After traveling through time, the adults were completely in my hands

In the central palace where the Queen of Daqing Kingdom resided, Queen Xiao was lying on the couch with a worried look on her face.

Nanny Sun, who had been serving Empress Xiao, gently fanned her and whispered, "Your Majesty, you should relax. Imperial Physician Zhao said your stomachache and insomnia are due to your excessive worrying. The medicine the Imperial Hospital has prescribed is only a temporary solution. If you continue to be so worried, your condition will only get worse."

"Relax, how can you ask me to relax?" Queen Xiao sat up slowly, looking sick and said, "Princess Jing'an has already reached the age to get married, but she looks like that..." Queen Xiao closed her eyes slightly and said no more.

Speaking of Princess Jing'an, Nanny Sun thought of the look on her face and for a moment didn't know what to say.

There are only two princesses in the palace who are of age and ready to get married: Princess Jing'an and Princess Fengyang.

Princess Fengyang was born to a concubine, but Princess Jing'an was a legitimate princess born to the Empress Dowager, so her status was naturally more noble than that of Princess Fengyang.

Unfortunately, Princess Jing'an was born with a large red birthmark on one side of her face, which looked very ugly and scary.

When Emperor Qingyuan saw this, he was also shocked and hurriedly summoned all the doctors from the Imperial Hospital. However, after examining the disease, the doctors all shook their heads and sighed, believing that it was a congenital disease that could not be eliminated at all.

Because of this reason, people in the palace have been talking about Princess Jing'an. Although she is a legitimate princess, people dare not laugh at her in front of her, but behind her back, they are all sarcastic and mocking.

When Princess Jing'an grew up, she realized that she was ugly, so she stayed in her bedroom and seldom came out. Even if she came out occasionally, she would cover her face with a veil to avoid being criticized by others.

"Alas..." Empress Xiao sighed and continued, "Madam, do you know that today the Emperor told me that he wants to marry Jing'an to Marquis Zhaoyuan as his successor."

"Marquis Zhaoyuan?" Nanny Sun exclaimed, "Isn't Marquis Zhaoyuan about fifteen or sixteen years older than Princess Jing'an?"

"Yes," Empress Xiao nodded. "The Marquis of Zhaoyuan inherited the title in his twenties because his father died young. His wife just passed away this year. I heard that after his wife came into the family, she never had any children, so there have never been any legitimate sons or daughters in the mansion. However, although the Marquis of Zhaoyuan has no legitimate children, he is a playboy. He has several concubines and many illegitimate sons and daughters."

"Your Majesty, Princess Jing'an is quiet and gentle. Wouldn't it be a burden for her to go to the Marquis' Mansion? Besides, a married princess cannot take concubines, but the Marquis Zhaoyuan already has so many concubines. How can that be possible?" Nanny Sun said quickly.

"Yes," Empress Xiao said indignantly, "I told the Emperor the same thing, but you know what he said? He said, if Marquis Zhaoyuan is not allowed to have concubines, does that mean he will have to face Jing'an's ugly face for the rest of his life?"

After a pause, Empress Xiao muttered to herself, "No matter how ugly my daughter is, she is still a royal daughter. To marry into a family like this, and to become a stepmother, really makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Then didn't your Majesty have a proper talk with the Emperor?" asked Nanny Sun.

"Of course I wouldn't say it, but the Emperor scolded me, saying that even if he wanted Marquis Zhaoyuan to marry Jing'an as his second wife, he would have to issue an imperial decree to force him to agree. Otherwise, with Jing'an's attitude, Marquis Zhaoyuan would definitely not agree."

Empress Xiao gave a wry smile and continued, "The Emperor also said that the Marquis of Zhaoyuan has no legitimate sons or daughters. This is for the best. When Jing'an gives birth to a child, there won't be other legitimate sons or daughters competing with him, which will save a lot of trouble."

At this point, Empress Xiao said in a low voice, "My legitimate princess is going to be the stepmother of a marquis, and it takes an imperial decree for the marquisate to agree. It's really a joke."

Empress Xiao's eyes gradually turned red. "I really feel sorry for my daughter. I gave birth to her like this. Although she has the status of a princess, she suffers from the criticism of others and lives a life worse than an ordinary person. I am really worried that she will be bullied when she enters the Marquis' Mansion."

"Your Majesty, please stop saying that." Nanny Sun saw that Empress Xiao was in a low mood and quickly advised, "Princess Jing'an is still the legitimate princess of Daqing Kingdom, no matter what. She has the support of the Emperor and the Empress. Who would dare to say anything bad about her?"

"That being said, I'm afraid that Marquis Zhaoyuan might dislike Jing'an and ignore her. Wouldn't that hurt Jing'an's feelings? I can handle other things, but if Marquis Zhaoyuan treats Jing'an coldly, I can't do anything to help."

