Reborn as a concubine's daughter and entering a noble family: Xie Lang, don't be too seduc

The third day after the wedding is the day for the bride to return to her parents' home.

Xie Lin accompanied Sang Hua into the palace to pay their respects to Consort Qi.

Sang Hua was married from the palace, and Consort Qi was her nominal adoptive mother, so the palace could be considered her second family home.

On the way to the palace, Hawthorne still felt something was strange.

That day, Madam Xie was still very angry and wanted to use the Xie family's rules to punish her, but for some reason, she suddenly stopped making any moves these past two days, as if she had suddenly stopped caring about what happened before.

She didn't know what had happened in between...

When asked, Xie Lin wasn't entirely sure either. He only knew that the old lady had told them to go back first that day, and then called his elder brother into the room to scold him. Li Mama and her men stood guard outside the door, leaving only the old lady and his elder brother inside.

So no one knows what the old lady and the eldest brother actually said.

The older brother did visit him afterward, but only apologized, saying that he had lost control and that he had hit him in a fit of anger after hearing what he said.

They also brought him medicine.

He was told that now that he was married, he should learn to be a good husband and take care of the people around him.

Besides that... nothing else was said.

When Xie Lin finally came to his senses and wanted to find his older brother to clarify things, he couldn't find him anywhere for the past two days.

Every time I went there, my older brother was either out or busy.

He was stopped outside by Liao Bin, who was standing next to his older brother...

But there was one thing that Xie Lin cared about very much.

That's what my elder brother feels for Sang Hua...

Although Xie Shu didn't explicitly show anything, he could sense that the reason his elder brother was so angry that day was because he overheard him telling the old lady that he and Sang Hua had been in the palace...

However, Xie Lin did not tell Sang Hua about this.

The two walked side by side on the palace path, followed by Granny Guo, Qinghuai, Yanliu, and Wutong. Ruan Wei, on the orders of Consort Qi, had also been waiting at the second palace gate to welcome them.

Upon seeing Sang Hua alight from the carriage, she warmly greeted her, first offering her greetings, and then explaining that Consort Qi had been waiting for her for a long time and was eager to see them.

A look of disdain appeared in Qinghuai's lowered eyes.

"...Sister Sanghua, you don't know, but ever since you got married, Her Majesty has been talking about you every day. One minute she's saying she doesn't know if you're doing well in the Xie family, the next she's saying she doesn't know if you're used to the Xie family's bedding. The other night, Her Majesty suddenly woke up and insisted that someone send your usual bedding to the Xie family." Ruan Wei, sitting beside her, kept speaking well of Consort Qi. "Her Majesty said that you've always been particular about your bed..."

Hawthorne just smiled and didn't say anything more.

She doesn't have the habit of being particular about her bed.

These words sounded deliberate, but she understood what Ruan Wei meant—

She was an orphan, destined to have no family to support her. If she could rely on her relationship with Consort Qi to maintain the status quo, as long as things looked good on the surface, it wouldn't be too bad for anyone... So Consort Qi was her source of confidence in the Xie family.

With Consort Qi's connection to her, the Xie family won't make things too difficult for her.

Qi Fei's palace was bustling with activity today. It was said that she was going to "return to her parents' home" (a traditional custom of returning to one's parents' home after marriage), so most of the concubines in the harem came to join in the fun.

Whether you know them well or not, you can exchange a few polite words; there's always someone trying to liven things up, and no matter what you say, someone will laugh along...

The situation wasn't too awkward.

After Xie Lin accompanied her to formally pay her respects to Consort Qi, Consort Qi offered them seats, and the couple sat to one side, chatting casually with Consort Qi.

Consort Qi said, "On the day of the wedding, I finally saw Xie's second son's face for the first time. I never imagined he would be so handsome. People in Shengjing only say that Xie's eldest son is good-looking, like the Marquis of Anding and the old lady. I never thought the second son would be so handsome too!"

What she said was absolutely true.

Xie Lin's "bad reputation" was widespread, and his outrageous deeds were all over Shengjing. However, people only heard his "voice" but never saw him. Gradually, everyone came to think that this good-for-nothing second son of the Xie family was an average-looking man with no outstanding talents.

It wasn't until the day of the wedding that Consort Qi finally saw the face of Xie's second son.

I was truly shocked...

Hearing the other palace women praising Xie Lin and saying that Sang Hua was very lucky.

Hawthorne also turned her head to look at Xie Lin...

Xie Lin is indeed very good-looking, but she doesn't think that being good-looking is a blessing.

But for a moment she panicked. Seeing Xie Lin's attire today reminded her of that night when Xie Lin, dressed in official robes, escorted her to the Imperial Hospital...

She looked up at Xie Lin, and there was indeed a tiny bit of... attraction in her heart.

It must be admitted that, dressed in official robes, Xie Lin, who was already good-looking, really did look quite respectable.

Suddenly, Hawthorne remembered Li Lang and looked around the hall, but he didn't see Li Lang.

Before they had spoken for long, His Majesty ordered Eunuch Cai to come and deliver a message, summoning Xie Lin to Yuyang Palace for an audience.

"Then I'll go first, and we'll go back to the manor together later."

Before leaving, Xie Lin gave her a special instruction.

Consort Chen teased, "Look at them, so affectionate right after getting married. What, is Xie Erlang afraid we'll lose your wife?"

After he finished speaking, the group burst into laughter.

Xie Lin stood up, bowed, and left Yaohua Palace.

Soon, Yaohua Palace was bustling with laughter and chatter again, but their attention was no longer on Huo Sanghua, but on Consort Qi, who sat on the main seat. They were talking about how Sanghua, raised by Consort Qi, was already married, and wondered when the Fourth Prince would get married...

"The Fourth Prince is Consort Qi's darling, so I imagine the Fourth Prince's consort must be of noble birth, one of the most outstanding ladies in Shengjing." Consort Chen had only entered the palace a few months ago, received a brief period of favor, and was immediately forgotten by His Majesty.

Hearing that His Majesty still favors the "old and faded" Consort Qi, he had no choice but to come and curry favor with her.

He only hoped that by climbing onto Consort Qi's coattails, his life in the palace would be more comfortable.

"What's all this talk of nobility? Lang'er doesn't care about such things, and neither do I." Consort Qi remained as amiable as ever, always putting on an air of indifference and detachment in public. "I'm getting old, unlike my younger sisters who are in the prime of their lives. Now I only hope that Lang'er marries someone with a good personality and temperament, someone the two of them can support each other and live a good life together... ...and that will be enough for me!"

"It has to be our Consort Qi! No wonder His Majesty favors her even more!"

"That's right. The Fourth Prince has inherited Consort Qi's temperament; he's always so humble and kind. His future wife will surely be exceptional!"...

One by one, they were all echoing Consort Qi's words.

Hawthorne found it amusing, but suppressed her laughter as she watched them put on their act.

Li Lang's humility and friendliness, like Qi Fei's, were all an act. He had been by Qi Fei's side for many years, and even if he wasn't the one who knew Qi Fei the best, he had seen many of Qi Fei's private faces.

This mother and son had long coveted the throne, waiting only for His Majesty to kick the bucket before they would do everything in their power to seize it.

But do the people in the palace really not know?

I'm afraid not...

Everyone is acting.

Everyone knows that everyone is acting, yet everyone is still acting and going along with it...

Huo Sanghua sat near Consort Qi, the closest she had ever been to Consort Qi in many years.

But it was also the time when I most wanted to escape from here.

"Your Majesty." A palace maid, whom she didn't recognize at first glance, timidly entered the room. "His Majesty summons Miss Sanghua."