Chapter 22 Madam Guo
"Can't you speak properly? What caterpillar? That's called an eyebrow!"
Although Huiyi also thought the newlyweds' eyebrows were ugly, like caterpillars, she was especially displeased when Lin Er said it out loud.
Lin Er has a terrible mouth; he always says things that make people angry. Sometimes Huiyi really wants to sew his mouth shut.
The woman in the mirror frowned, her eyebrows arched like crescent moons, clearly unhappy.
Upon seeing that the person was angry again, Lin Lanting realized that he had said the wrong thing again, so he immediately smiled apologetically and said, "Yes, yes, I misspoke. I deserve to be punished. Princess, you are so beautiful that even if you painted a caterpillar, you would still be stunning!"
Everyone likes to hear nice things, and Huiyi was no exception.
Moreover, Lin Er has a strength: when he flatters someone, he does so very naturally, without any hint of obsequiousness, and his demeanor is especially sincere and makes people feel comfortable.
Huiyi was so flattered by these nice words that her anger subsided considerably. She snorted, "Good to know. Don't say such stupid things in the future."
Lin Lanting smiled and agreed, looking extremely obedient.
Yu Niang and Bi Qing watched from the side, shaking their heads, at a loss for words.
The prince consort's carefree and jovial nature is truly exasperating.
You might say his words are inappropriate, but if you listen closely, they sound like playful banter between husband and wife.
If you say he offended you, he apologizes very quickly and showers you with sweet words.
Not to mention that the princess is easy to coax, even they can't say anything.
Unlike Biqing's confusion and contradiction, Yu Niang felt blessed and enlightened.
Before their marriage, everyone said the two were extremely mismatched, both having prickly personalities, and that they were bound to clash.
Now it seems not so bad, and it's surprisingly a good fit.
Thinking of this, Yu Niang's gaze towards the prince consort softened considerably.
Noticing Yu Niang's noticeably friendlier gaze, Lin Lanting was puzzled, but he didn't intend to investigate. He simply urged the unruly princess.
"Your parents said that the princess can sleep a little longer, but it's not good to arrive too late. When will the princess be able to move out?"
Feeling a bit better, and with Lin Er talking about serious matters instead of being cheeky, Huiyi muttered in a normal tone, "Alright, alright, that's all."
As she spoke, Huiyi applied lip rouge to the perfect amount and helped Biqing to her feet.
The peonies were no longer in full bloom, but Huiyi still had many exquisite silk peony flowers. She picked out a pink one and pinned it in her hair before heading out, her spirits high.
Although Lin Lanting was dressed in bright and festive attire for her wedding, it was still rather ordinary compared to Huiyi's elaborate costume.
He wore a red brocade robe with black trim, a gold and jade crown in his hair, and long boots and wrist guards, as always.
However, because of her outstanding figure and face, Lin Lanting was in no way inferior to Huiyi in her formal attire, and the passing servants secretly praised them as a perfect match.
Huiyi walked in the east courtyard, looked around, and nodded, saying, "I thought that when I came to your house I would have to squeeze into your small courtyard, but I didn't expect your courtyard to be so decent. It's not small, and the scenery is quite elegant."
It's not much smaller than Xunfeng Palace; pavilions, terraces, waterside pavilions, and lotus pond gardens can all be vaguely seen at a glance.
The courtyard is laid out in a natural and orderly manner, elegant and refined. A breeze blows in the morning, refreshing and soothing.
"The impression is not bad," Huiyi said as she walked.
A breeze was blowing today, and the young woman's light gauze robe fluttered in the wind from time to time, gently brushing against Lin Lanting who was walking beside her.
Feeling an itch on the back of her hand, Lin Lanting simply changed to walking with her arms crossed.
Hearing Huiyi's words, Lin Lanting glanced at her and snorted, "Of course! The Emperor just bestowed the marriage upon us, and my parents were afraid that you, a precious daughter of the family, would be wronged. So they immediately renovated this courtyard, not only expanding it but also adding a garden and a waterside pavilion, saying it was for you to enjoy."
