The people in the manor received news yesterday that Ninth Aunt was bringing the eldest son of a concubine from the Pingyuan Marquis's household. The Dowager Madam and Madam Zhao were unimpressed; in fact, they praised Anran's tactful actions. Of the three sisters, Seventh Sister noticed the most unsatisfactory aspect of Anran's seemingly perfect marriage—she hadn't yet given birth to a legitimate son, yet the manor already had a son born of a concubine. Moreover, Anran was only thirteen; if she wanted to live, she couldn't conceive and give birth until at least fifteen, making the eldest son of a concubine significantly inferior to a legitimate son.
Thinking about this, she finally felt a little better.
Zhao arrived at Rong'an Hall early in the morning and didn't leave. The marriage of Liu Niang had already been arranged, and regardless of whether they were satisfied with the Chen family's behavior, the wedding still had to be arranged. Moreover, Liu Niang was marrying far away, so there were more things to prepare and it was more troublesome.
These days, Sixth Sister has been confined to her room embroidering her dowry. Originally, Zhao was worried that she would be restless and cause trouble, so she had the servants keep a close eye on her to prevent her from misbehaving. But to everyone's surprise, Sixth Sister has been very well-behaved. Every day, besides paying her respects, she goes back to embroider her dowry. She has stopped all her lessons at Tingfeng Pavilion.
Mr. He also sighed with regret, lamenting the waste of Liu Niang's talent and learning.
Shi Niang remained the most sensible and obedient among the girls. She and Qi Niang continued their daily classes as usual, and Qi Niang rarely argued with her anymore. However, An tide was now among the students in their class.
An Xi's weak foundation was taught by An Ran herself, or by An Mu after An Mu returned from class, in order to check An Mu's homework. Fortunately, she was hardworking, and He Xian had a good impression of An Ran, so knowing An tide's identity, he also taught her carefully.
Just like An Ran at Tingfeng Pavilion, Seventh Sister and Tenth Sister learned the same things, while An tide was taught separately by Mr. He.
Today, since Anran has returned home safely, her sisters, Sixth Sister, Seventh Sister, Tenth Sister, and Anxi, have all come to Rong'an Hall to wait for her. Anmu has been specially allowed to skip class and wait for her sister to arrive. Anfeng and Anrui can only come after their classes.
After all, this was the first time An Ran had brought her illegitimate son back, and this son was the eldest illegitimate son of the Marquis of Pingyuan, and he had no biological concubine. It was inevitable that he would be recognized by An Ran's name. The Marquis of Nan'an's mansion also attached great importance to this.
In a sense, the Marquis of Nan'an's family could be considered his maternal grandparents' family.
The carriage came to a smooth stop in front of the hanging flower gate of the Marquis of Nan'an's residence. Su Mama was already waiting by the side, smiling to welcome Anran and Nian Ge'er.
"Ninth Aunt." Mama Su stepped forward to greet An Ran, and seeing a little boy coming down from behind her, she couldn't help but smile and say, "This must be the master of the house?"
An Ran smiled and nodded, saying, "Mom can just call him Nian-ge'er. Nian-ge'er, this is Su Mama."
Nian Ge'er obediently let An Ran hold his hand. He wasn't shy at all. He raised his little face and said in a childish voice, "Hello, Mama Su."
"Nian-ge'er is such a good boy," Su's mother replied with a smile.
"Madam, Madam, the young ladies, and cousins are all waiting for you at Rong'an Hall," said Madam Su with a smile. "We've been looking forward to your visit." In the mansion, everyone referred to Anxi and Anmu as cousins of the Marquis of Nan'an. Even when they went out, the Madam would have Zhao take Anxi with her when they visited each other.
The more people know about the relationship between the two children and the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion, the more difficult it will be for An Ran to take An tide and An Mu away.
An Ran's heart sank, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on Nian Ge'er's hand.
"Mother?" Nian Ge'er's soft voice rang out.
An Ran then came to her senses and saw that Nian Ge'er was looking at her with a worried expression on his face, so she couldn't help but show a reassuring smile.
