Biyun Temple is west of Kyoto, and it takes about an hour for a carriage to travel out of the city to arrive.
Tong Mingyu and Li Jiaoying were in the carriage, each holding a sleeping child in their arms.
"These two kids slept like pigs today." Li Jiaoying looked at one and then the other. The journey was lonely. Why didn't any of them wake up to accompany her to kill this boring time?
Tong Mingyu gently shifted her daughter's position to make her sleep more comfortable. She eagerly surveyed her daughter's delicate face, her long, curving eyelashes, her petal-shaped mouth, her heart overflowing with pride and happiness. No wonder her father-in-law and husband doted on her so much. Even just watching her, she felt her heart slowly melt.
"Tsk, tsk, it's such a blessing to have a daughter!" Li Jiaoying was so jealous of the mother and daughter opposite her, "Sister-in-law, can you at least consider the feelings of me who doesn't have a daughter?"
Tong Mingyu nodded at Xiao Yuan in his sister-in-law's arms with his chin. "Aren't you holding her in your arms too? Why are you jealous of us?"
"I don't feel much other feelings when I hold this little girl in my arms, but I can feel that she has grown heavier." Li Jiaoying touched her little niece's face and then her little hands. The fleshy touch was so comfortable.
"Be careful not to wake her up." Tong Mingyu glared at her sister-in-law. This auntie didn't act like an aunt at all. The two of them looked like a fat little rabbit falling into the clutches of a big bad wolf.
"Sister-in-law, if I want to trick Ruyi into staying with me tonight... to Qingyuan for a night, will she agree?"
"Your Aqi isn't as thin as you wish!"
"Who likes to sleep with a stinky boy in their arms? Little girls are so nice, tender, soft, and fragrant."
"Aqi is so nice, obedient and steady. Don't be so ungrateful for what you have."
"Is Aqi here too?" Xiao Yao, who had heard the conversation between the two in a daze, woke up from Tong Mingyu's arms, rubbed her eyes, yawned, and asked in a lazy and soft voice as if she had just woken up.
"Your fifth brother and sixth brother went to school today." It was obvious that the daughter was not fully awake yet.
Tong Mingyu responded to her daughter's words while skillfully tidying her daughter's hair and clothes with her hands. She also took out a plate of snacks from the food box she brought and poured out half a cup of milk.
"Has the vegetarian meal started? Why didn't anyone call me?" Perhaps it was the smell of snacks and milk that made Xiao Yuan sit up suddenly, looking around with shining eyes.
"If I had known that a plate of snacks would wake you up, why would I have worried about it for so long!" Li Jiaoying regretted it deeply.
Unable to find any so-called vegetarian food, Xiao Yuan reluctantly ate most of the dim sum on the plate, then retreated back into Li Jiaoying's arms, saying aggrievedly, "In order to pray for Fourth Uncle, I haven't eaten properly for a few days. I must make up for it at noon today. Grandfather said I was losing weight yesterday."
"Okay, let's make up for it." Tong Mingyu agreed readily.
Li Jiaoying opened her mouth several times and finally closed it, then nodded woodenly. She believed what Xiao Yuan said was not a lie, because the only person who could see his granddaughter of such a body shape and still think she was too thin was her father-in-law.
As they were talking and laughing, the carriage stopped.
After standing firmly, Xiao Yao looked up and saw a mountain covered with green pines and cypresses in front of her, with winding stone steps not far away.
According to past practice, female family members could ride in sedan chairs up the mountain, but today, in order to pray for her youngest son and to express her sincerity, Qin refused the proposal.
The elders didn't ride in sedan chairs, so the rest of the people had to walk. Fortunately, the temple was halfway up the mountain, not at the top.
"Ping'an and Ruyi are still young. You two brothers should carry them up the mountain." Qin turned around and said to Xiao Jingtai and Xiao Jingyan, who were responsible for the escort mission today.
