《Reborn Lady》


 CH 1

    In the second year of Jinghe, the light rain weaved a misty net between the sky and the earth, and the breeze blew, making the raindrops float through the screen window and fall on the surface.


    She was like a fish in that net who seemed to be nourished by the rain to live well, but in fact she was almost suffocated to death.


    Yin Hui, who was a princess, had never experienced that kind of depression for a long time.


    She was the young lady of the Yin family, the richest merchant in Yandi. Since she was young, she was well-clothed and beautiful. When her relatives saw her, they all praised her for her good looks.


    At the age of marriage, Yin Hui did marry the third son of Prince Yan, Wei Luo, under the envy of countless women in Yan.


    Who dared to say that a woman from a business family could marry the grandson of the Emperor?


    It was a pity that not long after marrying Wei Luo, Yin Hui experienced chest tightness.


    From the young maids of the palace, Yin Hui learned that he once had a cousin who was a childhood sweetheart, and that cousin looked like a fairy. If it wasn¡¯t for his father, Prince Yan who needed money to pay for military supplies, she, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, would not be his wife. Wei Luo¡¯s wife should be that cousin. The young maids also said that Wei Luo was infatuated with his cousin, and being forced to give up on her became his heart disease, and he rarely smiled since then.


    The first time Yin Hui heard such gossip, she got very uncomfortable for a while, but she quickly denied the rumors. Because according to her observation, although he always had a cold face in front of everyone, as if everyone owed him tens of thousands of taels of silver, and he had never said anything sweet to her, but Wei Luo at night liked to be close to her. Furthermore, Wei Luo never asked to have another woman. Even if she offered to show her virtuousness during pregnancy, Wei Luo refused without thinking.


    He was clearly lustful, but she was his only woman for ten years.


    Yin Hui took all of that as proof that Wei Luo had her in his heart, and his cold face was just natural. Some people liked to laugh, some were reticent, so it should be nothing unusual.


    Denying that cousin¡¯s status in Wei Luo¡¯s heart, Yin Hui¡¯s married life went generally smooth, especially after her father-in-law ascended the throne. Wei Luo became Prince Shu, and she also became Princess Shu. The family of three lived alone in a spacious place in the Shu Palace. There was no need to serve in-laws, no concubines to worry about, and no disputes between sisters-in-law. Yin Hui almost had the final say on the internal affairs of the entire palace, and the other women all envied her in turn.


    However, just that day, Wei Luo, who was still working outside, asked his guards to escort a young beautiful woman back home.


    That beautiful woman was Wei Luo¡¯s cousin Wen Ruyue who had been married for many years and experienced widowhood but was still as beautiful as a flower.


    It was only when Yin Hui saw her in the hall that she knew her identity from the other party.


    Wen Ruyue was wearing a white dress and knelt on the ground, tears falling silently, like a pear blossom trembling in the rain, her voice was also lovely and pitiful, ¡°Princess, please don¡¯t blame my cousin for making such a decision. I have nowhere else to go, please take me in. I promise to be a concubine in peace and contentment, and never compete with the princess for favor.¡±


    At that time, Yin Hui¡¯s chest was blocked and she couldn¡¯t breathe.


    Wei Luo, who hasn¡¯t taken a concubine for ten years, didn¡¯t even discuss with her, and directly agreed to take his cousin as his concubine?


    Years of experience allowed Yin Hui to maintain her dignity, so she ordered the maid to take Wen Ruyue to the guest room first.


    After she left, Yin Hui sat in the room, facing the pattering rain outside the window, sulking all afternoon.


    She had never met Wen Ruyue before, and others said that Wei Luo had always cared about her. Yin Hui never really believed that. If Wei Luo had been thinking about his cousin all the time, would he act like a wolf when he was with her?


    Until seeing Wen Ruyue with her own eyes that day¡­


    Yin Hui came to the dressing table and sat down, looking at herself in the mirror. She was married at the age of fifteen, and she was only twenty-five years old. In the mirror, the woman¡¯s black eyebrows were slanted, her peach blossom eyes were as clear and black as a girl¡¯s, and there was no trace of age on her fair and plump face.


    In terms of beauty, Yin Hui was conceited that she wouldn¡¯t lose to anyone, including Wen Ruyue, but Wen Ruyue¡¯s soft and charming, ¡®weak as a willow that even a little wind would blow her away¡¯ (delicate) appearance may be more attractive to men than her.


    Did Wei Hao actually like such beauty?


    How dare he? With Wen Ruyue¡¯s small body, how many nights could she stand?


    Yin Hui didn¡¯t believe it for a while. How could the affection be fake?


    The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. When Wei Luo returned home in the evening, Yin Hui no longer maintained her usual dignity and virtuousness, as she could no longer greet him with a smiling face.


    ¡°Princess, are you really not going to meet the prince? Miss Wen went to him as soon as the sun turned west. You haven¡¯t entertained her all afternoon. Will she sue you first?¡± The servant girl Jinzhan asked worriedly.


    Yin Hui couldn¡¯t hear the words ¡°Miss Wen¡± at all. When she heard it, it was as if she saw the picture of Wei Luo and Wen Ruyue under the moon.


    ¡°Has he not come back yet?¡±


    The Emperor asked all his grandsons to study in the palace, so her son Wei Heng, like his father, left early and returned late every day.


    Jinzhan looked at the master with some surprise, and recalled, ¡°Today is the birthday of the prince of the Chu Palace. He made an appointment to have dinner tonight in advance. Princess, did you forget?¡±


    Yin Hui pursed her lips.


    She just forgot.

 CH 2

    ¡°Princess, you should go over and have a look. Maybe the lord doesn¡¯t mean to take a concubine at all, maybe Miss Wen is wrong.¡±


    Maybe that kind of conjecture was more comfortable, so Yin Hui was shaken, and put on a ruby pendant to further set off her brilliance. Yin Hui tugged at the corners of her mouth in the mirror, showing a dignified and beautiful smile, and then went forward.


    Walking along the corridor to the main room, she saw Wei Luo¡¯s confidant eunuch, Eunuch An, standing slightly bent over outside the main room. Seeing her, he nodded from a distance, and immediately announced to the main room, ¡°My lord, the princess is here.¡±


    Yin Hui was not happy with that. If she walked over quietly, she might be able to overhear the two cousins ??inside talking.


    Since there was no hope of eavesdropping, Yin Hui straightened her back even more.


    When she came to the entrance of the main room, she saw Wei Luo sitting on the honor seat on the left, and Wen Ruyue, who was still in a white dress, standing beside him as slender and graceful as a willow.


    ¡°Chenqie pays homage to Furen,¡± Yin Hui was still looking at Wei Luo¡¯s expression, when Wen Ruyue stepped forward and saluted timidly.


    (Chenqie =  Your servant; Furen= Madam)


    ¡°Cousin, you¡¯re welcome,¡± Yin Hui said absent-mindedly, walked straight to the main seat next to Wei Luo, sat down, then tilted her head slightly, and looked at Wei Luo.


    Wei Luo was dressed in a black robe, with the same indifferent expression. He looked at her, then at Wen Ruyue, and said, ¡°My cousin came from afar. Princess, ask a maid to clean up a yard for her. Choose a few more maids to serve her.¡±


    Yin Hui forcefully smiled, ¡°Which courtyard does the prince think is more suitable for the cousin to live in?¡±


    Wei Tong was silent for a moment, then said, ¡°Zhufeng Hall.¡±


    Yin Hui could no longer smile.


    There were hundreds of yards in the Shu Palace. If Wei Luo only regarded Wen Ruyue as his cousin, it was more suitable to arrange Wen Ruyue in a yard far away from the main house, but Zhufeng Hall was on the west side of the main house. It was only fifteen minutes away from his room.


    ¡°I still have something to do, you eat dinner first, don¡¯t wait for me.¡±


    Ignoring the expressions of Yin Hui and Wen Ruyue, Wei Luo strode away.


    Wen Ruyue watched his back, turned her head and smiled at Yin Hui, ¡°I¡¯m causing trouble for you.¡±


    Yin Hui was very confused, and the more chaotic her mind was, the more she didn¡¯t want to see her. So she told her to go back to the guest room to rest, and would clean Zhufeng Hall the next day.


    As for dinner, Yin Hui couldn¡¯t eat a single grain of rice.


    She went back to her room early to rest.


    She couldn¡¯t sleep, Yin Hui turned on the light and was waiting for Wei Luo. She didn¡¯t believe that he brought a woman back, but really had nothing else to say.


    While waiting, Yin Hui thought about the past ten years of getting along with Wei Luo. Except for the tenderness at night, the relationship between the husband and wife during the day seemed to be a pool of stagnant water, without any waves.


    Wei Luo cherished words like gold. If she had something to discuss with him, he nodded if he agreed, or if he disagreed, he directly told her what he wanted her to do without explaining.


    When the sister-in-laws inquired about the details of her relationship with Wei Luo, Yin Hui naturally would not tell the truth. Anyway, Wei Luo did not take concubines, so she deliberately induced the sisters-in-law to think that she and Wei Luo were very affectionate in private, and they had no evidence to refute .


    Of the five princes, all four took concubines, with the exception of her husband.


    Yin Hui had always been complacent about that, but unexpectedly, Wei Luo brought back a concubine, and she could only imagine how the sisters-in-law would be gloating in sarcasm.


    Yin Hui turned over again.


    There was movement outside.


    Yin Hui¡¯s heartbeat suddenly accelerated, as if on the wedding night, but that time, what she was nervous about was not the ceremony of husband and wife, but his answer.


    Wei Luo came in, and Yin Hui was lying with her back to him.


    Until Wei Luo walked around the screen, as if she could see his gaze, or out of habit, Yin Hui finally sat up, got out of bed, and undressed him with eyes downcast, like every virtuous wife.


    Before she got married, her grandfather taught her that she was inferior to other sisters-in-law as her family was in business, and she had to be more considerate in etiquette, so that she could not make a mistake.


    In those years, she may not have been truly recognized and accepted by her sisters-in-laws, but her every move was in line with her status as the daughter-in-law of Prince Yan who became the Emperor.


    Jinzhan came over with a copper basin.


    Yin Hui stood aside, watching Jinzhan squat down to wash Wei Luo¡¯s feet.


    The rippling water shook the lights, Wei Luo closed his eyes, as if he was thinking about something.


    There were two quilts on the bed, and the couple each had a quilt. That was requested by Wei Luo during the wedding. He didn¡¯t say why, but Yin Hui also liked it, and it was more comfortable to sleep alone.


    When Wei Luo was interested, he would come to her side, and then go back when he was not interested, so Yin Hui could sleep soundly.


    When the footsteps of the maid also disappeared, Wei Luo suddenly said, ¡°When my cousin settles down, I will take her in as a concubine after a while. There is no need for a ceremony, just make a small banquet in the house.¡±


    Yin Hui¡¯s chest became even more tight.


    She was so uncomfortable, but he could still order her to do things so coldly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t agree.¡±


    After so many years of marriage, that was the first time she opposed his decision.

 CH 3

    ¡°Why?¡± Wei Luo asked, ¡°Since you married me, you have been dignified and courteous, and you have persuaded me to take a concubine, why not now?¡±


    Yin Hui bit her lips tightly.


    She was dignified and courteous in order to win his heart and not to embarrass her natal family.


    But her nature was not like that, she liked to go out shopping, liked to do whatever she wanted, and the most annoying thing for her was to be well-behaved.


    Moreover, she had a heart. The last time she persuaded him to take a concubine was when she was just pregnant ten years ago. She didn¡¯t have deep feelings for him. If Wei Luo had accepted it, she would have accepted it more easily. So, when she thought that there would be no one else between them, he suddenly stabbed her in the heart. How could she not be hurt?


    ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t agree,¡± she said every word, almost gnashing her teeth.


    After a long silence, Wei Luo just said, ¡°Sleep, we¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow morning.¡±


    Wei Luo¡¯s tone was so calm that Yin Hui thought they were just talking about what to eat at breakfast.


    How could he?


    Because he had been busy all day and was tired and wanted to sleep, he asked her not to cry or make trouble on such a big matter as taking a concubine, and to wait until the morning sensibly?


