After breakfast, Shen Wan took advantage of the still relatively cool morning to stroll around the garden. Just as she was enjoying the flowers, her maid Qiu'er ran over and said, "Your Highness, the young master and Princess Huai'an have arrived."
Upon hearing that her elder brother and sister-in-law had arrived, Shen Wan forgot all about admiring the flowers and immediately went to greet them.
Upon meeting Princess Huai'an outside the Moyu Pavilion, Shen Wan greeted her with a beaming smile, "Sister-in-law."
Princess Huai'an's ears turned red.
Clearly, they haven't gotten used to this form of address yet...
The lovers finally got married, and Shen Wan was genuinely happy for her elder brother. But thinking that in her elder brother's heart, she, his younger sister, had already become his "sister-in-law," Shen Wan looked at her elder brother, Shen Du, and deliberately called out, "Brother-in-law?"
Shen Du, “…”
The Princess of Huai'an was completely bewildered by this shout.
Yinshuang and Haitang stood behind Shen Wan, their shoulders shaking with laughter.
Princess Huai'an looked at Shen Wan, then at Shen Du, "Why do I call you that?"
Just then, Xie Jingyan came out, and Shen Du said, "I'll tell you later."
Shen Du and Xie Jingyan went to the study to talk, leaving Shen Wan to attend to Princess Huai'an.
Princess Huai'an looked at Shen Wan, and Shen Wan said, "It was Prince Ling who asked the Emperor to grant you and my elder brother a marriage. My elder brother didn't know that you were Princess Huai'an. Prince Ling then went to the Emperor to withdraw the marriage decree, which angered the Emperor, and he was beaten by the Emperor. My elder brother was grateful and regarded Prince Ling as his own brother, so I, his own sister, became his sister-in-law."
Princess Huai'an's already red face turned even redder.
The two went to the flower hall to talk.
Princess Huai'an and Shen Wan had gotten along very well before, and now that they were sisters-in-law, their relationship was even closer, and they could talk about anything.
After waiting for about half an hour, Chen Du came in and asked with a smile, "I could hear you laughing at the door. What were you talking about?"
Princess Huai'an laughed and said, "I'm talking about when you were a child, you were stealing birds' nests and got hung on a tree."
Shen Du, “…”
Can't we talk about his brilliant and heroic deeds?
Shen Du said, "It's getting late, I'll take you back to the Marquis's residence."
On the day of Shen Du's wedding, he asked the Prince of Yanping and Tang Ze to help with welcoming and seeing off the guests. Today, he will host a banquet for them at Deyue Tower. He wants to send Princess Huai'an back to her residence first, and then go to Deyue Tower.
Shen Wan said, "Why don't you eat here, sister-in-law? Then you can come and pick her up after you've finished eating."
Shen Du looked at Princess Huai'an, who then said to Shen Wan, "Before I came here, I promised Fourth Aunt that I would take over the management of the household as soon as I got back."
The day after Princess Huai'an entered the household, the Fourth Madam was to hand over the account books and keys to Princess Huai'an, but both Shen Du and Princess Huai'an had been very busy these past few days.
She had to go to the palace to express her gratitude, return to her parents' home, and visit the Yun family. She was simply overwhelmed and had no choice but to take care of things for a few more days.
Taking over the household management was an important matter, so Shen Wan didn't keep Princess Huai'an any longer. She wanted to see them out of the mansion, but Shen Du wouldn't allow it, so Shen Wan only saw them off to the courtyard gate.
Watching them walk away, Yinshuang said, "I heard from Princess Huai'an's maid that on the day of the tea ceremony, the young master and Princess Huai'an arrived a little late. The second madam said something sarcastic, and the marquis then told Princess Huai'an that she didn't need to pay her respects to the old lady every day, but only once every three to five days, because the old lady was unwell and needed to rest."
It seems that Father always knew that the old lady liked to use morning and evening greetings to control people.
In the past, Father respected the old lady and turned a blind eye to these things. Now that Father knows the old lady's character, how could he allow her to manipulate Princess Huai'an?
The fact that the old lady wasn't directly excused from paying her respects was a way of giving her some face.
