Chapter 256: Chapter 256

Smiling, she declined the attentiveness of the person before her. Speaking of which, it had been over a year since An Ning last saw Yang Wan.

The Eastern Palace was nothing like the Wang mansion where one could come and go freely. Even for An Ning and her husband, they could only occasionally go out to play. The three of them mostly relaxed at various well-guarded imperial manors and detached palaces.

These places were clearly not open for outsiders to enter freely. Of course, the exception was if summoned by An Ning, the Crown Princess.

But theirs wasn't exactly a great sisterly bond - they'd even had friction since childhood. An Ning wasn't foolish enough to summon someone who would just bring annoyance. Currently, those who could frequently visit the Eastern Palace were, besides her beautiful mother, mainly her little companion Mu Yang who was quite diligent.

As for occasional palace banquets, she heard Cui Dalang had passed the imperial examination three years ago, but was still just a minor Hanlin bachelor in the Hanlin Academy. The couple naturally had no qualification to attend palace banquets.

So suddenly seeing them here now was rather surprising.

But it was only a brief moment of surprise. After a quick glance, An Ning soon withdrew her gaze.

How had Yang Wan's life been these past few years? From what An Ning occasionally heard, it wasn't good, but not terribly bad either. No matter how distant their relationship, she was still a daughter of the Yang family and the elder sister of Crown Princess An Ning. Her mother-in-law Madam Cui was a smart woman - regardless of her true thoughts, she maintained perfect appearances.

But as for the housekeeper's authority, even after nearly ten years of marriage, she hadn't touched a bit of it. The rights belonging to the future clan matriarch hadn't come into her hands at all.

Especially when using the Yang family name.

It had to be said that when it came to social interactions among noble families and human relationships, Madam Cui's methods were far superior. With the housekeeper's authority in hand, suppressing a daughter-in-law she didn't favor was all too easy.

Fearing that this daughter-in-law might cause trouble relying on her suddenly powerful maternal family, after roughly testing the in-laws' attitude, Madam Cui had no more reservations. It was said that now when Yang Wan occasionally went out to attend banquets or meet friends, she needed her mother-in-law's approval first.

Finally, there were maids reporting every detail.

Faced with such disdain, how could the always strong-willed Young Lady Yang tolerate it?

Thus, despite having ample food and clothing without anyone neglecting her, and her only son raised by her side, over the years the gloomy expression between Yang Wan's brows had instead grown heavier.

Even now, dressed in magnificent brocade with gold and jade ornaments, beneath the exquisite makeup one couldn't detect any youthful vitality. Standing beside Yu, who was bright and vibrant like jade-condensed lotus, for a moment it was hard to tell which one was actually older.

Although... but... looking at this elder sister before her, she was rather surprised that someone could internally consume themselves to this extent.

Actually, in An Ning's view, if Elder Sister Yang could just be more open-minded now, her life might not be bad at all.

With her child by her side, no need to bother with household management, backed by her maternal family, and no one in the household neglecting her - even the concubines and illegitimate sons in the rear courtyard didn't dare cause trouble lightly.

She even held the substantial dowry given earlier by her family along with her birth mother. One could say that apart from her husband's somewhat cold attitude, this starting point was much better than her own birth mother's situation earlier.

Hmm... perhaps this was just a matter of different aspirations!

Some people were naturally accustomed to relaxed enjoyment, while others liked being in the spotlight and excelling above everyone else in everything.

After a brief glance, An Ning quickly withdrew her gaze and happily pulled her mother inside.

Meanwhile, Yang Wan behind them stared fixedly at her increasingly radiant and striking younger sister, and at the Crown Prince beside her who occasionally glanced over with consistently gentle and mild eyes. Her already gloomy gaze darkened several degrees further, yet in the next second when she raised her head, she presented an enthusiastic smiling face.

Behind them, Sister-in-law Lin who occasionally witnessed this scene couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

With Lin's intelligence, she knew all too well what this recent attentiveness from her sister-in-law aimed to achieve.

It was nothing more than seeing that the three-year term as a Hanlin bachelor was ending, wanting to secure a good position for her husband, preferably by boarding the Eastern Palace's ship to naturally rise with favorable winds later.

Especially since the Yang family's legitimate heir apparently planned to remain low-key, the second illegitimate son was mediocre, and the youngest son wasn't achieving much either. Normally, under such circumstances, supporting a son-in-law as backup for the future wouldn't be a bad investment for the clan.

What a pity though...

Glancing at her sister-in-law not far away, happily chatting and laughing with her mother-in-law, and the current Crown Prince whose gaze hardly left her side.

Over the years, Lin felt she had come to understand her sister-in-law's temperament. While not identical to her mother-in-law's, it was quite similar - even more willful and straightforward after years of pampering.