"Princess is different; she caused chaos even before she arrived."
Although all I heard were complaints, I was still grateful to know that the Lin family had put in so much effort.
"Your family is quite sensible."
Huiyi wasn't good at saying sweet nothings to outsiders, so after thinking it over, she came up with this sentence.
Hehe~
Lin Lanting knew this would be the response, so he chuckled and said nothing more.
Upon arriving outside the main courtyard, Huiyi was unusually nervous.
Although she was dissatisfied with Lin Er as her husband, she had already married into the family according to social customs, and Lin Zhongshu and Madam Guo were her nominal parents-in-law.
In Huiyi's memory, this was a rather terrifying existence.
In the past, in the countryside of Lingzhou, there were many daughters-in-law who were tormented by their mothers-in-law, and very few families had harmonious mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships.
Huiyi thought to herself, she is a princess, she can't let her mother-in-law bully her.
Let her think about what posture she should adopt to appear more dignified.
With something on her mind, Huiyi slowed her pace considerably.
This made Lin Lanting, who was already struggling to slow down, feel even worse.
"Even ants don't walk this slowly. Are you tired after such a short distance?"
"Want me to hold you?"
Her thoughts were interrupted, and after hearing Lin Er's arrogant words, Huiyi was greatly embarrassed. She glared at him and said, "You wish!"
After saying that, Huiyi quickened her pace, thinking she might as well shake off Lin Er.
After watching the beautiful woman's angry outburst, Lin Lanting rubbed his nose, chuckled softly, and easily caught up with her.
"Wait for me."
In the front hall of the main courtyard, Lin Zhongshu and Madam Guo were already waiting with their eldest son and daughter-in-law.
Hearing the sounds of laughter and shouting from outside the door, they quickly stopped chatting and sat up straight.
Upon hearing a greeting from outside, "Greetings, Princess!", the entire family immediately stood up.
So much so that as soon as Huiyi entered, the Lin family rushed up to her, all bowing and saying, "Greetings, Princess. May Your Highness be well."
This rendered Huiyi's efforts in vain, and she found it somewhat amusing.
There's no need for her to put on airs; the Lin family has already paved the way for her.
It was clearly the day for the bride to pay respects to her parents-in-law in the main hall, yet the Lin family acted with such humility.
Just as my grandfather said, Lin Zhongshu was indeed a good minister.
In that case, Huiyi knew what to do.
She immediately smiled warmly, walked over quickly, and helped the two elders up, saying with a touch of shyness, "Father, Mother, please get up quickly. Today is the day I, the new bride, pay respects to my parents-in-law. How can I trouble you to do this?"
Lin Zhongshu smiled faintly and said gently, "A princess is a princess after all, and etiquette cannot be disregarded."
Huiyi thought that the Lin family was a scholarly family, and that they must all be elegant and polite. She was just about to exchange a few polite words when Madam Guo lifted her up with both hands, and a loud laugh accompanied by enthusiastic words came out all at once.
"Look at this pretty and charming little girl, and her voice is so soft. She's so adorable. She's nothing like what people outside say. It's like a pie fell from the sky for Erlang to marry such a wife!"
As she spoke, Madam Guo looked left and right, her face beaming with joy.
Huiyi was stunned and overwhelmed by the sudden enthusiasm. She didn't react for a moment, but the father and son reacted quickly. One pulled the madam away, while the other half of his body blocked Huiyi's way. He used his large hands to push Madam Guo's hands away and grabbed her wrists.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness. My wife is a lively person, and because she has no daughter, she is especially warm towards you. She had no intention of offending you."
After Lin Zhongshu finished speaking, he glanced helplessly at his wife, unsurprised by her behavior.
Before coming, I repeatedly told my wife not to frighten the princess, and she had just agreed. But now, as soon as we meet, she's shown her true colors.
"Mother, you should also control yourself."
Lin Lanting also spoke up to persuade his mother, Madam Guo.
