Second Marriage

“Zhen’s younger sister is becoming more muddled. She has surrounded herself with anything that is fragrant and stinks.” The Emperor sneered at the Eldest Princess for still taking such a step.

He had said everything he needed to say that day, but she still had not come to her senses.

The chief eunuch on the side told him the secret hidden by the Eldest Princess. “The Eldest Princess is being kind hearted because County Princess Huijing tried to hang herself. She is her only precious daughter.”

The Emperor’s face grew more unsightly upon hearing this.

What kind of royal princess is this? She’s a disgrace! 

“Go and tell the Empress that the affairs of this family are unbearable.” After giving orders, he thought of when Ye Shen came to beg for a decree earlier, and then said, “Let the Empress give the Xiao Family’s Young Lady an invitation to the palace banquet and ask her to receive the guests properly.”

The chief eunuch in charge was one of the Emperor’s confidants. He was very clear about who the Emperor respected. He could only sigh since Ye Shen was on the Emperor’s mind.

But after thinking about it again, shouldn’t it be the opposite?

He grew up under the Emperor’s presence, and the Emperor had already regarded him as his own son. Except for the crown prince, all the other princes stood at the side.

It was FIfth Master Ye who was unwilling to assume a position in the courts. Otherwise, how could the cabinet make an exception and open a back door for him?

The chief eunuch went to the Empress and made a special trip to Ye Shen to secretly tell him the Emperor’s words. “Your Majesty heard that Count Princess Huijing is going to be married and did not prepare a special congratulatory gift. However, his mind has been on the Qiqiao Festival for the past few days. He wants to make the palace livelier to make the Empress happy and invite some noble daughters to accompany her, including the di daughter from Marquis Ningyuan’s family.”

Ye Shen listened to every word carefully and nodded to thank him.

Ye Shen smiled and the chief eunuch was happier after receiving a bag of silver. The chief eunuch became more interested in seeing the Young Miss of Marquis Ningyuan’s family since he only vaguely remembered that she was a beauty in the past. There were so many beauties that failed to move Ye Shen’s heart, so what magical power did the Young Miss Xiao have to make the Fifth Master Ye beg for her?

If they really got married… The chief eunuch thought of the Li Family and the Eldest Princess Residence. Oh, when it comes to seniority, the Eldest Princess will be at a disadvantage.

——

Ye Shen returned to the palace for two days without sending Xiao Youning any new information. However, she received the Empress’s invitation that was gilded with peonies.

“Young Miss, I’m afraid this invitation was personally written by the Empress herself.” Yuan Guo was impulsive, but her ability to make judgments was the best. She could glance at the invitation and recognize that it was genuinely from the Empress.

The Empress had bestowed her calligraphy to her Young Miss before, and the handwriting from that matched this one.

Xiao Youning had been to the palace many times, so she was familiar with the Empress.

Now that the Empress had sent her an invitation, she thought that it was good news since she was invited to the palace at this time with the permission of the Emperor. With how things were, was there really another side to what happened to her father?

She put the invitation away in a good mood and asked Yuan Guo to prepare the clothes for that day. She also asked someone to send a letter to Ye Shen, telling him that she was going to the palace on July 7.

Although they might not be able to meet, she still wanted to tell him and share her conjectures about the potential good news.

When Ye Shen received his servant’s report, his mind was filled with the image of her. She looked happy, her eyes gleaming; she was smiling, with a soft glow that warmed a person’s heart.

Sometimes you really happen to meet the right person at the right time. Ye Shen felt that he and Xiao Youning were like this. It can be said that we are a match made in heaven. 

Ye Shen wanted to tell her this, but in the end, he wrote a letter. It only had a few words: I will wait for you.

Afterwards, he rummaged through the cabinets and failed to find the red beans he was looking for. He finally caught a glimpse of a pearl that the Emperor gifted him. He put it in the envelope and had it sent to her.

The meaning was that she was her own rare treasure.

When the letter reached Xiao Youning, she had just heard the steward criticize the Li Family for being shameless. They had already made their connections to the Eldest Princess Residence, yet still spread malicious rumors about Xiao Youning. In the end, the gossip spread that she killed her family. At first, the Li Family did not believe it, but then they heard about what happened to the Ningyuan Residence. Thus, they could only take it upon themselves to prevent the Li Family name from being tarnished.

“Some people in the world are just silly, so why should we bother with them? As long as I live better than them in the future, everyone will naturally understand that I was deceived by the Li Family.”

There must be someone pushing the rumors to be spread wildly. However, Xiao Youning’s guess was wrong. Since Madam Li never received a reply from Madam Ye, she was so upset that she didn’t have time to think of anything else. These rumors were spread by another person who hated her.

However, Xiao Youning did not pay attention to the rumors, and was looking forward to hearing more news about her father and brother when she was in the palace. She kept the doors to her home closed for several days in a row, which shut out all the rumors. She lived her life at ease.

Huo Mingwu came by because of the rumors. He wanted to say something, but hesitated. He heard that she was going to the palace for a banquet. He did not know that Ye Shen had already confessed, so his eyes still lit up. However, he was still contemplating, and then left without saying much.

On the day of the palace banquet, it was a fine sunny day, suitable for a trip.

Xiao Youning took a carriage all the way to the palace, holding Yuan Guo’s hand. Yuan Guo teased her, “I see that the Young Miss will have tremendous good luck today. Very lucky and your wishes will definitely come true!

Xiao Youning’s eyes curved as she smiled. She covered the box. She got out of the carriage at the palace road and went through an inspection. After, she reached the palace and saw a group of girls around a person.

Someone in the crowd realized it was her and whispered, “Why is she here?”

The person being surrounded was Huijing. She looked up and sure enough, she saw the graceful Xiao Youning. Her beautiful and bright face could compete with light. It was so beautiful that Huijing wanted to reach out and tear it up!