Princess Promotion

An Tian hid in a tree hole in the rocky hill in the backyard. When she was a child, she couldn't cry in her room when she encountered something unhappy, because if she was seen, she would be punished more severely.

So every time An Tian wanted to cry, she would climb up this tree hole and hide there to cry secretly.

Although An Tian didn't know what An Qing wanted to do to her, she knew that someone who showed him kindness for no reason was either a traitor or a thief.

There would be no harm in avoiding this flower viewing banquet, so An Tian pretended to agree to An Qing.

Before daybreak in the morning, he secretly hid from the servants in An Tian Mansion and climbed into this tree hole to hide.

As the sky gradually brightened, the mansion became increasingly lively. An Tian could occasionally hear the cries of servants looking for her below from the tree.

An Tian's heartbeat was particularly clear in the silence of the tree hole, and at the same time, her stomach began to protest louder and louder.

In her hasty departure that morning, she left without any food to avoid attracting attention.

Now her stomach grumbled in its emptiness.

Just then, a sweet smell suddenly drifted into her nose, interrupting An Tian's thoughts.

A bowl of steaming eight-treasure porridge appeared in front of her, exuding an enticing aroma.

An Tian looked up and saw Aunt Liu standing at the entrance of the tree hole with a gentle smile on her face.

Aunt Liu squatted down and handed the eight-treasure porridge to An Tian: "I knew you were hiding here."

An Tian took the bowl and took a sip carefully. The sweet taste spread in her mouth.

"Aunt, no one noticed you coming here, right?" An Tian asked softly.

A trace of helplessness flashed across Aunt Liu's face, and she said unhappily, "No, you're not a child anymore, and you're still trying to cover up your mistakes."

An Tian swallowed the porridge in her mouth and said, "An Qing has been targeting me since I was a child. Why would he suddenly be so kind as to take me to the flower viewing party? He must be planning something bad."

Aunt Liu sighed and said disapprovingly, "An Qing is the legitimate daughter. She's just teasing you. Just bear with it."

"Haven't you come this far all these years? Besides, you're almost old enough to talk about others, so you should obey the mistress..."

An Tian felt a surge of irritation in her heart and put down the bowl impatiently. Every time a conflict occurred, no matter whether she was right or wrong, her aunt would always tell her to be patient.

An Tian interrupted Aunt Liu and said, "Okay, stop talking."

Seeing An Tian was angry, Aunt Liu had no choice but to go along with her and say, "Okay, okay, I won't say anymore. Finish your drink and I'll take the bowl and chopsticks and leave."

"I am your mother, how could I harm you? If you hide like this, you will still be scolded." There was a hint of helplessness and compromise in Aunt Liu's words.

An Tian finished drinking the eight-treasure porridge in big gulps and was about to hand the bowl to Aunt Liu when she suddenly felt dizzy.

An Tian looked at Aunt Liu in disbelief, her eyes full of confusion and fear.

Before fainting, An Tian heard Aunt Liu mutter to herself: "You are just too stubborn. Going to the flower viewing banquet is just a way to get mad at you."

"You'll still be punished if you hide like this, so it's better to just go along with them. The most important thing for you now is to find a good marriage..."

An Tian completely lost consciousness, and the bowl in his hand slipped and fell with a crisp sound of breaking.

Outside the house, thunder roared and heavy rain poured down.

An Tian was slapped to the ground by An Wenbo. An Tian's face instantly became red and swollen, blood was hanging from the corner of his mouth, his clothes were disheveled, and he knelt on the ground in a trance, his eyes full of disbelief and despair.

An Wenbo's angry curses echoed in the thunderstorm: "I don't have a daughter as shameless as you."

An Qing threw herself into Mrs. An's arms, crying bitterly, but there was a hint of smug smile hidden in her eyes.

An Qing cried and said, "An Tian actually did something so shameful to our family and ruined my daughter's reputation. How can I live my life in the future?"

An Tian seemed to come back to her senses from her trance. She knelt on the ground, crawled towards An Wenbo, and cried, "Father, I didn't seduce any man. It was... An Qing who drugged me. It was An Qing who harmed me..."