Needless to say, the burning heat on my wrist was intense, and as soon as Lin Lanting leaned in, his scorching aura also rushed towards me.
Huiyi felt as if she were enveloped by him, her breath filled with his scent.
She realized what had happened and was utterly astonished.
It turns out that Madam Guo of the Lin family is such a straightforward and enthusiastic person. No wonder Lin Er has such an outgoing and passionate spirit; he inherited it from his mother.
Lin Jia Dalang was different. He inherited his father's refined nature, and throughout the entire process, he just smiled faintly and said a few words occasionally.
Judging from her gentle and quiet appearance, Lin's eldest sister-in-law, Madam Lu, seemed like someone who wasn't mean or difficult to get along with.
After a quick observation, Huiyi understood the situation and smiled again, saying, "It's alright, Mother is doing very well."
Upon hearing this, Madam Guo immediately exclaimed happily, "Look, even our daughter-in-law has said so, you're just making a fuss over nothing!"
Then he simply took Huiyi's hand solicitously and continued to praise her with a big smile.
“When I first saw the princess from afar, I was amazed by her beauty. Up close, she is even more like a celestial being descended to earth. My son is so fortunate to marry her; it is a blessing he has earned in ten lifetimes!”
Huiyi now knows who Lin Er learned to be sweet-talking occasionally, but unfortunately, he is not even as good as his mother-in-law.
As Lin Zhongshu said, his mother-in-law, Madam Guo, wanted a daughter in her early years, but unfortunately, she had two sons. She also damaged her health when she gave birth to Lin Er, and after many years of raising her, she was too old to have any more children.
So much so that not having a daughter was a great regret for Mrs. Guo.
According to Sister-in-law Lu's laughter, her mother-in-law used to admire other people's well-behaved and lovely daughters whenever she saw them, and she even almost took in the third daughter of the Ruan family, the Minister of Rites next door, as her goddaughter.
Not content with having Sister-in-law Lu, he also took a liking to a young lady like her.
The solemn ceremony of paying respects to one's maternal uncle and aunt was passed by amidst Madam Guo's rambling and unusual chatter. This feeling was both unfamiliar and delightful for Rang Huiyi.
She had never been loved so much by elders other than her family, and her heart swelled with pride.
Even Lin Er seemed much more pleasing to the eye now.
The visit to the maternal uncle and aunt ended amidst laughter and joy, and Huiyi received quite a few gifts.
“Your Highness is of noble birth and must have seen all sorts of fine things. I will not presume to teach you anything. This necklace was part of my dowry from my mother. There was originally a pair; one was given to your sister-in-law, and the other was left for Your Highness.”
That being said, the necklace was also very luxurious, combining gold, jade, gemstones, and pearls; any young lady would love it.
All of this made Huiyi so happy on her way back that she had shallow dimples on her cheeks, which amused Lin Lanting.
"How is it? Isn't my mother doing well?"
His tone was full of boasting, which made Huiyi unable to help but retort, "Good, of course it's good. And you're fair-skinned and beautiful. I wonder if you ate too much black-boned chicken when you were pregnant with me, that's why you look like this. Sigh~"
Here we go again!
This wasn't the first time the spoiled princess had spoken to him like this, and Lin Lanting was very indignant.
"I've told you this is just a man's nature, when will you ever understand!"
His gaze fell indignantly on the young woman's fair face, and Lin Lanting compared it to his own, falling silent for a moment.
"So what if you're fair-skinned!"
Just as Huiyi was about to retort and ridicule him, she suddenly saw Jin Die running over, panting, and delivering some terrible news.
"Oh no, Your Highness, your little parrot has flown away!"
Her smile froze on her face, and Huiyi exclaimed, "Go find them quickly!"
She taught him a lot of things to use to scold Lin Er, so she can't just run away before she even gets to use them!
A note from the author:
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Update: The next chapter should be available for purchase tomorrow, and there will be a long chapter as a bonus. Please support me, my darlings! [starry eyes]
I also finished another cover today, it's so beautiful, it's below, take a look, my darlings [shy]
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