Princess Mu Jin was unharmed, Wang Qingyao knew that.
However, Princess Mu Jin had once been betrothed to the Crown Prince, and by all rights, should not have been betrothed to the Seventh Prince.
The Emperor’s actions made it seem as though he greatly valued and favored Princess Mu Jin, insisting she become his own daughter-in-law.
Xiao Yun told her, "It was Consort Chen who went to beg the Emperor for the marriage decree."
So Consort Chen had taken a liking to Princess Mu Jin?!
This seemed even stranger.
During regular palace banquets, Wang Qingyao had not seen Consort Chen show much affection for Princess Mu Jin. Why would she suddenly have such a thought? To begin with, Princess Mu Jin was two years older than the Seventh Prince!
Wang Qingyao did not dislike Princess Mu Jin; she just felt something was off.
Xiao Yun said, "Consort Chen voluntarily requested the marriage, and specifically asked for Princess Mu Jin. The Emperor was overjoyed! When the Emperor originally bestowed Princess Mu Jin's marriage upon the Crown Prince, he had intended it as compensation, but who knew it would lead to the matter of Princess Mu Jin being unable to conceive. The Emperor is not foolish. First, the eldest daughter of the Kang family committed suicide, and then Princess Mu Jin voluntarily broke off the engagement. Could it all be such a coincidence? So this time, when Consort Chen voluntarily sought Princess Mu Jin’s hand, the Emperor even praised her for being sensible!"
"So Consort Chen requested Princess Mu Jin's hand for the Seventh Prince merely to please the Emperor? That can't be right. Consort Chen is not that kind of person."
"It must have just been a coincidence," Xiao Yun said, not believing Consort Chen was that sort of person either. "However, there must be some reason we don't know."
Wang Qingyao suddenly smiled. "Could it be that we're overthinking it? What other reason could there be? Couldn't it just be that the Seventh Prince and Princess Mu Jin hit it off?"
Xiao Yun suddenly understood, and slapped his thigh, laughing heartily. "Hahaha, the Seventh Prince has grown up and knows he wants a wife."
Wang Qingyao joined in the laughter.
Soft, clear laughter drifted in from outside the door. It was the maids playing with Pingping and An'an in the courtyard.
Wang Qingyao had instructed them to let the children get plenty of sun and exercise outdoors.
She and Xiao Yun walked out to watch.
It turned out Yin Zhu was demonstrating martial arts for Pingping and An'an, making An'an laugh heartily and occasionally utter new words.
"Great!"
"Amazing!"
Yin Zhu had learned a little from four or five martial arts masters, picking up bits and pieces here and there, but it had never been of much use. Finally, at this moment, she found the value in her martial arts training.
She was so moved she was in tears.
"Little Princess is discerning!"
An'an could not only speak simple words but could also take a few wobbly steps. However, she was not steady and would lean to one side after a few steps.
Wang Qingyao did not let her practice too much. She was not yet a year old, and too much practice could lead to bowlegs. But she herself wanted to walk a lot. When the adults stopped her, she would hold onto the wall or chairs to walk.
Pingping still couldn't speak, and it was unclear whether he couldn't or simply disdained to. He wasn't as eager to walk as An'an. He had practiced a few times but showed little interest.
Now, he was held by his wet nurse, watching Yin Zhu practice boxing with great seriousness. His large eyes were filled with intelligent light, as if he would master it all in the next second.
Wang Qingyao and Xiao Yun walked over. As soon as An'an saw Wang Qingyao, her attention was captured. She desperately lunged into Wang Qingyao's arms, excitedly calling out, "Mama, Mama!"
Wang Qingyao smiled and took An'an from the wet nurse. An'an happily nuzzled her neck, exuding a milky fragrance that melted Wang Qingyao's heart.
"Mama."
"Yes."
"Mama."
"Yes."
An'an didn't want to do anything else; she just liked playing with the embroidery on Wang Qingyao's clothes, calling her name over and over.
Wang Qingyao was very patient, responding to each call. Fearing Pingping might feel neglected, she would occasionally turn her head to interact with him.
At this moment, Pingping was held by Xiao Yun. Although Xiao Yun treated both children equally, he couldn't help but feel envious seeing An'an call out "Mama" repeatedly.
"Come, An'an, call Daddy."
An'an couldn't call Daddy yet. After Xiao Yun taught her many times, she opened her mouth and still said, "Mama."
Xiao Yun was disheartened.
