Su Yuwu's birthday didn't become grander because of his own aunt's presence. There was only a banquet in the third branch. People from the same generation, Mrs. Liu and Wei Changying, went over and attended the banquet together. Madam Su was still in the main room. Old Madam Deng asked the servants in the kitchen of the main room to prepare a few dishes that her daughter liked. In the afternoon, when Su Pingzhan came back, Madam Su served her parents some tea and started about the business that had brought her to her parents' home.

In the room of the third branch, Madam Qian spoiled Mrs. Liu's pleasure, so Mrs. Liu seemed a bit dispirited. When Mrs. Liu wasn't looking at them, Wei Changying told Wei Zhengyin everything about seeing Gu Naizheng, sounding worried about Su Yuli.

Wei Zhengyin was not surprised when she heard this and smiled, "Your future cousin by marriage is a bit unusual, but I have discussed it with your cousin. Don't worry. Although he is not very good at communication, he is decent and honest."

Since her aunt had said so, after all, she was the one who had chosen the husband for Su Yuli, and Wei Zhengyin would never harm her own daughter, Wei Changying stopped saying more about Gu NaiZheng. She could only hope that he would be nice to her, otherwise, Su Yuli would have a hard life in the future. Not to mention the way Gu Naizheng treated her. By looking at what had happened to Huo Zhaoyu and Huo Chenyuan on that day, people would have known that Gu Naizheng would cause trouble for those who were close to him and even blame them.

At this time Su Yuli smiled and came over, asking, "My cousin. What are you saying secretly to my mother?"

As Mrs. Liu was there and Su Yuli asked this question loudly, Mrs. Liu looked over. Wei Chang Ying didn't want to talk more about Gu NaiZheng, so she said, "I was talking to your mother about seeing Princess Anji in the palace yesterday."

When Mrs. Liu and Su Yuli heard this, they asked simultaneously, "Did you treat Her Royal Highness with good manners?"

This princess was truly intimidating. Wei Changying felt a bit awkward but smiled, "I went with my mother, and she told me that I must be respectful to Her Royal Highness."

"That's good!" Mrs. Liu relieved and said seriously, "No one wants to annoy this princess. Everyone hopes that she will turn fifteen soon and get married. Otherwise, if someone wasn't polite enough in front of her, the princess would think that the person despised her and that would be a disaster."

Su Yuli also said, "Princess Anji takes everything seriously. She is not as easy-going as others in the palace. We must treat her with manners."

Wei Changying said seriously, "I know that well now."

Mrs. Liu then asked, "What was the princess doing when you met her? Was she quarreling with Princess Linchuan again?"

"How do you know, my first sister-in-law?" Wei Changying asked in surprise.

Wei Zhengyin smiled, "Hasn't it been more than one year since those two young ladies started the fight? It seems that Princess Anji wants to keep causing trouble until Princess Linchuan gets married and leaves the palace."

Mrs. Liu and Su Yuli counted and nodded together, "It's been more than a year."

Su Yuli explained it to Wei Changying, "Last time, in the Weiyang Palace, it wasn't convenient to talk about it. Princess Anji and Princess Linchuan don't get along. This started from the banquet held last year to celebrate the Empress's birthday. That day Madam Zhenyi attended the banquet to congratulate the Empress, but because of her cough, she didn't sit long and ask to leave early. Princess Anji wanted to leave as well to accompany her mother. However, Madam Zhenyi knew her daughter had always been around her to care for her but rarely had fun with others. She thought all the young ladies were in the palace on the Empress's birthday so she wanted Princess Anji to have fun. She didn't want her to leave with her and asked her to find Princess Linchuan."

Mrs. Liu added, "That day Princess Linchuan had more wine than usual. She was all relaxed and then she saw Princess Anji so she went over to ask the reason. She learned that Madam Zhenyi left because she was unwell, so she asked Princess Anji to sit with her. During this, Princess Linchuan was teasing Princess Anji, but she went a bit too far."

Wang Changying then asked, "What did Princess Linchuan say?"

"There is only a character "Ying" in Princess Anji's maiden name." Mrs. Liu said with a wry smile, "You know the royal family name. Princess Linchuan made fun of Princess Anji's name. She asked her whether she knew why Madam Zhenyi was always sick. Princess Anji didn't know why, so Princess Linchuan said it was because Princess Anji's name wasn't good, saying that "Shen Ying" sounded the same as 'moaning' in Chinese and Princess Anji was always around Madam Zhenyi. That was why Madam Zhenyi was so sick and had to moan a lot."

