Inside the Yun Mansion carriage outside the palace, Su Youran buried her face in Su Shi's arms, "Mother, my dear mother, you scared me to death!"
Madam Su held her, trying to calm her racing heart, "Mother was terrified too!"
Su Youran said, "Mother, I knew it! This Crown Prince is terrifying! I've only seen him three times, and each time he's more terrifying than the last! I never want to go to the palace again!"
Crown Prince Chu Heng, who had silently followed along to see the carriage off, remained silent after hearing this, standing two steps away from the carriage.
The coachman was about to drive on his way when he suddenly saw a bright yellow figure appear beside him. He was so frightened that he tumbled down and knelt down, stammering, "Greetings...Greetings...Your Highness the Crown Prince."
The mother and daughter inside the car: ...
The two looked at each other and thought in unison, "Can I pretend I didn't hear that?"
Chu Heng sighed deeply, turned around and went back to the palace, his figure exuding a sense of loneliness.
Su Youran quietly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and saw the departing figure. She patted her chest and said to the driver, "Uncle Zhang, hurry up, let's go!"
...
Over there, Tazara, angered by the prince's rejection, drank all her wine and kept ordering her maids to bring her more.
Tazaxi couldn't hold him back at all, so he had no choice but to pick up his sister, apologize to Emperor Shunqing, and leave.
Unexpectedly, he had also drunk too much. He stumbled, and his sister fell onto the chair again, while he himself fell headfirst down.
After consulting with the Emperor, Consort Zhou had no choice but to instruct the palace staff to place them in separate empty palaces.
...
When Su and her daughter returned to the Yun residence, the news had already reached them.
Several women from the Yun family were waiting in the flower hall.
Madam Yun asked anxiously, "Ya Rong, the marriage proposal hasn't been accepted, has it? How can our daughter be confined within those deep palace walls?"
Madam Su felt a warmth in her heart. She shared the same thought as her mother and quickly shook her head. "No, if we had agreed, an imperial edict would probably have arrived by now."
Su Youran chuckled, "Grandmother still cares about You Ran, knowing that You Ran isn't the type to stay in one place for long."
Guo asked nervously, "His Highness the Crown Prince isn't angry, is he?"
Su didn't answer for a moment. Who could say for sure whether she was angry or not?
Su Youran chuckled, "These days, who doesn't get angry sometimes? I can't just sacrifice my whole life to avoid getting angry over him, can I? Besides, what's there for him to be angry about? I'm the one who should be angry!"
Li tried to smooth things over, saying, "Our You Ran is a lucky star, so everyone is eager to find her a husband! Just the other day, Lady Liu was inquiring about You Ran's marriage. How could I dare to make things up? I only know that our You Ran is still young."
The Duke of Liu was from the Empress's maternal family. She had always known that the Empress and Lady Su were not on good terms, yet she sent Lady Liu to sound out the situation. She needed to remind Lady Su about this.
As expected, Madam Su's expression turned serious. "Thank you for informing me, Second Sister-in-law."
Madam Guo grew anxious, "Oh dear, how can the Duke of Liu's family compare to His Highness the Crown Prince? He was able to publicly request marriage and ask the Emperor for a decree. If our You Ran marries him, she will be the Crown Princess! Such a good thing is hard to find even with a lantern..."
Madam Yun scolded, "Shut up! Don't mention the Crown Princess again!"
Guo sighed with regret, "What a great opportunity this was..."
Because of the damage to her reputation caused by her mother in previous years, her daughter had not been able to marry into a good family until a year after she returned to the Duke's mansion, when the rumors gradually subsided.
After her daughter Yun Manyin was appointed governor of Jiangzhou, she went to take up her post with her husband.
Su Youran has been famous since childhood, and now she has another opportunity to marry into the royal family. It would be a pity to miss it!
However, Madam Yu advised, "Third sister-in-law, this matter will be decided by Mother and eldest sister-in-law. I don't think the deep palace is necessarily a good place."
Madam Guo snorted, "Ordinary families can't even dream of becoming imperial relatives, and this is practically on the tip of their tongues..."
Seeing that her words were becoming increasingly absurd, Old Madam Yun interrupted her again, saying, "Alright, go back and rest. Since you've already refused, let's just wait and see. What's meant to come will come!"
Everyone rose and took their leave.
Guo felt secretly annoyed that her mother had interrupted her twice.
Madam Su stepped forward and affectionately took her arm, saying, "Third sister-in-law, don't be angry. I rejected this marriage proposal for the good of our Duke's mansion! Think about it, You Ran is already famous. If she were to get the title of Crown Princess, wouldn't that make the Emperor wary?"
Madam Guo snorted, "His Majesty is in his prime, and the Crown Prince's position is not yet secure, so why would he be wary?"
"It's precisely because the Crown Prince's power base is not yet secure that if he gains a marriage alliance with our family, it will easily arouse suspicion." Madam Su had already made her point very clearly. "Like flowers in full bloom and oil on a raging fire, if we're not careful, our Duke's mansion might actually burn down. Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"
Guo forced a smile. "Anyway, I'm just a third aunt. You and Mother should decide on You Ran's marriage."
Su Youran followed behind, touched her nose, and suddenly felt that she was in a dangerous situation.
She went back to her room and rested for a while. After having dinner, her mother came to her room.
Madam Su said with great concern, "You Ran, your mother has been thinking for half a day today, but I still haven't found a suitable husband for you!"
Su Youran: ……
Madam Su continued, "You Ran, the more I think about it, the more frightened I become. Others may not know, but I do. You are now the richest man in the Great Zhou, holding a mountain of gold, blessed with good fortune, and even called Little Fortune. No wonder His Highness the Crown Prince has taken a liking to you. He has only just returned to the capital, his power base is not yet stable, and he probably doesn't have any ill-gotten gains yet. A few years ago, there were rumors that this Crown Prince was plagued by bad luck and was always having misfortunes. If he marries you, it would be killing several birds with one stone!"
Su Youran quickly covered Su Shi's mouth, "Mother! It's good that you know about these things, aren't you afraid that the walls might have ears?"
Chu Heng, sitting alone on the rooftop, having heard everything: ...
Su Youran sat down with Su Shi in her arms, holding her tightly as she continued, "Mother, I'm so happy that you're alright now! I want to be your daughter for life! I won't get married!"
"Nonsense!" Madam Su hugged her tightly. "Don't talk nonsense! What girl doesn't get married? According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a woman who is over eighteen and still unmarried will be punished!"
"Oh, Mother, you've already said it, I have a mountain of gold in my hands, what's there to be afraid of in fines?" Su Youran said coquettishly, "I won't get married, I'll stay by Mother's side for the rest of my life!"
Just then, a little girl toddled into the house with her short legs. Hearing her words, she suddenly burst into tears, "Waaah! I don't want my sister to stay unmarried! I don't want my sister to stay by Mother's side forever!"
Su was both amused and exasperated.
Su Youran stepped out of her mother's arms, stood up, grabbed her younger brother, and smiled slyly, "Hehe, little brother, I understand what you mean. You're afraid I'll stay in the Duke's mansion for the rest of my life and control you, aren't you?"
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