"Going down is an unspoken step forward; not going down means you want to break with the palace and return to the Cheng family, where you have no one to rely on?"
Cheng Suyun was furious, but upon hearing that this might lead to her being expelled from the palace, she quickly shook her head.
"No...Grandmother, if Suyun doesn't leave you, Suyun will go," she clenched her fist, digging her nails into her palm, which finally calmed her anger.
Just as Li Dagen was about to give up on the people in the car and was about to turn around to get incense and follow the crowd, Cheng Suyun got out of the car, and a hopeful smile appeared on his face.
"Princess Cheng, you've finally come out! You should have Empress Dowager Cheng escort you upstairs. His Highness won't disobey Empress Dowager Cheng's words. Please ask Empress Dowager Cheng to come down!"
Cheng Suyun's face was unusually calm, maintaining a composure that she hadn't shown before, her eyelashes half-closed, revealing her sadness.
"The Empress Dowager has been unwell lately and can't even get out of bed. If it weren't for today being the memorial day, when she misses the spirits of the deceased, she wouldn't have come out at all."
"The Empress Dowager heard what Your Highness said just now. She praised Your Highness for having a broad perspective. I still have injuries on my face and it is not appropriate for me to show my face. Wearing a veil would be disrespectful, so I will not go up."
"Uncle Li, don't let the Yue Kingdom envoys laugh at us. Please come with me to offer incense to the spirits of the dead."
She gracefully walked to the place where the incense and candles were temporarily placed, took one for herself, and without even going to the altar, calmly walked among the orphans, raised the incense and prayed devoutly.
Li Dagen was dumbfounded, but seeing that the other orphans had already begun to kneel and worship, he quickly took a stick of incense and knelt down in the crowd without drawing attention.
***
The sacrificial festival reversed the Cheng family's monopoly on the event for forty years, and it became a popular topic of conversation throughout the palace.
Immediately following, Yue Jiang and Jing Yan's wedding was about to begin, and red silk ribbons and colorful streamers fluttered in the Jing Palace, filling the palace servants with joy.
Yue Jiang sat before the dressing mirror, having Qing Ke apply red makeup to her face, while Yue Lang beside her could not hide his disappointment.
"Now that you've entered the Eastern Palace, you're officially the Crown Princess of Jing Palace. Congratulations!"
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