Ambitious Favored Consort: How To Become A Wangfei

Chapter 45: Lantern Festival

Dujuan followed Tang Shishi closely. She thought about it carefully after hearing her questions and said, "I don't know much about it either. In the previous years, I only heard that the Xu family came to deliver gifts, but today was the first time that Madam Xu came to the mansion in person."

Tang Shishi lifted her skirt and walked up the steps into the warm winter sun with her bright red clothing. Dujuan's words were not far from Tang Shishi's expectations. If Madam Xu came to visit every year, where would Prince Jing have such a good temper?

This year Madam Xu was unable to hold back. Firstly, she heard that Zhao Zixun had gotten married and wanted to meet Shizi Consort. Secondly, it was probably for her younger brother who committed a crime.

Tang Shishi asked, "Dujuan, when did you enter the mansion? How much do you know about Wangye and the Xu family?"

"I was bought into the mansion in the third year of Yongxi." Dujuan sighed and said, "At that time, I was still young and didn't remember much. I only remember that the harvest that year was very bad. Many people couldn't survive and could only sell their children. That's how I entered Prince Jing's mansion. At that time, I was just serving people and was ignorant. Before I have time to learn about the rules of the mansion, I heard about the Tatars' attack. The frontier defenses were losing one after another. Many people from Xiping fled to the south, but Wangye did not leave and took people to the north. We waited fearfully in the mansion. From autumn to winter, we finally heard that the Tatars had retreated but Wangye was seriously injured. After he returned to the mansion, he recuperated for several months, and Xu Jing died in this war to protect Wangye."

Tang Shishi slowly contemplated the third year of Yongxi. At the age of eight, Tang Shishi was still jealous of Tang Yanyan over the so-called father's love. She did not cry because Tang Yanyan had a pearl flower. At that time, Tang Shishi did not even know that there had been wars in the northwest.

The front line went through life and death, but the people at the back were not aware wars were going on. Tang Shishi was a little surprised. When she was weeping for the pearl flower, she did not know that Zhao Chengjun was in bloody wars in the front line. She had been enjoying the wealth of the eldest daughter of the Tang family and had been able to nitpick about her clothes and jewelry, just because someone supported the northwest battlefront.

Tang Shishi has long known that Zhao Chengjun was a very powerful person. He held half of the world's military forces, and his position was very important. Even the arrogant and domineering Empress Dowager Yao was afraid of him. However, this was the first time Tang Shishi really felt what these titles signified.

Seeing that Tang Shishi's eyes were dazed, Dujuan tentatively asked, "Miss, what are you thinking about?"

Tang Shishi blinked her eyes, her eyes regained their glow, and said slowly, "In fact, when I was seven or eight years old, I especially hated this world. I felt that no one in this world was kind to me, and the only mother who is kind to me is timid and useless. I was pushed into the pool by Tang Yanyan, and she couldn't even get justice for me. But now I suddenly discovered that when I was not aware, someone was still protecting me."

Dujuan did not understand, asked with a frown, "Miss, what are you talking about? What protection or no protection?"

Tang Shishi glanced at Dujuan with disdain and said, "Never mind, just pretend I didn't say it. By the way, how did Wangye settle the Xu family after he adopted Shizi?"

Dujuan shook her head and said truthfully, "I don't know. I only knew that one day a boy suddenly appeared in the mansion. Tongxiu Gugu said that he was the child of the benefactor and told us to respect him. Later, after a few more days, Liu Gonggong asked the people of the mansion to change the way they addressed the child and called him Shizi. He strictly forbade the people in the mansion to talk about the origin of Shizi. As for what happened to the Xu family... no one in the mansion dared to ask and it's hard for me to tell."