An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

"This little girl is getting prettier and prettier, so pretty."

The Grand Empress Dowager came out with the support of Queen Wu. When she met everyone, she first set her eyes on Sang Ling in the corner.

She was really eye-catching, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and she was graceful and elegant. Even if she stood in the crowd with her head down, she would still stand out. Empress Wu looked at her and showed a little pride, "Grandmother, I was the first one to pick this child."

"You have good taste." How could the Empress Dowager not know that the Queen Mother wanted to ask for a reward? She sat down with the help of her cane and said, "Call her up and sit next to me to talk."

The old lady has always liked beautiful things. Looking at the servants serving in Shouchang Palace, who is not pretty? Empress Wu certainly knew what the old lady meant. This was not to deliberately flatter the girl. Just looking at a good-looking face could make people happy.

So he turned around and told Li Xing to go up to him. The eunuch then turned around, bent his waist and went downstairs to invite people.

Almost everyone in the hall had arrived immediately. The Queen Mother arrived a little later. When Sang Ling was brought up, she followed him with her eyes and uttered a clear cold snort.

Everyone noticed this scene. The old lady sat at the top, and even a yawn could attract everyone's attention, not to mention that she asked a living person to sit next to her. Princess Xinyi smiled teasingly and said to Liu Qing who was sitting next to her, "After so much selection, it turned out to be the daughter of the Sang family. Did Nie Da collude with Sang Wu? But she is beautiful, I can't take my eyes off her. Nie Ce should like her."

"Do you like her?" Liu Qing said with a half-smile, "If you like her, why would you run away on your wedding day?"

"Didn't you say you had an acute illness?"

"I don't think so. I have to marry her because I have no choice." The smile on her face fell, and her expression turned fierce as she spoke, "Ace is not someone who looks at appearance."

If it was really about looks, when he returned from the northwest after his meritorious service, how many noble families in the capital wanted to send him maids to serve him? He never brought any of them back - if not, how could Liu Qing like him?

Nie Ce has always been different from other men.

If Nie Da had not disagreed back then, the current wife of Marquis Mu Wu would have been the one sitting next to the old lady.

The princess's expression did not subside. Princess Xinyi stared at her for a long time and was amused. "I'm talking to you. You're already married, why are you still being angry here? Don't make trouble. This is in the palace."

The two of them had always had a close relationship, and Princess Xinyi was very clear about Liu Qing's thoughts. She even knew everything about the last picnic. However, those were all outside, and in order to embarrass Queen Wu, she pretended to be ignorant. But now it was in the palace, and if something happened, everyone would be embarrassed.

Liu Qing slowly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled silently, "Don't worry, I don't bother to make trouble with her."

The bamboo-jointed copper incense burner was filled with smoke, and with the sound of the opening drum, the dancing girls with water sleeves swayed gracefully, and everyone's attention was focused on the palace. The Empress Dowager did not start the conversation with Sang Ling with the usual questions of elders. She was like a naughty old lady, leaning on her cane and tilting her head, "When I was young, there was a maid in the palace who looked like you."

Sang Ling's pupils dilated slightly, he looked over and smiled, but he didn't know how to respond.

But the old lady was also an experienced person, and she continued to talk on her own, "Her name was Fu Ying, but unfortunately her fate was not as good as yours. She was born in a turbulent time and was sold to the palace. But she came to me later, so she had a good ending."

"She is lucky to be able to follow you." She found an opening to continue.

The Empress Dowager gave a hollow “hmm” and laughed twice. She rested her hands on the cane and sighed, “It’s a pity that she left before she found a good family to marry her.”

The old lady's hair was gray, her face was clear, her eyes were bright, and her skin was white, which was whiter than snow. When a person is white, he looks very noble. But it is said that this old lady who has experienced four dynasties was not born a noble. In the early days of Emperor Chengzu's founding of the country, he protected the poor scholars in the world. The old lady's father was a folk Confucian scholar. With this status, his daughter was named Crown Princess. She and Emperor Wen were young couples, and they had a deep love for each other. They went through thirty years of ups and downs together. From Crown Princess to Empress, Empress Dowager, and Grand Empress Dowager - Shen's life was extremely legendary.

Sang Ling then looked up and boldly peeled a grape for the old lady, "That means the heavens have taken her away to enjoy happiness in heaven."

Nice words naturally make people laugh. The Empress Dowager motioned for her to put the peeled grapes in water and said, "Soak them first, otherwise my teeth will ache when I eat them." She quickly said "eh" and picked up the fruit stem. She was greeted with another smile from the Queen and immediately smiled and nodded.

The palace banquet was about to end as the sun went down. The old lady began to feel tired. When the queen mother stood up again, Empress Wu left a message: "Young people can still have fun for a while."

But how dare we sit for a long time?

