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Consort Xian was not particularly outstanding in appearance, but she had a gentle temperament and a slight scholarly air. Her smile was exceptionally beautiful and charming.
But how could such a woman raise the tyrannical Prince Ning'an? Qin Sang was a little curious.
Princess Yuanzhao also laughed and said, "The Prime Minister has a discerning eye and is very lucky to have found such a beautiful and delicate treasure. I think his household is going to be bustling with activity again."
Qin Sang pretended to be well-behaved, not interrupting at all and letting them talk on their own.
I wonder what these two wanted from me. Were they just curious about my appearance? Curiosity always has an origin; they must have heard about me from somewhere…
At this moment, Qin Sang noticed an exceptionally intense gaze.
She turned her head and saw a familiar face—the mother of Princess Fangfei Tan Wuyan, the Lady of Weide Marquis.
Although Qin Sang gained a good reputation from her fight with Tan Wuyan, she unfortunately offended her future mother-in-law. At this moment, Tan Bi had gone from being her first choice to being her last. If she had any other options, she wouldn't have married into the filth of the Tan family.
Although Lady Weide remained calm and composed, sitting demurely to the side as if watching a spectacle, the way she looked at me was icy cold, as if it were poisoned.
So, it could only be her who mentioned her name in front of these two important people.
At this moment, the eldest princess said, "Speaking of which, Feng'er's household is currently lacking a virtuous and capable princess consort. I wonder if there is a suitable candidate at present?"
Consort Xian smiled faintly: "Yes, there is, but unfortunately, Feng'er is a self-willed person. If I force it on him, he may not be willing to accept it."
“Yes, Feng’er is stubborn. We need to find someone strong enough to control him, otherwise…” Princess Yuanzhao hesitated, then looked at Qin Sang again and asked kindly, “Qin Sang, are you sixteen this year?”
Qin Sang answered honestly again, "I'll be sixteen by the end of the year."
The eldest princess said, "You're still young. You've just arrived in the capital, and there are probably many rules you need to learn."
Qin Sang: "Yes, the mistress of the house has arranged for a nanny to teach me, but I come from the countryside, and many of the rules are very difficult for me to learn, so I learn very slowly."
Princess Yuanzhao said, “I see that you are intelligent. Even though you are a bit rough now, you will learn to behave yourself in a year or two. You don’t need to belittle yourself.”
Qin Sang: "...Thank you for your praise, Princess. I will definitely study hard."
"Hehehe..." Suddenly another lady at the table laughed warmly, "If you ask me, don't be too rigid. We were trained by the nannies from a young age, and we have no backbone at all. That's why we are so easily manipulated by men. If you ask me, girls should be more assertive. Don't follow the rules too much. Being so conventional is no fun at all. It's better to be more lively. When you become a mistress in the future, you won't be bullied by your subordinates and still have to do those stupid things that stick to the rules!"
This lady, who else could she be but Lady Xiahou? Just now, Qin Sang and Tan Wuyan got into a fight, which brought both sets of officials over, and it was she who mediated between them.
He was indeed a broad-minded and cheerful person with a Buddhist-like nature, and his daughter, Xiahou Yuan, was also very intelligent.
Thus, she began to look forward to Xiahou Ye, who was one of the Four Young Masters of Kyoto.
Everyone said that Xiahou Ye was a notorious playboy in the capital, a free spirit in the world of pleasure. But now, seeing how sensible his mother was and how lively and adorable his younger sister was, Qin Sang quickly moved his ranking up.
Upon hearing Lady Xiahou's words, the eldest princess laughed and said, "You've benefited from the Empress's influence. Because of her, you've been raised to be overly composed, while you, being the younger one, have been raised to be free and unrestrained. Now, the children you've raised all resemble you."
Lady Xiahou chuckled: "The Empress's temperament is like my father's, and mine is like my mother's. I haven't benefited from her influence at all."
Everyone chatted and laughed, finally forgetting about Qin Sang and telling her to leave.
As Qin Sang was leaving, she glanced at Lady Weide. The woman's expression remained unchanged, but her eyes met Qin Sang's briefly, seemingly unintentionally.
Qin Sang withdrew her gaze and pondered to herself. She had heard that Tan Wuyan was going to remarry for the Prince of Ning'an. Becoming a princess was an extremely honorable thing, so why did her mother bring up her in front of these two?
In an instant, Qin Sang came to a conclusion—Tan Wuyan did not want to marry Prince Ning'an!
Or perhaps her mother didn't want her to marry Prince Ning'an?
Prince Ning'an... just what kind of person is he?
The current emperor has nine sons and three daughters. Among the nine princes, the eldest prince, Prince Su, was demoted early due to an incident. The second, fourth, and fifth princes died young. The third prince was born to the empress and is now the crown prince. Among the remaining princes, the sixth prince, Prince Ning'an, is known for his violent temper. The seventh and eighth princes are dissolute playboys. There is also a ninth prince who has just learned to walk.
In addition, of the three princesses, the eldest princess born to the Empress and the second princess born to Consort De have already married, leaving the third princess still unmarried, who is the Princess Yiyang we see in the waterside pavilion today.
