Once the Lantern Festival was over, the eldest princess, adorned in a magnificent red bridal procession, was welcomed out of the princess's residence. The Tatar delegation led the way, with Prince Bogu, a tall Tatar prince on a magnificent horse, also dressed in red.
As the people of the capital watched her go, the eldest princess, escorted by military officers and nearly ten guards, left the capital with eighteen attendants and her dowry, along with eighteen carriages and their belongings.
"The Princess is doing this for the people of our Great Yue Kingdom. If only General Ling were the one escorting her to the marriage alliance," one of the onlookers joked.
"His Majesty is far-sighted. If it were General Ling who were escorting him, I'm afraid something might happen on the way to the marriage alliance."
"A general and a princess, that's something that often happens in storybooks."
Tao Wanniang listened to the gossip in the teahouse. If Zhao Zhe really sent Lingyunzhou to escort the princess for the marriage alliance, that would be truly outrageous. However, seeing the princess sitting so obediently in the bridal sedan chair, Tao Wanniang also suspected that Zhao Zhe might have done something to it.
But what does any of this have to do with her? Her two biggest enemies are gone, and she can finally be carefree again!
After watching the excitement, Tao Wanniang happily went to work at the restaurant. People are in high spirits when they have a happy occasion. When she arrived at the restaurant, Tao Wanniang greeted everyone with a refreshed and cheerful demeanor.
"Manager Tao, those Tatars used to come to the restaurant every day and ate a lot of money," Lu Neng said happily to Tao Wanniang.
"That's great! It'll generate revenue for our restaurant," Tao Wanniang joked.
"That's right, I told the waiter to only pick the most expensive dishes for them," Lu Neng laughed. "Manager Tao, from now on you can work at the restaurant with peace of mind!"
"Yes, everything should be fine now!" Tao Wanniang nodded.
But before she could cook a single dish at the restaurant, Zhang Liang came looking for her.
"Sister Tao, something's happened." Zhang Liang said gravely. "You should go home and check on things."
"Who in the family had an accident?" Tao Wan's mother was taken aback and immediately asked.
"Not long after you left, someone knocked on the door. Yang Bai opened it and saw a child on the ground. Hmm... it's Liang Laifu's son!" Zhang Liang said. "There was also a letter for Xiao Qiao'er."
Tao Wanniang gasped. Had Zhang Xinlan abandoned her son to Qiao'er?
"Hurry back, lest you frighten Xiao Qiao'er." Tao Wanniang didn't dare to delay and immediately left with Zhang Liang.
At the Tao family home, Xiao Qiao'er held the child who was scratching her face and pulling her hair, looking conflicted. This... was her younger brother, her half-brother.
"Miss, let me hold her," Gao Cuiniang suggested, noticing Xiao Qiao'er's discomfort.
Xiao Qiao'er wanted to hug the child again, but the child slapped her face, and she felt a little pain.
"Here you go." She handed the gesticulating, babbling child to Gao Cuiniang.
"Miss, don't worry, Zhang Liang has already gone to invite the master, this matter will be resolved soon."
Shen Lian had also come to the Tao family to continue teaching Xiao Qiao'er. Seeing Xiao Qiao'er's expression, she couldn't help but comfort her, "Qiao'er, this child is not your responsibility."
“But he’s my brother,” Xiao Qiao’er said, frowning.
Shen Lian was speechless for a moment. As the eldest sister, she was like a mother to the child. If their parents were not around, this child would indeed have to be raised by Xiao Qiao'er.
"Wah~" The one-year-old child suddenly burst into tears, and was very restless in Gao Cuiniang's arms. There were two other children in the house, and they were all at a loss because of the child's sudden crying.
"Is he hungry?" Xiao Qiao asked worriedly.
"There's some porridge in the kitchen, could you please go get it, Miss? I'll feed it to the child," Gao Cuiniang said, soothing the child.
Xiao Qiao'er immediately got up and went to the kitchen. Chen Lian looked at the unruly and yelling child and was at a loss.
“Sister Gao, this child…” Shen Lian said worriedly, “I’m afraid this will greatly affect Xiao Qiao’er’s state of mind.” In addition, Shen Lian was also wondering, would Sister Tao… be able to raise such a young child?
Gao Cuiniang couldn't be sure either; this child had absolutely no relation to Tao Wanniang!
Xiao Qiao quickly brought over some porridge, but the child spat it out as soon as she put it in his mouth.
"Mother... Mother..." The child's speech was unclear, but his crying for his mother was understandable to everyone.
"He misses his mother. Where is his mother?" Ling Rui asked worriedly.
"Brother, he's crying so hard," Ling Xiaofeng muttered.
Little Qiao'er didn't know whether to feed him or not. She reached out to hug her little brother, but the child was very resistant to her, fidgeting and hitting her several times.
"Brother Zhang has already gone to ask Sister Tao for help. Don't worry, Miss, everything will be resolved," Yang Bai reassured her from the side. He still didn't know whose child it was.
Xiao Qiao'er frowned, her face full of worry and sadness.
She was already twelve years old, how could she not know how unreasonable it was for Tao Wan's mother to raise this child, yet this was indeed her younger brother.
Tao Wanniang returned in a flurry of activity, and as soon as she entered the door, she heard the sound of her child crying.
"Zhang Liang, don't you know where Zhang Xinlan lives? Send this child back. Her father is dead, but her mother is still alive. Are you just going to give birth but not raise her?" Tao Wanniang said angrily. This child is crying so loudly, he must have a lot of lung capacity!
"I dare not touch this child. What if he gets hurt, such a tiny baby?" Zhang Liang said helplessly.
“Mother, this is my younger brother,” Xiao Qiao’er said sadly. “His mother doesn’t want him anymore.” As she spoke, Xiao Qiao’er took out the letter that had been kept with the child.
Tao Wanniang opened the letter with a displeased expression, but as she read it, she couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
"Yes, this is your younger brother. What, you're going to raise him?" Tao Wan's mother wasn't targeting Xiao Qiao'er, but she thought Zhang Xinlan was shameless. "Qiao'er, you're only twelve years old. Can you raise this child? She knows it's impossible, but she still shoved the child into your hands. She's taking advantage of the fact that you're a kind person!"
In the letter, Zhang Xinlan stated very frankly that Liang Laifu was dead, and she was going to remarry anyway; having such a burden would only ruin her marriage. Since Xiao Qiao'er was doing well now, she should take on the responsibility of caring for her younger brother.
"Why is this child crying?" Tao Wan's mother looked impatiently at the child who was sobbing.
“This child is so big, he’s already recognized his mother. He’s probably sad because he knows his mother doesn’t want him anymore,” Gao Cui’s mother said helplessly.
"What do you say, Xiao Qiao'er?" Tao Wanniang looked at Xiao Qiao'er again, feeling somewhat heartbroken.
“I…I…Mother, I know you have no reason to raise him, but if I don’t take care of him, where can he go?” Xiao Qiao’er said sadly, “He’s still so young.”
“Who says there’s nowhere to go? There’s always an orphanage!” Tao Wanniang retorted. “Besides, does his own mother just abandon him like that? Take the child and I’ll go find her!” Tao Wanniang said to Zhang Liang.
"Sister Tao, who will hold this child?" Zhang Liang asked hesitantly.
Tao Wanniang's eyes widened. What? She wanted her to carry her? But looking at the group, Gao Cuiniang had to stay home to take care of the two younger children, and Chen Lian looked weak and frail. Fine, she stepped forward with a look of disdain and said to the crying child, "Don't cry, I'll take you to your mother!"
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