During the New Year, several groups of female guests came to visit Jiang Wanru. Each time the guests arrived, they were accompanied by someone from the queen's side. They curiously came to visit Jiang Wanru with laughter and chatter, but soon left with even more laughter and noise. As the host, Jiang Wanru was very thoughtful, making each guest feel at home and chatting with them warmly.
Years later, both the old queen and the queen finally had the leisure to sit together. The old queen asked the queen, "That foolish woman who welcomed him at the door, did she lose face this time?" When Lian Hua was born, his body was weaker than that of his two older brothers. In order for him to grow up well, the old queen listened to the words of the elderly and personally gave him a nickname called 'Little Wooden Head', personally taking care of him for three years, treating this grandson more intimately than her own son.
The queen glanced at the old queen's expression, and it must be said that among all the people in the palace, the one who was most dissatisfied with Lianhao's marriage was the old queen. When Lianhao was young, after his two older brothers had their marriages arranged, the queen would carefully inquire about the news of eligible women from various families. Each time she found someone she liked, she would return and discuss the situation of these women with the old queen. The old queen would then find an excuse to go see those young women, and afterwards, she could always find something unsuitable about them for her own grandson.
Year after year, when it was finally time for Lianhao to get engaged, he had his own ideas. He couldn't refuse his parents' arrangements, so he thought of a way to persuade the old queen dowager to agree to let him choose his own wife. The old queen dowager pitied this child she had raised with her own hands and listened to his words. She told the king and queen: "The two older brothers of Xiao Mu have already accepted your arrangements and welcomed virtuous wives. He has been spoiled by you both and is impossible to control, so just let him be for a few years. Otherwise, when he gets married, he will make a big fuss and the whole family will not be at peace."
The king and queen listened to the old queen's words, thinking that the one who truly doted on their children was standing in front of them. However, she was now attributing this matter to her son and daughter-in-law. The king had always been filial to his mother, so upon hearing the old queen's words, he thought about how young his youngest son still was and that there was still time to choose a suitable partner for him. He glanced at the queen who was worried about their youngest son's marriage and could only try to mediate, saying: "Son, listen to Mother's words, let's not rush into deciding on Little Wooden Head's marriage. Let his mother carefully help him select a woman that Mother also finds acceptable."
The queen listened to the king's words, feeling suffocated in her heart. Over the years of marriage with the king, their relationship had been through thick and thin, and every time the old queen stood by her side, helping her speak up. The queen thus had a deep respect for the old queen from the bottom of her heart. For many years, major events in the mansion were always discussed with the old queen before making decisions. Unfortunately, when it came to Lianhao's marriage, the old queen never once stood on the queen's side. She was stubbornly protective of her grandson, refusing to budge or yield an inch.
Lian Hao was more lively than his two older brothers when he was young, and his sweet words won the affection of everyone in the family. Whenever he got into trouble outside, he would secretly find his brothers to help him settle it. His brothers knew that Wang Ye was a strict person and couldn't bear for their younger brother to return home and be punished, so they would think of ways to quietly smooth things over on his behalf, which made Lian Hao more and more arrogant by the day. The three brothers were born to the same parents, with the title of heir already decided from an early age, yet they were closer than usual for a family of high social status.
Lian Hao has been surrounded by women since he was young, and the people in the palace were initially worried that he would be indulgent in women when he grew up. The queen arranged for him to have two gentle concubines at the age of 13, hoping to keep him from being too reckless outside before getting married. However, Lian Hao has been indifferent to women since childhood and always shows a kind of disdain towards them. In his words: "Except for my two sisters-in-law, all the other women who see me have eyes that shine with malice."
The two young masters, Lian Ang and Lian Xuan, found their younger brother's words amusing, but also thought he was a freak. They believed that the girls who dared to cling to Lian Hua were each beautiful in their own way. Only their younger brother thought those girls were all flawed. Lian Xuan laughed and said to his older brother, "With a personality like wood, I don't know which girl can catch his eye." Lian Ang knew that their mother, the queen, had put her heart into arranging Lian Hua's marriage, so he shook his head lightly and said, "We'll help him speak up in front of Mother, but we shouldn't let everything go smoothly for him. Especially not this matter, it can't be as he wishes."
Lian Hao had a childhood friendship with Princess Ya Zheng, who always kept a distance from him, but this won Lian Hao's approval and he thought she was a rare good woman. When Princess Ya Zheng hinted to him that she wanted to marry into the Lian family, Lian Hao's disappointment in women reached its peak, and he ran to tell Lian Ang: "Big brother, why did Ya Zheng deceive me? She always said we were close friends." Lian Ang looked at his handsome younger brother and thought about Princess Ya Zheng's advancing age, somewhat understanding her intentions.
