In the afternoon, Li Jing returned to the palace from the Lu residence.

  Coincidentally, when he arrived outside the palace gate, he ran into the Fourth Prince.

  ”Second brother,” the Fourth Prince called affectionately.

  Li Jing responded with a smile and walked into the palace gate together with the Fourth Prince.

  ”I went to Zhao’s house today and had lunch there.” The Fourth Prince smiled and said, “Did the second brother also have lunch at Lu’s house today?”

  Li Jing smiled and hummed.

  The Fourth Prince was nonchalant and loved to talk. Without Li Jing asking, he told Li Jing about his trip to the Marquis of Puyang today: “My uncle was not in the mansion, and my aunt showed me a warmer affection. Now I understand what they mean by ‘the mother-in-law finds the son-in-law increasingly interesting’.”

Li Jing joked with a smile: “You are in the midst of blessings and don’t know your blessings.”

  The Fourth Prince grinned: “I grew up with Cousin Yu and are familiar with each other. In fact, I have known for a long time that I will marry her. Although she is a bit stupid, she truly loves me. So, I’m willing to marry her.”

  In the eyes of the Fourth Prince, it’s enough for the future wife to focus on herself. He couldn’t handle a woman who was too smart or too powerful, nor could he bear it.

  It was better to marry his bio mei ^[1]Cousin from your mother’s side who was younger than you. Though he calls her younger sister technically he is younger as his consort. He had grown up with her since he was a child, and his silly cousin was kind to him. She can make Empress Dowager Zhao happy, and he can also win over Puyang Hou for help.

  It was simply a happy event!

  Li Jing looked at the beaming Fourth Prince and couldn’t help smiling.

  One’s man meat was another man’s poison.

  The Fourth Prince rolled his eyes, and suddenly laughed in a low voice: “I don’t know how was third brother’s visit to the Meng’s house today?”

  Li Jing’s smile remained unchanged: “You are curious, just ask him and you will know.”

  The Fourth Prince: ” …”

  The Fourth Prince held back for many days. Today was a rare opportunity, and he quickly said: “Second brother, the third brother had a crush on Miss Lu in the past. There are quite a many people in the palace who know about it. The second and third brothers even fought with each other for Miss Lu.”

  ”Now that the second brother and the fourth Miss Lu have made an appointment, the third brother doesn’t look unwilling at all. Isn’t the second brother afraid that the third brother will secretly hold grudges in his heart?”

  Li Jing glanced at the talkative Fourth Prince with a half-smile: ” I know you like to join in the fun and inquire about it. Otherwise, someone else will definitely think you are deliberately instigating.” 

The Fourth Prince has thick skin, and he didn’t blush when Li Jing made such a joke, so he asked cheekily: “Second brother, how about you? Don’t you have any grudges in your heart?”

  Li Jing simply answered two words: “No.”

  The Fourth Prince looked in disbelief.

  Li Jing didn’t intend to explain carefully and quickly returned to his bedroom.

  The Fourth Prince thought about it, but he still couldn’t hold back and went to Jinren Palace.

  ”Third brother,” the fourth prince called affectionately, and joked with a smile: “You went to Meng’s house, didn’t your future mother-in-law ask you to stay for lunch?”

  Li Hao smiled wryly and said, “Do you think I have the same audacity as you? I can’t just stay at my future in-laws’ house for lunch and then return to the palace.”

  The Fourth Prince smiled and said, “I’m not the only one. The second brother also came back after having lunch in the Lu residence. I just met the second brother at the gate of the palace. A face full of spring breeze.”

  Li Hao paused with a slight smile.

  The Fourth Prince looked at Li Hao calmly.

  Li Hao quickly recovered, and said with a faint smile: “Fourth brother, you came to me on purpose just to say this? Or do you want to take this opportunity to find out if there is any grievance between me and the second brother?” 

The Fourth Prince chuckled:” I’m just talking casually, the Third brother can say what he wants, and if he doesn’t tell me, I will never ask again.”

  In fact, he felt like a cat’s paw was scratching in his heart.

  For a young man who liked to gossip and watch the show, the feeling of not being able to eat a big melon was too painful.

  Li Hao’s expression was calm: “I don’t want to say.”

  The Fourth Prince: “…”

  …

  Five days passed in a blink of an eye.

