“Mother, I’m only here because of you.” Princess Anji did not want to make her mother sad. Hence, she comforted her immediately, “Mother, if it weren’t for you being here with me, my life here would be miserable! Look at my royal sister Lingxian. Isn't it sad that she’s all alone with no one beside her?”

Madam Zhenyi sighed, “I’ve only taken care of you for a few years. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have lived till now. I can’t even protect you. Your eleventh royal brother would never have set you up if it hadn’t been because of me.”

“He has always had ill intentions anyways. Perhaps, he would’ve still found me annoying even if I’ve not provoked him at all.” Princess Anji didn't like this royal brother of hers, who was nominally Madam Zhenyi’s adopted son. In fact, he wasn’t close at all to the both of them. Anji sneered and said, “Let's not mention him anymore. Even without him, royal sister Lingxian is the only person under the name of her mother. Isn't it going to be the same when there’s trouble?”

As for the ending of Consort Huo, Madam Zhenyi also felt scared. Princess Lingxian was doing well so far, but that was only because the Emperor’s son-in-law fell head over heels in love with her and went against his uncle's objections and married her. He had always been treating her well. But not everyone could be as lucky as Lingxian. Besides, Madam Zhenyi had seen how poorly Lingxian had lived in the royal palace throughout these years. And what about Consort Huo herself? She was deceased alright, but where were her bones and remains? Even Princess Lingxian herself could not find them, or in other words, she couldn’t bear to find them.

She stayed silent, and Princess Anji paused for a moment before biting her lip and said, “Wei Changying doesn’t look like a treacherous person, and the person she recommends is probably not too bad, either, so why not I just…”

“How can you be so hasty about your marriage?” Madam Zhenyi stopped her immediately, “Besides, you’re still mourning Dowager Duchess Ji, and it’s not like we’re extremely favored by your Father. It’ll be inappropriate for you to mention it to him so suddenly.”

Princess Anji pursed her lips and said, “Eleventh royal brother is using you as a reason to stay in the capital, and I think the Empress would be happy for me to get married so she could send me away as far as possible. I bet she also wishes for me to bring you along, so eleventh royal brother would not have any more reasons to stay.” The Empress and the Honored Consort did not get along, while Duke Yi was on the Honored Consort’s side. This could be used against them.

“It's good for us to leave the capital as well. I’d rather not be here anymore. However, this concerns your marriage.” Madam Zhenyi wanted to complain that her daughter shouldn't have helped Wei Changying last year when Infanta Chengxian got married just because she was speculating that there was something fishy about Princess Linchuan, which in turn offended Princess Qingxin. Seeing that this time she wasn't even allowed to go to Princess Lingxian's mansion, it must be because Princess Qingxin refuted and asked Empress Gu to reject her.

Otherwise, Empress Gu was well known for being virtuous and would not make things difficult for her in regards to such a trivial matter.

Since Princess Qingxin had a grudge against Anji, even if the Empress did not want to give Duke Yi any reason to stay in the capital and wanted to send both her and Anji out of the palace, there was a possibility that the Empress might do harm to Anji to take it out on her just for the sake of her daughter.

Otherwise, what else would make her so worried now? They could’ve gone straight to the Empress and told her that they didn't want to get involved in this mess and that they’d ask Anji to marry as soon as she finished mourning Dowager Duchess Ji. A suitable candidate was all they needed, and the Empress would most probably say yes. With the six gentlefolks and the lineal eldest son of the Huo Family in Yunxia as well as the huge age difference between her and Princess Qingxin, Empress Gu might just say yes.

Just when Madam Zhenyi was about to say what was on her mind, she suddenly recalled that she was not in favor anymore, and it was her daughter who had been taking care of her weak body all these years. She did not do anything much for her daughter. Hence, she couldn’t bring herself to say such words to Anji. After staying silent for some time, she still couldn’t make up her mind and hesitated, “Maybe we should wait for a little while longer?”

Princess Anji shook her head and said cautiously, “The battle for the Crown Prince is not a small matter, and we don't know what’s really going on, nor do we know what the current situation really is. Father doesn't care about us anymore. If we are involved, we have no hope of survival at all. Hence, it is better for us to get out of here as soon as possible!”

She looked down and thought for a moment before saying through gritted teeth, “I want to try my luck this time. Let’s go with Huo Zhaoyu! It's just that it's a problem to talk about marriage when I’m still mourning. But if I wait until September, which is four months away, I’m afraid it might be too late. Well, though I’m not liked by Father, he wouldn't kill me for such a trivial matter. Whatever, I'll just get punished!”

Her reputation was bad enough already, so she wasn’t scared of being crowned as a lady with no sense of shame!

