Lan Shuang entered her mother's room without knocking, but the expression on her mother's face made her uneasy, as if she had encountered some great joy.
Many maids stood around her, holding various kinds of fabrics, waiting for the mistress to choose.
"Mother... what are you doing? Are you making new clothes?"
The mistress didn't even glance at her, her face beaming as she looked at the various fabrics.
He looked around and nodded, then picked out a few items and had the maid take them away.
The mistress, upon seeing Lan Shuang, belatedly realized that Lan Shuang was speaking to her and replied:
"Yes, she needs new clothes. The princess has been in the manor for so long, and I haven't sent her anything. If word gets out, people will think that I, as the mistress of the house, am not generous enough."
Lan Shuang immediately flew into a rage upon hearing this.
"Mother! You're still making clothes for her?! Didn't you say you wanted my brother to divorce her?!"
The mistress was startled by her loud voice.
Lan Shuang seemed to sense her mother's displeasure, and said in a gentler tone:
"Mother, did you tell my brother today? Yu'er caught a cold and is still in bed. You can't forget to stand up for him!"
The mistress covered her mouth and coughed twice, feigning an apology. "Ahem... Well, the Princess Consort was married by His Majesty, so she can't be easily divorced."
"But didn't you say today that if your brother disagreed, you would write to His Majesty? You've changed your mind! Why?!"
Lan Shuang looked at her mother in disbelief.
Didn't we clearly agree on this?
She thought that Gu Jiangli was going to be kicked out of the Prince's Mansion, but why has it suddenly changed?
The mistress said, "Shuang'er, you should give up on the matter of divorcing her. Gu Jiangli cannot be divorced."
The mistress's words were firm and resolute, carrying an irrefutable force.
"Why, Mother!"
The mistress smiled and said happily, "Because she is pregnant; she is carrying your brother's child."
The mistress's words struck Lan Shuang like a thunderbolt. She stood frozen, her body stiff, unable to maintain her angry expression, and asked as if her soul had left her body:
"What...?"
The mistress thought she was just overjoyed, so she smiled and tried to comfort her:
"Shuang'er, I know you are proud and look down on the princess who was born out of wedlock, but you should be more open-minded and broad-minded."
"She is now pregnant with your brother's child, a grandson I finally managed to have. As the aunt of that unborn child, you should be more gentle and kind."
"Thank heavens! Our Zhao family finally has an heir..."
Lan Shuang trembled, not hearing a word her mistress said.
She kept muttering, "She's pregnant...she's pregnant..."
The mistress patted her shoulder to bring her back to her senses. "Lan Shuang, did you hear that? From now on, you must not have any more conflicts with the Princess. Pregnant women shouldn't get angry easily; it's not good for the baby in their womb, understand?"
Lan Shuang's eyes widened. "Mother, because she's pregnant, you've forgotten everything that happened before, right? How she bullied Yu'er, how she beat Yu'er in front of you and me, how she pushed Yu'er into the water, and how she talked back to you and insulted me... Have you forgotten everything?"
"Have you forgotten how deep her cunning and how strong her schemes are, the very person you said was unworthy to be a princess?"
The mistress took her hand and comforted her, "That's why I told you, you should be more open-minded. Why not just let bygones be bygones? Besides, she didn't push Yu'er into the water. Yu'er was playing by the lake and accidentally slipped and fell in. The princess even kindly jumped into the water to try to save Yu'er."
You actually believe that?
The mistress's brows furrowed slightly, and her tone hardened, "Alright, Shuang'er, stop dwelling on this. Gu Jiangli is pregnant. Even if she weren't a princess, but just an ordinary man's wife, no man would divorce his pregnant wife!"
Lan Shuang forcefully shook off her mother's hand. "I know that in your heart, your grandson will always be more important than your granddaughter, which is why you can speak up for that bitch without distinguishing right from wrong!"
"Zhao Lanshuang! You've gone too far!"
"Is that going too far? Am I not telling the truth? Look how happy you've been ever since you found out Gu Jiangli was pregnant! Were you this happy when I was pregnant?!"
The mistress's eyes reddened, her throat choked with emotion, and her hand, raised in the air, abruptly stopped.
After several violent heaving sensations in her chest, she finally lowered her hand.
“Lan Shuang, remember this: the reason I wasn’t happy when you were pregnant was because your father’s condition was worsening and he was suffering greatly because of you.”
The words Lan Shuang wanted to say were suddenly stuck in her throat.
She had never intended to mention her father in front of her mother, but today she brought it up unintentionally.
The death of her father has always been a thorn in her mother's heart; whenever it is mentioned, she changes her expression drastically.
"Mother...I..."
The mistress closed her eyes and turned her back to her. "I remember you haven't finished copying the Six Harmonies Medical Classic that your brother punished you to copy. Go and continue copying it. You don't need to go to the ancestral hall anymore. Just copy it in your own room. After you finish copying it, you can go out for a walk to clear your mind."
Lan Shuang was taken aback.
The mother's implication was that she should stay in her room and not be allowed to go out.
She wanted to plead for leniency, but seeing her mother's resolute back, she had no choice but to accept the punishment.
"Yes, daughter understands."
As soon as she stepped out of the room, she bumped into Gu Jiangli.
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