  The day of Princess Jing’an’s Hairpin Ceremony came.

  Just after dawn, the Eldest Prince and the Eldest Prince Consort entered the palace.

  Concubine Meng Gui didn’t want to see the eldest prince consort and found fault with her at every turn. With a sweep of his gaze, he said: “Liang shi, today is Jing’an’s Hairpin ceremony. Why are you dressed so brightly? Could it be that you want to steal Jing’an’s limelight?” 

“The daughter-in-law was thinking that today is the younger sister’s wedding ceremony, so she should dress brightly and look more festive. If the Concubine mother doesn’t like it, the daughter-in-law will change into something more elegant.” 

The mother-in-law often made things difficult and was mean, and the Eldest Prince Consort also had her own ways to deal with it. For example, when entering the palace today, she brought three full dresses, plus the clothes on her body, a total of four.

  Concubine Meng glanced at her seemingly docile daughter-in-law, and snorted softly: “Forget it, let’s keep it like this!” 

The Eldest Prince Consort replied softly, standing aside.

  The Eldest Prince also had nothing to do with Concubine Meng, he could only look at his wife reassuringly.

  The Eldest Prince Consort returned a gentle smile.

  Fortunately, Concubine Meng’s thoughts today were all on Princess Jing’an, and she had no time to be harsh and picky on the Eldest Prince Consort. The place where the Hairpin Ceremony was going to be held was Princess Jing’an’s bedroom.

  As Royal Grandmother, Empress Dowager Zhao had not come yet.

  Empress Qiao hadn’t come either.

  Instead, the royal family members and female relatives all came. In fact, they were the original members of the Li clan. Since Li Yuan became the emperor, the Li family became the royal family. One person attains the Tao, and the chicken and dog ascend to heaven. This sentence was not entirely false.

  Among the relatives of the Li clan, most of the close branches were conferred titles.

  Who didn’t know that Concubine Meng Gui was Li Yuan’s favorite? Compared with Empress Qiao who sat in the Jiaofang Palace, Concubine Meng was the one who can’t be offended. What’s more, the Emperor had not established a Crown Prince. The Eldest Prince was so popular, and everyone was quick-witted, so they are naturally willing to show their favor to Concubine Meng and her son.

  Among the family members and female relatives, there were two people who were particularly eye-catching.

  One of them is the Dongping Jùnwáng fēi. ^[2]Wife of Junwang

  Dongping Jùnwáng ^[3]Prince of the Second Rank was táng xiōng ^[4]Son of the brother of your Father, older than you of Emperor Yongjia. After Emperor Yongjia ascended the throne, he established the Ancestral House and appointed Dongping Jùnwáng as the Chief of the Ancestral House. Dongping Jùnwáng fēi, as his consort, became a prominent figure among the female members of the imperial family.

  The other one was Duanning Jùnzhǔ. ^[5]Princess of the Third Rank

  Duanning Jùnzhǔ’s father was Emperor Yongjia’s second uncle. Later, this Second Master Li was killed on the battlefield, and his son-in-law was also a short-lived ghost.

  Duanning Jùnzhǔ’s own father and husband all died for the Great Wei Dynasty. Emperor Yongjia wanted to take good care of his táng mèi ^[6]Daughter of the brother of your Father, younger than you, bestowed the title of Jùnzhǔ, and built a palace for her. The cost of food and clothing was generally the same as that of a Gōngzhǔ. ^[7]Princess of the Second Rank

  Duanning Jùnzhǔ was twenty-eight years old this year. This age was not considered old, and with proper maintenance, she looked like she was only about 20 years old.

  She was gentle and beautiful, dignified and self-restrained. She didn’t generally talk much, after presenting the congratulatory gift, she sat at the side and listened to everyone talking.

  At that moment, the palace maid came to report: “Announcing to the imperial concubine, Fourth Miss Lu, Third Miss Meng, and Fifth Miss Zhao are here. Your highnesses are also waiting outside the palace.” 

Several future prince consorts all entered the palace to watch the hairpin ceremony.

  Everyone looked at Concubine Meng together.

  Concubine Meng Gui didn’t know how to get up to welcome a few juniors, she smiled and told the Eldest prince and his wife: “Both of you husband and wife go out to greet them.”