Teach 40

  Princess Ping'an's eyes fluttered slightly, and she smiled benevolently, "Poor child, today I'll let you drink to your heart's content! My home has the finest fruit wine, fill everyone's cups to the brim! Nanny, take a look at this one who got hurt, exchange it for a stool. Which little maid was careless and didn't check properly?" The words lightly swept past.

  The three girls patted the dust off their bodies, and laughed generously: "It's nothing, I didn't get hurt either, luckily it was me who sat down, my skin is thick enough, no big deal!" With her chin up and a proud look on her face, she showed off a few silly expressions.

  "Haha! This kid is really good!" Several women secretly praised San Guniang.

  The little girls quickly replaced it with another stool, took away the broken one just now, and when they picked it up, they saw that the legs of the stool had been cut off neatly, leaving only a little edge still connected. As soon as someone sat on it, it couldn't withstand the pressure and would naturally fall over. It was obvious that someone had done it on purpose.

  Three girls sat on the new bench, quietly chatting and laughing with Erniang Yang Lan and others while drinking wine, their eyes scanning the surrounding people without leaving any traces.

  Yang Lan took a glance, the banquet had just begun, and their position was suddenly occupied by someone who came over. Originally, it should have been the second young lady of this mansion sitting there, the second young lady being the illegitimate daughter of Princess Ping'an's mansion and also the illegitimate granddaughter of her aunt. However, earlier when her aunt gave a reward, everyone stood up to join in the fun, leaving their seats, and when they came back, they were preempted by others who took over their seats, which led to a misunderstanding, causing Third Sister to suffer an unjust disaster.

  But now it seems that the third sister is doing well, and many women are praising her for being clever and calm in times of crisis, which has actually helped to establish the reputation of the Yang family's daughter. I wonder if the person who made the move will be so angry that they'll spit blood!

  This handwriting is so childish and shameless, it should be the silly thing done by girls out of jealousy. Adults will be more mature and their methods will be more sharp. These are my own judgments, I still need to ask my mother when I get back.

  Yang Lan leaned in close to Third Sister, poured her a cup of wine, and said in a low voice: "Third Sister, you're doing great, making your younger sister look up to you! Mother will definitely reward you. This matter is not easy to discuss again, let's not get involved in things that don't concern us!"

  The three girls just liked to bicker and argue, but they weren't foolish. With their sisters reminding them, they naturally understood what to do. She smiled and nodded slightly, eating the dishes in front of her, not minding the commotion earlier at all.

  On this side, Princess Ping'an's face was slightly cold, and she quietly cast a glance at her daughter-in-law with a chilly gaze that seemed to have a warning meaning. Losing face had already been lost outside, but this family was managed too loosely by her!

  The daughter-in-law of Princess Ping'an's face stiffened, and she rubbed the crimson silk handkerchief with white embroidered tea flowers in her hands, secretly resentful. She went down to investigate which concubine had caused this foolish matter and must be severely punished. It was really unknown how arrogant they were.

  A clever woman is a wise person, with a clear mind and no one is foolish, but when things don't concern her, she lets it go and laughs it off, not taking it to heart.

  The longevity banquet finally ended safely, and when leaving, the young lady of the Ping'an princess's mansion specially presented a gift. Each of the Yang family's daughters had one, but only the third daughter's was slightly more expensive, which implied an apology.

  The three girls first looked at Princess He Hui, saw her nodding, and then bowed to thank her, showing great understanding and courtesy, which made Princess He Hui nod in satisfaction.

  After returning, Yang Lan did not return to her own room. In her mother's room, she changed into a narrow-sleeved blouse made of ordinary fine gauze and removed all her hairpins. She leaned against Princess He Hui Zhang in front of her and gently pinched her shoulders, helping her mother relax a bit.

  "Lan'er, do you think today's incident was orchestrated by someone and what is the intention behind it?" Along with Huishuang Gongzhu took this opportunity to educate her daughter about the inner workings of the palace using real-life examples, striving to make her more perceptive and understanding.

  Yang Lan thought for a moment and said her guess, "My daughter thinks this is the work of the daughters of Ping An Gong Zhu's mansion. It should be done by the concubines. I vaguely heard that Wu An Hou has four concubine daughters and one concubine son. It can be seen that Madam's skills are still there, but the most favored by Wu An Hou is the second lady. Because the second lady grew up in front of Madam, her aunt was Madam's dowry maid, but she died in childbirth. She was raised by her stepmother from a young age and is considered half a legitimate daughter. She wouldn't do such a stupid thing, it would make them look petty!"

  He Hui Chang Gong Zhu nodded slightly, "Then who do you think is most likely to make a move!"

  "The servants in Princess Ping'an's mansion are very well-disciplined, and it's not easy to sneak a nail in, but money can make ghosts grind mills. Recently, Princess Ping'an arranged for several girls to study etiquette with her, while the fourth daughter of the concubine, whose maternal family is a merchant, was said to have been sent over by the servants of Prince Anning earlier on. She's beautiful and has silver to pave the way, I think she's more suspicious, but it's also possible that others are secretly stirring up trouble and taking advantage of the situation!"

  Yang Lan made a summary and inference based on some information she got from the mansion of Princess Ping'an, although it was not comprehensive, but the general direction was correct.

  He Hui, the eldest princess, smiled and said: "Not bad! You can think of so many things already, it's not easy. This matter is not just the doing of that aunt, she alone cannot do so many things. There is also the handwriting of the second wife of Wu An Hou. The second wife has been eyeing the title of Wu An Hou for a long time, but unfortunately, it was the eldest son of the first wife who married your aunt back then, and the position of heir was established early on. Now that your aunt is older and more benevolent, she doesn't manage things as tightly as before. The first wife has fewer children, and the second wife has some ideas and is making a move."

  Yang Lan's tongue was tied, "I didn't know things in the princess's mansion were so complicated!"

  "When there are vested interests, there will be conflicts. It's nothing strange. You should understand this after observing and learning more." He Hui Chang Gong Zhu took the opportunity to educate her daughter that it was not necessary to dirty one's own hands, but things must be made clear.

  "My daughter understands, my daughter won't let anyone bully her and make me sad, no one else will have a good day either!" Yang Lan snorted coldly, with an arrogant and overbearing expression, her face full of flying colors.

  He Hui Chang Gong Zhu nodded in satisfaction, she wasn't afraid of her daughter being overbearing and domineering, their family had the qualifications for that, what she was really worried about was her daughter learning to be timid and cowardly, that would be embarrassing.

  "Sister, how's your cousin doing today?" Yang Lan suddenly remembered that her cousin hadn't gone out today and was a bit curious about why she was being so well-behaved.

  "Didn't you let Zhang Ya look after her? Where can she go?" He Hui smiled and glanced at Yang Lan.

  Yang Lan pouted and said, "I'm not afraid of her wearing mourning clothes to celebrate the birthday, that would make our family lose face completely. It's better to let people see her like this, otherwise we'll be embarrassed outside."

  "It's nothing, she can't even find trouble, if I couldn't even take care of a little girl, then your mother is useless too!" He Hui had never taken Li Biao Jie seriously from the start.