A life of ups and downs is pure joy

The official post station in the Tokyo City of Dayan is located in the bustling downtown area. This post station is large in scale and exquisite in architecture, demonstrating the majesty and prosperity of the Dayan Kingdom.

Xiao Qiannan was wearing a light blue long dress and had a graceful figure. She moved her lotus steps lightly and followed closely beside Ning Sijue, and together they came to visit Ning Anruo, the eighth princess of the Dasheng Kingdom.

Along the way, the two were wondering how to tell her about that ridiculous thing. Fortunately, Ning Anruo and Xiao Qiannan grew up in the Queen Mother's Palace, and they had a sisterly friendship.

When they stepped into the courtyard of the official inn, Xiao Qiannan was stunned by the scene before them.

I saw more than a dozen maids and old women busy moving around in the yard. Some were cleaning the courtyard, some were hanging clothes to dry, and some were hurriedly passing by with basins of water.

"I didn't expect this young prince to be so thoughtful and send so many people to take care of Sister An Ruo."

Xiao Qiannan said softly with some surprise.

A clear and pleasant voice came: "Sixth Brother, Sister Nan'er, you are here!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw sunlight filling the entire pavilion, and the eighth princess Ning Anruo was basking in this warmth.

She was wearing a pink embroidered dress and exquisite pearl and jade hair accessories on her head, and she was as beautiful as a blooming peach blossom.

After these days of recuperation, she has lost the pale look she had when she first arrived in Dayan due to the long journey. Now she is running towards Xiao Qiannan and Ning Sijue with a smile on her face and a bright look.

Seeing this, Ning Sijue hurriedly quickened his pace to meet her, his eyes full of concern. Xiao Qiannan also smiled and reached out, gently holding Ning Anruo's hand.

"An Ruo, judging by your appearance, you should be almost recovered, right? Look at your spirits, you are really doing well!"

Xiao Qiannan said with a smile to the girl who was holding her arm.

Ning Anruo nodded happily, like a lively and cute little bird.

"Yes, thanks to the careful care of the servants here, I recovered so quickly. And the weather has been great these past few days, so I can get out and bask in the sun every day. I feel so refreshed!"

As she spoke, she playfully turned around to show everyone that she was in good shape.

"The prescription prescribed by the imperial physician specially sent by the young prince is truly amazing! After taking only three doses of the decoction, His Highness was completely cured!"

The personal maid standing beside her quickly responded with a happy look on her face.

At this time, Ning Sijue looked at the well-behaved and lovely sister in front of him with gentle eyes and asked softly.

"Sixth Brother has been busy with some important matters these days and hasn't been able to spare the time to come visit you. Are you getting used to living here?"

Ning Anruo nodded slightly and answered with a happy smile on her face.

"Thank you, Sixth Brother, for your concern. An Ruo is doing well. The young prince is truly thoughtful. Not only did he send so many people to take good care of me, but he even specially arranged for people to come over and perform a few operas yesterday. It was truly entertaining!"

After being here for half a month, Ning Anruo heard all kinds of legendary stories about her fiancé whom she had never met.

Although she has not met him yet, through these rumors and the little prince's meticulous care for her, she knows clearly in her heart that he must be a thoughtful person.

Because of this, without realizing it, her heart had already been quietly tied to the little prince.

Hearing this, Ning Sijue couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He subconsciously turned his head to look at Xiao Qiannan beside him and found that she also had an expression of disbelief on her face at this moment.

"Sixth brother, the day I recovered from my serious illness, the young prince sent someone to deliver this to me!"

Ning Anruo pointed happily at the guqin on the piano table and said in a sweet voice.

Xiao Qiannan looked over when she heard the sound, and her eyes were like being attracted by a magnet, firmly glued to the guqin.

"Wow! It's actually the Yaoguang Guqin. I begged big brother to help me look for it everywhere but couldn't find it. Where on earth did this little prince get it from?"

