Qin Qianqian's crying was so unrestrained and reckless, especially since it happened in a corridor that the servants often passed by. As a result, the whole General's Mansion was talking about it in no time, and naturally, it also reached the ears of Madam Qin in the main courtyard.
In the past, if Qin Qianqian had cried so much, let alone shed a couple of tears, Madam Qin would have rushed over to comfort her.
But now, upon hearing that her hysteria was related to Wei Jing, Madam Qin only felt disgusted, truly disgusted.
She despised women who would die for men. After all, in this world, you can't change the social norms or men; the only thing you can change is yourself. Only by cherishing and respecting yourself can you gradually earn the respect and affection of others.
Do you think crying, making a scene, or threatening suicide will work? Even if they do, it's only temporary.
Even if you cry yourself to death, will that win a man's heart back?
It's better to use all that time to take care of yourself. Only by gradually improving yourself can you slowly attract a man's attention.
A girl needs to be a little "selfish" to have a good life.
Actually, hadn't she said these things to Qin Qianqian before?
I've said it before, and more than once.
Unfortunately, it seems her daughter only heard the surface level and didn't grasp the deeper meaning of what she wanted her to understand.
As a result, she only learned the basics of the Four No-Face. She was indeed selfish, but unfortunately, her selfishness was too shallow and too stupid. She couldn't even do a good job of putting on a good show.
never mind.
Madam Qin, who was staying in her own courtyard, breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Let her be.
Since this is what she wants, she should just accept it. Can she make decisions for her for a while, or for her for a lifetime?
That's settled then.
On one hand, Madam Qin had almost completely abandoned Qin Qianqian. On the other hand, Wei Jing, back in the Jianwang Mansion, directly asked his mother to bring Qin Qianqian to the General's Mansion on the same day as Tang Ning's wedding.
After saying this, Wei Jing left without waiting for his mother's reply.
Princess Jian, having just heard the request, looked at her son's dejected figure and sighed deeply.
Seeing Wei Jing's behavior, the experienced Princess Jian understood perfectly well that her son hadn't lied to her before; he had truly fallen for Tang Ning. It was a pity that things had turned out differently.
Not to mention Ah Jing, even she likes Tang Ning as her daughter-in-law.
If that incident hadn't happened before, Tang Ning would probably have already married into the Jianwang Mansion, and the whole family would be living happily together!
Now it's all Qin Qianqian's fault. One minute she's willing to give up the marriage, the next she's unwilling to give up and wants to take A Jing back. She even shamelessly did those things. How can there be such a shameless woman in this world!
It caused her Ah Jing...
Princess Jian was filled with resentment.
But what could she do, no matter how resentful she was? Tang Ning was already engaged to He Lanruo, and they were even getting married in two months.
well.
As the days passed, the capital city became more and more lively with the approach of the New Year.
After all, no festival is more anticipated than the Spring Festival.
Unfortunately, compared to the bustling capital, the imperial palace, as the weather gradually turned cold, also became cold and desolate.
The reason was simple: the fragrance emanating from Consort Chen, Ji Muqing, had become virtually ineffective against Emperor Situ Yin. Not only her, but the fragrances of other women in the palace, including those Situ Yin had never summoned before, were also losing their effect on the deadly poison within him.
He knew that the deadly poison called "Beauty Fragrance" in his body was probably gradually moving into its second stage due to the delays over the years.
According to the concubine who was tortured to the point of wishing she were dead, the so-called "Beauty Fragrance" poison takes effect in three stages.
In the first stage, as long as he has a beautiful woman by his side every day, he can sleep well and even if he is in pain, he can suppress it. It just means that he can't live without a woman for a single day.
The second stage is now. Even the fragrance of a girl cannot suppress the fierce headaches that are coming on fiercely. He can only get a good night's sleep if he calls a bunch of people to sleep with him every day.
In the third stage, even a celestial being descending to earth might not be able to save him. He could only endure the most extreme torment, going mad day by day, suffering day by day, until finally dying completely.
