Red Mansion Beijingwang

Prince Beijing's Palace, a courtyard in the northeast corner.

Inside the side room, the two sisters Zhen Xin and Zhen Xue got up early in the morning to wash and dress themselves. They sat in front of a dressing table inlaid with tortoise shells and painted their eyebrows and eyebrow makeup.

Zhen Xue held an eyebrow pencil in her slender hands, and looked at the beautiful face in the diamond-shaped mirror with her sparkling eyes. Her eyebrows were like light smoke, fresh and elegant. She said, "Third sister, should we take a gift to give to our little niece?"

Shui Rong had previously sent someone to inform them to visit Zhen Hua and her son, which naturally made Zhen Xue happy. After all, Zhen Hua was her biological sister, and her niece was also her biological niece.

Zhen Xin smiled when she heard this and said, "That's how it should be."

In fact, although Zhen Xin and Zhen Xue are sisters, they are only cousins, and she is a concubine's daughter. She knows in her heart that Zhen Hua does not like her, so the relationship between the sisters is not close.

If it weren't for the fact that she and Zhen Xue had not entered the palace together this time, and had not spent time together day and night, their relationship had become closer, they would probably not have had much in common.

For Zhen Xin, visiting Zhen Hua is not important; what is important is Shui Rong’s attitude.

Zhen Xue nodded, and while putting on makeup and dressing up, she was thinking about what gift to give to her little niece.

After working for a while, the two sisters sat on the brocade cushion in their brightly dressed clothes. After waiting for a while, Zhen Xue played with the azure teacup out of boredom and said leisurely, "Third sister, what do you think my cousin means?"

The two sisters originally entered the palace to serve their cousin, but their cousin's cold treatment made the two sisters feel disappointed and resentful.

They sisters are no less beautiful than others, so why does their cousin dislike them? If their cousin disliked them, why did he agree to let them enter the palace?

This time he suddenly took them to visit her second sister, and the change in attitude made Zhen Xue confused.

Zhen Xin was startled when she heard this. She pondered for a moment and said softly, "I'm not sure either. Maybe my cousin cares about the friendship between us sisters!"

To be honest, she was a little confused. She guessed that she felt that she had neglected her sisters, so she did this to make up to them.

It can't be just for my second sister and her daughter!
Zhen Xue was skeptical when she heard this. She held her little face in her hands, her bright eyes flickering slightly under her willow-leaf eyebrows, and that gentle figure appeared in her mind.

The girl had already prepared herself mentally when she first came to Beijing. When she first met her cousin, her heart trembled, but it seemed that the goddess had a dream and the King Xiang was not interested.

At this moment, the maid outside reported: "Ladies, the prince is here."

Hearing this, the two men's eyes lit up and they stood up. When they saw the young man lifting the curtain and entering, they went to greet him and greeted him, "Cousin."

Shui Rong lowered his eyes and looked at the two charming figures in front of him. His pink face was full of youth and liveliness. His eyes moved slightly and he said, "If everything is ready, let's go."

After all, they are sisters, and they have some of the charm of paintings.

Zhen Xin's heart moved. She raised her head and glanced at the calm young man. Her delicate eyes and eyebrows were filled with joy. She nodded and said, "Cousin, we are ready."

My cousin was talking about us before, doesn’t that mean they are a family!

Shui Rong was unaware of his presence. He lowered his eyes to glance at Zhen Xue, whose almond-shaped eyes were slightly narrowed, and asked softly, "Xue'er, what's wrong?"

A slight blush appeared on Zhen Xue's tender face. She raised her head slightly to glance at the boy's gentle face, and a feeling of shyness and joy surged in her heart.

My cousin actually took the initiative to care about her and called her Xueer.
Pursing her pink lips, Zhen Xue said softly, "Nothing, I just wanted to bring a gift for my little niece, but I don't know what to bring."

As she spoke, Zhen Xue raised her eyes to look at the young man, with a hint of expectation between her delicate eyebrows, and asked softly, "Cousin, what gift do you think I should prepare?"

On the side, Zhen Xin glanced at the innocent girl with her beautiful eyes, frowned slightly, and said in her heart: "This girl has clearly prepared a gift, but now she asks her cousin for help. What a good level."

Shui Rong didn't expect Zhen Xue to be thinking about this. He was slightly startled. After a moment of silence, he said, "The gift may be small, but the sentiment is great. Xue'er, you can decide on the gift."