    How could Yin Hui be able to sleep?


    At that moment, Yin Hui thought of the scene she saw on the side of the road when she went out with her grandfather when she was a child. There was a woman holding a stick in her hand, chasing her man to beat him.


    Yin Hui thought, if Wei Hao was not a prince, she was not a princess, and if he dared to take a concubine, she would have beaten him with a stick.


    It was a pity that he was a prince, a nobleman she couldn¡¯t offend.


    The difference in status made Yin Hui lie motionless. Let alone making a fuss, she didn¡¯t even say a word of anger, letting the anger and pain intertwine and roll in her chest.


    After a long time, Yin Hui couldn¡¯t stay awake the long night, so she turned over and fell asleep.


    Sleeping drowsily, Yin Hui woke up suddenly when someone kissed her neck.


    The placer was still pitch black, and Wei Luo¡¯s scorching breath came from the side of her neck.


    He never kissed her lips, always from the neck.


    Yin Hui was stupid.


    He wanted to take a concubine and made her so angry, how could he still be in the mood to do it?


    Yin Hui raised her hand to push him.


    Maybe because she didn¡¯t eat two meals in a row, and didn¡¯t sleep well in the first half of the night, that she didn¡¯t have enough strength.


    Yin Hui struggled twice, and he suddenly xoxo.


    Yin Hui gritted her teeth and scolded, ¡°You b-stard!¡±


    A business family¡¯s woman dared to call a prince a b-stard. Yin Hui lived for twenty-five years, and never thought that the day would come.


    The man on her body stopped, Yin Hui burst into tears, and cursed again, ¡°B-stard.¡±


    Maybe she was wronged, maybe she was afraid, but that time her voice was much lower, and her delicate and weak voice was more like acting like a baby .


    If Wei Luo stopped, Yin Hui would definitely shrink back, but after a short pause, he became more of an as-hole. Yin Hui endured it for a while, then burst into anger again, and greeted him a few times as if to vent.


    After more than ten years of marriage, it turned into a fight for the first time. One was not convinced, and the other wanted to restrain the other party¡¯s temperament. In the end, Yin Hui still suffered from frailty, and was pressed in the quilt by him, whining, crying and calling him an as-hole.


    After an unknown amount of time, Yin Hui huddled under the blanket, listening to him put on his coat, and ring the bell to remind the maids to prepare water.


    It took time to prepare water. Wei Luo leaned against the bed, looked at her long hair that was exposed outside, and said, ¡°I will go to Beijing this time, and I may return in September. Take good care of Xiao Heng, and don¡¯t miss me.¡±


    Yin Hui was so angry and wronged that she didn¡¯t think about it.


    The maids outside brought water in, and soon, Jinzhan came to report that the water was ready.


    Wei Luo went to wash first, and lit two lamps with a torch before going out.


    Yin Hui didn¡¯t want to move, but her body was sticky and she couldn¡¯t do without washing.


    She sat up with her lips pursed, glanced around, and found that the belly band was thrown inside, and the red pajama pants were half pressed under the quilt, and half were protruding.


    Yin Hui frowned when some thoughts crossed her mind, feeling something was wrong, but she couldn¡¯t explain clearly.


    She silently grabbed some clothes and put them on. When she was putting on her shoes, Wei Luo came back. His slender and tall figure gradually approached the screen with a hazy face.


    Yin Hui stared at the screen.


    It was a four-panel rosewood Suzhou embroidery screen, which was one of her dowries. The exquisite Suzhou embroidery was embroidered on the precious silk with patterns symbolizing happiness, such as peonies, peach blossoms, magpies, and mandarin ducks.


    But that screen was only used for three years, and after three years, it was put into the warehouse and replaced with a new one.


    Yin Hui was deeply impressed by that screen. Before she moved from the Yan Palace to the capital, she had seen that screen in the warehouse. When she arrived at the Shu Palace, she also saw that screen when the warehouse was packed.


    How come it was used again?


    When Yin Hui was fascinated by the screen, Wei Hao finally came around.

 CH 4

    She glanced over unconsciously.


    Wei Luo also looked at her, with a trace of surprise in his cold eyes, wondering why she was still sitting there lost in thought.


    Yin Hui stared at him with a pair of clear peach blossom eyes.


    The Wei Luo in front of her was too young, with sword-like eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and a face as white as jade. Although his brows and eyes were cold, she could vaguely see a bit of freshness belonging to young people. How could he be the 30-year-old, solemn man Yin Hui met the previous night, King of Shu?


    Yin Hui stared blankly at Wei Luo¡¯s nose. The 30-year-old Prince Shu had begun to grow a beard, and his majesty became more serious. However, at that moment, Wei Luo was still Wei Luo, but without a beard.


    She lost her composure for too long, which made Wei Luo frown, ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    Yin Hui suddenly lowered her head at that moment, looking at the coat on her body.


    She finally remembered what was wrong. Before going to bed the previous night, she was not wearing that clothes, and the color and pattern were completely different.


    Looking at that room again, although Yin Hui had not lived in it for many years, she still recognized it. That was their yard in the Yan Palace.


    Yin Hui walked toward the dressing table in a daze. The two lamps provided soft light. Yin Hui supported the back of the chair with both hands and looked at herself in the mirror with complicated emotions.


    In the mirror, she looked younger than Wei Luo. She was fifteen or sixteen years old, with disheveled black hair, and her cheeks were bright red because she had just experienced xoxo.


    Yin Hui touched her face.


    She did the same in the mirror.


    Suddenly, another figure appeared in the mirror, Wei Luo frowned even deeper, and his cold gaze fell on her.


    With a mess in her head, Yin Hui gathered her shirt, instinctively wanting to escape from there first, wanting to be alone.


    She also needed to take a bath.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take a bath!¡± After leaving those words, Yin Hui left in a hurry.


    The bathroom had a shower room and a tub for soaking in the bath. Wei Luo had bathed there, so there was a layer of flower petals floating in the tub.


    Yin Hui walked into the room first.


    The servant girl Jinzhan skillfully waited for her.


    Yin Hui stared at Jinzhan intently, who also turned into fifteen or sixteen-year-old.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, madam?¡± Jinzhan asked strangely.


    Madam¡­


    If it was in the second year of Jinghe, if it was in the Shu Palace in the capital, Jinzhan should call her Wangfei.


    ¡°I had a nightmare. I was confused. Tell me, what year and month is it this year?¡± Yin Hui asked tremblingly.


    She knew that she must have returned before her father-in-law became the Emperor, but she needed to confirm the year.


    Jinzhan¡¯s expression became even weirder. Half an hour ago, the third master and her had such a big quarrel, and the lady actually lied and said that she had a nightmare?


    But Jinzhan still replied truthfully, ¡°This year is the eighth year of Xianning, and today is the ninth day of July.¡±


    There was a bang in her mind, and Yin Hui almost couldn¡¯t stand up.


    She and Wei Luo married in the seventh year of Xianning, and her son Wei Heng was born in the eighth year of Xianning. In other words, she returned to ten years ago in her sleep. She was only sixteen years old, and her son was only a few months old.


    After wiping her body, Yin Hui sat alone in the bathtub and asked Jinzhan to go out.


    Was it a dream?


    Yin Hui could still feel the hot water, but she still pinched her own thigh. The pain made her gasp, even the scene with Wei Luo before was extremely real.


    She stayed in the bathroom until the water was cold before stepping out, and Jinzhan helped her change into her new underwear.


    ¡°What time is it?¡± Yin Hui asked in a low voice.


    Jinzhan said, ¡°It¡¯s just past four.¡±


    After she finished speaking, she continued to fasten the buttons under her master¡¯s armpit.


    Yin Hui looked out the window.


    Wei Luo¡¯s words rang in her ears again, ¡°I am going to Beijing this time, and I may return in September¡­¡±


    Yin Hui thought about it thoroughly.


    On August 20th of that year, Emperor Jianlong, Wei Luo¡¯s grandfather, was going to celebrate his 60th birthday. On such a big day, he did not summon the three princes and sons to the palace, but ordered his sons to send their two grandsons to the capital.


    On the side of the Yan Palace, her father-in-law decided that the elder son Wei Yang and her husband, the third master Wei Luo would go to Beijing.


    Since they were going to travel far, it made sense that Wei Luo suddenly became interested again after sleeping until the third watch that night.


    After figuring everything out, Yin Hui calmed down a lot when she returned to the inner room.


    ¡°Why so late? Turn off the lights,¡±  Wei Luo¡¯s displeased voice came from inside, probably disliking that she took too long and kept the lights on for too long which disturbed his rest.


    Yin Hui silently turned off the two lamps, walked to the bed, crawled from the foot of the bed to the inner side, and got into her own bed.


    ¡°Why did you scold me before?¡± The man next to her asked suddenly, sounding like he wasn¡¯t sleepy yet.


    Yin Hui made up a reason casually, ¡°I was very tired and just wanted to sleep, but you came to torment me, but I already know my mistake, please forgive me.¡±


    Wei Luo was silent.


    In the past, when he suddenly got excited in the middle of the night, she had always been submissive and cooperative. Being married for more than a year, she was so polite and cautious. How could she ever be rude to him?


    She acted so wildly that night, his back was covered with blood marks, showing the depth of resentment.

 CH 5

    Wei Luo could only think of one thing.


    He thought that she was acting that way because he was going to Beijing with his eldest brother, and his elder brother was taking his wife with him, but he wasn¡¯t going to take her.


    ¡°Xiao Heng is too young, and with us not around, we may worry.¡±


    Yin Hui didn¡¯t understand why he suddenly mentioned his son, and she didn¡¯t remember whether Wei Luo said that ten years ago that night, so she was stunned for a moment.


    Yin Hui turned her back to him and said, ¡°Third Master, don¡¯t worry, I will take good care of Xiao Heng.¡±


    Wei Tong: ¡°Well, go to sleep.¡±


    Yin Hui immediately closed her eyes.


    Maybe when she woke up the next morning, she would return to Shu Palace instead of staying in that absurd dream.


    ¡°Madam, madam, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡±


    Yin Hui woke up suddenly, opened her eyes, and in front of her were Jinzhan and Yinzhan, the maids who had served her since childhood.


    Both were sixteen years old, Jinzhan was pretty, and Yinzhan was elegant and quiet.


    Yin Hui pinched herself again under the quilt, and it hurt a lot.


    That was not a dream anymore, she really returned to ten years ago.


    ¡°Wang¡­ When did the third master leave? Why didn¡¯t you wake me up?¡± Yin Hui sat up and asked restlessly.


    Jinzhan smiled and said, ¡°It was the third master who told the maids not to disturb you.¡±


    Although she was also surprised that the madam didn¡¯t wake up to serve the third master to change clothes after a long sleep, it was rare for the third master to be gentle to the master, and Jinzhan was very supportive of it.


    Yin Hui looked out the window, ¡°What time is it? Did the third master leave?¡±


    Jinzhan said, ¡°Later, all the masters in the mansion are going to see the third master and the others off. How can this slave let you sleep until then? It¡¯s just that if you stay in bed, we¡¯ll be late.¡±


    Yin Hui hurriedly sat up. Even though she didn¡¯t understand why that happened, she couldn¡¯t be rude in front of the entire Yan Palace.


    Washing, changing clothes and combing hair, Jinzhan and Yinzhan were very skillful. After a quarter of an hour, Yin Hui ordered Yinzhan to go to the kitchen to deliver the meal, and then sent Yinzhan to invite Wei Luo over.


    The wet nurse and Xiao Heng lived in the side room of the backyard, and so they also brought the young master over.


    Yin Hui couldn¡¯t wait to take her son over.


    Xiao Heng was only four months old, he was fair and clean, and looked a lot like Wei Luo.


    The little boy smiled happily when he saw his mother, his eyes bent into a pair of crescent moons.


    Yin Hui almost cried.


    Her father-in-law was strict with his grandchildren, and all young masters had to go to the school to study when they got four years old. After that, her son¡¯s temper got more similar to that of Wei Luo, and he rarely smiled in front of her, just like a little sun but turned into a clear and cold moon.


