The Royal’s Little Lady

Gu Sui’er suddenly sensed the strangeness as she lay beside him.

 

“Who said Zuo girl is going to marry into this family and to whom?” Xiao Heng asked slowly.

 

“Th-that…” Gu Sui’er didn’t understand: “Isn’t that… isn’t that the reason why Zuo girl came here…”

 

Under Xiao Heng’s deep and pressing gaze, her voice became softer and softer…

 

Could… could that not be the case ah? Gu Sui’er looked at Xiao Heng in confusion, her eyes opened wide.

 

Xiao Heng raised his arm and lightly caressed her eyes with his fingertips.

 

“So, you’ve been mulling over this matter tonight? Thinking that I would marry Zuo girl from the beginning?” He raised his eyebrows and asked in a low voice.

 

“En… But I didn’t think about it all the time. I was just worried about how I should serve Zuo girl after marries in.” She narrated what was on her mind in full detail.

 

Xiao Heng looked at her with a complicated expression, the corner of his lips stretched tautly: “You assumed I would marry the Zuo girl.”

 

He said these words slowly, uttering each word clearly.

 

“You’ve always thought like this?”

 

Gu Sui’er quivered, scared by the sudden chill in his voice. Under his deep gaze, a sense of oppression and bad premonition gradually covered her.

 

“I don’t…” She almost choked, stiffening as she said so.

 

But what happened next was beyond her control.

 

Darkness weighed down, completely covering the slender Gu Sui’er.

 

A violent storm hit her with an unprecedented force.

 

GuiZhi carried Little Ah Chen in his arms, patting him gently.

 

“He was sleeping when I took him over from the Young Mistress’ room. I didn’t expect he would wake up and grumble from all that tossing and turning.”

 

GuiZhi hugged Little Ah Chen and told Nanny An, who came over.

 

“It’s alright. He should be full now. Just pat him and he will fall asleep.” She said, looking at the little person: “Our family’s Little Young Master is a delicate person. So, his temper is artful and elegant. He has to be served carefully.”

 

“How about asking the Young Mistress to feed him again?”

 

If it was before, GuiZhi would naturally not disturb Gu Sui’er so rashly. She scrupulously abided by her duties and always acted with propriety.

 

“Forget it, don’t alarm Young Mistress. The third Master is in the room.”

 

After Nanny An said this, GuiZhi didn’t utter a word.

 

Although she was not married, she had some rough ideas about the thing going on in the bedchamber.

 

“Nanny, this shouldn’t be said, but I don’t think that Zuo girl is easy to deal with. In the backyard today, she clearly intended not to give Young Mistress any face. If she really gets married to the third Master, do you think Young Mistress will have a good life?”

 

Nanny An was unperturbed: “Don’t worry. In my opinion, although our Young Mistress is a little foolish, she has good fortune. She gave birth to our Little Young Master, who is favored by both the Old Madam and the one in the Palace. Didn’t you see what the Old Madam did in front of the Madam Zuo today?”

 

She was awfully confident in her heart: “This girl from the Zuo family is still tender after all. She thought that she should easily establish her prestige in the future if she suppressed the Young Mistress now. She didn’t consider how the Old Madam would see this matter. What she said in front of Madam Zuo today was exactly to warn that Zuo girl to consider this matter carefully. If she really cannot tolerate it, then simply don’t get married!”

 

After all, this marriage had yet to be fixed. This was the situation in the third Master’s backyard. Marry if she could tolerate it, don’t marry if she couldn’t. In this way, no one would be deceived due to the concealment of facts.

 

GuiZhi had also seen what happened in the day. Recalling the Old Madam’s words and the expression of Madam Zuo and Zuo girl at that time, she sneered: “They had it coming. This step is necessary to lay down rules. What’s the hurry? She hasn’t married yet!”

 

Nanny An nodded. She suddenly thought of the situation back in the room, and couldn’t help but laugh: “Speaking of which, our Young Mistress is really a lovely and charming person from head to toe. Tsk tsk tsk, I’m afraid that the third Master’s frozen heart will also be melted away.”

 

She had been meaning to refill the water in the room but when she went there, she inadvertently witnessed a scene.

 

Although she couldn’t see clearly due to the two layers of screen windows and one layer of the mosquito net, she could guess what was happening inside very well.

 

Her slender and delicate Young Mistress was kneeling on the edge of the bed with the third Master covering her, clutching her white body as she swayed back and ahead like a pendulum. Her trembling appearance only captivated one’s attention more.

 

Recalling the scene, she couldn’t help but murmur: “Men ah! It’s fine if they don’t eat meat. But once they try it, they are unable to stop. The third Master is addicted now, and I don’t think that he’d have enough of it in a short while.” 

 

The next day, when Xiao Heng went to pay his respects to the Old Madam early in the morning, he asked her about the matters regarding the Zuo family. The Old Madam truthfully explained her intentions to Xiao Heng.

 

“You do need a legitimate wife. I brought up this matter to His Majesty and he also has the idea of cementing old ties by marriage. This will be regarded as helping the Zuo family too.”

 

Although Xiao Heng felt stifled in his heart, in the face of the grandmother who raised him, he spoke with a heavy voice: “But I do not intend to marry someone at the moment.”

