Marrying a royal playboy and becoming a glamorous matriarch

After the eldest princess and Princess Consort of Dunqin exchanged pleasantries, the young woman approached Wei Qingrou and Madam Cui.

"This young lady is quite beautiful. I wonder which family she belongs to?"

She looked at Wei Qingrou with an innocent expression, sizing her up and down.

Madam Cui smiled faintly and said, "This is the newlywed daughter-in-law of Prince Dun's family. It's not wrong for you to call her sister-in-law."

"So it belongs to the Prince Dun family. No wonder it's so beautiful. My cousin always has high standards."

The little girl pouted and pursed her lips, her enthusiasm for Wei Qingrou waning somewhat.

Listening to her words, Wei Qingrou guessed the girl's identity. The fact that she called Qin Ping'an her cousin meant that she was not a member of the royal family.

Calling her "Sister-in-law Cui" would offend her, so she probably isn't a relative of the Cui family.

That leaves only the prince consort's side.

Sure enough, the young girl introduced herself: "My name is Xu Qingyue, I greet you, sister-in-law. We are about the same age, so we should visit each other more often in the future."

"No need for such formalities," Wei Qingrou replied with a faint smile.

Madam Cui said in a neither soft nor hard tone, "You're just an unmarried young lady, what right do you have to talk to us women? Go play with Ying-jie instead."

Xu Qingyue puffed out her cheeks. "How could I not have anything to say? My aunt likes me very much. Yingjie is only one year old and can't even speak yet. My sister-in-law is just treating me like a child."

Da Cui blinked indifferently, without responding.

Seeing that the two were not getting along, Wei Qingrou didn't say much and could only lower her head and fiddle with her jade ring to hide her embarrassment.

Fortunately, the awkward moment didn't last long. After the eldest princess and Princess Dun finished exchanging pleasantries, the younger generation stepped forward to pay their respects.

Upon seeing Wei Qingrou, the eldest princess's eyes lit up, and she praised with a smile, "Such a beautiful face, she deserves to enter the threshold of my royal family. Pingfu is a blessed child."

He then stuffed the thick red envelope into Wei Qingrou's hand.

"Nice to meet you. This is a gift from me."

Wei Qingrou was quite flattered. After accepting the gifts, she quickly bowed to the Princess and said, "Your Highness is too kind. I am not worthy of such praise."

"If I say you're qualified, then you are."

Wei Qingrou smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Royals are all so domineering, they mean what they say and don't like to be contradicted.

Even praise carries an air of dominance.

Fearing they might miss their meeting with the sage, the two families set off immediately.

The eldest princess led Lady Cui out, and Xu Qingyue, her eyes gleaming, timidly grabbed the eldest princess.

"Your Highness, may we take Qingyue with us? Qingyue has never been to the palace before.

The princess paused, her brows furrowing slightly.

A hint of displeasure flashed in Madam Cui's eyes, and she frowned as she said, "Qingyue, don't make things difficult for your mother. The meeting with the Emperor was arranged long ago, and we can't bring anyone else along rashly."

The eldest princess nodded in agreement after hearing what Lady Cui said: "Qingyue, you can stay at home. Didn't you say you were going to copy Buddhist scriptures? I'll check them later."

The eldest princess is a devout Buddhist, and Xu Qingyue previously claimed to enjoy reading Buddhist scriptures in order to please her.

The princess then instructed her to copy more Buddhist scriptures so that they could be sent to Fahua Temple for worship on Buddha's birthday.

Now, two months have passed, and Xu Qingyue probably hasn't even finished copying one article. She's really shooting herself in the foot.

The eldest son of the Cui family chuckled inwardly, "Let you put on airs."

The next second, Xu Qingyue pouted: "Qingyue knows. But it's so cold in my room that I can't stretch my arms out, so I did miss some of the Buddhist scriptures."