    When Wei Luo came over, he saw his wife who always valued etiquette holding her son in her arms, bowing her head and touching his face.


    Seeing him, his wife frowned, and stood in another direction with her son in her arms.


    That strange feeling came again.


    She was always cautious toward him lest he would punish her if she did something wrong. Since the previous night, her attitude had obviously changed. She was no longer respectful, but seemed to be resentful.


    Wei Luo was not very happy. It didn¡¯t matter if a woman threw her temper occasionally, but he had already explained why he couldn¡¯t take her to Beijing. As a woman, she still blamed her husband for it.


    She was too ignorant.


    Although the people around her, including herself, were ten years younger, the Chengxin Hall and even the entire Yan Palace had been her home for many years, and the people around her were all too familiar. Yin Hui quickly accepted that shocking event.


    After Wei Luo took his seat, Yin Hui also handed over her son to the wet nurse.


    Wei Luo would be away from home for more than two months soon, and she had plenty of time to be close to her son.


    The maids in the kitchen prepared breakfast quietly and skillfully.


    Yin Hui glanced at the dishes.


    The meat stuffed pancakes were fried until the skin was golden and slightly burnt, the rice porridge soup was less sticky, and even the eggs in the ham scrambled eggs were fried too much.


    It was not that the cook in Chengxin Hall couldn¡¯t control the heat well, but that Wei Luo liked to eat that kind of food.


    Yin Hui liked to eat steamed stuffed buns for breakfast, liked to drink porridge with even soup and rice, and liked to eat tender fried eggs.


    Before she got married, the chef of the Yin family served all her favorite food. As the daughter-in-law of Prince Yan¡¯s palace, Yin Hui took into account Wei Luo¡¯s preferences in every way, and dared not make any requests that were beneficial to her, for fear of being talked about as not following the rules.


    But her prudence and obedience did not win Wei Luo¡¯s heart in the end.


    So why be cautious?


    Forget about that meal. At noon, she would ask the cook to cook a table of her favorite meals. Even if Wei Luo came back, there would be things that the husband and wife each liked to eat on the table in the future, and she would never wrong herself again.


    After eating something casually, Yin Hui put down her chopsticks and asked the wet nurse to bring the baby over.

 CH 6

    Xiao Heng was fat and chubby, and was bigger than other children when he was just born. It was all because Yin Hui didn¡¯t understand during pregnancy, ate too much, and raised the child well. She even forgot the pain after giving birth. At that moment, Yin Hui was holding her healthy and lovely son, and there was only warmth in her heart.


    Thinking about it carefully, she used to strictly act cautiously. It was the same with her son, which caused the child to suffer a lot of grievances at a young age, and the relationship between her and him became more distant.


    As she already understood that forbearance and seeking for perfection would not gain any benefits, she decided not to bear it any longer, and she would not teach her child to blindly forbear. Even if someone looked down on her son because of her background, she would let him understand that he had a mother who cared and protected him the most.


    Xiao Heng lay on his mother¡¯s arms on his back, and suddenly smiled at her.


    Yin Hui also smiled, lowered her head, and gently kissed her son¡¯s little cheek.


    The mother and son only had each other in their eyes, and Wei Luo, who was sitting opposite and eating silently, looked that way several times in silence.


    He could feel her deliberate neglect of him.


    They had been married for a year and a half. In the past, as long as he appeared in front of her, Yin Shi (Madam Yin) would treat him as if he was always there, and whenever he went out, every time they parted, Yin Shi would look at him with reluctance. She would tell him all kinds of things in a long-winded manner, as if he didn¡¯t even know how to take care of himself. But that day, she only teased her son while eating, never looked at him, and never even tried to talk to him.


    Wei Luo put down the bowl.


    The sound of the bottom of the bowl gently touching the table made Yin Hui look up slightly. Seeing that Wei Luo had finished eating, Yin Hui gestured at the golden and silver cups serving on the side.


    The two maids immediately stepped forward to serve the third master to rinse his mouth.


    After which, Wei Luo walked to Yin Hui¡¯s side, took Xiao Heng and held him in his arms.


    Xiao Heng liked his mother more, as seeing his father, the boy tilted his head, whimpering and wanting to return to his mother.


    Wei Luo pursed his lips, turned around, handed his son to the nurse, looked outside and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Yin Hui followed.


    Prince Yan¡¯s palace was magnificent, and like other princes¡¯ mansions, a long east-west alleyway in the middle divided the whole palace into a layout of the front court and the back bedroom.


    The former dynasty was the place where Prince Yan dealt with political affairs and summoned officials which was a formal place. The latter bedroom was the place where Prince Yan and his family lived, exquisite and gorgeous.


    Prince Yan¡¯s bedroom was located in the center of the harem. The West Sixth House was allocated to his wives and concubines, and the East Sixth House was allocated to his children.


    Yin Hui walked out of Chengxin Hall and headed west. When they passed Yizhi Hall, the elder brother Wei Yang and his wife Xu Qingwan came out side by side, followed by three children.


    Yin Hui and Wei Luo nodded to Wei Yang and his wife, ¡°Brother, sister-in-law.¡±


    The eldest brother Wei Yang was wearing a white robe. He was shorter than Wei Luo, but his expression was warm and calm.


    He smiled and said to Wei Luo, ¡°Have you packed your bags?¡±


    He was talking about the trip to the capital.


    Yin Hui walked beside Xu Qingwan.


    Xu Qingwan was the niece of Princess Yan¡¯s natal family. Both aunt and niece came from the first-class honorable family in the capital, the Zhen Guogong Mansion. When she arrived at Prince Yan¡¯s palace, she paid close attention to Xu Qingwan¡¯s every move, and imitated her words and deeds. After a year or two of persistence and imitation, Yin Hui¡¯s etiquette was almost as good as Xu Qingwan¡¯s, but she no longer resembled herself.


    The maids laughed at her in private, but Xu Qingwan¡¯s attitude toward her was consistent, polite and never rude, or arrogant, but in fact she never took Yin Hui seriously.


    Usually when meeting in private, except for the most basic greetings, Xu Qingwan would not take the initiative to say anything to her while Yin Hui racked her brains to find some topics.


    That day, the two masters were walking in front, chatting very happily as brothers, Xu Qingwan also talked more, and said to Yin Hui in a gentle voice, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my husband and I will take good care of the third brother, you can take care of Wulang at home.¡±


    The grandchildren of Prince Yan¡¯s palace were all called according to their seniority, and Yin Hui¡¯s son, Xiao Heng, was the fifth, and everyone called him Wulang (Fifth kid). Xu Qingwan gave birth to two sons, Da Lang (eldest), who was six years old, and San Lang (third), who was only three years old. At that time, the two brothers followed behind, and there was another five-year-old girl who was Wei Yang¡¯s kid from a concubine.


    Because of the early marriage, Yi Hall had the largest number of grandchildren.


    Yin Hui looked at Xiao Heng in the nurse¡¯s arms, and said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, brother and sister-in-law.¡±


    The voice was soft and casual, without the cautious restraint of the past, as if she and Xu Qingwan were from the same noble background.


    A person who had been cautious all year round suddenly became free, and those who were familiar with her could naturally detect that change.

 CH 7

    Xu Qingwan finally looked straight at Yin Hui.


    Yin Hui wore a light blue embroidered beige with gold trim blouse, matched with a long white skirt, her figure was graceful, elegant and decent. That dress was not much different from usual, what had changed was her demeanor. Yin Hui, whom Xu Qingwan was familiar with, was always cautious. Her beautiful eyes lost their generosity because they were always paying attention to her own behavior, and because she often lowered her eyes and head subconsciously because she was ashamed.


    But that day, Yin Hui smiled with peaceful eyes, thoughtful etiquette but no trace of imitation, like a thrush that was shivering in a cage, suddenly flew out of the cage freely in the sun.


    When Yin Hui flinched, it was easy for everyone to overlook her beauty.


    When she had become calm and generous, her beauty was fully displayed.


    Xu Qingwan was stunned for a moment.


    How did she not find out that her sister-in-law actually possessed such a beauty?


    The eldest son, Wei Yang, was not familiar with his younger brother¡¯s wife. Although he heard Yin Hui¡¯s words, he just thought it was very common and didn¡¯t pay much attention to it.


    Wei Luo¡¯s heart moved slightly, but it was difficult to look back at Yin Hui.


    It wasn¡¯t until Xu Qingwan looked away from her face that Yin Hui breathed out lightly.


    The morning light poured over from behind, and the two families cast long shadows on the ground.


    Yin Hui looked at those shadows, and then looked at the blue sky in the distance, so blue and so clear, just like her heart without any distracting thoughts.


    Prince Yan usually handled family affairs in the side hall of Qinzheng Hall, and usually any family banquet was held there.


    The juniors had to arrive early, and Wei Yang and Wei Luo became the first wave to arrive.


    The men sat on one side, Yin Hui and Xu Qingwan sat on the west side, with a seat in the middle.


    After Yin Hui sat down, as soon as she raised her head, she met Wei Luo¡¯s gaze opposite her. She didn¡¯t know whether it was a coincidence that he had been looking at her.


    Yin Hui thought it should be just a coincidence, Wei Luo rarely paid attention to her in Chengxin Hall, let alone outside.


    She avoided his eyes as if nothing had happened, just as San Lang came to Xiao Heng¡¯s side, Yin Hui naturally sat sideways and watched San Lang tease his younger brother.


    Regardless of whether the children would fight when they grow up, they were still small now, and they would only approach whoever they liked.


    ¡°Look, third aunt, he is spitting.¡±


    Almost after San Lang finished speaking, the wet nurse gently wiped his saliva.


    San Lang looked at his younger brother who still had to be hugged, and said proudly, ¡°I am going to the capital with my father, and my eldest brother is going too. You are still young, so you can¡¯t go there.¡±


    On the contrary, Sister Mei, who sat quietly behind Xu Qingwan, looked at San Lang enviously. There was a difference between a wife born kid and a concubine born one, and the five-year-old girl had already understood that rule to some extent.


    At that time, the second master¡¯s family also came.


    The second master, Wei Yan, was handsome and liked to smile, and was suave. He was nicknamed the most beautiful son by the people. His wife Ji Xianxian was also an amazing beauty. Even though she was seven months pregnant at the moment, she still looked beautiful.


    Xu Qingwan was born with the most noble and elegant temperament, but when the bright and beautiful Wei Yan appeared on the stage, she became dim like the stars beside the moon.


    ¡°Big brother and the third younger brother came so early, I¡¯m ashamed,¡± Wei Yan said with a smile, taking a seat between Wei Yang and Wei Luo.


    Wei Yang smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think you are ashamed, I saw pride on your face. Why? Do you think that if I go to the capital, you can show your elder brother prestige in front of the fourth brother and fifth brother?¡±


    Wei Yan suddenly showed a bitter expression, ¡°Brother, don¡¯t go. If you go, the burden of watching them both will fall on me, I don¡¯t want to take care of them.¡±


    Yin Hui quickly glanced over the faces of the three brothers, and came to the same judgment as in the previous life. In terms of demeanor, Wei Yan was indeed the most outstanding master in the Yan Palace, but in terms of beauty, her husband, the third master, was actually the number one, but he was too serious and indifferent, so the servants and the people in Beijing were afraid of him. Therefore, how dare they comment on his facial features?


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s a pity that the third sister-in-law has to stay in the palace to take care of Wulang, otherwise it would be great to go to the capital with the third brother and see the world,¡± Ji Xianxian who had just sat down next to her suddenly said in a regretful tone.


    But her implication was that Yin Hui had never seen anything in the world.


    In the past, Yin Hui would have blushed with embarrassment, but at that moment, her heart was calm, and she asked innocently, ¡°I think Pingcheng is very prosperous. Is the capital more prosperous than here?¡±


    Ji Xianxian was also born in the capital. Hearing that, she seemed to have opened up the chatter box, and while giving Yin Hui a contemptuous look, she talked endlessly about how the capital city was more prosperous than Pingcheng.