The only redeeming quality is that, due to the extreme toxicity of the Beauty Fragrance, his body was able to remain uncorrupted for decades. But what use is a corpse when the person is dead?
When his death day arrives, he will set himself on fire and burn himself to ashes. This is probably what that imperial concubine wants to see. Ha!
Meanwhile, Situ Yin, whose headache was getting worse day by day, had not been able to get a good night's sleep for half a month. Even if he took the medicine specially made for him by the imperial physician and fell asleep, he would be woken up by the pain in his sleep in less than an hour.
This caused Situ Yin's temper to worsen day by day, and his eyes to become increasingly bloodshot.
The women in the palace are always the most well-informed. As soon as they learned that Situ Yin's mood had been off lately, they all hibernated in their palaces like animals about to hibernate, showing no intention of coming out.
This resulted in the vast palace being devoid of any sign of life, even during the day.
On this day, Situ Yin opened his eyes again from a dream due to excruciating pain, a flash of bloodshot light passing through his eyes.
He slowly sat up. His personal eunuch, seeing the heavy, bloodthirsty glint in his eyes, hesitated for a long time before finally kneeling down with trepidation and respectfully reporting that there was now definite news about the Persian female slave with the exotic fragrance. She would be sent to Chunhonglou, the largest brothel in the capital, on the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
"The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival."
Situ Yin repeated this word by word, one after another.
There are still two weeks left. If we can just endure these two weeks...
Situ Yin closed his eyes, which were so red they seemed to be dripping blood, and clenched his fist tightly at his side.
Apart from a few key ministers who were aware of the unusual situation in the palace, most of the people in the capital were completely unaware of it and were still looking forward to the New Year with smiles on their faces.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The New Year has arrived.
The Qin family never imagined that this New Year would be both the first and the last New Year that Tang Ning would spend with them.
After all, she would be getting married and becoming a member of the Duke of Guo's household after the New Year.
Thinking of this, and recalling how well-behaved and sensible Tang Ning had been since she was recognized and brought back to the manor, the Qin family couldn't help but want to care for her more and more, as if they wanted to make up for all the love she had missed in the past ten years.
Not to mention the constant serving of food to her during the New Year's Eve dinner, the New Year's gifts she received were incredibly generous.
The general's mansion has two daughters, and everyone's attention is focused on Tang Ning, so naturally they tend to overlook the other one.
Qin Qianqian sat there, watching her parents and brothers, who had once belonged to her, showing such attentive care to Tang Ning. Unable to contain herself, her eyes suddenly darkened.
Unfortunately, all the men in the general's mansion were too careless, and none of them noticed Qin Qianqian's unusual behavior. Madam Qin did notice something was wrong, but before she could even serve her a bite of food, she was shocked by Qin Qianqian's gaze.
The moment Qin Qianqian noticed Madam Qin's gaze, she immediately lowered her eyes, but it was too late.
Madam Qin had already seen everything clearly.
She could hardly believe it; what Qin Qianqian's eyes had just revealed was... hatred.
She hates them.
She resented them because they gave Tang Ning, who was spending the Lunar New Year with them for the first time, a few extra bites of food. They felt sorry for her not being by their side for the past ten years or so, so they gave her a more generous gift.
For the past ten years or so, Qin Qianqian had received many gifts from them, whether for her birthday or New Year. But now, just because Tang Ning's birthday had passed early and she was getting married, they thought of making the New Year's gifts more generous. But because of this, Qin Qianqian hated them.
Oh.
Madam Qin's heart sank instantly.
At that moment, she felt that she might have really failed as a mother, otherwise how could she have raised Qin Qianqian to be like this?
Madam Qin's hands trembled slightly, and for the rest of the New Year's Eve dinner, she forced herself not to look at Qin Qianqian once more.
Unaware that her single glance had extinguished the last trace of reluctance and tenderness Madam Qin held for her, Qin Qianqian felt that this New Year's Eve dinner was the most unpalatable and unpleasant meal she had ever eaten in all these years.
