A life of ups and downs is pure joy

Tao Baiwan stood at the door of the Imperial Library waiting to be summoned. After a while, the military minister came out and saluted her. The emperor's personal eunuch then led Princess Minghuichang into the hall to meet the emperor.

"uncle…"

As soon as Tao Baiwan entered the hall, he bowed to the emperor with a look of grievance.

"come on."

Seeing that the girl looked aggrieved, the emperor waved to her.

Tao Baiwan walked to the emperor and knelt down as he did when he was a child.

"Why are you still feeling wronged? Your royal brother's punishment for you this time was already very merciful."

The old emperor really doted on this eldest princess, and his voice was very doting when he spoke to her.

"Wanwan knew that her mischief had frightened Changping, but I didn't know she was so weak. I also know that I was wrong. I have been shut away for six months to reflect on my mistakes, copying Buddhist scriptures every day to apologize."

Tao Baiwan pouted and looked at the emperor pitifully.

"It's rare for a little rascal like you to realize your mistake. This matter ends here. Grind the ink for your uncle."

The old emperor picked up the scroll and knocked her on the head.

"Uncle, Wanwan came here today to ask for a favor." Tao Baiwan said while lifting his sleeves and grinding ink.

"Haha...you still have something to ask of others. Haven't you always been doing things in a hurry since you were a child?" The old emperor turned his head to look at her and said with a smile.

"My mother is gone, so of course I have to ask my uncle to make the decision on my future marriage." Tao Baiwan said coquettishly and innocently.

"Lifelong event? You still want to marry Xiao Yi?" The old emperor stopped writing and asked.

"Wanwan knows that this matter will embarrass her uncle, so she doesn't have that fantasy anymore. Wanwan has grown up with several royal brothers since she was young. Apart from the Crown Prince, the Third Royal Brother treats her best. He also treats Wanwan sincerely. If her uncle loves her, he will entrust Wanwan's life to the Third Royal Brother."

Tao Baiwan knelt upright and said.

"You're going to marry the third child?"

The old emperor looked at Tao Baiwan in surprise and asked.

Tao Baiwan nodded obediently.

"Nonsense, don't mention this matter again!"

The old emperor's face suddenly changed and he immediately refused.

"Uncle, everyone says that you favored Wanwan the most since she was little, but you didn't allow Wanwan to be with the two men she loved the most. Now that mother is gone, no one cares about Wanwan anymore."

After Tao Baiwan finished speaking, she burst into tears out of grievance.

"Be obedient. There are countless good men in this world. Your uncle will definitely find you a suitable match, but you cannot marry the third brother or any of your other royal brothers."

The old emperor said with a frown.

"Uncle, Wanwan has loved Brother Yi since she was a child. The Empress and Mother were at odds, so they forbade this marriage and allowed Changping to marry into the Xiao family, tearing Brother Yi and I apart. Now, when everyone is pushing the issue down, only Third Brother has always cared for and loved Wanwan. He doesn't have a legitimate wife, so why can't Wanwan marry him? Could it be that Uncle doesn't like Wanwan?"

The girl burst into tears again after she said this.

"How does your uncle treat you? Don't you know? I can do whatever you want, except that the matter of the third brother must never be mentioned again!"

The emperor said this with a sullen face, then reached out to wipe the tears from Tao Baiwan's face.

"Uncle, either let me marry my third brother, or I'll just become a nun. Anyway, no one in this world loves Wanwan anymore, so I'll just go find my mother... woo woo woo..."

Tao Baiwan cried and covered her chest, and soon fainted from grief. The old emperor was so scared that he quickly summoned the imperial physician.

Empress Xiao also heard in the harem that Tao Baiwan cried until he fainted in the Imperial Library.

"Humph! Like mother, like daughter. She's equally shameless. As long as I'm around, she'll never be able to enter my Xiao family."

Empress Xiao slammed the table and said this. The palace maids beside her lowered their heads in fear. The personal maid dismissed the attendants and then stepped forward to take Empress Xiao's hand and gently knead it.

"My Lady, why bother getting angry for her? It's not worth worrying about if you get sick from anger. However, even if you are angry, there are still some things you have to worry about."

"What do you mean?" Empress Xiao asked curiously.

"As everyone knows, Princess Minghui is very favored by the emperor. I'm afraid that our emperor has already chosen someone for her in his mind." The senior palace maid said in a low voice.

"Everyone in the entire Jinhan City knows that there are many young talents besides my Xiao family's Yier. Who else could be more outstanding?" Empress Xiao said disapprovingly.

"Your Majesty, you have forgotten that the Lin family has a second son who has made many military achievements. He is General Luo Feng, who will inherit the title of marquis in the future."

