The empress smiled wryly in her heart, but on the surface, she smiled and said: "Sister, you've really hit the nail on the head when it comes to being parents! If this child doesn't understand things, following her will drive me crazy! But if she's too understanding, thinking about it makes my heart ache! In short, from the moment they were born, there hasn't been a single moment when I haven't been worried sick about them!"

  "If you're going to worry, then you should teach properly." The Empress Dowager showed little interest in her implicit complaints, not even raising an eyebrow as she said, "After all, being pitied is better than being hated, isn't it?"

  In front of Empress Dowager, Princess Chang's words were quite serious.

  Even if Su Huang Hou had long sleeves and good dance moves, her face still slightly stiffened, and after a moment she forced a smile and said: "Sister is right."

  "After hinting that she would teach Princess Changxing a lesson later, the Empress forced herself to make excuses for herself, 'It's all because of my sister's good fortune. As for how clever and resourceful Nian Rui is, let's not mention it. Yi Xiao is also a sensible and obedient child. In the future, when the two children get married and serve their sister-in-law together, the joy of family reunion will be truly enviable!'"

  The Empress Dowager stroked the cat, not responding to the conversation, clearly still not very satisfied. The Queen Mother had no choice but to beckon Song Yixiao to come over, and took off a pair of ring pendants from her waist, "This palace has always liked girls like you who are elegant and beautiful. This pair of Xiang Guang Wu Yue ring is an ancient relic passed down from the previous dynasty. Let's take it as a gift for our meeting. I wish you and A Xu will be happy and harmonious in the future, and have a peaceful life!"

  Just look at this magnificent sight of the moon and mist, Song Yi Xiao knew that although she had never heard of it before, it must be worth a fortune, so she didn't dare to accept it.

  However, the Princess of Jin State seemed to have calmed down a bit: "Since the internal strife in Siam a hundred years ago, many craftsmen died in the burning city, and the craftsmanship of this Xiang Guang Yun Yue Huan was lost. Later, the Central Plains also experienced frequent wars, and what has been preserved until now can be counted on one's fingers. Especially such flawless pieces, I'm afraid there is only one pair in the entire palace. You're quite generous!"

  Although Princess Chang was annoyed that her niece had lost face in front of the future daughter-in-law, and indirectly slapped her own son's face, she also knew that Song Yishang hadn't entered the door yet, and it wasn't possible for the Empress or Princess to personally apologize due to their vastly different status.

  The queen agreed to discipline the princess and also took out the precious Xiang Guang Yu Yue ring as compensation, which can be considered a settlement. Pursuing this further would not bring much benefit, but instead create resentment towards her son and future daughter-in-law.

  "Sister, you're laughing, no matter how good something is, if it's not taken out and used, what's the point of storing it in a warehouse?" Seeing Princess Chang say this, Empress Su finally felt at ease, smiling and saying, "Besides, such beautiful objects are meant to be worn by young people like them, that's when they look their best!"

  "It's really unfair, Imperial Aunt!" Just as the storm was about to pass, the Empress Dowager had already prepared a seat for Song Yixiao. But then, the Princess of Nanxiang suddenly spoke up, "I also wanted this pair of Cloud and Mist Rings before! The Imperial Aunt is indeed evasive, diverting the topic. Now that Miss Song has arrived, you haven't said anything, yet you've given it to her."

  The Empress Su's mouth twitched, and she really didn't know how to deal with this little ancestor.

  Fortunately, the eldest princess of Jin State had just forced her to show some attitude, and now she also intends to ease the relationship. She opened her mouth to speak for her: "Zixiang, how can you be so overbearing? From childhood to adulthood, has your imperial aunt given you few good things? Good food, good drink, good play, when have you ever forgotten about you? Now, just thinking of your cousin's face, gave you a gift to meet your future sister-in-law, do you want to fight for it too? It seems that the things your imperial aunt gives can only be given to you, and no one else can touch them?"

  "Sister, Zixiang was just joking with the empress!" Princess Diguochang saw her daughter being scolded by her aunt to the point of tears and felt a pang of sympathy, saying discontentedly, "Why must you take it so seriously?"

  "With so many elders present, all the other girls are well-behaved and knowledgeable about books and etiquette, but she dares to interrupt!" The Princess of Jin State said impatiently, "No manners at all! What's wrong with me scolding her a few times?"

