An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

Last month, Nie Ce was unable to shirk his official duties and went on a business trip. No one knew where he went and he did not return for nearly half a month. He went to the palace that day and replied in the afternoon. Afterwards, he did not go to the Colonel's Office and hurried back home.

"We can rest for two days, and then we can go out and play tomorrow."

Traveling in Chang'an after the beginning of summer, although it is hot, people don't have to stay indoors all the time. On the way back, Nie Ce was thinking about where to take his wife to play.

Sang Ling was leaning against a table eating bayberries, Wei Chu was fanning her beside her, Zong Xiang and Yan Yao brought up some water for the marquis, Xiao Yuan Xing lifted the pearl curtain at the back window to let in some air, and even Cheng Auntie, who was resting in the room, came over in slow steps - whenever he came back from a business trip, the servants in front and behind Wu Yuan would rush into action.

"Where are you going?" Sang Ling picked up the second bayberry.

Nie Ce went to change his clothes behind the barrier and replied, "Xiaonan Mountain is holding a horse racing meeting. This year, it is hosted by the Xun family."

The horse racing meeting of the powerful families in Beijing is held once a year. In the first two years, it was hosted by Madam Zhaoyu. Later, because they were no longer the host and they had a lot of things to do, they did not go in the last two years. Sang Ling nodded with satisfaction, thinking that since it was hosted by the Xun family, she would definitely be able to see Ban Le. Then she would send someone to ask Dai Chengjun if she wanted to go, and they would get together to talk with their old friends.

The masters were talking inside. Xiao Yuan Xing was just about to go to the corridor to put away her shoes. She walked in a hurry without raising her head and accidentally bumped into someone. She looked up and saw that it was Ying Bushi who was beside the Marquis. Both of them were stunned for a moment, but neither of them said a word. One of them continued to go to the corridor, and the other went to the door frame and knelt down.

Although Wei Chu was waiting beside the young lady, he also saw it. He glanced at Zong Xiang, who then lowered his brows and smiled.

But these are just silent conversations among the people below.

The couple set off early the next morning. Sang Ling stayed in bed for a while as he had slept later than usual last night. Although he couldn't have sex now, he had other ways to be intimate. Young people are full of energy and they were still reunited after a short separation, so they always had to stay together for a while.

After getting dressed in the morning, she also took care to apply powder on the side of her neck to cover up the marks.

Nie Ce got on the carriage with her, and Zong Xiang and Wei Chu were also brought along. Originally, they were afraid that Cheng Lao would be tired from running back and forth, so they didn't want her to go along. But the old mother wouldn't listen and was worried, so she finally followed after much persuasion, and the three servants sat in the carriage at the back.

They didn't come early. The weather was good today, with some sunshine but not too hot. When they arrived, several nobles were already seated on the stage in the grassland. The one sitting on the main seat was the crown prince. Originally, the fifth prince, the Prince of Dongping, and the Xun family were arranged on his left and right sides. But yesterday, they received a letter saying that Marquis Mu Wu was coming, so the Xun family took the initiative to vacate their seats.

"I didn't hear that you were coming earlier. Why didn't you tell me first?" From the moment the prince saw Nie Ce, a smile appeared on his face. He even stood up from his seat and took him over personally.

He is the second son of Empress Wu and the eleventh son of the Emperor. He and Nie Ce are cousins, and they grew up together, so their relationship is unmatched.

"I just got back yesterday too." Nie Ce didn't even have time to greet him before he spoke again.

But the prince didn't seem to care about it. He glanced at Sang Ling beside him, a little surprised. - This was also the first time the prince saw Nie Ce's wife. He had heard people in the palace talk about her stunning beauty before, but he had never had the chance to see her face. Seeing her today, she really lived up to the rumors. "You are so lucky." He patted Nie Ce.

Nie Jialang smiled knowingly and did not respond. He just turned around and introduced himself as "Madam Sang." Sang Ling followed and bowed. The prince looked at her for a moment, nodded, and then pulled Nie Ce to his side to talk.

