After the concubine ran away, the cold prince lost control

Spring in the capital city warms up early. Within a few days, the city is already covered with willow trees and cotton trees, and the grass is green and the birds are singing.

With the coming of spring, another happy event came to the mansion.

Li Lanchun finally gave birth to a legitimate son.

The mansion, which originally had few descendants, had three new sons added within just one year. The children's laughter and cries added joy and vitality to this century-old aristocratic family.

After Li Lanchun gave birth, all the affairs of the mansion fell on Qin Xiaoning's shoulders. On this day, she was in the meeting room, and the maidservant beside the Duke's wife came to find her, saying that the Zhou family's wife had brought Mr. Zhou Er, and the Duke's wife wanted her to accompany her.

This Zhou family is the Shangshu Mansion where the sixth young lady is engaged.

The two families have already decided on the marriage. According to the tradition of the Great Zhou Dynasty, whenever there is a festival, the girl has to go to the boy's house to celebrate. Now it is the Cold Food Festival, and Mrs. Zhou must have come here to discuss the matter of taking the sixth girl to celebrate the festival.

After hearing the maid's report, Qin Xiaoning put down the work in her hands, left the meeting room and went to the front yard.

When she passed by the corridor, she happened to see Mr. Zhou Er and Miss Liu.

The Sixth Miss was sitting on a stone bench in the corridor. Mr. Zhou Er, a handsome man, was standing in front of the Sixth Miss, talking to her with great joy. The two girls looked very intimate, and when they got excited, the Sixth Miss covered her mouth with her hands and bent over with laughter.

Qin Xiaoning took a look, then shook her head slightly and continued walking forward. After taking a few steps, she saw a figure standing on the rockery.

It was the young marquis Du Jingxuan from the Yongyi Marquis Mansion next door.

He stood on a high place, looking towards the corridor, with anger on his angular face.

Obviously, he was jealous of Zhou Erlang.

Qin Xiaoning had to pass by this rockery when she was going to the front yard. It was not until she got closer that Du Jingxuan realized that the boy had immediately jumped down from the rockery. In order to avoid embarrassing him, Qin Xiaoning spoke first, "When did the young marquis come here? I haven't seen you come to play in the mansion for a while."

"I've been busy with my studies lately." He responded to Qin Xiaoning's words with a greeting, but his eyes were still looking in the direction of the corridor. After a long while, he reluctantly moved his eyes back and said to Qin Xiaoning, "I came to discuss studies with Silang. I passed by here and my feet were tired, so I stopped to rest."

Qin Xiaoning didn't say anything, just said "hmm" lightly.

After she had walked a little further, Du Jingxuan called her back. He came up to Qin Xiaoning and, as if summoning all his courage, he said, "Second cousin, why did Qing'er abandon me and choose Zhou Erlang?"

The boy's face flushed, his expression showing resentment and unwillingness.

Qin Xiaoning thought for a moment and replied, "Who can tell the truth about love? Maybe Qing'er is attracted to Zhou Erlang."

Du Jingxuan didn't say anything else. He glanced towards the corridor unwillingly, then left silently.

Looking at his lonely back, Qin Xiaoning sighed slightly and continued to walk towards the front yard. As soon as she reached the door of Chunxi Hall, she heard bursts of laughter coming from inside.

This is really a situation where some are happy and some are sad.

Qin Xiaoning pushed the door open and entered the room. When Madam Zhou saw the newcomer, she stopped joking and said in an exaggerated tone, "Oh my, I haven't seen the little princess for a while. She has become even more outstanding." Then, she looked up at the Duke's wife and praised, "Old sister, you are so lucky. Your son is capable, your daughter-in-law is filial and outstanding, and your daughters are all outstanding. I have never seen anyone more blessed than you, old sister."

Qin Xiaoning listened to Mrs. Zhou's compliments before she bowed to her.

After Qin Xiaoning took her seat, the Duke's wife said, "Madam Zhou came here to discuss taking Wan'er to the Shangshu Mansion to celebrate the Cold Food Festival."

Qin Xiaoning said: "All arrangements will be made, and my daughter-in-law will naturally take care of it for my sixth sister."

As soon as these words were spoken, Mrs. Zhou again praised her, saying that Qin Xiaoning was capable and good at managing household affairs. She also praised the Duke's wife for being able to educate people and said that she was more blessed than anyone else.

Listening to Madam Zhou's chatter, the Duke's wife didn't say anything else, and Qin Xiaoning just smiled in response.

During this meeting, Mrs. Zhou was mostly chatting and laughing, until noon, when the maid came in to report that the princess of Prince Xian wanted to see her. Only then did Mrs. Zhou stop talking and leave.

The Duke's wife had naturally heard about Qin Xiaoning's life story. After Madam Zhou left, she was not in a hurry to see the wife of Prince Xian. Instead, she asked Qin Xiaoning, "Have you never been to Prince Xian's mansion? I heard that they came to pick you up several times."

Qin Xiaoning fell silent after hearing this. After a long pause, she replied, "I don't know how to face them."

The Duke's wife sighed, "You can't be blamed for this. It's just that the hearts of all parents are the same. They made a big mistake due to their negligence at the beginning. I'm afraid they must be extremely regretful now."

As she spoke, the Duke's wife smiled and said, "Now that the virtuous princess has come to me, she must want me to persuade you."

Qin Xiaoning smiled bitterly: "What can I persuade them to do? I can't say that I hate them, but it's been so many years. I have been under the protection of the mansion and have grown up. I am lucky to be your daughter-in-law, a loving woman and lovely children. The protection from my father and mother that I once hoped for the most is no longer necessary for me now."

The Duke's wife sighed when she heard this: "You should leave first. I will meet this virtuous prince's wife first."

After Qin Xiaoning left Chunxi Hall, she should have returned to the meeting room to continue her work. It was the spring plowing season and there were many matters that needed to be dealt with urgently on the farm. However, she suddenly lost her mood and returned to Qingsong Garden.

Her mind was in a mess and she sat in the inner room in a daze for a long time. Then she suddenly realized that there was no need for her to be upset, so she left the inner room and went to the back porch to see the children.

The two children are taking a nap. They are seven months old now and are becoming more and more plump and white. They are extremely cute.

Although the two brothers are twins, they look exactly the same. The elder brother, Cheng Yun, has eyes and eyebrows like her, while the younger brother, Cheng Xi, has facial features more like Lu Ji.

Looking at the two children, Qin Xiaoning's heart gradually calmed down. She simply lay down beside the two children with her clothes on, quietly feeling this incomparably happy time.

I don't know when, but I heard the door creak open, and it was Songzhi who came in.

Qin Xiaoning sat up. She was worried about disturbing the child, so she asked with her lips: "What's the matter?"

Songzhi nodded, then stepped forward and whispered in Qin Xiaoning's ear: "After meeting the Duke's wife, the Xian Prince's Consort came here from the front yard. She is now waiting at the gate of Qingsong Garden. She said she wanted to see you." (End of this chapter)