Despite Yu Jin’s reluctance, Jiang Si dutifully followed the eunuch into the palace.
As they entered Kunning Palace before the eunuch could even announce her arrival, a young girl hurriedly came out to greet them, her tone affectionate: “Seventh Sister-in-law, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
The one who came out to welcome her was Princess Fuqing.
The Fourteenth Princess followed closely behind, silent as if invisible, only giving Jiang Si a slight curtsy as a greeting.
She was a sensible person who knew that staying silent was most appropriate at such times.
Princess Fuqing quickly walked over and linked arms with Jiang Si: “Seventh Sister-in-law, please come in.”
Jiang Si blinked.
Could it be that the Empress had summoned her to the palace simply because Princess Fuqing wanted to see her?
For an Empress who doted on her daughter to the bone, this wasn’t impossible.
Jiang Si pondered this inwardly while maintaining a composed expression as she followed Princess Fuqing inside.
The Empress was seated in the hall. Seeing Jiang Si enter, she didn’t rise but smiled warmly: “Prince Yan’s consort is here. Please, sit.”
“Daughter-in-law greets Mother Empress.”
“No need for formalities. Fuqing has been talking about you, and I thought since you two get along so well as sisters-in-law, you should spend more time together. I hope I haven’t disrupted any of your household affairs by calling you here?”
The Empress spoke politely, and Jiang Si naturally responded in kind: “Everything in the household runs according to established routines. There wasn’t much to disrupt.”
“By the way, how is Ahuan lately? Has she gained some weight?”
At the mention of her daughter, Jiang Si’s eyes curved in a smile: “She has indeed gotten plumper. I can barely carry her now.”
The Empress laughed: “It’s good that she’s plump. A baby who eats and sleeps well is strong and healthy.”
At this time, infant mortality was very high, even in wealthy families.
A robust baby was more reassuring.
Jiang Si agreed: “It’s all thanks to the blessings of Father Emperor and Mother Empress.”
The atmosphere in the room became warm and harmonious.
After a while, the Empress urged: “Aquan, Fourteenth, shouldn’t you two be going?”
Princess Fuqing looked at Jiang Si somewhat reluctantly but nodded obediently.
Jiang Si asked: “Where are my two sisters going?”
The Empress smiled: “They’re going to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager at Cining Palace.”
Jiang Si was momentarily stunned.
In her impression, the Empress Dowager usually preferred quietness. Why were the two princesses going to pay their respects at this time?
The Empress noticed Jiang Si’s confusion and explained: “The Empress Dowager finds the palace too quiet and asked them to visit her more often. After all, in the past, there was still Rongyang—”
When Princess Rongyang was still alive, she would frequently enter the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager. Even Cui Mingyue used to regularly visit the Empress Dowager. Now that these two were dead and missing respectively, it was no wonder the Empress Dowager felt lonely.
These past few days, Princess Fuqing had been visiting Cining Palace daily to pay respects to the Empress Dowager without any abnormalities. The Empress inwardly laughed at her overthinking, having found a reason for the Empress Dowager’s unusual behavior.
“I see,” Jiang Si smoothly continued the Empress’s words, inwardly apologizing to the Empress Dowager.
It seemed that both Princess Rongyang and Cui Mingyue had been eliminated by her…
“Go quickly now. There will be plenty of opportunities to talk with your Seventh Sister-in-law in the future.”
“Yes. Seventh Sister-in-law, Fourteenth Sister, and I will take our leave then. Next time you come to the palace, I’ll make some osmanthus wine for you to try.”
The Empress’s face turned stern: “You’ve just learned to make sweet soup, and your Mother Empress hasn’t even tasted it yet.”
Fuqing’s face reddened slightly: “Of course, Mother Empress will be the first to taste it.”
“Alright, off you go now.”
After Princess Fuqing and the Fourteenth Princess left, the Empress shook her head and smiled: “It’s a good thing it’s you. Otherwise, I might have suspected that girl’s heart was stirring.”