Unable to suppress her curiosity and surprise, she rushed forward, first gently stroked the strings, then bent down to examine the guqin carefully, while raising her voice to ask questions.

Nanny Chen, who was sent from the palace to serve Ning Anruo and was standing next to her, answered with a smile.

"Miss Xiao, you may not know that our young prince knows that the princess loves to play the zither, so he specially sent this Yaoguang Guqin to express his love."

When Ning Anruo heard this, her face immediately turned red with shame, just like the beautiful peach blossoms blooming in spring. Her rosy cheeks were tinged with a charming light red, which spread all the way to her ears.

Ning Sijue and Xiao Qiannan looked at each other, both at a loss for a moment.

The two of them came to visit Ning Anruo with the intention of telling her about their various speculations about Gong Kou Shi's true identity.

But who could have imagined that as soon as he entered the door, he would be thrown into disarray by the sudden appearance of the Yaoguang Guqin.

Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming a little subtle, Xiao Qiannan's eyes rolled and she quickly said to Ning Anruo with a smile.

"Oh, Sister An Ruo, it's very windy here. I haven't seen you for a long time. Why don't we go inside and have a good chat about some intimate things?"

As she spoke, she affectionately took Ning Anruo's arm and walked into the house.

Xiao Qiannan did not forget to look back at the maids in the yard and Nanny Chen who had been serving Ning Anruo respectfully, and then said.

"Okay, Nanny Chen, you can go and rest. You don't need to come and serve me."

Seeing this, Ning Sijue hurriedly followed and walked into the house together.

As soon as I stepped into the room, the fresh and elegant fragrance of lily of the valley filled my face like a gentle spring breeze. The fragrance seemed to have life, lingering in my nose, making me feel relaxed and intoxicated.

Xiao Qiannan turned around gracefully, closed the door gently, and spoke with a smile.

"Hey, isn't this your favorite lily of the valley scent? Did Concubine Yi prepare it for you?"

However, Ning Anruo shook her head slightly and explained with a sweet smile on her lips.

"Sister Nan'er, this isn't aromatherapy, it's the scent of fresh lily of the valley."

Then she stretched out her slender fingers and pointed at the vases placed around the room, in which the lily of the valley flowers were blooming beautifully.

Xiao Qiannan looked in the direction of her finger and saw that the lily of the valley flowers looked like a group of graceful young girls, seemingly swaying gently. Their petals were as white as snow, and their stamens were as golden as honey. They looked particularly beautiful and charming.

"But...how come lily of the valley is blooming in this season?"

Xiao Qiannan walked forward, full of doubt, and reached out to carefully touch the delicate flowers. The real touch from her fingertips told her that these lily of the valley flowers were not fake.

At this moment, a faint blush appeared on Ning Anruo's face, making her as shy and lovely as the peach blossoms blooming in spring.

She lowered her head and answered softly.

"Actually... this was all carefully arranged by the young prince. He specifically ordered people to take care of my daily needs, and everything was arranged just to my liking. I was also surprised when I saw these lilies of the valley. Nanny Chen said they were specially cultivated."

At the end of her speech, the little girl's shy voice became lower and lower, and her head drooped even lower.

Seeing this, Xiao Qiannan couldn't help but cast her gaze towards Ning Sijue, who was standing silently at the side. He stared blankly ahead, seemingly pondering something important.

After a moment, Ning Sijue turned around and asked gently while looking at his sister.

"An Ruo, do you want to go home?"

"Go home, what do you mean by that, Sixth Brother?"

Ning An asked in confusion.

"After this period of interaction, we've discovered that this young prince has a rather peculiar personality. With this in mind, we're genuinely worried that you might be wronged. After discussing this, we've come specifically to ask for your opinion."

Ning Sijue thought about it for a moment and decisively made up such a seemingly reasonable excuse, but in fact what he said was true. Gong Kou Shi's temperament was indeed different from that of ordinary people.

When Ning Anruo heard this, her beautiful eyes drooped slightly and she sighed softly.

