"It's nothing serious. Don't worry," said Fu Zhen.
This marriage matter didn't really count for much to her at the moment. After all, Chen Tingfeng was almost like sticky candy clinging to her.
But she couldn't tell others about such things before they were settled. So she had no choice but to avoid the topic.
It seemed that Zhang Lan had caught a hint of something. She grabbed Jin Xianghuan and said, "You've always had your own plans. Since you're not in a hurry at all, I'm sure you have a way to deal with it. I'm not worried about you anymore. Xianghuan, sit down."
Jin Xianghuan looked a bit absent - minded but still obediently sat down beside her.
Fu Zhen felt a warm feeling in her heart. Whether it was Jin Xianghuan or Zhang Lan, they had come to visit her today out of concern. Since she couldn't directly say the reason why she wasn't worried, she could only keep reassuring them.
She changed the topic and said, "It was so busy during the first lunar month. I was afraid of disturbing you, so I didn't visit but only sent some gifts. Do you like them?"
Even the Marquis Mansion, which was almost estranged from the main family, had been busy during the New Year. Not to mention the large and prosperous Zhang and Jin families.
Jin Xianghuan said rather boredly, "Of course I like the gifts you sent. But this New Year was so boring. Those relatives would ask about our marriage openly or secretly when they saw my brother and me. Some even wanted to send their concubine - born daughters to be concubines. My brother was so annoyed that he almost lived in the palace."
Fu Zhen covered her face and smiled, "Your brother is in power now. There must be even more such people."
Jin Xianghuan pouted, "He always has a way to escape. He's the only smart one in the family. He can just talk a few words and fool those people. Since they couldn't catch him, they had to bother me. I'm really fed up with them."
"Do you have someone you like?" asked Fu Zhen. "It doesn't matter if it's among these people or some young men outside. Do you have a crush on anyone?"
Jin Xianghuan shook her head and lay on the table playing with her jade bracelet. "No."
She wasn't one to be infatuated with love. For her, love was not as interesting as the gossips in the capital.
After hearing her answer, Fu Zhen knew what to do. She naturally skipped this topic and said something else, "I heard that the Second Princess is going to get married soon?"
Zhang Lan pondered for a moment. "My grandfather said the wedding is set for March. She's going to marry Chu Changhe, the third son of the Chu family."
Fu Zhen suddenly remembered something. "What about the Princess Mansion? I haven't seen any construction going on in the capital recently."
Just like when a prince gets married, a princess also has to have a mansion outside the palace when she gets married. Although the Eldest Princess had married to the south of the Yangtze River, she had spent the first three months of her marriage in the Princess Mansion in the capital.
"The wedding was arranged in a hurry. Where would they have time to build a Princess Mansion?" Jin Xianghuan sneered. It was hard to tell whether she was laughing at Xie Lingqiao or the Queen. "I heard they're going to use a mansion in the Queen's hands as the Second Princess Mansion."
A mansion in the Queen's hands? Wasn't that the Song family's...
Fu Zhen's eyelashes fluttered. She frowned slowly. "Did the Emperor even agree?"
"The Emperor is seriously ill and has too many things to deal with. Besides, he's not the type to worry about such things. As long as his subordinates come up with a solution, he'll mostly agree," Zhang Lan said calmly.
That was just how the old Emperor was. As long as something didn't damage his dignity or touch his interests, he was too lazy to care.
So what if Xie Lingqiao was favored? In his eyes, she was still like a cat or a dog. When he was in a good mood, he would give her some gifts and play with her. When he was not, he would discard her like an old shoe.
Fu Zhen frowned and thought. "But it doesn't look good..."
Jin Xianghuan snorted. "Who cares?"
The palace was now full of corruption. Compared with the political affairs in the court, a princess's marriage really didn't count for much.
Since the Emperor and the Queen had no objections, even if others thought it was inappropriate, they could only go with the flow.
Xie Lingqiao had known early on that the Queen wouldn't prepare a good place for her. Picking a young man with a good character was already a favor from the Queen.
