“The concubine’s status is different now, but this is not the Prince of Yan’s residence, but the Qin family’s territory.”
Guo Xun walked over at some point. He was dressed casually today and seemed not to see anyone else. He walked over to Xu Lingzi and greeted her politely, "Sixth Miss."
"Master Guo."
Guo Xun smiled slightly, turned around and walked up to Xu Yunci: "I've been looking for you for a long time. I didn't expect you to be hiding here."
"It was too noisy up ahead, so I came to watch Sixth Sister and the others play polo. It was quite exciting, but unfortunately you missed it."
Xu Yunci didn't even look up. He pushed the new teacup next to him in front of Guo Xun, a hint of pride on his face: "Try it, my sister brewed it herself."
Xu Lingqing, who was sitting behind a table on one side, looked up and smiled, which was considered a greeting.
"Ninth Sister's tea-making skills are superb; Lord Guo is in for a treat today."
Xu Lingzi pulled Jiang Ning down to sit with her, completely ignoring the livid-faced Consort Fan, since there was no need to ruin her mood because of someone who had no connection to her.
Qin Wanyin was a very intelligent person, and she understood things almost instantly. She quickly noticed the movement on the platform, and when she stopped, Li Shiyue followed her gaze and saw the former Miss Fan on the platform.
She was adorned with brocade and gold and silver, as if they were free, creating a chaotic yet beautiful effect.
"Why is she here? I didn't invite her."
No wonder Qin Wanyin was puzzled. The guests she had invited to the banquet today were mostly close friends and daughters and sons of officials who were also part of the Crown Prince's faction. They were all fine young men who were unmarried and had not yet married.
What is Lady Fan, a married woman and a concubine of the Prince of Yan, doing here at her banquet?
Li Shiyue handed the golf club to Chunling, and then took it from Qin Wanyin and gave it to Chunling as well: "Let's go take a look."
Qin Wanyin nodded. As the hostess today, she had no reason to ignore the guests who had come.
Besides, she was quite curious about what this brainless concubine of the Prince of Yan could do.
Although she was wearing riding attire, as she took a step forward, the hem of her skirt subtly revealed the cuffs of her trousers. Li Shiyue's riding attire today was still light blue, but the apricot-pink tassels sewn on the front of her chest, along with the peach blossom embroidery on her cuffs, added to the effect.
The two walked over together. Li Shiyue walked towards Xu Lingzi and suddenly noticed that Jiang Ning was on Xu Lingzi's left and Guo Xun was on her right.
After glancing at Guo Xun, Li Shiyue sat down next to Xu Yunci. As soon as she sat down, a pair of slender fingers pushed a cup of fragrant hot tea towards her.
Li Shiyue looked at the owner of those hands, and Xu Yunci, as if he had known in advance, turned his head to meet her gaze when she looked over, his eyes showing no emotion.
Instead, Li Shiyue looked away first. The aroma of the tea swirled and wafted with the steam, and it was just the right amount of warm tea when it entered her mouth.
Qin Wanyin placed her hands in front of her, a smile on her face: "Consort Fan?"
"Wanyin thought she had misjudged me. Is Consort Qin here for a stroll today as well?" As she spoke, Qin Wanyin glanced elsewhere, her eyes sincere and seemingly genuine.
"I heard that the concubine is very happy, but I haven't had a chance to congratulate her yet. The weather is nice today. Is the concubine out for a stroll with the prince? We are a group of close friends and family members, so we won't disturb the prince and the concubine."
Now that things have come to this point, even the least discerning Consort Fan should have realized that Qin Wanyin, the mistress of the house, is trying to get rid of her. Her willingness to ruin her own reputation shows she's not a normal person.
Consort Fan glanced around and noticed that the eyes of the young master and his wife were already on her side. She looked at Li Shiyue beside Xu Yunci, then at Guo Xun who was listening attentively, and Xu Lingzi's eyes were bright.
His gaze held a hint of disdain, and his voice was deliberately lowered: "Men and women are all together. I'm afraid they'll follow the example of the Guangping Marquis's family and ruin the rules. Miss Qin is, after all, the eldest daughter of the Grand Tutor's family. How can she lead the way in doing such a thing?"
"The title of Princess of Yichang was bestowed by the Emperor himself. Such actions would surely betray the Emperor's expectations."
A moment of silence fell; no one really wanted to pay attention to such a person. The Great Yong Dynasty valued rules above all else. Even a prince's concubine, to put it nicely, was just a concubine. Everyone present was from a second-rank official's household. Even the Prince of Yan would have to treat everyone with respect.
How dare a concubine be so arrogant? Qin Wanyin's smile, which was initially friendly, vanished almost instantly.
"The Emperor personally bestowed the title of County Princess upon Yan Yan, which is an honor bestowed upon her. What business is it of anyone else? What immoral things have we done while we were drinking tea, admiring the garden, and playing polo here that have prompted the concubine to utter such outrageous words?"
She deliberately emphasized the words "concubine," and Qin Wanyin was not a simple person; she said whatever came to mind, hitting Concubine Fan's sore spot.
"It seems that the Consort knows this matter best. After all, you sisters are probably closer to your younger sister when you were young. Why don't we invite the Prince to come and listen, and tell the Emperor about it tomorrow, so that you can hear how the Consort teaches us to have fun?"
"You!" Consort Fan was speechless with anger, but she was too stunned to refute him. Her mind went blank for a moment, and she couldn't think of any rebuttal.
A concubine is not even worthy of being called "Your Highness" by everyone. Apart from the Empress, the Empress Dowager, and the Crown Princess, no other concubines have that right.
She came here to cause trouble, but unexpectedly ended up embarrassing herself, and Consort Fan practically slunk away.
Qin Wanyin couldn't hide the sarcasm in her eyes as she sat down next to Li Shiyue: "A mere concubine of a prince dares to cause trouble? Is the Prince of Yan afraid that my father is worried about not having any memorials to submit?"
Speaking of Grand Tutor Qin, he was truly an old-fashioned man who could criticize every official for the slightest dissatisfaction.
"Just a clown, let's have some tea to cleanse our palates."
Li Shiyue smiled as she sipped a cup of fresh tea, her words seemingly comforting, though she was inwardly slightly surprised by Qin Wanyin's change in attitude.
I thought she was a gentle lady, but she turned out to be a little tiger hiding sharp teeth, and she couldn't control her pettiness if I wasn't careful.
“The county princess is absolutely right. He’s just a clown. Recently, the Prince of Yan has been making a lot of moves, probably because he thinks he has a chance to become the Prince of Yan’s consort.”
Guo Xun glanced at Li Shiyue, seemingly unintentionally. He had heard rumors in the past few days that the Prince of Yan had intended to marry the Princess of Yichang, but the Emperor had rebuked him.
Seeing how calm Xu Yunci and the others were, it seemed more like a rumor that came out of nowhere.
Xu Lingzi chuckled: "You've come all this way just to show off that your concubine has moved. Don't even mention that there's no one to choose as the Princess Consort of Yan. Even if there were someone, what good girl would want to get involved in that messy mansion?"
A favored concubine from a prominent family is carrying a child of unknown gender, who may very well be the future eldest son of the Prince of Yan. The future Princess of Yan is truly in for a rough time.
Xu Yunci remained indifferent, as if she hadn't heard anything, realizing that the person chosen wouldn't be one of them.
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