    After she was out of breath, Yin Hui smiled and said, ¡°Maybe because I grew up in Pingcheng that I am saying this, the surrounding towns are not as prosperous as here, so I think Pingcheng is the best. It is my good fortune to travel to the capital, but I have nothing to regret if I can¡¯t go.¡±


    Ji Xianxian¡¯s arrogance became a display as she didn¡¯t arouse envy.


    Then, her own son, the four-year-old Er Lang, suddenly broke out, tugging at Ji Xianxian¡¯s sleeve and shaking, ¡°Mom, I want to go to the capital too!¡±

 CH 8

    Ji Xianxian¡¯s expression changed suddenly.


    However, San Lang was still gesturing at Er Lang, showing that he could go, but he could not.


    On being stimulated, Er Lang became more violent. The nurse wanted to take him away, but Er Lang beat and kicked the nurse.


    His wife and children made a fool of himself in front of his brothers, and the second master Wei Yan could no longer smile. Just as he was about to reprimand his son, a voice that sounded ordinary but implying majesty came from the entrance on the left front of the side hall, ¡°It¡¯s early in the morning, who is crying?¡±


    Before the voice fell, Yin Hui and the others stood up in unison to welcome the Patriarch, Prince Yan.


    Prince Yan was the second son of Emperor Jianlong. He became king at the age of eighteen. Later, he moved to Yan City with his family and lived in Pingcheng.


    Prince Yan was forty-three that year. He was in the prime of his life. He was tall, strong, handsome, and his temperament was noble. He looked like a king.


    Before her rebirth, the person Yin Hui admired the most was her father-in-law, who was able to defend against enemies with martial arts and govern the country with literature; he was simply born to be an emperor.


    It was just that Prince Yan was too imposing, Yin Hui used to be afraid of the taciturn Wei Luo, let alone the prince who was cold and arrogant.


    Not just her, the juniors in the Yan Palace were afraid of him. At that moment, they all lowered their eyes respectfully, and even Er Lang, who was crying to go to the capital, leaned nervously beside Ji Xianxian at the moment. He didn¡¯t dare to wipe his tears with his hands, and only when the snot was about to fall, he twitched hard, making a sound that resounded throughout the side hall.


    Prince Yan took the seat in front of him, his gaze fell directly on Er Lang, and asked, ¡°What is Er Lang crying for?¡±


    Er Lang looked at Ji Xianxian nervously.


    A cold sweat broke out on Ji Xianxian¡¯s back. If her father-in-law knew that Er Lang wanted to go to the capital, would he misunderstand that she was dissatisfied with his arrangement as he only sent the eldest master and the third master to the capital, and she deliberately urged her son to find trouble?


    Ji Xianxian didn¡¯t dare to say anything.


    At the critical moment, her husband, Wei Yan, raised his head and said to Prince Yan with shame, ¡°It¡¯s because this son didn¡¯t discipline Er Lang well, that he was crying because of some trivial things. This son will definitely teach him a lesson.¡±


    Prince Yan glanced at him, then looked at Da Lang and asked, ¡°Tell me, Da Lang, why is your second brother crying?¡±


    Da Lang was six years old, and he had already started to study. He was also the most sensible among his brothers. He dared not hide it when his grandfather asked him, and said in a clear voice, ¡°Grandpa, my second brother wants to go to the capital.¡±


    He didn¡¯t mention Ji Xianxian and did not mention San Lang irritating Er Lang, only the reason why Er Lang cried.


    Xu Qingwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With her father-in-law¡¯s temper, he would never like the younger generation exposing the faults of their brothers or aunts.


    It was certainly unpleasant for family members to fight between themselves for trivial matters. It was definitely not what her father-in-law wanted to see when other family members gloated and exposed each other¡¯s faults.


    Prince Yan nodded, and then asked Er Lang, who still had tears on his face, ¡°Why do you want to go to the capital?¡±


    With little expectation, he said, ¡°Mother said that there are many interesting and delicious things in the capital, and I want to see the world.¡±


    Such a child, in fact, was the best at imitating adults. Ji Xianxian said that going to the capital was to see the world, and Er Lang used it.


    Prince Yan smiled, ¡°When did your mother say that?¡±


    Encouraged by his grandfather¡¯s smile, Er Lang said without hesitation, ¡°She just said it to my third aunt.¡±


    The sweat on Ji Xianxian¡¯s face had already begun to drip, Yin Hui was also a little nervous. Although she didn¡¯t provoke anyone, if she was involved, would her father-in-law get angry?


    Prince Yan didn¡¯t look at the two daughters-in-law, and continued to ask Er Lang, ¡°The capital is so nice, doesn¡¯t your third aunt want to go?¡±


    Er Lang looked at Yin Hui, thinking that if he said that the third aunt also wanted to go, everyone would go, and his grandfather may agree.


    He nodded and said loudly, ¡°Third Aunt wants to go!¡±


    Ji Xianxian¡¯s legs gave way and she almost fell. Her son usually lied, and she thought he was smart, but he lied in front of his father-in-law?


    Yin Hui, who was standing behind Ji Xianxian, could clearly see a drop of sweat running down Ji Xianxian¡¯s neck. Just when she was hesitating whether to defend herself or wait for her father-in-law to interrogate her before speaking, San Lang suddenly pointed at Er Lang and yelled, ¡°Grandfather, the second brother lied, the third aunt didn¡¯t want to go, she said that Pingcheng is the best!¡±


    As soon as that remark came out, Ji Xianxian couldn¡¯t help it anymore, and knelt down with difficulty. At the same time, the husband and wife said in unison, ¡°Father, calm down, blame this son (daughter-in-law) for not teaching Er Lang well.¡±


    Prince Yan¡¯s expression did not change, but he said lightly, ¡°It is the father¡¯s fault. Er Lang go out, don¡¯t come out before the Mid-Autumn Festival.¡±


    That day was the tenth day of the seventh lunar month, and Prince Yan directly imprisoned Erfang for more than a month.


    However, Wei Yan didn¡¯t dare to show any dissatisfaction. After kowtowing again to admit his mistake, he came to hold Er Lang, turned his back to Prince Yan, gave Ji Xianxian a cold look, and headed away.


    When Erfang¡¯s family went out, the fourth master, fifth master and two girls arrived. Although the four of them didn¡¯t understand what happened, they knew that they shouldn¡¯t talk nonsense at that time, and stood on both sides after apologizing for being late.


    Prince Yan seemed to have forgotten the unhappiness, and asked Wei Yang and Wei Luo if they had packed their bags and prepared the horses.


    The brothers answered positively.

 CH 9

    Prince Yan told them some things, and before leaving, asked his sons to go to their mothers to say goodbye, and then set off.


    After he left, the atmosphere in the side hall finally relaxed.


    ¡°Brother, did the second elder brother and the second sister-in-law offend the king?¡± The fourth master Wei Yan asked. The young man was only fifteen years old, and he was outspoken.


    His younger sister Wei Shan also looked at her elder brother worriedly.


    Wei Yang didn¡¯t answer, but only told his brothers and sisters to study hard, practice martial arts, and not be lazy.


    ¡°Okay, do what you are supposed to do. You don¡¯t have to send us off later.¡±


    After dismissing their young siblings, Wei Yang and Wei Luo led their families to the West Sixth House respectively. Since they were on the same road, they naturally walked together.


    During that journey, they still only chatted about family affairs, as if they had forgotten what happened in the side hall.


    When they arrived at the West Sixth courtyard, the closest to the gate was the residence of Concubine Xu.


    Concubine Xu was the aunt of all the children of Prince Yan. Wei Luo and Yin Hui also went to greet Concubine Xu first. Concubine Xu smiled lovingly and said a few words, and then let them leave.


    Wei Luo¡¯s biological mother, Mrs. Wen, lived in Jinghao Hall.


    On the way to Jinghao Hall, Yin Hui glanced at Wei Luo.


    The turmoil in the side hall was Ji Xianxian¡¯s own fault, but if she had been submissive and silently endured her ridicule instead of deliberately setting up a trick to induce Ji Xianxian to praise the capital, the commotion would not have happened.


    However, her purpose of inducing Ji Xianxian was just to say that she liked Pingcheng, and she was not envious. Er Lang¡¯s crying was completely unexpected.


    Since the father-in-law only punished the second household, but she and San Lang were also involved, would it cause trouble for Wei Luo?


    As a husband and wife, she just didn¡¯t want to put a hot face on Wei Luo¡¯s cold butt (suck up to someone who is obviously not having it), and didn¡¯t want to force herself to do things she didn¡¯t like. But she also didn¡¯t want to cause trouble for Wei Luo and ruin the family¡¯s future.


    It was almost time to go to Jinghao Hall. Yin Hui finally couldn¡¯t hold back, and asked the wet nurse to hold the baby for a while, and tugged on Wei Luo¡¯s sleeve.


    Wei Luo looked at her.


    Yin Hui took a few steps forward to distance herself from the wet nurse.


    Wei Luo came to her side expressionlessly.


    Yin Hui couldn¡¯t help looking at him anxiously, ¡°Third Master, will the eldest brother and sister-in-law remember us for what happened this morning?¡±


    As a younger brother, San Lang exposed Er Lang¡¯s lies. Qingwan might not be happy for her son to do that.


    Of course the couple would not blame their own son, they would only blame her and even Wei Luo.


    During the trip to the capital, the couple, who had noble relatives in the capital and were familiar with the situation in the capital, might make the situation a little bit of a stumbling block, and Wei Luo might make a mistake, and then fall out of favor with Prince Yan.


    Wei Luo¡¯s status in the Yan Palace was directly related to the situation between them.


    Wei Luo looked into her flustered eyes, and said, ¡°Brother is broad-minded, and sister-in-law is also generous, so they shouldn¡¯t care about it, but the second household probably will.¡±


    Yin Hui pursed her lips.


    The situation in Prince Yan¡¯s palace was complicated. When she was so cautious in her previous life, it was by no means useless. At least, she never caused any trouble to Wei Luo.


    Wei Luo¡¯s eyes fell on his wife¡¯s lips, which lost their color.


    ¡°This is the issue of the second brother and the second sister-in-law. It has nothing to do with you. You have not made a mistake, so you don¡¯t have to worry about anything,¡± Wei Hao whispered.


    Could it be that she was afraid that his second elder brother and second sister-in-law would take revenge?


    He was not afraid, and neither should she.


    Instead of her timidly shrinking in front of Xu Qingwan or Ji Xianxian, he hoped that she would be like that morning in the future, neither humble nor overbearing.


    Yin Hui looked at Wei Luo in surprise, he didn¡¯t blame her?


    Wei Luo: ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go see Madam.¡±


    He took the lead and walked forward.


    Yin Hui had no choice but to suppress her confusion, and followed him into Jinghao Hall.


    Prince Yan had five wives and concubines, among which Wei Luo¡¯s biological mother, Mrs. Wen was the lowest.


    When Mrs. Wen first entered Prince Yan¡¯s palace, she only had a farmer father, and an elder brother who hadn¡¯t yet passed the examination. That kind of identity was able to enter Prince Yan¡¯s eyes, all because of her own beauty and attractiveness, which also made her the first concubine that Prince Yan accepted.


    Originally, Mrs. Wen lived in Yuqin Pavillion, the courtyard of West Sixth House, second only to Concubine Xu and Concubine Li. Later, Concubine Guo, the daughter of a general, came in.


    Mrs. Wen, under the arrangement of Concubine Xu, left Yuqin Pavillion, and moved to Jinghao Hall.


    Those old things were also the news that Yin Hui had heard from the maids after staying in the Yan Palace for a long time.


    However, Mrs. Wen had a gentle temperament and never showed any concern for those mundane matters in front of Yin Hui. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were docile and cautious, and they never talked about the other people when they got along, only talking about the trivial daily life of their own family.


    Knowing that they would come, Mrs. Wen was already waiting in the hall. Even though she was dressed in homely attire, it still couldn¡¯t hide her beauty.


    There were thousands of beauties, Mrs. Wen was the same as Wei Luo¡¯s cousin Wen Ruyue that Yin Hui met later. They were all the kind of beauty that was as pale as a chrysanthemum, maybe it was not eye-catching among the beauties, but once a person¡¯s eyes fell on them, they would find that their facial features were very attractive, as moving as the bright moon at night.


