That evening, Shen Du hurriedly ran back to his home and knocked on his mother's door.
"Mother, mother, mother..."
The sound of banging on the door echoed throughout the courtyard.
Having been kept awake all night by the noise of firecrackers, Chen's mother, Gu Yanran, with dark circles under her eyes, pushed open the door and glared resentfully at her troublesome son who was banging on the door.
"What are you doing!"
Shen Du: "..."
Oh no, I think Mom's going to beat this wretched son of hers.
It must be said that Shen Du was very self-aware of his mother's impression of him.
"Alright, come in. If you keep wailing and howling outside, people will think something bad has happened at our General's Mansion."
Mother Shen rolled her eyes at her wretched son and let the man into the courtyard.
Shen Du chuckled and flattered his mother, "Mother is so magnanimous. If it weren't for you, this General's Mansion would probably be in chaos long ago. With you here, it's like having a pillar of strength in the East Sea."
Mother Shen's lips curled slightly. "Hmph, you're good at praising people, but unfortunately, you don't have a single word of truth in your mouth. Alright, come in quickly and let's talk about some serious business."
"Ah, every word my son says to his mother is the truth."
"Okay, now get in here."
Mother Shen sat in the chair, took a sip of hot tea, and waited for her son, who looked silly and simple-minded with no trace of his former ethereal charm, to sit opposite her. She glanced at him with disdain and then looked away.
Look how happy you are, it must be something good rather than something bad.
The mother's tense heart was calmed down.
"Okay, go ahead, what is it?"
Shen Du stared at his mother with bright eyes, spitting out words as quickly as if he were eating grapes: "Mother, you must quickly go and ask Uncle the Emperor for a decree. It wouldn't be good if someone tried to take Qingqing away from me. If the decree is issued and the marriage is arranged, no one can say anything. Oh, and remember to go to the Song residence to discuss the wedding arrangements with your parents-in-law. The wedding must be grand, and the wedding date must be set soon. I promised Uncle I would go to the northern frontier to fight in three months, so it's best if the wedding is before I go to war. As for the betrothal gifts, we need to give not only to Qingqing, but also to Niannian. My daughter is so young, we need to give her some gifts too..."
Chen's mother's hand holding the teacup froze.
Shen Du's long speech covered everything from requesting an imperial decree to the betrothal gifts, to giving gifts to his parents-in-law, to his two brothers-in-law, and even included three-year-old Song Zhenbao, discussing what gifts to give.
Mother Shen: "..."
This darn child, I have a headache.
"Now that Miss Song has accepted your advances, you should go and request an imperial decree."
"Besides, you should have discussed the marriage with the Song family before requesting an imperial decree. Is requesting an imperial decree first and then granting a marriage an invitation or an act of enmity?"
Mother Shen told her son almost every detail of what happened.
Shen Du, whose mind had been so excited that he had forgotten everything, finally calmed down and scratched his head sheepishly. "I forgot."
Mother Shen: "..."
Ha, if this weren't her own son, she would have cursed this silly boy to death.
"And Qingqing, she agreed to my feelings."
Mentioning Qingyin, Shen Du's handsome face silently flushed.
Madam Shen rolled her eyes at him. "Alright, tomorrow I'll go and deliver a visiting card to Madam Song first, discuss it, and then ask your imperial uncle for an imperial decree."
"You mustn't act recklessly in front of your emperor uncle."
Shen's mother called out to Shen Du in a warning tone.
Shen Du: "..."
I feel wronged. Is he really that untrustworthy?
If Shen's mother knew what her son was thinking, she would definitely tell Shen Du.
Yes, absolutely. Her trust in her brat vanished the very day he begged his uncle, the Emperor, to bestow an imperial decree upon Qingyin.
That night, Shen Du tossed and turned, unable to sleep, filled with anticipation and excitement.
Qingyin, having put a bomb under her skin, slept soundly all night.
— — — — — — — — — — — —
The following day, after the Song family's daughter seemed to have been disliked by the emperor due to her divorce, they finally welcomed their first distinguished guest who was rarely respected.
Gu Yanran is the eldest princess who married the current general and the emperor's younger sister.
"The Princess is as beautiful and radiant as ever, truly bringing glory to our entire Song family."
Song's mother sincerely praised the eldest princess.
As a princess born into the palace with both parents being good-looking, she undoubtedly possesses exceptional beauty. Her phoenix eyes, similar to the current emperor's, lack the emperor's hidden sharpness and instead exude a magnanimous and mature air. Although the princess's appearance is only above average, what truly sets her apart is the noble and proud air she has cultivated in the palace. At first glance, what strikes one more than her looks is the awe-inspiring noble bearing of a chosen one of heaven.
Even though the princess was no longer young, her temperament did not diminish her beautiful face; on the contrary, it added a touch of mature charm that comes with time.
Having spent so much time in the palace, a place like a giant furnace, Gu Yanran could easily discern the sincerity in Madam Song's words.
No woman would dislike receiving genuine compliments about her appearance from another woman.
She covered her lips and smiled, "Hehe, Madam Song, you're too kind. I'm getting old, how come I'm still the same as before? However, Madam Song, you see me today, and I do look no different from before. My face is so smooth, and I look as fresh and tender as a teenage girl."
Gu Yanran wasn't lying to Song's mother; she genuinely thought so.
Song's mother's skin was firm and smooth. When Gu Yanran looked closely, she couldn't see a single fine line. Looking at such skin, Gu Yanran almost forgot the purpose of her visit and directly asked Song's mother why she had come.
Upon hearing this, Song's mother covered her fair and smooth face and smiled confidently: "This was all done by my daughter."
Upon hearing that it was related to Miss Song, whom her son liked, Gu Yanran couldn't help but perk up her ears and asked with some curiosity, "What does this have to do with Miss Song?"
Madam Song smiled gently: "The princess must know that my daughter returned from the Liu residence. She was seriously ill."
At this point, a hint of melancholy appeared in Song's mother's eyes.
Gu Yanran understood. The Liu family had mistreated Miss Song so badly that they almost killed her. If it were her daughter, she would have stormed into the Liu family and killed Liu Zhi.
Observing Song's mother's expression, Gu Yanran smiled and subtly guided her to change the subject: "Fortunately, Miss Song is blessed with good fortune. How are you doing at home now?"
"Thanks to the princess's good fortune, my daughter is now being cared for by the palace physician. Although she is not exactly like an ordinary person, she is being carefully nursed back to health and is no longer in serious condition."
"Moreover, this child said that to recover from an illness, one must understand the illness. He followed the doctor of the Imperial Medical Academy and read a lot of medical books. Somehow, he figured out some prescriptions for recovering from illness and made a skin-beautifying and nourishing ointment. That's how my skin became the way it is now."
Because of worrying about Qingyin, Song's mother hadn't had time to go out lately, so she had been holding back her words. When she met the princess, her desire to share and show off intensified.
Gu Yanran's eyes grew brighter as she listened.
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