The rebellion of Prince Su was the source of the original owner's family's extermination, and it almost implicated Prime Minister Xie Zhongxu.
On the surface, Prince Su's rebellion seemed justified. As the eldest son, he lacked the status of a legitimate heir. He had been favored by the emperor in his early years but fell out of favor in his youth. He was originally a handsome and talented prince, but he had to endure the coldness of human relationships and witness the fickleness of the world. It was not easy for him to have a peaceful mind.
Once resentment takes hold, it's destined to have no good outcome; his failure was predetermined long ago.
His failure has affected too many people.
However, based on Qin Sang's years of investigation, it is clear that the rebellion of Prince Su was framed, and the one who benefited was the crown prince who was directly appointed to the throne. It is hard not to suspect that the matter was orchestrated by the Eastern Palace.
Furthermore, all the princes in the harem who were the same age as the crown prince had died young. Therefore, Qin Sang would have to see the Prince of Ning'an in person to determine how much of his madness and cruelty was genuine.
After seeing Consort Xian today, she felt even more strongly that her guess was correct.
However, the reaction of Lady Weide and her daughter today gave her another insight. For example, if Princess Fangfei did not marry Prince Ning'an willingly, but was forced, then the mother and daughter would be so anxious to find someone to take the blame and push her out.
So who forced him? Marquis Weide? As everyone knows, the current Marquis Weide is a muddle-headed and useless man. Tan Wuyan's brother, Tan Bi, is more likely to be the one to do so.
But Tan Bi is the Crown Prince's man, so why would he choose to marry Prince Ning'an?
So, are they trying to win over Prince Ning'an, or... to monitor him?
Qin Sang believes it is the latter.
Most likely, he was entrusted by the Crown Prince to arrange for his sister to marry Prince Ning'an in order to keep an eye on Prince Ning'an!
Qin Sang understood this and suddenly felt relieved.
It's likely that in recent years, His Highness the Crown Prince has sent quite a few women to the Ning'an Prince's residence. Perhaps the two Ning'an Prince's wives who died tragically were both people of the Crown Prince's, but were quietly dealt with by the Ning'an Prince.
From this perspective, Prince Ning'an is not as mad and tyrannical as the outside world has suggested; perhaps, he is a hidden dragon.
During this walk, she roughly figured out the matter and returned from the main hall to the banquet hall.
Xie Wu hurriedly asked why the princess had summoned her, but she gave a perfunctory answer. After eating some more food, she saw Tan Wuyan suddenly walk up gracefully with a wine cup and sit down in the empty seat next to her.
"Sister, this is our first meeting, and it was all a misunderstanding. How about we settle our differences over a drink?"
Tan Wuyan transformed back into that gentle, delicate young lady from a prominent family.
She looked at her with such a gentle smile in front of everyone; if she refused, it would seem as if she were being incredibly unreasonable.
Qin Sang naturally wouldn't let herself be taken advantage of. But playing along was no problem. She also raised her wine glass and smiled generously and impeccably: "Not at all, not at all. It was clearly my fault for being impolite first, disappointing my efforts and troubling you to come and make peace with me. It's all my fault. I'll drink this glass first."
After saying that, he drank it all in one gulp with gusto, then looked at Tan Wuyan with a warm, spring-like smile, his eyes still cold.
"My sister is so straightforward, truly extraordinary." Tan Wuyan gritted her teeth inwardly, then leaned closer to Qin Sang's ear, her voice so soft that only Qin Sang could hear it. "Prince Ning'an is a womanizer and loves beautiful women the most. Someone like you, my sister, might be more likely to catch His Highness's eye than I am. In that case, I congratulate you in advance, my sister."
"Oh?" Qin Sang glanced at her with a smile. "In that case, I should thank the princess."
Princess Fangfei smiled and said, "We're all sisters, no need to be so polite." Then she giggled, got up, and left.
Qin Sang took another sip of wine, savoring the spicy and sweet taste as it flowed down her throat.
As expected, the mother and daughter had this plan: to take the blame and deliver vegetables to Prince Ning'an.
However, the mother and daughter's plan clearly went against the wishes of the Crown Prince.
Although Qin Sang's own identity was not legitimate, she was still acting under Xie Zhongxu's banner. If the Crown Prince was wary of the Prince of Ning'an, why would the mother and daughter push her into that situation? They didn't know if they were truly stupid or if they had misjudged the situation.
After lunch, Qin Sang was taken by Xie Wu to the polo field located in the back garden of Caiyuan.
Before coming, Xie Wu had mentioned that there was a polo match today, but Qin Sang hadn't taken it seriously, thinking it had nothing to do with the women. Now that he said the women could go and watch the match, Qin Sang perked up again.
After seeing the noble ladies of Kyoto, it would be a worthwhile trip to see the wealthy young men of Kyoto.
In early summer, the polo field is lush and green, with a large, flat, and open area enclosed by a wooden fence.
The sky was a clear, high blue, the sun was shining brightly, and a gentle breeze was blowing. Willow trees were planted all around the horse farm, and many young men and their handsome horses were already standing under the swaying willow leaves. They were binding each other's wrists and warming up by watering their horses.
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