Biluo and Jinping's faces showed a hint of joy, after all, this was the first time Niange'er had taken the initiative to call Anran "Mother", and it was when they arrived at the Nan'an Marquis's residence.
"Nian-ge'er, let's go." An Ran smiled gently, then suddenly realized that Nian-ge'er had called her "Mother." She felt a warmth in her heart, took Nian-ge'er's little hand, and the two got into the green-curtained carriage.
A short while later, the car stopped in front of Rong'an Hall.
After the two got out of the car, Su Mama led Anran and Nian Ge'er to the inner hall. The maids along the way greeted Anran and, seeing her holding Nian Ge'er's hand, couldn't help but take a few more curious glances.
"Grandmother, Mother." After entering Rong'an Hall, Anran first greeted the Grand Madam and Madam Zhao, then took Nian'er's hand and taught him to greet them. "Hello, Great-Grandmother, Hello, Maternal Grandmother." Under Anran's encouraging gaze, Nian'er was not shy and greeted them in a soft voice.
The old lady and Zhao immediately smiled and beckoned Nian-ge'er to come forward.
Today, Anran dressed Nian Ge'er in a bright blue outer robe, which made his fair and delicate face even more striking, making him look even more adorable. Anran also adorned him with a gold-inlaid jade longevity lock, giving him the air of a noble young master.
Nian Ge'er was still somewhat unaccustomed to the unfamiliar environment. He tilted his head uneasily to look at An Ran, and hesitated without moving.
“Nian-ge’er, go on.” An Ran encouraged with a smile, “Your great-grandmother and maternal grandmother are both calling for you.”
After hearing her words, Nian-ge'er obediently stepped forward.
Seeing the child's closeness to her, the Dowager Madam and Madam Zhao were both surprised and pleased. After all, a son raised by a concubine would naturally be closer to his legal mother, and since he had lost his concubine, he could only regard his legal mother as his mother, and the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion was his maternal family. If they raised him well, it would also be an asset to Anran's legitimate son.
The old lady immediately took Nian-ge'er into her arms, looking very fond of him.
"Nian-ge'er is such a good boy."
The Dowager Lady and Madam Zhao both gave him generous gifts upon their first meeting and praised him highly before letting him go.
An Ran greeted Liu Niang and the others with a smile, and when she arrived at An tide's place, she didn't hesitate at all. Yu Ge'er was also brought over by Zhao Shi and stood with An Mu. Seeing An Ran greet them with a smile, Yu Ge'er ran to An Ran's side and greeted her affectionately.
Compared to Yu Ge'er, who could openly come over and pester them, An tide and An Mu could only watch from the sidelines with envy in their eyes.
An Ran felt a pang of pain in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She took Nian Ge'er's hand and introduced him to everyone one by one. "This is Sixth Aunt, this is Seventh Aunt, this is Tenth Aunt, and this is Cousin Aunt."
Nian Ge'er obediently followed her introduction and greeted her. Liu Niang and the others were very fond of the cute and adorable child and prepared gifts for him. Regardless of their relationship with An Ran, they treated Nian Ge'er with great kindness.
The rest are Anmu and Yuge'er.
Nian-ge'er was very clever. Before An Ran introduced them, Nian-ge'er obediently remained silent and waited. Even when he knew An Mu and An tide, he didn't say a word.
"This is my maternal uncle, and this is my cousin," An Ran introduced Yu Ge'er and An Mu to him.
Nian-ge'er obediently stepped forward to greet them.
Yu-ge'er found it very novel that a child about his age was calling him uncle. He knew that only his sister's child called him uncle. Yu-ge'er enthusiastically agreed and, holding Nian-ge'er's hand, said like a little adult, "No need for formalities."
His childlike behavior amused all the adults in the room.
Although Nian Ge'er didn't quite understand what everyone was laughing about, he saw that An Ran was also trying not to laugh, so he laughed too, revealing two shallow dimples.
"Young master is so handsome." The old lady smiled lovingly, "This Xueyu is so adorable, it's heartwarming."
An Ran smiled and said a few modest words.
“The children are quite reserved listening to us talk here. Let them go play for a while,” the old lady instructed. “Mother Su, please take good care of the boys.”
Mrs. Su quickly agreed.