The daughter of the emperor was reborn and was spoiled by the sickly prince.

As it was getting darker, Liao Qinglan prepared to go to bed.

Suddenly, I heard a slight noise from the window.

I thought we had met at Anyuan Hou's Mansion during the day and Gu Mingzhao would not come again.

She asked in surprise, "Why are you here so late?"

Gu Mingzhao looked at her, his eyes full of guilt: "Lan'er, I came to say goodbye to you. The Yellow River burst its banks, and His Majesty sent me to Jizhou to provide disaster relief. I can't attend your coming-of-age ceremony."

She had also heard her father talk about the Yellow River flood. It was said that many victims were displaced and the situation was not optimistic.

She felt a little disappointed, but she also knew what was important and said, "Disaster relief is important. Go ahead and don't worry about me."

Gu Mingzhao held her hand and said, "Lan'er, wait for me. When I come back, we will get married."

Liao Qinglan nodded and asked, "When do we leave?"

"The situation is urgent. We must set off tomorrow." Gu Mingzhao said.

"You must be careful and pay attention to safety." Liao Qinglan warned.

Gu Mingzhao nodded, gave Liao Qinglan a few more instructions, then turned and left.

Liao Qinglan looked at his receding back. Although she felt a little reluctant, she was not too worried.

As far as I can remember, the person who went to control the flood in my previous life was Li Jin. The task was completed smoothly and took only a few months.

With Gu Mingzhao's ability, he will definitely be able to handle the affairs over there as soon as possible.

*

In recent days, the Prime Minister's Mansion has been sending invitations to major families in the capital.

At the Rongguo Mansion, Cheng Yunxiang took Liao Qinglan to personally deliver the invitation letter to her parents' home.

The Duke's Mansion was filled with flowers in profusion, creating an atmosphere of joy and peace.

Liao Qinglan followed her mother into the inner hall. As soon as she entered the door, she saw her grandmother sitting in the middle, with her aunt Mrs. Han and her eldest cousin Zhou on her left and right.

My grandmother has a head full of silver hair, but she looks energetic and her face is filled with a kind smile.

"Lan'er, come and let your grandma see you." When the grandmother saw Liao Qinglan, her eyes were full of love and she waved at her.

Liao Qinglan walked closer, snuggled up to her grandmother, and said coquettishly, "Grandma, Qinglan misses you so much!"

Grandmother stroked her hair and sighed, "Time flies so fast. Qinglan has grown up in the blink of an eye. I don't know if I can live to see you get married."

"Of course you can. Grandma, you are in good health. Not only can you see me get married, but you can also hold your great-grandson in your arms!" Liao Qinglan gently coaxed her grandmother to be happy.

Grandmother turned to look at Cheng Yunxiang and said, "Yunxiang, have you arranged a marriage for Lan'er in advance?"

Cheng Yunxiang shook her head and replied, "Not yet. The Prime Minister and I want to keep Qinglan by our side for two more years. We don't want her to get married so early."

"It was rumored before that Queen Wang's nephew Wang Tingzhi was interested in Qinglan and was even willing to offend Concubine An. Is this true or false?" Aunt Madam Han interrupted at the right time.

The fact that Wang Tingzhi abused An Linglong in a rage for Liao Qinglan had already spread among the aristocratic families.

Cheng Yunxiang shook his head: "These are just rumors. Wang Tingzhi is an imperial censor and a righteous man. If he sees injustice, no matter who the person is, he will not ignore it."

Originally, Cheng Yunxiang was quite optimistic about Wang Tingzhi, but after hearing from Liao Zhendong that her daughter seemed to have a relationship with the King of Qin, she would dispel rumors on her daughter's behalf if anyone mentioned Wang Tingzhi again.

Everyone in the Duke's Mansion breathed a sigh of relief when they heard this.

Grandmother asked, "That's great, Lan'er, what do you think of your second cousin?"