    She had to say that the name Wen Ruyue suited her very well.

 CH 10

    Seeing Mrs. Wen, Yin Hui inevitably thought of the cousin, Wen Ruyue, and felt all sorts of feelings in her heart.


    Mrs. Wen¡¯s attention was on her son. She had never been to the capital. She only knew that there was a group of dignitaries living in the capital. It was the first time for her son to go to such a wealthy place, so Mrs. Wen was worried that he would be bullied.


    As parents, no matter how their children¡¯s personalities were, they were always worried that their children would be bullied when they were out of town.


    ¡°When you arrive in the capital, you must obey your eldest brother in everything. When you need to go out, you¡¯d better stay close to him. If there is nothing to do, stay at the place where you are living and don¡¯t walk around at will,¡± Mrs. Wen said worriedly.


    Wei Luo just responded lightly, not saying anything.


    Yin Hui stood aside. Seeing Mrs. Wen¡¯s kindness and Wei Luo¡¯s indifference, vaguely, she seemed to see her former self.


    Wei Luo was a cold-hearted person, neither mother nor wife could get his smiling face, maybe, only Wen Ruyue had seen it.


    Yin Hui lowered her eyes, quietly waiting for the mother and son to finish their farewell.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, brother is still waiting. I am leaving first, you take good care of yourself,¡± Wei Hao said after drinking a cup of tea.


    Mrs. Wen had no choice but to swallow back the rest of her words, and said to Yin Hui, ¡°You go and see him off.¡±


    Yin Hui nodded and followed Wei Luo to leave.


    The carriages and horses were all arranged outside the Xihua Gate of Prince Yan¡¯s palace, which was relatively close to the Sixth West House, and they arrived shortly after leaving. Yin Hui had just stood firm, and when she looked back, she saw Dafang¡¯s family of four walking toward that side with their entourage.


    She looked at Wei Luo.


    Wei Luo stood with his hands behind his back, watching the family that was gradually approaching.


    Yin Hui thought for a while, and asked for instructions in advance, ¡°When you¡¯re away, can I go back to my mother¡¯s house? I¡¯ll go in the morning and come back in the afternoon.¡± In her previous life, because Xu Qingwan and Ji Xianxian were married far away, they never went home to visit their relatives, and Yin Hui never made such a request once.


    Wei Luo looked at her and said, ¡°Okay, remember to ask the princess for instructions, and wear a badge.¡±


    Although his expression remained cold, he did agree to her bold request.


    Surprised, Yin Hui let out a smile.


    When Wei Luo saw that, he was afraid that she would be too happy and forget the rules, so he added, ¡°You can go during the holidays, but avoid it at other times.¡±


    So was it possible to go home during the holidays?


    Yin Hui was already very satisfied, and hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Third Master, I won¡¯t mess around.¡±


    Wei Luo seemed to have never heard of that, and nodded to Wei Yang and his wife who came over, and glanced at San Lang inadvertently.


    The little guy looked excited about going out.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s go now,¡± Wei Yang said. Wei Luo nodded, and said to Yin Hui, ¡°Go back, farewell.¡±


    Yin Hui subconsciously said, ¡°Let me stand here for a while.¡±


    Like a newlywed wife who was reluctant to part with her husband traveling far away.


    Wei Yang looked at Wei Luo mockingly.


    He just nodded, told the wet nurse to take good care of his son, and left.


    After exiting the Xihua Gate of Prince Yan¡¯s palace, there was also the west gate in front of the moat arch bridge, and after a while, there was the west outer gate with a thick wall outside the Yan Palace.


    The palace was an important place, just to enter and leave the inner city, one had to go through three gates.


    When walking out of the west outer gate, Wei Luo looked back.


    From a distance of several feet, his wife held the child and looked over from a distance. The bright morning light enveloped the two of them.


    That was also the first time that when he was traveling far away, someone specially followed him and stopped to see him off.


    The carriage set off, and the three doors of the palace were closed one by one.


    Looking at the closed city gate, and looking at the son in her arms who didn¡¯t know that his father had left, Yin Hui suddenly felt like she was in a dream.


    It was just that she couldn¡¯t tell whether the present was a dream, or the ten years she had experienced.


    In that dream that lasted ten years, she had very little memory of that day. Probably because Ji Xianxian taunted her, she endured it silently, the second household was not punished, and she didn¡¯t have the courage to ask Wei Luo if she could go back to her natal home.


    ¡°Madam, shall we go back too?¡± Jinzhan said softly.


    Yin Hui put away her thoughts, and returned to Chengxin Hall with Jinzhan and the wet nurse.


    She didn¡¯t sleep well the previous night, and went to the palace early in the morning. Yin Hui was a little tired, so she asked the wet nurse to take her son, and she fell asleep on the couch.


    She seemed to be asleep, but she was actually still thinking about the shocking changes around that night.


    In those long ten years, many things happened. Some things she was happy to see come true, such as her father-in-law ascending the throne. Wei Luo became a prince and she also became a princess. While some things Yin Hui wished had never happened, such as her natal grandfather¡¯s death and, in the end Wei Luo wanted to accept Wen Ruyue as his concubine.

 CH 11

    No matter which was a dream, the previous life or the present, Yin Hui decided to work hard to change the things she didn¡¯t want to see. She didn¡¯t look forward to Wei Luo¡¯s heart anymore, and she didn¡¯t believe that she could make him forget his childhood sweetheart. But she could prevent her grandfather¡¯s accidental death. She also wanted to change Xiao Heng¡¯s parenting style.


    Wei Yan and Ji Xianxian lived in Changyuan Hall.


    On the way back from the side hall to Changyuan Hall, Wei Yan didn¡¯t say a word, but his face became more ugly as he walked. Er Lang, who was behind Ji Xianxian was pulled out, pressed on his knees. Wei Yan raised his palms high, and slapped him, ¡°I told you not to lie, let me see if you dare to lie in the future!¡±


    Er Lang was only four years old, and he had always been the apple of his parents¡¯ eyes. He had never suffered such a beating, so he burst into tears, ¡°Mother! Mother, come and save me!¡±


    Help?


    Wei Yan laughed angrily, and slapped him harder, ¡°You still dare to cry? Do you admit your mistake?¡±


    Er Lang was in too much pain, crying so hard that he didn¡¯t hear what his father said, and only called his mother to come and save him .


    Seeing that, Ji Xianxian rolled her eyes, took a sharp breath, covered her stomach with one hand and supported herself on the maid beside her with the other, and said in pain, ¡°Second Master, my stomach hurts¡­¡±


    Wei Yan paused, turned to look at Ji Xianxian and just caught her guilty and evasive eyes.


    But even if the stomachache was fake, she was still pregnant with the child for seven months, and if something bad happened, he would be the one to regret it.


    Furiously, Wei Yan slapped Er Lang for the last time, threw him away, pointed at Ji Xianxian and cursed, ¡°Just pretend, you still continue to spoil him. Look at Da Lang, and then look at how you are spoiling your son!¡±


    Ji Xianxian lowered her head and looked at her husband pitifully, she then whispered, ¡°Da Lang is six years old, our Er Lang is still young. Besides, San Lang was the one who provoked him. If it wasn¡¯t for San Lang, Er Lang won¡¯t cause trouble.¡±


    Wei Yan¡¯s spitting immediately sprayed over, ¡°Er Lang is, are you young as well? If you didn¡¯t show off your knowledge in front of the third sister-in-law, would Er Lang make a fuss about going to the capital?¡±


    Ji Xianxian¡¯s neck shrank from being scolded by him, but how could a person who was used to self-willed pride admit her mistake easily?


    She still quibbled, ¡°Why would I show off? She just regrets that she couldn¡¯t go with the third master. I wanted her to know the prosperity of the capital.¡±


    At most, she talked too much and made her son greedy, which led to the subsequent incident.


    Ji Xianxian looked at Wei Yan aggrievedly, who didn¡¯t think she was wronged at all. The punishment the couple received was all Ji Xianxian¡¯s fault. First, she shouldn¡¯t have ridiculed her sister-in-law with words, and second, she shouldn¡¯t have spoiled Er Lang so much that he became a liar.


    Seeing that Ji Xianxian still refused to admit her mistake, Wei Yan didn¡¯t want to say more.


    He stared at Er Lang and said, ¡°Okay, both of you both are right, I¡¯m wrong, okay?! Just think about it, you two don¡¯t need to change, anyway, you can not go out before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Even if you make a mistake again, you will continue to be grounded. Anyway, you usually have nothing to do, and you will only delay my work!¡±


    After finishing speaking, Wei Yan strode away with a straight face.


    Ji Xianxian watched her husband go to Concubine Liu¡¯s yard.


    She wasn¡¯t very angry when Wei Yan scolded her badly. Thinking that her husband might hang out with Concubine Liu and her son during the next period of confinement, she really seemed to have a stomach ache.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, madam. Your health is important. Besides, the second master is only angry. In two days, when you teach the young master to admit his mistake, and then go to the second master to make amends, the second master will definitely come back,¡± the maid hurriedly persuaded Ji Xianxian.


    Ji Xianxian supported her stomach and took a few deep breaths. Yes, the baby was important. If she persisted, in two or three months, the baby would be born. There must be no mistakes.


    After her confinement, she could settle her account with Yin Hui.


    Over there, Concubine Liu was taking care of Si Lang (Fourth Child) who was sick. Si Lang was just two years old. He had caught a cold two days ago and was coughing all the time. The little child couldn¡¯t eat well and couldn¡¯t sleep well at night.


    The noise from the front yard came faintly, and Concubine Liu didn¡¯t pay attention to it until Second Master Wei Yan rushed in aggressively, startling her.


    Concubine Liu thought she had made some mistake, but when she saw that Second Master was just sitting on the edge of the bed, frowning at his son who had just fallen asleep, as if he had been angered, she asked nervously, ¡°Second Master, what happened?¡±


    Wei Yan raised his head and looked at Concubine Liu.


    Concubine Liu was originally just a maid who took care of the flowers and plants in the palace. In terms of beauty, Concubine Liu was far inferior to Ji Xianxian, but her voice was as gentle as water, which made his scalp tingle with comfort as soon as she spoke. So Wei Yan accepted her as a sleeping mate. After giving birth, he promoted her title to Concubine.


    Concubine Liu was gentle and responsible, and never competed with Ji Xianxian. At that moment, she looked haggard, and one could imagine how dedicated she was to taking care of Shi Lang the two days.


    In front of the gentle women, Wei Yan¡¯s expression softened, and he told Concubine Liu, ¡°Er Lang lied in front of the father king, which caused our family to be grounded. Er Lang¡¯s mother is the one teaching him. Shi Lang still depends on you, so teach him to be honest.¡±


    Grounded?


    The second master was already on an errand, yet he was punished so severely, it showed how angry Prince Yan was.

 CH 12

    Outside Chang Yuan Hall, his younger sister, Wei Shan, walked to the door anxiously. She asked the maid to knock on the door, and wanted to ask her brother and sister-in-law what happened.


    Prince Yan ordered his son and daughter-in-law to be grounded, but the servant dared not open the door. He checked through the crack of the door that it was Wei Shan and her servant, so he explained the grounding. As for why the second master was grounded, he was not sure.


    Hearing that her brother and sister-in-law were grounded, Wei Shan subconsciously wanted to go to Xiliu Hall to find her mother, Concubine Li, but after walking a few steps, she changed her mind, and took the maid to Chengxin Hall.


    What happened in the side hall, not many knew. Her elder brother and the third brother set off for the capital, so she could only ask the third sister-in-law Yin Hui.


    Yin Hui was thinking about the day when she would return to her mother¡¯s house. That day and the next day were not suitable. On 14th and 15th she also had to prepare for the Ghost Festival, and the 13th of July was just right.


    ¡°Madam, Miss Shan is here,¡± Yinzhan came in to report.


    Wei Shan?


    Yin Hui¡¯s face darkened slightly.