"..."Wei Changying was speechless. Yesterday, at the birthday banquet, she saw the proud Princess Linchuan was dragged and threatened by the fierce Princess Anji and cried so hard that she lost all her manners. She felt sorry for Princess Linchuan. But now, it seems that this Princess Linchuan had brought it on herself. Princess Anji is not favored by His Majesty. Her name might not be chosen by him. Actually, her name couldn't be chosen by His Majesty. Otherwise, Princess Linchuan wouldn't have made fun of her name. It was probably chosen by Princess Anji's mother, Madam Zhenyi.

Princess Linchuan knew His Majesty favored her and had been adopted by the Empress. She not only said the name Madam Zhenyi gave her daughter was unlucky but also mocked Madam Zhenyi that she was so sick because of her daughter's name. In these words, she also suggested that Princess Anji brought bad luck. The more she looked after her mother, the sicker her mother would be!

Who could put up with that? Even if the person was only a daughter of an official, as long as she was self-respecting, she would go to the Empress to complain about it.

Not to mention Princess Anji who served Madam Zhenyi very devotedly!

Thinking of Princess Linchuan grasped by the collar and threatened with being stripped naked by Princess Anji in front of the Weiyang Palace, Wei Changying asked carefully, "How was Princess Anji then?".

Mrs. Liu said, "That's why she is difficult to deal with. She wailed immediately, jumped up from her spot, and ran to the Empress in the Changle main hall without putting her shoes on, asking the Empress to give her justice!"

Wei Changying was very surprised. From what she had seen and how people had depicted Princess Anji, Princess Anji should have had started fighting Princess Linchuan immediately!

"So we don't dare to mess with her." Su Yuli counted on her fingers, "You see, an imperial madam offended her, and Princess Anji hit her immediately. In the end, she charged the woman with disrespecting the royal family and her parents' family didn't end well either. Princess Linchuan insulted her mother, but Princess Anji didn't choose to fight her sister there, so as not to be charged with disturbing the Empress's birthday. Instead, she went to the main hall to cry and complain, so the Empress had to punish Princess Linchuan by ordering her to take her jewelry off and go to Doujin Palace to apologize to Madam Zhenyi. Madam Zhenyi forgave Princess Linchuan, but the Empress grounded Princess Linchuan for three months and took one year's worth of money to compensate Princess Anji. The punishment wasn't harsh as His Majesty favored Princess Linchuan and disliked Madam Zhenyi. He didn't take Princess Linchuan's disrespect towards Madam Zhenyi seriously. After that, Princess Anji provoked Princess Linchuan over something trivial things many times. Even though His Majesty punished Princess Anji, the worst one was only to punish her by making her kneeling for a day and a night."

Wei Changying said, "Princess Anji is young, but kneeling for a day and night is not a light punishment, is it?" Saying that kneeling for a day and night was easy but this was actually a very long time. When Wei Changying knelt in the past, she had knelt for a few hours on a summer day and it was okay. If she had been asked to kneel for a day and a night, she wouldn't have been able to get up without others' help.

She studied martial arts since she was young. Princess Anji didn't look like a person who could do martial arts. However, she had actually knelt for a day and a night and was not afraid to be punished the same way again. This princess was truly tough.

"Princess Anji serves Madam Zhenyi devotedly. Hoping that the gods bless Madam Zhenyi, she often kneels all night." Mrs. Liu made a gesture resignedly, saying, " His Majesty punished her by ordering her to kneel in the imperial garden, but she prayed for His Majesty and Madam Zhenyi all night. His Majesty's servants reported it to him. His Majesty thought, after all, she was his flesh and blood and the punishment he gave her when he was angry was too harsh. As Princess Anji had been too stubborn to apologize to Princess Linchuan, making His Majesty embarrassed, His Majesty had ordered her to kneel for a day and night. But later then, he heard that Princess Anji hadn't complained but instead she had been praying for him while kneeling. His Majesty didn't say anything but left everything about Princess Anji's future punishment to the Empress."

Wei Zhengyin smiled slightly, saying, "Our Empress has always been soft-hearted, treating all the princes and princesses as if they were her own children. Princess Linchuan has been adopted by the Empress but the Empress doesn't want to spoil her and mistreat Madam Zhenyi's only child, so she didn't punish Princess Anji that badly."

Wei Changying understood why the two princesses, Linchuan and Anji, had become enemies and felt that Princess Linchuan had put her foot in her mouth. She couldn't do anything else but provoked a person like that.

And as for the cause, no one had sympathy for Princess Linchuan. Princess Anji was fierce and clever so she could suppress Linchuan. Madam Zhenyi was a Second Rank Madam and was a concubine of Princess Linchuan's father, but she was a poor woman that she had no sons and was always sick these years. Princess Linchuan's biological mother had passed away early and it was still in question, but she still made fun of Princess Anji's mother in front of her. This was like stabbing into Princess Anji's heart.

