Xie Lin was silent for a moment, as a man of age, he inevitably faced pressures to get married.
If he didn’t marry Qin Luan, he would have to marry someone else.
"Mother, you choose for me! I trust your judgement," Xie Lin sighed. He had always wanted to marry Qin Luan, and now after personally asking her and receiving her refusal, he found himself frustrated for two days. But now, he had come to terms with it. He didn’t feel that hard to let go. Otherwise, when she was taken by Zhou Gu and sent to the Eastern Palace by the Emperor, he would have been devastated.
The Rui’an Queen finally showed a smile, "Very well, be at ease, your mother will not pressure you. Once I choose someone, you will need to meet her and approve. Only then will I arrange for the marriage."
Xie Lin nodded, "I trust my mother."
She had even agreed to Qin Luan; he himself just didn’t marry her, let alone others. His own mother, after all, would not harm him.
Daliang Capital City was buzzing for a while because of the Crown Prince’s marriage.
Since the day Duanhua returned to the Princess Residence from the palace, she never left again. The Emperor kept his word, sent her two wet nurses, and she confined herself, studying manners every day at the cost of her freedom in the Princess Residence. In actual fact, her manners weren’t too bad from the basic training she had when she was young. As a Princess, it was enough, but since she now had to be the Crown Prince’s wife, she had to demand a even stricter standard.
The two wet nurses sent by the palace were indeed appointed by the Emperor, but the Empress secretly told them not to be too harsh. Therefore, the two wet nurses were not overly stern towards Duanhua.
Duanhua had studied manners for half a month without any complaints, which astonished both Princess Qingping and the prince consort.
Princess Qingping quietly said to the prince consort, "Do you think Duanhua has always liked the Crown Prince instead of Zhou Gu? Has she been hiding her love for the Crown Prince under the facade of Zhou Gu?"
The prince consort looked at Qingping speechlessly, "You’re overthinking."
Qingping looked skeptical, "Am I overthinking? Look how well-behaved she is, even though the people are arranged by the Emperor, she cooperates closely in her studies. The two wet nurses privately told me that Duanhua feels they’re going easy on her because they’re afraid of offending her. She told them to follow the standards for a Crown Prince’s wife and teach her, no matter how harsh. Can you imagine her saying that?"
She, as a mother, knew the best about what her daughter was like before and how she is now.
The prince consort sighed, "You’re overthinking. With her temperament, she can’t fake it. Even if it’s all just a facade, it wouldn’t have fooled us, as parents, for all these years, right?"
Qingping thought about it, "I may have been overthinking."
"A pregnant woman must avoid overthinking." The prince consort comforted her, "Don’t worry too much. She’s been conscientious, that is a good thing."
He then laughed, "In just half a month, the Crown Prince has sent her gifts three times. Those were small toys destined to entertain her. Clearly, the Crown Prince is aware of the hardship she’s undertaking by studying dutifully. A wife and husband should always think about each other."
Duanhua, who has always hated learning manners, willingly confined herself to study diligently. The Crown Prince, being a clever man, should naturally understand her thoughts. He, who had never bought toys to please others, still bought some interesting things whenever passing a street in his busy schedule and had them sent over. This consideration was priceless.
Upon hearing this, Princess Qingping also laughed, "I’ve seen it. The gifts were first delivered to me: Whistle drum, wooden bird, small trinket, and a candy figurine. Even the eunuchs in the Eastern Palace had to run around to transport the candy figurine in order to prevent it from melting. Duanhua didn’t want to eat it at first and kept it for a day." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
The prince consort asked, "Did that candy figurine eventually melt?"
"Yes, it melted, but your clever daughter had it melted in a bowl and drank it as sweet soup. All that matters is it went down to her belly." Qingping was even more amused, "This girl is really thoughtful."
The prince consort sighed, "Now you can be relieved."
"Yes, although this marriage arrangement came so suddenly, it felt like a dream. But now that I see how they get along, I am truly relieved." Qingping, who had experienced the struggles of an unhappy marriage, naturally hoped for a smooth marriage for her daughter.
The prince consort also thought about it and felt guilty. He held Qingping’s hand, "I’m sorry, I was too foolish and oblivious. You have suffered so much in the past. Actually, I wanted to be good to you at that time, but I didn’t know how and no one taught me."
After that, he sighed again, "The Crown Prince is smart, and I am the foolish one."
Qingping chided him, "All right, what are you reflecting on? I am already very content with you."
After all, she was coerced into the marriage, how could it be like Duanhua, purely struck by the god of fortune as a stroke of luck during her mischeviousness? It’s just luck. The fool has the fool’s fortune.
The prince consort laughed bitterly in response. Yes, he just needs to treat her better in the future. Feeling guilty about the past has no meaning now.
Some families rejoiced while others worried, and the most devastated was not the court official who is trying to marry his daughter into the Eastern Palace but Qin Luan, a woman officer in the Eastern Palace.
Qin Luan never expected the Crown Prince to suddenly select a wife, and that person turned out to be Duanhua.
She broke out in a cold sweat. She still remembered clearly what Duanhua said to her on the day when she sent her bodyguards to the Crown Prince. On their way back to the city, she gave Qin Luan a ride back to the Eastern Palace.
When they arrived at the gate of the Eastern Palace, Duanhua told her something that she still remembers followly to this day.
Did Duanhua want to marry into the Eastern Palace and the Crown Prince back then?
Because all this time, she character was hedonistic and wilful. From young to old, her domineering and arrogant personality was ingrained so deeply that she never thought about marrying into the Eastern Palace to become the Crown Prince’s wife.
But, Duanhua had accurately pointed out her ambition.
Could she still stay in the Eastern Palace then?
Did she still stand a chance?
Would Duanhua tolerate her?
If anyone else were to become the Crown Prince’s wife, she would still have a sliver of hope; she could take advantage of the saying, "The Carlyle gets the first full moon". She could plan for herself then.
But, now that person was Duanhua, what could she plot for?
Also, since she had been in the Eastern Palace for a long time, she dared not to make rash moves. She was holding her temper, waiting for the Crown Prince’s wife to enter the palace. When the Eastern Palace had a female master, perhaps she would have a chance to exploit a loophole. But what should she do now?
She wanted to see Duanhua, she wanted to see how Duanhua looked at her now. What was her expression? Why did the Crown Prince want to marry her as the Crown Prince’s wife? Was it because of the three hundred guards she sent? Or was there something she didn’t know about?
Right, that day, when Duanhua came to the Eastern Prinace. The Prince was not back yet, and she spent the night. Then, she didn’t know what happened. Little Chengzi refused to speak, and when she asked others, they said they didn’t know, showing looks as if they were hiding something serious. Later, Princess Qingping and the prince consort came to the Eastern Palace late at night. Not two days later, the holy decree for the marriage was issued.
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