An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

Sang Ling had been staying at Gao's mansion for the past few days. At this special time, she didn't care about the miscellaneous rules. When they came out of the mansion, Cheng Ni sent Ah Zeng to tell Fang Ni that she was to take the young lady to Yunyue Pavilion to stay for two days, and also take the wet nurses and old maids to serve her.

Madam Zhaoyu came over during this time, bringing Le Yile with her. However, my aunt couldn't speak yet, so it was Sang Ling who was talking to Madam Zhaoyu. He only briefly mentioned the things in his mouth and passed it off vaguely, "These are all some ugly things in the family. My stepmother and my aunt have been at odds for a long time. I don't know why they quarreled again a few days ago, and then they did this ridiculous thing."

"Doesn't Commander Sang know?" Madam Zhaoyu naturally asked.

If Sang Ling was not still surnamed Sang, and was worried that Sang Wu's mistakes might implicate her daughter, she really wanted to expose her father right there. After swallowing, she answered, "Father said there were some misunderstandings, and I couldn't ask too much, after all, she is married now." As she spoke, she looked at Sang Feng'e on the couch, "Aunt has treated me like her own daughter since I was a child. I just want her to get better soon and not have to suffer this anymore."

After a short silence, Madam Zhaoyu nodded and asked, "When will your cousin return?"

"The letter was sent back this morning, saying they would be back before the New Year."

Madam Zhaoyu just nodded when she heard that, and then she comforted him, "Since the imperial physician said that the medicine won't cause any harm, you just need to rest. You shouldn't be too stressed. Although it will make you feel more at ease if I stay by your side, you still need to make sure you rest."

As he said this, he asked the wet nurse to bring Le Yile over. The three generations of people sat in the painting hall, teasing the child and passing the afternoon.

Two days after Madam Zhaoyu left, Sang Wu came to Gao's house again in private - why did he say in private? It was because Ma took her son Sang Xiao to Tianliang to pray for blessings today.

When Sang Ling received the news, he just sneered and led him all the way into the back room of the painting hall to see Sang Feng'e without saying a word the whole time. Now it was impossible for her to pretend to be friendly.

Sang Feng'e was in better condition these past two days. Although she still couldn't speak a complete sentence, she was at least able to stay awake and eat some rice porridge. Sometimes she would utter a few words intermittently, and Sang Ling, Wei Ai, and Cheng Ai could still understand what she meant. ——But at this time, they tried their best to prevent her from talking too much.

Sang Wu was watching Sang Feng'e beside the couch while listening to the doctor's reply. Sang Ling was sitting on a soft mat by the wall, watching coldly for a long time. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked Wei Ai beside him, "Does Ma always take Sang Xiao to Tianliang?"

Sang Feng'e had close contacts with the Sang family, so Wei Ai, the old mother who stayed by her side, must have known something about it.

"In spring and autumn, we go once every three months. In winter, we go at the beginning of every month. This is because the young master has not been in good health since he was born, and he is more likely to get sick as winter approaches," said Aunt Wei.

Madam Hou said "Oh" softly, but her tone was a little raised. Old Madam Cheng immediately heard something was wrong, and knelt down beside her and added, "Tianliang Dade Temple is the most famous, and only nobles in the palace can enter. After the new year, when the young lady turns one, the eldest lady will take her to Dade Temple. It is still a favor from the queen."

This was just showing off the Nie family. Sang Ling didn't care about this and just asked, "Where did Ma Jijun go to Tianliang to pray for blessings?"

"There are also many witches and shamans around Daitoku-ji Temple, and they are also famous." Wei Ai continued to answer.

Sang Ling's gaze gradually became empty. The two old ladies wanted to continue talking, but seeing her like this, they looked at each other and stopped talking.

At 9:00 pm, Sang Wu left. Wei Ai and Cheng Ai, one on behalf of the Gao family and the other on behalf of the Marquisate, went to see him off. Sang Ling still knelt on the mat, and gradually his thoughts came to a conclusion. He called Wei Chu and Xiao Yuanxing, and whispered, "Go to Tianliang immediately..."

The winter wind blew in from the courtyard, blowing up the beaded curtain in front of the door, and the green smoke from the incense burner in the house was also scattered. The whispers in the house were little by little drowned out by the glances between the master and the servants.

*

This year's end was really lively, especially for the Sang family. The winter month of the tenth year of Jiansi had just arrived, and on the eighth day of the first month, news came out that the second daughter of the Sang family had become the second wife of the Prince of Dongping.

Although it was not as lively as the wedding banquet held by Prince Dongping at his first wedding the year before, because of his status as the fifth prince, he still invited many nobles and high-ranking officials to a banquet at his home.

It was a holiday at the Dongyue Gate Hall, and Dai Chengjun was bored, so he went to Gao's house to talk to Sang Ling. He mentioned this matter during the conversation and said that if Nie Ce was not in the capital, Bao Zhun would also have been invited to drink over.

Sang Ling was just surprised. Sang Mei was four years younger than her, and she was only thirteen or fourteen this year. Although the imperial court did not completely follow the age of marriage, Sang Mei did not have to get married in the next one or two years. Why were they in such a hurry? Or was she going to marry someone else?

And it seems that Prince Dongping is much older than Sang Mei.

Or is it just for his status as a prince?

"His first-married wife was also pitiful. When she got married, the children of her concubines were already seven or eight years old." Dai Chengjun told her the gossip in detail.

Sang Ling could hardly keep up with the speed of her information, and silently calculated in his heart how young the Prince of Dongping was to have a child. —— Hearing Dai Chengjun nagging again, "Does your stepmother really not know, or is she pretending not to know? If you let your sister's child marry in, she will be bullied to death. I heard that the little stars in the Prince of Dongping's backyard are very powerful. Who knows how the first wife who married in two years ago died?"

"How can a concubine be so powerful?" Sang Ling couldn't help but ask.

"There is a pair of twin sisters brought from the north by the Prince of Dongping. I heard that they are horse keepers there. They are wild by nature. They are said to be able to run away with daggers in the state residence. In fact, there have been rumors before. It seems that the elder sister killed a maid. At that time, the matter was quite serious. Even Madam Qianshan, the mother of the Prince of Dongping, sent people to the state residence to execute the sisters. Later, I don’t know why, they were not executed. The two are still living peacefully in the backyard. Not only are they alive and well, but they are also very favored. Ban Le told me before that it was because the sisters were very good in bed that they won the favor of the Prince of Dongping."

"With a backyard like this, your stepmother still wants to marry your sister there?"

"Maybe." Sang Ling raised his eyebrows and said, "Maybe he wants the title of queen."

After all, the Prince of Dongping was granted the title of marquis. When he goes abroad in the future, Sang Mei will be the queen. Regardless of whether the Prince of Dongping has the real power or not, Sang Mei is a royal noble. If one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit. Wouldn't Ma also become a royal relative?

In this way, Sang Wu would be even more afraid to touch her.

Sang Ling smiled coldly, dipped his jade-white fingers in the water in the cup, and slowly drew a small circle on the table.