Inside Diancui Courtyard,

Jiang Yuwei placed a gold hairpin on the princess's head. The princess looked much better now; although she was older, it was clear that she had been a beauty in her youth.

"Your Highness, you look much better now, and you seem much more energetic."

The princess smiled and took Jiang Yuwei's hand.

"This is all thanks to you. By the way, give Wang Ma your measurements later, and I'll have Meizhuang make a few nice outfits for you in a few days. You're dressed rather plainly right now, but you'll need a few presentable clothes for the Thousand Autumns Banquet in a few days."

Seeing that the princess was so considerate of her, Jiang Yuwei quickly bowed and thanked her.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

The princess patted Jiang Yuwei's hand and smiled:

"It's getting late, help me to the front hall."

Jiang Yuwei quickly helped the princess up, while Ning Wan followed behind them. Jiang Yuwei also sent Sixi to invite Ning Huaizhi and Ning Zhao.

When the princess arrived at the front hall, everyone had already gathered and was waiting for her to begin the banquet.

Jiang Yuwei helped the princess to sit in the main seat, and just as she was about to leave, the princess grabbed her arm.

"Yuwei, I'm still not fully recovered and need your help in many ways. Please sit next to me; that way, I'll feel more at ease."

Although the princess was speaking to Jiang Yuwei, Concubine Lin immediately understood her meaning. She glanced disdainfully at Madam Sun and Xu Qianqian, who were seated in lower positions, and then spoke:

"Yes, Madam Jiang, just follow the Princess's arrangements. It's just a family banquet after all, with no outsiders present, so just do as you please."

Jiang Yuwei looked around at everyone, and when she met the murderous glares from Madam Sun and Xu Qianqian, she felt relieved and sat down directly next to the princess.

“Since Your Highness needs me, I will sit beside you and take care of you.”

As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei took the first step, picked up a teacup, poured a cup of tea for the princess, and then raised the teacup to her nose to gently smell it before smiling:

"This tea is excellent, Your Highness, please try it."

He then handed the teacup to the princess and gave her a barely perceptible nod.

Jiang Yuwei didn't use maids to serve her because she was afraid that someone might have tampered with the tea. She could only give it to the princess after she had personally checked and smelled it.

After all, there are many people in this mansion who want to harm the princess. Now that the princess's health has just started to improve, we cannot be careless in the slightest.

Seeing Jiang Yuwei's actions just now, Madam Sun couldn't help but sneer.

"Hehe, Madam Jiang really has no manners. You dare to smell the tea that is meant for the Princess so openly."

Jiang Yuwei glanced at Madam Sun indifferently.

"Tasting tea isn't just about drinking it, it's also about smelling the aroma. Don't you even understand that?"

When Madam Sun saw that Jiang Yuwei dared to laugh at her in front of so many people, her face immediately darkened.

"I don't think you know much either. You just have some rudimentary skills pieced together from various sources. And yet you're serving me tea. Back in Ningjia Village, everyone knew who was who."

When Xu Qianqian heard Madam Sun bring up Ningjia Village, her face stiffened. Right now, she was most afraid of them talking about the past, since she hadn't yet gained a firm foothold in the Prince's mansion.

Although Ning Chunlin's heart had been somewhat drawn back just now, who knows if he would be replaced by some new woman tomorrow?

Xu Qianqian became increasingly alarmed. What if Sun Shi angered Jiang Yuwei with a single word and started talking nonsense about the past? Wouldn't the princess take it out on her?

Thinking this, Xu Qianqian reached under the table and nudged Sun Shi, signaling her to stop talking.

Mrs. Sun was already angry, and when Xu Qianqian pushed her like that, she glared at her and said:

"Why are you pushing me? If you think it's too crowded, then sit to the side. The tables in the Prince's mansion are big, but there are too many people. It was supposed to be a family banquet, but there are too many unimportant people here. We can only squeeze in to sit."

Upon hearing Sun's veiled complaints, the princess frowned. Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly patted the princess's hand under the table a few times and shook her head with a smile.

At this family banquet, Jiang Yuwei did not want the princess to stand up for her. At present, she had no real power in the mansion, and in the eyes of outsiders, she was just a guest living in the mansion.

If the princess were to truly anger the Sun family, she would not be able to openly make decisions for herself, and in the end, she would be the one to suffer the injustice.

Therefore, Jiang Yuwei preferred to deal with them herself rather than involve the princess, otherwise things would only get worse.

This time, however, before Jiang Yuwei could even speak, Chen Guixiang, who was sitting to the side, objected.

“Mrs. Sun, now that you have a different status, you say such hurtful things. I did raise Chunlin, after all.”

As she spoke, Chen Guixiang, her eyes red-rimmed, looked at Ning Chunlin and continued:

"To be frank, I have always regarded Chunlin as my own child. Now that you have become the First Lady of this Prince's Mansion, are you planning to turn your back on me?"

Sun hadn't intended to criticize Chen Guixiang, but she hadn't expected Chen to interpret it as her own opinion, so she said with a stern face:

"What are you doing? I didn't mean anything by it, so please don't take it personally."

Ever since Sun learned that Ning Chunlin was the young master of the Prince's Mansion, she had never called Chen Guixiang "mother-in-law" again. Therefore, Chen Guixiang disliked Sun from the bottom of her heart and always felt that all the good things she had done for her in the past had been wasted.

Now that she was giving him a hard time, he became even more relentless.

"Your Highness, I'm getting on in years. Even if I haven't made any great contributions, I've certainly worked hard. Now that your family is reunited, I've become an outsider. I really have no one to reason with!"

The princess was having a headache from the constant bickering between Chen Guixiang and Madam Sun. Now that Chen Guixiang wanted her to stand up for her, the princess wished she could expose all the wicked things she and Old Man Ning had done right now.

Jiang Yuwei seemed to notice the change in the princess's expression, so she quickly picked up a piece of meat and placed it on the princess's plate, smiling as she said:

“Right now, the Princess Consort is not fully recovered, and you are all clamoring for her to judge the case for you. How can the Princess Consort bear it? I think you should say less, Mother-in-law. After all, we are guests, and they are family. Your words will not help.”

Before the princess could speak, Jiang Yuwei's words brought the conflict back to the forefront.

Chen Guixiang was not one to suffer a loss easily. Hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, she became even more indignant and stared at Ning Chunlin, saying:

"Chunlin, are you really so heartless as to let your wife treat me like this?"

Ning Chunlin still naturally recognized Chen Guixiang and Old Man Ning as his adoptive parents. He had been pampered by the two old people since he was a child, and even Ning Huaizhi's status in the Ning family was not as high as his own.

Ning Chunlin originally thought all of this was to be expected, since Chen Guixiang and Old Man Ning were his biological parents. However, his mindset changed after he learned that he was actually a young master of the Prince's Mansion.

Ning Chunlin felt even more grateful to Chen Guixiang and the others. They were not his biological parents, yet they treated him better than his own children.

Therefore, Ning Chunlin secretly made up his mind to take good care of the two elderly people.

Now that Sun dared to embarrass Chen Guixiang in front of so many people, Ning Chunlin felt that Sun didn't respect him, so he glared at Sun and said angrily:

"There are no outsiders here. If you insist on finding an outsider, then you can go back inside and eat by yourself!"