When they first heard the news, the Lin family's daughters of marriageable age all tried their best, hoping to become the lucky one.
Not to mention that he was a legitimate prince, Prince Rui's appearance alone was enough to make them yearn for him. Although the women in the inner house didn't have many opportunities to meet men from outside the family, the Lin family had many men, but none of them could compare to Prince Rui.
In order to catch the grandfather's eye, my aunt put a lot of effort into my father. In the end, three girls came into my grandfather's consideration.
I don’t know how my grandfather and others talked to Prince Rui. Prince Rui agreed to let them send another girl into the palace, but he would not give her the title of the principal wife.
The Lin family hadn't originally planned for a concubine's daughter to receive the title of princess; they simply wanted to avoid severing the relationship between the two families. A newborn baby will be close to whoever takes care of it, and when it grows up, it's hard to say whether it will recognize its mother's family.
Since she couldn't be the principal wife, appearance was the primary consideration. Xiao Lin was one of the most beautiful girls in the Lin family, but she herself didn't expect to become the lucky one.
It was only later that she learned that her grandfather's reason for convincing Prince Rui was to take care of the son left behind by his eldest sister. He said the Lin family was uneasy about having an outsider take care of the child, and while they knew the palace wouldn't mistreat the young master, they still felt that no matter how good the care was, it wouldn't be as good as the care of his mother's family.
Prince Rui nodded after hearing this reason. Before the hundred days of mourning had passed, Xiao Lin was carried into the palace in a sedan chair.
When she first entered the palace, Prince Rui did not accept her as his concubine, but instead requested that she be made a concubine. Xiao Lin knew her mission was to take care of the eldest son of Prince Rui. Actually, she didn't have to do anything. With a host of wet nurses and maids, all she had to do was play the role of a loving mother, hugging and coaxing him.
As the eldest son of the royal family, Song Bomo was greatly favored and valued by Prince Rui, who visited him every few days. This gave Xiao Lin an opportunity to get close to Prince Rui. However, Xiao Lin knew that she couldn't be too hasty. After all, it was her elder sister who was visiting. If she did so before the child was even a year old...it would surely incur Prince Rui's dislike.
Prince Rui was obviously very satisfied with her "diligent" care, and his words also revealed that he would consider waiting for a year and then directly hiring her as his second wife.
This thought made Xiao Lin extremely excited, and it also gave the Lin family hope again. Xiao Lin became even more respectful and obedient, treating Song Baimo like her own son, and only waited for the day when her eldest sister would be one year old.
But unexpectedly, before the Lin family could discuss the matter with Prince Rui, the emperor issued an imperial decree to marry Gong to Prince Rui.
Prince Rui was very surprised by this decision, but he was powerless to do anything about it. He once again asked for Xiao Lin to be appointed as a concubine as a compensation to her.
However, Gong was in poor health, having been inactive for six months and constantly taking medicine and burning incense. Meanwhile, Li, who had served the prince since childhood, was unable to do so due to her unborn child, so she seized the opportunity and kept Prince Rui for a while. However, for unknown reasons, she remained infertile, and whenever Gong had taken any medicine, she would have someone ask for it.
After waiting for the later Wu to give birth to Song Nongyu, Gong also got pregnant as she wished. However, she lost all confidence after she still didn't get pregnant. When she returned to her parents' home, her aunt told her that she must keep Song Baimo in her hands. With him in her courtyard, she didn't have to worry about the prince not paying attention to her.
Gong had been in poor health to begin with, and she passed away a little over a year after giving birth to Song Bairan. She saw hope again. Prince Rui had already lost two wives, so perhaps a concubine like her would have a chance? Although Li was also a concubine, her background made it impossible for her to compete with her.
As a result, the Lin family began to become active again, but Prince Rui seemed to have no interest in this. Perhaps he felt uncomfortable because both of his wives died at such a young age.
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