She sneered and didn't care who had lived in this mansion before. Anyway, the first thing she would do after marrying into the Chu family was to urge Chu Changhe to separate from the family.
Once they separated, just like the Eldest Princess, she wouldn't be affected by the turmoil in the palace at all.
But she never expected that the Eldest Princess would interfere in this matter.
Xie Lingqiao looked at the gentle and charming Xie Lingyun in front of her, feeling a bit dazed. It took her a while to say, "Eldest Sister."
In the past, when the Emperor doted on Xie Lingyun, she had repeatedly targeted her because she was the Queen's daughter. But Xie Lingyun was like a clay figurine without any temper. The most common thing she did was to look at her with a smile, as if looking at a child who hadn't grown up.
After many years, Xie Lingyun still had that smiling face, but she had fallen from the sky into the mud.
Although they were facing each other, they seemed to be thousands of miles apart.
"Lingqiao," Xie Lingyun sat down beside her. Her attitude was as gentle as a gentle breeze and fine rain. "It's been years. How have you been?"
"Are you here to laugh at me?" Xie Lingqiao lowered her eyes. Her tone was faintly sarcastic. "Now everyone knows that I, the Second Princess, am just a figurehead. Have you been in the south of the Yangtze River for too long and your mind has become muddled, Eldest Sister?"
She had always talked to Xie Lingyun like this. She was not very respectful and even spoke with hidden barbs. Even now that she was in decline, she couldn't learn to bow her head to her. It seemed that such harsh words could still maintain her last bit of self - esteem.
But Xie Lingyun wasn't angry. Her eyes were as gentle as water, and her temper was like the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River. She smiled and said, "You're still the same... That's good. At least you won't be bullied."
But Xie Lingqiao seemed to be stabbed. She suddenly stood up, and her eyes gradually turned red. "Why aren't you angry? I'm scolding you. I'm mocking you. Why don't you blame me? Why do you still come to care about me? Xie Lingyun, do you just like to be a good person so much?"
It was the same in the past. Whenever she caused trouble, before the Queen even did anything, Xie Lingyun would step forward to help her. But she looked down on her and didn't like her. Every time they met, she would only sneer and say nothing nice. So why did she still help her?
The smile on Xie Lingyun's face faded. She stared steadily at Xie Lingqiao in front of her, and the memories in her mind suddenly flashed before her eyes.
Xie Lingqiao had such a stubborn and proud personality. She would never learn to bow her head. When she caused trouble, she would just stand there with her neck stiff. But once she sensed that the other person's attitude softened, she would immediately act coquettishly and take advantage of the situation. She was stupid, but this kind of stupidity was exactly what made the people in the palace feel at ease.
Xie Lingyun liked her stupidity because the stupider she was, the more it would set off her own dignity and generosity, and the more it would show her goodness.
She stood up, walked towards her with a smile, and reached out to press on her shoulders. Facing Xie Lingqiao's suddenly widened eyes, she slowly pressed her back onto the chair. "Good sister, I'm not helping you. I'm also helping myself."
"What's the difference between you and me?" she said. "We're both discarded children born into the royal family. Others think we're glorious, but we know that it's just a superficial show. Everyone in the palace is vying for favor, for the Emperor's love and the favor of the imperial power. But what does all this count for? Love? It's ridiculous. It's just something illusory. He may dote on you today and someone else tomorrow. I'd rather not have such things that I can't hold in my hands."
After removing the surface of gentleness, Xie Lingyun finally showed a glimpse of her true nature. "What belongs to me? Only the things that I can hold in my hands and control belong to me!"
"Unfortunately," she looked at the stunned Xie Lingqiao, and there was a bit of pity in her eyes. "You couldn't see this before, and you still can't see it now."
"But that's good too," she suddenly sneered. "Fools have their own luck. Consider your marriage as my last act of helping you."
"Think carefully about how you're going to walk the path ahead."