Chapter 1648: Chapter 1648: Follow-up
The palace, Zhulan was summoned by the Empress Dowager. Her granddaughters had just left not long ago, and she also headed to the palace. Upon entering the Empress Dowager’s bedroom, she saw the little princess playing with a dog, while the Empress Dowager watched from the side.
The Empress Dowager saw Zhulan and dismissed the formalities, waving her over, "Sit by my side."
Due to spending more than ten days together during the holiday, Zhulan’s relationship with the Empress Dowager had been improving, gradually developing towards friendship since they became close.
Zhulan wore casual clothes today, which were light and convenient for moving around. She took a few steps to the chair and sat down, "The little princess is so lively."
The Empress Dowager’s eyebrows were gentle, "Yes."
Just brought over to her for raising, the little granddaughter was particularly quiet, she put a lot of effort into making the granddaughter cheerful.
The little princess put down the dog she was holding and ran quickly over, "Grandma, the ball is too heavy."
The Empress Dowager affectionately pinched her granddaughter’s nose, "That’s because you fattened it up."
The little princess sneaked a look at Zhulan, who returned with a smile, "Hello, Princess."
The little princess tilted her head, "Hello, old lady."
Zhulan said to the Empress Dowager, "The little princess is very smart."
The Empress Dowager chuckled, "She is too smart, won’t be able to fool her in the future."
The little princess hugged the Empress Dowager tightly, "Next time grandma goes out, you must take your granddaughter."
The Empress Dowager hugged her little granddaughter tightly but sighed inwardly. The Empress had hurt the little granddaughter; she went out for more than ten days, and the Empress carefully tried to please for those days, yet it had no effect, and the mother-daughter’s estrangement could not be restored.
Her only comfort is that the Emperor wasn’t muddled regarding the child. Even if she passed away early, she wouldn’t fear her little granddaughter being hurt again, she no longer trusted the Empress.
The Female Officer entered, "The eldest princess and the future prince consort have arrived."
The Empress Dowager smiled, "Please invite them in."
Zhulan thought it was really a coincidence, her eyes turned toward the door. She often heard her son talk about the future prince consort’s achievements.
Zhenyue and the future prince consort entered together, and the Empress Dowager said to Zhulan, "Look how well-matched they are."
Zhulan nodded in agreement, they are indeed well-matched in appearance and demeanor, "A good match."
The Empress Dowager was delighted, having chosen a good prince consort for her granddaughter, "Why did you come together?"
Zhenyue was surprised that Mrs. Hou was also there and replied to the grandmother’s question, "Granddaughter was giving a purse to Father, Wu Shangheng was also there, Father asked granddaughter to bring him to greet you."
The Empress Dowager, being elderly, liked young people; now that her eldest granddaughter was engaged and her eldest grandson was getting married, pair by pair, she was delighted, "Good, good, sit down, don’t be restrained."
Zhenyue sat down smiling, while the future prince consort didn’t dare to look around and quietly ate the snacks beside him.
The Empress Dowager asked, "Shall I call you Shangheng? Don’t be nervous, you are far from home staying in the capital, if you have any discomfort, tell Zhenyue, don’t wrong yourself."
Wu Shangheng felt guilty; he had no discomfort at all. After his parents learned he was engaged to a princess, they happily came to the capital, left a considerable amount of silver after a few days, and left swiftly. He had an official position and silver, plus the identity of future prince consort, so there weren’t many who dared to offend him in the capital, hence he was living quite freely. This was his dream life!
Wu Shangheng, "The boy has not suffered any grievances; the boy has been living very comfortably because of the princess."
Zhenyue held a fan to her face, covering her laughter. Initially, she had little expectation for the engagement, but she thought being the eldest princess, she could live as she pleased after marriage. After spending much time with the future prince consort, she found him very nice and not reluctantly pushed out by his family; rather, he enjoyed life, and she looked forward to a future away from conflict.
