Union

Chapter 196 Elated
The atmosphere in the front courtyard was tense, but laughter filled the back courtyard, creating a harmonious and pleasant atmosphere.

The area around Yunying was even more lively.

She's been receiving so many gifts today, she's gone crazy!

Although she knew that these ladies would be visiting today and that she would inevitably have to give them gifts, the amount of gifts she received far exceeded Yunying's expectations.

She had only one head and two hands, but she had five or six necklaces jingling around her neck, and her hair ornaments and jewelry were so numerous they looked like an exhibition. Her hands were covered with bracelets: some were gold, some were jade, and some were gold inlaid with gemstones; in short, each one was very precious.

Yunying had never seen such a scene before; she had only seen it online.

In her past life, she had seen some photos of brides from the South, their necks and wrists adorned with various gold ornaments. Back then, she was envious, saying that with so much gold, it must be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions.

I later learned that most of these gold ornaments were hollow; they were just for decoration and not actually very valuable.

But that didn't stop her from being envious.

She's a very materialistic person; she just loves gold.

Now that's great, she no longer needs to be envious of others; she has it too.

Moreover, hers are more numerous, more exquisite in style, and more valuable.

Yunying was overjoyed, thinking: "If only these gold and jade ornaments weren't so heavy."

……

Because so many people were giving her gifts, Yunying couldn't keep them on her person all the time. So, she would disappear for a while every now and then, take off some of the gifts and give them to her maid, only taking one or two that she couldn't easily remove, and then return to the flower hall to act as a mascot.

Just as Yunying received another large wave of gifts, rumors spread from the front courtyard that the Crown Prince and the Second Prince had arrived.

Yunying immediately frowned and glanced at her sister-in-law.

Yang Lingjia couldn't help but frown and whispered to her sister-in-law, "The manor didn't send invitations to the Crown Prince and the others, so why did they come uninvited?"

Yunying shook her head; she was puzzled too.

Both of them were members of the royal family and nobles, and in principle they would not do something like showing up without an invitation. But if they did show up, who would dare to turn them away?
Yang Lingjia said to Yun Ying, "I'll send someone to check ahead."

Yunying said, "Don't worry about them, sister-in-law. Let them come if they want. With Father around, nothing will happen. The banquet is about to start, sister-in-law. The banquet is more important now."

Yang Lingjia nodded and said, "You're right. Let Father and the others handle the Crown Prince and the Second Prince. I'll send someone to check with the kitchen right away. If the food is ready, we can start the feast soon."

The two women whispered a few more words about this and that, and then stopped mentioning the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.

Unlike them, today's guests, upon hearing of the sudden arrival of these two distinguished guests, couldn't help but gossip among themselves.

"It's alright that the Crown Prince is here, but wasn't the Second Prince punished and confined by His Majesty? How come he suddenly ran out?"

"That's His Majesty's son after all, and a favored one at that. With the Imperial Concubine whispering in his ear, it would be difficult for His Majesty not to release him."

Some people had mixed feelings, saying, "The entire Rongguo Duke's family came today. Isn't His Majesty afraid that the two young men will fight if he releases the Second Prince at this time?"

"Why are you fighting? You're not some young punk who doesn't know his own strength. No matter how many faults the Second Prince has, he's still a prince. The Rongguo Duke's Mansion is a subject; how dare they bully a prince? That would be tantamount to rebellion."

"Sigh, speak properly. Why put accusations on people like this? Madam Feng is still sitting in the palace. Besides, regarding Lin Shuqing's matter, ultimately it was the Second Prince who was in the wrong."

"Whether it's right or wrong, that's not something we can say. If the news gets to the ears of the Imperial Concubine, she can easily deal with us."

"Ahem, I heard that the case of the Marquis of Chang'an's residence has been thoroughly investigated. The confiscated silver has been confiscated, the punishments have been carried out, and all those involved have been punished. Shouldn't they be exiled next?"

"It should be so. It's said that on the first day of the second month, all the people will set off for Lingnan Prefecture. Tsk tsk, that girl who previously refused to go south with the second young master of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, it turns out that everything is arranged by God. This time, she has no choice but to go."

"A family of idiots..."

Some of these words reached Yunying's ears, while others did not.

It was only after hearing these people mention Lin Shuqing that Yunying suddenly remembered that she had almost forgotten about such a person.