Hearing what her daughter had said, Madam Zhenyi said in a panic, “Wait a minute! What if this Huo Zhaoyu you’ve mentioned is not a good person? Or maybe he doesn't want to marry a Princess? What if the two of you don’t get along in the future after your marriage?” The Princesses of this dynasty did not abide by the rules as strictly as the daughters of the gentlefolks. If the daughters of the gentlefolks became widows at a young age, they couldn’t get married again no matter whether they had kids or not. If a Princess was widowed or divorced in peace because the couple didn’t get along well, the Princess could remarry. It was just that if the Princess wanted to marry someone good again, she must be favored to have this privilege.

As for the two of them, apart from the fact that Anji’s marriage would bring her glory once as she was a royal daughter, what other glory would they have? Even the Emperor and the Empress were afraid of the power of those prestigious families, not to mention them. If Anji didn’t marry well this time, she would have no choice but to marry a commoner after her divorce.

Madam Zhenyi was once a maidservant, and she was also considered a commoner before entering the royal palace. However, she didn’t want to see her grandchildren becoming commoners. She was too aware that how unfair it was between commoners and gentry families. Under the strict system, even if commoners earned a lot, they were never in a position to fight for their rights in the case where a gentry family was after their wealth.

Besides, everyone knew that Anji was not in favor. If she was to marry, her future would depend entirely on her husband's family. If the husband's family wasn’t a successful one, her status of a Princess from the royal family would only work against ignorant commoners. She might suffer wrong when she met vicious slaves of domineering rich families.

Princess Anji pursed her lips and paused for a moment before saying, “Well, it’s for a lifetime! Maybe things will change. The fact that someone was bad before doesn't mean he can't be good in the future. The fact that someone didn’t want to marry a Princess before doesn’t mean he and I won’t live happily. Mother, the Emperor’s son-in-law wouldn’t treat me that bad. If the worst comes to the worst, we’ll just treat each other respectfully without any affection. Look at my royal sister Lingxian who isn’t in favor. She was gifted some property during her marriage. Hence, her husband did not have the courage to treat her badly, either. No matter how bad the relationship between me and my husband is, at least we don’t need to worry about our food, clothing, and expenses anymore. We don’t need to beg for these necessities, nor do we need to rack our brains in scheming just to get ourselves some food. We have been in the royal palace for more than ten years now. Every cloud has a silver lining. I’m sure we will have our moments. In my opinion, we must leave this royal palace for a better future.”

“...” Madam Zhenyi’s chest rose and fell sharply. Anji's marriage was a turning point for both of them as they had been out of favor for more than a decade and she knew very well that there wasn’t a possibility to be favored again anymore. This was also the reason why she was very concerned about her daughter's marriage, but she couldn’t do too many things for her daughter. Although not all the imperial madams only stuck to those who were in favour, they obviously couldn’t care less about her as she was nothing more than an out-of-favour high ranking Consort. What mattered was she didn’t have an influential family background to back her up. Hence, nobody would spend time with her, not to mention introducing any of their descendants to Anji.

About a decade ago before Madan Zhenyi fell out of favour, she knew some descendants and their situations. At that time, Anji was still a child. They were only a few years younger than Anji. She was helpless in regards to this matter. Otherwise, Anji wouldn’t have reached out personally to Wei Changying, the young imperial madam Anji had helped accidentally.

After a long time, Madam Zhenyi gritted her teeth and said, “Since you’d like to try your luck in this, then I’ll do this with you! You don't have to mention this to your Father personally. You’re a girl, and it's just not right for you to talk about matters like this on your own when both your parents are still well and alive. I will do it for you!”

Princess Anji was shocked and said anxiously, “No, Mother, your health is so poor…” Madam Zhenyi had long been neglected by the Emperor. Over the years, there were a few times when she had been so sick that she almost died, yet the Emperor had not paid any attention to her. What position was she in to speak on behalf of her daughter? But Princess Anji could not bear to say it directly, so she used Madam Zhenyi’s health as an excuse. However, the latter patted her hand and smiled faintly, “Silly child, I’m doing this exactly because of my health. I wish for you to get married soon so I can die without regrets!”

In Jintong Courtyard, Wei Changying met the person sent by Princess Lingxian to deliver the cherries, and the latter told her apologetically that Princess Anji did not make it to Princess Lingxian's mansion in the end. “I heard that it was the Empress who stopped her from going. Her Highness was worried if she asked about it or sent another invitation, it would provoke the Empress's suspicion. Hence, she merely entertained Princess Qingxin and asked nothing else.”