    Wei Luo¡¯s uncle lost his wife in the early years and did not remarry. Because he still had to study to gain fame, he entrusted his only daughter, Wen Ruyue, to them. Therefore, Wen Ruyue grew up in Kind Yan¡¯s palace, and she got food, clothing, and supplies from them. And because Wen Ruyue and Wei Shan were the same age, the two girls often played together. Yin Hui had no way of knowing how their relationship was. But since she married, Wei Shan often mentioned Wei Luo and Wen Ruyue¡¯s feelings in front of her.


    It could be said that Wei Shan disgusted her as much as Ji Xianxian.


    It was just that the cutscenes that should be gone still had to come.


    Yin Hui went to the hall in the front yard.


    Wei Shan stood at the door, saw Yin Hui, ran up to her impatiently, and asked directly in the corridor, ¡°Sister-in-law, what did the second elder brother and the second sister-in-law do to make father so angry?¡±


    Yin Hui pretended to sigh, and explained, ¡°Second sister-in-law explained to me the prosperity of the capital, and Er Lang wanted to go when he heard it. Father came when he was crying¡­Because Er Lang lied, father became angry.¡±


    In Yin Hui¡¯s eyes, Prince Yan was full of majesty, and no one could violate him.


    The grandfathers of an ordinary family liked their grandsons very much, and it was not a serious mistake to tell a lie, but Prince Yan did not allow it.


    When Wei Shan heard that, she subconsciously blamed Yin Hui, ¡°Er Lang just wanted to go to the capital. If you would have admitted that you want to go too, San Lang would definitely not have exposed Er Lang.¡±


    Yin Hui sneered in her heart. If she followed along Er Lang, then she was the one her father-in-law would punish.


    Wei Shan really only regarded Er Lang¡¯s family as relatives, but did not regard her as a human being.


    ¡°How dare I lie to my father? You really want to make things difficult for me.¡±


    Faced with Wei Shan¡¯s arrogance, Yin Hui said helplessly.


    Wei Shan noticed that something had changed in her but it was not the time to think about it, so she glared at Yin Hui angrily, turned and left.


    When passing Yizhi Hall, Wei Shan paused.


    Yin Hui might have concealed something, but Sister Mei, the eldest brother¡¯s child from a concubine, was also there at the time. A five-year-old child should not be able to hide anything, and would not dare to hide it in front of her.


    Wei Shan immediately went to Yizhi Hall.


    Although Wei Yang and Xu Qingwan were not there, an experienced nanny was taking care of Yizhi Hall, and everything was in order.


    The nanny in charge came to entertain Wei Shan.


    Wei Shan gave Xu Qingwan a face, sat down in the hall, drank tea, and then said with a smile, ¡°I want to take Sister Mei to play hide-and-seek in the garden.¡±


    ¡°Because her parents were going out today, the lady didn¡¯t sleep all night last night. So she was sleepy just after sending them off, and now she slept soundly next to the concubine.¡±


    Wei Shan¡¯s smile froze, and she understood in an instant. Xu Qingwan told the nanny in charge in advance not to allow Sister Mei to get involved in that matter.


    Xu Qingwan was so smart. She didn¡¯t leak the matter. No wonder there were so many girls of the right age in the Xu family of the Duke of Zhenguo, but he chose Xu Qingwan to be their daughter-in-law.


    Unable to find any more news, Wei Shan went directly to see her biological mother, Concubine Li.


    What happened in the side hall had not been fully reported, It was only then that she knew that her son¡¯s family had been grounded. She was so angry that she almost threw the tea bowl in her hand.


    With her son and daughter-in-law being punished, what face did she have?


    Concubine Xu was in front of her, and Concubine Guo came behind.


    ¡°Mom, what should we do now? We can¡¯t really let the second brother and the second sister-in-law be grounded until the Mid-Autumn Festival, right?¡± Wei Shan said distressedly.


    Concubine Li clenched the tea cup tightly, and said after a long while, ¡°I will figure out a way. You go back and wait. Don¡¯t worry, Er Lang¡¯s mistake is not serious.¡±


    Prince Yan stayed in the front court until dusk.


    The northern line of Yandi was bordered by Jinren and Wala respectively, and wars were frequent. So Emperor Jianlong bestowed more power to Prince Yan. In addition to the three guards with a total of 50,000 horses equipped by him, he also could participate in the management and dispatch of the 100,000 imperial troops. Even other civil and military officials who encounter any emergencies while handling government affairs, could also discuss with Prince Yan first, and then report to the court.


    Therefore, Prince Yan was a busy man.


    Returning to the harem, it was already red and the sun was sinking. Prince Yan stretched his muscles and walked forward, and came to the front of Qin Zheng Hall. From a distance, he saw Concubine Li standing outside the hall with two maidservants. The pampered women looked younger than their peers. Concubine Li wore a gown with red makeup, and the middle-aged woman was still cute when she smiled. The two maids were holding a food box each.

 CH 13

    ¡°Cousin, why did you come back so late? You¡¯ve been busy for half a day, so you must be hungry,¡± Concubine Li greeted him courteously, and took Prince Yan¡¯s arm affectionately.


    It didn¡¯t matter that Princess Xu¡¯s natal family was prominent. So what if she was the daughter-in-law appointed by Emperor Jianlong? She was also Prince Yan¡¯s cousin, and they had known each other since they were young, and had established a relationship long ago.


    Concubine Li was very sure that she was the first woman Prince Yan liked, as the affection of her childhood sweetheart was unmatched by others.


    ¡°Cousin, I made you braised trotters, steamed eggplant, and sauerkraut stewed meat, all of which you like to eat,¡± Concubine Li smiled authentically as she walked in with Prince Yan.


    Prince Yan salivated. The cousin may be pampered, but those three dishes were the most suitable for his taste, even the chefs in the palace couldn¡¯t make them that well.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Prince Yan smiled and patted her hand.


    Concubine Li was overjoyed, as she was more sure about the next thing.


    After eating enough, Concubine Li served Prince Yan again at night. When he was lying flat and enjoying the aftertaste, Concubine Li lay on his chest charmingly, her beautiful fingers twirling around, ¡°Cousin, Er Lang should be disciplined, but the second son still has work to do, and his wife is pregnant. You ground Er Lang for a month, but let them go?¡±


    Yan Wang squinted his eyes and pressed her hand, not very concerned, and said, ¡°The second son¡¯s work is not serious. It¡¯s okay to let him miss it for a month. Let him just use this month to take care of Er Lang with his wife. If the child is not taught well when they are young, it will be difficult to discipline him when he grows up. And the second daughter-in-law, who praised the capital so much, did she regret that she married far away, or did she want to go back, blaming me for not arranging them to celebrate her birthday?¡±


    Concubine Li¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly said, ¡°She just likes to show off, she has no other intentions, don¡¯t think about it.¡±


    Prince Yan snorted, ¡°She likes to show off? The third daughter-in-law in the palace has never been to the capital. She dared to bully the third daughter-in-law in the presence of the third son, tell me, should I not punish her?¡±


    Concubine Li couldn¡¯t even utter a single word of objection.


    Prince Yan became sleepy, so he pushed the woman in his arms down, turned over and lay on his side, pulled the quilt, and said vaguely, ¡°There are a lot of things and I still have to worry about the inner house. I would have punished you for it.¡±


    Not long after he finished speaking, Prince Yan fell asleep, and his breathing became long and regular.


    Concubine Li gritted her teeth against his back.


    He gave so many reasons. In fact, he just refused to spare her son¡¯s family. If she had known that would be the result, why would she have been busy in the kitchen for a long time?


    She really didn¡¯t get any benefits.


    The punishment of the second daughter-in-law was somewhat related to Yin Hui, and that was the first time in two lifetimes that she was involved in such a big disturbance in the Yan Palace.


    Although Ji Xianxian was grounded and couldn¡¯t come out for the time being, the second master¡¯s biological mother, Concubine Li, was also domineering. But even so, she didn¡¯t dare to stab Princess Xu with words, nor make jokes about her in front of Prince Yan.


    After Wei Shan left, Yin Hui was a little worried whether Concubine Li would cause trouble for her.


    The uneasy mood lasted until the evening, and Yin Hui was relieved when she was sure that no one would come.


    After falling asleep alone, Yin Hui thought about the matter again.


    From Prince Yan¡¯s punishment of the second daughter-in-law to Wei Luo allowing her to go home to visit her relatives, to Concubine Li¡¯s silence, Yin Hui suddenly understood one thing.


    Although her background was humble and not as good as other women in the palace, she was the legitimate daughter-in-law of Prince Yan. As long as she did not make mistakes, Prince Yan would not punish her, and Concubine Li would not dare to trouble her openly. As long as she abided by the rules that should be followed, then she could do things that do not violate the rules in an open and honest manner, and she didn¡¯t have to follow Xu Qingwan and Ji Xianxian in everything.


    She was the daughter-in-law picked by Prince Yan, not a maid. So she didn¡¯t have to care about other people¡¯s faces.


    Such a simple truth, why didn¡¯t she figure it out in the past ten years?


    Was it because of her grandfather¡¯s exhortations to her before she got married, which made her full of fear of the Yan Palace, or because of the thick walls of the Yan Palace, which she had seen from afar when she was young, made her regard it as the sky, and herself as just the daughter of a commoner merchant. In addition, was it because Wi Luo was stingy with words and never took the initiative to give her advice that she behaved that way?


    There must be some external factors, but the key was that she was stupid, confused, and always kept herself in an inferior position.


    In the darkness, Yin Hui let out a long sigh.


    Fortunately, she figured it out. Fortunately, she got a chance to start over.


    That night Yin Hui slept very soundly and well, and when she woke up naturally in the morning, it was just dawn.


    ¡°Madam, how about wearing this today?¡± When Yinzhan was combing Yin Hui¡¯s hair, Jinzhan came over and asked, holding a willow-colored beanie in one hand and a plain white skirt in the other.


    In fact, those colors were too light. It was okay to wear them occasionally, but wearing them all the time was not in line with Yin Hui¡¯s age and identity as a bride. Not to mention that she was only sixteen years old. Even Concubine Li, who had a grandson, still dressed in a gorgeous way. Why did she always dress up in an old-fashioned way?

 CH 14

    Yin Hui didn¡¯t like Concubine Li a lot, but secretly admired her way of dressing. She decided that when she gets old in the future, she would continue to dress up as she liked.


    ¡°Take out the spring and autumn outfits I made at home before I left the pavilion, and I¡¯ll pick and choose,¡± Yin Hui said.


    She got married last spring. Before she got married, the family prepared eight sets of clothes for the next four seasons. Su silk and Shu brocades were available in all kinds, and the colors were bright and elegant, suitable for various occasions.


    However, after getting married, Yin Hui was intimidated by Xu Qingwan and Ji Xianxian¡¯s auras. They and even the maids of the palace seemed to look at her with a kind of scrutiny. Being so richly dressed, even Wei Luo had looked at her coldly several times for no apparent reason.


    Yin Hui put away those clothes and made a few new plain ones, and she was pregnant soon after. So she basically didn¡¯t wear those dowry clothes, and they were still brand new.


    When she mentioned ¡°old clothes¡±, both Jinzhan and Yinzhan were stunned. Jinzhan spoke up and said in a low voice, ¡°Madam, don¡¯t you think those are too colorful?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it anymore.¡±


    After she said that, Jinzhan immediately became happy, and said beamingly as she went to unpack the box, ¡°When Madam was a little girl, the relatives in the family praised you for being beautiful, so you should wear bright colors.¡±


    Yin Hui also remembered that kind of boast.


    She looked at her hand, the ten fingers were white and slender. When she was a child, her relatives liked to read her palm, regardless of whether they really knew it or not, they all felt that she was born to be blessed.


    It was indeed a blessing, as long as she stopped wasting time trying to please Wei Luo, with her dowry and status as a future princess, she would have everything that anyone wanted to have, so why worry about it?


    Soon, Jinzhan found the sixteen sets of spring and autumn clothes that had been sealed for a year.


    Because it had been stored in the box for too long, there were inevitably some fold marks, so she couldn¡¯t wear it that morning, but the colorful colors, the brilliance that flew silently under the light, made Yin Hui seem to be back before getting married, looking forward to the warmth of spring every year. When the flowers started blooming, she looked forward to wearing a beautiful dress and going out to play.