A servant came to report that Prince Zhuo and the Second Young Master had arrived.
The Second Young Master was Xiao Mo. Although he had been enfeoffed as the Marquis of Fuping, everyone in the Ding'an Prince's mansion was accustomed to calling him the Second Young Master and had not changed their address to match his title.
Xiao Mo had recently acquired two rare bolts of fabric, perfect for making clothes for the summer. They were breathable and not stuffy, especially suitable for children.
As soon as he got them, he personally brought them to Pingping and An'an.
In addition to the fabric, there was also a small box of toys.
An'an usually liked her Second Uncle Xiao Mo very much. Seeing him, her small body leaned over again.
Xiao Mo embraced her with one arm and, without showing favoritism, reached out with the other to embrace Pingping.
Wang Qingyao led them to the side hall to sit.
She had arranged the side hall to resemble a playroom. The floor in the back hall was covered with soft mats, and the walls were also lined with a meter-high layer of soft material.
After holding the children for a while, Xiao Mo's arms grew tired, so he placed them on the soft mats. He then had the box brought in and opened, and they began to rummage through it.
The front and back halls were separated by a low screen, similar to modern playpens.
The adults could talk in the front hall and see the two children with just a glance, which was very reassuring.
The Seventh Prince, seeing Xiao Mo holding the two children, was extremely envious and longed to hold them too.
However, Pingping and An'an were currently engrossed in their toys and paid no attention to the Seventh Prince.
The Seventh Prince felt quite hurt.
Xiao Mo had primarily come to deliver the gifts. Once they were delivered, he sat for a while and then left.
Before the Seventh Prince was enfeoffed as a Prince, he could not leave the palace freely. Now that he was a Prince, he could move out of the palace to his own residence, and the Emperor and Consort Chen had become much more lenient with him.
"Once I move into the Prince's mansion, I can come to your residence to play every day," the Seventh Prince thought excitedly.
"You're not young anymore, and about to get married. You should ask the Emperor for some official duties," Xiao Yun had treated the Seventh Prince like a younger brother when they were younger. Now that he knew his true identity, he felt even closer to the Seventh Prince and was earnestly acting as an older brother, taking charge of his younger brother's career.
The Seventh Prince, with a childlike demeanor, casually said, "Father has mentioned it. He said he would arrange something for me in a while."
As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes lit up. He saw Pingping pull out a music box, the kind where a small figure dances inside when you wind it up.
Wang Qingyao leaned over to help Pingping wind the music box, and Pingping's eyes also lit up.
An'an immediately dropped the toy she was holding and tried to snatch the music box.
Wang Qingyao was about to stop her when Pingping generously handed the music box to An'an.
An'an held it in her hands, her eyes wide, staring intently.
The Seventh Prince also leaned over to watch with An'an, and even coaxed her to let him play with it for a while.
An'an wasn't fooled. She turned around and showed her backside to the Seventh Prince.
Wang Qingyao looked at Pingping. Pingping was no longer paying attention to the music box and continued to rummage through other things.
Wang Qingyao looked at the two children and thought, although the brother doted on the sister, she would still have to teach her later not to snatch other people's things.
After playing with the music box for a while, the Seventh Prince was pulled out by Xiao Yun to be asked about Princess Mu Jin.
The Seventh Prince indeed had some interaction with Princess Mu Jin.
"It was around the Qingming Festival. Jiang Bo and I agreed to go out for a spring outing. On the road, we encountered a bully harassing a young girl who had sold herself to bury her father. Before we could intervene, Princess Mu Jin had people stop the bully. The bully refused to back down, insisting he had already paid for her indenture. I won't go into the details, but in the end, Princess Mu Jin buried the girl's father for her and didn't ask for her indenture."
Wang Qingyao blinked. "So you fell in love with the kind and brave Princess Mu Jin and vowed to marry no one else?"
The Seventh Prince blushed. "Not exactly."
Wang Qingyao was somewhat disappointed.
The Seventh Prince hadn't fallen in love with Princess Mu Jin, but after returning to the palace, he mentioned the matter to Consort Chen. Later, Consort Chen asked him if he was willing to marry Princess Mu Jin.
The Seventh Prince was like a child and didn't understand matters of love.
However, he knew that Princess Mu Jin was a brave and kind young woman, so he agreed.
Later, Consort Chen went to the Emperor to request the marriage decree.
Wang Qingyao and Xiao Yun exchanged glances. Well, nothing particularly unusual.