In this day and age, iron ore mining and smelting cannot be controlled by an individual.

Not to mention that she is now so close to General Sun. If their army had iron mines, they would be the ones on the guillotine.

While Jiang Shuwan was pondering, Qingxing was already fiddling with the pearl jewelry.

As she worked, she said, "Miss went to the palace twice before. Once she was in a hurry to save the Second Miss and didn't have time to dress up. The other time she wore plain clothes for the Dowager Empress's funeral. This time she has to dress up properly."

Jiang Shuwan was still studying the magnolia flowers on the palace lanterns when she heard Qingxing's words. She exclaimed, "That's not right. This time, we don't need to go to the palace. Princess Nan'an has set up the banquet at the royal villa outside the palace."

"Anyway, it's all royal territory, so what's the difference? I heard that the Princess invited some of the most noble ladies in the capital, and even the Second Miss was invited."

"Jiang Yao?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuwan immediately became wary.

In her previous life, when she was the mistress of the Earl's Mansion, she never received an invitation from the Princess of Nan'an.

Ultimately, Princess Nan'an was the daughter of the Prince of Nanping, with extremely precious royal blood. She had been raised in the palace since childhood and was deeply loved by the old emperor. How could such a favored daughter of heaven possibly look down on a mere earl's mansion?

This life is truly strange.

The Marquis's mansion in this life is much more impoverished than in the previous life. Pei Lingyu's affair with prostitutes has been impeached by the censor. Given Princess Nan'an's arrogant nature, she would have to clean her eyes if Jiang Yao appeared at her banquet, let alone send her a special invitation.

This is like Xiang Zhuang dancing with his sword, his aim being Liu Bang.

I just don't know how Princess Nan'an will make her move.

Jiang Shuwan was lost in thought as the snow outside fell heavier and heavier.

A royal villa on the outskirts of Beijing.

As night deepened, the Royal Villa resembled a tranquil ink painting amidst the swirling snowflakes.

Pure white snowflakes fluttered down, draping the solemn palaces and pavilions in a silver coat. Inside the palace walls, lights shone brightly, casting a soft glow through the carved windows.

The trees in the courtyard were already covered with snow, their branches drooping as if they could not bear the weight.

Thick snow had accumulated on the artificial hill. On such a cold day, while everyone else was hiding indoors warming themselves by the fire, Princess Li Yuyan of Nan'an was standing under the eaves admiring the snow.

Of course, she was dressed quite warmly, but it was tough on Yao Zhijie, who liked to show off and wasn't dressed warmly enough.

Yao Zhijie was dressed in a dark blue long-sleeved robe with elegant cloud patterns embroidered on the hem. His hair was neatly tied up and secured with a jade hairpin.

He was tall and handsome, yet with a touch of humility.

He lowered his head slightly, only glancing at Li Yuyan when he entered, his gaze remaining fixed on the princess's feet, not daring to overstep his bounds in the slightest.

Even though his aunt was Consort Li, the sixth prince's cousin, he always treated her with great respect.

Of course, when it was cold, I couldn't help but rub the goosebumps on my arms.

"I should have worn more clothes."

As Yao Zhijie couldn't help but think this, he recalled the first thing he saw when he came in: Li Yuyan.

Li Yuyan wore a gorgeous purple-red brocade robe, with intricate peony patterns embroidered in gold thread on the robe. The collar and cuffs were trimmed with snow-white fox fur, which made her face look like a peach blossom and made her look extremely beautiful.

Her head was adorned with jewels, which swayed gently in the wind as she moved, making a crisp sound.

"This outfit must be worth a lot of money. His Majesty has ordered the harem to be frugal, and all the concubines and princesses are dressed plainly. Li Yuyan dares to dress like this, which shows His Majesty's favor."

Just as Yao Zhijie was pondering this, Li Yuyan stretched out her slender fingers and caught a falling snowflake.

Her movements were graceful, like a painting, but her words were not very polite.

"Are you sure Jiang Yao and Jiang Shuwan don't get along?"

"Shameless wretch! I had heard long ago that she and Pei Lingyu had an ambiguous relationship, always entangled in something. Later, Pei Lingyu married the daughter of the Minister of Personnel, Guo. I thought we had wronged them both. But I didn't expect that less than a month after Guo died, Pei Lingyu married Jiang Yao. It's clear that no one wronged them at all."

"What a pair of shameless people! Even after marriage, they can't live a peaceful life. One of them embarrasses others everywhere, and the other behaves improperly, even going to brothels. It's utterly ridiculous that such trash needs me, the princess, to personally invite her."

"You've really dirtied my place!"

She spoke with a disgusted and nauseous expression, and the palace maids and nannies behind her echoed her sentiments.

"That's right. How could something like this be allowed to set foot on the princess's land? It really brings her honor."

"After she leaves, I'm afraid we won't be able to use the chairs and benches anymore."

"We must sever ties with her, otherwise she'll use the princess's name to swindle and deceive people."

As they got more and more outrageous, Yao Zhijie quickly said, "It's not that bad. The princess invited all the noble ladies and daughters of the capital. Although the Marquis's mansion doesn't have much power, it is still surnamed Pei. Even if we invited her, people would only think that we were doing it out of respect for the Marquis's mansion. How could they guess that the princess had other intentions?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuyan gave a soft snort, "That would be for the best."

"Princess, rest assured. I sent people to the Jiang residence to inquire about this information. More than one servant said that the eldest and second young ladies of the Jiang family have been at odds for a long time. They are just waiting for you to set a trap. The young lady of the aunt will definitely rush to humiliate Jiang Shuwan. With the addition of other noble ladies, they will attack her together and make Jiang Shuwan's reputation ruined and unable to face anyone."

“Right now, Pei Yanzhi is the most favored person in His Majesty's eyes, enjoying immense prestige. As his wife, not only can she not bring him honor, but she also brings him shame. How can such a marital relationship last? Wouldn't the princess then have a chance…”

Listening to his seductive words, Li Yuyan couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.

The image of that self-disciplined and refined handsome face floated before her eyes, as elegant and unparalleled as a high mountain and a bright moon. Among all the young men, there was no one more dazzling than him.

He clenched his fingers, pinched the snowflakes he had caught into a ball, and threw it at his feet. But when he lifted his foot, he crushed it into tiny pieces.

"If I hadn't been out of the capital when they got married, I would have made her bleed on the spot on their wedding day," Li Yuyan sneered.

It was as if the snowballs beneath her feet were Jiang Shuwan herself.

"..."

Oh shit.

Is it that fierce?

No wonder she's the daughter of the Prince of Pingnan.

He chuckled twice, and Yao Zhijie immediately put on a drooling face and flattered him.

“What the princess says is true. The princess is a beauty of unparalleled grace, while Jiang Shuwan is merely of average appearance. How can she compare to the princess? Pei Yanzhi must have been blind to marry her.”

"Stop with the nonsense. You and the Crown Prince were classmates, and now you're even serving in the same court. Do you really enjoy stabbing your friends in the back?"

"Jiang Shuwan's disgrace is the Crown Prince's disgrace. It seems you don't really want him to be happy!"

As Li Yuyan spoke, she glanced over with a half-smile, her eyes holding a cold light that made Yao Zhijie feel as if he would lose his head if he said the wrong thing.

"Nothing can be hidden from the princess."

Yao Zhijie chuckled twice.