Meanwhile, Yan Ling was awkwardly trying to make conversation.
"Look at you, you woman, how ruthless you were! My face is all swollen."
Madam Yan: "Serves you right! I've finally seen through you; you're not even as good as an outsider."
What's wrong with me?
"The Princess Consort has devoted herself to Niuniu, but what about you, her biological father?"
Yan Ling: "Well, I'm not a doctor either!"
"Whether you're a doctor or not, you have no heart!"
Yan Ling: "Look at you, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't get treatment!"
Madam Yan took a deep breath, stopping herself from speaking again.
If she kept talking, Yan Ling fine, but she herself would be furious.
Accept reality, he's just a rough guy.
Yan Ling muttered, "I wonder if Her Highness the Princess is just putting on an act when she's treating Niuniu..."
Madam Yan was furious. "The Princess Consort is putting on airs? Who do you think you are! Are you so useful that even the Princess Consort has to curry favor with you?"
"That's hard to say, I..."
"Pah!" Madam Yan spat at him. "I think you're just like that toad by the pond, thinking you can fly just by blowing a breath."
Yan Ling ordered, "I am, after all, a second-rank official..."
"Isn't Lord Tang a first-rank official? And the Prince is a super-rank official! Look how they treat their children!"
Madam Yan herself felt no grievance whatsoever.
She's a feisty woman; she's marrying a successful man, which she admits is a step up for her.
But she felt sorry for Niuniu.
She, Niuniu, clearly accumulated merits and was born into the family of a high-ranking official, but her own father didn't care about her at all.
"I'm telling you this Yan Ling: it's best if Niuniu is alright, otherwise I'll hate you for the rest of my life!"
Yan Ling sighed deeply, slumped down, and after a long while said, "It'll be alright."
Tang Zhuyun slept for only an hour before being called over by her maid.
The Prince of Jin naturally accompanied him.
Niuniu's fever returned.
Tang Zhuyun unleashed another flurry of powerful moves.
Madam Yan was extremely anxious. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."
This was her only lifeline.
Tang Zhuyun said, "The situation isn't very optimistic, so I'll stay here and keep an eye on you."
Madam Yan could only nod.
Tang Zhuyun stayed, Yan Ling felt embarrassed to stay in the room any longer, so he went outside and stood on the porch.
The Prince of Jin also went out.
Yan Ling stroked the vermilion pillars, gritting his teeth as he said, "I, Old Yan, am grateful for what happened today!"
Although he didn't want to get on the Prince of Prince of Jin's ship, he accepted it because his daughter had been rescued.
That's probably fate.
The King of Prince of Jin scoffed, "Do I care?"
Yan Ling: "... Your Highness, Your Highness's Consort, haven't they ever advised you to restrain yourself? Sometimes when I do something wrong, even the Consort advises me."
This guy is too arrogant.
Prince of Jin: "So you can't distinguish right from wrong. How many sons has your wife raised?"
He's perfectly fine, so he doesn't need anyone's advice.
Yan Ling was rendered speechless by the rebuttal.
Well, so this is the kind of Prince of Jin you are. No wonder everyone hates you.
Should!
They've really messed with me!
Just then, Xiu'er arrived, supported by two maids, with four other maids behind her carrying toiletries.
She bowed to the Prince of Jin and said, "Your Highness, is the Empress here?"
The Prince of Jin grunted in agreement and said, "Be careful."
If the child doesn't turn out well, I'll be letting down Nanny Jing and Song Jingyang.
Xiu'er said, "I heard you didn't sleep much last night? Why didn't you send someone to call me?"
The Prince of Jin found her too noisy. "Go back and take good care of yourself; the child is the priority."
Yan Ling guessed that Xiu'er was the pregnant concubine of the Prince of Jin, and immediately held his head high.
He is not allowed to take a concubine!
He won.
Then Xiu'er said, "I'll be careful and won't let Song Jingyang worry."
Oh? So she's Song Jingyang's wife?
You guessed wrong.
Tang Zhuyun heard Xiu'er's voice and scolded, "Who told you to run around like that? Didn't I tell you not to go out on a snowy day? Did you eat the bird's nest on an empty stomach this morning? Are you feeling unwell?"
Xiu'er said, "It's alright, I'm practically a prisoner anyway. I didn't even eat the bird's nest, let's not waste it. Just thinking about it being swallow saliva makes me nauseous."
Tang Zhuyun: "... If you don't want to eat it, that's fine. You can eat some sea cucumber later."
"It's fishy, I don't have that kind of appetite. You should eat whatever you're supposed to eat."
She stepped forward, and two maids held her tightly, not daring to let go.
She was wearing a fine gray squirrel fur coat. Yan Ling Yan Ling that Madam Yan also coveted other people's fur coats, but said they cost several tens of taels of silver each and couldn't bear to part with them.
Yan Ling her to buy it then, it's not like she couldn't afford it.
Thinking about it now, it seems she never actually wore it.
Not to mention that when they had three sons, they lived in the countryside and the conditions were not good; even when Niuniu was born, they were already in the capital. Madam Yan had never eaten things like bird's nest, shark fin, sea cucumber, and abalone, and Xiu'er didn't even bother with them.
Song Jingyang was a second-rank official, but he was still a full second-rank official!
Yan Ling felt a pang of sadness.
He knew he couldn't compare.
Others have accumulated wealth over generations, but he started from humble beginnings. He has come this far by doing everything in his power and has taken full advantage of favorable timing, location, and people.
He thought he had given Madam Yan an imperial title, but he never imagined that his own family's circumstances were far inferior to those of other officials.
Madam Yan was looked down upon when she was a widow, and she is still looked down upon now.
From this perspective, when has she ever had a good life?
Tang Zhuyun led Xiu'er inside and greeted Madam Yan to wash and dress.
Yan Ling overheard Madam Yan inside saying, with a mixture of restraint and envy, "The soap Her Majesty used to wash her hands still smells so good."
Tang Zhuyun smiled and said, "I made them all myself. If you like them, I'll give you a couple later."
Xiu'er said, "It's true that you made the things yourself, but you didn't mention how much stuff you used or how much rose water you poured in."
Madam Yan was stunned. "Rose water? Doesn't that cost several tens of taels of silver a bottle?"
Tang Zhuyun said, "I did it myself, it's not worth much."
"But if you go out to sell them, they'll be hard to find even for a fortune," Xiu'er said.
It's okay to give things away, but it's okay if the recipient doesn't know their value.
Yan Ling was provoked again.
He had just been thinking that he would buy Madam Yan a decent fur coat no matter what when he got back, but now he realized that he couldn't compete with her in this regard.
Their extravagance is everywhere; you can't catch up to it.
The Prince of Jin was summoned outside, presumably to attend to some business, leaving Yan Ling alone in the courtyard, staring blankly in the cold wind.
"Mother is here!" A clear, crisp voice came from outside; it was Yanran.
The maid explained to her that there were guests in the courtyard and Tang Zhuyun was busy.
Yanran said, "Then I'll go inside and wait for Mother."
Yan Ling looked over and saw a little girl wearing a gold necklace inlaid with five-colored gemstones, being surrounded by people as she entered. She had red lips and white teeth, and was charming and Lovely.
She also saw Yan Ling and was tilting her head to look him over.
Suddenly, a tiger leaped in.
Yan Ling was startled and instinctively cried out, "Be careful!"
At his shout, Madam Yan also lifted her skirt and ran out.
The couple were terrified when they saw the tiger.