New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

When Qiu Linghua saw the white silk that Chu Xia had sent early in the morning, she, who appeared calm on the surface, still breathed a sigh of relief when no one was paying attention. Although her relationship with her mother, Shen Xiangyue, had long since deteriorated, and Ye Qingmiao was also considered her niece, she did not want anyone to gossip about her.

As long as she gave her virginity to her son, Qiu Linghua turned a blind eye to her carefree nature.

"Chuntao, go and pick out some slightly more expensive gifts for Qingmiao to take back with her when she returns home."

Chun Tao hesitated for a moment: "Madam, we left the capital in a hurry and stayed at my great-uncle's house for so long, so I really don't have anything decent here."

"Ah? Is that so?" Qiu Linghua coughed lightly to cover her embarrassment. She pursed her lips and pondered for a long time before taking off a jade bracelet from her wrist. "Just say it's a family heirloom from the Tang family."

Chun Tao took the bracelet, but after just one glance, she wanted to cover her mouth and chuckle. Qiu Linghua glared at her fiercely: "Isn't this a matter of expediency? I don't want to be looked down upon by Shen Xiangyue. You better keep your mouth shut and don't give anything away."

While her husband Tang Huan was not corrupt during his official career, he was not exactly incorruptible either. When everyone was embezzling, if Tang Huan had stood out from the crowd, he would never have been able to hold onto his position as Vice Minister of Revenue.

Therefore, before the Jin army first besieged Tokyo, the Tang family still had some wealth; otherwise, Tang Qian would not have been able to successfully join the Youzhou delegation.

However, since arriving in Guangling, Qiu Linghua and her daughter Tang Jing have had no income. She was unwilling to continue accepting her brother's help, so the two of them only stayed temporarily in the backyard of the Qiu family. They still paid for their own food, clothing and other daily necessities, and at this time they were indeed in a bit of financial straits.

"What should we do about Xi'er?"

Qiu Linghua picked up the teacup in front of her and took a sip: "I can't worry about that now, we'll see when the time comes."

That girl is a princess of the Great Jin Dynasty; she must have seen plenty of good things. With just these cheap goods from a street stall, I'm afraid I won't be able to fool her. It seems that this last daughter-in-law will have to be coaxed by her son himself.

Hearing that her mother-in-law had given her the Tang family's heirloom bracelet, Ye Qingmiao was overjoyed. However, upon opening the exquisite box, she couldn't help but frown slightly, feeling that its quality seemed inferior to the pair of earrings she usually wore.

It seems that the Tang family was indeed not a wealthy family, otherwise, how could Tang Qian’s father, who was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), have married his aunt, who came from a merchant family?

Since it was a family heirloom of Tang Qian, its significance could not be measured by its price. Ye Qingmiao felt that the fact that she was given this jade bracelet meant that her mother-in-law was quite fond of her as her daughter-in-law.

Ye Qingmiao took off the gold bracelet from her wrist, put on the jade bracelet, raised her hand to examine it carefully, then got up and changed into a matching cyan long dress. Looking at herself in the bronze mirror, Ye Qingmiao was very satisfied with her outfit.

At this moment, Tang Qian, who had finally regained some of his energy, appeared at the door after changing his clothes. The two seemed to be on the same wavelength, as he had also changed into a blue long robe. Standing together, they truly looked like a perfect couple.

After leaving the courtyard and getting into the carriage, the couple were heading back to visit their father-in-law and mother-in-law. The inner city of Guangling City was not very big, and the coachman only drove the carriage around a few corners of the street before Tang Qian and Ye Qingmiao appeared in front of the Ye family's mansion gate.

Upon receiving the official's message, Ye Shuo was initially taken aback. According to custom, wasn't the daughter's return to her parents' home three days after the wedding? The two of them were back the very next day? The Ye family was completely unprepared.

However, they couldn't let their son-in-law, Tang Qian, wait at the door any longer; after all, he was the Lord of Guangling City.

He quickly ordered someone to open the main gate and welcome the guests in. His eldest son, Ye Zhao, and daughter-in-law, Jiang Siyu, had left early in the morning, so Ye Shuo could only send one of his nephews to the front yard to greet them. Finally, he sent someone to the back yard to greet his wife, Shen Xiangyue, while he himself sat in the hall waiting for his daughter and son-in-law to come and pay their respects.

Tang Qian and Ye Qingmiao's sudden return to their parents' home caught the Ye family completely off guard. After a flurry of activity, the whole family was finally able to sit down in the hall in the backyard.

After exchanging a few polite words, Ye Shuo felt that he was being superfluous. Tang Qian, who had never encountered such a situation before, also felt uneasy. Fortunately, Ye Zhao returned to the mansion with Jiang Siyu at this time, and Ye Shuo finally found a reason to leave.

"You young people can chat anytime. I'll head back to my room now."

Shen Xiangyue watched her husband leave before turning to Tang Qian with a guilty look on her face: "Qingmiao was spoiled by me when she was at home. Qian'er, you'll have to be more tolerant of her in the future."

Returning to her parents' home the day after the wedding was unprecedented, and Shen Xiangyue thought Tang Qian had come back to confront her.

“Auntie… no, Mother, what are you saying? Qingmiao is cheerful and does whatever she wants. She is not at all like other young ladies from prominent families who are pretentious. She is just like my son-in-law. So how can you say she has to take responsibility?”

"That's right, Mom, don't make wild guesses. Tang Qian and I are getting along very well. We even drank together last night."

"Did you two drink on your wedding night?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Zhao covered her head with her hand, Shen Xiangyue's expression was also quite unpleasant, and Tang Qian gave an awkward smile, focusing only on drinking tea. Only Jiang Siyu didn't understand her sister-in-law, and at this moment she looked at her mother-in-law and then at her husband, wondering what had happened.

Outsiders, of course, don't know Ye Qingmiao's incredible alcohol tolerance, but as her mother and older brother, Shen Xiangyue and Ye Zhao know very well what their younger sister is like when she drinks. It seems that Tang Qian definitely vomited a lot last night.

"Your mother-in-law didn't say anything this morning, did she?"

If Qiu Linghua saw that scene, wouldn't she come and tear down the Ye family's house?

“No, Mother also gave her daughter the Tang family's ancestral jade bracelet.” Then, Ye Qingmiao stretched out her hand and showed the bracelet that Qiu Linghua had given her. “Look, it’s this one.”

Shen Xiangyue glanced up and a barely perceptible smile appeared on her lips. This kind of stuff, which could be bought for ten taels of silver, could be regarded as a family heirloom by the Tang family? Only that silly girl Qingmiao would be fooled by Qiu Linghua and still have to count the money for her.

Sensing her mother's disdain, Ye Qingmiao simply smiled faintly, showing no displeasure whatsoever. Instead, she treated the bracelet on her wrist as a treasure, only letting Shen Xiangyue glance at it before quickly withdrawing her hand, afraid of causing even the slightest mishap.