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  Chapter 3

  Madam Zhu gazed at Ming Xuan with delighted eyes, but somehow her heart ached.

  Xiang Jies former lively and carefree personality was forced to become quiet and taciturn, carefully dealing with people and things, showing extreme respect and courtesy to her elders. Even towards her younger half-sisters, Xiang Jie and Wei Jie, she would always be humble and yielding. In the past three years, she had taken up needlework and embroidery again, which she used to disdain, and abandoned her former free and unrestrained calligraphy style that had once earned the praise of Mei Hanlin, a renowned master of calligraphy. Instead, she began to write in a more formal and restrained script.

  Living in such a precarious manner, all she sought was peace and smoothness. She knew that finding another matching young master from a noble family for Xiangs sister would be difficult, but if they looked among families with slightly lower social status, they could still choose a young man with a clean background and equivalent talent and appearance. If she gave Xiangs sister more private support, their future life wouldnt be too bad.

  Who would have thought that things that were supposed to go smoothly would end up having unexpected twists and turns.

  Madam Zhus mind flashed back to her eldest daughter-in-law kneeling in front of her, crying and complaining the night before. Her heart sank completely. She had been married into the Yongning Marquis Manor for 45 years, experiencing several life-and-death crises in the manor, so she naturally had a deeper understanding than ordinary women in the inner courtyard. For some things, her eldest daughter-in-law didnt need to say much, and she could see through the crux of the matter.

  The elder daughter-in-law said, Princess Gui had a hard time in the palace.

  Since ancient times, the harems struggle for favor has been linked to the imperial courts power struggles. The noble consort is pregnant with the dragon heir, and although this brings honor to the Gu family of Yongning Hou Fu, it also harbors infinite danger behind it.

  The current queen comes from the Pingguo Dukes mansion, Pei family. The Pingguo Duke, Pei Gu, is a veteran of three dynasties and has served as Chancellor, having contributed to the current emperors ascension to the throne. The Pei familys sons and nephews are spread throughout the court, holding key positions in various departments, making them extremely powerful. Chancellor Pei is ruthless and cunning in his actions, with ambitions that go far beyond temporary glory. However, now that Empress Pei has no children, while Consort Gu has already conceived an heir, how can the Pei family tolerate this?

  The scene before our eyes seems to be a tapestry of flowers and brocade, with wealth and glory within reach. But if one missteps even slightly, its a bottomless pit from which theres no return for eternity. Consort Gu is restless day and night in the palace, while Duke Yongning is preparing for his daughter and the dragon heir in her womb to secure their future before the storm hits.

  Jianan Bo Liang Kun has a bad reputation for being infatuated with women, but he is actually the most trusted minister of the current emperor.

  The current emperors birth mother was just a lowly-born palace maid who accidentally gained the favor of the previous emperor and became pregnant with the dragon child, ranking ninth in line. However, the previous emperor had many children and did not pay much attention to him. If it werent for the fact that the young Duke of Jianan unintentionally became close friends with the ninth prince and often spoke on his behalf in front of the previous emperor, the ninth prince would not have been able to ascend to the throne even with the support of Prime Minister Pei, without the final approval of the previous emperor.

  If all of Jianan Bos children were born to the Gu family daughter, then Jianan Bos heart would be towards Yongning Hou Fu. But if he marries another familys daughter in the future, its hard to say. This is why Yongning Hou still wants to form a marriage alliance with Jianan Bo.

  Madam Zhu sighed almost imperceptibly, and her eldest daughter-in-laws words were so clear that she was telling herself and Duke Jianan that this marriage could not be broken off. This not only concerned the safety of the noble concubine in the palace and the dragon heir, but also affected the future prospects of the Yongning Marquiss mansion. It had to be either Cui sister or Xuan sister or Wei sister, one of the Gu family girls had to marry into that family.

  Xuans sister is a granddaughter, and the noble consort in the palace is also a granddaughter. She can no longer openly protect Xuans sister, so she can only show Xuans sister a clear way. As for how to do it, whether it will succeed or not, and whether she can get the protection of Princess Dongping, all depend on Xuans sisters own destiny.