It's not that she's carefree; she's just been living such a fulfilling and happy life lately.

Every morning when she woke up, she was surrounded by her family, and her daily life was warm and romantic. Her heart felt as comfortable as if it were immersed in a hot spring. She didn't even have time to pay attention to Chen Yanzhou, let alone think about Lin Shuqing.

However, judging by the timeline, the Chang'an Marquis's family has been imprisoned for quite some time. Their cases should have been concluded by now.

Therefore, it is foreseeable that they will soon be exiled to Lingnan Prefecture.

"He'er, what are you thinking about? The banquet is about to begin. Come here to your grandmother."

The old lady beckoned to Yunying, inviting her to sit next to her.

Yunying was a junior, so she should have sat with the girls brought by these ladies.

But the old lady didn't care about any of that.

She had finally found her granddaughter, so naturally she wanted to stay close to her all the time.

Moreover, her granddaughter is the star of today's banquet. How could it be justified not to let the star sit at the head table?
The old lady was full of fallacies, and no matter how Yunying suggested that they sit at another table, she simply wouldn't agree.

Finally, Yunying sat down between the old lady and her aunt.

Right across from Yunying sat Madam Feng.

This was the second time that Xiao Feng had seen Yun Ying.

The first time I met Yunying was before I sent her to Lingnan.

At that time, Yunying was young and naive, quiet and reserved, and looked like a cold and dull girl.

She thought at the time that no matter which of the other three gained favor, Yunying would not be the one to receive it.

Because her son is slow to warm up and doesn't talk much.

If a girl is cheerful and charming, and puts more effort into winning over her son, she might just gain his favor. Mu Jin and Qiu Ning are good examples; they seem gentle and sweet, easily attracting men's attention.

On the other hand, Yunying, a maid who serves others, is more composed than her mistress. If you don't take the initiative to please her, do you expect men to fawn over you?

Perhaps for other men, the more difficult a beauty is to win over, the more it arouses their desire to conquer, and they are susceptible to this. But his son is not like that.

Her son was too lazy to even eat the meat that was fed to him, let alone coax him to eat it. For Yan Zhou, that was nothing short of a fantasy. But the fact was, none of the three women—Mu Jin, Qiu Ning, and Rui Zhu—could catch his eye; only Yun Ying received his special attention, and he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Watching Yunying up close, seeing the little girl no longer suppressing her true nature, playfully laughing and acting coquettishly amidst her grandmother and aunt's teasing, and responding appropriately and dignifiedly to everyone's praise, even when she looked up and met her gaze, she showed no panic but gave a proper nod and smile.

To be honest, this girl, no matter how you look at her, doesn't seem like one of those beauties specifically meant to serve the powerful and wealthy.

Most of those beauties are cunning and calculating; they are adept at using various facades to conceal their true selves. Even when they gain favor, they remain empty inside, still harboring much uncertainty and insecurity.

In contrast, Yunying, perhaps always knowing that she could rise to power by relying on her beauty, would eventually lose favor as her looks faded. So she concealed her true self beneath a dull and aloof exterior to protect herself from harm.

She is also confident, intelligent, and quick-witted.

Only in this way can one display their intelligence and wisdom at the most opportune moment, revealing their unique qualities. Thus, step by step, steadily and surely, they will achieve a brilliant and prosperous outcome.

Madam Feng thought to herself that even without recognizing Yunying as a member of the Duke of Xuan's family, she would surely rise to prominence with Yunying's abilities.

It's not surprising that Yan Zhou fell for such a girl.

Good girls come from good families and have protective relatives, but nowadays they are not someone that can be married off so easily.

As Ms. Feng was lost in thought, a noblewoman sitting next to her gently tugged at her sleeve.

As soon as Madam Feng turned to the side, the noblewoman lowered her voice and asked, "We're having a meal, what are you thinking about? Your chopsticks are almost touching your wine glass."

Ms. Feng subtly moved her wrist before saying, "I wasn't thinking about anything, I just choked on something spicy."

The noblewoman chuckled softly, "Don't try to fool me, I'm not blind. You've been staring at that girl the whole time, your thoughts are written all over your face. But, your Yanzhou and General Pingxi's daughter are indeed a good match. Weren't they always..."

Ms. Feng used serving chopsticks to place a lily bulb on the other person's plate. "Stop talking, try this lily bulb and sole fillet dish. This is the first time I've ever had lily bulbs prepared this way, and it tastes really good."