Yazheng's feelings for Lianhao may not be entirely genuine, as the two have grown up together since childhood and it would be a lie to say they don't have any feelings for each other. However, Lian'ang and Lianxuan had observed their private interactions and both concluded that 'the relationship between these two is more like siblings than good friends.' Yazheng's main affection was actually towards Lianhao, but it wouldn't be until the engagement age that he would take action.
The people in the palace understood the helplessness of Princess Yajing. Her mother had passed away early, and her closest brother was the emperor. The emperor was the busiest person in the world and also the most rational brother. As soon as Xiang learned about it, he immediately thought through all aspects of the reaction in his mind, while still having to comfort his younger brother: "This marriage will not happen. Neither the emperor nor our palace will agree." He coaxed away his angry little brother and immediately reported the situation to the king.
Unfortunately, the people in the Wang Mansion reacted quickly, and the people from various prominent families also followed suit. When the princess hinted at proposing a marriage to the family that had previously shown interest, they changed their tune and laughed, saying "Our daughter's engagement has already been arranged, it just hasn't been announced yet." One family after another reacted in this way, and all the families that had previously come forward wanting to arrange a marriage suddenly changed their minds. The people in the Wang Mansion were left at a loss, and Jiang Wanru emerged under the subtle suggestion of those with ulterior motives.
At this time, the royal family was already quite helpless about Lian Hua's marriage. However, no one wanted to wrong Lian Hua. Upon hearing the news, Lian Hua nodded in agreement with the arranged marriage and said: "It's my own fault for being careless and bringing about this disaster. I don't want to drag down the whole family because of me. Since the Jiang family is willing to agree under these conditions, I'm willing too. She's a fool, which is best; she can be obedient for three years. In the future, after I let her go, I'll take care of her life and won't let her live in hardship."
Lian Ang pulled him to the side, speaking in a low voice, "Mu Tong, this matter is not as simple as you think. You two must become real husband and wife, only then can we avoid those prying eyes." Lian Hao nodded after hearing this, "Big brother, I understand. That night, I closed my eyes and went through with it, it should be fine." Lian Ang knew that once he made up his mind, he would never back down. He let out a soft sigh and said, "You go comfort Grandmother yourself."
The queen now faces the old queen, thinking of her previous obstruction of Lianhao's marriage, with unspeakable emotions in her heart. After the engagement was settled, the old queen did not resist the marriage under Lianhao's comfort, but rather acquiesced to it. On the second day after Jiang Wanyu's wedding, when she paid respects to her elders by serving tea, the old queen looked at her ordinary appearance and felt extremely disappointed. Fortunately, Jiang Wanyu behaved properly that day, which slightly comforted her.
The old queen stared at the queen for a moment without responding, her face cold. "That woman really doesn't understand things, she's been married into our family for so long, but has never come to pay her respects. It wasn't until New Year's that I was able to see her once, following behind the second young master. No wonder Xiao Mu Tou has always disliked her, such a foolish person, my Xiao Mu Tou has been wronged. Hmph, it's all because of Princess Ya Zheng, the emperor treats her well and has promised her a good marriage. I heard that before and after New Year's, she went to see that foolish woman twice, saying they chatted happily?"
The princess smiled and nodded, "Yes, I heard from Ang's daughter-in-law that the princess came in a huff but left with a smile. Before leaving, she even praised her as a sincere person. During the New Year, several female guests wanted to visit her, and I couldn't openly stop them, so I had to let the clever steward accompany them. The steward returned and said that she was interesting to talk to and willing to praise others. Those female guests all said 'she's not stupid' when they left. They were Jiang family servants who used to speak nonsense outside."
The princess would not mention Jiang Wan's visit to the old princess, she had already heard it from her eldest daughter-in-law, who said "I was born not to be liked by my elders, I don't want to make them uncomfortable, it's really embarrassing to go and pay respects." She listened to this and saw sympathy in her eldest daughter-in-law's eyes. The princess was a woman, of course she understood that marriage is a big deal for women, no matter what the reason, this marriage had also wronged Jiang Wan. When she first met her husband's family, the people in the palace did not give her any gifts as a new bride because of her reputation as a fool, and in this regard, it was indeed the fault of the palace.
The queen understood the old queen's thoughts, and she also felt sorry for her son. Now that Ya Zheng Gong was going to be married far away, the woman still had more than two years to stay in the palace, and she didn't want to get close to everyone. The queen thought it was understandable. The queen thought that the woman handled things quite thoroughly and politely, and when there were big events in the palace, when she needed to show up, each time she could behave elegantly and appropriately, really not like the rumored stupid young lady.
She heard that the person who inquired about the news said, 'Except for Lianzi Mo teaching her to recognize characters, she was particularly distant from the Jiang family and had no close relatives. The biggest difference between this woman and other women is that she loves to wear linen clothes and wander alone on the street.' After listening, the queen felt a bit sour in her heart, thinking that if such a grown woman were not entering the Lian King's mansion, the Jiang family would not treat her well in terms of marriage. Thinking of this point, the queen felt more at ease.
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