Chapter 691 The Little Girl's Little Thoughts
The Xue family came to Chang'an under the pretext of attending the Emperor's birthday celebration. According to Xue's uncle, "Chang'an is where the sage resides, and even the air here is fresher than in Jiangnan."
I brought the children here to broaden their horizons and to pay our respects to the Prince and Princess.
Among the younger generation brought by the Xue family, there were not only nephews and nieces, but also their own daughters.
In this era, it was truly a rare occurrence for a young woman to travel with her elders.
It must be said that the Xue family is truly wealthy. The cost of such a large group of people, their food and drink along the way, as well as the servants and hired guards, is no small sum.
Among these young women was a girl named Yue Niang, who was only thirteen years old and had come along.
Yue Niang was lively and good at sweet talk, which pleased the Princess Consort of Xiang. Since Yue Niang's father was the same mother as Princess Qingyang, the Princess Consort of Xiang decided to keep her in the palace to keep Princess Qingyang company.
At this time, it's not a big deal for this relative's young daughter to stay at our house for three to six months.
Besides, the Xue family is extremely wealthy. Although Princess Qingyang's birth mother died young, the Xue family's ties with Chang'an have not been severed.
Otherwise, the Xue family would not have been able to use their merits to change Princess Qingyang's title to that of a princess in the end, given the many services they had provided to Emperor Gaozong in his early years.
Princess Qingyang took good care of this young lady from her maternal family who was closely related to her by blood. Moreover, because Yue Niang was a girl who had survived in a large family, she was very good at saying sweet words to people.
Princess Qingyang was "fallen" to Yue Niang's repeated calls of "elder sister". After spending just over a month together, she truly treated Yue Niang as her own younger sister.
After celebrating the Emperor's birthday, the Xue family stayed in Chang'an for another month or so. As the year drew to a close, they finally came to say they wanted to return to Jiangnan.
But at this critical juncture, Yue Niang, who had been living in the Prince's mansion for two months, had long harbored ambitions for the mansion's wealth and power.
For the past two months, Yue Niang followed behind Princess Qingyang, enjoying a period of privilege as Princess Qingyang's sister.
The envious or jealous glances from others made Yue Niang very happy.
Although Yue Niang was young, she understood that the status brought by such power was nothing but a mirage to her now.
If she left Princess Qingyang and Chang'an and returned to Jiangnan, she would still be just an ordinary girl among the many women of the Xue family in Jiangnan.
Therefore, Yue Niang had long harbored the idea of staying in the Prince's Mansion and in Chang'an.
Until the tenth day of the eleventh lunar month, Princess Qingyang's birthday, the Prince Xiang's Mansion hosted a birthday banquet for her, inviting many relatives by marriage.
On this day, Yue Niang, who was accompanying Princess Qingyang, also met the man she wanted to marry, Liu Xinming, the second son of the eldest branch of the Liu family of the Duke of Xingguo.
Liu Xinming was just over twenty years old. He came with Princess Qingyang's elder brother, Li Xian, to meet Princess Qingyang and wish her a happy birthday.
As for why Li Xian brought Liu Xinming from the front courtyard to see Princess Qingyang, it was because after Princess Qingyang came of age, every family in Chang'an was keeping a close eye on her.
Liu Xinming's family is one of them.
Liu Xinming was the second son of the family, and was older than his elder brother, so he could not inherit the title of Duke. If he left the Duke's mansion, he would just be an ordinary son of an official.
However, if he could marry the princess, it would be a really good thing for Liu Xinming.
Not to mention, Princess Qingyang's mother came from the Xue family in Jiangnan, a wealthy family. Her dowry must have been substantial, which was incredibly good for Liu Xinming's rather awkward status.
Liu Xinming was able to stand out among the many sons of officials and be personally brought to Princess Qingyang by Li Xian because Li Xian had heard the Princess Consort of the Prince of Xiang say, "Qingyang likes his appearance. Since Qingyang likes him and your father doesn't object, there's nothing wrong with choosing him. Just take care of him."
Therefore, Li Xian brought Liu Xinming to the backyard to meet Princess Qingyang. Seeing Liu Xinming's gentle and refined appearance, he personally presented the gift to Princess Qingyang.
"Happy birthday, Princess. I personally chose this hairpin. I feel that the lotus flower is very suitable for you. May you have many happy birthdays to come."
Princess Qingyang understood everything immediately upon hearing Liu Xinming's words.
The man personally selects a hairpin and gives it to his daughter. Does the meaning of this need further explanation?
Moreover, Liu Xinming's eyes were staring at her like searchlights. If it weren't for maintaining the princess's demeanor, she would have blushed long ago. Even so, Princess Qingyang felt her face and neck burning.
However, none of the people present noticed Yue Niang standing behind Princess Qingyang. The way she looked at Liu Xinming was quite unusual.
Yes, even though Yue Niang was not yet fourteen years old, she had taken a liking to Liu Xinming, the kind of liking a mother has for a man.
Here, don't think that a young girl of only thirteen or fourteen years old wouldn't know anything about love.
But the truth is, she truly understood; Yue Niang's heart was fluttering.
In this era where it's understood that one can get married after the age of fifteen, how could a young girl who is almost fourteen and just over thirteen not understand what it means to like a man?
But Yue Niang also understood that Liu Xinming's eyes were only on Princess Qingyang. Compared to Princess Qingyang, what was Xue Yue Ru?
But once a person falls in love with someone, they really can't control their heart.
There's a saying that goes, "Only a sneeze and love can't be hidden."
Especially since Yue Niang is only a teenager, if she were older, she might weigh the pros and cons and bury her feelings deep in her heart.
But at this moment, she was just a young girl who was secretly liking a man for the first time.
As Yue Niang followed Princess Qingyang day after day, enjoying the power and influence that Princess Qingyang brought her, her ambition grew ever larger.
Therefore, when the Xue family proposed to return home, Yue Niang deliberately opened the window all night and let the cold wind blow through her, which caused her to catch a cold, making it perfectly reasonable for her to stay in Chang'an.
When she was in her prime, just a few days before the New Year, she went with Princess Qingyang to attend banquets from one family to another, getting to know most of the well-known families in Chang'an.
At the same time, Yue Niang also had some thoughts in her mind: "With my background, I can't be the principal wife, but..."
In the stillness of the night, Yue Niang dared only say this to herself: "But if I were to become a concubine, it would probably still work out!"
Yes, Yue Niang actually wanted to become someone's concubine, just so she could stay in Chang'an and enjoy the wealth and power.
"But how can I become someone's concubine?"
This is the real problem. Although people at that time did not prohibit men and women from meeting, they still valued arranged marriages by parents and matchmakers.
Where could Yue Niang, a young girl from the maternal family of Princess Qingyang who was staying in Chang'an due to illness, find someone to help her?
Not to mention, Yue Niang actually coveted the man that Princess Qingyang had her eye on.
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