Chapter 25: Apologize
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
When Duchess Anyuan got out of the carriage, many noble ladies greeted and complimented her.
“Duchess Anyuan, did you come to offer incense too? This is your second daughter, right? She looks so beautiful.”
“Duchess, you two look as if you both are carved out of the same mold. We can tell she is your daughter just from a glance.”
The madams had all heard that the Duchess drove her youngest daughter who was expected to become the crown princess to a remote manor for this daughter who they found from the countryside.
It could be seen how much she loved this daughter, so they all came up to flatter Jinniang.
Among them, some wanted to match Jinniang and their sons. After all, the Buddha in this Yuanxi Temple was very proficient in promoting marriages.
Qiao Jinniang was already 18 years old, so the Duchess probably wouldn’t keep her for long and must be currently selecting a fiance for her.
Although Qiao Jinniang was raised by servants, the Duchess obviously loved her very much. If their sons could marry Qiao Jinniang, with Duke Anyuan’s support, they would definitely have a promising career.
Besides, Qiao Jinniang looked beautiful and graceful. It would be great if their sons could marry her.
During this time, the wife of Foreign Minister came forward and said, “If my son could marry a beautiful wife like Miss Second, it must be our ancestors blessing him.”
Qiao Jinniang frowned. These words were a bit rude.
The Duchess held Qiao Jinniang’s hand and said, “I’m afraid I may have to let you down, Madam. My daughter has suffered for so many years due to a concubine. Any man who wants to marry Jinniang can’t take any concubine or concubine maid!”
Qiao Jinniang looked at the Duchess gratefully. At this moment, she believed there was a telepathic connection between mother and daughter.
The other ladies looked at each other in embarrassment.
Apart from the sons-in-law of the royal family, was there any official in Chang’an who didn’t have concubines or concubine maids?
The ladies soon left awkwardly one after another.
The Duchess patted Jinniang’s hand. “Jinniang, your sister and I both suffer because of concubines.
“Therefore, I hope that your future husband won’t have any concubines even if his family is not as powerful as our Duke Mansion. It doesn’t matter if his family is rich or not. Mom and Dad will always help you in the future.”
Qiao Jinniang smiled and said, “Mom, I think so too.”
When they came to the temple, there were even more people here.
After finally drawing a divination stick, the Duchess wanted to ask the abbot to explain it, but the abbot was at the dharma assembly, so the Duchess decided to join the dharma assembly first and then ask the abbot to explain the divination stick when he was free.
Qiao Jinniang was not quite interested in the dharma assembly, so she decided to go to the monks who set up a stall in the temple to ask which day was a good day for her restaurant to open.
The Duchess said to her, “Be careful. When you’re done, wait for me at the gate of the temple.”
Qiao Jinniang nodded.
There were so many people in the temple today, so Qiao Jinniang waited for quite a while before it was her turn.
“Master, I’d like to pick an auspicious day to open my restaurant.”
Qiao Jinniang handed the divination stick she drew to the monk.
The monk looked at it and said, “This is a good draw. April 28 is a good day.”
Qiao Jinniang handed over a piece of silver and said, “Thank you for your explanation, Master.”
“When did you start to believe these things?”
Hearing the contemptuous voice, Qiao Jinniang turned around and saw Lu Chen.
And Tuan’er was in his arms.
Fortunately, the noble ladies and girls in Chang’an had all gone to the dharma assembly. At this moment, the people here were all ordinary people who didn’t recognize the Crown Prince.
Today, Qiao Jinniang brought Hongling and Luhe with her. Both of them had met the Crown Prince before, so they quickly saluted him.
Afraid that Qiao Jinniang didn’t know this man was the Crown Prince, Hongling whispered into Qiao Jinniang’s ear. “Miss, he is the Crown Prince.”
Qiao Jinniang saluted him reluctantly.
As soon as Tuan’er saw Qiao Jinniang, he kept staring at Jinniang with his round little eyes, but he didn’t call her “Mommy” this time.
Qiao Jinniang really wanted to hug Tuan’er but with the two maids here, she could only refrain herself from doing so.
Lu Chen handed Tuan’er to Qiao Jinniang. “Give him to my secret guard in half an hour.”
Qiao Jinniang hurriedly hugged Tuan’er and saluted Lu Chen. “Yes.”
Both Hongling and Luhe were shocked by the prince’s move. After he left, Hongling asked, “Why did His Royal Highness give you the little imperial grandson, Miss?”
“I’m going to find Madam,” Luhe said.
Qiao Jinniang quickly stopped her. “No need, I met the little imperial grandson in the Duke Rong’s Mansion, and we seem to like each other. I saw there was a fair outside the temple. Let’s go take him there for fun.”
Hongling felt it was not proper, but since Qiao Jinniang was her master, she could only listen to her.
Tuan’er suddenly whispered into Qiao Jinniang’s ear. “Mommy.”
His voice was as soft as a mosquito’s hums, so only Jinniang could hear it. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but tighten her hug, reluctant to let go of Tuan’er.
With Hongling and Luhe here, it was not convenient for Qiao Jinniang to talk to Tuan’er, so she tried her best to make Tuan’er laugh while she brought him around the fair.
Fairs in Chang’an were very lively, selling all kinds of trinkets.
As the Dragon Boat Festival approached, sachets and the like were also sold in the fair.
In the past, Qiao Jinniang would make a sachet for Tuan’er at each Dragon Boat Festival. Now that she had found Tuan’er, she planned to make a sachet for him again, so she went to a brocade shop.
“Madam, what would you like?”
Hongling said, “Our miss has not married yet!”
The hawker touched his head and said awkwardly, “The little boy looks similar to this young lady, so I thought they were mother and son. I’m sorry.”
Jinniang looked at Tuan’er and said, “Everyone says that this child looks like his father. Why did you say that he looks like me?”
The hawker said, “The little boy’s eyes are not like yours, but the contours of his face and nose are like yours very much. Are you brother and sister? This piece of red silk suits you very well.”
Hearing this, Hongling and Luhe looked at Jinniang and Tuan’er and were surprised to find that they looked similar indeed.
Since the birth of Tuan’er, everyone said that he was like Lu Chen. This was the first time that someone said Tuan’er looked like her.
Very pleased, she generously bought two bolts of silk.
However, a sneer suddenly sounded behind her. “Humph, someone thinks she has changed from a sparrow into a phoenix, but a sparrow is always a sparrow. Even my slaves won’t use this rough kind of cloth to make shoes!”
Qiao Jinniang looked back. The woman who spoke looked a little familiar, but she couldn’t remember who this woman was.
Hongling and Luhe glanced at each other. Neither of them recognized this woman as well.
Qiao Jinniang didn’t know her, so she didn’t bother to pay attention to her.
But the woman continued, “You’re really good at acting. With a small trick, you sent Ruoshui to a manor to suffer. How can you still have the cheek to come here to have fun?”
At this point, Qiao Jinniang remembered that this woman was one of Qiao Ruoshui’s friends. Her father should be a low-ranking official in the Ministry of Defence, so she didn’t even know who Tuan’er was.
“Tong’er, don’t mess around.” At this moment, a man in his twenties suddenly came over and scolded Yu Tong.
Then he turned to salute Qiao Jinniang politely. “Miss Qiao, I’m sorry. My sister is worried about her friend, so she offended you.. Please allow me to apologize for her.”