Shui Rong didn't prepare a gift for her own daughter, which seems wrong. Why don't she prepare one for herself?
Zhen Xue blinked and replied, "Yes, I'll listen to my cousin then."

Shui Rong looked at the girl's playful appearance and felt amused. He reached out and stroked the girl's head, saying with a smile, "Well, Xue'er is quite well-behaved."

"Cousin." Zhen Xue lowered her head, her pretty face slightly heated up, two rosy blushes appeared on it, and a hint of shyness surged in her heart.

Her cousin actually touched her head so intimately and praised her for being well-behaved. It seems that her cousin likes well-behaved girls, so she has to be more well-behaved in the future.

When Zhen Xin saw this, her face froze slightly and she couldn't help feeling a little jealous.

It's good for sisters to be sisters, but men should still fight for what they should do. It was obviously her who did it first, so why is her cousin so close to his sister but indifferent to her?

In fact, she is very well-behaved. She will never say no to what her cousin says.

Shui Rong naturally noticed Zhen Xin's strangeness. His eyes moved slightly, and he reached out to hold their hands and said, "Xin'er, Xue'er, let's go."

Since you are going to accept these two people, you should give them some clues. If you turn a blind eye to it, isn't that pushing people to extremes?

Zhen Xin stared blankly at the little hand held by the boy, her heart was extremely happy, a layer of rosy red appeared on her pretty face, and she lowered her head and said "hmm".

It seems that the cousin likes his sister more, but it is enough that the cousin remembers her now. After all, in the past, let alone holding hands, he rarely even called her Xin'er in a friendly manner.

Shui Rong led the two of them out of the house, got on the carriage and headed towards Ningrong Street.

We came all the way to the former Ningguo Duke's Mansion. Because his title had been stripped, the glory was gone and the bustling scene of the past was no longer there. It was now much quieter.

Inside the room, Zhen Hua, who was leaning on the bed, heard the news of the boy's arrival. Her eyes were filled with joy. She stared at the boy who came in through the curtains and said with a little excitement, "Cousin."

She knew that her cousin would come to see her and her daughter, and she was looking forward to it.

Shui Rong stared at the beauty on the couch, whose charming face was somewhat plump. He nodded but said nothing.

At this time, Zhen Xue, who had been following Shui Rong, came over, her pretty face filled with joy. She moved closer and said happily, "Sister, I'm here to see you."

When Zhen Hua saw her own sister, she was slightly startled, then she smiled, took the girl's hand, and said in surprise: "Little sister, why are you here?"

She knew that the girl was in Prince Beijing's Mansion, but she didn't expect that she would come to see her. Could it be her cousin's idea?

As expected, Zhen Xue replied: "My cousin brought us here."

Hearing this, Zhen Hua's heart warmed. She raised her beautiful head and looked at the boy. Her beautiful eyes were as full as water and her heart was as sweet as if she had eaten honey.

My cousin has her in his heart, and it was worth it that I went through so much trouble to give birth to a daughter for him.

At this moment, Zhen Xin stepped forward and said with a smile: "Second sister is happy to have a daughter. I congratulate you."

Zhen Hua looked at Zhen Xin intently, smiled faintly, and said nothing. However, she felt a little annoyed in her heart. What kind of joy is this?

Shui Rong didn't care much about the deep sisterly love. He looked at the beautiful woman on the side. She had black hair tied with pearls and jade, jade hairpins inserted diagonally in her temples, a hundred-flowered shirt on top and a pleated skirt on the bottom. She had a slim figure and a graceful temperament. He asked, "Why is Sister Zhu here?"

That’s right, the gentle beauty in front of him was the pretty widow Li Wan. I didn’t expect her to be here.

Li Wan bowed gracefully, her beautiful face smiling slightly, and said softly, "Hua'er is in confinement, and the old lady is worried about her, so she asked me to come and take care of her."

Because her own son Jia Lan was a tutor to him, Li Wan had gone with Yingchun and her sisters when they stayed at the palace for a while. She had come into contact with the young man several times and was aware of his natural and polite manners, as well as his kindness towards her son. She began to feel a certain fondness for him and was very grateful.

Shui Rong suddenly realized after hearing this. Hua'er would have to stay in confinement after giving birth. Although her title was stripped from her by the Ningguo Mansion, she was still a member of the Jia family. It was reasonable for Grandmother Jia to send someone to take care of her.

