An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

In the city of Chang'an during late autumn and early winter, the air always seems to be filled with the smell of charcoal wood. Or perhaps it is because people in the imperial court have been burning incense all year round. This smell mixed with charcoal ash enters the brain through the nose, always making people feel a little dizzy - if there are hot tears in the eyes, blurring the vision, it deepens the dreaminess.

Sang Ling was clearly aware of what he was doing at the moment, but half of his consciousness felt that this moment seemed like a dream.

God knows how many times she has said this to Gao Heng in her dreams.

The man opposite the stove shifted his gaze away and placed it on the silver charcoal between the two of them. The faint smile that was always on his face disappeared, as if he was embarrassed and a little sad, but she would rather she had seen it wrong.

"Cousin." She pulled her sleeves tightly. "Mrs. Donghou has brought some things to the door. I sneaked out. Can you——"

"A Ling." Gao Heng finally pulled his eyes away from the stove and said solemnly, "I have an engagement with the daughter of the Zhou family."

The copper kettle on the stove was boiling hot, steaming the still air in the room. Sang Ling felt his vision getting more and more blurred, but he still managed a stiff smile, "Will you really marry her?"

If he really wanted to marry the daughter of Zhou family, why did he have a falling out with Sang Feng'e over this matter, and even got so emotional and hurt himself that he fainted?

He didn't have the girl from the Zhou family in his heart, right? He never mentioned Zhou Ying in front of her, right? Even Nie Ce, who was on good terms with him, never asked about Gao Heng and Zhou Ying's marriage.

But reality is often completely opposite to what she imagined. She still had hope, but the person opposite her nodded slowly.

At this moment, she couldn't help but choke up, but she was still unwilling. Even if she traveled to this era, so what? After all, her soul was not a product of this era. In order to survive, she could still gradually adapt on the surface and cooperate with any rules of this era. After all, a young girl was weak and could not compete with the environment that had been formed here for thousands of years.

But just this once, let her indulge herself and be herself, even if it's just this once in her life.

"So, do you really like her?" She finally put down the fake smile on her face.

But Gao Heng didn't reply immediately. He once again avoided her frank and almost crazy gaze and words, "I'll order Ashan to take you back."

The sun of the hour of Si was pouring in through the cracks in the window lattice. The little daughter's upright figure, which was kneeling, drooped down little by little. The sunlight hit her long and thick eyelashes, and when she closed her eyes lightly, two clear tears appeared.

Sang Ling left after half a quarter of an hour of silence. Cheng Ai, who had brought her here, listened to the whole process by the door. A Shan and Ya Nu, who were waiting behind the door, took the whole scene in sight.

The two younger ones followed the young master's arrangement and quickly sent the young lady back to the Sang Mansion. Cheng Lao pondered for a moment, and this time she did not rush to inform the female head of the family. She just stopped on the corridor for a while, looked up at the gray sky, and sighed a long time.

……

It was almost noon when Sang Ling returned to the Sang Mansion. The door to the backyard was naturally closed long ago, so Ah Shan had to turn his horse back to the front door. The front and back of the Sang family mansion were completely different. Now, everyone in the mansion knew that Madam Ling had sneaked out - but when Sang Ling took this risk, he didn't think about the consequences at all.

At that time in the morning, the wife of Marquis Dong probably wanted to see her, so Ma sent someone to Qiu Garden to call for her. However, they happened to see Sang Ling had just slipped away to Gao's house, so naturally they could not call for her.

Ma didn't want to marry Sang Ling to the Xun family. How could Sang Ling marry into a family with decent financial situation and good sons? So she had an excuse, and her words were full of meaning. "She has always been like this. I can never control her. Look, Madam. I told you earlier that there are guests and the girls in the mansion need to be quiet. But she ran out in a hurry." After saying that, she drank the snow drink leisurely and remained silent. This was considered a polite rejection of the marriage.

Although the wife of the Marquis of Dong was confused and wanted to persuade him to stay, Ma was too eloquent and no matter how she tried to beg him, she could not respond. If even the mistress of the Sang family was like this, what else could she do? After hesitating for a while, she could only take her son back in dismay.

