Chapter 118: Chapter 118

On the day of the housewarming banquet, An Ning attended as a sister-in-law along with her four-year-old daughter Yu Ludai.

After days of recuperation, Yinreng's complexion had improved somewhat, though the sickly pallor and weakness between his brows remained. The usual hint of arrogance was now entirely gone, replaced by a calm gentleness. Dressed in blue robes, he almost resembled a scholarly literati at first glance.

During the banquet, all the brothers played the role of perfectly devoted younger siblings. Even the Eldest Young Master acted as if their previous tensions had never existed, affectionately calling Yinreng "second brother" repeatedly.

Truly, every member of the imperial family was an excellent actor.

The princes were , and their wives in the inner quarters were no less skilled. The former crown princess had always been thorough and commanded great respect. Even with her lowered status now, no "frank-speaking" person would disrupt the atmosphere with careless words.

Not a single person mentioned last year's farce.

On the spacious opera stage, young female performers sang melodramatically.

Below, the sisters-in-law sipped chrysanthemum wine and enjoyed the fattest drunken crabs of autumn, occasionally exchanging tips on clothing, jewelry, and beauty remedies—the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Moreover, An Ning could see that despite careful concealment, there was evident relief and relaxation in the eyes of this former crown princess, now Princess Consort of Prince Li.

What clever people they all were!

An Ning couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

As winter approached, after the brief social gathering, An Ning skillfully resumed her role as the delicate, frail beauty and took her daughter to their hot spring villa in the suburbs.

When the visiting card arrived, mother and daughter had just finished a comfortable soak. Now dressed in matching fox-fur jackets, they were nestled in the specially built greenhouse admiring the newly cultivated black chrysanthemums grown by the villa's gardeners.

"Second sister-in-law?"

Staring at the familiar handwriting, An Ning froze momentarily before personally going out with Yu Ludai to welcome the guest.

Unlike her mother's surprise, Yu Ludai was overjoyed to see her long-absent third elder sister. After a proper curtsey, she immediately bounded forward to pull the other girl along.

"Third Sister! Third Sister! Come, let me show you the new pony! A very spirited little red one!"

Unlike Yu Ludai's exuberance, Third Princess Jingyan was clearly a well-mannered and demure girl. She first glanced at her mother for permission before following her younger cousin in a light run toward the nearby stables.

Watching the two figures—one tall, one short—disappear into the distance, the two mothers exchanged a look before making small talk.

Only then did An Ning learn that due to the crown prince's poor health, he had recently come to a nearby villa to recuperate, arriving just a few days after them.

In the following days, perhaps because of her new playmate, Yu Ludai became noticeably more lively. Every morning she rushed out to play. The two girls visited each other's homes daily—despite the seven or eight-year age gap, they communicated without any barriers and became extremely close.

Even Yin Tang, who had finally found time to visit, felt somewhat jealous.

As for the second princess consort herself, after that single visit, she never appeared again.

An Ning merely listened without comment. Truly, this was someone personally selected by the notoriously meticulous Emperor Kangxi for his precious son.

Interacting with such intelligent, proper and tactful people was remarkably comfortable.

Early morning, upon hearing yet again that her daughter had gone out, Lady Guargiya didn't even lift her eyebrows, merely nodding faintly and instructing the maids to take good care of their young mistress. An elderly matron nearby, however, seemed to hesitate.

"My lady, the young mistress has been going out constantly these days, neglecting her studies. Isn't this somewhat..."

Stealing a glance at her mistress's expression, the old matron gathered courage to continue:

"Moreover, Hongxi is finally here these days, coming daily to pay respects. This is the perfect time for siblings to bond."

In the matron's view, given the prince's current condition, who knew how much time he had left? Eventually the household would belong to Hongxi. Besides, the young master had been personally taught by His Majesty since childhood and was frequently kept at the palace—his future prospects were clearly bright.

If His Majesty lived long enough, even that highest position wasn't beyond consideration.

While in the palace it might have been inconvenient, now that they were outside, the young mistress should be spending more time with him. After marriage, she would need brothers to support her.

Yet her young mistress seemed completely oblivious, letting the princess spend all her time with that girl from the Ninth Prince's household next door.

Not that there was anything wrong with that girl—the matron sighed heavily—in fact, in all her years she'd never seen such an exquisitely spirited child. But priorities must be set!

The older the young master grew, the harder it would be to establish closeness.

Moreover, from the few meetings she'd observed, Hongxi clearly preferred his clever, pretty little cousin—last time he'd even gifted her his favorite fan pendant.

This simply wouldn't do!

Matron Gui stamped her foot anxiously.

Lady Guargiya set down her brush and gave the other woman a calm look:

"Matron, among all the princesses of the imperial clan, who do you think is most likely to remain in the capital?"

"Well..." The matron nearly said their own princess—given the second prince's condition and His Majesty's recent actions, surely he wouldn't send the household's only legitimate daughter far away to marry?

But the words stuck in her throat.

Indeed, who could guarantee that?

Over the years, so many princesses—even the emperor's own daughters—had been sent away. Had His Majesty truly grieved for any of them? If this was how he treated daughters, what of granddaughters?

Prince Li doted on his daughter, but if Hongxi needed something in the future...

The matron suddenly couldn't bear to continue the thought.

"You understand as well, don't you?"

Gazing at the snowflakes fluttering outside the window, Lady Guargiya gave a soft laugh.

People said the Ninth Prince's household was weak, but to her, within the vast Forbidden City, only the Ninth Princess Consort could truly secure a daughter's future.

Especially after the Ninth Prince had openly declared before His Majesty and all his brothers that if anyone dared consider sending his daughter away to marry, he—Aisin Gioro Yin Tang—would hang himself at the palace gates.

Others might take it as a joke, but who would dare treat Old Ninth's reckless words lightly?

With this declaration, as long as His Majesty wished to avoid the infamy of driving his own son (or brother) to death, the eldest princess would never be married off to distant lands.

In normal circumstances, Lady Guargiya wouldn't have dared consider such possibilities. But now with this opportunity, perhaps she could plan something for her daughter.

Gently stroking her daughter's recent painting, recalling the sight of those two figures—one tall, one short—Lady Guargiya's eyes softened slightly:

"If one day Jingyan can truly remain in the capital, wouldn't it be good for her to have a close sister for mutual support?"

As if knowing what the matron would say, Lady Guargiya laughed, her usually gentle tone turning uncharacteristically sharp:

"All those princesses who died in Mongolia—did it stop His Majesty from drinking merrily with their husbands? The Ninth Princess married into the Tong family and became a ghost before twenty—did it stop the Emperor from showering favors on her maternal family? Even her full brother the Fourth Prince continued associating with the Tongs as if nothing happened."

What did shallow affection matter compared to interests in the eyes of those men?

Even the Ninth Prince—if he had sons, would he have gone so far for his daughter?

In this world, only women could truly understand and sympathize with the plight of their own kind.