A few days later, Tong Cheng'er heard Ru Lan say, "Princess, Young Master Liu is arriving today."
Tong Cheng'er looked puzzled: "What Young Master Liu?"
Rulan knew that her mistress had probably forgotten what she had said a few days ago. She sighed inwardly and then said, "He is the son of your friend, the one I was with a few days ago."
Tong Cheng'er suddenly remembered: "Come on then!"
Rulan had originally wanted to suggest that her master go visit him sooner, but seeing how indifferent he seemed, she decided to give up on that idea.
Tong Cheng'er: "By the way, did you buy the book? I'm waiting to read it!"
Rulan: "Your Highness, you just gave the order. You should give Xiao Wu some time. It can't be that quick."
"All right!"
Although Tong Cheng'er wasn't interested in that Young Master Liu, she still met him at dinner that evening, the Young Master Liu that Ru Lan had been talking about.
This young master Liu was, after all, the son of her father's benefactor. Although he was currently in mourning, Shumulu still prepared a thoughtful and respectable welcoming banquet for him.
Tong Cheng'er naturally had to participate as well. As a princess in a Manchu family, there weren't many restrictions, so it was acceptable for them to have a meal together in public.
When she entered the room, the young master Liu was already there. After Tong Cheng'er greeted her father and mother, Shumulu said to her with a smile, "This is Liu Shaoyi, the son of your Uncle Liu. He is five years older than you. You should call him brother."
Upon hearing this, Tong Cheng'er looked over and saw Liu Shaoyi, whom her mother had mentioned.
The fifteen-year-old boy, though not quite eight feet tall, was not short either. Among his peers, he was quite tall. He didn't smile much, but his eyebrows and eyes were neatly arranged, his features were delicate, his face was porcelain white, and he exuded a scholarly air.
He truly deserves the title "a gentleman as refined as jade."
Tong Cheng'er suddenly felt that the gentle scholar in the storybook had a face.
Humans are visual creatures, and Tong Cheng'er is no exception. Good-looking people always make people feel good. She smiled and said to Liu Shaoyi, "Greetings, Brother Liu."
Liu Shaoyi smiled and said, "You're too kind, Sister Tong."
Shumulu smiled as she watched their conversation and said to Liu Shaoyi, "This is my youngest daughter. I apologize for making you laugh."
"My little sister is very cute."
Because of the difference between men and women, the two exchanged only a few words. Shumulu understood this, so they introduced themselves to each other and then stopped.
A short while later, Tong Cheng'er's three older brothers arrived.
In a way, Tong Cheng'er is quite lucky. After the time administrator of 1314 realized that he had made a mistake with Tong Cheng'er again, he couldn't change the time and space she was born in, so he could only try to arrange for her to be born into a harmonious family.
Therefore, Alhatu was very devoted to Shumulu, and Tong Cheng'er's three older brothers were all born from Shumulu's womb.
As the youngest child in the family and the only girl, Tong Cheng'er was naturally pampered by her family. Her father always talked about his daughter, and her three brothers never forgot to save a share of anything good for her.
The welcome banquet for Liu Shaoyi wasn't particularly lively—after all, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to be so grand since he had just become an orphan. However, it was certainly heartwarming.
After the banquet, Liu Shaoyi felt much more relaxed. At least he understood that everyone in the mansion welcomed him, and it was clear that the Tong family had a good family tradition and no ulterior motives. People like that couldn't be bad people.
As for Liu Shaoyi, although he was grateful for the care the Tong family had given him, it was not his own home after all. Living under someone else's roof, it was naturally not so easy for him. If the Tong family was harmonious, he could avoid trouble.
The days passed by at a leisurely pace. Tong Cheng'er learned the rules every day. At first, Granny Jin had a serious face, but she couldn't be serious in front of Tong Cheng'er. Gradually, she was "conquered" by Tong Cheng'er and could occasionally slack off during the time she was learning the rules.
Kexin was reading her favorite stories, and her servants were attentively attending to her needs. There was nothing more pleasant than this.
However, life was not easy for Yinzhen in the palace.
His adoptive mother, Consort Tong, was getting worse and worse. He overheard the imperial physician's words and knew that Consort Tong was probably not going to make it.
This made Yinzhen very sad, and even a little scared.
He already knew about his background and that his biological mother was Consort De of Yonghe Palace, but he was not familiar with Consort De.
When he was younger, he was always surrounded by Consort Tong's people. He was always followed by someone no matter what he did. Moreover, Consort Tong always guarded against him getting close to Consort De, so he basically never spoke to Consort De.
As he grew older, he had a few close confidants around him, and even Consort Tong couldn't control them too strictly. However, Consort De already had a son, and when they occasionally bumped into each other in the Imperial Garden, Consort De's attitude towards him was even less affectionate than towards the princes born to other concubines.
This left Yinzhen feeling quite uneasy.
His adoptive mother treated him well, and he initially thought so too. However, after seeing how much anticipation and care his adoptive mother showed for the child in her womb, he realized that there was a difference between biological and non-biological children.
Later, the princess born to his adoptive mother died shortly after birth, but the rift in his heart was already there.
Seeing his adoptive mother nearing her end, he was genuinely saddened. After all, his adoptive mother had never mistreated him and had given him the title of the adopted son of the Imperial Noble Consort, which placed him among the princes and ensured he wouldn't be looked down upon by the servants.
His fear was genuine, because he had grown accustomed to his current life, but what would he do if his adoptive mother were gone?
Consort De's attitude towards him is cold, and she may not necessarily protect him.
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