Looking at Jiang Si’s delicate face, a thought crossed the Empress’s mind: Prince Yan’s consort had an unmarried brother…
Fuqing got along well with Prince Yan’s consort. If she were to choose Prince Yan’s consort’s brother as a son-in-law, it might not be bad for Fuqing.
However, she had heard that Prince Yan’s consort’s brother had gone south and couldn’t be considered for the time being. The battlefield was unpredictable, and if something were to happen, it would harm Fuqing.
Never mind, she would wait until Prince Yan’s consort’s brother made a name for himself and returned to the capital before considering it further.
The Empress secretly harbored this thought, and her attitude towards Jiang Si became even warmer.
“The reason I called you to the palace this time is actually because the Emperor has something to discuss with you. Please wait a moment, he should be here soon.”
Shortly after the Empress said this, Emperor Jingming arrived.
“Daughter-in-law greets Father Emperor.”
“No need for formalities.” In Kunning Palace, Emperor Jingming was very casual, sitting down beside the Empress.
Jiang Si straightened up, quietly waiting for Emperor Jingming to speak.
Emperor Jingming looked Jiang Si over a few times.
At the plum blossom banquet, when Seventh Son gave all the plum blossoms to this woman before him, he nodded in approval on a whim. At that time, he never imagined that many of the troubles in the harem would be resolved by this girl.
Come to think of it, he had made quite a few wrong decisions, such as reinstating the Crown Prince.
In the quiet of the night, Emperor Jingming had thought countless times that if he hadn’t reinstated the Crown Prince after the first dethronement, the Crown Prince would still be Prince Jing, staying quietly and peacefully in Jing Garden, rather than becoming what he was now.
But there was one decision he hadn’t gotten wrong, and that was finding the right wife for Seventh Son.
Since Jiang Si already knew quite a bit, Emperor Jingming didn’t beat around the bush and said directly: “There’s something I need your help with.”
Jiang Si quickly responded: “Father Emperor need only command, and this daughter-in-law will do her utmost.”
“The envoys to the Wumiao have returned.”
Jiang Si raised her eyes to look at Emperor Jingming.
At this moment, she couldn’t guess Emperor Jingming’s intentions.
Fortunately, Emperor Jingming quickly clarified his purpose: “Those people spent several months in Wumiao. I’m worried that some might have fallen victim to the Wumiao people’s schemes without realizing it. I want you to check if anyone has been controlled by gu worms…”
Jiang Si’s face showed an appropriate look of difficulty.
“Seventh Son’s wife, if you have any concerns, just speak frankly.”
“This daughter-in-law fears there might be oversights—”
Emperor Jingming waved his hand: “It’s good if you can detect any abnormalities. If there are indeed oversights, it won’t be your fault. Seventh Son’s wife, you can rest assured. I’m not that muddleheaded.”
Hearing Emperor Jingming say this, Jiang Si smiled slightly: “Then this daughter-in-law will give it a try.”
In such matters, she didn’t seek credit, only to avoid blame. It was always good to mention difficulties upfront.
Soon, Han Ran, the commander of the Jinlin Guards, organized a small welcoming banquet for the returning envoys. Given the circumstances, it wasn’t a grand affair, with only officials from the Jinlin Guards and the Court of State Ceremonial invited.
A pretty maidservant mingled among the many servants, inconspicuously passing by each person.
Han Ran couldn’t help but glance at that maidservant from the corner of his eye, thinking to himself that Prince Yan’s consort made quite a convincing maidservant. He only hoped that this small banquet would end peacefully without any incidents.
Even though it was a gathering of officials who should mind their manners, Han Ran knew all too well that men tend to forget who they are after a few drinks.
As they say, speak of the devil and he shall appear. As Jiang Si, disguised as a maidservant, passed by one of the men with a tray, the man’s outstretched hand didn’t reach for the wine cup but instead tried to grope her hand.
Jiang Si deftly avoided him and promptly splashed the wine on his face.
Han Ran: “…”