SFS Chapter 157 Asking for a Daughter
Chapter 157 Asking for a Daughter
There is no specific time to go to the Daughter Temple, but the girls in the capital like to go to the temple to pray when spring comes and flowers bloom. They take off their heavy winter clothes and put on new spring clothes. The girls' little thoughts seem particularly cute.
Princess Qingping also rarely wore a lotus pink dress and a set of pink crystal headpieces, looking youthful, beautiful and ethereal.
"My cousin is different today."
The eldest prince Fu Lilu stood in front of the carriage and reached out to help Princess Qingping down. The two were childhood sweethearts and had known each other for many years, so it was inevitable that they were close.
"My mother thinks I am too plain and simple in my daily life. She says that I should not waste my best years. So I followed her wishes." Princess Qingping helped the eldest prince get off the carriage.
The eldest prince was very satisfied to see that she lowered her eyes and was submissive, yet still had the reserve and cultivation of a noble lady. Although his marriage with Qingping had not been finalized, as long as he still wanted that position, Qingping would definitely be his wife.
This was an unspoken agreement between him and the Grand Princess.
No matter how beautiful a beauty is, she is just a diversion. Compared with the real power in one's hands, she is just a flash in the pan. Fu Lilu thought about it very clearly, so his attitude towards Princess Qingping was also extremely polite, for fear of offending the beauty.
Every girl who comes to the Daughter Temple to burn incense will bring a very thin silk cloth from home. Some girls whose families are not well-off will use coarse cloth instead.
It is said that as long as you tie these strips of cloth on a big tree and make a wish, the kind girls will bless you to find your ideal husband.
The Daughter Temple in the capital was built on a high mountain with beautiful scenery and abundant plants. The eldest prince and Princess Qingping arrived in spring, when all things revived, the cold winter faded away, and everything was covered with green.
On the way up the mountain, the two of them walked and stopped from time to time. The maids and nannies beside them followed behind them, giving them enough space. As usual, the two of them chatted about the political affairs in the court and exchanged the latest information with each other.
As they chatted, Fu Lilu actually tasted some of the peaceful and quiet life. He believed that after marriage, they could still support each other in times of trouble.
"Qingping!" Wen Siqin shouted in surprise on the mountainside.
Princess Qingping turned her head and put away her smile, nodding coldly at Wen Siqin.
Fu Lilu also saw Wen Siqin and suddenly felt unhappy. Wen Siqin always followed Princess Qingping, which was not a new thing in the capital. He was already very annoyed with this cousin from his mother's family and felt that this guy was a fool and was of no use.
Now they are even more repelled by each other, and they wish they could call the guards to throw the person off the mountain.
"Qingping, did you know I was coming to the Daughter Temple, so you came too?" Wen Siqin said happily with his eyes wide open.
Wen Cheng, who was beside him, quickly ran over and covered Wen Siqin's mouth. Then, he smiled and apologized, "Princess, please forgive me. We are here today to accompany the ladies from the academy. It's just an outing... nothing more. Please don't misunderstand me."
Princess Qingping nodded, no longer looking at Wen Siqin's foolish eyes. She turned to Fu Lilu and said, "Your Highness, let's leave quickly, otherwise we won't be able to get back to the city before noon."
Wen Cheng and Wen Siqin both had indifferent feelings towards this so-called cousin. After all, few ungrateful sons would go against their mother. Naturally, as the empress's family members, they looked down on this prince.
But they can only express their dislike for each other behind other people's backs. On the surface, they still have to be harmonious and even greet each other politely.
"I heard that you didn't study for the imperial examination and went to learn martial arts? What kind of martial arts champion do you want to take the exam?" Fu Lilu said while looking Wen Siqin up and down exaggeratedly. The contempt in his eyes was almost written on his face.
"Both civil and military examinations are through the imperial examinations. I'm just using a different method." Wen Sitan was extremely concerned about his reputation in front of Princess Qingping. Even if the other party was a prince, he still wanted to argue with him. He wanted Qingping to understand him. He was no longer the dandy boy in the capital, and he would learn to be a good person one day.
It’s a pity that Princess Qingping seemed not to hear it. She hid behind Fu Lilu and seemed to be attracted by the beautiful scenery of the mountains.
"It's just self-consolation. In the court, civil officials are always at the top. As for military generals, they can just find a border post to guard the city gate." Fu Lilu deliberately moved close to Wen Sitan and said almost humiliatingly.
"You..." Wen Siqin was so impulsive that he even wanted to attack. Wen Cheng hugged him tightly and agreed with difficulty, "Your Highness is absolutely right. My brother is indeed not cut out for a civil service position. He can still be a military officer, but he can't just stay at home and be a playboy."
"That's right. You must learn this skill well, otherwise the sword will be merciless. You don't want to die young and leave your family with old age..."
"What are you two doing there? Come up quickly. Your luck has been really bad lately. You've been plagued by all kinds of bad luck. If you don't come and worship, I'm afraid you'll drag me down with you." A woman on the mountain shouted condescendingly with her belly bulging.
He directly interrupted Fu Lilu's humiliating words, which made him quite regretful. He also wanted Princess Qingping to see through the nature of this playboy, that he was just an impulsive and useless waste.
"How dare you! Who are you? Why don't you come over and pay your respects!" The lackeys around Fu Lilu rushed up and shouted loudly.
Qian Qiansui stroked her belly and saw the farce below. She felt really disappointed. There was actually someone in her academy who was in love. It was a complete disrespect to the teaching quality of their academy.
"I'm pregnant, so it's not easy for me to climb up. You can let me bow, but why don't you let this gentleman come up first?"
"You! You're just..."
"What are you yelling about! She is the lady of our academy. How dare you provoke her?" Wen Sitan had suffered a lot and his advice was sincere. Even the empress dared not offend her easily. You, a little prince, are nothing.
But Fu Lilu hadn't been back for several days, and he had never known the widow, the wife of Marquis Anshun.
"A little girl... so arrogant..."
Fu Lilu was unaware, but Princess Qingping knew quite a bit. She seemed to have just woken up from a dream. She stepped forward to stop Fu Lilu, then half-bowed to Qian Qiansui and said, "Madam, you have His Majesty's special permission. You don't need to perform formalities when meeting anyone. The weather is beautiful today. Are you here to pray for blessings at the Daughter Temple?"
"Well, I'm here to ask for a daughter." Qian Qiansui even specially prepared a set of small clothes for this purpose. It is said that the small clothes were burned in the temple, and whoever of the offering girls took the clothes would come to give birth to her daughter, and the daughter would be pretty and well-behaved. She said that she came to repay her gratitude.
Qingping thought that this was just Qian Qiansui's excuse. Even though Tang Kingdom no longer allowed the killing of girl children, from the royal family to the common people, who would be willing to give birth to a girl, especially a widow like the wife of Anshun Marquis, who only had this one posthumous child.
But she didn't understand what Qian Qiansui was really thinking. If she gave birth to a boy, it would be a disaster.