 

When the Old Madam heard this, she sighed: “What do you mean by that? If you don’t intend to marry now, when will you do so? You are already twenty. How many people in YanJing City do you think are not married at this age?”

 

Xiao Heng: “I already have Sui’er. She also gave birth to Ah Chen. So I don’t think I have to take a main wife.”

 

The Old Madam shook her head, “That’s different. In the future, you have to leave this residence and establish your own. At that time, you will need someone from good family background to support you and take charge of everything. After all, a dignified prince’s mansion cannot always have only one concubine, right?”

 

Contrary to her expectation, Xiao Heng asked back, “Why not?” 

 

The Old Madam felt helpless: “If you were just the third Young Master of this RuiDing residence, which kind of girl you want to marry, whether you even want to take a main wife or not, wouldn’t matter. No one would have forced you either. But after the reputation of the AnGuo ducal family is rehabilitated, the truth of the matter will be revealed. And once the imperial edict arrives, your identity will be announced and you will be given an official residence. At that time, if there was no one to manage a respectable prince’s mansion, it would be inexcusable.”

 

Xiao Heng’s expression was cold: “Have Sui’er manage it.”

 

Seeing his expression, the Old Madam added, “Actually, if Sui’er had a better family background, it wouldn’t have been an issue to promote her to be your legitimate wife in sight of the fact that she gave birth to Ah Chen. But her background is too low. With your status, it wouldn’t seem right.”

 

Xiao Heng frowned after hearing this.

 

He was not someone who paid attention to identity but at the same time, he wouldn’t say anything to people who did so. Still, when the Old Madam talked about Gu Sui’er like, it made him feel a little uncomfortable.

 

Sui’er was Sui’er, regardless of identity and status.

 

The Old Madam motioned Xiao Heng to sit down and said unhurriedly: “Ah Heng, I know your character. You are obstinate, have a simple temperament, and don’t usually care about women. Fate brought you and Sui’er together and you two had Ah Chen due to this entanglement. Ah Chen, that child, is really too lovable and has a great fortune. I can understand that you’re worried about this mother and son pair, and I was afraid you don’t have marriage in mind. So I thought of finding a middle road.”

 

The Old Madam took a sip of the tea and continued: “Presumably, you have already checked this Zuo girl’s past. I won’t conceal that I have also made some people inquire. So I know that she had been betrothed to a man from a local rich family while she and her family were still in northern LiaoNing. That family had given them some amenities, and they were satisfied with this marriage. But now that Zuo family is finally exonerated and she has become a ducal family’s daughter, it’s not right to let her still marry into such a family. Therefore, the betrothal was annulled. Nevertheless, she is not too young anymore; she’s around seventeen or eighteen. If she stayed in YanJing City, her marriage would have already been settled elsewhere. The problem is, she has grown up in northern LiaoNing and it’s hard to find a good family for her in a short time. After all, she’s from your maternal family, your mother’s own niece. If she was still alive, she would have also hoped for her niece to marry into a good family. You might as well accomplish her desire. If you marry her, that would at least give her a status to live well.”

 

Xiao Heng suddenly remembered Gu Sui’er’s expression when she asked him about this matter during the night. She didn’t seem bothered at all. On the contrary, she seemed to believe that it was proper and to be expected.

 

It looked like everyone thought he should have a legitimate wife, even Sui’er.

 

“This is also His Majesty’s intention. He hopes that you can take this opportunity to assist their family. Like that, you will get a wife and their family will get a good man for their daughter.” She noticed Xiao Heng’s silence and persuaded him again: “This matter will benefit both you and their Zuo family. If that girl misses this chance, I am afraid it would become difficult for her to get someone with a status like yours. And if you miss this, I am afraid that you will not like another girl easily.”

 

“What was going on in the pavilion?” Xiao Heng suddenly asked, “Why was Sui’er there in the pavilion?

 

“That’s nothing.” Contrarily, she wasn’t too concerned about this matter. “As a young girl not raised in the capital, she couldn’t grasp her position and didn’t have a sense of proportion. It’s alright to make her realize it bit by bit. As a matter of fact, I asked Ah Jin to invite her over for staying in the residence so that I can observe later. If she’s really not good, I won’t dare to let her marry you.”

 

Xiao Heng’s frown deepened increasingly. After a moment of silence, he suddenly said: “Grandmother, you must have realized that she resembles my mom too much. Even if I marry her reluctantly, I wouldn’t touch her in the slightest for the rest of my life. I doubt there are women who are willing to get into such a marriage. Does Grandmother still think it’s appropriate to arrange such a marriage?”

 

Zuo XiuYan’s face would be a reminder of some things of the past for him, nothing more.

 

To such a woman, he would never have any other emotions.

 

Even thinking about it made him feel awkward.

 

The Old Madam sighed: “In the past few years, His Majesty had shown you countless well-bred young ladies from prestigious families, but you liked none. Now you are about to regain your status as a prince, it is not good to not have a wife by your side. His Majesty wants to support the Zuo family. He has seen Zuo girl. Zuo girl looks so much like your mom when she was young. He doesn’t want to make her suffer any grievances by all possible means.”

 

Xiao Heng raised his brows, he didn’t expect the emperor to be involved in this too. A sneer formed on his lips as he said mockingly: “His Majesty thinks she is like my mom, so he wants to matchmake us? Why doesn’t he marry her himself? That’d be just right.”

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