allonlinenovel Chapter 339 Let them be your elder brothers
Chapter 339 Let them be your elder brothers
The second sister is stubborn and doesn't like to get involved in gossip, but that doesn't mean she doesn't understand anything.
When Princess He Ji suddenly mentioned Brother Du, her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively tried to pull her hand back.
“Princess, I was ignorant when I was young, but now that I’m all grown up, I can’t joke like I did when I was a child.”
The Du family has five sons in the next generation. The eldest son has three, the youngest being the fourth son of Princess He Ji. When the Si sisters met him in their youth, they called him Fourth Brother Du. The second son has two, the third and fifth sons respectively. Since they were never in the capital, they hadn't met much.
Seeing her second sister's actions, Princess Heji did not forcefully hold her hand, but said, "Now that you're grown up, it's not appropriate to joke around. We were just siblings to begin with, so it's fine for us to meet."
With elders present, it wasn't considered overstepping the bounds, but the second sister frowned, looking rather unhappy.
Princess He Ji originally intended to send her son over, but seeing her second sister's condition, she changed her mind.
The second sister lowered her eyes and said softly, "Princess... I've been married before."
“Tong girl, you don’t need to belittle yourself. I am a princess, but I am also your aunt.” Princess He Ji said seriously, “I know about your past. It is precisely because I know that I want to be more frank and direct.”
The second sister was somewhat moved: "After all, Fourth Brother Du is the legitimate son of the Marquis's family. We... are not a good match. I also don't want any trouble to arise in the future."
Indeed, she had been married before. Nowadays, regardless of whether a man has had a wife before, his legal wife tends to be a virgin.
Du Shangge interjected, "That's not true at all. Where I'm from, it's plenty of men who marry widows, they..."
“Sing a song!” Princess He Ji interrupted her.
After all, it's never a good idea to bring up someone else's sad stories in front of them.
The second sister laughed: "But this is Kyoto after all."
Princess He Ji patted her hand: "Tong girl, I'll tell you the truth. The reason I came to see you today is because your fourth brother Du pleaded with you at home for so long. After he returned to the capital, he heard that you were assisting Prince Ning in handling the case and thought that you were a woman who was just as capable as any man. A few days ago, he saw you in front of the Si family's gate and when he learned that it was you, he couldn't forget you."
Du Shangge couldn't help but interject again: "My fourth brother fell ill as soon as he saw you, and he lost his appetite. My aunt asked him for many days before he finally told the truth last night."
The second sister stared at them in shock.
She knew that her appearance attracted attention, so she dressed simply and never wore makeup, trying her best to blend in with the crowd.
Even though she was admired by someone, she never imagined that someone would fall ill and lose their appetite because of her.
Princess He Ji smiled and said, "To be honest, I originally thought he had taken a fancy to a not-so-good girl, and I was worried. When I found out it was you, I was overjoyed. Tong girl, I... want to be your mother."
She expressed her feelings frankly, wanting Si Mutong to understand that she loved them very much and sincerely hoped that Si Mutong could become her daughter-in-law.
She held her second sister's hand: "I know that your situation is different from your sisters'. It's not difficult for them to get married normally, but it will be more difficult for you. So I'm also glad that Zhi Rong has fallen for you. That way, I can take good care of you in the future."
In that case, it was impossible for the second sister not to be moved. She stared at Princess He Ji for a long time, and couldn't help but tear up.
She quickly lowered her eyes, but shook her head: "Princess... no, Aunt doesn't know, when I was in Lingnan, my husband and I were very much in love. Although he has... my heart has never changed. Therefore, I have never thought about remarrying. Now I only want to raise Xiaoxia'er."
Princess He Ji looked at her with a smile, assuming that she was observing mourning for her deceased husband, and did not think much of it. She patted her hand and said, "It's alright, then let's be sisters and have a few more brothers, okay?"
In that case, the second sister could not refuse.
She looked up to thank him, then her gaze fell on the distance outside the window, and she paused for a moment, slightly taken aback.
Next to the pastry shop across the street, Prince Ning and Zhao Ning stood side by side, truly a perfect couple.
Princess He Ji said, "There's a lantern festival tomorrow night. Why don't we have Zhi Rong accompany you sisters to see it? Shang Ge can go too, okay?"
The second sister turned her head to the side; she hadn't even heard what Princess He Ji was saying, but she nodded.
……
Si Muyan was sitting and talking with Princess Roushu. When she saw Princess Roushu's slightly protruding belly, she couldn't help but want to touch it.
Princess Roushu was not reserved. She placed her hand on her abdomen and smiled, saying, "Almost five months along."
Si Muyan asked, "Am I being good?"
“Very well-behaved.” Princess Roushu smiled gently. “I heard she’s a young lady, so she’s very considerate and obedient.”
Si Muyan didn't believe any of that. Being lively and active or quiet and inactive doesn't really matter between boys and girls.
She believes that the best way to tell whether the fetus is a boy or a girl is to see if the pregnant mother is ugly or beautiful.
Due to hormonal influences, if the mother is carrying a boy, the hormone levels differ from the mother's, making the mother more prone to changes in appearance. If the mother is carrying a girl, the increase in estrogen levels will result in smoother, more delicate skin.
However, even after staring at Princess Roushu for a long time, Si Muyan did not notice anything.
The main problem is that she doesn't recognize the previous Princess Roushu. The original owner did recognize her, but that was eight years ago.
Princess Roushu laughed: "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Si Muyan looked her over carefully: "I see that your skin is fair and there isn't a single freckle on your face."
"Hmm?" Princess Roushu touched her cheek. "Yes, I've heard that pregnant women are prone to developing freckles, but I don't have any."
"It's possible it really is a daughter," Si Muyan said with a smile. "But you never know, no one will know until the child is born. Does the princess want a daughter or a son?"
“I’m fine with anything, but… Erlang wants a son.”
"what?"
Princess Roushu quickly said, "Erlang said that if we have a son first, then when a sister is born later, she will have an older brother to dote on her."
Hearing this, the younger sister chimed in, "That's true. Our eldest and second eldest brothers used to dote on us a lot..."
But saying it like that sounds a bit strange.
My eldest and second eldest brothers are both gone.
Si Muyan is fine, but the younger sister is very uncomfortable. Thinking of her two older brothers, she feels very sad.
Princess Roushu realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly offered the two of them some snacks. She then changed the subject, saying, "My mother wants me to go back after the New Year, but by then it will be almost seven months, and the journey back will be half a month. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it."
With a heavy belly at seven months pregnant and the cold weather in January, it was indeed inconvenient.
After chatting for a while, Si Muyan got to the point and asked, "I passed through Yuncheng on my way back to the capital and found that the climate there was nice in all four seasons. I wonder if the winters in Yuncheng are as cold as in the capital?"
“It’s cold,” Princess Roushu said. “In the capital, we don’t go out much in winter because we have underfloor heating or charcoal braziers at home. But ordinary people in Yuncheng don’t have these things, and they have to go out to work, so it’s very cold.”