All eyes were on Tang Ning. People served her food, cared for her, and showed her their love and concern. She received such expensive gifts that she had never received in previous years.
Never before had she felt so clearly the difference between biological children and those who weren't.
When they said they would adopt her as their daughter, they also said they would treat her and Tang Ning the same.
So this is what they call "treating everyone equally".
hehe.
The Qin family's New Year's Eve dinner passed by amidst Madam Qin's cold heart and Qin Qianqian's resentment.
As soon as the New Year was over, the Qin family was immediately busy, because Tang Ning's marriage was also on the agenda. Not to mention, the Jianwang Mansion also requested that Qin Qianqian enter their Jianwang Mansion as a concubine on the same day.
Madam Qin and General Qin had discussed the proposal to build a royal residence, but unfortunately, once the New Year was over, that one day was a good day. The next good day would probably be in March or April. By then, Tang Ning would be married, and Qin Qianqian, who had such an incident with Wei Jing, would still be kept in the residence, which would only lead to unnecessary speculation.
Since that's the case, it would be better to simply comply with the Jianwang Mansion's request and have Qin Qianqian marry into the Jianwang Mansion on this day as well.
Unaware of General Qin and Madam Qin's ulterior motives, Qin Qianqian was shocked to learn that she and Tang Ning would be married on the same day, but one would marry into the Duke's mansion as a wife, while the other would only be able to slink into the Jianwang mansion as a concubine through a side gate. Moreover, Tang Ning was wearing a bright red phoenix coronet and wedding robes that had been embroidered for months, while she only had a light red wedding dress.
Seeing the wedding dress that had been delivered to her room, Qin Qianqian finally couldn't bear it any longer. She swept the wedding dress, jewelry, and everything else onto the floor in one go, then buried her face in the table and began to sob.
Why is God so unfair to her?
joke.
Qin Qianqian has turned her life into a joke.
Haha, hahahaha.
No matter how resentful Qin Qianqian felt, the day she married Tang Ning still arrived.
"First bow to heaven and earth, second bow to the parents..."
Because of the marriage of Helan Ruo, the eldest grandson of the Duke's family, and the good qualities of the Duke of Guo and his son who were always kind to others and did not blindly take sides, almost all the officials, big and small, in the capital came to ask for a cup of celebratory wine.
At banquets held in the mansion, men's and women's tables were separate.
The men's table was fine; they were drinking, bragging, playing drinking games, and having a lively time.
The women's table got really into it.
After all, they all have eyes and can see. Not long after Tang Ning got married today, they learned that Qin Qianqian was also sent to the Jianwang Mansion in a sedan chair, and she even entered through the side gate.
If they still don't understand what this means, then they're no different from fools.
Qin Qianqian, she actually became Wei Jing's concubine.
Ha ha ha ha.
Several unmarried young ladies who had been at odds with Qin Qianqian in the past almost laughed their teeth out when they heard the news. As soon as they arrived at the banquet, they excitedly began to share this interesting news with the others, starting with "Have you heard about this...?"
You know, before, when some people in the capital were speculating that Qin Qianqian and Wei Jing's relationship was still undecided and that she might become a concubine, there were plenty of people who vehemently refuted them, saying that everyone in the capital knew how much Wei Jing liked Qin Qianqian, and that he would be willing to let Qin Qianqian become a concubine.
As it turns out, he really was willing to do it.
As the saying goes, a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.
This man's heart is truly unfathomable.
Tsk tsk.
It can be said that Qin Qianqian has provided the people of the capital with another great topic of conversation. Presumably, for a long time to come, everyone's attention will be focused on Qin Qianqian becoming a concubine and Tang Ning's wedding.
Such enthusiasm even reached Situ Yin, who was far away in the palace. Perhaps it was because the Lantern Festival was approaching and he was looking forward to it, but he asked the eunuch beside him a couple of questions with unusual interest.
Upon hearing this, the head eunuch looked at Situ Yin's profile with a mixture of surprise and caution. After considering his words for a moment, he vividly recounted to Situ Yin the stories he had heard before: the real and fake heiresses, the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet at the Princess's residence, and today's new drama: the real heiress's wedding and the fake heiress's scheming ending in her becoming a concubine.