  The princess's face suddenly turned red: "Sister looks down on me and says I'm just, venting anger on a junior is nothing?"

  "Am I not allowed to scold my niece?" The Grand Princess of the State of Jin sneered at her, "I think it's time to teach you a lesson. When am I not supposed to? You speak as if I've never taught you any rules!"

  "You!!!" The princess, who had always been pampered and favored by the emperor, couldn't bear to be humiliated in public like this. She slapped the table and stood up, "You dare to..."

  "Both of you, stop it right now!" The empress dowager's face had not looked good since the princess of Nanzheng spoke up, and now seeing her two daughters getting more and more out of hand, she finally couldn't bear it anymore and scolded them, "How old are you both? Still acting like children, being so willful and reckless! In front of your juniors, do you not have any sense of decorum as seniors?"

  Upon seeing the empress dowager's anger, the two sisters exchanged a cold glance and reluctantly apologized: "It is as Mother Dowager has taught! Your son was discourteous, please punish him, Mother Dowager!"

  At this time, the palace staff came in to report that the Miss Cao of the King of Liang and the Miss Xie who was betrothed to the Marquis of Yi Ping had both arrived and were waiting outside the hall to be summoned.

  Empress Su and others took the opportunity to mediate, persuading Empress Dowager to calm down: "Today, it was agreed that we would meet a few children. Now that they have arrived at the palace gate, if we make them wait for too long, I'm afraid they will be uneasy. It's all because of Mother's good intentions, don't scare them off!"

  The empress dowager hadn't planned to deal with the two girls, but was annoyed that they had quarreled in front of their juniors and lost their dignity as seniors. So after being coaxed by the empress for a few sentences, she nodded: "Let them come in!"

  A moment later, Si Kong Yiruo entered with a girl of similar age, with cloud-like hair and flower-like complexion. After the courtesy, the Empress Dowager asked a few questions to Si Kong Yiruo before stopping, but instead showed special concern for Miss Xie - A moment later, Princess Dai Guo said: "If the elder princess of Lu State were still here now, she would be so delighted to see Xi'er getting married."

  Song Yixiao smiled and nodded - Yi Pingbo's son should be one of the younger sisters of Emperor Xianjia, the late Princess of Lu.

  The emperor's nephew, who had lost his mother, was especially dear to the empress dowager, which made her particularly concerned about his fiancée.

  "Everyone sit down!" The empress dowager was very satisfied with Miss Xie's performance, and after asking her questions, she had three embroidered stools brought over for the girls to take a seat.

  These three embroidered stools, two were placed behind the Grand Princess of Jin State and one was placed behind Concubine Cui. Apparently, they were for them to sit with their respective elders. The ranking of the Grand Princess of Lu State was between the Grand Princess of Jin State and the Grand Princess of Dai State, and Miss Xie followed the Grand Princess of Jin State.

  Song Yi smiled and sat down, then Pei You Rui handed her a friendly smile. She hurriedly returned the smile and also hooked her lips at Xie Miss below - before they finished their silent greetings among girls, Princess Dai Guo Long looked around and suddenly frowned: "Where is Cui Miss? The Cui Mansion is not far from the Imperial Palace, how come the Sima Miss who lives in the south of the city and Xie Miss have arrived, but she hasn't?"

  "Let's just say, Imperial Concubine Cui," "It's not that I'm saying you're the concubine, but among all the girls in this palace today, who wasn't raised like a precious gem in a pile of brocade? How is it that they've all arrived, yet your niece Xianxian is late, making us wait for her along with so many others?"

  Actually, Imperial Consort Cui was also worried about her niece at this time. Upon hearing the words, she secretly gritted her teeth, but in front of the Empress Dowager and the Empress, she had to force a smile: "Your Highness doesn't know that Xianlian's child was ill just recently, although she recovered two days ago, but her vitality hasn't been restored yet. I don't know if it's because of this reason, so we delayed?"

  "Not long ago, you fell ill?" The Crown Princess Dai Guo fiddled with the bangle on her wrist, seemingly smiling yet not quite, "Ah, wasn't that just when the imperial edict for the arranged marriage was issued? To fall ill right after receiving the edict, could it be that this child is unlucky and can't bear the responsibility?"