Not long after the Donghou mother and son left, they met Sang Wugang who had just returned. While changing his clothes, he asked about what happened in the mansion. After listening, he remembered to bring up the matter of Madam Zhaoyu giving him the bracelets, "Fortunately, you didn't rush to accept it. I have asked A Ling to accept the bracelets."

He was too busy the first day after returning from the palace, so he hadn't mentioned this to Ma. Later, he forgot about it until he heard that the Xun family came to propose marriage today. He then discussed with Ma the cause and effect of the Queen and Madam Zhaoyu summoning Sang Mei first and then Sang Ling.

"I'm afraid after a lot of selection, they finally decided on A-Ling. Her age is more suitable."

Ma's face naturally turned bad immediately - she was still full of restlessness. She had raised the ugly Sang Ling for so many years, and in just one year, Sang Feng'e raised him back. In the blink of an eye, she snatched away the good marriage that was supposed to belong to A-Mei? She just rejected the Xun family because she thought they were not worthy of Sang Ling, but she didn't expect that there was an even more terrifying family, the Nie family, behind them.

What kind of background does the Nie family have? Nie Da, the grandfather of Nie, is enough to shake the entire political arena of the country. Even the daughter-in-law is the sister of the current queen. Nie Ce himself was conferred the title of marquis very early.

How did this family fall for a wild girl like Sang Ling?

Could it be that he had chosen her during the last autumn hunt at Huanlin Mountain, just because of her face? How could she be calm? If she had known earlier, she would have decided on the Xun family. Who knows, she could have said later that she was unaware of the situation. She had accepted the gifts and just decided on the marriage between Sang Ling and the son of the Eastern Marquis. It was better than letting her marry into the Nie family.

Ma was still immersed in her regret and had not said anything yet, but Sang Wu was thinking about what Ma had just said - Sang Ling was missing.

He suddenly remembered that the last time he came back from Huanlin Mountain, the servants reported that Sang Ling had gone to Gao Mansion first... The face of the head of the Sang family couldn't help but become heavy for a moment.

The two of them sat in the front hall of Langxiang Pavilion until almost noon, until they saw Sang Ling coming back from the front gate, and asked someone to call her to the ancestral hall to listen to her instructions.

"Last time, you went to your aunt's house first and I didn't say anything. Why do you want to go there secretly this time?" Sang Wu's face was obviously angry.

If it had been before, it would have been fine, but when they were at the Huanlin Mountain Palace, he had already asked Sang Ling to accept the gift from Madam Zhaoyu. Although it had not yet come to the stage of proposing marriage, the etiquette of the imperial dynasty still existed, and the woman's acceptance of the gift from her husband's family was equivalent to her consent. In the future, she would not have to restrict herself any more, but at least from now on, she should just be obedient and wait for the man to come.

If you really want to go out, you should wait until your parents allow you to go out.

Such reckless behavior again and again, even if you go to your aunt's house, it is ultimately a disregard for the family rules.

Especially since Sang Wu is now one of the Three Dukes, not to mention his own problems, even the upbringing of his own children could be picked out and easily made into a big deal.

"I think I have been too pampering you in the past!" Sang Wu took the braided rope from the housekeeper, ordered Sang Ling to kneel in front of the ancestral tablet, and whipped him hard behind his back three times.

There was a corridor in front of the Sang Family Temple, and even in the front yard, one could hear the sounds of beatings, and the servants inside and outside fell silent. Ma waited by the side, silent.

Ah Shan came with Sang Ling's master and servant. Fearing that something might happen, he followed them into the Sang residence. Unexpectedly, he saw the young lady being brought to the ancestral hall by General Sang to be lectured, and then the master and servant were locked up.

The heavy painted mahogany doors on both sides were closed with a bang, and he trembled all over. General Sang did not tell how long he would keep the young lady, and he threw down the braided rope in his hand and left. Madam Ma held her waist and said something - Ah Shan had not heard it clearly. The next thing he saw was that two maids had locked the wooden door.

After all, she is just a little girl, why should she be locked up so tightly?

After he followed the servants of the Sang Mansion outside to look around for a while, he became even more panicked, and without saying a word, he hurriedly fled from the Sang Mansion and drove back to the Gao Mansion.

