A life of ups and downs is pure joy

"How many hours was His Majesty alone with the Princess in the Imperial Garden?"

Queen Wei Lan looked at the head maid Tao Mu with a bit of surprise and asked.

"It's not just this time. The last time we were appreciating paintings in the Imperial Study, not long after Concubine Xian came out, the young prince left, leaving only the monarch and the princess inside for quite a while."

Tao Mu said in a low voice.

"The young prince sent many people to the palace in the past few years, but he has been quiet for the past three years. What is he up to now?"

Wei Lan asked somewhat confusedly.

"So what if he gave it to me? Our Lord is not one who likes beautiful women. Since he ascended the throne, he has favored Concubine Xian the most... This servant deserves death. Please forgive me, Queen."

Taomu realized he had said something wrong halfway through, and quickly knelt down and slapped himself repeatedly.

"Get up. Even though she's favored, she hasn't given birth to a child for His Majesty. If His Majesty really likes this girl, it might not be a bad thing. At least His Majesty is no longer attracted to that woman, and some people's luck has run out."

Wei Lan clearly understood that she became the Queen of Dayan because of the union between royal power. She had hoped to win the heart of the king and have a deep love with him, but things did not go as she wished. Queen was her destiny. As long as she was the Queen of Dayan, she had fulfilled her duties to the foreign land of Shenzhou. For the two countries, whether there was love between the emperor and the queen was not an important matter.

However, she also felt unbalanced. Although the emperor and she had always treated each other with respect, Fang Duoduo, despite her humble background, was favored and had been very arrogant in the palace over the years. Even the palace maids knew that it was more useful to please Empress Xian than the Empress Dowager.

Thinking of this, Wei Lan gripped the hairpin tighter in her hand.

"Ma'am..."

Taomu saw that Weilan’s brows were getting tighter and tighter, and couldn’t help but call out softly.

"Tao'er, personally deliver this white jade hairpin to the princess at the Prince's Mansion and tell her that I think it matches the birthmark on her forehead perfectly."

"Yes…"

Although Taomu was puzzled, he still agreed respectfully.

In the Prince's Mansion, Gong Kou Shi said jokingly while holding the priceless white jade hairpin given by Wei Lan.

"It has to be the Queen, who knows what kind of jewelry our little Ge'er should wear. If you like it, you can wear it for fun."

After saying that, he handed the jade hairpin to Zhuang Ge'er.

"Your Majesty, there is one thing I'm confused about."

Zhuang Ge'er looked at the hairpin in her hand thoughtfully, then looked up at Gong Kou Shi and said.

"What's the matter?"

"It's against etiquette for me to be alone with the Lord, both emotionally and logically. But why is the prince so careless and always leaves me alone? Did Zhuang Ge'er do something to displease the prince?"

Zhuang Ge'er thought for a while, and finally mustered up the courage to ask.

"He's my brother, what's wrong with that? Besides, you guys are..."

Gong Kou Shi said without thinking, looked at Zhuang Ge'er who looked innocent, paused, smiled slyly and continued to ask.

"Xiao Ge'er, if you had to choose, would you rather be my princess or my brother's concubine?"

"Your Highness, what absurd question are you asking? Why should I make such a choice?"

Zhuang Ge'er looked at Gong Kou Shi in fear and said in surprise.

"I think my brother treats you very well. If you also have feelings for him, I am willing to help you and send you to the palace. Within two years, you will definitely become an imperial concubine. Becoming the queen may not be an option, after all, the only queen of Dayan can be the Wei family."

Gong Kou Shi continued to talk incessantly, but seeing Zhuang Ge'er's dull eyes, tears of grievance flowed down her face.

"Your Highness, if Zhuang Ge'er did something wrong, you could have just sent me back to Shan Yao's house. Why bother playing tricks on me like this?"

"Oh, my little beauty, why are you crying? Good song, I was just joking with you. Since I said I would marry you as my princess, why would I send you back to the manor? Now, don't cry."

