When bringing up Master Huiming, Yang naturally thought of the Grand Princess's gag order, and she didn't dare to say anything.
It's true that comparing yourself to others makes you feel miserable. Why don't those two brats in her family have such good luck?
But then she changed her mind and realized that Qi Ge'er from the eldest son's family was also not pleasing to the eye of that strange gentleman, and her anger suddenly subsided.
Because the Wei family had left the court for a long time and their relationship with the royal family was limited to the Grand Princess, the dispute caused by the Yue Pingshan case did not have any impact on the Duke of Ying's Mansion. Except that the Grand Princess would occasionally feel a little depressed when she thought of the rumors that Princess Rui was still alive, there was nothing else.
Although Shen Xinyan was also concerned about the development of the situation, she was a woman and had no other channels except listening to rumors and gossip. However, Wei Junhang had recently turned his attention back to the mansion and was no longer away from home all day like he had been some time ago.
In this way, the ups and downs in the capital seemed to be isolated outside the Duke of England's mansion.
On this day, Wei Chenglin came to pay his respects early in the morning as usual. Thinking of the rumors about Princess Rui, Shen Xinyan said worriedly: "The whole city is in turmoil now, and the palace must not be very peaceful either. You just need to study hard in there, and don't pay attention to other things."
Wei Chenglin nodded: "Don't worry, mother. I know everything."
Although she knew that her son was young, he had always been stable. Things like 'Princess Rui is still alive' and 'Prince Cheng framed loyal officials' had never happened in her life. Shen Xinyan didn't know how serious the situation would be in the end. Wei Chenglin was the only one in the palace among the whole family. How could she be completely at ease?
The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. Then she thought of Princess Rui's biological son, the current eldest prince, and asked worriedly, "How is your relationship with the princes? Which one can you get closer to?"
If Princess Rui was still alive, the eldest prince would naturally receive more attention. At this critical moment, anyone who was close to him would inevitably receive some attention. But this attention was not necessarily good, and it might cause some trouble. If it was more serious, it might affect the mansion, which was something she absolutely did not want to see.
Wei Chenglin was a little surprised. He didn't expect that his mother, a woman in the inner house, would ask the same questions as his grandfather and father.
"I observe the etiquette between the monarch and my subjects equally to all three princes, and I am not particularly close to any one of them," he answered honestly.
Shen Xinyan thought about it and asked in a different way: "So what do you think of the personalities of these three princes?"
"The eldest prince is the same age as me, and he is the oldest, so he is naturally calmer. He usually studies quietly and treats everyone equally, and he doesn't seem to be closer to anyone. The second prince is more lively and active. The third prince is the youngest, so he is inevitably a little spoiled." He thought for a moment and answered seriously.
Shen Xinyan understood.
Of the three princes, the eldest prince was praised the most, which also showed that they paid the most attention to him. It seemed that the son of this life would be like the previous life, and might get closer to the eldest prince in the future.
Forget it, in his last life, he was close to the eldest prince, and he was able to rise to prominence in the end. This life... I think it should be no exception.
She comforted herself in this way. After a moment, she was still a little worried: "Have you ever heard the rumors about the eldest prince's biological mother, Princess Rui?"
Wei Chenglin hesitated for a moment, but still nodded: "I've heard of it."
In fact, the news had spread throughout the palace, and concubines from all over the palace went to Fengkun Palace from time to time, hoping to get confirmed news from Empress Zhou.
After all, the love between Prince Rui and his wife was witnessed by all. If she were still alive and your Majesty's heart was hooked, would they still be able to live a good life in the future?
Of course, there were also people who were waiting to see Queen Zhou make a fool of herself.
In the short time since arriving at the palace, Wei Chenglin has witnessed the struggles among the concubines. He has once again deeply realized that it is not advisable to have too many wives and concubines! If there are too many women, they will be jealous, scheming, and making innuendos. The worst is like the noble lady in the palace, who lost her life at a young age!
It would be better if my father and mother were like this. Fu Ning Home is clean and tidy, without so many worries, and my mother can live a more comfortable life.
Shen Xinyan rubbed her forehead with a headache. Even her son, who was always busy and had no chance to be exposed to rumors, had heard about it. It was obvious that the rumors had spread in the palace. Regardless of whether the rumors were true or false, and whether Princess Rui was still alive, the master of the harem was still Queen Zhou.
"What did your grandfather tell you?" After such a big thing happened, she didn't believe that the British Council didn't give any instructions to its grandson.
"Don't listen, don't talk, don't welcome, don't avoid, be impartial, just look at it normally." Wei Junhang honestly told him what the Duke of England had told him.
Shen Xinyan was silent for a while, then nodded and said, "Your grandfather is right. You are just a child. You entered the palace just to study. You don't need to care about other things."
Wei Chenglin wanted to say that he was no longer a child, but when he looked at his mother's gentle face and saw the obvious worry on it, he swallowed the words back.
"Okay, the kid knows."
