Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the return of Prince An has become the most talked-about topic in the streets of Beijing recently. Prince An is the ninth son of the late emperor and the emperor's half-brother. With his military support, he paved a way for the emperor to ascend the throne. For this reason, the emperor values ​​Prince An, his brother.

After the day for Prince An's arrival in the capital was set, the emperor announced that he would lead all civil and military officials to welcome Prince An that day, to welcome the hero who had just defeated the northern Hu people's attempt to enter the pass and invade the Great Jin Dynasty.

As the day approached, the capital city became more and more lively. All the inns, restaurants and teahouses along the street from the palace to the city gate were booked early, just waiting to see the elegance of Prince An.

It is widely rumored in the capital that Prince An is extremely handsome, the younger brother of the emperor, and holds great power, yet he has not yet married. Not only ordinary people admire him, but even the powerful families have begun to try every means to get close to Prince An. If their daughters can win the favor of Prince An, even if they are not the principal wife, they can become a concubine, and the family can also be better off.

There were too many families who had this idea, and the silver shops in the capital took the opportunity to make a fortune.

"You don't care. I remember that you have two younger sisters who are still married."

On this day, Pei Wanyue invited Xiao Yunrou to go out and buy jewelry and new clothes. Pei Wanyue was following the instructions of the old lady of the Duke of Ning's mansion to select suitable clothes and jewelry for the young ladies of the Duke's mansion who had not yet married. Originally, this task should have fallen on the head of the Crown Prince's wife, but it happened that the Crown Prince's wife was not feeling well, so she was asked to step forward. She was impatient to do all this alone, so she invited Xiao Yunrou to go with her, so that she would always have a companion.

"The Xiao family can never marry a prince, let alone become someone's concubine."

Xiao Yunrou said calmly. No daughter of the Xiao family, whether legitimate or illegitimate, would be a concubine. This family rule had been passed down for more than a hundred years and had never been broken. Xiao Yunrou did not want to break it either. What was a concubine? In her eyes, she was just a little more noble than a servant.

"You think clearly. What's the good of being a concubine? You have to look at the mistress's face all day long."

Pei Wanyue curled her lips in disdain. The Ningguo Mansion had no legitimate daughter, only four concubines, but how could a concubine marry the prince as his principal wife? Even with the Queen Mother's face, she could only be a concubine at most. If other noble ladies with good family backgrounds were chosen as concubines, they would only be concubines and maids.

"Here, these sets of jewellery are quite good. They will not be outdone at the palace banquet in two days."

Xiao Yunrou didn't want to get involved in the family affairs of the Duke's Mansion. She had only been to the Duke's Mansion twice after marrying into the Zhenyuan Marquis's Mansion. She thought the water was too deep and the fights among the chambers were in full swing.

Pei Wanyue looked at the jewellery and nodded, then asked the shopkeeper to pack them up and send them to the Ningguo Mansion.

Three days later, the army returned.

Xiao Yunrou was a little excited and took people to the Observatory early. Until the cheers came from the street, the sound of the horn came from the direction of the city gate, and the team gradually jumped into everyone's sight. When Xiao Yunrou saw the leading few people, her eyes instantly turned red.

She saw a man in white with a warm smile on horseback. Even on horseback, she could feel his elegant temperament, like a noble man, making people unable to disrespect him.

Xiao Yunrou couldn't help but shed tears, and Hong Zhuang was also excited.

"Madam, you should be happy that the young master has returned. You shouldn't be crying like this on such a happy day."

Xiao Yunrou nodded vigorously after hearing this. "Yes, don't cry. My brother is back. I should be happy."

Xiao Yunrou looked at her elder brother's elegant appearance. No one would have thought that the eldest son of the Xiao family, who knew no martial arts, had gone to the border two years ago. When everyone thought he would never come back, they saw him return to Beijing in such a proud manner.

Thinking back to the time when the Third Prince rebelled, her eldest brother could only hastily mobilize thousands of soldiers to rush to the Marquis' Mansion to protect her and her son. She didn't know what happened to her eldest brother in the end. Now that she thought about it, she still owed her eldest brother a life.

Now it’s good, my eldest brother is still alive and living as he pleases.

On the street, Xiao Yunyan seemed to sense something and raised his head slightly. Perhaps it was the telepathy between brother and sister, he saw Xiao Yunrou on the third floor at a glance.

Xiao Yunyan curled his lips and smiled, and his originally indifferent and distant expression became warm, causing many people who had originally focused their attention on Prince An to turn their heads and look at him foolishly.

Xiao Yunyan was once known as the Immortal Prince of the Jin Dynasty. He won the first place in the imperial examination at the age of 14, but he did not enter the court to serve as an official. Instead, he traveled around the country. After returning to Beijing two years ago, he was even more extraordinary. Countless people came to propose marriage to Mrs. Xiao, but no one expected that such a person would join the army and become the first counselor beside Prince An.

The noble families who had heard the news all knew that this time, Prince An had defeated the Hu people, and a lot of the credit went to Xiao Yunyan. Seeing the real person, they were somewhat tempted. If they couldn't climb up the big tree of Prince An, it would be good to marry into the Xiao family.

The Xiao family is a century-old family, so naturally they have a good status in the capital. Although they have lost their titles now, the eldest son of the Xiao family is a favorite of Prince An, and it is unknown what kind of bright future he will have after today. The eldest daughter of the Xiao family married into the mansion of the Marquis of Zhenyuan, and the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Zhenyuan married into the mansion of the Duke of Ning, and they are also related to the Queen Mother's family. Such a good marriage is rare in the capital.

