The husband I snatched halfway through his life is strange.

The Empress said coldly, "What kind of madness have you lost!"

“My daughter-in-law is going crazy! Every time she closes her eyes, she hears the baby crying. She’s blaming me for not picking her up from school yet.”

The Empress grabbed the Crown Princess's arm and twisted it tightly.

"It's just that the child is young. He'll stay with me for a few days. You agreed to everything before. If you have any complaints, just tell me. Why did you have to make a scene in front of His Majesty? What nonsense are you spouting? This is ridiculous!"

That statement has many implications.

The child is young, so I warned her not to say anything inappropriate.

We agreed on everything before, and now we're all in the same boat, so don't let emotions get the better of you.

"Someone, help the Crown Princess down."

The Crown Princess, however, was not afraid at all.

"Is Mother panicking and trying to cover my mouth? Or is she afraid that her daughter-in-law will reveal the truth and enrage Father?"

Emperor Yingqian looked at the Empress, then at the Crown Princess.

How can you not spot the trickery?
The Queen tried to remain calm and make excuses.

"Wu Shi, you must stop..."

Emperor Yingqian: "Let her speak!"

It was unclear whether the atmosphere here was too tense, or whether the nanny taking care of the young prince in the side hall heard the noise and knocked over the candlestick.

Soon, a child's loud cries came from the other side.

The Crown Princess showed no sign of sympathy.

“I am not like my mother, who is cold-hearted and heartless. I am not willing to abandon the child I gave birth to, who cost me half my life, just for the sake of honor and glory.”

She even chuckled softly: "Father, do you know that the child crying now is not born to your daughter-in-law?"

"It's pitiful that Your Highness left me with the only child, which was sent away by the Empress Dowager and the Duke of Zhou. They are covering their daughter-in-law's mouth tightly and switching the baby with the baby. They want the whole world to be surnamed Zhou."

Every word he uttered was like a thunderclap.

Emperor Yingqian suddenly stood up, crushing the teacup in his hand. The shards pierced his flesh, drawing blood. He was like a ferocious beast, gloomy and terrifying.

"Their plan failed, and who knows what other schemes they might come up with. But my beloved was devastated, her fate reversed, and she ended up as the product of incest between siblings, despised by everyone."

The Crown Princess had tears in her eyes.

Kneel and kowtow.

"Father."

"Father, please save my son!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

While Ying Yin followed the imperial command and led the Imperial Guards toward the Duke of Zhou's mansion, the Marquis of Ning's mansion remained peaceful and serene.

The cherry blossoms in Xiyuan are in full bloom.

Although there are differences between men and women, with elders from all sides present, there is no need to be overly formal.

Given the prestigious status of the Ningguo Marquis's mansion, marrying into it would be considered a great honor. Therefore, all the young ladies were dressed in their finest attire, some sitting beside their elders, waiting for the Ningguo Marquis's wife to ask them questions.

Some people went to chat and laugh under the cherry blossom trees in twos and threes.

The servants brought out one exquisite dish after another.

Ahead, someone was holding a pipa and singing a tune.

Shen Zhiyi came by herself.

Because she's a bit fierce.

Moreover, they weren't really interested in each other.

She found a secluded spot, leaned against a cherry blossom tree, and stared at the young man invited by the Ningguo Marquis's mansion to sing, swaying slightly to the tune.

Someone hit me with a peanut.

Ning Yunling arrived late, blocking her view: "You're quite the gossipmonger, aren't you?"

Shen Zhiyi smiled and said, "Of course I have to come and support your celebration, Prince Ning."

Ning Yunling: ...

Shen Zhiyi: "I just checked on those girls for you. Besides me, there were eight of them."

"What does it look like?"

Ning Yunling scratched her head, annoyed: "Where's your temper?"

Shen Zhiyi gave an irrelevant answer: "I've beaten up three of them, and had conflicts with four others. They're all acquaintances of mine."

Ning Yunling: ...

