Enraged, Consort Xian managed to maintain her composure and immediately ordered someone to inquire about the Lingxiao Bracelet.
Speaking of the Lingxiao Bracelet, there was an extraordinary tale behind it.
The Empress was a daughter of the Di clan, a family of no particular distinction. When the Empress’s mother was about to give birth, she took a stroll in the garden and tripped over a stone, promptly going into labor and delivering the young Di.
The weathered stone, which had been in the garden for countless years, was naturally slated for removal. However, as the servants attempted to move it, they lost their grip, causing it to collide with another stone and chip off a small corner, revealing a faint green hue beneath.
Noticing the unusual color, the servants immediately reported it. The steward summoned craftsmen to cut open the stone, revealing a piece of jade that was ultimately fashioned into a pair of bracelets.
The jade was of exceptional quality, and even more remarkably, it contained a pattern of delicate snowflakes within—a rare “snow cotton” variety.
Such a pair of jade bracelets was, without question, incredibly valuable.
As the discovery of the bracelets coincided with Di’s birth, they were undoubtedly bestowed upon the newborn.
The Di family’s elderly matriarch saw this as an auspicious sign and specially invited a fortune teller to read Di’s fate.
Upon seeing Di, the fortune teller was greatly shocked and declared that she would achieve extraordinary status in the future.
Overjoyed, the elderly Mrs. Di began to cherish Di like the apple of her eye and named the pair of jade bracelets “Lingxiao,” meaning “Soaring to the Clouds.”
Later, when Emperor Jingming ascended the throne, he and Empress Yuan lived in harmony and affection. Though disappointed, the elderly Mrs. Di thought that perhaps the predicted “extraordinary status” meant her granddaughter might marry a prince and become a princess consort.
For a family of their standing, a proper princess consort would have been quite impressive.
However, life is full of unexpected turns. Empress Yuan suddenly passed away from illness, leaving Emperor Jingming grief-stricken. The position of Empress remained vacant for several years until urged by those both inside and outside the palace, he decided to take a new Empress.
That year, Di had just come of age.
After careful consideration of various factors, Di became the new Empress.
Subsequently, the story of the Lingxiao Bracelet gradually spread.
There were two Lingxiao Bracelets, and the Empress had bestowed one upon Princess Consort Yan. This was utterly bewildering, considering that even the Crown Princess hadn’t received a Lingxiao Bracelet from the Empress when the Crown Prince married.
The healing of Princess Fuqing’s eyes was indeed cause for celebration. Consort Xian immediately sent someone to inquire about the matter.
Seated on her ornate chair, Consort Xian absent-mindedly caressed the carved armrest, as if still in a dream.
Princess Consort Yan had cured Princess Fuqing’s eyes?
This was simply… simply extraordinary.
Yet this extraordinary event had indeed occurred, even attracting the attention of the Empress Dowager.
Although the people sent to Yuquan Palace hadn’t seen Princess Fuqing in person, this matter was undoubtedly true.
Consort Xian closed her eyes, and immediately the image of that exquisitely beautiful face floated before her mind’s eye.
The young woman with her gentle smile and downcast eyes, her delicate hand brushing past, causing a tightly closed plum blossom to slowly bloom.
And now, she had even cured Princess Fuqing’s eyes.
Consort Xian’s heart skipped a beat as a sudden thought occurred to her: This woman must be some kind of demon!
“Your Highness—” her trusted elderly maid called out worriedly, noticing Consort Xian’s grim expression.
Consort Xian opened her eyes, her face regaining its composure. She instructed, “Keep a tight rein on the staff below. The events concerning Prince Yan and his consort at Yuquan Palace today must not spread.”
She had initially intended to put pressure on Princess Consort Yan, but unexpectedly, that beast of a Seventh Prince had directly left with his wife, not even allowing her to drink the customary tea served to a daughter-in-law.
Such an unfilial act, if it reached the Emperor’s ears, would certainly result in punishment for the Seventh Prince. Of course, she wouldn’t care about the reputation of this unfilial son.
However, Princess Consort Yan had cured Princess Fuqing, and according to the information gathered, the Emperor had already announced plans for a palace banquet to celebrate.
