Chapter 59 About My Mother

However, Pan Yueqing hadn't had the chance to go home yet. Early the next morning, the carriage of the Marquis Dingyuan's residence stopped at the Prince of Anbei's mansion. The Dowager Zhao, leaning on a walking stick, slowly got off the carriage with her personal maid by her side.

When the servant came to report, Pan Yueqing was packing her luggage. The Princess of Anbei knew that she couldn't persuade her to stay, so she prepared a lot of things for her. Pan Yueqing looked at the boxes of fabric and felt a bit helpless. On the one hand, she couldn't decline, and on the other hand, she was afraid that if she completely refused, the Princess of Anbei would feel distant.

"Miss Yue, the Dowager Zhao from the Marquis Dingyuan's residence is here in the front hall. The princess asks you to go there quickly!" The maid outside the curtain bowed slightly, with proper etiquette and a soft voice, as if afraid of disturbing the people in the room.

Pan Yueqing raised her head from the dressing table. Her surprised eyes met Luo Shui's. Her eyes instantly lit up like a withered tree coming back to life, blooming with all sorts of colors. She called out towards the door, "Did my grandmother come here as a guest?"

"Yes. A few days ago, when it was the princess's birthday, the dowager wasn't feeling well, so she just sent someone to deliver a gift. Today, she's coming to pay a visit. The princess said that since you're also in our mansion, she sent someone to invite you to go there quickly!"

Pan Yueqing quickly put down the hairpin in her hand and immediately changed her clothes. She opened the door and told the maid to lead the way quickly.

In the flower hall, the Princess of Anbei was chatting and laughing with the Dowager Zhao. When it was announced that Miss Yue had arrived, the Princess of Anbei smiled and raised her eyes. She saw Pan Yueqing standing in the front hall, dressed in simplicity. There was kindness in her smile. "Yue girl is here!"

"These days she's been here with you. I'm afraid she hasn't been the least bit polite!" The Dowager Zhao looked at Pan Yueqing, who was standing obediently aside, and pointed at her with a smile and scolded, "My granddaughter has no merits at all. If I had to name one, it's that she's not shy! When she was just a little baby, I took her to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress. She actually dared to pull the Emperor's beard! The maid who was taking care of her was really scared at that time!"

"Yue girl is just not shy, not that she doesn't know proper etiquette. You don't have to be too strict, Dowager." The Princess of Anbei beckoned, indicating for Pan Yueqing to sit beside her. She reached out and stroked Pan Yueqing's slender hand, patting it twice. "Today, it just so happens that your grandmother is here. Since we've got the chance, there's something I want to discuss with her and also with you."

"Please go ahead, Princess." Pan Yueqing's voice was soft, and her eyes were as clear as autumn water when she raised them.

"I'm not afraid of you laughing. Last night, my Liulang came to see me late at night. He hesitated for a long time and just said that if he has feelings for Miss Yue, he asked me, as his mother, to ask Miss Yue and her elders what they think." After saying that, the Princess of Anbei looked at Pan Yueqing and smiled. "We're familiar with each other. If you have any thoughts in your heart, you can say it directly. Don't worry about losing face."

Pan Yueqing raised her eyes and looked at the Dowager Zhao. She was planning to say goodbye just to put an end to Qi Liulang's feelings. Now, it was Qi Liulang who was in a hurry first? She subtly gave her grandmother a few glances.

She had grown up by the Dowager Zhao's side since she was a child. The two of them understood each other's little gestures very well. Seeing Pan Yueqing's expression, the Dowager Zhao laughed loudly and said, "How old is your Liulang? He hasn't made any achievements yet. How can he be thinking about such things between young men and women? If it were my grandsons, I'm afraid my eldest son would be the first to not let it go!"

The Princess of Anbei smiled slightly after hearing this. She already understood the meaning of the Dowager Zhao. She had originally refused after hearing Qi Liulang's words. In her eyes, Pan Yueqing was very compatible, but in terms of background, if the legitimate daughter of Prime Minister Pan married Liulang, it would be a pity. Not to mention that yesterday she had heard Pan Yueqing admit that she had a teacher from "Hongyun Academy" with her own ears.

Both emotionally and rationally, her son was overreaching if they were to talk about this matter. But he was her son, and as a mother, she was still willing to speak up for him. She opened her mouth with a glimmer of hope, but after hearing the Dowager Zhao's words, she closed her mouth.

"My granddaughter and your Liulang... are really too young. We can't be sure about the affairs between young men and women. Moreover, I'm just a grandmother. Miss Yue still has her legitimate father and grandmother to make the decision!" The Dowager Zhao picked up the tea cup and took a sip. She smiled politely at the Princess of Anbei and said some words to save face, "It's not too late to talk about this matter when Liulang grows up and stabilizes his reputation and achievements."

"Very true." The Princess of Anbei nodded. She looked into Pan Yueqing's eyes and smiled slightly. "I really like this girl a lot. I heard that she was raised by your side. I can see it. Only you, Dowager, could raise such a girl."

"She was brought to me when she was just one year old," Although the Dowager Zhao was old, her mind was very clear. When she talked about Pan Yueqing's childhood, the memories were still vivid. Finally, she couldn't help but let out a long sigh. "You're good in every way, but you look so much like your mother!"

Pan Yueqing knew that her mother was a source of pain for her grandmother. Over the years, whenever her grandmother looked at her, she would think of her mother. In her previous life, she was afraid of making her grandmother sad, so she listened to Nanny Mei's words and gradually cut off the relationship with the Marquis Dingyuan's residence. But now she understood that no matter how much she looked like her mother, as the continuation of her mother's life in everyone's eyes, both her grandmother and uncles would spare no effort to protect her.

"I remember that before Lan got married, she couldn't learn financial management, and you couldn't teach her clearly. You asked us to teach her, but after we all tried, we couldn't teach her either. So we asked for the Empress's favor and sent her to Hong Qiqiao. In the blink of an eye... so many years have passed..." The Princess of Anbei looked at Pan Yueqing and couldn't help but start talking. Her eyes were filled with memories of the past. Master Hong and her mother? Pan Yueqing's heart stirred when she heard this. She immediately raised her eyes and looked at the Princess of Anbei. "How do they have such a connection?"

"Your mother learned a lot of military books since she was a child, but she had no interest in managing the household and finances at all." The Dowager Zhao recalled the past and couldn't help but smile. There were tears glistening in her cloudy eyes. "It's a pity that in the end, she almost made Hong Qiqiao furious, and she still didn't learn how to manage the household and finances. Instead, she learned a lot of knowledge about the general situation of the world from him."

Pan Yueqing's eyes flashed with surprise. In her impression, everyone had told her that her mother was gentle and domestic, and she was very dependent on her father. But she didn't expect that her mother had such a side. It was a pity that her fate with her mother was too shallow. Otherwise, if she had been by her mother's side, she wouldn't have had to get to know her mother from other people's words.

"Even the Emperor regretted that she was a woman," The Princess of Anbei took up the conversation and reached out to stroke Pan Yueqing's smooth long hair. "Yue girl, your mother was once a woman that everyone in the Northern Qi Dynasty envied. The Emperor doted on her very much. If your mother hadn't fallen in love with your father at that time, you would surely be the Emperor's beloved daughter now."