked at Ding Tian in front of him, smiled, reached out, and gave half of the candy in his hand to Ding Tian.
"Sister Sweetie, here, have this."
Ding Tian declined, saying, "Little brother, I don't like sweets."
Young Master Zhang withdrew his hand, but grabbed Ding Tian's wrist, "Sister Tian, let's go play over there."
This older sister is the prettiest and has the most pleasing personality, so Young Master Zhang usually enjoys playing with Ding Tian.
That's right, his mother always instigated him, saying that Ding Tian was an unlucky person and shouldn't have been born. He didn't understand what "unlucky" meant.
"I want to go see my older sister. You go play with your other friends," Ding Tian declined again. She wanted to see her older sister, so she grabbed Madam Ding's wrist.
"Mother, let's go."
Madam Ding nodded. These days, she was growing increasingly disliked her sister-in-law.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she turned around and pulled Ding Tian along, she heard Madam Zhang murmur something.
"How ill-mannered."
An abandoned girl dared to defy her pride and dignity.
Ding Tian looked back and saw that because Madam Zhang's expression was unpleasant, her own complexion wasn't much better.
"Who are you calling ill-mannered!" Madam Ding instantly flew into a rage.
Ever since becoming a mother, she couldn't bear to hear anyone insult her daughter.
"Sister-in-law, let's get this straight now. What did my sweetie do to upset you that you're targeting her with everything?"
Sweetie didn't have a father's love when she was young, and she suffered a lot of cold treatment in her childhood.
The little girl didn't say it, but every time she went to Ding Lang's grave, she would secretly wipe away her tears, saying that if her father were still alive, no one would dare to bully her.
Therefore, in order to protect her daughter, Madam Ding completely changed her personality.
Only she knows the helplessness a woman feels when she is both a father and a mother.
If she could, she would certainly like to have many children.
"I..." Madam Zhang was timid and clumsy with words, but her intentions were certainly not right.
However, faced with the domineering Madam Ding, she had no choice but to yield.
"I didn't say Sweetie, I said Little One."
"Sweetie, let's go!" Madam Ding's temper hasn't been very good lately.
She wanted to turn around and leave, but then she thought, what did she do wrong? Why should she leave?
She pulled Ding Tian along to Zhang Yuyan's room, trying her best to put on a smiling face...
The wedding of the eldest daughter of the Zhang family was a grand affair, surpassing even the pomp and circumstance of all the daughters born out of wedlock.
The Zhang family's dowry stretched out in a long line.
Inside the bridal sedan chair, the joy on the bride's face never faded.
In contrast, Qiu Dazhi remained as serious as ever, as if the person he was marrying was someone else.
With the bride arriving at the groom's home, Qiu Dafu and Qiu Yumei finally felt a huge weight lifted off their shoulders.
In the evening,
Zhang Yuyan, dressed in red, appeared before Qiu Yan, smiling smugly.
"Xiaoyan, I've always wanted to be your aunt, and now my wish has finally come true. Come here, my dear niece, call me Fourth Aunt."
This wasn't the first time Qiu Yan had done this, but this time, it was out of sheer reluctance.
"Since Fourth Aunt has just entered my Qiu family, shouldn't we at least show some appreciation?"
"...What do you mean?" Zhang Yuyan fell silent. Qiu Yan's current status was extraordinary, and she felt that none of her things were presentable.
However, to demonstrate that she was an elder in the Qiu family, she still donated all of her dowry...
The two shops were given to Qiu Yan.
Qiu Yan, this statement is indeed used.
She reciprocated with equal courtesy.
After Qiu Dazhi's marriage was finalized, the day before Qiu Yan and Gu Qian were to leave, Madam Ding came looking for them.
The purpose of seeking is to verify one thing.
That was He Jinran's identity.
Qiu Yan had no reason to hide this, so she told her the truth.
Mrs. Ding had made it clear that once she returned home that day, she would instruct her daughter to stay indoors.
"Sweetie, you're not allowed to get too close to Xiaoran anymore!"
"Why?" Ding Tian persisted. "I made a promise with my brother, the Crown Prince, that he would marry me when I turn fifteen."
"What? They've already secretly pledged their lives to each other?" Madam Ding exclaimed in fury.
“If you marry him, you can only be a concubine. Besides, with our family's status, you won't even be able to become a secondary consort if you follow him.” Madam Ding’s mood instantly became irritable and uneasy.
"Not even qualified for the position of a concubine?" Upon hearing this, Ding Tian lowered her face.
“My brother, the Crown Prince, likes me very much, and I like him too.”
"So what if he likes her? He's the Crown Prince." Madam Ding thought to herself, determined to forcefully correct her daughter's mind.
Entering the palace is like entering a deep sea; she only has one daughter, Ding Tian.
"...I don't expect that." Ding Tian didn't want to continue the topic; after all, she was still young.
She felt that she and He Jinran had been childhood friends, and that He Jinran must have a place for her in his heart.
She simply wanted to marry him.
...Qiu Dazhi got married.
Qiu Yan and Gu Qian, along with Gu Chengyin, He Jinran, and others, embarked on their journey to Shangjin.
The comings and goings of everyone caused Qiu Xu and Qiu Ling'er in Shangjin to miss each other terribly.