  Ming Xuan persuaded Old Lady Zhu to have some rice porridge, seeing that her grandmother looked rather tired, she helped her rest.

  Then followed Qiu Tao into the warehouse, picked a few pieces of stable and heavy cloud brocade, cut some, took some small but shiny and moist southern pearls, and matched them with silk threads that suited her mind.

  Hongyu sent her and Xuesu out, and whispered in a secluded place, "Madam Hou stayed in the old ladys house until midnight last night before leaving. After Madam Hou left, the old lady couldnt sleep, tossing and turning. Later, when I was drowsy, I heard the old lady say..."

  Her voice was even lower, "The palm and back of the hand are all flesh."

  Ming Xuans heart moved slightly, and she smiled as she pinched Hong Taos hand, "Thank you."

  Jiang Yinan glanced at Xue Su and curled her lip, "Not worth it."

  She and Xue Su are two sisters-in-law, Xue Sus mother passed away early, so as the older sister, she naturally had to take care of her more. Since Old Lady had already given Xue Su to Seventh Miss, then Seventh Misss honor or shame would affect Xue Sus future. Only if Seventh Miss was well, would Xue Su be well too. She sent a few messages, if it could help Seventh Miss, then it would also help Xue Su.

  Returning to the Xiyu Pavilion, Mingxuan thought about her grandmothers change in attitude before and after, and carefully pondered the phrase "the palm and back of the hand are all flesh". In her mind, she roughly guessed some reasons. Ah, yes, the imperial concubine in the palace is pregnant, if its a boy, he would be the eldest son of the emperor...

  The grandmother was at peace in the rear palace, unable to interfere with the affairs of the imperial court. However, the fate of the women in the rear palace could not be separated from that of the imperial court. The grandmother had already done her best by making it this far. She thought that she absolutely could not marry a violent man and also did not want to disappoint the grandmothers protection, so she became even more anxious about the two pieces of jade in her hand.

  Ming Xuan had also played simple cross-stitch in her previous life, but traditional embroidery was much more difficult than cross-stitch. When she first arrived, she knew the situation was not good and thought that learning some needlework would be a good thing, so she put some effort into it and was fortunate to receive guidance from Mrs. Clever Needle. After three years of hard practice, her embroidery skills had made some progress.

  But to shock the audience, its still necessary to come up with a way to bring out new ideas from old ones.

  Ming Xuan raised her head and glanced at the painting of a lady with flowers in her hair hanging on the wall, which was a genuine work by Tang Boan, the painting sage of the previous dynasty. Tang Boan excelled at adding the final touches to his paintings, and the people he depicted had a subtle charm: no matter from what angle you looked at the painting, you could always meet the gaze of the person in the painting, with your eyes locking together.

  She suddenly had an idea in her mind, if she applied this ingenious method to embroidery, as long as she had a certain level of skill, it would be considered a pioneering work in the embroidery world. The ladies from wealthy families were particularly meticulous about their needlework, and if she could really achieve this effect, she would surely make a good impression on the wives attending her grandmothers birthday banquet.

  This technique is extremely difficult, but Gu Mingxuan can do it.

  Her ancestor in her previous life was a famous calligrapher and painter, although her father had no achievements in calligraphy and painting, he was an expert in appreciating them. She was influenced by him since childhood, not only writing well but also having some knowledge of figure painting, flower and bird painting, landscape painting, and even learning the technique of adding the final touches for several days. However, after entering university to study economics and then working in a investment bank, she became busy like a spinning top that never stops, without any leisure time to think about these things, and eventually abandoned them all.

  Gu Mingxuan thought for a moment and then started trying with her head down.

  Two days later was the fifteenth of the twelfth lunar month. Old Lady Zhu felt unwell and did not hold a family banquet.

  Ming Xuan also didnt want to have too much contact with Madame Hou at this time, lest she be remembered.

  She had already mastered the technique of adding the final touches for several days, and two embroidered pieces, one with a colorful bat singing in spring and the other with a brocade bird celebrating longevity, were respectively dotted with heavy ink on the eyes of the bat and the bird, then the southern pearls were carefully placed along the edges. After being embroidered, the room was filled with splendor and wealth, and because of the novel technique, it looked especially elegant.