Ya Nu waited until everything outside was completely quiet before she came to help Sang Ling up.

Although the ancestral hall was dim, the south doors and windows let in light, and it was afternoon and the sun was at its peak, so it wasn't too dark. Sang Ling supported herself on the floor and stood up. Her back didn't hurt much, but it was a little cold and itchy. She patted the dust off her palms, closed her eyes, and hot tears rolled down her chin.

The bitterness in her heart was not because Sang Wu punished her, but because of her cousin's rejection when they were in Gao's house earlier.

In fact, after the impulse, she realized that maybe he had already rejected her. The last time she came back from Huanlin Mountain, her words were not even hints. Gao Heng, who could compete with her, was such a smart man, how could he not understand the meaning of her words?

Unless he doesn't want to understand and doesn't want to hurt her, he is deliberately avoiding her.

And she actually returned to Yanshuiju like a clown and proposed to him without reservation.

That day, my aunt said: My cousin was angry about the marriage with the Zhou family - with just this one sentence, how could she conclude that my cousin did not want to marry the girl from the Zhou family.

Maybe there was another reason? Did the cousin feel that the time was not right and was afraid of neglecting the girl from the Zhou family? Or did he feel that the aunt had not taken him with her and was treating the girl from the Zhou family badly in terms of etiquette?

How could she just wishfully think that Gao Heng was unwilling to marry Zhou Ying and quarreled with her aunt?

She is really too self-indulgent.

*

Ma called Sang Mei over as soon as she returned to Zhiyu Residence. ——If she hadn't heard from the head of the family today, she wouldn't have known that the Queen had summoned her daughter first.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Sang Mei hid her hands in her sleeves and answered unhappily, "On the second day in the palace, the queen did summon me and had a cordial conversation with me. Later, Madam Zhaoyu and Lord Nie also came, but after the queen said a few words to Madam Zhaoyu about the Lord, she didn't ask me anything else. Then—" Recalling that day and everything that happened later, she pursed her lips, "Then, the queen said that this was the end of the day and asked me to leave."

That day, she thought she had behaved well, and the Empress would surely think she was well-mannered and would be more satisfied with her. However, she was bitten by a snake at the picnic, and Sang Ling splashed her clothes and slapped her twice. She was cured by the imperial physician, and she didn't even dare to tell her mother about it after returning home - she was afraid that her mother would be angry that Sang Ling had humiliated her in public. She also didn't mention the Empress's summons.

The queen must be very disappointed that Sang Ling had lost her dignity. How could she explain the situation to her mother?

"Why did I ask you to leave when you behaved inappropriately?" As she expected, her mother began to blame. Sang Mei lowered her eyes, "I did not do anything inappropriate, and my words and actions were all within the etiquette. The queen did not look dissatisfied. It was--" She exhaled, but suddenly remembered the last time, Madam Zhaoyu seemed to shake her head at the queen.

"It seemed to be Madam Zhaoyu..." She swallowed, "The Queen Mother asked about Marquis Nie's recent situation, and Madam Zhaoyu answered and looked at me a few times..." Then she repeated the conversation of that day to her mother in detail, as well as - Madam Zhaoyu's shake of her head at the end.

"Is she dissatisfied with you?" asked Ma.

"I don't know. I have never seen Madam Zhaoyu before."

In the past, Sang Mei's reputation was mostly good, so it was impossible for Madam Zhaoyu to be dissatisfied with her as soon as they met, right? Or was there another reason? Did Sang Feng'e do something? Madam Ma shook her head in thought - with Sang Feng'e's current status, she couldn't even touch Madam Zhaoyu's toes, so how could she go to the Queen's sister to slander Sang Mei? What else could it be for? Since the Queen had already taken a fancy to Sang Mei, why did she take a fancy to Sang Ling just because Madam Zhaoyu disagreed?

Is it really because of age?

That's such a loss.

Ma suddenly felt her chest starting to hurt again.

It turned out that Jiang's daughter got such a great bargain.

If Sang Mei hadn't been noticed first, she would probably have no chance now. In the end, Sang Mei became her guide and actually helped her?