Just observe how, whether as Princess Consort or Crown Princess, she dared openly keep her husband close, treating outside critical comments as nothing, usually not even bothering to acknowledge them.

Even now, dressed in magnificent brocade with gold and jade ornaments, beneath the exquisite makeup one couldn't detect any youthful vitality. Standing beside Yu, who was bright and vibrant like lotus-condensed jade, for a moment it was hard to tell which one was actually older.

With such attitude from her, how could someone as discerning as the Crown Prince show any special treatment to these people?

I'm afraid Cui Dalang's plans this time...

Indeed, as Lin had expected, until the two honored guests departed together, during the banquet, aside from Little Brother Yang who remained happily unaware and probably dreaming of good things, including Yang Jin'an, those with intentions more or less didn't look well.

Clearly they were also well aware that their earlier performances hadn't caught this heir apparent's eye.

Looking at her stiff-faced husband and the barely maintaining couple beside them, Lin appeared gentle on the surface but felt completely indifferent inside.

With a sister-in-law so carefree, even blood relations had ended up - who could they blame?

Those who are arrogant first and then obsequious are always the most ridiculous!

She even held the substantial dowry given earlier by her family along with her birth mother. One could say that apart from her husband's somewhat indifferent attitude, this starting point was much better than her own birth mother's situation earlier.

Matron Wu sighed again.

Actually, there was another point the matron didn't mention - earlier her young mistress could be so carefree largely because the Lin family had deep roots that benefited the master's career. But now that the master's future seemed hopeless, while the family lacked neither power nor wealth...

This... thinking of those concubines in the rear courtyard, the old matron couldn't help but worry.

"Don't worry, Matron. The Yang family is at a critical moment now and most fears complications. Now that grandmother is advanced in years and mother-in-law is straightforward, to avoid others exploiting weaknesses, they will only rely on me more in the future."

"Besides, with my husband's generation stepping down, to ensure family continuity, the family will only focus more on carefully nurturing Zheng'er."

In short, whether for her or her two children, their positions would only become more unshakable.

This was also why her mother and she had chosen the Yang family early on.

From the beginning, Lin knew her looks weren't outstanding, she lacked romantic flair, and had little talent for poetry and literature. Achieving marital harmony with her future husband wouldn't be easy.

She herself wasn't the type to set aside her dignity, lower herself to please her husband. Only her family background, and the household management and social connections learned from her mother were her greatest assets.

Rather than completely losing advantages in a complex family, better choose a simpler one. Fortunately, her mother-in-law was kind-hearted and didn't make things difficult, and best of all wasn't skilled at managing households.

Just thinking about the increasingly numerous social probes and engagements recently, even Lin felt somewhat weary. But considering how everyone had been currying favor lately, even her younger siblings in her maternal family were all envious and trying to please.

With visible wealth and her children's future ahead, what did it matter if she was a bit more tired!

Just while pondering, Lin couldn't help but think of the sister-in-law she saw today - the future undoubtedly confirmed legitimate eldest daughter of the Duke of Chengen, Crown Princess's own sister. To think she could play such a good hand into its current state.

At the same time, while An Ning and her husband were still happily playing outside, inside the carriage, Cui Dalang who had been silently resting with closed eyes without a word since boarding, made Yang Wan's already gloomy expression grow even darker...

Why? During her maiden days she had excelled at qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, household management taught personally by grandmother without any faults, yet everything she sought remained out of reach.

Why? Was it just because she didn't have Mother and younger sister's face?

Thinking of what she saw today - that bright, charming younger sister who couldn't do anything, didn't need to manage anything, yet was still held in palms, carefree about everything. Yang Wan's brows showed even more confusion...

In a flash, she suddenly remembered, the day before her marriage confirmation, her father had called her into his study:

"Marriage matters concern your entire life. You must be clear-minded about what you truly seek..."

"If you want marital harmony, find a simpler family of slightly lower status. Then with me pressuring them, if not everything going your way, at least for their prospects, they won't neglect you. Your abilities will have room to develop."

"If you choose a prominent noble family, understand that the eldest son, raised for years with certain expectations, will prioritize career and family first. Having seen countless women, with your looks and abilities you might not stand out among them. Achieving marital harmony won't be easy..."

In memory, this was the first time father had spoken so much to her. But back then? What flooded her heart wasn't happiness, but full of shameful anger and unwillingness.

Mother with her background back then, ignorant of worldly affairs, could still marry highly into a top-three scholar and be held in father's palms her whole life.

While she, just because she wasn't pretty enough, despite being carefully nurtured since childhood, could only choose some shallow-rooted impoverished family?

But now, looking at her unmoved husband before her, for some reason, Yang Wan's heart suddenly ached with dense, needle-like pain.