An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

The wife of the Marquis of Dong went to the Sang Mansion the next day. Sang Wu had not returned by then, so Ma went to receive him. Ya Nu had just returned from the front yard and heard a few maids talking about it, so she hurried back to report to Sang Ling.

"It is said that the wife of the Marquis of Dong and the son of the Xun family are here. There are three carriages outside the mansion, dragging several large boxes of things."

"They said they came to propose marriage to you, young lady."

The Donghou family was unable to attend the autumn hunt held by the Tian family. The Donghou's wife probably knew what was going on, and she came right after returning less than a day ago.

Sang Ling grabbed her hair and put it up, then stood beside the couch for a while, not saying a word for a long time.

There was Madam Zhaoyu before, and then there was Madam Donghou. Half a year ago, she was still known as the ugly daughter of the Sang family. Now, two families have the same intention, but she can't be proud of it. She just feels confused. At that time, she really didn't think about how much she would resist. After all, she had to consider the reality. Compared with the fifth son of the Cao family introduced by Ma at the beginning, the Xun family and the Nie family were both good. They had good family backgrounds and their sons were not particularly bad characters. These two paths could be regarded as retreats.

But now - she is no longer in the same mood as before. Both the Xun family and the Nie family are not as good as the Gao family.

If Ma knew that Madam Zhaoyu had given her a pair of bracelets, she would have agreed to the Xun family's proposal immediately. After all, compared to the Xun family, the Nie family's status was beyond doubt. How could she allow Sang Ling to climb higher?

Without waiting for any more news from the front yard, Sang Ling asked Ya Nu to change her clothes, and followed the others out of the kitchen in the backyard to go to Gao Mansion to ask for a carriage to pick her up. During this period, Ma was pregnant and had been recuperating in Zhiyu Residence. The master and servant then found out some arrangements in the inner courtyard of the Sang Mansion. Every morning, a group of people in the kitchen would go out to buy groceries, and servants would often follow them out to stroll outside the mansion. Ma turned a blind eye to these trivial matters and did not control them too strictly.

About three quarters of an hour later, Ashan arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. Sang Ling had already changed into Yanu's previous clothes and followed him to the back door of the kitchen. Taking advantage of the fact that there were few people around in the morning, he followed Yanu out of the Taiwei Mansion.

Before Ah Shan rode his horse, he asked with a smile, "Why do you want to pick me up from this door today?" He then took a serious look at the young lady's clothes. Although he could not read, he was quite smart and guessed something in an instant - maybe the young lady was not having a good time in Sang Mansion and wanted to sneak back to Gao Mansion? So he quickly shut up. Sang Ling did not want to explain, his long eyelashes drooped, and he lowered his eyebrows to hide all his expression.

When the group was heading towards Gao's mansion, it was almost dawn. Sang Feng'e seemed to be about to go out. Just as she walked to the corridor and was being helped to put on her shoes, she raised her eyes and saw Sang Ling coming in.

"A Ling, why are you here so early in the morning?" He glanced at her clothes.

"Aunt." Her words got stuck in her throat, but she didn't know how to start. She stammered for a while before speaking, "Mrs. Donghou has gone to the Sang Mansion."

"Going today?" Sang Feng'e seemed to be unaware of this matter. She glanced at Wei Ai who was waiting by the side and muttered thoughtfully, "I didn't mention this to her yesterday, but - she always has her own ideas."

As she spoke, she was thinking about it in her heart. It was probably because Sang Ling came yesterday and she did not let her niece come to see the wife of the Eastern Marquis, so that the wife knew that she had the intention to take advantage of Qiao. After all, it was indeed Xun Jialang who did something inappropriate before. How could the marriage be switched between the two sisters? If she was anxious about what happened yesterday, it was understandable.

"It's better to settle it sooner rather than later." She sighed, unable to describe the feeling in her heart. Although she had first considered the Xun family as the marriage partner and had specially sought it, she suddenly felt mixed emotions when it came to this. After all, she had been with her for almost a year, and she had watched her little daughter gradually grow from a fat and listless figure to a girl whose eyes would light up every time she looked at her. She really felt like she was raising her own daughter.

Marrying into the Xun family is a double-edged sword, with both advantages and disadvantages, but as long as Sang Wu is in the court, Sang Ling will not tolerate being wronged. If Xun Jialang wants to rise, the only way now is to marry into the Sang family, so that Sang Ling, the future mistress, will have absolute authority.

"Aunt, but I--" How could Sang Ling not understand Sang Feng'e's thoughts? He had not resisted all the time because he did not understand his true thoughts and did not want to make his aunt unhappy--he was afraid that after being abandoned by Sang Wu, he would be abandoned by his aunt again, and then he would have no way out. She only considered her marriage based on the pros and cons. To put it nicely, it was a trade-off, and to put it bluntly, it was tacitly acknowledging that marriage was a business deal. As long as her family had a point of balance, she would always be able to save the country in the future.

But now it’s different. She is more clear about her feelings than ever before.

I want to stay in Gao's house. - She repeated this in her heart again. Just as she was about to muster up the courage to speak it out, she heard the servant in the front hall come back and say that the young master had returned. After changing his clothes at Yanshuiju, he came to pay his respects to the mistress of the house.

Sang Ling swallowed the words that were about to rise up in his throat. Coincidentally, another servant came in from the front hall corridor and said that the housekeeper was here to reply to the female owner.

Every time before noon, it was the time when the housekeepers inside and outside the Gao Mansion came to report matters to Sang Feng'e. Sang Ling paused, and then he had no chance to speak. Sang Feng'e waved for someone to come in, and then asked Sang Ling again, "What did you want to say just now?"

She shook her head, lowered her brows and calmed down for a moment, then said softly, "I left something in Hanning Garden, so I went to get it."

Sang Feng'e was busy managing the entire Gao mansion by herself. Although she could see that Sang Ling was hesitant to speak, she did not ask any further questions. She only asked Cheng Gu to take the young lady away and said, "Come back later and talk to your aunt." After saying that, she touched her cheek and couldn't help but sigh at her current appearance.

*

Sang Ling went directly to Yanshuiju.

Even though Gao Heng had brushed it off last time, in the final analysis, the two of them were still talking in a roundabout way. She always felt that maybe if it could be a little more straightforward and clear, and maybe without so many obscure hints, this matter could still turn around.

If my cousin also had this idea and mentioned it to my aunt, it would be better for her to stay in her own family than to marry into the Xun or Nie family.

"Sister Ling." Gao Heng had just changed into his regular clothes, still in a clean moon-white robe, with a handsome face and bright eyes. When facing Sang Ling, he seemed to always be smiling, as if a stream of spring water had flowed down from the withered corner of her heart, moistening the originally numb corner.

Not only Sang Ling, but even she herself, it was the first time she met such a calm man, who seemed to be a big tree standing behind her. She seemed to have never seen him lose his temper, and he seemed to never have a bad mood. Even after he fell ill for a few days last time, he was still as gentle as jade, with a bright face, without any embarrassment or embarrassment.

Ever since that rainy day, the roots of the big tree had already taken root in her heart. Only today, until this moment, could she fully face up to the heart that was gradually being wrapped by the roots.

So what if you are brave enough to try again?

"Cousin." So she stepped in, knelt down in front of him, and placed her hands nervously on her knees. "Can you, can you marry me?"