Qin had long been accustomed to her husband's behavior. She would not dare to object to other things, but as long as the person or thing was related to the royal family, Qin would feel an inexplicable sense of admiration and blind obedience.
She not only has this mentality towards the concubines, princesses, and duchesses, but also towards the emperor, princes, and crown princes. What she worries about most is not having a good relationship with the royal relatives, and what she fears most is that her family members will offend the nobles.
"Nothing related to the royal family is trivial, Ping An..." Before she finished her words, she felt someone pulling her clothes. She was about to get angry, but when she turned around, she saw her youngest son shaking his head at her. Then she looked up at her husband's ugly face. Qin suppressed her anger and sat back in her seat.
"I earned my fame and honor on the battlefield, and the same goes for the younger generations of the Xiao family. Those who have the ability should fight for their own future, and those who don't should just live an honest life. Whoever does those crooked things should get out of the Xiao family." Old Marquis Xiao took his granddaughter's hand and walked to his usual seat and sat down, not wanting to look at his old wife any more.
The Xiao family is now a marquisate, and it can be said that they lack nothing in terms of status and identity. Although they are not as good as royal relatives, they are much better than ordinary officials. Why is my wife still not satisfied and wants to go to the next level!
The emperor has already allowed the Xiao family to rise to their current status, which is already the limit. Will he make an exception and promote the Xiao family to royal relatives? Women are indeed short-sighted and politically incompetent, and only think about climbing up the social ladder. Fortunately, the eldest daughter-in-law is the boss. If he listened to the old wife, the little granddaughter would be the first to suffer. It would be strange if she was not sent to marry into some royal palace!
"My Lord and Madam, a girl named Xiuzhu has been sent from Prince Jing's Mansion, saying she's looking for our eldest daughter." The maid outside the door came in to report.
"Let's see! How will this end?" Qin paced anxiously in the middle of the room. How could she gain a foothold in Kyoto after offending the Xiao family of Prince Jing's Mansion?
"I greet the old marquis and the old lady; I greet all the masters and ladies; I greet the eldest lady." Xiuzhu did not have the airs of a maidservant serving the master of the palace. She spoke respectfully and politely.
"The girl is..." Qin asked tremblingly.
"Our princess knows that her embroidery skills are not good, and she is not sure how long it will take to finish the ten purses, so she sent some small things over for Miss Xiao to play with. The princess said that by the time Miss Xiao gets tired of these things, the purses will probably be almost done."
Xiuzhu conveyed the princess and the county lord's intentions with a smile. She was sincerely grateful to Xiao Yao. Ever since the princess and this young lady became good friends, her personality has become much more cheerful. The whole yard is no longer as lifeless as before. Laughter can be heard every day. Everyone feels that life is getting better and better, and days are getting happier and happier.
"Isn't your princess angry?" Qin asked in confusion. This was completely different from the result she expected. Could it be that she had made a wrong judgment?
"Angry? Why should I be angry?" Xiuzhu was confused and didn't understand what was going on.
"My princess is too polite. The purse incident was just a joke. Please tell my princess not to take it seriously and not to mention it again." Tong Mingyu's words touched Qin's heart, and her expression softened.
Xiao Yao patted her chest quietly. Is the sky finally going to clear up after the storm?
"Ping'an, don't you also have a gift for the princess?" Qin winked at her granddaughter. This was an opportunity to make up for her mistake and she must seize it.
"Gift?" Xiao Yao was in a dilemma. If she answered that she had prepared a gift, it would be obviously a lie; if she said no, would her grandmother be angry with her?
"Auntie Yu, bring over the gift that the eldest lady gave to the princess, and have her deliver it to Prince Jing's mansion personally." Qin gave orders one after another. Old Marquis Xiao took a deep breath. He didn't dare to open his mouth, for fear of embarrassing his wife in front of outsiders.
"Okay, I'll go." Xiao Yao agreed readily. As for where to go? It wouldn't be Prince Jing's Mansion after all.
"My son hasn't had tea with King Jing for some time, so let's go with Ping An!" Xiao Jingyan stood up, shook his robe, and gave his niece a meaningful look.
"Go! Go! Explain it to the princess and the princess." Qin reminded the uncle and nephew as they walked out of the upper room of Ninghe Hall.
"Xiao Ping'an, Fourth Uncle has saved you from danger, right? Would you consider returning the favor?"
"You said I could consider it, so please wait a moment, I want to talk to Xiuzhu." Xiao Yao left Xiao Jingyan and got on Xiuzhu's carriage.
"Miss Xiao, I dare not take your gift back." Xiuzhu shook her hands repeatedly as she looked at the box full of jewelry in front of her.
"Take these to the princess for me and tell her I asked her to keep them for me. If I return them unopened to my grandmother, she might faint from anger. Please keep these jewels for me. If I ever anger my grandmother and get kicked out of the house, I'll need money to live, right?"
"Why is the old lady angry?"
