The legitimate daughter returns to the capital and embarks on a splendid life, tearing apart the fak

The gatekeeper came to report that Princess Yi was looking for her. Yun Jin and Chu Wanqing exchanged a glance. Chu Wanqing nodded slightly and said gently, "Go ahead, don't keep Princess Yi waiting. It's a festival today, be careful on the road."

Yun Jin responded, got up, put on her cloak, and walked outside with Dong Xue.

Sure enough, a blue-curtained carriage was parked at the gate of the mansion. The curtains were drawn, so it was impossible to see who was sitting inside.

Yun Jin already had some guesses in her mind, but she still walked over without showing any emotion.

As she approached the car, the curtain was lifted slightly from the inside, and a hand with distinct knuckles reached out to her: "Get in."

Yun Jin got into the carriage using the footstool the driver had placed there, and sure enough, she saw Xiao Jingyan leaning against the carriage wall, smiling at her.

Yun Jin sat down opposite him, giving him a reproachful look: "So it was you who lied to me, relaying Aunt Lian's words. Where are you taking me so late at night?"

Xiao Jingyan laughed and said, "Let me take you for a walk. You've been so busy today, if you don't go out for a stroll tonight, you'll really get sick from being cooped up in the Yun residence. We'll go early and come back early, so we won't disturb your rest."

Yun Jin felt a warmth in her heart and didn't say anything more.

The carriage soon stopped at the entrance to the lantern market.

Xiao Jingyan got out of the car first, then turned around and helped Yun Jin down. He then had Jin Hu and Dong Xue follow at a distance, while he held Yun Jin's hand and slowly walked forward with the flow of people.

There were even more people at the lantern market than at the government gate, shoulder to shoulder, and it was incredibly lively.

The stalls on both sides of the road were filled with all kinds of lanterns: there were rabbit lanterns, lotus lanterns, revolving lanterns, and beauty lanterns made of silk gauze, each one more exquisite than the last.

Xiao Jingyan held her hand and walked slowly through the crowd.

Yun Jin was initially a little uncomfortable. This man was tall and had long legs, making him stand out in the crowd. In addition, he had an extremely attractive face, which attracted countless glances along the way.

Xiao Jingyan, however, was completely unaware. He simply held her hand in his palm and whispered, "Stay close, or you'll be hard to find if you get lost."

Yun Jin glared at him, but ultimately let him hold her hand.

The two walked along the lantern market for about half an hour, watched acrobatics, and guessed a few lantern riddles.

Xiao Jingyan guessed the riddles extremely quickly, winning all of the stall owner's lanterns in one go.

Finally, he picked out a small rabbit lantern and handed it to her, saying gently, "This one suits you best."

Yun Jin took it and looked down at the warm light of the rabbit lantern. Suddenly, she felt that the night of the fifteenth wasn't so cold after all.

She distributed the lanterns she won to the children who were watching the lanterns with their parents by the roadside, keeping only the rabbit lantern for herself.

Xiao Jingyan led her for a while longer when the crowd suddenly cheered. It turned out that fireworks were being set off on the river not far away.

Countless golden flowers bloomed in the night sky, reflecting their shimmering light on the water.

Xiao Jingyan pulled Yun Jin out of the crowd and found a less crowded section of the riverbank.

The two stood side by side under the willow tree, watching the fireworks fill the sky, and neither of them spoke for a moment.

After a long while, Yun Jin turned her head to look at him and said softly, "The fireworks tonight were beautiful. Thank you, Ayan."

Xiao Jingyan turned his head, his gaze falling on her face illuminated by the fireworks, and said gently, "From now on, I will accompany you to see the lantern festival every year."

Yun Jin nodded vigorously and said, "Okay."

After watching the fireworks, Xiao Jingyan escorted Yun Jin back home.

The carriage started moving, and Xiao Jingyan took out a brocade box from a hidden compartment and handed it to her: "By the way, the two medicines that Ling Feng helped you get from Jiangnan have arrived. Take a look, and if they're correct, ask Ling Feng to prepare some more for you."

Yun Jin took the brocade box, opened it, and saw that it contained "Ghost Lantern Grass" and "Dream Immortal Vine". With these two herbs, they could make a poison that Liu Zhixue could not detect.

She carefully put away the brocade box, looked up at Xiao Jingyan, and said earnestly, "Ayan, thank you. These two medicines are very important to me."

Xiao Jingyan smiled, took her hand and said, "Jin'er, you don't need to be so polite with me."