A bunch of she-devils!

You're having a gathering here, aren't you?
"Where's the other one?"

Shen Zhiyi: "The Lu family."

Thinking of the way the Lu family girl had avoided her earlier, she chuckled: "She's quite timid." Shen Zhiyi raised her chin, gesturing for Ning Yunling to look to her right.

Lady Ningguo was sitting there, surrounded by a number of people.

She looked around.

I didn't see the Lu family woman.
Disappointment is inevitable.

It was just there a moment ago.

She wanted Ning Yunling to open her eyes wide and see what a truly innocent and unpretentious girl really looked like!
Shen Zhiyi had no choice but to say, "The one in pink is the daughter of the Dong family."

"Her mother is a well-known Buddhist who often gives out porridge and donates money. The Dong family's daughter has an excellent reputation, but in my opinion, she is pretentious, arrogant, and only good at showing off her poetry and songs."

"Actually, it's just so-so."

“He never missed a poetry gathering in Beijing and loved to give pointers to others.”

"If you get together with her, she will definitely encourage you to fall in love with reading."

Over here, Lady Ningguo was asking questions.

"Madam Dong, I've heard that your daughter is a master of poetry and calligraphy?"

Madam Dong, sitting at her seat, twirled the prayer beads in her hand, her kind face smiling, "Madam flatters her. It's just that she has loved reading since she was a child, and her father hired a tutor to teach her for several years, but she can hardly be considered an expert."

As she spoke, she gave her daughter a look.

Miss Dong stood up, took the scroll from the maid behind her, and curtsied.

"I have come to visit today and my daughter has painted a landscape for you. I hope you will not find it offensive."

Here.

Ning Yunling's brows were furrowed deeply.

Shen Zhiyi then pointed to another one.

"That one, the one with the most hair ornaments, is the third daughter of the Liu family. She's quite forthright, but she's prone to offending people with her words. Her mother passed away last year, and the other branches of the family tried to seize the power to manage the household but failed. They've all been subdued by her and have to live at her mercy. The elder sitting next to her is her aunt."

Ning Yunling saw it.

He said so.

No wonder the woman was so flattering to Miss Liu, and even poured her a cup of tea.

"The one sitting on the swing in front is the second daughter of the Wang family, that's impressive."

Ning Yunling's eyelids twitched: "How is it amazing?"

"The Wang family had arranged a marriage for her, and they were even going to exchange betrothal gifts. But the young man said behind her back that she had a bad temper and was petty. He said he wouldn't have agreed to marry her if his family hadn't wanted him to. She overheard this and got so angry that she rushed up and slapped him twice."

"She has a single palmar crease, so it hurts a lot when she hits someone."

Ning Yunling felt as if the sky had collapsed.

Seeing that Shen Zhiyi was about to say something, he turned around and left.

Just then, Lady Ningguo looked over and saw him.

"Ling-ge'er! Where are you going? Come over and greet the ladies."

The ladies could not accept such a gesture and quickly said, "No, no, this is unacceptable."

Ning Yunling didn't even want to go there.

I just want to escape.

He ignored his mother calling him from behind.

Go faster.

It's almost like it's running away.

He walked around the artificial hill without stopping. Little did he expect that a leisurely girl was standing there, and he couldn't stop himself, bumping right into her.

Caught off guard, the girl fell to the side.

Ning Yunling raised her hand to pull her up, but couldn't. She could only watch helplessly as her daughter fell to the ground.

"What...what are you doing standing here?"

Ning Yunling was being incredibly unmanly, trying to shirk responsibility: "I didn't mean to."

"I didn't know there were people here."

Just as Ning Yunling was about to ask if she was hurt from the fall, she saw the girl raise her panicked and helpless face, biting her lower lip and trembling slightly, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, not knowing whether it was from pain or fright.

Or perhaps she was afraid he would blame her.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Her voice was as soft and weak as her personality.

"Yes...I'm sorry."

(End of this chapter)