Madam Zhenyi had been completely ignored by His Majesty, so she couldn't do anything about Princess Linchuan. She was a high-ranking concubine who had served His Majesty, but a girl from her husband's other wife bullied and mocked her. If her daughter hadn't been tough, the mother and daughter from the Dujin Palace would have had been bullied miserably.

As they were talking about the two princesses, Su Yuwu's birthday banquet ended with a joyful and harmonious atmosphere.

After the banquet, Mrs. Liu said she wasn't feeling well. Su Yuli accompanied her to her room to take a nap. Wei Zhengyin asked Wei Changying to go to the living room to talk, wanting to use her position as being her aunt to teach her newly-wedded niece how to deal with different people.

Wei Changying also told her about her eldest aunt, Wei Shengxian. Wei Zhengyin said, "They sent an invitation to me, too. I took Yuli there two days ago. The house is quite tidy, but it's not fully furnished, so it's only just enough to live there now. I guess it's because they have just arrived in the capital. Your eldest uncle's family is rich and he has been an official for many years, so he has saved quite a bit. The people from their family are very jealous. They only bought a mansion in the capital, but I guess it's nothing to them."

"But those people from their family are really..."

Wei Zhengyin sneered at them, "This is because your eldest aunt and eldest uncle are both weak. if they were like Princess Anji, the people from their family would be thankful that they didn't cause trouble."

Although Wei Changying had never seen how Wei Shengxian behaved when she was in her parents' home, she knew from the way her grandmother, Old Madam Song, treated her second uncle's family, that Old Madam Song would never spoil the daughter of her husband's concubine. Even if Wei Shengxian had the same tactics and shrewdness as Princess Anji, she would never succeed while Old Madam Song was there. Old Madam Song was not like Empress Gu who feared His Majesty, the Old Madam could even hit Wei Huan, so among all the concubine's children, who would dare to disobey her?

Thinking that her eldest aunt would never become fierce, Wei Changying knew by saying so, this was somehow criticizing her grandmother. She didn't want to think like that, so she said, "This matter came to my mind a few days ago, so I wrote to my grandmother."

Wei Zhengyin said, "It's good to tell mother. The last time I went, I told your eldest aunt that if they come to ask for money, she should try to keep them there and send someone to tell me. I will argue with them. Your eldest aunt and eldest uncle are still in their prime and they have two of their own daughters. If anyone dares to say they can't have the happiness of having sons, I'll cut his evil lips off with scissors! Even if they still can't have a son in the future, how to adopt one will be a matter for the future. The Song Family in Jiangnan was also one of the six gentlefolk in this world! If the people from the collateral branches are so shameless that they keep asking for other members' properties, I don't believe that the clan of the Song Family will not fail to care!"

Wei Changying smiled, saying, "My second aunt, you are very strong-minded. If it is like this, those people should be afraid of being thrown out of the family. I guess they won't dare bully the eldest aunt's family anymore." When it came to the family background, especially the one of six gentlefolk in the country, being in the most remote collateral branches would be incredibly honored. For example, Min Zhixia, if he weren't from Min Family in Quyin, the Duanmu Family wouldn't marry their daughter to him.

Because he was a member of Min Family in Quyin, Min Zhixia was also regarded as being from one of the gentry families, which qualified him to marry the daughter from the Duanmu Family. Otherwise, no matter how excellent he was, unless his family ruled the world like the Shen family, he would never be able to marry a daughter from a family in gentry, as there was a rule saying aristocrats and commoners couldn't be married.

Not to mention the fact that it was already a common practice amongst the officialdom that the families of gentry marginalized those who were from poor families.

So what the people from gentry families were most afraid of was to be removed from their family genealogy for any of various reasons.

"It's also because Song Yuwang is your lineal uncle." Wei Zhengyin sneered, saying, " When you go back, you ask your mother-in-law for permission to see them. If you have time, go to visit them, so that those pitiful things will know even though your eldest aunt was a daughter of a concubine in the family and she is married now, she is still a member of the Wei Family."

Old Madam Song was very scary. Although she didn't have many children and had to allow Wei Huan to take concubines, she intimidated all the children of his concubines. No one dared to disobey her. When they met Old Madam Song's own children, they were very polite and humble. Therefore, Wei Zhengyin, her lineal daughter, and Wei Changying, her lineal granddaughter, bore no hate towards siblings from their father's concubines, and both of them had sympathy for what had happened to Wei Shengxian.

Wei Changying didn't want to say anything about being punished, saying, "I also worry about it. but I have just finished being busy with my fourth younger brother's marriage. I will see if I have a chance to mention it to my mother-in-law when I go back."