"Second cousin? He's a very good guy. He has businesses all over Dayin now. Even if he doesn't have any fame, his words carry a lot of weight in the capital."

Liao Qinglan didn't understand why Cheng Yuan was mentioned again suddenly.

It's been so long, does the Duke's Mansion still have prejudice against the way he does business?

Hearing Liao Qinglan's evaluation of Cheng Yuan, the grandmother was very happy and continued, "If I let you marry my second cousin, would you be willing?"

When Liao Qinglan heard this, she was so shocked that she almost choked on her tea. She quickly put down the teacup and smiled awkwardly: "My cousin is naturally very good, but I... I haven't thought about these things yet."

Seeing that she was frightened, the grandmother slowed down her tone and said, "You also know that when he wanted to do business, no one in the family supported him. Only you stood up and spoke for him. Your cousin has always remembered this friendship."

"My second cousin is my family, and these are what I should do." Liao Qinglan said.

Mrs. Han also assisted: "Cheng Yuan needs a partner who can understand and support him. You are smart and considerate, and you are exactly the ideal wife in his mind. Moreover, you have known each other since childhood, and you know each other well. How great."

Zhou agreed, "Yes, yes. Just now, grandma said that she missed Qinglan. If she marries, it will be a closer relationship. In the future, the grandparents and grandchildren can see each other every day!"

Cheng Yunxiang could see that the three generations of the Rongguo Mansion gathered here today because they had made preparations in advance and were planning to arrange a marriage for Cheng Yuan and Liao Qinglan.

She stood in front of Liao Qinglan and said with a smile, "Mother, sister-in-law, niece-in-law, Lan'er hasn't reached the age of marriage yet, it's too early to talk about this now. What's more, we still have to respect the children's own wishes."

Liao Qinglan also took the opportunity to express her opinion: "Grandma, my second cousin and I only have a brother-sister relationship. In my eyes, he is the same as my biological brother Liao Wei."

This has been made very clear.

Fortunately, the people in the Rongguo Mansion were not the type to force others to do things, so both sides treated it as a joke and let it go.

Cheng Yunxiang used the excuse that she had to deliver an invitation to another family and fled from her parents' home with Liao Qinglan.

After leaving the Rongguo Mansion, Cheng Yunxiang breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally I got out. I didn't expect that my family would also set their sights on you."

"Also? Is there anyone else?" It was the first time that Liao Qinglan heard her mother say this.

"Of course there are. I can't even count the number of people who have wanted to discuss marriage with you over the years. Some of them have inquired implicitly, while others have directly asked matchmakers to come to your door and ask for your help."

"Did mother help me to decline all of them?" Liao Qinglan was even more surprised.

"Of course. Our family has everything we need and we won't sell our daughter. If you want to get married, of course you should find someone you like."

Liao Qinglan's eye sockets felt a little hot.

It turned out that her mother had done so much for her without her knowing.

"Mother, aren't you afraid that I'll keep dragging it on and become an old maid?" Liao Qinglan joked.

"Don't worry. A family with a daughter is sought after by hundreds of families. If you don't want to get married, it must be because you haven't met someone who makes you fall in love. Even if you really become an old maid, your parents can still support you for the rest of your life." Cheng Yunxiang said as a matter of course.

"The way you say it makes me even more reluctant to get married." Liao Qinglan leaned on Cheng Yunxiang's shoulder and said coquettishly.

"Okay, okay. All up to you." Cheng Yunxiang smiled and patted her hands.

Liao Qinglan had planned to tell her parents before her coming-of-age ceremony that Gu Mingzhao was planning to propose marriage.

However, Gu Mingzhao left in a hurry and did not explain that he was not in the capital. He wondered whether he would entrust someone else to propose marriage on his behalf.

If he tells his parents in advance and the person doesn't show up, I'm afraid his parents will have a bad impression of him.

In order to avoid unnecessary complications, Liao Qinglan decided not to talk about this matter for the time being.