As for why Li Wan was asked to come, it was naturally because she had experience. We couldn't just let Feng Jieer, who had no experience at all, come over, that would be a waste of time.

On the bed, Zhen Hua watched the two people's exchange, and looked at Li Wan with a thoughtful look. She didn't care at first, but after a closer look, she found that Aunt Zhu had an extraordinary appearance and temperament, and even more mature charm than her. She was indeed a beautiful person.

Pursing her lips, Zhen Hua suddenly said, "Aunt Zhu, I want to have a private conversation with my two sisters. Can you please take my cousin to see the child?"

Normally, a mother who has just given birth would be reluctant to let go of her child, so most of the time she would keep her child by her side. However, Zhen Hua felt inexplicably annoyed with her daughter, so they separated and the mother and daughter did not stay in the same room.

Li Wan was startled when she heard that. She then looked up at Shui Rong and didn't say anything for a while.

She realized that the prince came here probably because of the Zhen sisters, and taking her to see the children now still required the prince's consent.

Shui Rong responded: "Since you are here, there is no harm in taking a look."

He really wanted to see his own daughter. He originally thought that the child would be with Zhen Hua, but from the looks of it, Zhen Hua was not with her.

Why is it that daughters are not lovable? Sons are favored over daughters.

At this time, Li Wan said softly, "Okay, the child is in the next room, please follow me, Your Majesty."

Shui Rong nodded, but didn't say anything. He followed Li Wan out of the house and walked towards the next room.

On the corridor, Li Wan led the way. Her beautiful face showed a hint of hesitation. After thinking for a while, she stopped and turned to look at the young man. She clenched her handkerchief and asked softly, "My Lord, is Brother Lan okay?"

Shui Rong chuckled and said, "Brother Lang is extremely intelligent. The master has praised him a lot. He will definitely have a bright future. Sister Zhu, don't worry."

I thought Li Wan stopped because something happened, but it turned out to be because of Jia Lan. When I thought about it carefully, it made sense.

Hearing this, Li Wan's eyebrows relaxed, and she was somewhat happy. She said softly, "I am relieved that Brother Lan is with the prince. But, hey, I am always worried when Brother Lan is not around."

She knew that the prince treated Lang'er kindly, but as a mother, she was always worried about this and that, so how could she feel at ease? Especially since Jia Lan was mature and sensible at a young age. She was afraid that Jia Lan would become obsessed with learning and follow in his father's footsteps.

Shui Rong looked at the beautiful woman's melancholy face, her bright eyes under her willow-leaf eyebrows were as full as water, with a sense of broken vicissitudes, and his heart moved slightly.

Li Wan realized that she had lost her composure, her face slightly heated up, she turned her head away, wiped her eyes with an embroidered handkerchief, and said softly, "I am sorry, Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Shui Rong said, "If Sister Zhu is worried, you can let Brother Lang return home when he is on leave. If all else fails, Sister Zhu can go to the palace to visit Brother Lang."

Not to mention the bond between mother and son, for Li Wan, who is "as thin as a dead tree", Jia Lan is her only hope, so it is understandable that she is worried about him.

Li Wan's heart was slightly moved when she heard this. She pursed her lips and said softly, "Then I'll trouble you, Your Majesty."

Logically speaking, Li Wan shouldn't be like this, but she was really worried. If anything happened to Jia Lan, she would really have no hope of survival.

Shui Rong waved his hand and said, "It's okay."

Li Wan's heart relaxed when she heard that. She looked at the young man intently, and her gratitude increased a little more. She said in a clear voice, "Your Highness, the child is in the wing room in front. I will take my leave first."

Bringing the prince here is already my duty, and it would be inappropriate to keep him here.

Shui Rong nodded and watched Li Wan leave. His eyes flickered slightly under her delicate brows. He quite admired this pretty widow who loved her son so much.

Shaking his head, Shui Rong didn't think much about it. He lifted the curtain and walked into the house to visit his daughter.

On the other side, in Zhen Hua's room.

Zhen Hua held Zhen Xue's hand and asked with concern, "Xue'er, are you okay in the palace? Have you suffered any injustice?"

Zhen Xue shook her head and said, "Sister, the princess sister in the palace is very nice, and the other sisters are also kind. I have not been wronged."