  Madam Zhu was very pleased when she saw it and immediately sent Granny Yan to deliver it to the East Ping Wang Fu.

  On the seventeenth day of the twelfth lunar month, a carriage from the Li family of Pingchangbo, Longxi, arrived first. It was Pingchangbos third son, Shaoqi, and his second daughter, Linyue. This brother and sister were both legitimate children of Madame Pingchang. They had been to Shengjing several times before, and last year when their elder sister went back to her hometown, they also stayed at Yongninghoufu for a few days.

  The horse carriage entered the outer city of Shengjing, and the Yongning Houfu immediately received the news. Ming Xuan was waiting by Zhu Laos side to accompany her, and it wasnt until almost noon that someone came in to report that Li Shaoyi and his sister had entered the mansion. The old lady guessed that her grandson would be held back by his uncles, so she hastily sent Yan Xiaojie to pick up her granddaughter Lin Yue.

  Before long, Li Linxiao entered the main hall, and Old Lady Zhu happily hugged her to her chest, calling out "hearts treasure".

  After crying and laughing for a while, she finally let Lin Yue and her aunt and sisters in the house meet each other.

  Madam Zhu stroked Lin Xues chubby little hand, her eyes slightly red. "Mother said in the letter that you should have arrived by the 10th, but its been seven days and Grandmother is worried sick. Shes afraid the heavy snow will block your path, or that youve taken a wrong turn and met with bad people. She cant stop thinking about you two for even a moment."

  She paused for a moment, and with tears in her eyes, continued to say, "Fortunately, Ive finally met someone at this gathering, and my heart has finally settled down."

  Lin Xue smiled and stuck out her tongue, "Grandmother guessed correctly, when we entered Fengzhou, the snowslide blocked the mountain. Brother was afraid of not making it to Grandmothers birthday on time, so he didnt wait for the official to clear the snowy road and took a small path instead. Who would have thought that although that small path could also lead to Shengjing, it was actually 108,000 li longer, which delayed us for several days."

  She shook Zhus old ladys arm, her voice coquettish, "It was all Third Brothers carelessness that made Grandmother worry, wait until he comes over from his uncles place, Grandmother will definitely punish him severely!"

  Madam Hou pushed open the warm curtain and came in, received Li Linxiaos courtesy, then smiled and said to Old Madam, "Mother, Master Hou kept Qi Geer at the front to talk, and was so delighted that he had to test Qi Geers new skills. The several brothers at home heard the news and all gathered there to spar with Qi Geer, even Second Brother and Fourth Brother went over. For a while, Qi Geer is probably unable to come over to pay his respects to you. Last year, Qi Geer lived in Yuan Xians Jinsongyuan, just now I asked him about it, he said he still wants to live with Yuan Xian together, so I arranged for him to move there."

  She turned her head and asked Li Linxiao, "Where does sister Yue want to live? Tell Auntie, so she can arrange it."

  Lin Xues mischievous energy was all gone when facing Mrs. Hou, she bowed neatly and replied respectfully, "Thank you for your concern, Auntie. Lin Xue is still the same as last year, living with Xiang sister is fine. Fu Yu Ge is close to An Tai Yuan, so its convenient for me to come over every day to accompany my grandmother."

  Madam Hou bid farewell to Old Lady Zhu and went downstairs to make arrangements.

  As soon as she left, Lin Xues personality was unleashed.

  After chatting and laughing for a while, Old Lady Zhu saw that her face was looking a bit tired, so she urged her to leave. "Youve traveled for days, and the boat and carriage ride must have been exhausting. I wont keep you here any longer, follow Xianger over there to wash up first, then take a rest. For lunch, Ill instruct them to add some dishes for the two sisters. Well wait until tonight to welcome the brother and sister back."

  The old lady spoke and everyone in the house dispersed.

  Ling led Lin Yue back to the Jade Pavilion to wash up and change clothes. The two sisters lay on the heated kang, whispering to each other.

  Ming Xuan curiously asked, "I saw that after seeing her aunt just now, she seemed to have changed into another person. Is there any reason for this?"

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