At this moment, the palace doors had not yet been closed, and the palace servants’ words clearly reached Xin’an’s ears, causing her face to twist slightly. Grand Princess… this title, no matter how it was distributed, should never have fallen to Jinyang, yet she had managed to snatch it away. How infuriating!

Yunyi had not noticed Xin’an behind her and stared at those several palace servants, saying: “The plum trees were planted so well, why must they be uprooted?”

“Because I don’t like them!” Xin’an walked to Yunyi’s side and said coldly: “Shuangyue Palace is my residence, and things I don’t like naturally cannot remain.” As she spoke, she laughed lowly and said: “Seventh Sister, it’s long past the time when you mother and daughter dominated the imperial harem. Times have changed!”

Yunyi bit her lip and remained silent. Xin’an smiled smugly and said to the palace servants still standing there: “What are you standing around for? Quickly uproot the plum trees and don’t let them obstruct this princess’s eyes – the sight of them is vexing.”

The palace servants hurriedly agreed. This time, Yunyi did not intervene again, watching as they roughly uprooted the plum trees that had been carefully tended before, one by one, and tossed them aside.

As the palace servants were carrying out the plum trees one by one, Yang You walked in rubbing his hands together. Seeing that both women were standing outside, he said in surprise: “Why are both aunts standing outside? Aren’t you afraid of catching cold?”

Xin’an quickly replied: “Of course it’s cold, but Seventh Sister insisted on standing here, so I could only accompany her.”

Following Yunyi’s gaze, Yang You understood what was happening and said: “Seventh Aunt, they’re only uprooting the plum trees from Shuangyue Palace. There are still trees planted elsewhere. I will instruct the palace servants to have the plum trees replanted in the Western Garden and tend to them as carefully as before. Please don’t be sad.”

Yunyi smiled and said: “Your Majesty is becoming more and more considerate. I’m fine, just feeling somewhat sentimental.” Then she said: “Has the matter of sending troops to Luoyang been properly discussed?”

Yang You smiled bitterly: “Seventh Aunt, you know very well that there’s no discussion – it’s just having me listen to what they’ve already decided. The Prince of Tang has already assembled one hundred thousand troops and will formally dispatch them to Luoyang in five days, with the Duke of Qin as commander.” He didn’t want to say more about this matter and instead said: “It’s very cold outside. Let’s go inside first. I’ve already ordered the evening meal to be prepared, and it will be brought soon.”

After entering the main hall, Yang You warmed his ice-cold hands by the charcoal brazier while saying: “By the way, what were you two aunts just discussing?”

“Nothing much, just idle chat,” Xin’an said. At this point, she suddenly smiled: “And we were also discussing when Your Majesty will have your grand wedding.”

Yang You hadn’t expected Xin’an to suddenly bring this up. His face, still bearing traces of youthful innocence, reddened slightly: “Aunt, isn’t that a bit premature?”

“After the new year, Your Majesty will be fourteen years old. It’s time to start discussing this. After the new year, Seventh Aunt and I will carefully select a beautiful and virtuous young lady from a prestigious family for you, which will also liven up Chang’an City.”

At this moment, a eunuch entered, bowed, and said in a soft voice: “Reporting to Your Majesty, Grand Princess, and Princess Xin’an, the evening meal has been prepared. Shall it be served now?”

Yang You, who had been feeling embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond, quickly said upon hearing this: “Serve it, serve it quickly.”

“Yes.” As the eunuch left, dishes of delicacies presented in exquisite plates and bowls were brought in, quickly filling the table. When the covers were removed, aromatic scents wafted out, greatly stimulating the appetite.

Yang You personally ladled two bowls of soup and handed them to Xin’an and Yunyi respectively, saying: “This is called ‘White Dragon Soup.’ It’s newly created by the imperial chef, made from mandarin fish meat. The taste is very fresh and delicious. Please try it, both aunts.”

Xin’an tasted a mouthful and frowned: “The taste is quite good, but this fish… seems not very fresh. What’s the matter?”

The palace servant attending nearby quickly said: “In response to the princess, because Chang’an doesn’t produce mandarin fish, these fish are all caught from other places and frozen in the ice cellars while still alive. When needed for consumption, they are taken out beforehand to thaw, so… compared to freshly caught fish, there is a slight difference.”

“No wonder,” Xin’an said disdainfully, setting the soup bowl aside. She said to Yang You: “When your imperial grandfather was alive, all the ingredients in the imperial kitchen were the freshest. Now they’re using this kind of frozen fish to dismiss us – it’s truly excessive. How can anyone eat such things!”

Yunyi glanced at her and said calmly: “I wonder what Fourth Sister ate all the way from Jiangdu. Was it also delicacies at every meal and seafood at every dinner?”

Xin’an was blocked by her words and inwardly annoyed: “That was unavoidable. Now that we’re in the palace, still eating these unfresh things – isn’t that deliberately making people uncomfortable?”

“The only one uncomfortable is probably Fourth Sister alone. Before you came, His Majesty and I ate this and found nothing wrong with it.” After a pause, Yunyi added: “If Fourth Sister truly doesn’t want to eat, then don’t eat it from now on. It can be taken to help the disaster victims – there are still many common people outside who can’t even get a full meal.”

After waiting a while and seeing that Xin’an wasn’t using her chopsticks, Yunyi said: “Someone, remove Princess Xin’an’s bowls and chopsticks.”

Xin’an’s face alternated between pale and flushed. She had only taken one bite and her stomach was still hungry, but she was the one who had said she couldn’t eat it. If she took it back now, wouldn’t that be slapping her own face?

Yang You was quite clever. Seeing the situation was wrong, he immediately said: “Seventh Aunt, if you continue joking like this, the meal will get cold.” Then he said to the stunned palace servant: “What are you standing there for? Quickly withdraw.”

Seeing Yang You smoothing things over, Yunyi said no more and slowly ate the White Dragon Soup in her bowl. As for Xin’an, having suffered such a setback, she didn’t dare find fault with eggs again and ate with her head down.

After they had each finished their evening meal and rinsed their mouths, Yunyi said: “Your Majesty mentioned earlier that there was something you wanted to tell me. What might it be?”

Yang You was silent for a moment before saying: “I remember that Seventh Aunt used to live in Mingse Palace, didn’t you?”

Yunyi nodded: “That’s correct. Why does Your Majesty suddenly ask about this?”

Yang You looked at her: “I was thinking… could Seventh Aunt perhaps move back to live in Mingse Palace?” During the meal, he had been thinking about this matter, pondering how to bring it up more appropriately.

Yunyi frowned: “Didn’t I already discuss this matter with Your Majesty before? Your Majesty also agreed.”

“I did agree, but…” Yang You didn’t know how to continue and could only look at Xin’an. The latter wiped the water stains from her lips and said: “Seventh Sister, as a current princess who has not yet married, living so ambiguously in the Prince of Tang’s residence is very likely to invite criticism. If it were just Seventh Sister alone, that would be one thing, but I’m afraid those people will spread rumors and involve the entire imperial family in their talk. For the sake of the imperial family’s reputation as well as your own, Seventh Sister, it would be better to move back to Mingse Palace. Moreover, this way we sisters can look after each other, just like before.”