Zhen Hua frowned, stared at the smiling girl, and said earnestly: "Everyone in this room is my sister. I'm going to tell you something from the bottom of my heart. People's hearts are hidden in their stomachs. Don't trust others easily, especially Jia Yuanchun, who is always talking sweet words and sharp swords. You must be on guard against her."

Zhen Xue was slightly startled when she heard that. Looking at the beauty with a serious expression, she didn't know what to say for a moment.

The Princess Beijing was indeed a kind person, which was something she had witnessed with her own eyes. So why did her sister have such a hostile attitude towards her?

Thinking that her sister wouldn't harm her, Zhen Xue nodded honestly and said, "Sister, I understand."

Seeing this, Zhen Hua couldn't help but feel a little more at ease. She reached out and gently stroked the girl's head, her brows relaxed, and asked, "Xue'er, how is your relationship with your cousin?"

"Sister~" Zhen Xue's heart trembled slightly, and a little rosy appeared on her pretty face. There was a hint of shyness between her beautiful eyebrows, and she looked at Zhen Hua with a reproachful look.

How could my second sister ask such an embarrassing question so bluntly? It's so embarrassing that a girl who has given birth to children can be so bold.

Zhen Hua chuckled, her eyelashes slightly narrowed, and said with a smile: "Silly sister, there is nothing to be shy about. My cousin is a humble person. You should serve him wholeheartedly in the future."

In fact, Zhen Hua also wanted to enter the palace to accompany her cousin all the time, but... alas, it was all a mistake. The only consolation was that she and her cousin were not strangers, and she even gave birth to children for her cousin.

Zhen Xue lowered her eyebrows, pursed her pink lips, and said softly: "Sister, I will serve my cousin wholeheartedly, but... it's just that my cousin doesn't seem to like me and my third sister."

Although her cousin behaved uncharacteristically today, the girl was still uneasy because of his indifference to her and her sisters in the past.

On one side, Zhen Xin, who was listening quietly, had her eyes flickering slightly. When she heard Zhen Hua dislike Princess Beijing, she was surprised, but she still stuck to her duty and did not interrupt.

Seeing Zhen Hua's eyes looking over, Zhen Xin whispered in agreement: "Second sister, my fourth sister and I have been in the palace for a while. Although we have no worries about food and clothing, my cousin is not close to us."

When Zhen Hua heard this, she frowned slightly and started to think about it.

The purpose of Zhen Xin and Zhen Xue entering the palace was to gain protection for the Zhen family, but according to what they said, there was no progress at all.

After a moment of silence, Zhen Hua looked up at the two sisters, a gleam of brilliance flashed in her eyes, and said, "What do you sisters think? If you don't want to, I will find a way to get you back to Jiangnan."

Although the two sisters lived in the palace, they did not spread the news of their marriage. Since they were distant relatives, others could not make any comments.

Of course, Zhen Hua was powerless to do anything about what the old empress dowager had decided, but she had given birth to a daughter for her cousin. With this merit, it would not be a problem for her to ask her cousin to let her and her sisters return to Jiangnan.

Zhen Xin and Zhen Xue's hearts trembled when they heard this. They looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to say for a moment. The older Zhen Xin whispered, "Second sister, I am willing to do it."

If it weren't for what happened today, it's possible that the sisters would really listen to Zhen Hua's advice. After all, if the young man doesn't like it, what can he do if he is forced to stay in the palace?

Now that you have expectations, why leave?

Zhen Hua saw Zhen Xue nodded slightly, and she understood. After a light laugh, she said calmly, "Since you two are willing to stay with your cousin, I will help you achieve your wish."

Zhen Xue was stunned. She stared at the ambitious beauty and asked in surprise, "Sister, what can you do?"

Her own sister is in the Jia family, what can she do to help them achieve their wishes?

Zhen Hua laughed, her pair of crystal clear eyes slightly narrowed under her willow-leaf brows, and an unfathomable expression appeared on her charming face. She said, "Just watch."

The two sisters didn't know the relationship between themselves and their cousin, so if she just whispered something in his ear, it would be easy to get him.

Of course, Zhen Hua also had a plan in mind. Firstly, it was to help her younger sisters. Secondly, they were sisters and being in Prince Beijing's Mansion, they could act as her own spies and keep an eye on Jia Yuanchun.

Kill two birds with one stone. (End of this chapter)