She sat down on their side of the mat by herself, with Auntie Cheng following behind her and the two younger ones standing further back.

He just drank a sip of water and started looking around. Cheng Ai also knew where it was and helped him look for it. She pointed to a place not far away and said, "It's there."

At 9:00 pm, the sun was shining like melted gold all over the pasture. Not far away, Dai Chengjun was strolling leisurely in the sun. She was dressed differently today, with her sleeves tied up and protective gear on her legs. I guess she was going to go horseback riding today.

Sang Ling did not let Cheng Lao stand up, and called Wei Chu to help her go over. Halfway through the journey, the daughter of the Dai family seemed to have telepathy with her, and turned her head to look at her, and the two little girls looked at each other in laughter.

They found a shady place and spread their mats. The two of them were about to sit down when a warm breeze blew by, startling a few grasshoppers in the grass. Wei Chu and the Dai family's servants went to drive away the mosquitoes.

"A Ling, you've gained some weight." Dai Chengjun looked her up and down for a long time, "Your belly is bulging."

Being four months pregnant doesn't make her look very pregnant, especially since she is so thin now, it doesn't look that obvious.

"Isn't it? I don't know why, but I just love eating recently." Sang Ling began to tease her, "I eat two bowls of rice every meal, and fruits and snacks after meals. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and cry because of hunger."

Then Dai Chengjun exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you so greedy for food?"

"The Nie family doesn't give us food." She pretended to purse her lips.

"How is that possible? The Nie family can't even afford food." Dai Chengjun said seriously, frowning slightly before realizing, "Are you pregnant? Have you asked someone to check it out?"

After she finished speaking, she heard someone laughing beside her. She turned around and saw that it was the maidservant beside Sang Ling. She was puzzled and looked back at Sang Ling. She saw that she was also laughing with her mouth covered. She suddenly realized, "You are mean." She was about to grab her, but Sang Ling dodged her and said, "I can just tease you."

Dai Chengjun snorted, "Why didn't you tell me about this happy news earlier? Ban Le sent someone to tell me right away, and you're still teasing me."

"Ban Le is also pregnant." Sang Ling sat up straight.

"Yes." Dai Chengjun helped her spread out the wrinkled hem of her skirt. "The letter that came at the beginning of the month said that she was newly pregnant, so you see, she didn't have her period today."

She nodded and was about to say: That's good. Her family should be more peaceful now that she's pregnant.

I also heard Dai Chengjun say, "My concubine is pregnant too, and she got pregnant earlier than she did."

……

Ever since she married into the Marquis' Mansion, Sang Ling has never taken the initiative to contact her friends outside. Now that she heard that Ban Le was pregnant, she had to ask about Kang Jian.

The next day, he sent someone to deliver something to Shangshun Mansion, which also included a piece of bamboo slips written by her.

Just after I finished arranging all these, Aunt Fang came over with a smile on her face.

Lord Nie Ce was not at home, so the two of them talked in the front hall of the bedroom. At the beginning, they just asked Sang Ling how her pregnancy was going in the past few days, and then explained two words that Madam Zhao Yu had passed on, which were also asking her to rest more, pay attention to her diet, and if she was short of anything or had any inconvenience, she should send someone to inform her in time.

Now that she, the mother-in-law, had taken back the power of the household, she naturally started to get busy again. Also, because Grandpa Nie no longer allowed her to visit him morning and evening, Sang Ling and Madam Zhao Yu were not often seen unless on special occasion.

After a few pleasantries, Fang Ai showed no sign of getting up. Sang Ling saw it all and cast a curious look at her, "Is there anything else?"

Fang Ai smiled awkwardly, "Grandpa arranged for the Liang family's daughter to come to the mansion yesterday. Madam has already met her. She asked when the young lady would be free and asked her to come over and kowtow."

The draft from the inner courtyard stopped at the door at this moment. Only the orchid leaves on the table swayed a few times. The room was very quiet. A lock of the girl's hair hung down, and the smile on her lips faded a little.

She had already prepared for this matter.

So he put on a mild smile and said, "Okay, I'll be free tomorrow."