"Sixth brother, among all my brothers and sisters, you alone have always cared deeply for me. However, the marriage between our two countries is now a done deal, an irreversible situation. How can I have any other choice?"

"What if I really gave you a chance to choose?"

Xiao Qiannan asked quickly.

Ning Anruo couldn't help but raise his head, a puzzled look on his face, and asked back.

"Sister Nan'er, now that things have come to this, why do we suddenly have a choice?"

As she spoke, she silently calculated the time in her mind. In just five days, the grand wedding would be held.

Xiao Qiannan replied with a firm look.

"Right now, if you're willing, Sixth Brother and I can take you away from here immediately. From now on, you won't have to marry the young prince of Dayan anymore!"

Ning Anruo slowly raised her head and stared quietly at the two people in front of her.

There was a hint of confusion and helplessness in his eyes, as if he was carrying a heavy burden that had been accumulating in his heart for many years.

She just watched them silently, and time seemed to freeze at this moment.

After a long while, Ning Anruo gently lowered her head, frowned tightly, and fell into deep thought.

Her fingers fiddled with the corner of her clothes unconsciously, and complex emotions surged in her heart.

Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she slowly opened her mouth, her voice soft but firm.

"If I don't marry into the Kingdom of Yan today, I'll definitely have to marry someone from another country someday. I'm not as lucky as my seventh sister. We're both born out of wedlock, but she has a mother who's deeply favored by the emperor, and her third and fourth brothers love her dearly. She lives like a legitimate princess. But what about me? I have no choice at all."

Speaking of this, a hint of bitterness flashed in Ning Anruo's eyes.

She paused and then continued.

"Even if I don't tell you about Mother's situation in the palace, my brothers and sisters should be well aware of it. If it weren't for the Empress's care and protection, Mother would have long since been unable to survive in that treacherous harem. As for me, a bastard princess can't even compare to a legitimate princess."

As she spoke, Ning Anruo stretched out her hand and pointed to the exquisite decoration in the boudoir of this official inn.

Her eyes swept over the gorgeous decorations one by one, with a hint of self-mockery in her tone.

"Look, if I wasn't about to become the future princess of Dayan, how could someone like me enjoy such treatment? Even a rare and precious treasure like the Yaoguang Qin, how could someone of my status normally be able to touch it!"

Finally, Ning Anruo took a deep breath and continued.

"Rather than returning to Dasheng and waiting for my father to arbitrarily marry me off to someone else, it would be better for me to marry this young prince."

"It doesn't matter whether he has a good or bad temper, it's not that important..."

Every word hit the ground like a heavy hammer, clearly expressing the dissatisfaction and resentment that had accumulated deep in Ning Anruo's heart due to being looked down upon for a long time.

"An Ruo, what if he is not a man?"

Xiao Qiannan knew very well that if she didn't tell An Ruo the truth at this moment, she would probably get deeper and deeper into trouble.

So she gritted her teeth and decided to tell the whole truth.

"How can the prince not be a man?"

Ning Anruo looked at Xiao Qiannan and Ning Sijue, who was silent beside her, with astonishment on her face, and subconsciously covered her mouth with her hands, as if she had heard the most ridiculous words in the world.

"Nan'er, tell An Ruo what happened that day in detail."

Ning Sijue frowned slightly, his eyes revealing a hint of helplessness and pity.

Recalling all the injustices and humiliations he had suffered in the Great Yan Kingdom, those experiences were too far to recall. Facing his half-sister in front of him, with tears in her eyes and a face full of grievance, his heart finally softened.

Xiao Qiannan took a deep breath and slowly recounted what happened that day.

After listening to Xiao Qiannan's narration, Ning Anruo's face turned as pale as paper.

She stared blankly, her eyes staring blankly ahead, as if she had lost her soul.

It took her a long time to come back to her senses. She bit her lower lip tightly, her teeth sinking deeply into the flesh, almost making blood seep out.

At this moment, she seemed to be thinking about an extremely profound and unsolvable problem, her heart full of contradictions and struggles.