"Your Majesty, please don't worry for now. It's useless to say more now. It will only cause you more troubles and harm your health," Nanny Sun quickly advised.

******

In the courtyard of Duke Dingguo's Mansion, Jindou was sitting on a stone bench with his two children.

"Aunt Jindou, please perform another magic trick for us." The two children raised their heads together and begged.

These days, whenever the two children have time, they would pester Jindou and ask him to tell them stories or perform magic tricks.

Considering that there were no toy playgrounds in ancient times, Jindou basically granted all their requests.

At this moment, Jindou had just said the word "OK" when he saw Wei Qing walking towards him from a distance.

"Second Uncle!" the two children called out.

"Second brother" Jindou also called out, and when he saw Wei Qing nodded, Jindou immediately had an idea in his mind.

"Come, come, second brother, sit here." Jindou stood up and walked over to him, pulling Wei Qing to the stone bench.

Wei Qing sat down and looked at Jindou. Seeing that Jindou was wearing men's clothes again, he couldn't help feeling a little regretful. He still preferred to see Jindou wearing women's clothes.

Seeing that the three of them were seated, Jindou picked up an apple from the stone table.

He placed the apple in his palm and held the golden bean in front of the three people: "Everyone, please pay attention!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a handkerchief and covered the apple with it. The two brothers Wei Yizhao stared at the handkerchief excitedly, and Wei Qing also looked at it intently.

Jindou stretched out his hand covered with a handkerchief in front of Wei Yizhong and said with a smile: "You blow on it."

Wei Yizhong cautiously moved closer to the handkerchief and blew on it.

"One, two, three!" Jindou shouted, then pulled the handkerchief aside with his hand.

"Ah" the three people on the stone bench were stunned, Jindou's hands were empty!

"Aunt Jindou, where are the apples?" The Wei Yizhao brothers asked in surprise with their eyes wide open.

Jindou smiled cunningly and looked at Wei Qing.

Wei Qing looked at Jindou's smile and felt something was wrong. It seemed that this guy was going to play a trick on him again. He moved his body and suddenly felt something was wrong. He hurriedly reached his hand into his arms, but was immediately stopped.

"Hahahaha" Jindou couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Wei Qing's face was stiff as he took out his hand from his arms. The big apple that had just disappeared was now in Wei Qing's hand.

"Hey, Uncle, how did you steal the apples?" The two children looked at Wei Qing in surprise.

"Hahahaha" Jindou couldn't help laughing again when he heard what the two children said.

Wei Qing looked at Jindou's annoying smile, and was surprised at how this man put the apple into his arms. He was also angry at why this man always had to play a trick on him every time he performed a magic trick. For a moment, he felt a mixture of love and hate, and was almost going crazy.

******

In the bedroom of Duke Dingguo and his wife, Lady Xu said to him, "Master, these past few days, Imperial Physician Zhao from the Imperial Hospital has been coming to our house from time to time, asking Jindou for advice. He's the head physician of the Imperial Hospital, and his medical skills are among the best in Daqing. But you see, he's always so respectful when he sees Jindou. It seems that Jindou's medical skills are indeed superb."

Duke Dingguo nodded and said, "Indeed, Imperial Physician Zhao has been mentioning Jindou whenever he sees me these past few days, and he's full of praise for her."

Xu didn't speak for a while, looking thoughtful. After a long time, she hesitated and spoke again: "Master, you said Qing'er's headache..."

Although Xu didn't say anything further, Duke Dingguo clearly understood his wife's intention and nodded again, "I think we can ask Jindou to see him. Although she's young, I think her medical skills are truly unfathomable. Qing'er has suffered too much over the years. No matter what, we should give it a try if we have the chance."

When Xu heard Duke Dingguo mention the sufferings her youngest son had endured over the years, her eyes reddened and she couldn't help but recall what the old Taoist priest had said, that her youngest son might not live past the age of thirty. Her face turned pale and her heart ached.

Xu never told anyone what the old Taoist said, including Duke Dingguo. She kept it in her heart and endured it silently.

Over the years, whenever she thought of the old Taoist priest's words, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

When Xu thought that in a few years, she would probably have to bury her loved ones, her heart was broken.

Duke Dingguo saw that Xu's face had turned pale, and knowing that she was upset, he consoled her, "Madam, don't be too sad. I think Jindou is truly destined to be with our family. Look, she calls us father and mother every day, and she's even more affectionate with us than our two sons."

"Yes," Mrs. Xu nodded in agreement, and said with a smile, "When I saw this child, I felt particularly fond of him. I really felt that he was my own child."