"You think you are still the eldest daughter of the Right Prime Minister's family! Now your father is just a small official of the sixth rank, and he is implicated by the deposed crown prince. What kind of life are we living now? We are living in fear. We are afraid that there will be no tomorrow after today! At this time, how can we tolerate you to be so willful?! Have you ever thought that if you disobey the order today, our family will be tied to the market tomorrow, and losing our heads is the blessing we have accumulated in our previous lives. Who knows, the king might be so angry that he will tore you apart by a chariot and tortured you to death!"
Duan Rulan was overwhelmed by Madam Duan's aura. She immediately leaned forward, opened her mouth, and started to cry again.
"Lan'er, there's nothing we can do about it," Mrs. Duan's voice softened again, and she gently patted her daughter's shoulder. Helpless and tired. "Lan'er, I know I've wronged you, but what can we do? Concubine Wan is so proud. I'm afraid it won't be long before His Majesty will make Concubine Wan's son the crown prince. We naturally have to be cautious and keep our composure, especially at this time. Aren't we really digging our own graves?"
"But mother..." Duan Rulan was desperate and sad, and cried in Mrs. Duan's arms.
…
Coaxed Duan Rulan to sleep. It was past midnight, and Mrs. Duan returned to her room with red eyes. Duan Chenghong was still awake. He was sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, and when he heard the door being pushed open, he came back to his senses. Looking at Mrs. Duan's appearance, he couldn't help but sigh: "Has that girl figured it out?"
Madam Duan wiped her tears and nodded, then walked over and sat down next to Duan Chenghong. The well-maintained lady had already shown signs of aging after being exhausted for the past few months. She wiped her tears, paused, and said to Duan Chenghong with a sob, "Lan'er is really wronged..."
"What's the point of being wronged? Since ancient times, victors have been kings and losers have been bandits. There's nothing to say about it." Even though he said this, Duan Chenghong's eyes were full of regret.
Two years ago, the deposed crown prince's wife, Ding, passed away. In order to cling to the deposed crown prince's big leg, he ran around and made great efforts to arrange a marriage for his then fourteen-year-old daughter and the deposed crown prince. As long as his daughter came of age, she would become the second crown prince's wife. With this marriage contract, their Duan family had completely established their foothold in the court. In recent years, he had been very proud of this marriage contract, but who would have thought that such a scandal would happen out of the blue.
It was like a bolt from the blue.
"The day after tomorrow is the day when our daughter will leave the capital," Mrs. Duan sighed, "We prepared a lot of dowry for her in the past, but now our family is in such a state... I'm afraid we can't even afford a decent wedding dress, let alone a maid. The child has been spoiled since she was a child and has a bad temper. How are we going to live in the future..."
After a long silence, Duan Chenghong said in a deep voice, "Let the girl named Ah Chou be the dowry girl and go to Ningguta with Lan'er."
"But...she..." Madam Duan was surprised and lowered her voice, "But isn't that girl Concubine Zhao's? I don't feel comfortable letting her follow Lan'er. Who knows how that girl might harm Lan'er."
"I have observed that girl with a cold eye these days and I found that she is not a vicious person. At most, she just tipped off Concubine Zhao." Duan Chenghong said.
"How can that be?" Madam Duan said anxiously, "With a God of Ears following her around every day, wouldn't Lan'er's every move be reported to Concubine Zhao's ears? Wouldn't Lan'er's life be even more difficult?"
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