Jing Yan didn't stay in the room for long before taking Yue Jiang out. After they left, the two of them went back to their palace together.
As Yue Jiang walked along the road, recalling the somber atmosphere from earlier and the seriously ill Ninth Prince in bed, she couldn't help but feel confused.
"Your Highness, the Ninth Prince is so seriously ill, why did the Emperor of Yu Kingdom still send him here? Is it because he has a twin brother, and that's not important?"
Jing Yan: "I'm not too sure, but those twins are indeed worlds apart. Yu Chuyi, the crown prince of the Jade Kingdom, was made crown prince at birth."
"There is no news about Yu Chuxuan. People only know that he is the twin brother of Yu Chuyi, the crown prince. In any case, whether he is valued or not, he cannot be allowed to get into trouble in Jing Kingdom."
Yue Jiang: "Is it because of Sister Jingning? Today in the Jiaofang Palace, I heard everyone say that the Emperor of Yu Kingdom wants to betroth Sister Jingning to his empress. How old is the Emperor of Yu Kingdom? Will it be good for Sister Jingning to marry him?"
Jing Yan let out a soft snort, somewhat disdainfully: "It's just a good deed done by my grandmother. She acted first and reported later, so there's no room for negotiation."
As he walked, he stopped at Yue Jiang's words and turned back to ask, "Why is Jiang'er concerned about this?"
Yue Jiang smiled casually: "How could I not care? Your Majesty still needs to prepare a dowry for Jingning's marriage. Although the Ministry of Rites has drafted the specifications, Your Majesty still needs to review them."
"But Mother Empress has been teaching me how to read account books. The accounts in Jing Palace are not very good. Will the scale of Jing Ning's marriage to the Empress be much higher?"
"Thinking this way, if the palace is short of money, I can use my dowry to help Jingning. After all, I am already Your Highness's wife and Jingning's sister-in-law, so I should do my part."
Jing Yan frowned slightly, feeling something was amiss: "Jiang'er, you can just send Jing Ning a few things in the name of your brother and sister-in-law, but you are not allowed to send your own dowry."
“Jingning’s marriage is well-prepared by the palace, and providing a dowry equivalent to that of a princess is no problem at all.”
"If they want to exceed the standard, the Zheng family should find a way to fill the gap with their own things for this vanity. It's not that the Empress Dowager can't provide them."
There may be little money left, but Jingyan heard that when his grandfather was alive, he had bestowed many precious objects and treasures upon Empress Dowager Zheng.
Empress Dowager Zheng could easily pack a few boxes to give Jingning confidence. If he was unwilling to part with his own belongings and still had his eye on Yue Jiang, he would never agree to it.
Yue Jiang knew that Jing Yan hadn't confiscated her dowry back then, and she would never let her use her dowry to feed the palace today.
She said with relief, "So it turns out that Grandmother Zheng has a way. I really need to do my part. In that case, I will listen to Your Highness and properly keep the dowry. I will just give a few items to Sister Jingning as a token of my appreciation."
Yue Jiang had only been in the palace for a short time, yet she was so nonchalant about things like dowry, which would put her at a disadvantage. Jing Yan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
As he walked forward, Jing Yan carefully considered a few words and said, "Jiang'er, I am not close to these brothers and sisters in the palace. You don't need to deal with them personally for my sake."
"The two empress dowagers are always vying for power, and they won't let their own grandsons suffer any losses. On the contrary, you should be wary of them making you suffer, understand?"
Yue Jiang had long understood this principle, but she still nodded in agreement, quite enlightened. As her thoughts wandered, she thought of Jing Shuo's not-so-pure gaze.
Thinking it over carefully, he realized that burning it so easily would be too lenient on him. He then turned around, took the box from Qingke's hand, and handed it to Jingyan.
"Your Highness, I forgot to tell you that I received gifts from Consort Cheng and my second brother today. Now that you've made such a serious statement, I don't know if I can accept the gifts."
Jing Yan's gaze fell on the box, and Yue Jiang, sensing the situation, opened the box, her words carrying a vague, other meaning.
"Originally, I did not want to accept it, but my second brother specially opened it for me to see. It turned out to be three sachets. I love incense, and I thought that Your Highness had never given me such a personal gift before."
"Your Highness the Imperial Concubine and her son are so considerate; please allow me to try this flavor."
"My second brother is so kind. He was worried that I might like the scent of magnolia flowers, but I couldn't find any in the whole palace. He even invited me to visit the Imperial Concubine's palace anytime, saying that there are plenty there and I can pick them whenever I want."
"I didn't agree to his invitation beforehand, but I am his sister-in-law, and the Imperial Concubine is also my elder, so I can't refuse the gifts."
"Would I be at a disadvantage if I accepted this?"
After Yue Jiang finished speaking, she was very worried and asked questions with a anxious expression.
Jing Yan took the box from Yue Jiang, picked up one of the flowers, and smelled it. It was the fragrance of magnolia.
The Empress Dowager and Consort Cheng had the most of them in the palace; they were all planted years ago, supposedly to calm the mind.
Consort Cheng even used her insomnia to compete for the emperor's favor on several occasions.
It was strange that the mother and son would give Yue Jiang such a thoughtful gift for no apparent reason, and Consort Cheng didn't seem like the type to give such a thoughtful gift.
Just now, Yue Jiang spoke a lot about the Consort and her son, but she was actually advising Yue Jiang to accept Jing Shuo and even invited her to be a guest.
By catering to her preferences in this way, could it be that he has other intentions towards Yue Jiang?
"Your Highness, what are you thinking about?" Yue Jiang saw that Jing Yan had been silent for a long time. Jing Shuo's unusual behavior might have planted a seed of wariness in his heart.
Yue Jiang snatched the sachet from Jing Yan's hand, casually tossed it into a box, and then gave it to Qing Ke.
"If it's not a good thing, Your Highness can't withstand smelling it like that. I'll burn it when I get back."
Jing Yan looked at the things that Yue Jiang had carelessly tossed aside, and a strange sense of comfort welled up in his heart. He smiled.
"The sachet smells right. I forgot to mention that Grandmother Cheng loved to burn incense and worship Buddha to cultivate her mind and character. There were many flowers in the palace. Jing Shuo studied flowers when he was young and made incense for Grandmother Cheng. He was quite extraordinary."
Yue Jiang: Jing Shuo loves studying flowers and plants! Is that why he became interested in her?
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