Xiao Yunyan didn't know how many hearts he had won with this smile. From today onwards, every time he saw those women who wanted to send him love letters and throw themselves at him, he wished he could stay away from the capital.

That night, a palace banquet was held to celebrate the army's return and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

As the wife of the prince of the marquis's mansion, Xiao Yunrou received a second-rank imperial decree and entered the palace with Shen in a carriage after noon.

Although Pei Lingzhi also held an official position, he was only a seventh-rank official. Naturally, the Third Lady also only had a seventh-rank imperial edict and was not qualified to enter the palace. She was a little disappointed about this, but she was not as resentful as Aunt Shen who heard the news in Haitang Garden.

At this palace banquet, the Emperor also had the intention of arranging a marriage for Prince An. There was no girl of the right age in the Zhenyuan Marquis's Mansion, so Shen Shi did not ask Xiao Yunrou for help. However, the Shen family did have a girl who was not yet married, but because of her age, Shen Shi gave up the idea and could only sigh that she did not have the luck to make further progress.

After entering the palace, Shen had nothing good to say to Xiao Yunrou. Her daughter-in-law came from a noble family and had entered the palace many times since she was young, so she spoke to the ladies she was familiar with.

Xiao Yunrou also left Shen's sight and went to a pavilion to sit. After a while, a young man in white sat down beside Xiao Yunrou. She raised her head suddenly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We are in the palace, are you sure you want to cry?"

Xiao Yunyan joked with a smile, his voice revealing a strong sense of doting.

"Big brother left Beijing without a word that year. I later learned where he was from the war report. Now that he's back, don't you want me to cry?"

Xiao Yunrou wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and Xiao Yunyan looked helpless. The Xiao family was awarded a title for military merit in their early years, but several generations later they were all civil officials. Even when Xiao Yunyan went to the battlefield, he was only a military strategist, not a soldier who went into battle to kill the enemy.

"Brother is also a warm-hearted person. I have benefited a lot from the border crossing. It was worth the trip."

Xiao Yunrou smiled softly and said:

"People say that those who have been to the battlefield will become more resolute, but you are still as elegant as ever, and even more celestial than two years ago. No wonder mother was afraid that you would not marry and have children, and would really go to the mountains to cultivate immortality."

"Don't tell me, sister. Mother has already sent invitations to many of our close relatives this morning, inviting the young ladies from each family to come to the Xiao Mansion to play. Mother has used me as a cover to help big brother find someone."

Xiao Yunya came out of nowhere and started teasing Xiao Yunyan as soon as she came in. Facing these two sisters who were born from the same mother, Xiao Yunyan really had no temper and could only rub Xiao Yunya's head helplessly.

Xiao Yunya walked forward slowly, and Xiao Yunyan looked down at her with some confusion. Xiao Yunya gently opened her arms and hugged Xiao Yunyan without caring whether there were people watching outside the pavilion.

"Welcome back, big brother."

The three siblings finally met. Compared to Xiao Yunya who was overly emotional, Xiao Yunrou was much more reserved. However, when she saw this scene, she still rubbed her pale eyes.

Not long after, the palace banquet began.

In the main hall, the emperor sat on a high throne, and next to him sat the current queen mother. The queen died young, and the emperor had not appointed another queen in recent years. Instead, he took good care of the only child between him and the queen, who died of dystocia. This child was the five-year-old crown prince.

The Queen Mother is now in her sixties, with a few gray spots on her temples. The turquoise, gold, jade, and auspicious cloud-patterned buckle is luxurious and elegant. Even from the Queen Mother's face today, one can still vaguely see her former elegance.

Today is the celebration banquet for her beloved youngest son. The Queen Mother is in a very good mood. Listening to the concubines and ladies of noble families sitting below talking and laughing, the smile on her face never stops.

Xiao Yunyan had no official position, and he did not come with Xiao Hongyu today, so even if he had made a contribution this time, he could only sit at the last seat. But when Prince An promoted him, Xiao Yunyan generously sat behind Prince An, which caused everyone to speculate and murmur.

Seeing Prince An and Xiao Yunyan's calm expressions, Xiao Yunrou felt relieved. She raised her head again, but quickly lowered her eyelids to hide the crazy hatred in her eyes.

Not for anything else, but because she saw the Empress Dowager attacking Concubine Wan, who was also the culprit for her tragic death in her previous life!

Xiao Yunrou tried hard not to look at anything on the high seat. Pei Lingfeng, who was sitting opposite her and was the male guest, noticed Xiao Yunrou's strange behavior and narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the high seat thoughtfully.

Without waiting for Xiao Yunrou to adjust her mood, the emperor spoke. Xiao Yunrou listened to the general idea, that is, the soldiers had worked hard this time, and the emperor issued an imperial decree to reward them. What Xiao Yunrou remembered clearly was that Prince An was conferred the title of Prince An, and several generals under him were promoted three levels.

As for Xiao Yunyan, the emperor directly put him in the Ministry of Justice, and he became a third-rank vice minister of the Ministry of Justice. The Xiao family was very happy about this. It was rare to have a vice minister at the age of 22. The most important thing was that he was not put in the Ministry of War, otherwise he would have to go to war with the army one day. The Xiao family only had this one legitimate son, and he could not go to the battlefield again.