Chapter 890: The beloved cousin escaped from control (16)
Wu Xiaoran didn't know why, but he seemed to be particularly close to Du Shichu. He was not a talkative or enthusiastic person. He was abused by his father and stepmother when he was young. He was introverted by nature and had a cold attitude towards everyone. But with Du Shichu, he seemed to be very familiar with her.
Every time Du Shichu moved into the palace, he would come to see Du Shichu. In fact, he didn't have anything serious to do. It seemed like he just came to see her, meet her, and occasionally help her peel fruit, wipe her hair, or catch the little lion from the tree.
But no matter what, he became familiar with Du Shichu.
As for the mother and son discovered by Du Shichu in Huiqiu Palace, they were indeed the late emperor's deposed concubine and her posthumous child. The posthumous child was already three years old, but unfortunately he had never had a full meal since birth and was severely malnourished. Although he was still alive, he would probably not live to adulthood if he was not properly nursed back to health.
As for the deposed concubine of the previous emperor, she had become mentally ill and only remembered that she had a child and nothing else.
Now that the mother and son have been found, the emperor will naturally not keep them in the harem anymore, but let the imperial physician treat them. After all, they are his stepmother and brother. No matter how big a mistake the deposed concubine had made, now everything has disappeared with the departure of the late emperor and her unconsciousness.
These things were matters of the harem and had nothing to do with Du Shichu. However, given that she was the one who discovered the mother and child, the emperor later told her about their situation.
After hearing it, Du Shichu no longer paid attention to it.
Time passed in a flash, and more than two years had passed. Du Shichu was almost fifteen years old, and the three-year mourning period was about to end. The emperor had already begun thinking about holding a banquet for her in the palace on the day she was no longer in mourning.
Du Shichu didn't want to make it public, but unfortunately the emperor seemed to be afraid of mistreating her and insisted on making the news of her taking off her mourning clothes known to the whole capital.
"Duan Yang, you will be coming of age soon after you stop mourning. Wouldn't it be a good opportunity to hold a banquet to let everyone know that your mourning period is over? It will also let everyone know that you have grown up and can choose a princess?" The queen said to Du Shichu with a smile.
Du Shichu was stunned. She didn't expect that the palace would start worrying about her marriage so soon. She raised a smile and said to the queen, "Your Majesty, I am still young. I am only fifteen years old. Why should I be so anxious to choose a princess? Moreover, even if I never get married, the property of the princess's mansion is enough for me to live a stable and wealthy life."
"Nonsense, what girl doesn't want to get married? You are young now, so you think so. When you are older, you will be anxious yourself..." the queen teased her.
Du Shichu shook his head and said, "That's not necessarily true. If being married doesn't make me as comfortable as being alone, then why would I want to get married? Isn't that asking for trouble?"
The queen sighed, looked at her with complicated eyes, and said, "Silly girl, do you think you can get married if you don't want to? There are so many young talents out there who want to win your favor. As long as you don't get married, you won't have peace."
Du Shichu was very smart. She immediately understood what the queen hadn't said. She stopped smiling and asked her, "Queen, has anyone come to you and mentioned my marriage?"
The Queen nodded and didn't give her a perfunctory answer: "There are so many people in the capital. You stay in the palace for a few days every month. So many people are watching you. Some of them are anxious and have come to ask me if you are engaged early, right?"
Du Shichu never expected that she would become such a popular girl. Her father had just passed away three years ago. She was only twelve years old when she returned to the capital and had to observe the mourning period. Therefore, apart from Zhou Yizhuo's family and Liu Weian who had set their sights on her early on and wanted to use her as a stepping stone, other people did not pay much attention to her except for sending them invitations at the beginning. So she thought that not many people paid attention to her.
But she didn't expect that she would soon be removing her mourning clothes and would soon reach the age of marriage, which immediately made her valuable. So those people outside were like sharks smelling blood, and they all set their sights on this piece of meat.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty promised me that I would decide my own marriage. Do you remember that?" Du Shichu asked the queen solemnly.
"Of course I remember. Don't worry, I won't agree to anyone's marriage proposal without your consent." The queen said firmly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Du Shichu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the emperor and the empress were both reasonable people and did not want to use her marriage to win over powerful officials or balance anyone.
"You are the only child of the Prince of Qi. Neither I nor His Majesty will decide your marriage at will. We must carefully select a perfect prince consort for you." The Queen herself has no daughter. Over the past three years, she has developed some feelings for Du Shichu. Of course, the most fundamental thing is that she has no conflict of interest with Du Shichu, so she will not control her marriage.
Du Shichu didn't blush at all when she talked about Junma. She said openly, "Let's make a deal. I won't marry a man who is not perfect."
"Okay..." The queen agreed happily, thinking that Du Shichu was just joking but not knowing that she was serious.
When Du Shichu returned to the palace where he lived, Wu Xiaoran came again. Although he was only fourteen years old, he had eaten well and dressed well in the palace in the past few years, making up for all the losses in his childhood. He also practiced martial arts with martial arts masters, so he had grown very tall at a young age. He was tall and thin, half a head taller than Du Shichu, and it was estimated that he could grow another half a head taller.
"Are you going to start choosing a county horse?" Wu Xiaoran grabbed the little lion that had grown more and more majestic in the past few years, rubbed it all over, and pretended to ask Du Shichu casually.
Du Shichu said in surprise: "Who told you that? I'm only fifteen years old, why would I choose a county horse?"
Wu Xiaoran looked at her steadily: "So the selection hasn't started yet?"
"Of course not! I'm not depressed. Why should I get married at such a young age? Do you think my life is too easy?" Du Shichu rolled her eyes. She never paid attention to her image in front of Wu Xiaoran. Wu Xiaoran had already seen her in disheveled clothes, disheveled hair and unkempt appearance. Therefore, she did not hide her true nature in front of Wu Xiaoran.
When Wu Xiaoran heard her say this, a sincere smile immediately appeared on his handsome face with youthful spirit. He nodded and said, "It is indeed not good for a girl to get married too early. She should at least be 29 years old before considering this matter."
The age of 9 is 18 years old. This guy knows that it is not advisable to marry and have children early. Du Shichu looked at him with some surprise: "But now many men and women get married at the age of 15 or 16, and have children at the age of 18. Why are you different from others?"
(End of this chapter)
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