If the earlier incident were to come to light at this juncture, even if the Emperor punished the Seventh Prince, he would be greatly displeased with her as well. Those vixens in the palace would surely mock her.
A son who doesn’t respect his mother, a daughter-in-law who doesn’t pay her respects—how could she save face?
Therefore, the best course of action was to keep the matter under wraps and swallow this bitter pill for now.
Except for such special occasions, adult princes didn’t visit the palace often. Most of the time, it was the princess consorts who came to pay respects to their mothers-in-law. When Princess Consort Yan came alone, without the Seventh Prince’s protection, she would see if the young woman could still be so impertinent.
After leaving Yuquan Palace, Jiang Si asked with a smile, “Ah Jin, you just pulled me away like that. Aren’t you afraid Consort Xian will complain to Father Emperor?”
Yu Jin turned to look back.
Under the bright sun, Yuquan Palace stood with its red walls and emerald tiles, resplendent and magnificent.
He chuckled lightly, “If she’s not afraid of losing face, let her complain.”
Was Consort Xian someone who feared losing face? Of course not.
A person who could ignore her son simply because a Taoist priest predicted he would clash with the Emperor—such a person cared only about the most useless things.
This wasn’t necessarily bad. He hoped Consort Xian would maintain this quality.
Next, the couple visited several palaces of the titled consorts, receiving various gifts, before going to the Eastern Palace to pay their respects to the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.
The Crown Prince had been displeased with Yu Jin for a long time.
Every time that bastard caused trouble, he would be scolded along with him. Why should he suffer for it?
The Crown Prince stared at Yu Jin with an unstable expression. The Crown Princess couldn’t help but gently tug at his sleeve.
This only irritated the Crown Prince further. He shook off the Crown Princess’s hand and turned his gaze to Jiang Si.
His gaze lingered for quite some time.
Yu Jin’s face darkened. “We have many matters to attend to at home. My wife and I shall take our leave.”
The Crown Prince seemed not to have heard Yu Jin’s words and said with a smile, “No wonder Seventh Brother gave all the plum blossoms to his wife at the plum-viewing banquet. Sister-in-law truly is a beauty.”
Hah, look at how the Seventh Prince is protecting his wife.
He deliberately said this—let’s see if Yu Jin dared to hit him.
Fighting with other brothers could be dismissed as brotherly quarrels, but daring to hit him would be an act of insubordination.
He was determined to make this bastard pay dearly!
Yu Jin, however, smiled instead. He responded candidly, “The appreciation of beauty is universal. If my brother sees something he likes, of course, he wants to grasp it. I know the Crown Prince envies me, but speaking like this in front of the Crown Princess will hurt her feelings.”
Seeing Yu Jin pulling Jiang Si towards the exit, the Crown Prince clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked. “Seventh Brother, come back here!”
Yu Jin didn’t even look back. “There’s no need to stay for a meal. I’m not accustomed to palace food.”
The Crown Prince wanted to say more, but the Crown Princess stopped him.
“Why are you stopping me?” he snapped.
The Crown Princess bit her lip, unable to refrain from advising, “Your Highness, publicly commenting on Princess Consort Yan’s beauty will only lead to another scolding from Father Emperor if he hears of it.”
“Scolding, scolding, is that all I’m good for?” the Crown Prince retorted.
The Crown Princess was alarmed. “Your Highness!”
“Enough, all you do is nag. How tiresome.”
The Crown Princess’s face flushed red. She pressed her lips together before saying, “I may be useless in many ways, but I do know that as the Crown Prince, you should set an example for your brothers. You should please Father Emperor above and reassure the subjects below, not behave so frivolously as to comment on your sister-in-law’s appearance—”
“Silence!” The Crown Prince raised his hand to slap her, furious. “If you had Princess Consort Yan’s beauty, would that bastard Seventh Brother be able to mock me like this?”
The Crown Princess narrowly dodged the slap, calmly replying, “Prince Yan’s ability to mock Your Highness has nothing to do with my appearance.”
Unfortunately, this fool would never understand.
As they left the palace and seated themselves in the carriage, Yu Jin suddenly said, “I don’t think that fool in the Eastern Palace will remain Crown Prince for long.”