The young lady was extremely busy and complained to the nanny beside her, "What is Grandmother doing? Isn't she just making things difficult for me? In the past, many things were ordered in advance. How can you buy them whenever you want? Now look what's happened. After the New Year, we have to entertain guests. Our Marquis's Mansion is going to be embarrassed. People will laugh at me, the matriarch in charge of the household."

The old woman quickly advised, "Madam, look at you, how much money could we possibly spend on these things? The old lady gave so much extra, isn't it just because she's troubling you with this?"

The Crown Prince's wife sighed and said, "Grandmother has always been straightforward in her dealings. Oh well, at least we've bought everything we needed. As for the things we couldn't buy, so be it."

When Granny Shen returned to the old lady's courtyard, it was already time to light the lamps. The old lady was sitting on the daybed in the banquet area, with a lampshade lamp lit on the kang table, casting a dim yellow light in the room.

Seeing Granny Shen return, the old lady looked exhausted and asked, "Did you give the silver notes to the young master's wife?"

Granny Shen said, "Yes, the eldest mistress arranged for someone to pack everything in the kitchen, saying that we could just go to the kitchen to get it whenever we needed it. She also instructed people to go to various shops to buy things from the shopkeepers."

The old lady said, "She has always been shrewd and knows what's important. With her in charge of the household, people can feel quite at ease."

The teacup that the old lady smashed in the room has been removed, and even the tea stains on the floor have been wiped clean.

The old lady said, "Sit down, let's talk."

Granny Shen agreed and sat sideways on the edge of the kang. The old lady sighed and said, "Some people in the capital have joined forces with the Northern Di and let the Northern Di people use the Yan Kingdom's route to besiege Hexi County."

Upon hearing this, Granny Shen's face turned pale with fright, and she asked in surprise, "Then what about our Third Master and Third Mistress?"

The old lady said, "The Northern Di people were wiped out by our Third Master and the Heir of the Wei family, and the Fifth Prince who came from the Northern Di was also captured alive."

Granny Shen said, "This is a good thing."

The old lady sneered and said, "Good news? If it's really good news, why not announce it in the court? This is a disgrace to our Great Liang. They've been fighting openly and secretly for that position, and they've even brought in foreign enemies. They don't take the foundation laid by our ancestors seriously at all. Our Third Madam was saving lives and healing the wounded, which caused her to give birth prematurely in the mountains. She was almost captured by the Northern Di people. After giving birth, she could only lie in a tent, and there was nothing to help her produce milk. Both mother and child suffered so much."

Upon hearing this, Granny Shen said, "Third Madam has truly suffered a great ordeal. Childbirth is a life-threatening ordeal for a woman, yet she gave birth to the young master in the mountains."

The old lady said, "I wish I could go and see for myself. There's nowhere to stay in Hexi now. They say they're borrowing a general's mansion's courtyard to have their confinement period, but how can you have your confinement period in someone else's house? Sigh, what kind of people are they? Why are they all so troublesome?"

Granny Shen didn't reply. What followed was about the princes.

The Yongning Marquis's residence acted swiftly; in no time, several carts of goods were loaded. The Yongning Marquis then went to Chen Wufu and explained the situation. After obtaining the Emperor's approval, Chen Wufu dispatched a team of several dozen imperial guards to transport these carts of goods, along with another cart secretly placed there by the Emperor, day and night, towards Hexi.

The vast capital city appears on the surface to be like a calm lake. The few carts of goods from the Yongning Marquis's residence are just a small ripple on this calm surface. However, beneath this ripple lies a surging undercurrent.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the old lady still claimed to be ill and did not attend the grand court assembly. This was a special privilege shown by the emperors of Liang to those over seventy years old, who were exempt from attending the grand court assembly.

Lord Yongning, accompanied by his son and Lady Yongning, along with the wife of the heir, attended the New Year's tea party organized by the Emperor and Empress. Although no one mentioned the events in Hexi and Yanmen Pass, those who needed to know already knew: the fifth prince of the Northern Di had been captured alive, and the Northern Di had now changed hands, with the historically unremarkable fourth prince ascending the throne. It was unclear how the fifth prince would be dealt with; perhaps he would be sent to the capital, since this matter did not occur openly.

The princes did not look too happy, but Emperor Liang Cheng was in high spirits. He even beckoned several of his former officials to come and talk to them, creating a joyful and festive atmosphere.

Lord Yongning, accompanied by his heir, stood in his place, eyes downcast and seemingly oblivious to his own thoughts. While pondering the whereabouts of the carriages delivering the gifts, he listened intently to what Emperor Liang Cheng was saying. Even after the court session ended, Emperor Liang Cheng did not summon him to speak, and Lord Yongning surprisingly felt a great sense of relief.

After the court assembly ended, Empress Yongning and her son waited at the side gate next to the palace gate for the wife of the Marquis of Yongning and the wife of the son, who were going to the inner palace. After waiting for a while, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law came out of the palace, supporting each other and looking confused.

When Lady Hou saw Marquis Yongning, she was about to speak, but Marquis Yongning said in a low voice, "We can talk about it at home." Lady Hou then shut her mouth and followed Marquis Yongning into the carriage.

After getting into the carriage, Marquis Yongning leaned against the side of the carriage, his eyes closed as he pondered something. His wife was full of questions and wanted to ask, but she didn't speak.

Ever since the Marquis stormed out of his courtyard, he hasn't visited the Marquis's courtyard again. The Marquis's wife wanted to humble herself and apologize properly to the Marquis, after all, she was the mistress of the mansion, and if things continued like this, the servants would look down on her. However, the Marquis's wife was a somewhat delicate person, and sometimes she felt that her face was very important, so she couldn't bring herself to do it. The two of them remained at an impasse.

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