Chapter 25: The Significance of Being One as Husband and Wife

Yan Ziqi didn’t come to this residence often, but the gatekeeper recognized him.

As soon as the door opened, he rushed inside like a gust of wind, heading straight for the inner courtyard.

The gatekeeper closed the door, blocking the curious gazes of the neighbors. He didn’t care whether the person inside was a princess or a concubine. As long as she continued living here and giving out generous tips, everything would be fine.

After entering through the main hall, Yan Ziqi walked past the corridors and arrived at a courtyard, where Li Ning’an lived.

There were three peach trees in the courtyard, with a stone-paved path. Two side rooms were on the left and right, with a three-room central building. The bedroom was on the left side.

Li Ning’an emerged from her bedroom. In the small hall facing the entrance was a painting of pines and cranes, with two rosewood chairs beneath it and an empty table between them.

“What are you doing here?”

Yan Ziqi’s loud voice had already reached her ears, and of course, Li Ning’an heard her name being called.

Yan Ziqi extended his hand. “Give me my personal seal. What did you do with it?”

Given the seriousness of the matter, he refrained from shouting further.

He glanced around and noticed how meticulously the courtyard was arranged. The front corridor even had a lotus tank with lively fish swimming in it.

Li Ning’an had nearly forgotten about the seal. She instructed her maid, Hongxiu, to open the small box beside her bed and retrieve the personal seal.

Some time ago, when Li Ning’an had visited Yan Ziqi’s house and found him absent, she had wandered into his study and spotted his personal seal.

She thought that since Yan Ziqi couldn’t be there in person, she might as well send a warning in his name.

Li Ning’an handed the seal to Yan Ziqi. “I must say, how could you leave something so important just lying around carelessly in a box?”

The box had been placed on the table, and she had seen the seal immediately without even having to search for it.

Yan Ziqi hadn’t expected anyone to go into his study. He had even forbidden anyone from cleaning it.

After putting away the seal, Yan Ziqi sat down with Li Ning’an. Seeing that the two weren’t arguing, Hongxiu and Xing’e brought over tea and snacks.

Yan Ziqi asked, “What exactly did you write to Uncle Ge?”

He didn’t try to hide anything and showed her the letter.

Coincidentally, a military report from the frontier had arrived that same day.

Although Emperor Mingde had already received a confidential report, he didn’t plan on taking any action for now.

He was waiting to see if General Tong would prove useful and also to gauge the opinions of the court officials.

At worst, General Tong would simply endure some hardship. It was his own arrogance that had brought this upon him.

If the Northern Yue really intended to kill him, they wouldn’t have waited for a military report to be sent back—they would have done it already.

Due to the contents of the military report, Emperor Mingde summoned several senior officials to the Inner Cabinet of the Xuanzheng Palace for a discussion.

However, it would be the next day before Li Ning’an heard any of this news.

From the letter Yan Ziqi had brought, Li Ning’an could tell that General Tong had definitely been captured.

Aside from managing her restaurant business recently, Li Ning’an had also instructed the horse groom to buy some useful servants from nearby slave markets.

She intended to train them to become secret guards.

The horse groom had indeed been a great buy, helping her with many tasks.

Li Ning’an was reluctant to give him up to Yan Ziqi. Fortunately, Yan Ziqi didn’t ask for him, so she kept the groom to assist her in her private residence.

Li Ning’an handed the letter back to Yan Ziqi. “I’m already your concubine, so we’re basically one in the same. What’s yours is mine.”

“I just wrote a secret letter in your name, asking Uncle Ge to keep an eye on General Tong.”

“What do you suspect General Tong of?” Yan Ziqi became serious, like the person he used to be, although he hadn’t been serious for many years now.

Li Ning’an was used to it. Even her father, the emperor, had said that if Yan Ziqi’s parents were still alive and he had not become so withdrawn, he would have been sent to the frontier for training. By now, he would likely have achieved the rank of a second-grade military officer.

As for Tong Linian, he was still just a fifth-grade general.

Yan Ziqi was known for hiding his true talents.

He was careful not to outshine the imperial princes.

Now, people only remembered him for his carefree, indulgent lifestyle, and few recalled that he was once both a scholar and a warrior.

It was no wonder that in her past life, when he returned victorious from battle, many were shocked by his achievements.

Li Ning’an couldn’t reveal anything about her past life, so she found an excuse to cover it up.