The senior palace maid reminded softly.

"Tsk...but Nan'er...is that the child?" Empress Xiao was stunned for a moment, then asked.

The senior palace maid nodded.

"This child will take over the Lin family army in the future. Let me think about it..."

Empress Xiao stood up, fiddled with the beads in her hand, and began to frown in thought.

"You mean His Majesty will marry Minghui to the Lin family?"

Empress Xiao looked at the head palace maid and asked.

"This servant is just guessing, I'm afraid His Majesty is too fond of the eldest princess..."

The senior palace maid looked at Empress Xiao hesitantly, wanting to say something.

"No, the person I love will never be allowed to be sold to that bitch. Go... ask Big Brother to come see me tomorrow at noon."

Empress Xiao sat down again and murmured, "Let me think about this matter carefully..."

When Tao Baiwan woke up again, she was already in her own princess's mansion. Through the curtains, she saw Ning Chengxian sitting at the wooden table.

"Third brother, why are you so sure that uncle won't let me marry you?"

Tao Baiwan lifted the quilt, raised the curtains, sat beside the bed and asked.

"You don't need to know the reason. I said I would help you marry into the Xiao family."

Ning Chengxian spoke slowly while drinking tea.

"But you said that my uncle would most likely let me marry Lin Ancai."

Tao Baiwan asked with some confusion.

"If that's the case, just wait for the person from Qifeng Palace to lend you a hand. Okay, you can take a rest first."

After Ning Chengxian finished speaking, he stood up and left, leaving Tao Baiwan alone in the room, puzzled.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, Lin Qinghuan had been waiting at the gate of the mansion for a long time. Xiao Yi had said as soon as he left home that Xiao Fan and Xiao Qiannan would be able to arrive in Jinhan today.

"Sister-in-law..."

Looking at the carriage approaching from afar, Xiao Qiannan poked her head out and waved happily at Lin Qinghuan.

"Come back, come back."

When Lin Qinghuan saw Xiao Qiannan's familiar face, her eyes became moist and she happily took a few steps outside.

Xiao Qiannan slowly got off the carriage using the stepping stool and walked forward to give Lin Qinghuan a big hug.

"Sister-in-law, I miss you so much!" Xiao Qiannan said coquettishly while hugging Lin Qinghuan tightly.

"Me too. Let's go home quickly." The aunt and sister-in-law cried and laughed, then walked hand in hand towards the mansion.

"Nan'er, what's wrong with your leg?"

Lin Qinghuan felt that Xiao Qiannan's walking posture was a little strange.

"Nothing serious... I just fell off my horse."

Xiao Qiannan explained in a panic, then quickly changed the subject.

"I'm so hungry. My second brother said there are a lot of delicious food when we get back, so he let me eat less dry food and sesame cakes along the way."

After Xiao Fan finished his work, he walked over to his aunt and sister-in-law and went into the mansion together.

"Okay, mother ordered a table full of your favorite dishes."

Lin Qinghuan glanced at Hong Qi behind him, gestured at Xiao Qiannan's legs and feet, and then helped her walk towards the mansion.

A family dinner started with Liu Ji and Xiao Qiannan crying, and ended with them happily teasing Xiao Xingjian.

Xiao Qiannan was exhausted from the long journey, so she went back to her yard to rest.

"Hongqi, do you think Nan'er's leg was injured?" Lin Qinghuan asked after returning to Qingbo Courtyard.

"And Nan'er seems to be deliberately hiding the fact that she has a leg injury. I feel a little weird." Lin Qinghuan said without waiting for Hong Qi to reply.

"Miss, Hei Yu sent a message saying that Miss Xiao just returned to Luofeng from Tianmen last month. Maybe she has been accompanying the Second Young Master the whole time."

Seeing that there was no one around, Hong Qi lowered her voice and spoke to Lin Qinghuan.

"This silly girl, I think there's something wrong with her."

Lin Qinghuan sighed and said after hearing this.

"The fact that Miss Xiao can walk shows that her injury has healed. However, if she is not careful, she will limp again, which means that it is an old injury." Hong Qi thought about it and said frankly to Lin Qinghuan.

"What did you say? What do you mean by old illness?" Lin Qinghuan asked in shock.

"I have sent a message to Miss Wen. She will be back later and she will know everything after seeing it." Hong Qi said.

"Alright, Wen'er and I will go see Nan'er later. Let's keep this a secret for now. My husband doesn't want Nan'er to be with him... So, for now, we can't let them know that Nan'er has been in Tianmen."

After Lin Qinghuan finished speaking, Hong Qi nodded and left.