Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1100 My Belly

For a moment, the atmosphere became eerie. Princess Xinlan, who had seen so many strange and unsavory characters, was still somewhat taken aback by the true colors of the second branch of the Su family.

"How can an official's daughter be made a slave? Although Lord Su is only a seventh-rank official, an official is still an official. Madam Su, you should think this through carefully. You absolutely cannot send your own daughter to my side as a slave!"

Madam Su's face stiffened. "No, no, I must have misunderstood. The princess has misunderstood." She coughed lightly. "I didn't mean to serve like a servant, I meant... to serve like a daughter-in-law..."

After she finished speaking, she frantically winked at Old Madam Su, who quickly said, "Yes, that's right. We were thinking that Xing'er is going to enter the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince and Young Master Gu are cousins, and Xing'er and Yue'er are cousins. The eldest branch of the family and the Gu family have also become godparents. If they can become even closer through marriage, wouldn't their relationship be even stronger? Our Su family will definitely support the Crown Prince wholeheartedly in the future!"

Madam Su frowned, Su Xing narrowed her eyes, and Princess Xinlan looked displeased.

“Sister-in-law, the Gu family is a first-rank military marquis family, and the Gu family is backed by the Ningyuan Marquis’s Mansion. Where do you get the confidence to think that the Gu family would look at your daughter?” After she finished speaking, she said to Princess Xinlan apologetically, “Princess, please don’t be angry. My sister-in-law sometimes just likes to talk nonsense.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Su was very displeased: "If your Su Xing can become the Crown Prince's concubine, why can't my Yue'er become the daughter-in-law of the General's Mansion? Your family has no official rank, but my husband is an official!"

"Your seventh-rank official position is just a sinecure; don't think it's anything special." Madam Su bluntly showed no respect and lowered her voice.

The old lady Su's previous kindness vanished, and she spoke sternly to the eldest daughter-in-law, "Eldest daughter-in-law, this is wrong of you. A family should help each other. How can you undermine each other like this? Besides, your eldest branch has secured a good marriage. It's only right and proper that you help the second branch. Furthermore, the princess is right here. How can you two argue like this and make the Su family look bad?"

Now that Princess Xinlan has been brought up, there's no reason for her not to give a response. She looked Su Yue up and down. To be honest, her appearance was above average, but the scheming in her was obvious from 800 meters away.

"The number of women in the capital who want to form a marriage alliance with my Gu family could probably stretch from the North Gate all the way to the South Gate, so it's not surprising that Madam Su has this idea. However... it's really unfortunate that my Feng Yang is already engaged."

The second branch of the Su family was taken aback. They hadn't heard any news from outside. Perhaps it was just an excuse from Princess Xinlan.

Su Xing and Madam Su also looked at Princess Xinlan with suspicion.

Princess Xinlan smiled and said, "We have already exchanged birth charts. We are just waiting for the Imperial Observatory to match our horoscopes before the marriage can be arranged."

Madam Su the Second and Madam Su the Old Madam exchanged a quick glance: "Hey, we know that our Su family is not of high social standing after all. Being the young mistress of the General's Mansion is indeed a step below. However... being a concubine instead of the principal wife is also acceptable."

?

Xinlan was completely bewildered. Was this some kind of unavoidable attempt to force her into the Gu family?

She raised an eyebrow: "I'm afraid that's not a good idea. First of all, our Gu family does not take concubines, this is the family rule of the General's Mansion. Secondly, I would never wrong Miss Su to become a concubine in my Gu family! Madam Su, please don't joke around. I've been laughing so hard today that my stomach hurts."

Princess Xinlan refused firmly, leaving no room for negotiation. The Su family had truly lost both money and face during this trip, and could only slink away in disgrace.

Once everyone left, the Su family mother and daughter breathed a sigh of relief. Madam Su hurriedly said to Princess Xinlan apologetically, "I'm so sorry to have made you laugh at me today, Princess."

Xinlan smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just came to see Su Xing and maybe watch a good show. But it must have been tough for you to live with a family like that for so many years. You must have been disgusted by it quite a bit, right?"

Once Madam Su started talking, she recounted the upsetting things that had happened to her in the past.

"Enough, let's not talk about it anymore. The bad things are all in the past, and our lives will only get better and better. The princess will soon have a daughter-in-law, and she will surely be surrounded by good fortune and always smiling."

Princess Xinlan smiled gently: "It was also Feng Yang who stumbled upon this marriage."

Seeing the Su mother and daughter's curiosity, she added a few more words: "I took him to see potential partners before, but he didn't like any of them. The day the martial arts exam results were announced, he bumped into someone's carriage. This bump, however, led to me finding a daughter-in-law. Can you guess whose?"

Su Xing and her mother knew only a handful of high-ranking officials and dignitaries in the capital. The princess's question suggests that the girl was someone the mother and daughter knew.

But no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't remember anyone.

"It's Duan Mengting, the second daughter of the Duan family!"

Su Xing was taken aback. Was it really from the Duan family?

The elder sister is the Crown Princess, and the younger sister is the eldest daughter-in-law of the General's Mansion. This family is extraordinary!

Princess Xinlan didn't stay long and soon returned to her residence. The Su family mother and daughter escorted her to the door and only returned after the carriage had left. Su's mother held Su Xing's hand: "I saw what happened just now. Were you a little embarrassed?"

Knowing she couldn't hide it from her mother, Su Xing could only say, "Indeed, the Duan sisters will be involved with me in the future, and we'll see each other all the time, which is a bit embarrassing."

Mother Su sighed, "When I first learned of your feelings, I advised you that it's difficult to enter high-ranking families, and even more difficult to enter the palace. But you only have eyes for the Crown Prince, and I couldn't persuade you otherwise. Fortunately, I've heard that Miss Duan is of pure character. As long as you serve her well, she probably won't make things difficult for you. Besides, if the marriage between Second Miss Duan and Young Master Gu goes through, you'll be Gu's goddaughter after all, so First Miss Duan is even less likely to make things difficult for you."

Su Xing wasn't afraid of being made difficult, but she was troubled by a sense of inferiority. Becoming the Crown Prince's concubine was a path she had chosen herself, and since she had made the choice, she had to walk it. Fortunately, the Crown Prince treated her with genuine affection, and with that affection, the journey shouldn't be too difficult.

Having met with setbacks, it seemed as if all luck had turned away from them. After another six months of hardship, they finally settled on Su Yue's marriage to the second son of a fifth-rank official. On the day of the engagement, the procession delivering the betrothal gifts was blocked at the street corner and could not pass. Upon inquiring, they learned that it was the Crown Prince's wedding, and martial law had been imposed in advance.

"The Duan family's dowry is really huge, it's piled up and there's no end to it."

"The reward is generous too. Look, I picked up a whole string of coins today!"

"The wedding cakes are delicious. I have never eaten such delicious wedding cakes before. I heard that they were specially prepared by Xiangmanyuan for the Crown Prince's wedding."

"I only had the privilege of witnessing this grand occasion once a few years ago when Prince Jin got married. Tsk tsk tsk, the royal family really goes all out when they marry off their sons."

"Look, look, the wedding sedan chair is here! Isn't that the Crown Prince riding that tall horse? He's so handsome!"

"Wow wow wow wow..." Wherever He Yucheng went, he caused the people to gasp in amazement. Especially the young girls, who were completely unable to remain calm, as if they had seen their dream lover.

He Yucheng's face was cold and stern. He had visited Su Xing yesterday, and today was their wedding day. Su Xing was probably hiding somewhere, shedding tears.

He sighed silently. If he couldn't give Su Xing the position of his principal wife, he could only make up for it in other ways.