An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

The Donghou Mansion was not far from the Gao Mansion, and the carriage stopped in less than two quarters of an hour.

Two or three old ladies were waiting in front of the mansion gate to welcome Sang Feng'e and her nephew in.

Passing the front hall and the big house, you pass a landscaped flower garden. The shadows of the trees block your view. After walking a little further, a lake slowly appears before your eyes.

The people from the Gao Mansion followed the old women up the winding corridor bridge and entered the waterside pavilion on the west side. The wife of the Eastern Marquis and the women from other mansions were already inside. Xun Jin was also behind his mother, but he did not sit down. He first bowed to Sang Feng'e, saying "Madam Sang", and then bowed to Sang Ling and greeted him.

Every time I see the Prince of Donghou, he is like this, neither smiling nor angry, even in the gatehouse. Fortunately, he is always considerate in terms of etiquette, otherwise, with such a blank expression on his face, others might think that he has no patience to deal with people.

Although Sang Ling had not yet fully accepted the discussion between his aunt and the wife of Marquis Dong, when he was present, he was still able to greet the ladies with a smile.

If not, she would not be able to do anything. Her own home was a den of evil, her biological father didn't care, her stepmother was mean, and she could finally live her own life at her aunt's house, but she was not completely free. Since she had to rely on others, she had to follow their ways. Or, if she had to get married next year and she couldn't avoid it, marrying into the East Marquis's Mansion was not something she could completely resist.

This era is different from hers after all. When you marry someone, you are not marrying the person, but marrying his family. At least now, it seems that Mrs. Dong is still very satisfied with her, and Mrs. Dong and her aunt are old friends. First of all, she has a mother-in-law to protect her, which can also save her a lot of troubles in the future.

The worst that could happen was to find ways to escape the marriage and go out to work on her own, but this idea was just a passing cloud - the more knowledge she learned about this era, the more she realized that her abilities were limited. If she really escaped from this mansion, let alone where to start a career, in the country's environment of male dominance and female inferiority, it would be difficult for a girl without identity and background to gain a foothold.

The laughter of the women beside her ears brought her thoughts back to reality, and she couldn't help but think of Gao Heng. She didn't know how Nie Ce was doing, why did she go to see him and not come back for the whole night?

I hope nothing goes wrong.

The spring banquet among the ladies of the noble family lasted a long time. After lunch, the ladies gathered at two tables to play mahjong. Sang Feng'e was afraid that Sang Ling would be bored, so she sent someone to send Sang Ling back to Gao's house first. She also told the wife of the Marquis of Dong that "the medicine is warm at home, so I'm afraid it will be delayed."

"What medicine do you want to take?" Mrs. Dong Hou picked up a handful of cards and asked leisurely.

"It's for health. Her cousin gave it to her."

"Let Ajin see them off." The Marquis's wife glanced at her son, "It will be easier for the children to talk."

The banquet was originally held with this purpose in mind, and with this arrangement at the last minute, who among the women present could not be aware of the two families' intentions? The wife of the chief official, who was sitting at the side, joked, "No wonder I saw you were so happy. When can you drink the wedding wine?"

Madam Donghou smiled and glanced at Sang Feng'e, "Besides, it was all arranged by Feng'e and I, and we have never been to the Taiwei Mansion."

"The head of the household is the daughter of Ma Yuanli, right?" someone asked again.

All the high-ranking women in the capital knew that Sang Wu had married Ma as his second wife. Some of the people present knew it even better: Sang Feng'e and Ma were not on good terms, while Sang Feng'e and the wife of the Marquis of Dong were old friends, so whenever the two of them were present, the host would never invite Ma.

"Why does she need to make the decision?" Sang Feng'e's eyes were still on the cards, but her tone was a bit sharper than when she was chatting just now.

It seems that the conflict between the aunt and the sister-in-law has not been resolved yet. Mrs. Dong Hou smiled lightly, "Yes, just wait until we decide with our Lord, and then go and tell General Sang directly."

"Then I want to congratulate you in advance."

The women's laughter gradually faded away behind them. The two younger ones had not walked far yet, but they heard everything that had just happened. Sang Ling lowered her head and remained silent, while Xun Jin also remained silent. They walked quietly to the gate of the mansion, where Master Xun politely extended a hand and motioned for him to help her get into the carriage.

Sang Ling looked back slowly, and in her peripheral vision she saw the two stone lions in front of the East Marquis Mansion. They had neatly fur, looked majestic yet unfamiliar. She obediently reached out her hand, applied a little force, and pressed the back of his hand to get on the carriage.

But Xun Jin did not enter the carriage with her. He sat by the shaft with the driver throughout the journey.

After walking a short distance out of the Marquis' Mansion, they entered Maquan Street, the busiest street in the city. There was a bustling crowd outside, which attracted Sang Ling to lift the driving curtain and look for a while.

The country has been established for a hundred years, and it is enjoying a prosperous era. Even those who are not involved in politics can see from the street scenes in the city that only when a country's economy is prosperous can the people live and work in peace and contentment, and feudal ethics do not have so many restrictions on people - there are many women walking on the streets, and they can even talk and laugh in the street without any hesitation to show their faces in front of others.

Her sight moved forward little by little, stopping in front of a shop at the corner of the alley.

"Let's stop here." The person in the car said immediately, "I want to go down and take a walk."

Xun Jin looked back and hesitated for a while, then ordered the driver to stop and jumped down first. Sang Ling also moved quickly, and this time he was supported by Ya Nu, not even giving him a chance to reach out.

"Thank you for your help. If my aunt asks about it when you get back, just tell her that I've already arrived at the mansion." She raised her eyes and stared at him, her tone sounding a little anxious.

Prince Xun was stunned for a moment, and just as he said "OK", he saw the person in front of him leave quickly.

On both sides of Maquan Street, people cheered and horses neighed. From time to time, two or three horse-drawn carriages and ox-drawn carts passed by, and there were also peddlers holding up their wares and shouting.

The young man in front of the car couldn't help but lower his head and let out a long sigh.

Of course he knew the purpose of the spring banquet in the mansion today. He had just reached adulthood. Since last year, his mother had been looking for daughters from various wealthy families. When Mrs. Sang from the Gao family frequently visited the mansion, he accidentally heard the name Sang Ling, and later saw this girl in the gatehouse.

Admittedly, he was somewhat unhappy in his heart and really disliked this fat daughter.

But he also knew the importance of this marriage. The head of the Sang family was the current Grand Marshal, and his father was an old-fashioned marquis who could not even enter the court. Now he had to rely on his cousin to curry favor with the emperor to maintain his dignity. The nobles in Chang'an City were all respectful at first but arrogant later. They flattered on the surface, but mocked them more in private. His mother placed all her hopes on her heir - if he could marry into the Sang family, he would be recommended to the central government by Grand Marshal Sang, and after passing the trial assessment, he would be able to enter the court and participate in the court.

Therefore, his marriage with the daughter of the Sang family had to be successful.