Second Marriage

Translator: tarararawr

Editor: Larkspur

Chapter 38 Part 1

The Emperor had given the visitors a special invitation, so the Empress warmly welcomed them even though she felt uncertain about them on the inside.

Many people in the main hall of the Kunning Palace had just seen Xiao Youning come in. They were quite surprised that one of the Empress’s maids was personally supporting her. When they saw the Empress talk to her with a warm smile, instead of treating her coldly for the Xiao Family’s father and son’s defeat, they couldn’t help but be left in awe.

When Huijing came back following her mother, she happened to hear that the Empress was concerned about where Xiao Youning was staying and then heard the address where Li Qingzhi had gone. The resentment she had bubbled up.

Most of the girls present were young ladies who were not married yet. Everyone thought that the Empress’s attitude was strange but did not think too deeply about it. The Xiao Family was indeed a family of great service and highly influential. If the soldiers were really killed in the battle, then Xiao Youning’s divorce by the Li Family was really pitiful no matter how they looked at it.

The crime fell short on the daughter, and the high-ranking officials in the palace did not blame the defeat on her. The border had not been lost and if they did not let the orphan daughter off, they would have faced the ruthlessness of many generals.

The young ladies did not think any deeper. The Eldest Princess was not an ordinary person. She was a woman who had been raised in the palace and knew that whether a woman prospered or not depended on her family. Just like whether a woman in the harem was favored or not was related to the degree to which her father and brothers were valued by the Emperor. Even if she was a di princess, she still had to rely on the Emperor!

The way the Empress was acting shocked the Eldest Princess. She was reminded of the Emperor’s anger upon hearing about the marriage to the Li Family, and her heart sank.

Is there a secret regarding the Xiao Family?

The Eldest Princess silently glanced at Xiao Youning. The little girl in a yellow dress was smiling elegantly, and the mole below her eye added a charm to her delicate appearance.

In the past, she thought a face like that was too frivolous, but now it was too outstanding to look away from among so many orioles and swallows1.

It is the kind of face… a man likes.

As the words emerged unbidden in her mind, the Eldest Princess’s thoughts turned to the Emperor. Does Brother Emperor actually have a crush on Xiao Youning? This girl used to enter the palace.

Her face was awash with fear from her own thoughts.

While the Eldest Princess was letting her imagination run wild, the Empress had instructed for everyone to move to the garden.

It was the time of the year when the summer flowers were in full bloom.The imperial garden flowers were beautiful with all the young ladies. The concubines picked to accompany this event envied their youth. When they had entered the inner palace, they were as fresh and delicate as flower buds. In a blink of an eye, they were old.

Today was the Qiqiao Festival2, and the spider web game3 was a must. All the precious young ladies smiled and handed their brocade boxes to the palace momo. Then the Empress and concubines looked through them one at a time.

The results had not come out yet. The imperial concubines all praised Princess Huijing and everyone believed that Huijing must have won. In the end, the Empress named Xiao Youning.

Xiao Youning was sitting to the side eating fruit. She thought she had misheard. When she saw the Empress beckoning her to come over, she quickly put down the fruit and came forward to receive the gift.

The prize was a dangling golden phoenix tail pin. Since it was a reward from the Empress, it could be worn without any special permission.

For a moment, everyone looked at each other. They didn’t understand how Xiao Youning was favored by the Empress. When General Xiao was still around, they hadn’t seen the Empress bestow her such a valuable gift.

Xiao Youning was personally gifted the hair pin by the Empress herself. She couldn’t stop herself from gaining more hope at the bottom of her heart. Was it possible that her father’s situation was taking a turn for the better?

She controlled her emotions and thanked the Empress for the reward. She was completely unaware of the venomous gaze fixed on her.

Huijing bit her lips and felt extreme hatred for Xiao Youning yet again.

A moment later, the sound of sizhu4 was heard and the dancing girl arrived to liven up the atmosphere. The Eldest Princess scanned the young ladies in the room and made her own conjecture. She went to the Empress for a toast to indirectly inquire, “Sister-in-law Empress, there has not been an imperial concubine chosen for the palace in several years, today …”

She spoke with a concerned expression as if she felt distressed for the Empress.

The Empress did not seem to see her expression and said with a faint smile, “I have informed His Majesty that the inner palace has not seen a new person in a long time, but he said it was not necessary. Then he told me that if I felt bored in the palace, he would find some young and cheerful girls to accompany me for fun. That is why there is today’s palace banquet.”

The Empress spoke very calmly which meant that she was definitely not trying to hide anything. The Eldest Princess’s pounding heart settled down.

That little hoof from the Xiao Family was not going to be her younger sister-in-law. It looked like there was still the matter regarding the Imperial Courts. Then, the Empress put her hands together for the toast.

Footnotes

莺莺燕燕 (yīngyīngyànyàn) – crowd of women乞巧节 (qǐqiǎojié) – Festival on the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar. It celebrates the cowherd and weaver girl. It’s more commonly known as Chinese Valentine these days. WikiIt is a custom where a girl catches a spider and puts it in a basket overnight. If the spider weaves a round web, then the girl who caught the spider will be intelligent and skillful in the futureSizhu is traditional Chinese instrumental music