"Are you worried about me?" Prince of Jin's eyes shone even brighter, his dark pupils reflecting Tang Zhuyun's image, filled with joy.
Tang Zhuyun: "... Your Highness, shall we talk about serious matters?"
How can this person be so love-struck!
Luckily, I never got close to women before; otherwise, if I had fallen for someone, my remaining intelligence would have made it really hard to survive until now.
In short, she felt she had lowered the Prince of Prince of Jin's IQ.
A femme fatale?
The Prince of Jin asked, "What do you think?"
Tang Zhuyun: "How could anything I think be more important than your future?"
The Prince of Jin said, "I think the Xue Family is quite noisy, with too many men, especially that Xue Lie, who is not likable. But the Xue Family should be sincere towards you, after all, they are blood relatives, and they also want to make up for their mistakes back then through you."
Tang Zhuyun sighed inwardly. See? Anyone with eyes can see that the Xue Family was also confused back then.
"A-Yun, it's better to have more people who like you and protect you than more enemies."
"Of course I know. But..."
"If my future depends on your sacrifice, how dare you sit here?"
Tang Zhuyun: Actually, sitting here and tending the fire isn't difficult at all; it's more than enough for you.
Even if you're joking in your heart, it would be a lie to say you're not moved.
She thought about it for half the night, and realized that the Prince of Jin had already planned it.
Despite the fact that the Prince of Jin had such a strong desire to become emperor, he was still able to think about the issue from his own perspective.
Few people can do that, she has to admit.
"Your Highness, do you have a way to break this deadlock?"
You still care about me.
Tang Zhuyun: There's no hope for people who are obsessed with love.
"Your Highness, I have important business to discuss with you."
Xue Lie.
"Um?"
"The Xue Family may like you, but they may not like me," said Prince of Jin. "Especially if I'm not mistaken, the Xue Family will strongly oppose our marriage and might even consider arranging another marriage for you."
Tang Zhuyun's eyes widened.
Is it really that exaggerated?
But thinking about Xue Lie, that younger brother's fiery temper is really something.
"I'm not exactly known for my good temper either. Anyone who dares to break us up, I'll smash their head in!"
Tang Zhuyun: What are you looking at me for? Are you going to smash my head in?
I didn't object, did I? I was just internally grumbling, being a total coward!
"Oh dear, the noodles are too sticky." Tang Zhuyun quickly scooped them out.
After the meal, Prince of Jin had Tang Mingfan moved to his side, then came over with a self-righteous air, saying that Tang Baixin the only adult man left in the house, which was obviously not enough, and he had to help take care of others.
Tang Zhuyun thought to herself, "You're going to take care of things? Then everyone will suffer from indigestion."
Besides, didn't you come here to help? Now you're sitting so stiffly, staring at me like some big shot, how creepy!
As the sun climbed higher, Xiu'er grew impatient and came in to complain, "Your Highness, do you think the people from the Duke Meng's Residence are coming or not? They're my maternal relatives; aren't they the most important guests at the third-day celebration?"
She's been craning her Zidu, but they still haven't come.
The Prince of Jin said, "They won't dare come until the Duke Meng returns from court and delivers his message."
They only dared to come after they had heard clearly what had happened last night in the imperial court and knew that the Xue Family did not want to cause trouble.
Tang Zhuyun: We lost. We lost.
Although I didn't lose much, it was still a bit frustrating.
That Duke Meng is such a spineless opportunist!
Tang Zhuyun ushered Prince of Jin into the courtyard to watch over the two children and the tiger, then went inside to talk to Meng Yulan.
Meng Yulan remained calm—without expectations, how could there be any harm?
"They will come. A-Yun, you need to act like a princess. Some people, if you're nice to them, they'll think you're weak and easy to bully. If you're unapproachable, they'll desperately try to curry favor with you."
"Okay, sister-in-law, as long as you're not feeling unwell."
"I've already suffered enough. My heart is dead to them." Meng Yulan gently patted Sister Yuan in her arms, her expression calm.
"Your Majesty, the Old Madam of the Xue Family has arrived with the First Madam, Second Madam, Third Madam, Third Uncle, and three grandmothers!"
Tang Zhuyun:... It's a real loss of talent that they didn't go and recite the names of the dishes.
She hurried out to greet them.
Old Madam Xue held onto her arm tightly, her hands trembling as she touched her face, tears welling up in her eyes again.
"Don't cry, Madam. Your eyes are so sore; you can't keep crying. Today is Sister Yuan's third-day celebration; it's a good day. Let's not cry," Tang Zhuyun comforted her.
Meng Yulan shouldn't have gotten up, but she still came out to greet them, displaying grace and poise, which won the unanimous praise of the Xue Family family.
However, everyone advised her to go back and rest, as it would be difficult to recover if she developed an illness during her postpartum period.
Old Madam Xue, "Baixin, go back and rest well. We're not harsh on our daughters-in-law; taking care of your health is the most important thing. Leave the child here so that those of us who haven't even seen our daughter can cherish her dearly."
This is absolutely sincere; you can tell from the generous gifts they brought to Sister Yuan.
The Xue Family really needs a daughter!
Tang Zhuyun joked, "May all my sisters-in-law share in this joy; I'll give you a great-granddaughter when we get back."
Only then did Old Madam Xue reveal a slight smile, saying with no small amount of pride, "You'll see later that the strength of our Xue Family lies in our unity and the absence of any ulterior motives. Every daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law is the best."
Tang Zhuyun flattered her, but couldn't help thinking to herself, "Judging from her tone, she's going to bring her older brother and Zidu back to the Xue Family!"
In the courtyard, Yanran was speaking softly to Prince of Jin.
"Father, none of them prepared a gift for me."
The Prince of Jin patted her head. "I'll prepare lots and lots for you later."
"No," Yanran said, "I don't care about any gifts, I have everything. I'm just wondering, do they mean they don't want to acknowledge your marriage to Mother?"
The Prince of Jin was deeply hurt and was speechless for a moment.
That is indeed the case.
Old Madam Xue and the others must have done this on purpose, trying to make things difficult for him.
All of this was within his expectations.
There are no difficult things, only brave princes!
The Prince of Jin asked, "If that were the case, would you agree?"
Yanran almost jumped up. "I disagree! My mother is my mother!"
"Are you afraid of their petty tricks?" the Prince of Jin deliberately provoked her.
Of course I'm not afraid.
So what are you going to do now?
Yanran thought for a moment, "I understand. Father, I'm going in!"
She would cling to her mother, and even if they disapproved, they had to put up with it.
Prince of Jin watched her retreating figure, he thought to himself, "My little darling is all warm and cozy now."
Yanran: "Jiaojiao, come in with me!"
Ignore her? Let's see if they can ignore the little tiger! Humph! Don't even think about taking her mother away!
Old Madam Xue was speaking to the men of the Xue Family: "I said today that they all wanted to come and join in the fun. It's wonderful that your father isn't home. They'll all come over after court."
Tang Zhuyun didn't dare to say a word in Tang Mingfan's defense.
This knot needs to be untied slowly.