Reborn as a Merchant Girl, the General's Beloved

She stood up and adjusted her skirt. Suddenly, the woman asked, "Madam Hong, I heard that your family is a merchant family, but they are very wealthy. When the plague broke out a few days ago, you single-handedly turned the tide and stabilized the epidemic in the capital. Even His Majesty praised you and gave you countless rewards. Why are you so poor? Is it because your family has too much deficit and can no longer continue?"

After hearing this, another lady joined the fray, mocking Anan, but she did not speak to Anan. She just stared at Lady Purple and sneered, "Could it be that Lady Hong thinks entering the palace and becoming a Taoist are the same thing?"

There was a burst of laughter afterwards.

Bai Shao and Jiang Xi's faces turned red and white, and they secretly regretted that they listened to their daughter's words when they were dressing up in the morning. Before, Xiao Fu teased them, but it was just a joke between sisters. Even if it was over, they were mostly heartbroken. But now these people's teasing was clearly malicious, and they wanted to trample them to death.

Anan's almond-shaped eyes were slightly tearful. She looked at everyone and said politely in a low voice, "We have lived in Yongning Guard for a long time, so it is inevitable that our clothes are crude. I am sorry to make you ladies laugh. But this hairpin is a token of love given by my husband. I am reluctant to wear it on a daily basis. Today is my first time to enter the palace to appreciate the plum blossoms, so I thought of wearing the hairpin, as if my husband is by my side."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was speechless.

They could denounce merchant girls as being shabby and ill-mannered, but they could never ridicule generals with great military achievements, let alone laugh at the honest couples guarding the border.

The former is harmless in terms of status and position, but the latter is a matter of life and death for the state. Those who can enter the East Palace to enjoy the plum blossoms are at least the wives of third-rank officials. Who would not understand this mystery?

The two people who spoke first were already sweating profusely. They didn't want their carefully selected jewels and silks to become the biggest joke, and they even caused trouble for no reason. If no one investigated it, it would just be a few gossips, but if someone with ulterior motives wanted to cause trouble, it would be a living handle.

This was said without any swear words, and he even satirized them without even saying anything, and he almost led them into a ditch.

So everyone laughed awkwardly, let the matter go, and followed the female official to the imperial garden.

Anan took a piece of sweet cake from the table with a smile, followed the crowd, eating and watching as he walked.

The female relatives who didn't even look at her at first kept their distance from her after a brief trial, and soon they kept some distance from her.

Huaizhu walked slowly behind her and handed her a cup of hot tea. Two female officials behind her were holding a small tea stove and a hot water bottle for warming hands.

Anan quickly took the tea, thanked him repeatedly, and took a sip while it was still hot.

Huaizhu also drank tea, and his eyes gradually became blurred.

Anan could clearly see the pain in her heart, but she could not say a word to comfort her. There were so many people in the palace and they were gossiping, so she could not say even a wrong word. Even if she did not understand the situation, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Huaizhu's current situation was not comparable to that of Miss Niu who stole someone's beloved on the stage. After all, the Crown Princess was definitely not the helpless Wu Niang.

In the end, he only sighed softly. Anan finished his tea, put the tea bowl back on the tray in the female official's hand, and smiled at Huaizhu: "Your Majesty's tea is always so delicious."

Huaizhu was still holding the teacup in one hand and stroking her bulging belly with the other hand. She didn't say anything, but turned back to take a deep look at the hairpin in her hair, chuckled and teased: "It turns out that wood can also become intelligent..."

The two stood side by side, staring at the only red plum blossom in front of them, and no one spoke.

A young eunuch ran over and bowed to Anan with a smile: "Madam, the Imperial Concubine invites you!"