It was three days after Yun Yichen and his group settled matters in Songjiang that they set off for Beijing. Along the way, many people carried baskets with their own eggs and food, insisting on giving them to Xiao Yao.
Xiao Yao ordered everyone to collect all the things, and then asked Tang Qianli to stay and wait until she left so that she could pay them according to the price. The aunt who was going to propose marriage to Xiao Yao also came. She took out a small dress made of patchwork pieces of cloth and handed it to Xiao Yao, saying, "We have a custom here that if a child wears a patchwork piece of clothing, he will live a long and healthy life.
A group of us decided to make one for you. We asked the oldest grandmother in our town to sew the last few stitches. She is already 85 years old, and her ears and eyes are not deaf or blurry. She will definitely bless your future children with good health.
"Thank you!" Xiao Yao took the washed clothes with her own hands. Seeing them, Xiao Yao felt that everything she had paid was worth it.
At the city gate, not only were the Xiao brothers, Xiao Yuan, and Yun Ruonan waiting there, but even the emperor had sent people. Chen He smiled and saluted Yun Yichen and Old Man Xiao, then bowed to the carriage before speaking, "The emperor has ordered that the old marquis and the princess come to the palace to see him."
Before entering the palace again, Xiao Yao's pretty face wrinkled as if she had eaten coptis, and Chen He hurriedly explained: "The emperor also understands the feelings of the prince's wife, so he wants to give you a special reward today."
It's special! Let's go and see it! After sending away the people who came to pick her up, Xiao Yao sat in the car, protected by several men in the middle, and headed straight for the palace. As long as she didn't see the Queen Mother and didn't go to Fengxiang Palace, Xiao Yao's heart would not be so depressed.
It was Xiao Yao's first time to enter the emperor's study. She took a peek and found that the most eye-catching thing was the large imperial desk, on which were piled several piles of memorials, as well as some books and writing brushes.
After several people saluted the emperor, Xiao Yao also saluted King Jing, who was sitting on a chair next to him drinking tea. King Jing smiled and nodded. His daughter-in-law not only helped his brother a lot this time, but also brought honor to the Jing Palace. Especially her words that asked the people to thank the emperor and the court made his brother happy for several days!
"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Xiao and my niece-in-law. The locust plague in Songjiang was successfully resolved thanks to you. I am ready to reward you according to your merits. Just tell me what you want." The emperor promised very generously.
The old man and Xiao Yao looked at each other. They didn't think about asking for rewards when they did this. It was just that they encountered a locust plague when passing by Songjiang. Xiao Yao happened to know some ways to prevent and control locusts. He couldn't bear to see the people suffer, so he lent a helping hand.
The emperor had seen countless people, and he knew from Xiao Yao's expression that she had no intention of using this incident to seek credit. The more she did so, the more he had to reward her. The emperor first granted Old Man Xiao a red letter of honor, and promised that the title of Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery would be hereditary for three generations, and only after three generations would he demote her to a lowered title.
After the Xiao family expressed their gratitude, the emperor beckoned Xiao Yao to his side. He pulled a gold medal from his sleeve, handed it to her, and explained, "With this, you can come and go freely in the palace from now on. No one has the right to stop you. If Ah Chen ever makes you angry, you can stay in the Queen's palace for a few days and let him worry outside."
Yun Yichen glared at the emperor fiercely and said, "Why don't you hope that your nephew and niece-in-law are doing well? Do you feel proud when we have a fight?"
Xiao Yao understood that the emperor and Yun Yichen were in the same group, and he was just saying that as a joke. If one day she really fell out with Prince Jing's Mansion or Yun Yichen, he would definitely not be partial to her.
She glanced at Yun Yichen, smiled and told the emperor that the two of them never quarreled, so there was no need to seek refuge in the palace. If she was embarrassed again, she would just avoid it.
The emperor also rewarded Xiao Yao with a manor with a large amount of fertile land. Xiao Yao felt that a gold medal was enough for her and she had no shortage of manors under her name, so she wanted to refuse. Yun Yichen thanked the emperor on her behalf and accepted it.
"You bastard boy!" The emperor scolded with a smile and asked them to go back to their house to rest.
Upon hearing the news of the Xiao family and Xiao Yao's reward, Empress Dowager Han was so enraged she smashed a jade sculpture in the palace. She had merely wished to gift her grandson a woman, and her sister-in-law had merely played a supporting role. The two Dukes' mansions had been reduced to their present state. This vengeance rested solely on the Xiao family and Xiao Yao. If given the opportunity, she would make them pay tenfold, a hundredfold.
After returning to the palace, Yin Qianhua looked Xiao Yao over carefully, asked her what she wanted to eat, and told her to get a good night's rest and not to come to dinner with her. Xiao Yao hugged her and acted coquettishly, refusing to let go. She felt so lucky to have met so many people who truly loved and cared about her.
Xiao Yao now recognized the Prince Jing's mansion, for it housed people who cared about her and whom she cherished. Even Prince Jing and Yun Yichen indulged her repeatedly. Just like this incident, even though it ultimately brought honor to the palace, it would never be brushed aside in anyone else's home, never a single word. No one in the palace had ever spoken a word, only concern and tolerance.
