Wuan General’s Mansion.
When the general's wife Sheng Qingluan learned that her sister was coming, she went to the gate of the mansion to greet her early in the morning.
Because her daughter's revenge was achieved, her husband and son also won a victory in the northern border and will be returning to the capital soon. She has been in a much more relaxed mood in recent days and has a smile on her face. In order to receive her sister, she dressed up and looked several years younger.
When Xie Nanjia got off the carriage, he immediately saw his mother waiting at the door. Seeing that his mother was in good condition, he was very happy. He quickly stepped forward and called her "Aunt", then held his mother's hand tightly and refused to let go.
The two had not seen each other since they separated from the Marquis' Mansion. Sheng Qingluan missed her very much, but because they were outside, she couldn't show it too much, so she held her hand instead, chatted with her softly, asked her if she was cold and if she was used to living in the Duke's Mansion.
Princess Jinping and Sheng Qingyun got out of the car right after them. Princess Jinping looked at the two people being so intimate and said, "Sister, you are really not shy. You are so friendly to your aunt when you meet her for the first time."
"That's right. If you don't know, you would think the second young lady is her biological daughter!" Caidie agreed with a smile.
The words were meant as a joke, but they were actually ridiculing. Sheng Qingyun's attention was entirely on his sister and daughter, so he didn't think about it in detail. He just smiled and explained, "Xiu'er has seen my aunt at the Marquis's Mansion. When my aunt celebrated her birthday, she also followed the young master to pay her respects. She also accompanied my aunt to the Fanyin Temple to burn incense. This is the fourth time they have met, so they are naturally familiar with each other."
"In that case, my aunt and I haven't seen each other often enough." Princess Jinping gave Caidie a warning look, walked up to Sheng Qingluan and bowed obediently, and also followed Xie Nanjia's example and held Sheng Qingluan's other hand.
Sheng Qingluan was not familiar with her, and she frowned instinctively. Although she did not break free, she looked her up and down with a scrutinizing eye.
Compared with Sheng Qingyun's simplicity and straightforwardness, the general's wife was obviously more intelligent and sharp, so when her eyes fell on her, Princess Jinping felt guilty for no reason as if she was seen through, and hurriedly lowered her eyelashes pretending to be shy.
"Our Jinping is meeting her aunt for the first time and is shy." Sheng Qingyun joked with a smile.
Sheng Qingluan then withdrew her gaze and led them into the mansion.
The second time Xie Nanjia returned home, she was in a much calmer mood than the last time. And because she could be close to her mother openly, the tone of her voice seemed especially light-hearted and casual.
Princess Jinping walked a short distance before she let go of Sheng Qingluan's hand on the pretext of looking at the scenery. She watched Xie Nanjia and the two ladies chatting and laughing from the sidelines with cold eyes. She felt like a servant girl and was unhappy.
When they sat down in the hall, Lvying came to serve tea again. Xie Nanjia took the tea and thanked her as usual: "Thank you, Sister Lvying."
Lu Ying was familiar with her, and he bowed and said, "You're welcome, Miss." The two smiled at each other, showing a tacit understanding.
Seeing this, Princess Jinping said sourly: "Sister is so comfortable at aunt's house, she seems like she was born to aunt."
Sheng Qingluan's heart moved slightly. She looked at Xie Nanjia, then at Sheng Qingyun, and sighed, "Aunt is not as lucky as your mother. She had two beautiful daughters all at once."
Sheng Qingyun was afraid that her sister would be sad again, so she hurriedly said, "My daughter is my sister's daughter. If my sister is willing, I will let the two girls recognize you as their mother and let them respect you well."
Sheng Qingluan smiled sadly and waved her hand, "How old are you? You still say such childish things. Jinping is already engaged to the prince, so don't cause trouble for her."
"That's true. The palace has many rules and taboos. It's better to have less trouble than more." Sheng Qingyun said helplessly.
Xie Nanjia suddenly had an idea and blurted out, "If my sister can't do it, there's still me. I get along very well with my aunt, so why not let my aunt adopt me as her adopted daughter? That way, I can have more maternal love."
“…” The hall fell into a brief silence.
Although it clearly sounded like a child's joke, Sheng Qingluan's heart began to beat wildly uncontrollably. Just now, when Sheng Qingyun said that he would give her both children as daughters, she did not take it seriously, but when Xie Nanjia took the initiative to propose it, she was immediately moved.
But she couldn't agree to this. If she agreed impatiently, it would seem like she was snatching her sister's daughter away. Her sister had finally recognized the child, so what right did she have to steal her away
Princess Jinping did not expect Xie Nanjia to suddenly make such a request. She was a little confused about her intention. She was already the daughter of a duke, so why did she want to be a lady of a general's mansion? She was too greedy, wasn't she
Sheng Qingyun didn't think so much, he just smiled and asked Xie Nanjia: "You already have two mothers, but it's not enough, you still want another mother's love, how much do you lack love?"