“My fourth sister always flaunts the gifts she receives from him. After all, General Tong is her uncle. I thought it best to inform Uncle Ge as a precaution.”

Chapter 25: The Meaning of Being One with the Spouse

She hadn’t been back to the palace for a long time and had no idea who her fourth sister might be showing off to.

Yan Ziqi, half believing, didn’t stay long and returned to the Duke of Xiang’s residence.

Li Ning’an thought that with the Mid-Autumn Festival coming next month, she should return to the palace for a while. She wanted to gather information and couldn’t stay too far from her father.

In the afternoon, Li Ning’an packed her things, first returned to her chambers, and then prepared gifts to visit her mother, the Empress Dowager, in the Weiyang Palace.

The Empress Dowager was discussing with the female officials from the Kitchen Bureau about what dishes to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Palace Feast.

Seeing her arrival, the Empress Dowager was very pleased.

She now only had these two siblings left—Ning Zhao was sensible, and Ning An was mischievous.

It was a pity that Ning Zhao was still too young to protect her sister.

“Why are you free to come today?”

The Empress Dowager invited her to sit close by. There was enough space on the couch for two more of Li Ning’an.

Qian Shangshi greeted Princess Ning’an. She had heard that the Nie family had been bought by Princess Ning’an and that the contract for Nie Rou had been changed to a good status.

It was said that she worked diligently every day, earning a modest wage in some loft.

Qian Shangshi had received guidance from Old Man Nie, which allowed her to hold her position in the Kitchen Bureau.

However, she didn’t have enough money to buy an entire family and didn’t dare to offend Consort Tong and her daughter.

Fortunately, there was Princess Ning’an.

In the past, there were rumors that she was deeply in love with Assistant Minister Fu and ignored everything else.

Now, seeing what Princess Ning’an brought to the Empress Dowager, it was truly considerate.

Li Ning’an nodded to signal Qian Shangshi to rise and then sat beside her mother, casually picking up the menu.

“Mrs. Shui Qi is marrying into the Zhongyong Marquis’s residence next month. It might not be possible to arrange her favorite dishes on that table.”

Li Ning’an noticed that there were also people from the Fu residence on the list. Mrs. Fu had brought three ladies.

Their meals, surprisingly, were still being considered by the Empress Dowager.

It was evident that without her, Fu Minglang’s career would have been much smoother.

It wouldn’t be right to directly kill someone without evidence of their misdeeds.

It might be better to wait until he climbed higher and then kick him down.

“There’s only one lady from the Fu residence. Are there any other families?”

Qian Shangshi, not wanting to wait for the Empress Dowager to respond to Princess Ning’an, said:

“There are two families from the old residence. After sending the palace invitations, they added two more ladies.”

This was a common occurrence.

After all, those organizing the banquet couldn’t constantly keep track of which family had added new members.

There were staff who delivered invitations or notifications to each family about how many people they could bring.

Once everyone was informed, arrangements could be made.

Li Ning’an gave a nonchalant response, clearly no longer interested.

“Don’t add his people. Mother, you’re so kind to him, but you’re still preparing crab cakes for him.”

September and October are the crab-eating season, but the delicious crabs won’t be available for a while.

These crab cakes could satisfy the craving.

Though not made with real crab, the flavor is achieved with egg yolk, mimicking the taste of crab.

Yan Ziqi loved crabs, so this dessert was a good substitute.

The Empress Dowager lightly tapped her daughter’s head, “What kind of jealousy is this? Don’t I have things prepared for you?”

Li Ning’an naturally saw that her mother had prepared her favorite items, but Yan Ziqi would definitely be out of the capital in August.

Even if she made them, it would be a waste.

But she didn’t yet know that General Tong had been captured and couldn’t foresee Yan Ziqi going to the frontier.

So, in the Empress Dowager’s eyes, it must be Ning An being jealous.

“He lost his parents early, and as a child, it’s not easy.”

The Empress Dowager patted her daughter’s head. Though she was the empress and didn’t meet many commoners or officials, she was very fond of Yan Ziqi.

If not for him being the only heir of the Duke of Xiang, she would have considered adopting him as a foster son.

Furthermore, His Majesty had come to Weiyang Palace that day, hoping she would find a good wife for Ziqi.

To be honest, Ning An had known him since childhood.

However, Consort Tong’s fourth princess was also at the age to discuss marriage.

As his stepmother, she couldn’t avoid the matter.