At the General's Mansion, He Jinran first carried Xiao Chengyin down from the carriage.
The sight of the two brothers walking hand in hand, their backs turned, made Qiu Yan feel...
"One is too few."
Gu Qian: "What do you mean one is too few?"
“Yin’er has no brothers or sisters. When we get old, he will have no one to take care of him.” Qiu Yan said as she followed behind He Jinran and Xiao Chengyin.
Gu Qian followed suit, "Isn't Xiao Ran still here?"
“It’s still too few.” Qiu Yan shook her head. “Gu Qian, let’s have another child.”
"Giving birth is too painful."
"I gave birth to it, not you."
Gu Qian: "It breaks my heart to see you suffer."
Qiu Yan made up her mind to have another child while she was still young, and Gu Qian's opinion didn't matter.
She placed one hand on her lower abdomen.
"I've got it."
"What? Impossible." Gu Qian doubted himself.
What exactly went wrong?
He thought about how Yan Yan had been listless the whole way in the carriage, and assumed she was just sleepy, which made him feel a little guilty.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? This bumpy journey must have been terrible for your health."
"The carriage's shock absorption is fine." Their carriage didn't have any trouble on mountain roads, let alone on the main road.
In fact, Qiu Yan only officially confirmed it at this moment.
…………
Another year passed, and seven months later,
Gu Qian held his second son, Gu Chengyun, in his arms and gave his eldest son, Gu Chengyin, a thorough explanation.
"Yin'er, from now on, you must not keep bothering your mother. Also, your younger brother is still young, so you must not be jealous of him anymore. Remember, you are the older brother, and you must act like an older brother."
Four-year-old Gu Chengyin seemed to understand but not quite, yet faced with her father's serious expression, she obediently nodded.
Even so, there were still tear stains on his face.
Finally, his father pulled him into a tight embrace, and he felt a little better.
"Father, can we go find Brother Xiaoran?"
Having not seen Brother Xiaoran for a long time, Gu Chengyin was quite bored.
However, at that time, Gu Xiaoran was having a terrible headache because of something.
Now, at seventeen, He Jinran has shed her former arrogance and become much more mature.
However, his father wanted him to marry two women at the same time, one formal and one informal, which would diminish his composure.
That's right, his father chose two women for him to marry at the same time.
The principal wife is Wen Ninglu, the daughter of Grand Tutor Wen, who is sixteen years old.
The concubine, Chen Ruxi, is the daughter of the Duke of Chen, and is also sixteen years old.
He Jinran was too lazy to look up the two women's information, and he didn't know what they looked like.
"Sigh, this is such a hassle." In the small garden of the East Palace, He Jinran held his head in his hands and leaned against a big tree, sighing all the while.
He did seek advice from his parents, hoping his father would allow him to remarry in the future.
However, this did not change his father's insistence that he marry a wife and take concubines.
Wangchuan remained standing beside him, perfectly composed.
Blackie was also lying on the ground, wagging her tail up and down, and taking a nap with her eyes half closed.
He Jinran glanced at Wangchuan, then at Hei Niu, feeling a profound sense of resentment.
"Why are you all so carefree and relaxed?"
He muttered to himself, knowing he wouldn't get a response, so he simply closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
Unwilling to respond, Wangchuan
"Your Highness's marriage to the Crown Princess is a matter of course to ensure the continuation of the royal family's lineage."
"It's important to get down to business. I'm not alive to continue my lineage," He Jinran complained.
"Wangchuan, why are you just like your father, always talking about having many children?" He glanced at Wangchuan with annoyance.
"My father wanted me to fulfill his mission of having offspring because he himself had few children!"
Besides his younger sister He Jinyu, He Jinran also has another younger sister, He Yuwei, but no younger brother.
But he was not alone, because he had his younger brother Chengyin and his younger brother Chengluo.
These two are his own younger brothers.
He Jinran grumbled in dissatisfaction; he wanted to have a few more years of peace and quiet.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, two elegant and graceful women approached him with light, quick steps.
The two women were He Jinran's unmarried concubines whom he had never met.
The two women stepped forward and bowed in unison in worship.
"Your subject, Wen Ninglu, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
"Chen Ruxi greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
The two spoke at the same time, and He Jinran immediately recognized the two women's identities.
He straightened up and stood at attention.
Upon closer examination,
This meeting must have been arranged by my father.
He carefully examined the two of them.
Wen Ninglu has a classic oval face, her complexion as delicate as powdered jade, a smile that could topple cities, a second smile that could topple kingdoms...
Chen Ruxi had a round face, fair and radiant skin with rosy blushes, and the yellow floral decoration on her forehead made her look stunningly beautiful...
Upon closer inspection, He Jinran
Both of them were poised and generous.
The two women lowered their eyes as he looked at them, which made He Jinran's lips curl into a slight smile.
These two women are quite pleasing to the eye.
I just don't know what his true nature is.
"Your Highness, the sky is clear and the weather is perfect today. Would you like to take a walk together?" Wen Ninglu said with a smile, exchanging smiles with Chen Ruxi and nodding at the same time.
"You two are quite in sync." He Jinran narrowed his eyes, stepped between the two, and took their wrists, one on each side.
"Let's go to the peony garden ahead and see if the flowers are more beautiful or the people are more beautiful."
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