Situ Yin's eyebrows immediately rose.
It was even more exciting than the script.
Meanwhile, in the Duke of Guo's mansion, Tang Ning, who had been waiting for He Lanruo in her room for a long time with her red veil covering her head, was feeling uncomfortable because the phoenix crown was too heavy and her neck was being pressed down so hard that she could hardly breathe. Just as she was about to reach out and lift the veil a little when no one was around, Chunmian and Chuntan's voices rang out.
"No, young lady, the groom should lift the red veil. You can't do it, or the couple will not get along."
Having spent this time together, Chun Tan, who had completely come to regard Tang Ning as her master, hurriedly explained in this way.
"But... my neck really hurts and feels stuffy. Chun Tan, I'll just open it a little bit to let it breathe, I won't open it completely, okay?"
Tang Ning pleaded softly.
"But……"
Chun Tan was still worried that it would affect her, and just as she was hesitating, a commotion suddenly came from outside.
Helan Ruo has arrived.
Now that's settled, the master and servant no longer need to argue about whether or not to lift the veil, and they both quieted down.
The noise grew louder and louder, and soon the door was pushed open from the outside, followed by footsteps and laughter.
The Helan family is very large and prosperous. Although the Duke of Guo only had two biological sons, there were quite a few collateral branches. Helan Ruo had a lot of cousins and other relatives. After toasting at the banquet, Helan Ruo had already been thinking about coming over.
The cousins who were the first to realize his intentions immediately disregarded everything and wanted to follow him, eager to see what this legendary cousin/sister-in-law, who had supposedly made the dissolute Helan Ruo settle down and have feelings for the Chen family, looked like.
After all, many of them had seen what Ji Muqing looked like before.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was a fairy descended from the heavens.
I wonder what this young woman, whom Helan Ruo later took a liking to, actually looked like.
So, with this kind of "let's watch the show" mentality, the group of people crowded around Helan Ruo and helped her lift her veil.
Then, everyone watched as Helan Ruo lifted Tang Ning's red veil, revealing a stunningly beautiful face to them.
In particular, Tang Ning's makeup was done by herself. In the original world, as a qualified "green tea" character that everyone both loved and hated, her makeup skills had already reached the pinnacle.
Not to mention, she already has a striking face.
As you work on it, you naturally become more and more adept at it.
This caused even Helan Ruo's brothers, who were directly confronted with her stunning beauty, to gasp for breath. Not to mention them, even Helan Ruo, who was completely unprepared, felt her heart skip a beat.
And so, the room remained quiet for quite a while.
"My cousin's wife is indeed an absolute beauty. No wonder you, cousin, forgot about that Ji... cough cough, and took the initiative to come and ask for her hand in marriage."
One of them was so badly hit that he almost let something slip, but luckily, he reacted quickly enough and managed to cover it up.
"That's right, my cousin is so lucky!"
"Haha, what good fortune! What good fortune!"
...
Once someone spoke up, the others followed suit, saying things with either envy or jealousy.
Those who had met Ji Muqing before felt that Helan Ruo was incredibly lucky. Not to mention the previous Ji Muqing, who was like a fairy in a secluded valley, this daughter-in-law was even more extraordinary, a peony of unparalleled beauty.
With such looks, it's no wonder that Helan Ruo was so captivated that she forgot all about Ji Muqing. Not to mention just marrying Helan Ruo, with her looks and family background, she could easily become the Empress, the mother of the nation.
Now, however, he only married Helan Ruo.
It's like a beautiful flower stuck in that... well, you know.
A group of people came in a lively manner, but left with different thoughts on their minds.
Meanwhile, Tang Ning, served by her maid, drank a toast with He Lanruo.
After finishing their drinks, even Chun Tan and the others tacitly left, considerately closing the door behind them.
The room fell silent immediately.
The two women, dressed in red wedding gowns, sat side by side on the edge of the bed, neither of them speaking first.