“Sorry to trouble Her Highness Princess Lingxian.” When Wei Changying heard that Princess Anji had not been able to go to Princess Lingxian's mansion and that Empress Gu was the main reason behind this, her heart skipped a beat. But right after that, she realized that even if Empress Gu knew about this, she wouldn’t be able to do anything to her though she was unhappy about it. Now Duke Ji and Duke Yi were both staying in the capital. The Empress would be scratching her head off for their matters! Hence, the wise Empress would certainly not find fault in her for this issue.

Besides, it was not a big deal for others to know that she was helping Princess Anji to find a husband.

After expressing her gratitude and sending off Princess Lingxian's servants, Wei Changying pondered for a long time, yet she could not come up with any other way to contact Princess Anji. At the same time, she was unsure of the current situation in the royal palace. She thought about it for a long time yet didn’t have a clue. The wet nurse Mrs. Zhao who was holding Shen Shuguang in her arms walked over and said, “Young madam, today is your birthday. Hence, I brought the little young master along to kowtow to you.”

Today was indeed Wei Changying's birthday, but she was too busy to celebrate it now, as there were elders around her, and she was still mourning. All she did was to let Mrs. Huang cook a bowl of noodles for her, and she rewarded the servants in the courtyard who came over to kowtow to her and wished her a happy birthday. Madam Su and the Shen Family had also sent her some gifts, while both of her aunts, Wei Shengxian and Wei Zhengyin hadn't forgotten about her birthday and had wished her well in advance.

The two aunts heard that Wei Changying was not going to hold a banquet to celebrate her birthday and knew instantly that it was because she was busy and that being a daughter-in-law was not the same as being a Miss. She would have to seek the elders’ permission before she could decide whether to hold a banquet or not. The two aunts knew they didn’t need to help with any visitors, nor did they need to pay her a visit in person this day, so they sent her a gift instead. Hence, it was a very quiet day at the Jintong Courtyard, with no signs of special celebrations.

“He is still a kid. How would he know how to kowtow?” Hearing what Mrs. Zhao said, Wei Changying couldn't help but smile. She put aside Princess Anji’s problems for the time being and raised her hand to take over the baby from Mrs. Zhao. Mrs. Zhao who was holding the baby kowtowed a few times before handing over the baby to her, taking it as Shen Shuguang’s kowtow.

Seeing how sensible Mrs. Zhao was, Wei Changying smiled and gave a sign to Qin’ge to reward her with some money later. She cuddled the baby in her arms and took a closer look at her son, who had just woken up after a nap and was in good spirits. The baby was growing fast and looked different from how he had been when he was a newborn baby. He looked curiously at his mother with his big black eyes while Wei Changying looked back at him with compassion. Her son was just one month old. The child's skin was white, soft, and flawless. With his tiny red lips slightly pouted, a hint of saliva came from the corner of it. Wei Changying took a handkerchief and wiped his saliva carefully. The handkerchief that was embroidered with a beautiful rosebud immediately drew the baby’s attention to his mother.

Seeing him struggling to look down at the handkerchief, Wei Changying immediately lifted it up to him to have a good look at it. After a while, Shen Shuguang lost interest in the handkerchief and Mrs. Huang reminded her, “The little young master is still young. Hence, he can't see far objects. Young madam, maybe you should bring something bright-colored closer to him so we could see what the little young master likes?”

After playing with his mother for a bit, Shen Shuguang who was still a baby showed signs of exhaustion. Wei Changying gave him a kiss on the cheek and handed him over to Mrs. Zhao, telling her in a low voice to take good care of him.

The day passed, and Wei Changying didn't think too much of it. But in the evening, Man Lou who was with Madam Su suddenly came over with a smile on her face. After greeting Wei Changying and Shen Shuguang and knowing everything was fine, she said with a grin, “Third young madam, I have good news. Madam told me that if I came to you with this news, third young madam would treat me well.”

Upon hearing what she said, Wei Changying knew it must be good news. If it was from Madam Su, what could it be? Her mind spun as she asked tentatively, “Is it possibly related to my husband?”

Man Lou clapped her hands together and said with a smile, “Third young madam, you’re so smart! I can’t even keep you in suspense even if I want to!”

Wei Changying was overjoyed and asked, “What is the good news?” She was thinking maybe Shen Cangfeng might be coming back for the first time. If it was true, with Su Yuwu and Pei Kai recovering from their injuries at the Ji Family, she would definitely be worried.

But seeing Man Lou being so happy and retelling what Madam Su had said, Wei Changying guessed that Shen Cangfeng should be fine.

Certainly, Man Lou then said with a smile, “Third young master is far away in Western Liang, but he remembered your birthday, third young madam! He sent someone to bring you a letter and some gifts for you. They rushed to the city, counted the days, and made it on time! I brought you both the letter and the gifts! Don't you think that's good news?”