Xiao Jingyan quickly stepped forward and picked up Xiao Yao, leaving his little niece Xiao Yuan to his second brother.
"Second uncle, Ruyi likes being held by you the most. Do you like it?" Xiao Yuan, who was still in high spirits and didn't feel at all that he had just been rejected, shouted happily.
"Don't you feel ashamed?" Xiao Jingtai looked at his brother with disdain and asked, how important can a child be, and he's someone else's uncle!
"Second brother has a steady hand and is stronger than me. I only did this for Ruyi's sake."
Quibbling, everyone except Qin and Xiao Yuan thought of it at the same time.
"Second uncle also likes Ruyi. Let's go up the mountain." Xiao Jingtai easily picked up his little niece and walked at the front of the team.
"Excuse me, please stop." A man dressed as a guard stopped Xiao Jingtai and his group.
Xiao Yao looked at the man's attire and thought to herself that anyone who dared to openly stop her second uncle must not be an ordinary official's servant. Could it be that a big shot had come to Biyun Temple? She didn't know whether she could burn incense today.
"Sir, we are here to burn incense and pray for blessings. Could you please make an exception?" Qin spoke before Tong Mingyu. If everything went smoothly today, she would feel much more at ease about her son's journey. If something unexpected happened, she would be upset for a long time, thinking that it was not a good sign and would become uneasy.
"I'm sorry, you should go to another temple. Biyun Temple is not convenient to receive outsiders today." Seeing that the Xiao family members were not like ordinary people, the guard spoke in a more polite tone.
"Excuse me, which family are you guards from?" Xiao Jingtai asked.
"us……"
"Excuse me, are you General Xiao's family members?" Qiu Ying, who happened to be out to get something for Princess Jing, saw from afar a group of people talking with the guards of the palace, and she seemed to have seen some of them before.
As she approached the crowd and saw the little girl in Xiao Jingyan's arms, she became more and more certain that she was not mistaken.
"You are from Prince Jing's mansion." Tong Mingyu also recognized Hanying. She was the maid who always accompanied Princess Jing. She had seen her at the Yuan family banquet. So, the noble person in the temple at this time must be Princess Jing.
"Is Princess Jing in the temple?" Qin was a little discouraged. If it was someone else, she could still ask for help, but she had no right to make requests in front of the princess.
"It's our princess and the prince. Please wait a moment, let me go in and report it." Qiuying is just a maid and has no right to let anyone into the temple at will. If it were any other family, she would definitely not meddle in this matter, but the Xiao family has a deep connection with the royal palace. I believe that if the princess knew that they were members of the Xiao family, she would definitely let them into the Biyun Temple.
"Thank you." Tong Mingyu said politely. If her mother-in-law couldn't burn incense today, she would inevitably be depressed and sad. For the sake of her health, she had to ask the maid to help pass on the message. She didn't dare to say whether it would be successful or not.
After a while, Qiu Ying came back with a smile on her face, ordered the guards to withdraw, and warmly welcomed the women of the Xiao family into the temple.
Xiao Jingtai and Xiao Jingyan definitely could not enter Biyun Temple, so they had to return the same way and planned to pick up their family in the afternoon.
"Our princess has asked you two gentlemen to go back on your own. The Xiao family's female relatives will be sent back by the palace after offering incense."
"I would like to thank the princess on behalf of my family." Xiao Jingtai said respectfully.
"Master Xiao, you're welcome." After a pause, she continued, "Princess, please invite all the female members of the Xiao family into the main hall."
Qin thanked Qiuying and walked inside first, not caring that her youngest son had not gone far, as if she would be refused entry if she was a step late.
Xiao Yao once again deeply admired Qin. Motherly love is truly great. For the sake of her son, the grandmother could beg softly; for the sake of her son, even though the grandmother was not good at socializing, she had no intention of backing down even though she knew that the other party was the princess.
All of this is just out of pure love for my son!
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