bayedsolid Chapter 216 Sad
Chapter 216 Sad
When Prince Duan arrived at Rongfu Hall, Consort Qin began to wipe away her tears as soon as she saw her son: "My son, you must stand up for your mother! That girl Zisu actually forbade me from visiting Hua'er. Do you think she is a good daughter-in-law?"
She went on and on, recounting everything that had happened that day in detail. However, she only mentioned what was beneficial to her, omitting a small part of the story.
Prince Duan frowned: "Mother, you too, is Jin'er not your granddaughter? Why are you so sexist? Think about it, since the child was born, have you ever held Jin'er? I'm afraid you haven't held her even once, right? You were born a girl too, and you also grew up as a little girl. I don't believe that you weren't sad when you were neglected by your family when you were young."
Consort Qin: "That's right. When I was little, my father and grandmother didn't like me either. But to be honest, I didn't resent them. What can I do? I was born a girl. That's fate. No matter how cold they were to me, I never held it against them and endured it all!"
Prince Duan sighed, “Mother, you yourself, as a woman, look down on other women. I must say, this is your tragedy. But, I have something to tell you: Jin’er, as my daughter and the eldest daughter of the Prince Duan’s family, does not need to be subservient to others or endure injustice! She is my eldest daughter, and in your words, this is fate.”
She was born my eldest daughter, that's her fate, an incredibly fortunate one. She's destined to grow up happily, without having to endure any injustice! Mother, did you hear what I said? From now on, I don't care how much you favor boys over girls, or how good you are to Hua'er, but please, don't hurt Jin'er deeply in front of her!
Consort Qin was stunned.
Prince Duan continued, "Besides, Hua'er and Jin'er are twins. If you treat Jin'er badly, do you think Hua'er will be grateful to you? I'm afraid not only will he not be grateful, but he will also resent you. His sister, his own sister, you treated her so coldly. Do you think he will feel good about it?"
Consort Qin was speechless when asked the question.
That's true. Putting yourself in her shoes, if she were Hua'er, you probably wouldn't feel comfortable either, right? Although she wasn't thinking too seriously, given Zisu's protectiveness towards women, the son she raised would surely cherish Jin'er very much.
If that's the case, then she'll inevitably be despised, or even resentful, by Hua'er. Wouldn't that be a huge loss for her? Sigh, well, she'd better be more careful in the future.
After exchanging pleasantries with his mother for a while, Prince Duan returned to Rongrui Hall.
Zisu smiled faintly: "Well, your mother must have complained to you, right? No matter what she said, I have a clear conscience. What's wrong with protecting my own daughter?"
Prince Duan embraced her tightly: "You're not wrong, it's Mother who's wrong. I've already spoken to her! In the future, she shouldn't be as outrageous as before. If she comes to see Hua'er, you should let her in!"
Zisu: "I won't agree to her coming every day. How about this, you go and tell her to come on odd-numbered days. Each time she comes, she can stay for a maximum of fifteen minutes, otherwise I won't agree! If she truly cares about the two children, I won't mind how long she stays here."
However, when she comes here, she only holds Hua'er, turning her over and over, constantly calling her "my dear grandson" and "my darling," completely ignoring Jin'er, not even bothering to glance at her. The child is still young and won't be harmed now, but when the child gets older, she will definitely be hurt!
Upon hearing this, Prince Duan frowned slightly. "A quarter of an hour? Isn't that a bit too short? How about half an hour? After all, Mother is all alone now, and she must be quite lonely." Actually, he wanted to suggest not setting a time limit. However, he couldn't bring himself to say it. After all, his mother's behavior was simply too much. Not to mention Zisu, even he himself had long found it difficult to tolerate.
Zisu rolled her eyes at him and said bluntly, "Let's not even talk about Jin'er. Even Yun'er isn't exactly treated well by her. After a while, even Yun'er didn't want to go to Rongfu Hall or stay by her side. If she were kind to Yun'er, Jiahe and Yun'er would visit her every day, and she wouldn't be so lonely. This situation is her own doing. If she had a slightly better attitude and was a little more affectionate towards Yun'er and Jin'er, the whole family would be harmonious. Wouldn't that be better?"
Not to mention me, even Jiahe doesn't want to go to Rongfutang anymore. Every morning and evening greetings are just a formality for Jiahe; he's no longer like he was in the first few days after we returned, spending all his time at Rongfutang, pouring his heart out to his mother. Whose fault is this? It's all Mother's fault. Look at how indifferent she is to Yun'er; any mother would feel uncomfortable in that situation.
A woman who wouldn't even be close to her own granddaughter ended up lonely and isolated; who would sympathize with her? Not to mention, Zisu's own daughter was also completely ignored by Consort Qin.
Prince Duan was speechless. Admittedly, Zisu was a broad-minded and intelligent woman, and had always been quite tolerant of others. However, when it came to the issue of her daughter being neglected, as a mother who loved her children dearly, he really couldn't expect Zisu to be any more accommodating or tolerant towards Consort Qin.
After all, there are limits to compromise and tolerance.
"Alas, I know Mother has gone too far, but please, for my sake, give her some face and don't hold it against her!" Prince Duan could only sigh, speaking humbly to Zisu, lowering himself to the lowest possible level. He was almost humbled to the point of being beneath her.
Seeing Prince Duan like this made Zisu feel very sorry for him: "Alright, I was just nagging a bit. I won't embarrass my mother. In the future, as long as she doesn't go too far, I won't have any conflicts with her. In the future, whenever she comes to Rongrui Hall to see Hua'er, I will have Hongcha and the others take Jin'er to the garden."
