After the milk ball arrived, the father who had no heirs had a string of good luck.

Inside the carriage…

Qin Zhiyan felt embarrassed under the gaze of the father and daughter: "Your Highness, Ruirui, I'm sorry to have troubled you. My father wrote to say that he had urgent matters to discuss, and I didn't know he would do this."

Situ Che withdrew his gaze and said simply and bluntly, "I will assign you a subordinate who knows martial arts. You can take her with you wherever you go from now on."

Qin Zhiyan has no fighting skills at all, and looks weak and vulnerable.

It's really too unsafe.

It's still better to have someone who knows martial arts with us for safety!

Qin Zhiyan smiled and nodded, accepting his kindness: "I will do whatever Your Highness says."

Tang Rui hugged her arm, her dark eyes looking at her with undisguised heartache: "Mother, don't be sad, you still have us."

"I..." Qin Zhiyan didn't expect that Situ Che didn't notice her sadness, but Tang Rui did.

My eyes started to sting, and I felt a little like crying.

In just a moment, his eyes turned red.

Qin Zhiyan hugged Tang Rui into her arms, pressing her face against hers, seemingly comforting herself or answering Tang Rui: "Don't be sad. Your mother has you and the prince, so she's not sad at all."

She should have given up long ago; her so-called family never treated her like family at all.

From childhood to adulthood, Qin Zhirou received all the love and pampering from her father and Madam He, and even the servants of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion followed suit.

She was nothing more than an invisible person who was dispensable.

It's either passive-aggressive behavior or being bullied.

She shouldn't have had any more hope for them.

Situ Che hesitated for a moment, then took out a handkerchief and handed it to her at the right time: "Tang Rui is right. You are the Princess Consort of Li. You don't need to please anyone except the Emperor. If you have any grievances, just vent them. Don't worry about causing trouble for me. Since I said I would protect you, I will definitely keep my word."

"Yes, I understand."

Qin Zhiyan took the handkerchief, feeling a warmth in her heart.

For many years, she was like a piece of duckweed, neither needed nor recognized.

But now, she seems to have found her own haven.

...

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Qin Zhirou seemed to have resigned herself to her fate and accepted defeat, finally managing to gather the dowry and send it to the Prince Li's residence.

Qin Zhiyan was quite surprised to see a total of 128 loads.

Although many things don't match up...

Well, of course it doesn't match up; her dowry had already been stolen back by Situ Che's men.

So the question is, where did Qin Zhirou get so much dowry?

Qin Zhiyan asked Granny Xu to go out and inquire, and that's how she found out.

Qin Zhirou sold everything she could, not only embezzling the funds from the Eastern Palace's finances, but also taking a lot from the He family.

After listening to Xu Mama's report, Qin Zhiyan reflexively frowned: "That's not right. Even if it were Madam He, she wouldn't be able to produce that many. Keep sending people to inquire. I have a feeling there's something wrong here."

Granny Xu nodded in agreement.

Qin Zhiyan was in a great mood when she saw the extra dowry. She immediately had it put into the storeroom and also selected gifts for the women in the mansion.

Even Tang Rui received a land deed for a cosmetics shop.

It must be said that my mother is truly generous now that she has money.

But Tang Rui doesn't have time to manage the shop right now; she has to go to school every day!

I don't know if Situ Qiang has learned her lesson or what, but she hasn't been causing trouble for Tang Rui at the Imperial Academy these past two days.

Tang Rui silently breathed a sigh of relief, not because she was afraid, but because she was very annoyed!

Getting up so early every day is already painful enough.

If there were a fly constantly bouncing around in front of her, she would be tempted to reach out and crush it.

It's great that everyone is getting along well!

To everyone's surprise, Situ Qiang only behaved herself for two days.

On this day of the Lantern Festival, Tang Rui remembered her family's promise to go out shopping that evening, and unusually, she got up early and obediently went to the Imperial Academy.

Just as he was about to enter the school, he saw Situ Qiang blocking Gu Nanyu's way under a tree, excitedly saying something.

She was a bit far away and couldn't hear clearly for the time being, only the name Tang Rui.

Topics related to myself?

Is Situ Qiang talking badly about her?

