Old Mrs. Zhao only thought that "something happened" was just a quarrel between the young couple, so she didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she laughed and said, "That's good. Ever since I knew that Ran Ran was interacting with His Highness in order to save the Jiang family, I have been very worried..."

What is there to worry about?

They are worried that this pampered girl would go against her own wishes and sacrifice the rest of her life in order to save these two old bones.

Wei Hanzhang was surprised and said, "Why do you think so? Your Highness and I have been in love from the beginning. This is much better than others. What else is there to be dissatisfied about?"

"Yes, being in love with each other is a blessing that many people cannot hope for," Old Mrs. Zhao looked at her eldest daughter and said softly, "I just hope my Ranran can keep this blessing and not be like your mother, living a life of compromise for half her life."

Jiang Shi was puzzled when she saw that the topic suddenly turned to her, "Mom, what are you talking about in front of the child?"

"How can she still be a child?" Old Zhao's eyes were sharp, and she had already noticed the subtle changes in her granddaughter's posture and demeanor. She narrowed her eyes slightly and said in a gentle voice, "Have you set a date for the wedding? The most important thing is that we don't want to have a child."

"Grandma!"

Wei Hanzhang was shocked and embarrassed. He stood up quickly, but was held by Old Zhao's arm and sat down again. The old lady smiled and said, "Are you shy now? You and His Highness..."

"No!" Wei Hanzhang blushed like fire and said quickly, "Nothing. We are not married yet. He won't do anything he shouldn't do."

Old Zhao looked a little surprised, "Is that really the case?"

"..." Wei Hanzhang was silent for a moment, even a little ashamed and angry. He simply rolled up his sleeves and scratched the small scarlet mole before saying, "How could I lie to you? He...he...he just..."

She couldn't continue speaking, so she just shut up.

Seeing that her granddaughter was still a virgin, Old Zhao thought she had made a mistake. Then, after hearing what she said, she began to laugh: "Now that this is the case, I believe that His Highness really treats you well."

Men, especially those who hold the power of life and death and are above everyone else, are used to being arbitrary and domineering. How can they understand forbearance and restraint?

There is no need for him to be patient and restrained.

Not to mention His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, even if it was any young master from a noble family in the capital, he probably had not experienced the unfulfilled desires in matters between men and women since he was fifteen or sixteen years old.

Since ancient times, men have been lustful. Ordinary men with a few more strings of cash would go to brothels to hang out for a few days. Men with a certain status would even have concubines in their backyards.

But His Highness is to Ran Ran...

How can it not be considered love if one is so careful, caring, forbearing and restrained?

Her expression softened, thinking that her granddaughter's change of heart was due to a quarrel with His Highness, and she was angry for a moment, so she taught her in a gentle voice: "His Highness cherishes you so much, you must not be spoiled and willful blindly, and try to be nice to him."

Hearing this, Wei Hanzhang didn't know what to say, so he simply pursed his lips and remained silent.

Old Zhao continued slowly: "Your Highness is ten years older than you. After the New Year, he will be twenty-six. Ranran can wait, but Your Highness may not be able to wait..."

Wei Hanzhang vaguely understood what she meant, and his face became even more red. He said angrily, "Why can't you wait? Didn't we get through the previous 25 years?"

She had long been certain that His Highness had devoted his heart to her daughter, and could not bear to see this enemy's indifferent attitude, so she reminded him, "Do you know how difficult it is for your father to have several concubines at his age, but His Highness only has you in his heart?"

"..." After being lectured by his grandmother and mother in turn, Wei Hanzhang simply kept silent and shut his mouth obediently.

Old Zhao suddenly said, "I saw it once before."

This statement was somewhat puzzling, and both Wei Hanzhang and Jiang Shi looked surprised.

Jiang shared the peeled fruits with her mother, saying, "Everyone says that you have a unique vision and are born with a pair of discerning eyes. How could you have made a mistake?"

"Yeah, look at it once, and I got a good girl like you."

Old Zhao took the fruit from her daughter, picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, chewed it slowly and swallowed it, then slowly said to her granddaughter: "Your mother was the eldest daughter in the family. Her marriage had to set a precedent for her younger brothers and sisters, and she couldn't marry too low."

She was already over sixty years old, with gray hair on her temples. When she squinted her eyes, she had the wisdom of an old man, but now she showed some gratitude: "At that time, your grandfather was already a second-rank minister of the Central Secretariat, and the Jiang family was not low-ranking in the capital. After your mother came of age, her reputation for virtue spread far and wide, and families who wanted to discuss marriage with the Jiang family almost came to the door. Wei Heng, the second son of the Marquisate who was not an heir to a title, was really not the best candidate."

Jiang felt a little uncomfortable talking about the past in front of her daughter. "I'm already this old, why are you still talking about this?"

Old Zhao glanced at her and sighed, "I was wrong. I have been holding it in for so many years and no one can tell it. Now you won't let me tell Ranran?"

Jiang remained silent.

Wei Hanzhang blinked and didn't dare to interrupt.

Old Mrs. Zhao said, "Back then, your father had a handsome face, and he stood out among all the candidates. He also came to the Jiang Mansion frequently. I carefully examined him, and I was really wrong. I actually thought that he was the most sincere to your mother among all the people.

At this point, she paused for a moment before continuing, "Who would have thought that less than a month after the marriage, when everything should have been going smoothly, your mother proposed to find him a concubine, and he accepted it without even a second thought."

Although it is a common practice for men to take concubines nowadays, there is still a rule that respectable families do not take concubines within three years after marriage, which is considered to give face to the wife.

If a man meets a virtuous woman, she will take the initiative to propose to her husband to take a concubine during the honeymoon period. No matter how happy the man is in his heart, he will politely refuse once or twice. After several attempts, he will finally accept the proposal.

Hypocritical or not, this is the normal situation for marriages between people of equal social status in wealthy families.

Wei Hanzhang knew a little about the practice of newlyweds taking concubines, so he weakly argued for his father, "It seems that she was a concubine who had been there before."

Old Mrs. Zhao snorted coldly, "He didn't refuse the latter ones either. After being married for half a year, he already had three concubines in the backyard, and that was not enough. He was sent to the countryside for two years, and your mother even arranged for maids to accompany him and serve him. But he took a concubine himself, and brought a child into the house. He is really a good son-in-law that I like."

In any family with a bit of decorum, taking a concubine had to be approved by the mistress, and if the concubine wanted to have a child, she had to get the mistress's consent to stop taking the contraceptive soup.

(End of this chapter)