    ¡°The weather is good, let¡¯s wash them all today,¡± Yin Hui said, then walked to the wardrobe, and among a row of plain clothes, she picked out a persimmon-red dress and changed into it.


    In Wei Luo¡¯s absence, the atmosphere in Chengxin Hall became a lot more relaxed. Yin Hui asked the wet nurse to sit beside her with Brother Heng (Little Heng) in her arms, and had breakfast happily.


    Brother Heng was still young and spent most of the day sleeping. Yin Hui teased her son and handed him over to the wet nurse. She took out her sewing basket and sat by the glazed window, starting to embroider a belt for her grandfather.


    Her parents died early, and Yin Hui was raised by her grandparents. When she was twelve years old, her grandmother also passed away, and her grandfather became the person who loved her the most in the world.


    After some time, Jinzhan came back from a stroll outside, holding a few red roses in her hands.


    The master and the servant did needlework, and the other cut roses and arranged flowers.


    ¡°Madam, I was picking flowers in the garden just now, and I heard two maids talking, saying that Concubine Li went to Qinzheng Hall with a food box last night, and she also stayed overnight. Tell me, will the eldest and third masters come back in two days, or will the second master be released first?¡±


    Yin Hui didn¡¯t know, and she didn¡¯t really care whether the second master and his wife could come out early, but Concubine Li brought the food box to see her father-in-law, so she must have mentioned her.


    The next day, Yin Hui also cooked a pot of snow fungus and pear soup.


    The weather in Yandi got dry as soon as autumn came. Her grandfather was in good health, but her grandmother was prone to coughing a few years before her death. Yin Hui was filial to her grandmother, and specially learned how to cook snow fungus pear soup from the cook in the house.


    Yin Hui scooped up two bowls of snow fungus and fragrant pear soup, put them into two food boxes respectively, and then chose a peony-patterned beige outfit from the sixteen sets of clothes, and re-dressed her hair


    At that time, the fourth and fifth masters were all studying. The two girls Wei Shan and Wei Ying were probably by their biological mother¡¯s side. The East Sixth House was quiet, and Yin Hui did not meet anyone in the way.


    After leaving the East Sixth House, Yin Hui made a detour from the back garden, and finally arrived at the West Sixth House. She didn¡¯t know whether it was the sun or the walking, but beads of sweat appeared on the tip of her nose.


    After wiping off her sweat with a handkerchief, she took a short rest. On entering the West Sixth House, Yin Hui asked Yinzhan to go directly to Mrs. Wen¡¯s place with the food box, and she brought Jinzhan to greet Princess Xu.


    The little maid led them in.


    Concubine Xu was already forty years old, and her appearance was not outstanding among the women in Prince Yan¡¯s palace. She could even be considered ordinary, her dignified and graceful demeanor was almost the same as that of the eldest son¡¯s wife Xu Qingwan.


    The Xu family was a first-class noble in that dynasty.


    Grandpa Guo was a great general who founded the country with Emperor Jianlong, and made countless military exploits. Emperor Jianlong valued the Xu family very much. From the crown princess to the three wives and concubines, they were all daughters of the Xu family.

 CH 15

    Prince Yan also respected Princess Xu very much, and the new and old favorites couldn¡¯t surpass Princess Xu.


    ¡°Daughter-in-law pays respects to mother,¡± Yin Hui walked to the center of the hall and saluted with a smile, still respectful but no longer restrained as before.


    The beige with peony pattern made her look like a flower, and it was also a flower that could smile. Anyone who saw her couldn¡¯t help admiring it.


    Concubine Xu looked at Yin Hui up and down, and praised, ¡°You look so good, you young people should wear bright colors.¡±


    Yin Hui smiled and said, ¡°Thank you mother for the compliment, if you like me to dress like this, I will often dress up like this.¡±


    Princess Xu told her to sit down.


    Yin Hui turned around, took the food box from Jinzhan, brought it in front of Princess Xu, and said with a smile, ¡°Mother, the weather has started to get hot, so I made snow fungus pear soup. It clears heat and moistens dryness, can you taste it?¡±


    Concubine Xu nodded, ¡°Coincidentally, I just finished talking to the mama and my throat is dry.¡±


    Yin Hui put the food box on the table, opened the lid and took out the soup bowl. When the bowl lid was removed, a faint steam dispersed.


    ¡°It¡¯s just right to drink now.¡±


    Yin Hui raised the soup bowl to Princess Xu with both hands.


    Concubine Xu took it, picked up a spoon and scooped a piece of white fungus first, it was smooth and soft in the mouth, sweet but not greasy.


    She nodded in satisfaction, and took another sip, ¡°Yes, I have never had such a white soup that suits my liking. The ones I ate before were either too sweet or too bland.¡±


    Yin Hui hurriedly said, ¡°This daughter-in-law will often cook it for you.¡±


    The mama joked, ¡°The third lady¡¯s mouth is sweet and the soup she cooks is also sweet, and she beat us all.¡±


    Yin Hui smiled, showing no nervousness on her face. In fact, her back was already sweating quietly.


    Although she understood some truths, it was the first time she did it, and she needed to explore whether it would work or not.


    Princess Xu ate half a bowl of soup, and finally put it down.


    Looking at Yin Hui, she took the initiative to ask, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve had the soup, tell me, what do you want from me?¡±


    Yin Hui¡¯s heart flew to her throat. Because she saw the kind smile on Princess Xu¡¯s face, she followed the trend, lowered her head in a shy way, and said in shame, ¡°Mother can you guess it?¡±


    Princess Xu smiled and said, ¡°I have been a little girl too, so of course I can see through your small thoughts, so tell me, what¡¯s the matter with you?¡±


    Yin Hui whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the truth, I dreamed about my grandfather last night, and I panicked, so I wanted to ask if you can allow me to go home and visit my relatives.¡±


    Concubine Xu didn¡¯t seem to expect that she would be asking for such a small matter, and she paused for a moment before laughing, ¡°I thought you had some excessive request, but it turned out to be this, then tell me, what do you want? When will you go back?¡±


    Yin Hui looked at Concubine Xu in surprise, and said, ¡°The holiday is coming soon, I want to go tomorrow, is that okay?¡±


    Concubine Xu: ¡°Okay, go early, and come back after lunch. Wu Lang is still young, so don¡¯t take him with you for the time being, and wait until next year when he is stronger. By the way, go and talk to Mrs. Wen too lest she worry about it.¡±


    At that point, the big stone in Yin Hui¡¯s heart finally fell, she took a step back, and solemnly saluted Princess Xu, ¡°Thank you, mother.¡±


    Princess Xu had other things to deal with, so Yin Hui said goodbye. When she reached the gate of the courtyard, Concubine Li walked over to meet her.


    Concubine Li was not well-dressed for the first time. She wore a blue beige outfit, and there were not many hairpons on her hair.


    Seeing Yin Hui, and then looking at the food box in Jinzhan¡¯s hand, Concubine Li raised her eyebrows and laughed ironically, ¡°What a filial daughter-in-law, while the eldest sister-in-law is away and the second sister-in-law is restrained, you hurried up to curry favor, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Yin Hui didn¡¯t confront her, stepped aside, lowered her eyes and said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen the side concubine.¡±


    Concubine Li obviously didn¡¯t take her seriously, and left after the sarcasm.


    Yin Hui also vaguely guessed the reason for Concubine Li¡¯s visit. Prince Yan¡¯s intercession didn¡¯t work, so she went to ask Concubine Xu for help.


    It could be seen that Princess Xu had the final say on the back house of Prince Yan¡¯s palace. As long as she did not offend Princess Xu, she could also ask Princess Xu to decide if the other families dared to make trouble unreasonably.


    Inside, Concubine Xu was discussing Yin Hui¡¯s changes with the person beside her. When they learned that Concubine Li had arrived, the master and servant cut off the conversation.


    ¡°Sister, please help me. The second daughter-in-law is at a critical time, and she is grounded at this juncture. If the fetus has any harm, what will happen?¡± She said as she came in front of Princess Xu.


    Concubine Xu motioned to the mama beside her to help Concubine Li to sit down, and said solemnly, ¡°I¡¯ve heard about this too, the prince hates people to lie to him the most, and Er Lang really shouldn¡¯t have lied.¡±


    Concubine Li continued to wipe away her tears, ¡°Er Lang should be punished. I will definitely teach him a lesson later, but the second daughter-in-law¡¯s health is critical, and I ask you, the princess, to help persuade the prince.¡±

 CH 16

    Concubine Xu said, ¡°The lord is in a fit of anger, and persuading him at this time will only add fuel to the flames. Wait for some time, sister. When the lord is in a good mood, I will choose the opportunity to persuade him. Don¡¯t worry about the second daughter-in-law. I have three doctors, if an issue arises, the doctor is always on call, and besides, the second daughter-in-law has already given birth once, so she knows how to birth a baby, so she will be fine.¡±


    The implication was that if something happened, it was Ji Xianxian who didn¡¯t take care of herself.


    Concubine Li almost vomited blood.


    Princess Xu spoke so well but in fact she didn¡¯t give her a single promise.


    Concubine Li was not reconciled, so she tried a few more times, but no matter what she said, Princess Xu could turn it around beautifully.


    She returned without success again, and only paid the price of being smoked with pepper water for nothing.


    Yin Hui¡¯s two trips in the morning went very smoothly. Princess Xu accepted her, and Mrs. Wen was also very talkative. Not only did she not get angry that her daughter-in-law was going out of the house, she even took out a ginseng from her small storeroom and asked Yin Hui to take it with her for the old man.


    Yin Hui couldn¡¯t refuse, so she had to accept.


    At night, Yin Hui was so excited that she couldn¡¯t sleep, her mind was full of the reunion with her grandfather.


    After breakfast the next day, Yin Hui took Wei Luo¡¯s badge and bid farewell to Princess Xu and Mrs. Wen, then walked toward Houzai Gate in the north.


    In the autumn light, she took Jinzhan through the Houzai Gate, the North Pass Gate in front of the Moat Bridge, and the thickest North Outer Gate, and came out of the Yan Palace for the third time in her two lives.


    The previous two times happened in those ten years, one was when her grandfather died and she went to pay homage to him, and the other was when she went to Beijing with Princess Xu and others.


    Sitting in the carriage, Yin Hui slightly opened a gap in the curtain, watching the carriage go forward along the alleyway, until the high wall finally came to an end, and the vision suddenly widened, revealing the boundless blue sky.


    When the breeze blew over without hindrance, Yin Hui closed her eyes and took a deep breath.


    Both the Yan Palace and Yin Mansion were located in the east city of Pingcheng, but one was in the north and the other was in the south.


    When Yin Hui came out, the palace arranged four guards with swords for her. Riding tall horses, two of them opened the way in front, and two guarded behind.


    Looking at the entire Pingcheng, apart from some high-ranking officials, only the family members of Prince Yan¡¯s palace could travel with such ostentation.


    Yin Hui was sitting in the carriage, and could hear the discussions and speculations of the people on the side of the road, and when the carriage arrived at Lion Lane where the Yin House was located, someone guessed her identity, ¡°Are you the second lady of the Yin family coming home to visit relatives? The sign hanging in front of the carriage is of the Yan palace, right? Uncle Zhang can read, tell him to come out and have a look!¡±


    Soon a middle-aged man¡¯s voice came over: ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the carriage of Prince Yan¡¯s palace. Miss is back!¡±


    For a moment, the entire Lion Lane seemed to be boiling, and some idle people followed the carriage and walked toward the Yin House, and the noise brought more neighbors out to watch the excitement.


    After all, the Yin family was the most wealthy family in Yandi, and there was no one in Pingcheng who did not know the Yin family. Among them, the people who were most familiar with the situation of the Yin family were the neighbors in Lion Lane.