Tang Rui, quick as a flash, pulled Miao Zhu behind a stone pillar and eavesdropped.

Miaozhu looked bewildered: "Princess, isn't this... inappropriate?"

Isn't it a bit strange for a princess to eavesdrop?

Tang Rui glanced at her speechlessly and muttered under her breath, "What's wrong with that? Eavesdropping is shameful, but listening openly, does that count as eavesdropping? What's shameful about it?"

"?" Is it...?

Miaozhu was unsure and wanted to offer some words of advice, but she seemed to hear Situ Qiang mention her own princess's name.

So they also perked up their ears.

Situ Qiang had no idea Tang Rui was nearby. Looking at the handsome young man before her, her face showed slight anger: "Gu Nanyu, tonight is the Lantern Festival. I finally managed to get my father to take me out with me. Isn't it for your own good that you're coming along? My father is the Crown Prince. If you want to enter officialdom in the future, won't you still have to rely on my father? What are you pretending for from here?"

"First of all, the Emperor is in good health, and your father is still the Crown Prince, so I don't think I need to rely on him for anything. Secondly, I, Gu Nanyu, am not a useless piece of trash; even if I need help, I have a family to rely on. Finally..."

Gu Nanyu's expression remained indifferent, but a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes as he spoke: "Who do you think you are? Don't overestimate yourself."

"You just look down on me, don't you?" Situ Qiang gritted her teeth in anger, as if she had caught some implication in his words. "You just think that my status is not as high as Tang Rui's, so you're so close to her, isn't that right?"

"...Are you crazy?"

That doesn't make any sense at all!

"If that's how you think, there's nothing I can do about it."

Gu Nanyu tried to walk past her, but was stopped by her the next moment.

Situ Qiang's eyes reddened with anger, and she looked like she was about to cry: "Gu Nanyu, I may not have a rank now, but that doesn't mean I won't in the future. So what if Tang Rui is a princess? Her father is a cripple; how can he compare to me?"

Gu Nanyu's expression turned cold: "A good dog doesn't block the way, get out of the way!"

Situ Qiang looked at him in disbelief: "You dare call me a dog?"

"Calling you a dog is an insult to dogs. A firefly's light dares to compete with the bright moon? Nonsense!" Gu Nanyu threw down these words and walked past Situ Qiang, who was disheveled in the wind.

Situ Qiang finally let her tears fall, her eyes filled with a malice beyond her years: "Tang Rui! I will not let you go."

Tang Rui, not far away: "..."

Miaozhu was speechless, and whispered to Tang Rui, "Princess, does she have some serious illness?"

"..." After only a few days of getting to know each other, they've already started mimicking my speech?

Tang Rui nodded reasonably: "I guess so, otherwise why would they blame me?"

The Emperor bestowed upon her the title of Princess Zhaohua. Situ Qiang did not blame the Emperor, but rather blamed her.

Gu Nanyu didn't want to get close to Situ Qiang, but Situ Qiang didn't blame Gu Nanyu; she blamed Situ Qiang.

What's wrong?

Is she some kind of pushover?

As Miaozhu watched Gu Nanyu's tall figure recede into the distance, the topic suddenly veered off course: "Princess, actually, I think Young Master Gu is quite good. You could arrange a marriage between your children or something."

Tang Rui's eye twitched, and she looked at her speechlessly: "Are you toxic? I'm only five years old."

What five-year-old child is looking at their future partner?

Why only half? Because she has already decided to practice polyandry from now on.

I finally time-traveled, and now I have such an awesome identity!

Princess!

If she's lucky, she might even become a princess instead of a county princess.

Many modern people simply cannot imagine how much power ancient princesses and noblewomen wielded, and how much they were favored.

What's wrong with finding a few more?

Why put all your eggs in one basket?

Gu Nanyu, it's good...

But Tang Rui always felt that he was a bit crazy, and she had always just admired him and never had any other thoughts about him.

Miaozhu is different.

For a simple-minded ancient person, betrothal at childhood is perfectly normal, so they continued to persuade him: "You can betrothed at five years old. Young Master Gu is already eleven. He is handsome and well-read. In three or four years, the suitors will be lining up at the Prime Minister's mansion. Then there will be no chance for you."