Seeing the woman's tearful face, Gong Kou Shi had no choice but to step forward and carefully coax her.

After Zhuang Ge'er and Wan Dong returned to Nanmo Residence, Gong Kou Shi began to worry again. It turned out that this fairy sister had really forgotten her own brother, and now she was determined to follow her.

"Mother, if it really doesn't work out, Shi'er will marry my sister. When the fairy sister is happy with my brother, I will return her to him."

Gong Kou Shi lay on the wooden couch and talked to herself while looking at the small wooden statue of her mother that Gong Heyu had carved for her when he was imprisoned in Xiaozhu Garden.

The next day, when Zhuang Ge'er was still sleeping soundly, she heard Wandong calling her. She sat up in a daze, with disheveled hair, and leaned lazily on the bed railing.

"I was happier when I was single. Why do I have to get up so early every day after coming to Tokyo?"

Zhuang Ge'er complained with a nasal tone as if she had just woken up.

"How can my princess be so lazy?"

Gong Kou Shi strode in with his hands behind his back. Zhuang Ge'er woke up immediately when she heard his voice and quickly grabbed the quilt to cover her face.

"Your Highness, I haven't even washed or dressed yet!"

"You can wash as you please. During those years when you were seriously ill and bedridden, I took care of you day and night. I have seen all kinds of things."

Gong Kou Shi glanced at Zhuang Ge'er, whose eyes were only visible outside the quilt, and then sat down on the chaise longue beside her, crossed her legs and spoke leisurely.

Zhuang Ge'er looked at Wan Dong with innocent eyes for confirmation, but saw the maid nodding affirmatively.

"The prince really took care of the princess day and night at that time, and he lost a lot of weight."

Zhuang Ge'er secretly glanced at Gong Kou Shi who was drinking tea again, and then smiled embarrassedly with her lips pursed. She didn't know about these things. Although this little prince was not serious, he was indeed very good to her.

After breakfast, Gong Kou Shi sat there staring at Zhuang Ge'er in boredom.

"Want to go out and play?"

Gong Kou Shi asked.

"Okay!"

Zhuang Ge'er raised her head and said happily, then lowered her face and continued, "If I can enter the palace, forget it."

"Isn't it fun in the palace?"

Gong Kou Shi looked at Zhuang Ge'er's aggrieved expression and asked curiously.

"Not really, it's just that the prince always leaves me alone, so I don't want to go anymore."

Zhuang Ge'er said complainingly.

"My brother loves calligraphy and painting the most, but I don't know much about them. Since you are the best at it, I thought you could accompany him in appreciating them. This is called having similar interests, right?"

Gong Kou Shi thought about it carefully and made up a reason.

"It's not that I don't want to accompany His Majesty to appraise paintings, but if His Majesty is around, I can be more confident in what I say. However, I feel very uncomfortable when you're not around. After all, he's His Majesty, the Emperor of Great Yan. I'm afraid that if I say something inappropriate, it will offend His Majesty."

Zhuang Ge'er expressed her worries, and then looked at her future husband with grievance.

"Haha, my royal brother won't mind anything you say. He likes me the most... well... he's the best royal brother in the world. Just treat him as your royal brother."

Gong Kou Shi stopped talking and quickly changed her words.

"Your Majesty, I still hope you are here every time."

Zhuang Ge'er knew that the Lord seemed to have a good character and temper, but she always felt uncomfortable when she was with him.

"Okay, I promise you, I will accompany you from now on, and you will accompany your brother. Is that okay?"

Gong Kou Shi smiled and continued to speak while shaking her head.

Although Zhuang Ge'er felt that what the little prince said was a little strange, she nodded happily when she heard that he would not abandon her again.

"Change into comfortable clothes, and I'll take you around Tokyo."

Gong Kou Shi looked up and down at Zhuang Ge'er's complicated floor-length skirt, shook her head and said.

"Ah."

Zhuang Ge'er happily stood up, and Wandong called several maids to serve her.