  Turning to the empress dowager, "Empress Dowager, if Miss Cui can't even make it as the crown prince's concubine, I think it's better to replace her early on. After all, it's not easy for the Cui family to raise a daughter, is it?"

  The empress dowager looked at her and frowned without saying a word.

  "The Empress Dowager dotes on that child, so it's only natural for him to be spoiled." Consort Cui was furious in her heart, but her face didn't show a single ripple, and she smiled faintly as she said, "However, Your Highness the Princess is worrying too much. This person eats coarse grains and miscellaneous food, so it's inevitable that he'll have headaches and fevers from time to time. Besides, the child has already recovered."

  The Empress Dowager snorted, "This has all healed, what's the point of not arriving until now? Isn't she ill again? Although it's said that the Eastern Palace has a Crown Princess in charge, and the concubines only need to attend to the Crown Prince, there's nothing else for them to worry about. But with this illness coming every three days or so, let alone giving birth to an heir for the Crown Prince, isn't this just adding trouble to the Eastern Palace?"

  This remark was equivalent to saying that Cui Xian would not have children, and might not even live long - Concubine Cui couldn't help but show a look of annoyance: "Your Highness is joking! If Cui Xian's body really wasn't good, then how could she have participated in the spring outing at Shangsi Temple this year, where the two young ladies from Qingjiang and Nanzheng personally led the way up the mountain?"

  The Princess of Dai snorted, wanting to say something else, but caught a warning glance from the Empress Dowager out of the corner of her eye - Consort Cui had already brought out the eldest daughter of the Princess of Jin, the Lady of Qingjiang, and if the Princess of Dai continued to pursue the matter, the Lady of Qingjiang would also be guilty of not carefully selecting a concubine for the Crown Prince.

  The Empress Dowager didn't want her two daughters to quarrel again.

  "I heard that Miss Cui is as beautiful as a flower and extremely charming." This cannot provoke the anger of Princess Zhennan of Jin, but it's not like I can't continue to cause trouble for Imperial Consort Cui.

  The princess changed her tone to a more leisurely one, "As the saying goes, everyone has a heart that loves beauty. Forget it, considering she's a rare beauty, I'll wait a bit longer!"

  She said she had already withdrawn her troops and ceased drumming, but Cui Guifei not only didn't relax, but instead lost her composure and turned black in the face!

  This move by the Grand Princess is too ruthless and poisonous——what "who doesn't have a heart that loves beauty", what "rare beauty", isn't this an outright reminder to the Empress, carefully warning her that Cui Qian has become a femme fatale?

  The Empress Dowager was very satisfied with the Crown Prince and his wife, even if she gave face to Consort Cui by letting Cui Xianlian become the Crown Prince's concubine. However, she would never allow Cui Xianlian to rely on her aunt to surpass the Crown Princess; not to mention that the Empress Dowager and Emperor Xianjia had high hopes for the Crown Prince to work hard and become a wise ruler in the future, how could they tolerate someone relying on their beauty to cause chaos in the Eastern Palace?

  Coincidentally, Cui Jianli was late in arriving, and Imperial Consort Cui didn't know the reason either. Now she didn't know how to make excuses for her niece!

  "What's wrong with Zi Yu?! Cui Guifei was both angry and hateful, secretly scolding the eldest princess of Dai Country while also being very dissatisfied with her own brother, "He doesn't understand things, how can he be so tactless! No matter how much he's been spoiled before, he's going to be a side consort, why can't he behave properly!"

  Fortunately, just as the noble consort was feeling at a loss for words, the palace maid finally came in again to report: "Miss Cui has arrived and is waiting outside the hall!"

  Cui Guifei took a deep breath and then clenched her fists again, ready to speak on behalf of her niece.

  But Cui Jianlian, who had a slightly pale face, entered the palace and went through the rituals. Without waiting for the Empress Dowager to speak, she begged for forgiveness: "My daughter's carriage encountered someone from Qingjiang County on the way here, and unfortunately injured their horse. I heard that Mr. Zhuo is ill and urgently needs a doctor, so I lent them our fine horse to rush to his side. That's why we're late, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

  "What's wrong with Ping'an?" The Empress Dowager hadn't spoken yet, but the Princess of Jin had already changed her expression, "What happened to Ping'an?"