The next day, Yuanhua went to Yan's house and found out what had happened.
Princess Rongning has now gone to the estate, and Zou Shi is in charge of things now.
But the old lady was not one to back down. It was one thing that she couldn't afford to offend the princess before, but Zou Shi was neither as capable as the princess nor as capable as Lan Shi.
The old lady had nothing to say for a while, but as time went on, she began to have her own opinions.
This time, it's because of the marriage of Yan Jinxing from the second wife's family.
Yan Jinxing is nineteen years old now, but he missed two years because of the late emperor's passing.
Although there was no rule that officials' families had to stay for several years, no suitable one was available at the moment, so no arrangements were made.
Now, it seems that marriage is the only option.
Zou's intention was to marry her niece from her maternal family.
His desire to promote his niece was obvious. However, the old lady disagreed.
The old lady's family also had girls of marriageable age.
The old lady knew very well that Wang's daughter could not marry Yan Lingyun's two sons.
Back then, she was indeed tempted by the things Yan Nan sent her.
However, Yan Nanji was not very capable at that time, and he was just close to the princess, so she did not make any special arrangements for him.
Now that Yan Jinxing is in good years, he should still ask a daughter of the Wang family to marry into the family.
The Wang family is not as good as the Yan family, so we should still give them some support.
But the Wang family did not think the same way as the old lady.
They have grander ideals.
Because of these reasons, the old lady and Madam Zou have been at odds lately.
The reason we're looking for Yan Nangui now is, frankly, to get her to speak up. If she just says a word, the deal will basically be done.
After replying, Yuanhua said, "The old lady didn't say it explicitly, but I could tell what she meant. The second madam is so resolute. She's also looking for someone suitable for the third young master outside."
"After all, she's her own mother. No matter what, she'll love her son first." As for the old lady, needless to say, she only loves herself.
"Then, Your Majesty, what do you think?" Yuanhua asked.
"It has nothing to do with me, but now that Fifth Sister is engaged, Second Uncle must have his own ideas about Yan Jinxing's marriage. All their talk is just empty words."
Now Yan Nangui has finally seen through her second uncle's true nature.
He doesn't really concern himself with matters in the backyard and rarely speaks out.
But they handle important matters very well.
“If you don’t appease her, all your previous efforts will have been in vain. I’m thinking, since the old lady thinks so, why not let that Wang family girl come into the mansion as a concubine?” Yuanhua said.
"That's unnecessary. The Wang family's daughter didn't provoke me. Yan Jinxing didn't provoke me either. To bring them together for no reason might harm Yan Jinxing's wife in the future." Yan Nangui waved his hand.
“Your Majesty is right, it was my fault,” Yuanhua said.
"It's alright. Since Grandmother is unhappy, let's send her some things. Clothes and jewelry, whatever you think is appropriate," Yan Nangui said casually.
Speaking of clothes and jewelry, His Majesty will bestow them upon the harem the next day.
This has happened once every summer for the past few years.
Generally, there's one distribution in summer and one before the New Year. It's a set custom. In summer, the gifts are cloth, spices, and some jewelry. In winter, they're mainly daily necessities, like charcoal, and a sum of silver is given to each palace to prepare for the New Year.
This was a special gift from His Majesty, not included in his salary.
It's a few days later this year, but it doesn't matter to someone like Yan Nangui.
However, for many people, without this money, life would be very difficult.
This time, the emperor was determined to teach the empress a lesson, so he had the gifts sent directly to Consort Jing's Feiluan Palace.
It was said that the Imperial Concubine was to distribute them.
Consort Jing was naturally delighted; she had been hoping to be in charge of affairs for many years.
Fortunately, Granny Lu remained clear-headed: "Your Highness, it's a good thing this has fallen on your shoulders, but you must be vigilant."
"Now, the Empress says she's ill, but she'll be better in a month. Half of that time has passed. Consort Xiang is pregnant. Now, it's not appropriate for you to directly step forward." The main reason is that your own Consort isn't truly favored.
To step forward at this time is to be reckless.
“I didn’t intend to do anything,” Consort Jing said.
Seeing that she was unhappy, Granny Lu continued, "The servants below already know your nobility and authority. They should be more polite to those above. The things for Her Majesty the Empress's palace must be sent properly, not a single item should be missing."
Consort Jing snorted, "Me, covet her?"
That's the advantage of being born into a wealthy family; at least she doesn't lack those things.
"I have already seen it, and the best item this year is the Floating Light Cloud Brocade. This is a rare item, and only a few are sent to her each year. Apart from the Empress's, there aren't many elsewhere. You must make good arrangements for it."
Consort Jing lost her earlier joy and sighed, "Never mind, I don't know how to do these things, so you can arrange it, Granny."
Granny Lu hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please don't be angry. Things will be different when you have your little prince. Then, you will be more able to manage these matters and gain more respect from the people."
Let's not even talk about the Empress Dowager. Anyway, relying on yourself is always more secure than relying on others, right?
Although Consort Jing is short-tempered, she will listen if you try to persuade her properly.
So he immediately ordered people to meticulously pack up the Empress's belongings and send them over carefully.
Consort Xiangxian didn't lose a single bit; on the contrary, she even added some, saying that since she was pregnant, it was appropriate.
When the gift reached Consort Chen, she was extremely displeased.
Nobody would be happy to have someone who has hit them before, right?
However, I still reluctantly gave them what I was supposed to.
The quantity of Floating Light Cloud Brocade is limited.
Only a limited number of these can be sent to the capital each year.
Because they were so difficult to make, apart from those made for His Majesty and the Empress to wear as everyday clothes, there weren't many left.
The Empress received this from her annual stipend, so it was enough for her.
However, the summer gifts are more splendid and brightly colored than those distributed at the end of the year.
At Yan Nangui's rank, she receives four bolts of shimmering cloud brocade and eight bolts of ordinary cloud brocade each year. Shu Chengfeng also gives her some; like last year, even though she couldn't wear red or green yet, Shu Chengfeng still bestowed upon her six bolts of nice-colored brocade. They're all usable this year. As long as they're not stored for ten or eight years, they're generally still in good condition.
There are also fabrics such as shimmering satin, Shu brocade, brocade, brocade satin, snow satin, etc.
In summer, Yan Nangui prefers to wear thin gauze clothing.
That is, gauze of various colors and embroidered with flowers. Many people in the palace imitated her, wearing transparent gauze over their skirts.
These threads weren't cheap either. However, people at that time didn't use them to make clothes. They were only used for decoration or as curtains.
It's not as luxurious as some people describe. The craftsmanship is just as sophisticated.
Therefore, she wasn't particularly obsessed with brocade; it was enough for making clothes.
This time, Consort Jing arranged two horses, one lake green and the other scarlet. They are quite beautiful.
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