Upon hearing this, the eldest princess raised an eyebrow and looked at Madam Cui: "What's going on? Is this how you manage a household?"

The eldest Cui family member immediately fell silent, never expecting that Xu Qingyue would shift the blame and bite her.

"Mother, you are wise. There is a charcoal brazier in Qingyue's room every day, and the charcoal sent over by the Imperial Household Department is the finest silver wire charcoal."

Qingyue said with a wronged expression, "But I only have two charcoal fires in my room, and it's still unbearably cold."

"Why isn't the heating in her room burning?" the princess asked calmly.

Madam Cui was helpless. She thought Xu Qingyue would only stay for a few days and then leave, but little did she know that she was coming to stay for a long time.

This winter is cold, and the amount of charcoal purchased by the government was already insufficient; if they were to burn charcoal under the eaves, it would be even more insufficient.

But the Grand Princess never inquired about these difficulties; she only cared whether she had managed the household well.

Madam Cui bowed her head and replied, "Yes, I understand. I will set the floor heating in Qingyue's room on fire today."

"Then thank you very much, sister-in-law. Once the earth dragon is lit, I will definitely copy the Buddhist scriptures carefully."

Xu Qingyue smiled sweetly, seemingly innocent and naive.

The eldest princess was satisfied when she saw that the matter was resolved, and she called for Princess Consort Dun to leave.

There were two carriages entering the palace, one from Prince Dun's residence and one from the Princess's residence.

Once inside the carriage, the princess sighed and pulled Wei Qingrou aside to talk.

"Sigh, the Princess's residence is about to become lively again."

"Why is that, Mother?"

Wei Qingrou immediately perked up her gossipy ears.

"The eldest princess had only one son, who was named heir apparent at birth. After his coming-of-age ceremony, he married a woman from the Cui family of Qinghe. This woman from the Cui family was from a prestigious family, virtuous and capable, and a rare and wonderful girl."

"pity……"

Princess Dun's eyes were filled with sympathy. "It's a pity that she was destined to have few children. She only gave birth to Ying'er before her health deteriorated, and she will be unable to have children in the future."

Wei Qingrou also sighed, reflecting on how difficult it was for women in ancient times to establish themselves.

First, one must consider family background and upbringing. From a young age, one must abide by the rules and learn virtues in speech, manners, appearance, walking, sitting, and lying down.

However, no matter how well a daughter studies, she still has to get married. Once married, she is like water spilled from a cup; her maternal family usually doesn't interfere, and the husband's family makes all the decisions.

If you're lucky, you can have a litter of children and establish yourself.

If one is unlucky, like Lady Cui, the heir will likely have to take a concubine.

Sure enough, Princess Consort Dun continued, "This Xu Qingyue is a relative of the Prince Consort's side. She has won the favor of the Eldest Princess, and it is estimated that she will be taken into the household as a concubine after the New Year."

The Crown Prince's concubine was someone who could be listed in the imperial genealogy, and could be considered a person of status and prestige.

Before even entering the sect, Xu Qingyue was able to use charcoal fire as an excuse to find fault with the Cui family, which shows that she is quite cunning.

It's easy to imagine that the Cui family's future will be even more difficult.

Wei Qingrou couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy, like the rabbit mourning the fox's death.

Fortunately, it was confirmed that Qin Ping'an could not have children; otherwise, her life would have been even more miserable.

Thinking of this, Wei Qingrou actually felt a sense of relief.

Fortunately, Qin Ping'an was a spoiled brat that everyone disliked, and fortunately, he was infertile, which made the princess feel indebted to her, allowing her to live a comfortable life.

After finishing the gossip, Princess Consort Dun instructed Wei Qingrou: "These things are best left unsaid among family members; you mustn't tell outsiders."

Wei Qingrou nodded solemnly, "Mother, don't worry, your daughter-in-law's mouth is sealed tight."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law developed a tacit understanding, like gossiping, and exchanged a knowing smile.