The Empress Dowager, understanding the affectionate mutual interest between the young couple, was even happier and generously gave many gifts.
Zhulan also got many gifts as a side character in this scene, "I owe this luck to the future prince consort."
The Empress Dowager, "Today, I am happy."
Zhulan, "Then I will keep them well as gifts for my granddaughter’s dowry."
The Empress Dowager asked, "You have two granddaughters who haven’t been engaged yet?"
Zhulan nodded, "Anhe and my little granddaughter, who is too young."
The Empress Dowager smiled, "Do you need me to help introduce a good gentleman for Anhe?"
Zhulan, being familiar with the Empress Dowager, declined directly, "Among all the granddaughters, Anhe is the most independent-minded. Thank you for your kind offer."
The Empress Dowager realized that there was already someone in mind.
The temple, Yu Die knew why Yu Wen had come to the temple, "How did you know they would come to the temple?"
Yu Wen stood not far away, using a fan to cover her face, "Since Lady Li was slandered, she likes to worship Buddha and comes to the temple regularly every month."
Aunt Guo changed the date, coinciding with Lady Li’s temple visit.
Yu Die rubbed her arms, "You inquired about this?"
Yu Wen, "Actually, I didn’t inquire. I heard it in passing when my mother was inquiring about Lady Li, and remembered it."
She was accustomed to extracting important information and could remember it well due to her memory, although not perfect, she could remember key points.
Yu Die muttered, "No wonder my fourth uncle and my dad regret you aren’t a boy."
Yu Wen, "I am truly thankful I am a girl."
"Lazy as you."
At this moment, Lady Li sat down to rest. Yu Wen saw a lady walking towards Lady Li and raised her eyebrows, "Here she comes."
Why she came wasn’t to meet Lady Li by chance but to know whether Miss Zhang had given up!
Yu Die looked over as well, her eyes widening, "You came today for Miss Zhang!"
"You guessed right, this Miss Zhang hasn’t given up."
Yu Die, "Mr. Gu is handsome; initially, she had five points of calculation, now it has risen to seven or eight."
Yu Wen had already stepped forward, Yu Die saw and quickly followed, ignoring her fiancé who was talking to someone in the distance.
Lady Li, being somewhat cautious, having been a maid, was skilled at reading people’s expressions. She was fortunate to marry her husband, whose younger brother was a Third-rank Scholar, so she was wary of those inquiring about her brother-in-law, fearing causing trouble.
Miss Zhang, seeing Lady Li’s aloof demeanor, said weakly, "I happened to hear Mr. Gu’s name mentioned and spoke out of line, I was abrupt."
Lady Li didn’t inquire how Miss Zhang knew her brother-in-law, as continuing the conversation would be aligning with Miss Zhang’s intentions, she didn’t wish to converse more, so she stood up, "I am rested, Miss, please continue."
Miss Zhang, "..."
Normally she should ask how she knew Mr. Gu?
Yu Wen spoke, "Lady Li."
Lady Li’s smile turned sincere and quickly greeted, "Magistrate Anhe, have you come for worship today as well?"
Yu Wen smiled and nodded, "I came with my second aunt today. I thought I saw you from afar, and upon closer view, it really was you. I had heard that you often worship Buddha, and now it’s confirmed."
Lady Li, "It’s indeed true."
During the darkest times, worshiping Buddha became her mental support, she got accustomed to it, and now with a good marriage, she was even more sincere.
Miss Zhang greeted, "Greetings to Magistrate Anhe."
Yu Wen asked, "Who are you?"
Miss Zhang blushed slightly as she was not the eldest daughter of the Zhang family, her stepmother had taken her to a banquet but couldn’t meet Magistrate Anhe, biting her lip, "The daughter of scholar Zhang."
Yu Wen, "You are the miss who ran into Mr. Gu’s carriage? Didn’t you pay the silver back then? Was it too little?"
Yu Die, "..."
Guk Yan looked up at the sky, he would definitely talk to his younger brother about this when he returns!