Autumn is in full swing today, and magpies are chirping on the branches. Xu Nian is lying in the yard, taking a break.

Just as she closed her eyes, she heard hurried footsteps in the distance. The maid Liuyun bowed and said, "Princess, Miss Su and the Second Prince have arrived and are waiting for you in the front hall."

I glanced at the sky above; it was still some time before noon.

Coming over at this hour, surely it can't be because something urgent has come up again...

She was suspicious, but let the maid help her change and wash. Then she hurried towards the front hall, where Su Wanting had already been sitting with the Second Prince for a while.

Her gaze flickered towards the imperial edict in his hand. "Second Prince, have you come to congratulate the County Princess?"

She had already heard Anqing recount what happened that day. Although she regretted not seeing the actual scene, she also thought that if this matter was handled well, Xu Nian would be very fortunate.

Jiang Yuanqing paused in his tea-drinking motion, then smiled, "Miss Su will find out soon enough."

Xu Nian had just stepped into the front hall when she heard this, so she bowed and asked, "What do you know? I wonder if the Second Prince has come here today because there is another important matter in the palace?"

Jiang Yuanqing's smile widened. He picked up the imperial edict and stood up. Under the girl's questioning gaze, he announced loudly: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Xu Nian, the Princess of Fu'an County, is a woman of extraordinary talent and ability, capable of supporting the sea and the sky. She is hereby appointed as the head of the Feng Shui Institute. She is awarded one hundred taels of gold and a villa in the suburbs of the capital. This is the imperial decree."

[This anchor is really rising through the ranks!]

Is this guy some kind of official? He seems pretty powerful.

Seeing that Xu Nian had accepted the imperial decree in a daze, Su Wanting knew that she did not understand what the position of the head of the Feng Shui Institute was. Suddenly remembering something, she turned to Jiang Yuanqing and asked, "May I ask, Second Prince, when will the county princess report for duty?"

Jiang Yuanqing handed the imperial edict to Xu Nian, saying, "This is the second thing I want to talk about. Father Emperor knows that the Princess of Fu'an County dislikes being restrained, so he specifically asked me to instruct that the Feng Shui Institute does not need to attend court. The Princess of Fu'an County also does not need to stay at the Feng Shui Institute every day; she can come and go as she pleases after her roll call. Other matters will be handled by other stewards."

Isn't this equivalent to being in charge of something in name only?

Xu Nian was secretly pleased, and finally understood what Jiang Yuanqing meant. "Thank you for making this trip, Second Prince. It's getting late, why don't you stay for lunch before you leave?"

"Another day," Jiang Yuanqing said, cupping his hands in greeting. "I need to return to the palace to report, so I won't stay any longer. If Princess Fu'an doesn't mind, I will definitely pay her a visit another day."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the Second Prince was sent away.

Su Wanting pulled the person into the inner courtyard, quite worried, "What does His Majesty mean by this? Is he afraid that if you gain real power, you will give Gu Zhan more leverage?"

Xu Nian was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then shook her head and chuckled.

Those caught up in this situation are indeed prone to overthinking. She patted Su Wanting on the shoulder, "Don't worry. The Emperor knows my personality. Besides, what use is a mere head of the geomancy institute?"

Being able to get paid without going to work, and even two salaries! Xu Nian was happy just thinking about such a life.

“You don’t know,” Su Wanting said with a worried look. “The Feng Shui Academy is divided into a second-rank dean, a third-rank chief steward, and a fourth-rank manager. This position is neither too big nor too small, but the main responsibility of this position is to divine good and bad fortune for the empresses and imperial relatives. There are three managers in total. If you can’t manage things, then all the power will go to someone else.”

After listening, Xu Nian waved her hand dismissively, "I'm not good at these things anyway, so the less I say, the less likely I am to make a mistake. If I offend some royal relative because of my lack of understanding of the rules, that would really be a real headache for Gu Zhan and the Prime Minister's Mansion."

She always attended the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet with the Prime Minister's residence, and it was obvious to anyone with eyes that the two families had a close relationship.

She couldn't possibly be so naive as to think that her every move only affected her and her two children. She had already thought about it in her mind when the Second Prince read out the imperial edict, and now this was just right.

After listening, Su Wanting thought for a moment and felt that Xu Nian's words made some sense. So she stopped worrying about it, looked around, told Cuiyu and Liuyun to stay outside, and took her friend's hand to go inside.

"What are you doing, being so secretive?"

“I reckon the Second Prince didn’t have a chance to say it just now.” Su Wanting took out two boxes from her sleeve. “These are gifts from Her Majesty the Empress. As for the Consort, they are probably all in the brocade box that the Second Prince brought. She is now essentially confined to the palace. I heard from my father that the Third Prince has been begging every day to go and serve the Emperor, but the Emperor has not agreed. It seems that he has lost the Emperor’s favor. They might start with you. Be careful when you go to the palace to express your gratitude the day after tomorrow.”

The Third Prince has lost the Emperor's favor...

That must be because Gu Zhan reported to the emperor what they had seen during their escape from famine.

Yet Jiang Yuanlang secretly trained his own army, colluded with barbarians, and poisoned court officials and even the emperor. How could he have escaped imperial favor and not been beheaded?

What exactly is the emperor planning?

Xu Nian pondered the matter, omitting details, and only used the pretext of poisoning to ask, "The Emperor should already know about the Third Prince's poisoning, so why did he spare his life?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wanting frowned. "You don't know, there's no such thing as blood ties in this capital city. They just want to keep the Third Prince around to keep Brother Ling in check."

Is that how it is?

Xu Nian's eyes flickered slightly as she thought of the current situation in the palace. Besides the Crown Prince, the Third Prince was the most fiercely vying for the throne.

The remaining princes were either born of the same mother as the Crown Prince or raised in the Empress's palace. Even those born to concubines, like the Second Prince, were sickly and easily overlooked while their mothers were still alive.

She shook her head; she was feeling better now, and thinking about these complicated things for too long gave her a headache. "By the way, things are probably not peaceful in the capital today. Take these two amulets, one for you and one for Anqing. Keep them safe with you, and it's best not to take them off even when you sleep."

He was extremely alarmed. Xuan Dynasty didn't seem to be a place rich in spiritual energy. In fact, it could be said to be rather sparse, yet it could still nurture so many ancient demons and evil spirits!

There must be some secret she doesn't know yet; whether it's a blessing or a curse, she can only take precautions in advance.

Two days later, Xu Nian's health improved significantly, and it was time for her to go to the palace to express her gratitude.

She visited the geomancy institute a couple of times these past two days. Most of the people there were men with Taoist hairstyles. When they saw her, they were all extremely respectful, almost treating her like a revered deity.

Xu Nian couldn't stay still, so she didn't go there often. Today she had to talk to the emperor about it, or maybe she could just skip the roll call.