Xie Nanjia blinked and smiled sweetly, "Actually, I think it must be very impressive to have a father who is a general. This way I can walk sideways when I go out."
"Only crabs walk sideways!" Sheng Qingyun laughed so hard that his mouth couldn't close. "Girl, you've been making a fuss just to show off. Your father would be so sad to hear this. Doesn't the Duke have the prestige of a general?"
"A general has troops at his command, so he is naturally more powerful." Xie Nanjia told the truth.
Sheng Qingluan couldn't help laughing either.
For some reason, this girl could make her laugh with just any words she said.
Sheng Qingyun looked at her sister's heartfelt smile and agreed without hesitation: "Well, since you want to be powerful, mother will grant your wish. Stand up, kowtow to your aunt, offer her a cup of tea, and call her mother from now on!"
"Mother...are you serious?" Xie Nanjia was stunned. She had just given it a try and couldn't believe it would go so smoothly.
Sheng Qingluan also clenched her fists nervously.
"Of course it's true." Sheng Qingyun said, "Your aunt has a hard life. Since you are going to be her daughter, you must respect her as your own mother. Come and stay with her for a few days from time to time, relieve her worries and boredom, and enjoy her lap. You must visit her during the holidays and take care of her when she is sick. You must do everything a daughter should do. Can you do it?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I can, I can do it all." Xie Nanjia agreed hurriedly, fearing that her aunt would go back on her word. She immediately stood up and kowtowed three times to her mother, respectfully calling her "Mother". Luying brought her hot tea in time, and she took it and handed it to her mother with both hands.
Sheng Qingluan was unable to react for a moment and stood there in a daze, until Nanny Yao reminded her. She came to her senses, said "good girl", and tremblingly took the tea and took a sip.
Because of excitement, tears welled up in my eyes and the teacups clinked.
She immediately put down the teacup, bent down to help Xie Nanjia up, took off the pair of golden phoenix hairpins holding pearls on her head, put one of them on Xie Nanjia's head with her own hands, and gave the other one to Princess Jinping as a gift.
This recognition was like a dream, they became mother and daughter after just a few jokes. Except for the three people involved, everyone else was confused and had no idea what was going on.
Xie Nanjia held her mother's hands and felt unprecedented satisfaction.
Lu Ying and Nanny Yao were also smiling happily, happy for the Madam from the bottom of their hearts.
Since they had recognized each other as relatives, they had to celebrate properly. Sheng Qingluan immediately told Nanny Yao to go to the kitchen to arrange lunch.
Nanny Yao took the order and left. After a while, she came back with a strange expression on her face and looked at Sheng Qingluan, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.
"What happened?" Sheng Qingluan asked her.
Madam Yao replied, "The second son of the Dingyuan Marquis's residence has come with his youngest son to pay his respects."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. No wonder Aunt Yao had such a strange look on her face. It sounded strange that the Second Young Master Zhao, an uncle, brought his nephew to visit his brother's mother-in-law.
Only Xie Nanjia was not surprised at all, and couldn't help laughing.
Zhao Jingyu really put a lot of thought into coming to the general's mansion. When she thought that he did this purely to see her, she felt sweet in her heart. In addition, she hadn't seen her son for a long time, so the sweetness was mixed with an impatience.
"Now that you're here, please come in!" Sheng Qingluan didn't have a good impression of Zhao Jingyu before, but since she saw what Zhao Jingyu did to testify against Qin in the Marquis' Mansion that day, her impression of him has changed a lot.
Nanny Yao agreed and went out to invite Zhao Jingyu in.
After a while, Zhao Jingyu, dressed in red, strode in with the little master in her arms.
The young master was still in mourning for his grandmother. He wore a plain cotton coat and a goose yellow cloak with fur edges. He nestled in Zhao Jingyu's arms. The bright red color of his clothes made him look like a delicate jade, very adorable.
When Xie Nanjia saw her son, she almost lost control and ran over. Fortunately, she still had some rationality and forced herself to sit next to her mother without moving.
Zhao Jingyu walked closer, holding the child and greeting the two ladies, explaining, "I am free today, so I took my nephew out to see the world. I happened to pass by the general's mansion, so I wanted to let you take a look at the child. However, this is a bit abrupt, so I hope you can forgive me."
"Second Young Master is so thoughtful." When Sheng Qingluan saw her grandson, she no longer had time to think about anything else. She waved to him to hold the child.
Zhao Jingyu handed the child to her and took the opportunity to look at Xie Nanjia carefully. However, Xie Nanjia's full attention was on the child, and she didn't even glance at him.
Zhao Jingyu was very depressed.
It was the first time that Sheng Qingyun saw Xie Nanjia's child. She came over and talked to the child with her sister. Seeing that the child had a pair of almond-shaped eyes inherited from the Sheng family, she couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.
Lady Jinping had no interest in the child, but out of courtesy she went over to take a few glances at him, praising him for his good looks. She said that since the child looked like his mother, cousin Nan Jia must be very beautiful, but it was a pity that she had no chance to see her.