    ¡°Second Miss was raised in front of my own eyes. She liked to come out to play since she was a child. She looked fresh and beautiful. It is not an exaggeration to say that she is a fairy who descended from the sky. Hey, I saw her fate earlier. Look, she really got a good fate as I read. She is now the daughter-in-law of Prince Yan, and is married to the noble family. Even the daughters of the prefect can¡¯t marry so well!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s blessed. I remember that when she was a child, she liked to eat our dried fruit, and she would come to buy it every time she went out¡­¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, the second lady likes to eat our red bean paste buns!¡±


    The common people, especially the women, discussed enthusiastically. Many of the voices were familiar to Yin Hui, even though she hadn¡¯t seen them for two or three years, she still remembered them.


    Jinzhan¡¯s eyes got red, ¡°It feels like we haven¡¯t been back for a long time.¡±


    She missed the days of being a maid in the Yin Mansion. The young lady was favored and liked to go out for a walk, so carefree. But when they arrived at Prince Yan¡¯s palace, the maids in the other households looked down on her. Even the young lady suffered a lot of grievances in front of Ji Xianxian, Wei Shan and others, and even the third master was also cold.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, it¡¯s not good if this spreads,¡± Yin Hui reminded Jinzhan.


    Not all the neighbors were happy that she married high. If someone saw Jinzhan crying and spread rumors that the master and servant had been wronged in the Yan Palace, what would everyone in the palace think?


    Jinzhan took a few deep breaths and swallowed the sourness.


    They finally reached the Yin Mansion.


    Jinzhan put on the veiled hat for Yin Hui, even though the neighbors had seen her face, she was a female family member of Prince Yan¡¯s palace, what should be paid attention to still had to be paid attention to.


    After doing that, Jinzhan jumped out of the carriage first, stood up, and turned around to help Yin Hui.

 CH 17

    Yin Hui leaned out, and through the veil, she saw a lot of neighbors crowded in the alley, completely surrounding the gate of the Yin Mansion, but because of the aura of the four guards with swords, they didn¡¯t dare to get too close.


    The neighbors made such a commotion that everyone in the Yin family also came out. They were Yin Hui¡¯s aunt Zhao, cousin Yin Rong, and cousin Yin Lang.


    Her grandfather and second uncle probably went out, so they didn¡¯t hear the news yet.


    ¡°Ah Hui is back! Why didn¡¯t you report in advance for us to get ready?¡±


    Mrs. Zhao came to the carriage affectionately, and was about to hold Yin Hui¡¯s hand.


    Yin Hui evaded, and said softly, ¡°Let¡¯s go in first.¡±


    Mrs. Zhao glanced at the neighbors who were watching a show, and followed Yin Hui inside with a smile. Jinzhan took the ginseng from the carriage and put it in a brocade box, following behind with her head held high and a smile on her face.


    ¡°Hey, look at this girl Jinzhan, after living in the palace for more than a year, her aura has changed.¡±


    ¡°Look at the box in her hands. It must be an expensive gift brought by the second lady to honor Elder Yin.¡±


    ¡°Strange, why only honor Elder Yin but not prepare anything for her aunt?¡±


    ¡°Bah, who is Mrs. Zhao ? Think about who spread rumors to slander the second miss when Prince Yan wanted to get her married to his son. Fortunately, Prince Yan didn¡¯t believe it. Otherwise the second miss would have to stay at home and watch her cousin marry into Prince Yan¡¯s palace.¡±


    The voices were not high. Yin Hui and others who had already stepped into the Yin Mansion could not hear them.


    As soon as the door was closed, the housekeeper, Uncle De, couldn¡¯t hide his excitement and saluted Yin Hui, ¡°Second Miss.¡±


    They were all her own family, so Yin Hui took off her veil, and smiled at Uncle De, enduring the excitement in her heart, and said, ¡°Where is my grandfather?¡±


    Uncle De said, ¡°There is a batch of goods going out of the city. The master took the young master to see it. Second lady, stay at ease, I have sent someone to invite the master back. You can wait for him at ease.¡±


    Yin Hui nodded. If her grandfather heard that she was coming home, he would definitely put down what he was doing and rush back.


    At that time, she looked at Mrs. Zhao and Yin Rong, the mother and daughter.


    The mother and daughter were also quietly looking at her.


    Yin Hui had been a beauty since she was a child, with gorgeous facial features. Even with a plain face facing the sky, she looked like she had been well-dressed, her eyelashes were thick and curly, her eyes were black and bright, and her lips were plump.


    Ever since Yin Hui married into Prince Yan¡¯s palace, Mrs. Zhao and others had never seen her again. Hearing that Yin Hui was pregnant and had a child, Mrs. Zhao thought that she might gain weight after giving birth and lose her figure, or maybe she would have spots on her face. Yes, who would have thought that Yin Hui, who stepped down from the carriage, still had such a slender waist, and her figure was still so slim. After taking off the veil, her face was still the same as that of a peony flower. Even a little bit of greenness (unripe: immature) had faded away, making her more beautiful and charming.


    Mrs. Zhao thought of Yin Hui¡¯s mother, and then sighed in her heart.


    Maybe all the beauties were like that. Regardless of whether they had children or not, they were still beauties. Unlike her, who gave birth once and got a little fatter, then gave birth to three, and her figure became unrecognizable.


    Mrs. Zhao looked at her daughter Yin Rong again.


    Her daughter was obviously very beautiful, but when she stood next to Yin Hui, she immediately looked mediocre.


    Noticing the comparison and regret in her mother¡¯s eyes, Yin Rong secretly bit her lips. If she didn¡¯t want to hear how Yin Hui was doing in the Yan Palace, she would have left immediately.


    ¡°Ah Hui, tell me quickly, why did you come back suddenly?¡± Mrs. Zhao asked, as she followed Yin Hui inside.


    Yin Hui smiled lightly, ¡°I missed my grandfather, so I came back to meet him.¡±


    Zhao Shi: ¡°Is it so easy to get out of Prince Yan¡¯s palace? I heard that princesses and the others seldom go out. Ah Hui, could it be that you made a mistake and were caught, so they sent you back as punishment?¡±


    The conjecture made Zhao Shi happy and anxious. She hoped that Yin Hui would be rejected by the people in the Yan Palace, but she was afraid of hurting the Yin family.


    Yin Hui didn¡¯t pay attention to Mrs. Zhao until she entered the hall and sat down. She looked at Mrs. Zhao and asked, ¡°Why do you seem to expect me to make a mistake?


    ¡°I¡¯m your mother, but I can¡¯t even joke with you?¡±


    Yin Hui felt bored seeing Mrs. Zhao¡¯s hypocritical smiling face, and said deliberately, ¡°I have a good life in the palace, don¡¯t worry about me but for my sister, you still haven¡¯t picked a suitable family for her yet, right?¡±


    Yin Rong¡¯s face suddenly sank, and she stared at Yin Hui with jealousy.


    She always felt that it was unfair. That year, Prince Yan needed money from the Yin family to meet military needs, but he didn¡¯t want to rob it openly. So he proposed marriage between the two families to her grandfather, so that a girl from the Yin family could marry high, and Prince Yan could also get the money. It was the best of both worlds.


    It stood to reason that she was the eldest daughter of the Yin family, and her grandfather should have married her to the third master, but her grandfather was partial and gave the opportunity to Yin Hui.

 CH 18

    Yin Hui knew what Yin Rong was hating, but she just thought of how she walked on thin ice during those ten years, but her husband never gave her care and concern. But if Yin Rong knew that she had a bad life after marrying Wei Luo, would she still be jealous of her?


    However, Yin Hui didn¡¯t think she had robbed Yin Rong of anything. When Prince Yan wanted one of them to get married into his family, he didn¡¯t specify that it must be the eldest lady of the Yin family, so she and her cousin had equal chances. They were the same age, but her birthday was a few months later, so it didn¡¯t matter which of the two sisters got married first.


    If Yin Rong wanted to blame someone, she could blame herself for not being prudent. Before the formal engagement, her grandfather had told her what was in his heart, saying that with Yin Rong¡¯s temper it would definitely lead to trouble if she married into the palace. Her grandfather was worried, so he picked her.


    The two sisters looked at each other in dislike, so Mrs. Zhao interjected, ¡°Hey, I haven¡¯t found a suitable family yet, why don¡¯t you help your sister get married?¡±


    Yin Hui turned to Mrs. Zhao, ¡°How can I help?¡±


    Mrs. Zhao said full of hope, ¡°There are so many officials under Prince Yan, and there may be young and promising ones among them. If your sister can marry and become the wife of an official, she can also help you and the third master in the future.¡±


    It was only then that she knew what Mrs. Zhao had planned.


    She looked at Yin Rong again.


    In her previous life, Yin Rong had delayed getting married until she was eighteen. Could it be that she was waiting for her to help her get married? Because she never came back, Mrs. Zhao didn¡¯t wait any longer, and finally married Yin Rong to a Juren as his wife, but the person failed, so she went to her brother-in-law to ask him to help recommend him as a substitute magistrate.


    Yin Hui only found out about it when Wei Luo mentioned it to her.


    At that time, she was sitting across from Wei Luo, feeling ashamed, first expressing that she didn¡¯t know, and then persuading Wei Luo not to bother.


    Later, Wei Luo didn¡¯t mention that matter anymore, and after about half a year, Wei Luo told her that he had found a brother-in-law who was a county magistrate in a remote place. If he worked all his life, he would become a county magistrate.


    Yin Hui and Yin Rong had been at odds since childhood, and Yin Rong always liked to grab things from her. Even though their grandfather gave them the same jewelry, Yin Rong always suspected that hers was better.


    Although there was no sisterhood, Yin Hui never hoped that something bad would happen to Yin Rong, but she made her lose face in front of Wei Luo, and Yin Hui was very upset.


    ¡°I¡¯m usually in the back house, how do I get to know those officials?¡± Yin Hui said bluntly, not hiding her displeasure at all.


    Mrs. Zhao asked for help, and continued to laugh, ¡°That¡¯s normal, but the third master does. Among others, there are three guards around Prince Yan, and each guard has officials who command thousands of people. You can pick one or two suitable ones.¡±


    Yin Hui thought for a while, and said, ¡°Okay, I will talk to the third master when he comes back from the capital.¡±


    Mrs. Zhao said in surprise, ¡°The third master went to the capital? Why didn¡¯t you go with him?¡±


    How could they know the movements of the people in Yan Palace? Naturally, Zhao Shi didn¡¯t know that Wei Luo and the others went to Beijing to celebrate Emperor Jianlong¡¯s birthday.


    Yin Hui explained briefly.


    Yin Rong finally found a chance, and said in a strange way, ¡°Why didn¡¯t the third master take you there? It will be more than two months. You are not afraid that the third master will take over a concubine?¡±


    On the day Wei Luo came to the Yin House after marriage, Yin Rong secretly met him. For such an incomparably handsome and distinguished man, let alone be his wife, she would be willing to be his concubine. Usually, she had no chance and didn¡¯t have delusions, but she was only one step away from that opportunity, which was snatched away by Yin Hui in the end. How could Yin Rong be reconciled?


    Yin Hui ignored her and looked at Jinzhan.


    Jinzhan smiled back at Yin Rong and said, ¡°You must be joking, eldest lady. Our fifth young master (their child) is still young, how can they let Madam go with them?¡±


    When it came to her son, Zhao Shi, Yin Rong and her daughter¡¯s jealousy became more obvious.


    It didn¡¯t matter that the merchant¡¯s female status was low, Yin Hui was the one Wei Luo married, and she had a son, so her prosperity and wealth in life would be stable.


    And that kind of honor was almost theirs!


    ¡°The master is back, the master is back!¡±


    The servant¡¯s voice came in, and Yin Hui immediately forgot Zhao Shi, Yin Rong, and the etiquette and behavior that the daughter-in-law of the Yan Palace should have. Only her loving grandfather was left in her mind.


    Her vision became blurred. She didn¡¯t care, and ran all the way out of the hall.


    Yin Yong came back on horseback, travel-stained, and just walked around the wall, when he saw the long-lost granddaughter running toward him with a skirt in one hand and wiping her eyes with the other.


    Thousands of words were stuck in his throat, and the only thing Yin Yong could do was to stand firm, open his arms, and hug the little granddaughter who was crying into tears for some reason.


    ¡°Grandfather!¡±


    ¡°Hey, grandpa is here. Ah Hui, don¡¯t cry.¡±