……

Although today's banquet is mainly to introduce Yunying to the powerful and wealthy people in the capital, since it is named a spring banquet, there are naturally many flowers for the guests to admire.

The Duke of Xuan's mansion occupies a large area with many courtyards. This time, two empty courtyards were specially cleared out and carefully built into sunrooms. A large sum of money was also spent to buy many treasured flowers from flower growers.

Thus, under the huge sunroom, all kinds of flowers were neatly arranged.

The flowers, some still in bud, others in full bloom, some pink, some red, some yellow, some blue, were neatly arranged and piled together, truly giving off a touch of spring.

After the meal, most of the elderly ladies were taken to listen to the opera, while the young people mostly went to the flower shed to admire the flowers.

Yunying and her sister-in-law called to the many young wives and girls to go to the flower shed.

She was the hostess, and also incredibly beautiful. Even though she had previously been Chen Yanzhou's concubine—only she and Chen Yanzhou knew the truth. But some things couldn't be said to outsiders, much less explained.

Given Yunying's past, those girls who truly valued rules and etiquette naturally disdained associating with her. However, the Duke of Xuan's mansion was powerful; you could choose not to befriend her, but you absolutely could not offend her.

Therefore, when Yunying led everyone towards the flower shed, some girls kept their distance from her. While some looked down on her, others naturally wanted to befriend her.

Yunying was surrounded by several girls, most of whom came from lower social classes than her, but there were also a few others who seemed kind and gentle, or perhaps simply members of the "looks-matter" club...

Chen Yanxi wasn't one of those people, but she followed Yun Ying closely and would often call her "Sister Yun Ying" in a very affectionate tone.

Yunying really liked Chen Yanxi; the girl looked somewhat like Chen Yanzhou.

Perhaps she liked Chen Yanxi more because of her affection for him, and thus found him more agreeable than others.

What's more, this girl is beautiful and lazy, just like a precious Persian cat. People always want to stroke her fur and watch her lie in their arms and purr.

Thinking too far ahead.

Although Chen Yanxi yawns and looks very tired, she would never fall asleep in public.

Although she wasn't asleep, she looked extremely tired, and she kept yawning, which was quite worrying to see.

Yunying greeted her sister-in-law and pulled Chen Yanxi to the other side, saying, "If you're really sleepy, how about I take you to the guest courtyard to rest?"

Chen Yanxi shook her head, "I don't want to go to the guest house."

"Then I'll take you to my yard."

Chen Yanxi seemed quite interested, but in the end she firmly shook her head, "I'm here as a guest, it wouldn't be proper for me to fall asleep. But the temperature in the greenhouse is just too high, I really can't stand it..."

Yunying was about to advise her that if she couldn't take it, she should just go to sleep; it wasn't a big deal anyway.

But Chen Yanxi immediately spoke up, "Why don't we go for a walk, Sister Yuanhua? The sky is clear and the temperature is just right. If we go for a walk outside, I'm sure I won't be so sleepy."

Yunying readily agreed.

She took Chen Yanxi out.

Chen Yanxi liked water features, so she asked if there were any artificial mountains and flowing water features in the mansion.

Of course there are, and they're not far from here.

The two then headed towards the waterway.

Along the way, Chen Yanxi asked Yunying if she was adapting to the climate of the capital and if she had any plans to go out for fun. She also mentioned that Yunying had missed the Lantern Festival, which was a pity, but she had received two lanterns from the palace this year and could give one to Yunying.

Yunying naturally refused Chen Yanxi's palace lantern. Her grandmother had asked for several uniquely designed lanterns for her, just to make her happy.

She already had several lamps; asking Chen Yanxi for more would be too greedy.

Yunying said, "Keep yours for yourself, I have one too..."

She wanted to say, "Why don't I take you to see my lanterns?" but before she could say anything, she saw a person emerge from behind the artificial hill not far away.

He was a tall and slender man.

The man wore a dark brocade robe with black trim, a white jade crown on his head, and a belt around his waist that accentuated his tall and strong figure. When he raised his head, his handsome and refined features were revealed, as elegant as a jade tree.

Who else could this person be but Chen Yanzhou?

Upon seeing this, Yunying sighed inwardly: Oh dear, she had been tricked by the brother and sister.

(End of this chapter)