Out of sight, out of mind; this way, the harm done to Jin'er can be minimized.
"Zisu, thank you!" Prince Duan hugged Zisu tightly, lowered his head and kissed her, his heart surging with emotion.
Jin'er, lying in her cradle, witnessed this scene and instinctively reached out her delicate hands to cover her eyes. A little voice inside her cried out: "Oh dear, Daddy, Mommy, if you want to be affectionate, can you please do it away from me?"
I want to grow up, I want to grow up quickly!
Jin'er cried out in her heart. "Waaah, a one-month-old baby has no human rights! Waaah! So pitiful!"
When Princess Jiahe heard that her mother had fallen out with Zisu, she immediately took Yun'er and rushed to Rongfu Hall.
Consort Qin glanced at Yun'er lazily. Why did this child still look so timid? She didn't seem like a princess at all. It was such a waste to give her the title of Princess Yong'an! She was Shen Jian's child after all, something that couldn't be presented in public. The more she looked at her, the more uncomfortable she felt.
Such a worthless thing will definitely drag my daughter down if she remarries. No, we have to return her to the Shen family; we can't let her be a burden to my daughter.
With this in mind, Consort Qin said to her daughter, "Jiahe, Yun'er now has the title of Princess. Even if she stays in the Shen family, no one will dare to harm her. Why not send her back to the Shen family? Keeping her will affect your future happiness!"
Princess Jiahe was taken aback: "Mother, didn't you originally agree that I should take Yun'er with me to get a divorce? How come you've changed your mind after only a few days?"
Consort Qin couldn't help but frown: "But you brought her back to the Prince's mansion more than a month ago, and she still looks timid. It makes me very uncomfortable. She is not presentable at all. No wonder she is Shen Jian's child. If you remarry in the future, it will definitely be much more difficult for you."
Princess Jiahe couldn't help but get angry: "Why is Yun'er so timid? It's because she was bullied a lot when she was in the Shen family. That's why she developed such a timid demeanor. Although she has been back in the Prince's mansion with me for more than a month, she is only a four-year-old child and needs time to adapt. Now, she is much better than she was a month ago. Before, she didn't even dare to speak!"
Consort Qin frowned again: "Jiahe, you're right to listen to me. I'm your mother, would I ever harm you? There's a huge difference between having a child and not having one. If you don't have a child, you'll have a much wider range of choices if you remarry! If you remarry with a child, your choices will be much smaller. Even if you're a princess with a large dowry, fewer people will want to marry you if you have a child!"
Princess Jiahe's eyes were filled with disappointment and heartache: "Mother, you always say that you are my mother and would never harm me. By the same token, I am also Yun'er's mother. Do you expect me to push my own daughter into a pit of fire for my own happiness? The Shen family is also a grand and powerful family, and there are many unspeakable and sordid things they do. If I push Yun'er to the Shen family, even if the child can grow up safely, she will inevitably suffer endless torment!"
Consort Qin: "You stubborn girl, why are you so obstinate? Listen to me, send the child back to the Shen family. I'll have your elder brother visit the Shen family often to support her!"
Princess Jiahe shook her head resolutely: "No, it's my own child, I want to keep him by my side. Even if I can never get married in this life, I will not send him to the Shen family to be tortured!"
Upon hearing this, Consort Qin flew into a rage and slammed her cane down hard: "You unfilial daughter! Since you won't listen to me, then get out of the palace! I don't want to see you like this!"
Upon hearing this, Princess Jiahe's expression changed drastically, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Mother, are you trying to make your daughter leave?"
Consort Qin snorted coldly and said forcefully, "That's right. Since you won't listen to me, then take your dowry and your daughter and leave the palace! Anyway, your dowry includes houses, estates, shops, and everything else. You won't starve to death if you leave the palace!"
Princess Jiahe's face turned pale and then red, filled with disappointment and desolation. She looked at her daughter, who was already in tears, and quickly hugged her, gently comforting her, "Good child, don't cry. Mother will never leave Yun'er! Yun'er, be good. Mother has a lot of dowry. Even if we leave the palace, we won't go hungry or cold!"
She bent down, picked up her daughter, and left Rongfutang without saying a word.
She took her daughter and went straight to Rongruitang. Walking along the street, she couldn't help but burst into tears, unable to hold back her emotions.
Zisu quickly got up to greet her, took Yun'er from her arms, and asked with concern, "Fang'er, what's wrong? In this Prince's mansion, who would dare to give you a hard time?"
Jiahe was overcome with emotion, tears streaming down her face, her voice choked with sobs.
Yun'er said, "Aunt, it's my maternal grandmother. She's trying to drive Yun'er and my mother away!"
Upon hearing this, Zisu was immediately shocked: "How could this be? What kind of talk is this?" What had gotten into this old lady that she wanted to drive her daughter and granddaughter away?
Yun'er sobbed, "At first, my grandmother didn't send my mother away. She just told my mother to send me away to the Shen family. My mother refused, so she told my mother to take me and get out of the Prince's mansion!"
What?! Send Jiahe to the Shen family?! That's unacceptable! That would be killing Jiahe! What mother would be willing to send her daughter to a living hell? Has this Consort Qin lost her mind?!
Zisu: "Fang'er, don't pay any attention to her. The Prince is in charge now, and her words don't count! You and Yun'er should stay in the Cherry Garden. If she dislikes you, you can simply stop going to pay your respects morning and evening! How can a mother tell her daughters to get out? She must be saying this in anger. Don't take it seriously, okay?"