The first day of the Lunar New Year was relatively peaceful, and nothing happened.
The banquet continued as usual until late at night.
That evening, one of the geishas, a very beautiful woman, was taken in by His Majesty.
However, no one knew about this at the time; it only came to light later.
Back at the Crown Prince's residence, everyone was exhausted, so they went to rest. The Crown Princess also instructed, "There's no need for greetings tomorrow. A banquet will be held at the residence the day after tomorrow; you can all come."
Everyone agreed and went back.
The crown prince went to the main courtyard as usual.
On the morning of the second day of the Lunar New Year, Jiangxiang brought the food, including freshly cooked dumplings that were still wet and glistening, probably brought over as soon as they came out of the pot.
Now that the wild geese have returned south, we can have time to eat slowly.
Just after they finished eating, Luo Kui came in and said, "Lady Liang, the Crown Princess has taken Ning Chenghui back to her parents' home."
The Crown Princess should have gone back to her parents' home today, but she brought Ning Chenghui with her... that's interesting.
"Your Highness didn't go?" Yan Nangui asked.
"I haven't gone yet, but I don't know if I'll go later. I always went in previous years." Luo Kui had naturally inquired about it as well.
"Oh." Yan Nangui smiled. "Now that the Crown Princess has returned to her family home, shouldn't we send a gift to my family as well?"
Luo Kui nodded: "That's to be expected."
"Then pack some things and deliver them yourself. Remember to tell my second aunt that the Ning family intends to marry their daughter to the Seventh Prince. Also, please persuade my second aunt that the Seventh Prince is not a good man and spends his days indulging in the company of actors. There's no need to make my second sister suffer after marrying him."
What do gifts matter? This is the real New Year's gift.
Luo Kui nodded and left.
Regardless of whether the Yan family found it rare or not, it was still a gift from the Crown Prince's residence, so they should be happy to receive it.
Luo Kui remembered what Yan Nangui had said, so she deliberately said it to Zou Shi alone.
Madam Zou's eyes darted around: "It's still our eldest daughter; she still cares about her family. Is this information accurate?"
"Don't worry, Second Madam, it's true," Luo Kui said.
"Okay, okay, thank you so much." With that, she took off the gold bracelet from her wrist and handed it to Luo Kui.
Luo Kui curtsied, thanked her, and accepted the gift.
Zou whispered to her mother, "I knew it, the Ning family is keeping an eye on things too."
"Yes, the Seventh Prince is favored, and I'm afraid it's not just the Ning family who's eyeing him, is it?" Zhang Mama whispered. "The Seventh Prince goes to the theater all the time, so he's not a good match. In my opinion... it's better if he doesn't marry."
"What do you know?" Madam Zou pulled her to a corner and said, "It may not look good now, but don't you know? His Majesty doesn't like the Crown Prince, and sooner or later... Who will be the next Crown Prince? My daughter is lucky, even the monks praise her. Why can't we hope for it? If it happens... to tell you the truth, even if she's just a concubine, she'll be extraordinary in the future."
A prince's wife, isn't that just a concubine...?
"Yes." Zhang's mother didn't dare to say anything more.
"Don't think I don't love my children. The second master is incompetent. When will the second wife's family ever amount to anything? I have not only daughters but also sons. Besides, what difference does it make who she marries? Success is the most important thing."
Mrs. Zhang nodded, sighing inwardly, unsure of what to say.
"Go and find out about that actor, what his name is, how old he is, and what kind of person he is," said Madam Zou. She added, "If the Seventh Prince really likes this actor..."
"Oh dear, Second Madam, please don't do anything rash. If you offend the Seventh Prince..." Zhang Mama exclaimed in alarm and quickly stopped her.
"What are you thinking? What I mean is, we should investigate thoroughly. If the Seventh Prince really likes her, we should give her some benefits and ask her to persuade him to choose our Jinxiu. Then we can promise her that we will take her back and give her a proper status. Wouldn't that be better? Tell her that if it were someone else, I'm afraid no one would accept an actress." When Madam Zou said this, her expression was arrogant.
Although her background wasn't exceptional, she was still the descendant of an official. Naturally, she looked down on actors.
These days, actors and actresses are not considered to have a good background; they can't even compare to honest officials in brothels.
After thinking about it, Zhang's mother thought it was a good idea.
Anyway, an actor can't turn the world upside down.
At the Crown Prince's residence, after Luo Kui left, Yan Nan Gui wrote a note, slipped it into an envelope, and asked Chan Yi to deliver it to the front courtyard: "To His Highness."
While Shu Chengfeng was still at home, he took advantage of the moment.
Shu Chengfeng received the item, opened it, and pulled out the half of the letter.
Yes, only half a sheet.
She raised her eyebrows slightly.
The sentence above is very simple: My aunt will send someone to contact A-Luo soon, and if nothing unexpected happens, it will be to offer her a bribe.
Although it was incomplete and without a clear beginning or end, Shu Chengfeng's wisdom was such that he naturally didn't need to ponder it.
He chuckled and shook his head: "You're really asking for trouble. In that case, pass a message to A'Luo. Since she hates you so much, let Seventh Brother deal with her."
He muttered to himself, "It seems the Yan family are all her enemies."
Yunji saw it too, and left with a smile.
In fact, both Shu Chengfeng and Yan Nangui knew perfectly well that Yan Jinxiu could not marry the prince.
A Luo's existence was certainly not for Yan Jinxiu's sake.
But that doesn't stop Yan Nan from taking advantage of A Luo. After all, it was Shu Chengfeng who took her to see the play, and that's how she learned about A Luo.
If it's useful, why not use it?
When the Yan family plotted her marriage, what did her dear cousin say? "What good does a lowly child want? Shouldn't she just marry anyone?"
For over a decade, under the guise of currying favor with the eldest princess, she had made things difficult for Yan Nangui. Yan Nangui was clearly the eldest legitimate daughter, and the entire household relied on Yan Lingyun.
But when they bullied her, they showed no mercy whatsoever.
As for her good second aunt, Zou, she was two-faced, saying one thing to people's faces and another behind their backs. She had spoken ill of Lan Shi more than once.
The original owner of this body only knew how to make a lot of noise. But Yan Nangui is not like that.
If I can't turn things around, it's because I'm incompetent.
Now that I've turned my life around, it's time for you to pay your debts.
Yan Jinxiu was the second person in the Yan family to pay off their debts.
The first one is Yan Jinsi, but Yan Jinsi's journey to pay off her debts is not over yet; her better days are yet to come.
Let's take it slow.
Yan Nangui hummed a little tune and began to paint; this time, he painted a beautiful woman.
Thinking of the beauties he saw in the palace, he changed the scene and began to paint.
Whether the person is good or not doesn't matter; her paintings depict a group of celestial concubines or beautiful enchantresses.
She put down her brush as soon as she started painting.
"Bring me a booklet, I'll draw with a fine brush." She decided to draw a booklet for fun.
They only paint beautiful women and scenery, regardless of whether they are good or bad, focusing only on beauty and ugliness.
One cannot spend all day seeking revenge and vying for favor; one must also cultivate one's character.
Drawing is quite nice. It's pleasing to the eye.
Compared to Shu Chengfeng, who still had to go to his father-in-law's house to perform today, Yan Nangui was extremely satisfied with everything before him.
Especially when lunch is particularly plentiful and satisfying.
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