"My son."
"You still know he's your son."
"Yuancheng, I'm not even going to hold it against you for having a foreign mistress. I didn't cause what happened today, and you're still angry."
I held onto the jade pendant hanging from Xie Yuancheng's belt; he was even more stingy than me.
What is a foreign mistress?
“It’s Caiwei. Although she is a princess, I am her legal wife. Even if she enters the manor, she will only be a concubine.”
I resented this incident, but I still had to leave Xie Yuancheng a way out, since he was my husband.
"Ying'er." Xie Yuancheng hugged me tightly. "These are all just appearances. There will be no third person between us."
"Yu'er is our child, isn't he a third person to us?"
"You naughty girl, you know perfectly well that's not what I meant."
"Hmph~ It's because you didn't tell me everything that I had to guess."
Upon hearing the sound, I quickly pushed Xie Yuancheng out.
"Young master, Madam wants to see you." It was Cuiyun. She's been coming to my place more and more often lately. Before Xie Yuancheng could get angry, I quickly had her go out with me.
Mother had already put Yu'er to sleep, and I saw her next to the cradle as soon as I went in.
"Mother~"
"Ying'er, come out with me for a bit."
Where are we going?
Although I am now in the manor, I am here as an anonymous official preparing for the wedding of Marquis Anle.
"You'll see when we get there. Yuan Cheng is at the manor, so let him take care of Yu'er."
Mother rarely leaves the manor; why would she want to go out this time?
While she was changing, I pulled Xie Yuancheng over.
"Ying'er~ You still know how to come back."
"Of course I'm coming back. Mother told me to go out with her, so I..."
Xie Yuancheng covered my mouth, his brows furrowing again: "What's the rush? I'll go with you."
I covered his hand with mine before I could speak: "Mother said she won't take you with her, and that you should stay at home to take care of Yu'er."
"With your mediocre skills, how could you possibly protect yourself?"
"Me? How am I not good enough? No matter what, my swordsmanship is very, very good, okay?"
Looking at his mocking expression, I even wondered if he was deliberately trying to provoke me.
"Alright, I was just teasing you. You're so anxious your face is all red." Xie Yuancheng pinched my cheek. "I'll have Anshi go with you."
"Why isn't he going to the palace to stay with his sister?"
I realized I had asked the wrong question, and Xie Yuancheng's face began to darken.
"Yuancheng~ don't be like this, I won't ask anymore." I'm so stupid. I used to want to stay far away from him, but now that I see him unhappy, I start to worry myself.
"Ying'er is becoming more and more caring towards me."
Thankfully, he smiled again. "We've been together for so long, and you already have a pre-existing condition, so don't get too agitated."
"Hmm~ that's true. I'd definitely get excited if you guys went out like this. How about..."
"I can't agree to that. Mother has finally decided to leave the manor. Please have pity on us, mother and son."
Xie Yuancheng half-embraced me as we left, saying, "Alright, Ying'er will make it up to me when she comes back tonight."
That's what I say, but tonight I'll find an excuse to hide in my mother's room and see what you can do.
My mother kept reminding Xie Yuancheng of things to be careful about, and I couldn't stand it anymore: "Mother, he is Yu'er's biological father, he won't make a mistake."
When they were in Linyang, he took care of them every day.
"Yes, Ying'er, let's go."
I changed out of my official robes as soon as I entered the mansion. Now I'm wearing a dark red long gown. As soon as I went out, I saw the large bronze mirror outside and looked at myself in it a few more times.
"Ying'er, if you keep shooting us like this, we won't be able to leave the house." My mother laughed from the side. I stuck out my tongue, grabbed the Phantom Sword, and followed beside her.
"Mother, where are we going?"
You'll know when you get there.
Mother is now good at keeping secrets. I racked my brains but still couldn't guess where she would take me. When I got on the carriage, I found out that Meng Anshi was driving.
"Anshi, are you really going with me?"
"Don't worry, Madam, we will definitely bring you back safely."
He should be working in the palace; last time I thought he was just helping Xie Yuancheng with some things. When I lowered the curtain, I was worried about Li Ruowei; I wonder how she is doing in the East Palace.
My mother was counting her prayer beads beside me. I had never seen her worship Buddha so sincerely before. Now she never leaves her prayer beads when she goes out.
"Mom, when did you start liking to worship Buddha?"
"Please have peace of mind."
"Mother, has something happened in the manor?"
What peace of mind am I seeking? The more I think about it, the more something seems off.
"Don't worry, it's not something that happened in the manor. Alas, it's just a cruel twist of fate."
I became increasingly curious about where my mother would take me; she rarely did this.
The carriage stopped in less than half an hour. I helped my mother off the carriage and found that it was a post station, a place specifically for receiving foreign dignitaries.
My mother handed the guard some silver and some documents, and he let us in.
I turned to look at Meng Anshi. His face was filled with expectation, but he hesitated to step forward. What could have happened to make him, who was usually so calm, act like this?
"My lord, thank goodness you've come. My sister can now get married in peace."
The man who arrived was quite tall, probably even taller than Xie Yuancheng. He had a rugged appearance, but his features were very handsome.
"And you are?"
"I forgot to introduce myself. I am the Second Prince of Chequ. You can call me Mingxun. I am here to escort my younger sister to marry the Marquis of Anle."
He was from Chequ Kingdom, but Cailu was so alluring, how could he look like this?
"Greetings, Second Prince."
"Oh, no need to be so polite. I should be thanking you for being my sister's temporary brother and helping her get married."
I understand now. No wonder the Emperor agreed to let Xie Yuancheng take me out of the palace; it turns out he wanted Caiwei to marry into the Ji family. In the Great Zhao Dynasty, when someone gets married, an elder brother is always there to see them off. At that time, I was the one being "married," and the ceremony in Linyang was rushed, so my elder brother didn't need to accompany me.
"Of course."
No wife is more generous than me in bringing a mistress into her husband's life.
My mother stood by smiling the whole time. She came today to recognize her 'daughter,' but she probably kept quiet because she was afraid I would be unhappy.
Mingxun led us all the way to Caiwei's place, and the noise inside gave me a headache.
"Little sister, you're getting married soon, your older sister has come to see you off."
"Sister~ We won't be able to see each other anymore. When you go back to Chequ, you must listen to your eldest and second brothers and not do anything reckless."
"I...I want to stay and be with you."
How did Cailu end up here? It's such a coincidence that they're here.
I helped my mother inside, and Mingxun greeted them warmly. My mother and I had just sat down when Cailu came over.
"Your Highness, we meet again."
"Greetings, Princesses."
Cailu smiled, her cheeks round and plump: "No need to be polite, just call me Cailu and her Caiwei. This time, Caiwei is getting married from the Ji family, so as her older sister, I will naturally stay at the Ji family residence as well."
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