When Helan Ruo tentatively looked up, he noticed that a hairpin on Tang Ning's head seemed to have been knocked askew by his action of lifting the veil, and was now hanging diagonally in her hair. He subconsciously reached out to Tang Ning.
This simple action caused Tang Ning, who thought he was about to do something, to immediately grip the hem of her wedding dress tightly, her eyes instantly closing shut, her butterfly-like eyelashes trembling slightly.
But none of that mattered as much as the slight trembling of her body, whether from fear or something else.
Her demeanor—clearly afraid but forcing herself not to be—made Helan Ruo, who had been feeling somewhat uneasy, unable to help but chuckle softly.
Upon hearing his laughter, Tang Ning opened her eyes somewhat blankly and looked at him with surprise.
"You just... didn't think I was going to do something to you, did you?"
He Lanruo said this while laughing.
Upon hearing his words, Tang Ning's face instantly turned bright red, and at the same time, she began to twist her wedding dress tightly with her fingers.
"I……"
"Or are you actually hoping that I'll do something to you..."
"No!"
Before He Lanruo could finish her teasing remark, Tang Ning had already denied it.
Upon hearing this, Helan Ruo looked at her adorable, wide-eyed expression and couldn't resist reaching out to touch her hair.
"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. You can have the bed tonight, I'll sleep on the couch. Like I said before, let's start as friends and talk about the future later. Right now, you don't want anything else to happen between us, right? So, in order to keep our friendship from changing, we'll be husband and wife in public, but when it's just the two of us, we'll act like friends, okay?"
He Lanruo's voice was both gentle and accommodating.
Tang Ning's gaze softened instantly.
With a soft crackling sound as the dragon and phoenix candles burned, Tang Ning nodded slightly.
"good."
"look!"
Just then, Helan Ruo suddenly pointed in surprise towards the window.
"It looks like it's snowing outside!"
He said this with a surprised tone.
After saying that, he walked to the window, gently pushed it open, and sure enough, it was raining outside.
So beautiful.
Tang Ning also rushed to the window, and the two of them leaned against the window side by side, catching two snowflakes with their hands, and began to chat excitedly.
He Lanruo's current favorability rating: 85.
It snowed in the capital.
Sitting alone in the cold room, Qin Qianqian felt that her heart was colder than the snow outside the window.
Wei Jing did not come.
On her first day in the Prince Jian's mansion, he did not come to her room.
hehe.
A single tear slowly rolled down Qin Qianqian's cheek.
With a snap.
It landed on the light red wedding dress she was wearing.
Meanwhile, sitting on the rooftop, letting the goose-feather-like snowflakes fall on his head and body, Wei Jing looked at the brightly lit and festive Duke's Mansion, which was not far from the Prince Jian's Mansion, and drank the wine in his hand as he looked at it.
I don't know how long he drank it.
Only after his shoulders were covered with a thick layer of snow did he finally move his stiff hands and feet, kick the wine jar beside him off the roof with a loud crack, and then leap down, drawing the Jiang Li sword that he had previously hung on a tree trunk to the side, and began to wield it.
In an instant, snowflakes filled the courtyard, completely obscuring Wei Jing's figure.
The boy danced faster and faster, and the snow fell heavier and heavier.
The courtyard was already a complete mess.
He didn't know how much time had passed. Perhaps he was tired, or perhaps he was drunk, but the boy slipped and suddenly stumbled and fell into the snow.
After falling, Wei Jing lay face up, looking up at the snowflakes falling one by one. Then, with hazy, drunken eyes, he suddenly reached out to grab them, but no matter how hard he gripped them, the beautiful snowflakes always melted in his hands.
Looking at his empty palm, the boy was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, the laughter growing louder and more painful.
As he laughed, he suddenly covered his eyes with the hand he had used to catch snowflakes.
A moment later, a tear rolled down his cheek and onto the snow behind his head.
It smashed open a small hole.
"Tang Ning..."
The boy's voice was quite hoarse.
Wei Jing's current favorability rating: 99.
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