The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

Before we knew it, it was June 19th.

At the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet last year, Xie Ling and Qi Yitang maintained a cold and distant relationship.

Although a banquet was held, Xie Ling left the table not long afterward, leaving the Empress Dowager completely ignored. All that remained was the singing and dancing, which was rather uninteresting.

This year, Qi Yitang took the initiative to take on projects, and Xie Ling naturally followed suit.

When the emperor held court, he would directly announce a three-day holiday and a six-month tax exemption, so that everyone could share in the joy.

Even if the mother-son relationship is lukewarm, this has given the mother-in-law a lot of face.

The invited officials and noblewomen in the capital began preparations well in advance. Even though the banquet was not until late afternoon, some who lived far away had to set off early in the morning.

As the maternal family of the Imperial Concubine, the Grand Tutor's residence was naturally among those invited.

Ning Nishang followed Ning Wanrong into the carriage. Qi Wenyuan and his sons either rode in the carriage in front or rode horses beside them.

The family headed towards the imperial city.

Inside the carriage, Ning Wanrong looked at the meticulously dressed Ning Nishang and felt a pang of emotion.

My own daughter is the type who is both cunning and beautiful, and has both emotional intelligence and beauty. My niece is just as beautiful, but... she's a bit too soft-hearted.

"Xuan Niang, today is the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, and all the important people in the capital will be here."

Ning Wanrong patted Ning Nishang's hand, "You'll stay by my side then and take a look. Luckily, we haven't made a decision yet. If you're not satisfied, we can look at other options. Your aunt will definitely find you someone you're happy with."

Since men and women in the capital did not meet in private, they would bring their eligible children to the palace banquets as a form of informal matchmaking.

If they hit it off, the elders in the family can easily arrange the marriage through matchmakers.

These days, Ning Wanrong is busy with Ning Nishang's marriage.

Too ugly? Too old? No way? Someone with a bunch of wives and concubines? And definitely no one who's mediocre and lacks ambition...

After a long search, two suitable ones were finally found.

One was Tan Xiuyuan, the second son of the Marquis of Jianning.

The Marquis of Jianning's family has a profound history and once assisted the emperor in ascending the throne, thus having made a contribution to the rise of the new emperor.

Although Tan Xiuyuan is only the second son, his elder brother passed away unexpectedly last year, and he himself is also very capable, so the position of heir apparent is a foregone conclusion.

Lady Jianning was also a very kind person, and there were few conflicts between her and her mother-in-law.

The other was Shen Xingci, a compiler in the Hanlin Academy and the top scholar of the previous year. He was exceptionally talented and upright.

They may not be considered a top-tier aristocratic family, but they have excellent family traditions, with a rule that men cannot have mistresses or concubines before marriage.

Even if one were to take a concubine, it could only be done if the wife was over thirty and still childless, in order to ensure the continuation of the family line.

With unlimited potential, it's an excellent choice.

Both families are of high social standing, and Ning Nishang is now an orphan, which outsiders would consider an honor for her.

But the words came back again.

Who can blame them when they have a cousin who is a favored concubine in the palace?

The Imperial Concubine is second only to the Emperor, and the daughters of the Qi and Ning families have no trouble finding husbands.

In fact, Ning Wanrong once met the wife of the Duke of Cheng'en by chance, and the other party had also subtly inquired about her intention to ask Ning Nishang to marry Qin Yuanchao as a secondary wife, but Ning Wanrong vaguely brushed it off.

In fact, in terms of family background and appearance, Qin Yuanchao was no less impressive, and they even had a history of knowing each other.

But he is a member of the Qin family.

The Duke of Chengen was from the Empress Dowager's maternal family, and the Empress Dowager had always disliked Qi Yitang. Furthermore, Consort Li was demoted because of her status as a Noble Consort.

If Ning Nishang were to marry into the family, the Empress Dowager would definitely be unhappy to have such a niece-in-law.

Furthermore, Qin Zhenxiong would not allow his son to marry an orphan.

In addition, Qin Yuanchao already has a legitimate fiancée, who is technically a secondary wife, no different from a concubine. Marrying her would only lead to mistreatment.

After careful consideration, Ning Wanrong removed Qin Yuanchao from the list.

Lady Cheng'en must have understood, because she never brought it up again.

Logically speaking, Ning Wanrong cared no less for Ning Nishang than she did for her own daughter. If it were any other girl, she would have happily agreed long ago.

But Ning Nishang hesitated. "Aunt, I know you've gone to great lengths to arrange things for your niece, but could you... postpone it a little longer?"

"I'll just put it on hold for now; I want to wait a while longer."

Ning Wanrong's heart skipped a beat. "Xuan Niang, your aunt knows you have your own ideas and won't do anything reckless."

"But tell your aunt the truth... how far have things progressed between you and His Highness Prince Gong?"

In fact, Ning Nishang is a very obedient and sensible child. She follows the rules and does not do anything out of line. She is much less troublesome than her own little rascal.

But ever since he was invited by Prince Gong, he has been absent-minded. Later, he secretly went to the appointment twice more.

Ning Wanrong did see it, but she just didn't ask.

Now it's hard for her to ignore it anymore.

"Aunt, what are you saying? I have nothing to do with the Prince..." Ning Nishang hurriedly denied, but her expression was evasive and her ears turned red.

It doesn't look like there's nothing there at all.

Ning Wanrong's heart sank. It was true that Prince Gong was a member of the imperial family, but what was so good about him?

First, he made Tangtang insist on marrying him, and even dared to defy the imperial decree to elope, causing chaos in the family.

Now that she has finally turned back from the wrong path and is willing to live a good life with His Majesty, her niece has fallen into the same trap again.

Ning Wanrong felt a wave of dizziness. Were there no other good men in the world?

"Aunt, please don't be angry." Ning Nishang bit her lip. "My relationship with the Prince is truly innocent. Our meeting... had other reasons."

She is not opposed to marriage, but her younger brother has not yet been found. If the marriage is arranged, she will not be able to meet with other men.

Furthermore, she did have a slight fondness for Prince Gong, but she also understood that he was someone Tangtang had liked.

If Tangtang knew, she would definitely be angry.

Their hard-won relationship is absolutely over.

Most importantly, she was self-aware; given her status, even if she were with Prince Gong, she could only ever be a concubine.

...not a good match.

Just as Ning Wanrong was about to ask why they absolutely had to meet, the carriage suddenly lurched forward.

The two quickly steadied themselves. "What happened?"

"Madam, we've run into the carriage from the Duke of Cheng'en's residence," the coachman announced from outside.

Ning Wanrong lifted the carriage curtain, and sure enough.

This is a fork in the road. Both families need to take this road to get to the capital, so it's impossible for them to go at the same time. The question then becomes who goes first and who goes last.

Ning Wanrong was also very competitive when she was young, always striving to be number one and at the forefront in everything.

Now that I'm older, I don't care about these things anymore.

She said to the third son, who was riding a horse beside her, "Jiaoran, tell your father to let the Duke of Chengen's mansion go first."

"Yes."

Qi Shubai then rode his horse to the front and spoke a few words to Qi Wenyuan in the carriage.

The Grand Tutor's carriage moved back to make room for them.

Qin Zhenxiong did not show his face at all, but a cold snort came from inside the carriage.

"They're smart to be sensible."

As they passed each other, Qin Yuanchao couldn't help but look in their direction, only to see half a fair profile peeking out from the car window.

Then the window screen was lowered.

"Cousin, what are you looking at?" Qin Xinxi from the second branch of the family asked, poking her head out of the carriage.

Qin Yuanchao tightened the reins, "It's nothing."