There is nothing wrong with being a child. Like Lingfu and my sister, they can receive so much care and love from their mother.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Pingfu and Xiaoyingzhi walking into the room hand in hand. The two kids recognized him, and their four black and white eyes lit up immediately, and they called out "brother" in unison.
He felt that the jealousy he had towards the two kids had dissipated a lot.
"Master Wu has started to teach me how to box. Can I show you how to box later?" Pingfu grabbed the corner of his clothes and said expectantly.
"Brother, I know how to embroider handkerchiefs now. Can I embroider one for you some other day?" Xiao Yingzhi pulled his sleeve and said with her long eyelashes fluttering.
Shen Xinyan laughed: "You make a promise to someone every day. Let me count how many people you have promised. Grandma, Dad, Mom, Lingfu, Cousin Hui, Grandma, Uncle, Brother Yue, and now your brother. How long will it take to redeem it?"
Xiao Yingzhi's eyes widened: "You promised so many people?"
Shen Xinyan burst out laughing, and Wei Chenglin couldn't help laughing as well.
It turns out that this girl agrees to marry anyone she meets, but she has never counted how many handkerchiefs she has given out.
"Madam, you forgot. The fourth lady also promised to give me one!" Chunliu suddenly interrupted.
"Ah? There's more?!" The little girl's eyes widened even more, making everyone laugh.
"From now on, you are not allowed to run around all day. Stay in the house honestly and embroider all the handkerchiefs you promised to others first. If you promise to others, you must do it, otherwise you are a liar and a liar!" Shen Xinyan said with a smile.
The little girl wrinkled her nose in embarrassment and sighed like a little adult: "Okay!"
Seeing how adorable she looked, Shen Xinyan couldn't help but pinch her chubby cheeks and chuckled.
"Don't be afraid, Ying'er. Take your time. It doesn't matter if I embroider my side when I have time." The honest child Rongfu comforted her.
"I was planning to embroider it for you last!" the little girl muttered.
"You only know how to bully Rong Fu!" Shen Xinyan pinched her nose and shook it.
"Brother!" The little girl dodged her clutches, turned around with a smile and threw herself into her brother's arms.
Wei Chenglin hugged her with a smile.
Seeing the brother and sister being so close, Shen Xinyan's eyes were a little complicated, as if she was relieved, but also sad.
I just don't know how long this intimacy can last...
Wei Chenglin was naturally sensitive. Even though he was teased by his sister, his attention was always on her. Naturally, he noticed her strange look and felt puzzled.
I don't know when it started, but this expression would appear on my mother's face from time to time. She was clearly smiling, but her smile made me feel sad. Sometimes her eyes were clearly looking at me, but her gaze was quite distant, as if she was looking at another person through me.
He didn't like his mother's expression and eyes like this. It was like being hurt by someone but being unable to do anything about it, struggling to get relief but unable to escape.
***
The Yue Pingshan case becomes more and more serious, more and more officials are implicated and imprisoned, the once arrogant Prince Cheng is now also implicated, and the rumors that Princess Rui is not dead are becoming more and more intense.
Shen Xinyan was originally worried that Wei Junhang would be dragged into the inner circle, but when she saw that he stayed in the mansion every day and did not go out, she was completely relieved. Then she put her mind into her business again.
Not long ago, she finally found the right candidates and planned to train them slowly, which would provide an extra layer of protection in the future.
Also, Xu Sumin asked someone to pass on a message a few days ago, saying that their hot spring villa has already started construction, and everything is progressing smoothly, so she believes it should be completed on schedule.
Everything was moving in a good direction, and she began to look forward to the future.
That day, she was looking at the account book when Xia He came in and reported that the Grand Princess had asked the Crown Prince's wife to meet a guest.
She was stunned for a moment: "What kind of guest has arrived?"
"Madam Pingliang Hou." Xia He curled her lips slightly.
She is not the mother of the Crown Prince's wife, so why should we specially invite her to meet her?
Seeing this, Shen Xinyan didn't say much. She changed her clothes and left.
"Is this the Crown Prince's wife? I have been very busy these days and haven't had time to meet you in person." The wife of Marquis Pingliang said affectionately, pulling her aside.
Shen Xinyan smiled and gently pulled away from her and bowed: "I have met the Marquis' wife."
"We are all relatives, so why should we be so polite?"
"You have not been in the capital for many years, and your relatives do not visit each other often, so even the closest ones will become estranged in the future. It is a rare opportunity for you to come today, so I will let you meet these younger generations and get to know their faces, so that you won't fail to recognize them when you see them outside in the future." The eldest princess said with a smile.
"That's exactly the truth. You and I, sisters, don't care about this, but the younger generation should still move around more." Lady Pingliang Hou also smiled.
"Don't be fooled by the bright smiles on their faces, mother and daughter are really anxious inside! I heard that Prime Minister Zhou is at home sick, and the glory of the Prime Minister's Mansion is about to be gone, and yet they are so eager to marry their daughter to him." When no one was paying attention, Yang walked to Shen Xinya's side and said in a low voice.
Shen Xinyan was surprised.
Calling in sick? At this moment?