"Isn't it all because I dared to ask the princess for the bet? Well! How about this, let's find a place where I can borrow some pen and ink and write a letter to the princess. She'll understand after reading it."
"Okay, I'll listen to Miss Xiao."
Xiao Yao didn't bother to figure out what her fourth uncle was planning. The most important thing for her now was to find a way to get rid of Xiuzhu and make her complete her mission.
They went to a bookstore, bought pens and ink, and borrowed a table and chairs. Xiao Yao began to sketch and describe the entire story in a comic strip format. She ended by drawing a picture of a runaway girl, carrying a package and a jewelry box, leaving Kyoto. She wrote a limerick alongside it: "Leaving home peacefully, the princess generously gave, but the gambling ruined my future, leaving me feeling desolate." She also added the line: "Ten purses ruined my life!"
Xiao Yao waited until the writing was completely dry before folding the letter and handing it to Xiuzhu. She repeatedly told Xiuzhu that this letter must not be seen by anyone else and must be handed over to the princess personally.
"Yes." Xiuzhu thought the letter would definitely reach the princess. It wasn't up to her, a single maid, to decide how many people looked at it. Every time the Xiao family sent something to the palace, the four masters would appreciate it together. It was just that outsiders didn't know about it.
After sending Xiuzhu away, Xiao Yao looked at her fourth uncle with a worried look on her face. She thought to herself that this person's problem might not be so easy to solve. Otherwise, with his personality, he would not have stayed with her for such a long time and been so patient.
"Fourth Uncle's matter is easy to handle. Your Fourth Aunt had a dream. In the dream, an old man with a white beard told her that if she wanted to have a healthy and good-looking child, she had to find a good-looking child and look at him every day. So..."
"Do you want me to move to the Princess's Mansion again?" Xiao Yao didn't understand why her fourth aunt couldn't just rest assured and take care of the baby! God bless her to give birth to a child who is prettier than herself, only then can she be liberated.
"Do you have any other solution?" Xiao Jingyan was tired of accompanying a pregnant woman every day, and he thought of replacing himself with his little niece.
"I have a way to fulfill Fourth Aunt's wish today." A few days ago, I was bored and drew a self-portrait. I thought it was pretty good, so I decided to give it to Fourth Aunt.
In the following days, Xiao Yao eagerly awaited the good news of her second brother's engagement, but unexpectedly, what she got was the news that he was going to the Liu family to attend a birthday party.
"They are going to hold a birthday party, so your second brother's matter will have to be put on hold." Tong Mingyu explained with a smile as he looked at his daughter with a burning gaze.
"Don't the Liu family want double happiness?" The Liu family is not anxious, but the Xiao family is! The second sister-in-law is so elegant, don't let someone poach her.
"Don't worry! This will most likely work out. Your father has already had tea with Lord Liu, and the Liu family has invited all the women in our family today. If they didn't have any intention, they wouldn't do this."
It was so funny in the old days. Men discussing their children's marriages usually settled the matter over tea or wine. Women, on the other hand, exchanged information at banquets. Xiao Yao suddenly remembered how her father and second uncle were chased all over Kyoto by Lord Yu for tea, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"What's wrong with you, kid?" Tong Mingyu poked her daughter's forehead. The child was fine outside and looked a bit ladylike, but she completely changed as soon as she returned home, which made people laugh and cry.
"Do you still remember that Yu Xianrong's father chased Dad and Second Uncle all over Kyoto to invite them for tea? My daughter laughed. Why do men think of drinking tea when they mention their children's marriages? It seems so strange." Xiao Yao asked with a smile.
"Ugh! You just do random things all day long. Mother thought Ruyi had gone away and you would be more obedient!"
"What's the result?" Xiao Yao asked with a mischievous blink.
"There's no cure. Nothing has changed."
The mother and daughter laughed and joked for a while, and Xiao Yao asked when her sister would return.
An elder of the Yuan family who lived hundreds of miles away from Kyoto was celebrating his birthday. Yuan Yutong and Xiao Yuan accompanied General Yuan and his wife to wish him a happy birthday. Given the temperament of these mother and daughter, how could they possibly come back without having enough fun!
"It will be soon. They will definitely be back before your grandfather's birthday." Fortunately, the old marquis and his wife of the Xiao family are open-minded and never restrict the younger generation. Otherwise, Yuan Yutong should have been back before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"Please prepare well for the banquet. Mother will go back to Yayuan first." After spending some time with her daughter, Tong Mingyu had to leave. There was still a lot of things waiting to be dealt with at home, and she had no time to relax or be lazy.
"Should we dress up? What if our daughter charms the Liu family and they agree to the marriage between our second brother and Miss Liu at the birthday party? Wouldn't that be a great achievement?" Xiao Yao shouted when Tong Mingyu was about to leave.
The maids and old women in the room and in the corridor all laughed. Their young lady was so cute that she could even come up with such an idea.
"You..." Tong Mingyu listened to her daughter's jokes and felt powerless when she saw her tilting her head and acting naughty. When will this child really become a lady?
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