Shen Wan had planned to separate the Marquis's family before, but the Emperor bestowed the marriage and set the wedding date directly. Time was short, and bringing up the separation at this time would definitely affect the wedding banquet, so it had to be postponed for a while. Now that Princess Huai'an has entered the family, this matter can be started.
As Shen Wan pondered the matter of dividing the family property, she turned and entered the courtyard. Yin Shuang said, "The Prince of Yanping and the others have arrived."
Shen Wan turned around and saw the Prince of Yanping and Tang Ze, the eldest son of the Duke of Tan, walking over. There were only the two of them; Lu Cheng, the Prince of Xuanping, was not with them.
As they approached, Xie Jingyan said, "What's the matter that you couldn't wait for me to go to Deyue Tower and came to the Prince's Mansion to find me?"
The Prince of Yanping waved his jade fan and said, "I'm tired of the wine at Deyuelou. I've come to ask you for a few jars of good wine so we can drink some later."
I knew they wouldn't come for anything serious.
He only wanted a few jars of wine, and since it was Shen Du who was hosting, Xie Jingyan wouldn't refuse.
He looked at Chen Feng and said, "Go and get a few jars of wine."
It's still early to go to Deyue Tower. Since Prince Yanping and Tang Ze have come to Prince Ling's residence, they will definitely go with Xie Jingyan.
After entering the courtyard, Shen Wan went back to her room, and the three of them walked towards the study. Just as they were climbing the steps, a maid came over and said, "Your Highness, the heir of the Marquis of Xuanping has arrived."
The group turned to look towards the courtyard gate, and their lips twitched in unison, including Shen Wan's.
Lu Cheng was dressed in a magnificent brocade robe, with a jade belt around his waist and a jade crown on his head. Every gesture he made exuded an extraordinary air. What was even more eye-catching was that he was wearing a headband. This outfit immediately caught everyone's attention.
The Crown Prince of Yanping glanced at Tang Ze and asked, "Don't you think his outfit looks somewhat familiar?"
Tang Ze said, "Doesn't it look like the peacock with its tail feathers spread out that I saw in the Imperial Garden a few days ago?"
"You know what, it really does look like it..."
The two were talking quite loudly, and the maids in the courtyard heard them and were secretly laughing.
Lu Cheng walked over, and Tang Ze circled around him, saying, "Tell me honestly, who are you trying to seduce by dressing so flamboyantly all of a sudden?"
Lu Cheng, "..."
Can't you say something nice once in a while?
He can make people lose face as soon as he opens his mouth.
Lu Cheng handed the folding fan in his hand to Xie Jingyan, saying, "I gave you the wrong folding fan yesterday, so I've come to return it."
Tang Ze and the Crown Prince of Yanping exchanged a glance.
Yesterday, Lu Cheng came to deliver a folding fan and asked Princess Ling for help, but he delivered the wrong fan.
They simply couldn't figure out how the wrong item could have been delivered.
And it's fine if they send the wrong thing. They're going to Deyuelou for drinks later anyway, so we can just change it back. There's no need to make another trip, right?
There's a problem.
There must be a problem.
Shen Wan took in Lu Cheng's ostentatious behavior, which looked exactly like the peacock spreading its tail feathers as Tang Ze had described. She couldn't help but laugh, so she quickly went inside.
Tang Ze suspected that Lu Cheng was using the delivery of the folding fan as a pretext to ask Shen Wan for help, but since Lu Cheng didn't say anything when Shen Wan entered the room, he didn't interfere. The group went to the study to have a cup of tea, and when it was almost time, they went to Deyue Tower.
Inside the room, Shen Wan was reclining on a small couch eating fruit. Yin Shuang poured tea for Shen Wan. Seeing Hai Tang come in through the beaded curtain, she asked, "Have the birthday gifts been delivered?"
Haitang nodded and reported to Shen Wan, "Old Madam Tao was very happy to receive the birthday gift from the Princess Consort. She said it was too precious to accept, but Doctor Tao said it was a token of the Prince and Princess Consort's goodwill, so Old Madam Tao accepted it."
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