Perhaps she should open her heart and try to accept Yun Yichen, letting the two of them truly walk into each other's lives. Xiao Yao felt that the ideas she had always held on to were shaken. Maybe she could be as lucky as her parents, so why not give it a try?
In the evening, after Yun Yichen's coaxing and persuasion, the two took a bath together and returned to their own home and their own yard. Yun Yichen could finally eat meat with peace of mind.
His kiss was domineering and lingering, his desire was fiery and gentle, Xiao Yao was up and down under Yun Yichen's gentle or crazy offensive...
The next day, she woke up late as usual. The maids at Duiyue Pavilion seemed to have become accustomed to the routines of their two masters and no longer considered Xiao Yao's lateness a big deal. Yin Qianhua and Yun Ruonan didn't bother her all day, which made her even more embarrassed to go out.
Remembering that her mother-in-law's birthday was in a few days, Xiao Yao took out paper and pen and began to design new clothes. She not only drew a new style of palace dress for her mother-in-law Yin Qianhua, but also prepared new patterns for Yun Ruonan and King Jing. After thinking for a while, she started to draw a dress for Yun Yichen and casually designed a couple's outfit of the same style for herself.
"Will people laugh at me if I wear this?" Xiao Yao asked herself anxiously, holding up two drawings.
"These two sets of clothes are so beautiful. Are you planning to make them yourself?" Yun Yichen stood by and watched for a long time. Even though he didn't understand what couples' outfits meant, he knew that the clothes in the two pictures his wife was holding were for married couples. Because the colors complemented each other and the patterns were similar, they were easy to identify.
Xiao Yao wanted to take the thing back, but Yun Yichen took it away easily. He couldn't let such a good thing go to waste. If his wife didn't have time, he would find someone to make the clothes himself. When the two of them went out to attend a party, wearing such clothes would surely make others envious and secretly jealous.
Xiao Yao asked if wearing such clothes would make people laugh, and Yun Yichen gave her a firm answer: no. Xiao Yao suggested making a few sets for her parents-in-law as well, but Yun Yichen rejected it.
Well, it's fine for a young couple to wear these clothes, but it would be too much for a family of four to dress like this. Xiao Yao was outdone by the knowledgeable Yun Yichen, so she could only focus on accessories for Prince Jing and Yin Qianhua. Yun Yichen took pity on her because he was busy making two other sets of clothes, so he took the patterns for three sets of clothes, including her sister's, and asked someone else to make them.
On Yin Qianhua's birthday, the five members of his family all wore new clothes designed by Xiao Yao. King Jing looked at his son and daughter-in-law's clothes and asked with envy, "Why didn't you make something like this for my father and mother? You can tell at a glance that they are a couple."
Yin Qianhua blushed at her husband's words. She kicked King Jing under the table, not wanting him to continue the conversation. Her son and daughter-in-law were still young, so dressing like this was acceptable. Now that they were their parents-in-law, it would be a laughing stock if they also dressed like this.
"I can design a few sets of casual clothes for Father and Mother, and we can wear them at home, how about that?" Prince Jing clapped his hands in agreement. Yin Qianhua didn't know what to say. Yun Ruonan also liked Xiao Yao's designs, but when she thought about her status, it seemed even more inappropriate to make such a request. If... Thinking of those articles and the people who wrote them, Yun Ruonan put her hand to her face. It was so hot. Was she sick? Or was she possessed by a demon? Why did she keep thinking about him lately?
After the ladies and young ladies attending the banquet arrived one after another, Xiao Yao, the future hostess of Prince Jing's Mansion, shuttled between the noble ladies. Her manners were generous and appropriate, gentle and polite, and she did not act at all as if she was superior just because she married into the palace.
Princess Xie Qingxuan was eager to find fault with Xiao Yao, either complaining that the snacks weren't to her liking or blaming her for being slow to treat her. Xiao Yao, on the other hand, remained good-tempered and smiling throughout. She wasn't afraid of Xie Qingxuan, but simply didn't want anything unpleasant to happen on her mother-in-law's happy day.
Yin Qianhua couldn't bear to see her daughter-in-law being wronged. She asked Xie Qingxuan in a calm tone, "What's wrong with the Crown Princess? Our Jing Palace has hosted so many guests, but this is the first time we've seen someone who has such strong opinions about the palace! It seems that our Jing Palace is too small to host such a noble person as the Crown Princess!"
Xie Qingxuan didn't want to offend Yin Qianhua. If the prince wanted to get that position, he would need the help of King Jing and the assistance of Yun Yichen, so Princess Jing must not be offended.
But she was unwilling to stop targeting Xiao Yao. After marrying into the Prince's Mansion, she realized how unfaithful her husband was. The well-known and influential women in the mansion were at least twenty years old, if not thirty. Less than a year after getting married, she had three more sisters.
Looking at Xiao Yao again, she is not only favored by the king, but everyone in Prince Jing's mansion treats her very well. All of this should have belonged to her, but she has taken it away. How can she feel balanced?
After being warned by Yin Qianhua, Xie Qingxuan did behave herself. Tong Mingyu found an opportunity, pulled her daughter aside, and warned her not to run away from home again, otherwise she would not be allowed to return to her parents' home.
Xiao Yao was not afraid of such a light threat at all, because she had already made up her mind not to act recklessly again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