Xie Nanjia was disdainful in her heart and chuckled, "Didn't my sister often play with my cousin when she was a child? Don't you have any memory of her at all?"
Princess Jinping was most afraid of being asked about her past. Although she had memorized those lies by heart, she was always worried that she would say something wrong and be caught.
Therefore, when faced with Xie Nanjia's questions, she could only vaguely say that she had long forgotten it.
Unexpectedly, the young master recognized Xie Nanjia's voice, turned his head around to look for her, and when he finally recognized Xie Nanjia among several faces, he excitedly stretched out his hands to her, babbling and asking her to hold him.
Xie Nanjia felt both relieved and sad. She quickly took her son from his mother and held him tightly in her arms.
Zhao Jingyu finally had a chance to talk to Xie Nanjia, so he leaned over and said, "This kid has a good memory. Hualou said he's been looking for you every day these days!"
It would have been better if he didn't say it. Once he said it, Xie Nanjia felt even more sad. She wished she could keep her son and not let him return to the Marquis' Mansion.
The child couldn't stay in the house and always wanted to go outside to see new things, so Xie Nanjia took the opportunity to suggest taking him to the stable to see the horses.
Sheng Qingluan agreed and told Luying to follow them.
Xie Nanjia said that Luying still had to greet the guests, so Liusu and Biluo just had to follow.
Zhao Jingyu claimed that he was worried about his nephew and wanted to go with him. Sheng Qingluan thought that he and Xie Nanjia saw each other every day in the Marquis' Mansion and there was no need to be shy, so he agreed.
The two of them restrained themselves from talking much along the way. When they arrived at the stables and there was no one around, Xie Nanjia asked Liusu and Biluo to wait outside and asked Zhao Jingyu directly, "When are you going to propose marriage?"
Zhao Jingyu was startled and reached out to touch her forehead: "Are you okay?"
"Speak nicely and don't touch me." Xie Nanjia was afraid that others would see her, so she quickly dodged his hand.
Zhao Jingyu raised her eyebrows and jokingly said, "You are so eager to marry me, but you are still afraid that I will make a move. Should I say that you are unrestrained or reserved?"
Xie Nanjia: “…”
As she expected, Zhao Jingyu had already started making fun of her.
"I was just asking casually. If you don't want to mention it, forget it. It's not like I'm unmarried." She said with a stern face, trying to save face.
Zhao Jingyu didn't believe it and continued to tease her: "You don't have to worry about getting married, but you don't want to marry anyone except me, right?"
"..." Xie Nanjia was a little angry after her thoughts were exposed. "You are talking nonsense. Why do you think so?"
"Let him do it!" Zhao Jingyu smiled and took the child from her arms, holding the child's little hand and guiding him to touch the horse's nose.
Xie Nanjia's heart skipped a beat: "What do you mean?"
"You've tried so hard to marry back into the Marquis's Mansion, isn't it because you can't bear to part with this child?" Zhao Jingyu said casually.
Xie Nanjia panicked immediately and said guiltily, "Nonsense again, the child is not mine, why should I be reluctant to give it up?"
"Yes, the child is not yours, why are you reluctant to give it up?" Zhao Jingyu asked with a smile.
Xie Nanjia had a hunch that he must have discovered her secret, and she became increasingly flustered.
Zhao Jingyu gave her a meaningful look and said with a smile, "Okay, we finally meet, don't waste time on insignificant things. Remember, no matter what your reason is for wanting to marry me, I don't care, because I just want to be with you."
"..." Xie Nanjia was unable to digest the sudden confession for a while. She looked at him stupidly with her mouth open, blinking her eyes, like a little girl who had just fallen in love.
"Are you moved already?" Zhao Jingyu scratched her nose amusedly. "In that case, give me some advice. How can I propose marriage without getting kicked out?"
When it came to business, Xie Nanjia didn't care about being shy and said seriously, "Let me think about it and then I'll tell you."
Zhao Jingyu said: "It's not easy for me to see you, and I don't know when we will see each other again."
Xie Nanjia thought for a moment and said, "The day after tomorrow, General Wu'an will return to Beijing. I'll ask my brother to take me to the city gate to greet him. You can go find me there then!"
Zhao Jingyu got the confirmation and agreed with her on a meeting place the day after tomorrow. Since it was inconvenient to stay for long, he went back to say goodbye to the general's wife and returned to the marquis's mansion with the child.
After sending the child back to Sijinyuan and handing him over to Hualou personally, he returned to the west wing with satisfaction.
Seeing him coming back, Yiyun stepped forward and said, "Second Master, you are back. Young Master Cheng has been waiting for you for a long time."
"What are you waiting for me to do?" Zhao Jingyu took off his cloak and handed it to her, then he lifted the curtain and went into the room.
Cheng Zhiye came forward with a serious face, his voice a little flustered: "Yu, it's bad, something big has happened!"
(End of this chapter)