Then he turned to Aunt Liu, who had been kneeling beside him, and cried, "Mother! Mother, please tell Father quickly, I didn't! I really didn't want to go to see the flowers. An Qing drugged me and forced me to go..."

An Qing interrupted An Tian and sneered, "You're throwing dirty water on me because your ugly deeds were exposed? It was you who begged me to take you to the flower viewing banquet so that you could have a secret meeting with your lover."

At this time, the servants in the mansion also came out to testify, claiming that it was An Tian who pestered An Qing to go to the flower viewing party.

An Tian cried hysterically: "Mom! Please speak up, they are all lying, it's obvious..."

At this moment, Aunt Liu, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke, her voice trembling slightly. "Master, Tian'er is young and ignorant, and she made a mistake. I beg you to forgive her this time. It's all my fault for not teaching her well."

An Tian's pupils shrank slightly, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably. She cried out in disbelief: "Mom! Why did you say that? Are they threatening you? Tell me..."

An Tian's voice stopped abruptly because she saw the familiar compromise and patience in Aunt Liu's eyes.

An Tian knew Aunt Liu too well. This woman was really cowardly and selfish.

She drugged herself to please An Qing, thinking that by doing so, he would reward her for being obedient and perhaps find a good husband for An Tian.

Because Aunt Liu knew that the marriage of a concubine's daughter was in the hands of the mistress, no matter how much An Tian and the noble young man were in love, as long as the mistress did not agree, An Tian could not escape from the An Mansion.

Aunt Liu had long accepted her fate and believed that only by obeying could she survive. She didn't understand why An Tian refused to accept this and insisted on resisting.

Now An Tian has lost her innocence, and the mansion is under the control of Madam An. What's the use even if she comes out to testify for An Tian?

Could it be possible that Mrs. An would help An Tian instead of her own daughter?

Now that I have lost my innocence, what's the point of knowing the truth? I might as well go along with my wife's wishes. This way, at least I can keep my life.

If the dispute continues, Mrs. An might even ask An Tian to die for An Qing's reputation to preserve the reputation of the An family.

Aunt Liu gently pulled An Tian's sleeve, forcing An Tian to bow her head and beg for mercy.

An Wenbo said angrily, "That's enough. You are hopeless and a complete liar. Someone, kick her out of the An Mansion."

An Tian slumped on the ground, his eyes becoming increasingly empty, like a rag doll that had lost its soul.

The servant ruthlessly lifted An Tian up and threw her outside the door. The heavy rain poured down on her mercilessly.

The gate of the An Mansion slowly closed in front of An Tian.

Aunt Liu's figure was vaguely visible through the crack in the door. She seemed to be still kowtowing and saying something to Madam An, but An Tian could no longer hear clearly.

An Tian didn't know how long he sat in the rain, until his body was soaked and freezing cold.

An Tian stood up in a daze and walked aimlessly on the street. The gazes of passers-by were like sharp arrows, piercing her heart. She felt as if she was walking naked on the street.

The sudden shaking of the carriage brought An Tian back to reality from her trance.

An Tian hurriedly hugged herself tightly, very hard, as if this could protect her from external harm.

It was a little dark inside the carriage, with only occasional sunlight filtering through the gaps in the curtains.

An Tian's hands involuntarily touched her collar, and she kept adjusting her clothes, repeatedly checking whether the clothes on her body were intact.

But no matter how many times she checked, she always felt a little uneasy, as if her clothes were not on and her body was exposed to everyone's eyes.

Just as An Tian was walking back and forth in a daze, the curtain of the carriage was suddenly lifted from the outside, and sunlight instantly shone into the dim carriage.

She saw Yao Chuguang, whose bright smiling face in the sun was like a ray of light in the darkness.

"We're already there, why haven't you come out yet?" Yao Chuguang asked with a smile.

An Tian smiled with relief, bent down, stood up, walked out of the carriage and into the sunshine.

"I'll be right out!"