Soon, the carriage arrived at the back alley of the Yun residence. Xiao Jingyan watched her enter the gate before turning to leave.

Back at the Brocade Book Pavilion, Yun Jin changed into her nightgown and entered the space. She opened the brocade box, took out the two herbs, and prepared the other auxiliary materials needed in the Poison Classic. Following the prescription, she purified, ground, mixed, and baked them step by step.

About an hour later, the "Yellow Spring Guide" was finally completed.

She put the powder into a narrow-necked porcelain bottle, tucked it into her sleeve, and, using a spatial transformation, silently appeared in Liu Zhixue's bedroom.

It was late at night, and Liu Zhixue was fast asleep, her breathing steady and long.

Yun Jin stood by the couch, watched her quietly for a moment, then uncorked the bottle and gently blew the powder into her nose.

The extremely fine powder dispersed like mist, and in an instant, Liu Zhixue inhaled it into her lungs. She was completely unaware of it, only her brows twitched slightly before she fell into a deep sleep again.

Yun Jin carefully put away the porcelain bottle and retreated the way she came.

Back in her room, she lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), a faint hint of coldness appearing on her lips.

The Yellow Spring Inducing is a slow-acting poison that requires repeated application to be effective. The poisoned person will not experience any symptoms until the poison enters the heart meridian, at which point they will become aware of it.

The next day, Liu Zhixue, as expected, remained completely unaware and went to the old lady's room to pay her respects as usual.

Jinlanfang and Yaoshanfang have officially started operation.

Yun Jin set up the cosmetics shop's processing workshop in Qiyun Xiaozhu. Although it would be more convenient to place it in the backyard of the shop, it was still a place with many people and was not safe enough.

With Shi Yong and his group guarding Qiyun Xiaozhu day and night, the courtyard walls were high and the place was quiet and secluded, making it perfect for a processing workshop. This provided Shi Yong and his companions with a long-term livelihood.

When she had nothing to do during the day, she would teach Chunxi how to read the accounts, teaching her to use the bookkeeping methods of later generations to clearly list the income, expenditure, inventory, and dividends column by column.

Chunxi learned very quickly, so Yunjin asked her to go to the two shops every ten days to check the accounts and then report back to her. Chunxi became her liaison between the shops.

As for the shops led by Lan Qi, Yun Jin only takes a share of the profits and doesn't get involved in anything else.

Days passed by like this. Yunxiu had been quite quiet these past few days, either learning etiquette from Granny Su or doing needlework in Xuezhai, and hadn't bothered Yunjin again.

Liu Zhixue spends her days either reading in her own courtyard or accompanying Yunxiu at Xuezhai, rarely leaving the mansion, and seems extremely well-behaved.

But Yun Jin knew that the calmer the surface of the water, the more turbulent the undercurrents beneath.

A major event has occurred in the imperial court these past few days.

On the seventeenth day of the first month, the emperor finally issued an edict, bestowing the title of king upon all the princes.

The eldest prince, Xiao Yibei, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Zhao and given control of Youzhou.

The second prince, Xiao Yishun, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Qi and given control of Qingzhou.

The third prince, Xiao Yichen, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Jin and given control of Yuzhou.

The fourth prince, Xiao Yilin, was granted the title of Prince An and given control of Jingzhou.

The fifth prince, Xiao Yifan, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Liang and given control of Yizhou.

The sixth prince, Xiao Yixuan, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Ning and given control of Yangzhou.

The seventh prince, Xiao Yiting, was enfeoffed as the Prince of Wu and given control of Xuzhou.

Upon receiving the decree, all the civil and military officials had their own thoughts.

Before the princes were granted the title of king, they all longed for it. But when they were finally granted it, none of them were happy.

Once a prince is granted a fiefdom and becomes a prince, he must take up his post in his fiefdom, especially the eldest and second princes.

However, since the Crown Prince's wife, Shen Qingyun, was pregnant, the Emperor granted Zhao Wang special permission to stay in the capital temporarily until the child was 100 days old before discussing his enfeoffment.

The second prince had no interest in the throne, so he immediately began packing his belongings and preparing to head to Qingzhou.

Although the Third Prince was already married, he was, after all, the Empress's son, so the Empress found an excuse to keep him in the capital.

Yun Jin learned all this from Xiao Jingyan. After listening, she simply sighed softly: "The fact that Prince Zhao was able to stay is ultimately thanks to the child in Sister Shen's womb."

Xiao Jingyan smiled noncommittally: "It's all fate."