Seeing that Sang Ling and the Empress Dowager were chatting quite enthusiastically, Empress Wu took Madam Zhaoyu with her, and the others accompanied the old people back to Shouchang Palace. Empress Wu served in the inner room herself. It seemed that the relationship between the grandson's wife and the grandmother was harmonious. Madam Zhaoyu took Sang Ling to wait at the side for a while, and only when they saw the Empress turn around and waved her hand did they slowly leave the bedroom.

The corridor in front of Shouchang Palace was relatively quiet, unlike the corridor in Yihe Palace, where palace servants kept coming and going. Madam Zhaoyu was silent at first, but she spoke softly halfway through, "The old man wants to marry the Shen family's niece to Xuanwen. I want to ask for your opinion."

Sang Ling's steps paused slightly, and he smiled naturally, "I'm fine with anything. As long as grandpa and mom think it's fine, then it's fine."

How could she refuse such a thing? Grandfather Nie had given his permission, and it seemed that Madam Zhaoyu did not object. She had always been suppressed by the old man, and she had to think before and after everything. Sang Ling was just the grandson's wife who had been married for less than a year. Although she was called Madam Hou outside, the real person in power in the mansion was still Grandfather Nie, and Madam Zhaoyu was the manager. As a new employee, what say could she have?

Unexpectedly, the service manager replied, "It's not certain. My second brother's wife has always been eloquent in front of the old man. Shen's niece has such a life experience. It's normal for the old man to have sympathy. But it's just human nature. If you don't like it, I have something to say to refuse."

If that were the case, Sang Ling could only tell the truth, "Mother, in fact, the main reason for this matter is that the Marquis has no such intention and just wants to end it as soon as possible. You should be able to see that."

This was the truth of the truth. She had never said a word of "no" to Shen Huajun's appearance from beginning to end. The first time Nie Ce mentioned her, he just said that he didn't want to marry her. Later, he also said that he wanted to let this matter end here. As a mother, I should be able to see her son's attitude.

"I know." Madam Zhaoyu slowly stopped and turned her head to look at her, with a meaningful look in her eyes, "But I want to ask for your opinion."

Sang Ling could only look back in confusion. Then he heard Madam Zhaoyu say, "You haven't consummated your marriage with Xuanwen yet?"

Finally the showdown came. She was stunned for a moment, lowered her brows and eyes, and nodded silently.

The palace slaves following in the corridor also paused. Madam Zhaoyu waved her hand lightly, and the eunuchs dressed in blue-green and black gauze robes retreated a few steps. The narrow stone brick road in the deep palace had a unique chill and stagnation.

The woman in front of him narrowed her eyes slightly, and her tone was relatively calm, but there was also a hint of oppression in her voice.

"The reason why I went to the Sang Mansion to propose marriage was, firstly, because the queen had taken a liking to you, and I saw that Xuanwen did not dislike you, so I agreed to this marriage. Secondly, the grandfather also admired you, and thought that you were bold and would most likely be able to subdue Xuanwen in the future, so we hurriedly got married before he went to Jiaozhou. After the escape from marriage, Xuanwen explained to me that it was not that he had not taken a liking to you at the beginning, but that he had some private matters to deal with and needed to make a conclusion. He was unwilling to say, so I did not ask, and I only remembered his words 'it was not that he had not taken a liking to you', so I never said anything about the consummation of the marriage. I have given you some advice, but I think you two are young and you may have your own considerations. I don't want to hold you too tightly and make you uncomfortable. But you have been married for half a year. Although he has not been in Chang'an for a long time, you have been together for a while. Why are you still hesitant..." She sighed. Although her tone was rarely fluctuating at the end, it quickly calmed down. "Maybe this is also because of this boy, but you should also make some efforts. Don't you need me, your mother-in-law, to teach you how to win favor with your husband?"

It's not impossible - the daughter-in-law followed up with a sentence in her heart, but she still had to give enough face. The mother-in-law finally showed her hand and was willing to tell her these true feelings. She could only go along with it, "Yes, daughter-in-law knows."

As soon as the voice fell, Madam Zhaoyu sighed again, "It would not be too late to arrange the matters of the concubine and the maiden after the legitimate child is born."

Although the relationship between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law has never been very close, and they have become estranged due to some things, but when these words came out, Sang Ling was still a little shocked in her heart. After all, she had put a high hat on the mothers-in-law of this era a long time ago. According to other ancient women, if they have been married for more than half a year and their son and daughter-in-law have not slept together, they would have arranged for a concubine long ago. Even if they have not taken any action, they should have this idea.

But what she was thinking was: wait until the legitimate son is born, then think about the concubine.

When talking about marriage consummation today, she still used Shen Huajun's matter as an excuse, hoping to give Sang Ling some sense of crisis first, and then give him a serious warning about the matter of marriage. This mother-in-law is really thoughtful.