"Aisin Gioro?" That's royalty.
Although they may only hold a minor title and not be closely associated with the present day, the surname itself is not something to be offended.
Qian Shengyan was extremely annoyed; the Niu Hulu family really knew how to cause her trouble.
She simply abandoned all pretense of saving face and said directly to Hongli, "Dispose of it however you see fit. You don't need such a maternal family, so there's no need to show any mercy."
Hearing her words, Hongli breathed a slight sigh of relief.
As for the Niohuru family, Hongli never gets close to them when he travels. Not only the Niohuru family, but also his wife's relatives, such as Lady Fuca and Ma Qi, he avoids as much contact with them as possible.
He was already in a very hot position, so he didn't need anything more. It would be better for him to stay out of trouble and not form cliques or engage in any corrupt practices.
Hongli wanted to strictly enforce the law and show no mercy to his nominal uncle from the Niohuru family, but he was worried that Qian Shengyan would feel uncomfortable, so he said something.
Fortunately, his mother wasn't the type to disregard everything else for the sake of saving face.
This matter was like a pebble thrown into a lake; after the ripples subsided, the lake returned to calm. However, Niu Hulu's current mistress, who was also Qian Shengyan's nominal aunt and the mother of that unfortunate cousin, had been sending petitions to the palace for several days to request an audience with Qian Shengyan, but she refused to see her each time.
Qian Shengyan was unaware that Fuerguochun had encountered this great-aunt while attending a banquet outside. She had intended to greet her, but Lady Niohuru turned her face away, pretending not to see her.
Furguchun was so angry that she went back and complained to Hongli, which made Hongli sneer repeatedly. After a few hints, Lady Niohuru suddenly had no more gatherings to attend.
Sensible families would not invite her again, and even those who didn't understand at first would realize it after being reminded by others and would quickly turn away Lady Niohuru.
Are you kidding me? It's hard for others to even get close to the Imperial Noble Consort and the Fourth Prince. Your family has such a great opportunity, yet you don't know how to cherish it and even give the princess a hard time.
That's ridiculous.
As for Folgochun, with the birth of her twin brother, Folgochun, as the only daughter of the current emperor, and having been granted the title of Princess Gulun at a young age, was just reaching marriageable age.
Every eligible young man in the capital was making plans, and several families who had received the emperor's hints early on were also starting to compete with each other, even urging their sons to cultivate a good relationship with the princess.
Therefore, Folgochun no longer liked to leave the palace.
In the past, because she was young, Qian Shengyan was worried about her leaving the palace and often kept her under control. Now that she is about to come of age and should have her own social circle, Qian Shengyan no longer cares. She only tells her to bring a whole entourage when she leaves the palace and not to go alone anywhere.
These days, whenever Folgochun goes out, he either bumps into a man or is praised by the ladies of those families, who make him smile so hard his face is stiff.
What's even more outrageous is that some little girls came to play with her. As soon as they got along well, the little girls started recommending their own brothers to Folgochun.
Folgochun: ...
This is the first time I've ever felt so reluctant to go out.
It would be better to stay in the palace and play with your younger brother.
Hongshan was at the age when everyone hated him. The chubby little boy had just had his head shaved, and now he only had a small braid on the back of his head. Because Qian Shengyan made him sleep on his side a lot when he was a child, his head was round and chubby. He also ran very fast. In the words of Fuerguochun, he was simply like a rolling little chubby little boy.
The two newborn brothers, after a month and a half of raising them, have finally started to look like adults. They still cry in a soft, delicate voice, but thankfully they've gained some weight and can open their eyes.
Now, Ferguchun likes to sit on the soft couch with her mother and watch her younger brother. Although he can't speak or call out to people yet, he is especially cute when he cries like a kitten.
Folgochun poked his seventh brother's cheek, and then heard his mother say, "Why don't we settle your marriage sooner rather than later, so we can avoid all this trouble?"
"That works too," Folgochun said indifferently.
Just after the New Year, Yinzhen finalized the marriage arrangements for He Hui and Duanrou. Although the consorts were all Mongolian princes, they were all men serving in the capital and did not need to marry into the grasslands.
Folgochun was a year older than the two men, and his marriage was delayed, naturally attracting many suitors.
Qian Shengyan nodded, then asked, "And this candidate..."
Speaking of this, Folgochun started to have a headache again. She did have the most enlightened mother and father, who allowed her to choose for herself, even if she didn't choose one of the families that Yinzhen had hinted at before.
But precisely because of this, she found it even more difficult to choose.
"How about Mother lets me choose?" Ferguchun poured Qian Shengyan a cup of tea ingratiatingly. Qian Shengyan glanced at her amusedly, picked up the tea and took a sip, but still refused: "No."
"Why?! Fourth Brother's wife was chosen by Mother and Father Emperor," Foerguchun said, feigning tears.
Qian Shengyan was too ashamed to look at her. She was crying while secretly peeking at herself through her fingers, and she didn't even bother to tuck her lips down. Her big eyes were darting around.
When her daughter started joking, Qian Shengyan stopped teasing her and said, "Speaking of which, this matter is indeed unfair to women. It would be good if your fourth brother and sister-in-law could live in harmony, and it would be good if they could treat each other with respect even if they couldn't get along. Besides his wife, your fourth brother also has three concubines, and in the future, he will have secondary wives and more princesses. If they don't suit his taste, he can just leave them aside and manage their food and clothing. But even though you are a princess, the greatest freedom you can have is to choose your own husband."
Folgo paused in his crying during spring break and slowly lowered his hands from his face.
"Of course, you can also follow the example of some princesses from previous dynasties and keep male lovers regardless of the world's opinion. Perhaps by then your mother and your father will be too old to control you, but ask yourself, is that what you want?" Qian Shengyan said gently. "Your mother only hopes to give you as much freedom as possible."
"The sweetness and bitterness, the good and the bad of love, you have to experience and feel for yourself. Your mother just wants to make sure you don't get hurt. It's not easy being a woman in this world, and there's not much your mother can do either. I just want to do my best to make you feel better."
In an instant, Folgochun's feigned crying almost turned into real crying: "Mother..."
Qian Shengyan smiled slightly, said nothing more, but raised her hand to lovingly touch Folgo Chun's smooth forehead and stroke her hair.
The little one who was once so tiny has grown up.
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Yinzhen still took his whole family to the Yuanmingyuan Garden to watch the fireworks. The sky was dazzling and the reflection in the water was magnificent. Not to mention children like Hongshan, even Qian Shengyan was mesmerized and loved it very much.
After the first month of the lunar calendar, everything proceeded in an orderly and seemingly smooth manner. At the end of February, Lady Fucha was found to be one month pregnant. Yinzhen and Qian Shengyan were very happy and gave her another batch of gifts. When Lady Fucha came to pay her respects, they told her to rest well and to avoid moving around too much, at least for the first three months.
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