The news of the marriage alliance between Yanyun and the State of Yu had long spread to the capital. To show their respect for the princess of Yanyun, the whole city, both inside and outside the palace, was bustling with activity. Red silk ribbons were hung all over the streets and alleys of the capital, making it look extremely festive. Not to mention the princess mansion specially prepared for the princess of Yanyun, and the Prince Ning's Mansion, where the princess would marry into.
Inside the Prince Ning's Mansion, the Princess Consort of Ning double - checked all the things needed for the wedding of the princess of Yanyun. Only then did she stop to catch her breath.
Although the emperor had prepared a princess mansion for the princess of Yanyun, and she wouldn't need to live in the Prince Ning's Mansion to serve her mother - in - law after marriage, this was still the State of Yu. As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. The wedding day still had to be grandly celebrated in the Prince Ning's Mansion.
This wedding was going to be much more solemn than the one when they married Song Nanxin, the ill - fated eldest daughter of the Marquis Ding'an's Mansion. The Princess Consort of Ning had been extremely busy these days. Even with the help of the concubine, she was still exhausted.
At this moment, the Princess Consort of Ning was confirming the guests to be invited on the wedding day.
Among the list, she saw a very unfamiliar title.
"Lord Yong'an?"
The concubine of Prince Ning said, "Yes. I heard that this Lord Yong'an made great contributions in the battle to seize the city and helped the heir apparent a great deal, so he was granted the title of earl. The steward of his mansion said that Lord Yong'an would arrive in the capital with his family tomorrow. It's only proper to invite him to the wedding of the heir apparent and the princess of Yanyun."
The Princess Consort of Ning nodded. "Alright, then send the invitation cards."
After finalizing the list of guests, the concubine of Prince Ning withdrew. The Princess Consort of Ning leaned on the imperial concubine's couch and asked Nanny Hu to massage her shoulders.
Nanny Hu sighed and said, "I wonder what kind of personality the princess of Yanyun is. Is she easy to get along with?"
The Princess Consort of Ning twirled the Buddhist beads in her hand, and the title "Princess Changhuan" came to her mind again. She said, "Whether she's easy to get along with or not, as long as Xin'er is a good girl and lives a good life with Chuan'er, making Chuan'er less gloomy, I'll be satisfied."
Back then, Song Nanxin had pretended to be extremely virtuous and kind - hearted in front of her. Hadn't she been deceived by that bitch?
Whether a person was good or bad, one would only know after getting along with them.
...
After resting in Yingning Town for a night, the next day, Song Yihuan and the others got on the carriage again. With their luggage, they quietly entered the capital city.
After they left, Ji Lingchuan also changed back to his usual attire, mounted his horse, and headed towards the capital.
Back in the long - missed capital, listening to the hustle and bustle of the city and looking at the bustling street scenes through the window, both Song Yihuan and Song Yixuan felt quite melancholy. Xiangxiang was coming to the capital for the first time. He was full of curiosity and excitement. He tightly hugged Song Yihuan's arm and asked,
"Mother, will we live here from now on?"
Song Yihuan smiled. "That's right. Does Xiangxiang like it here?"
Xiangxiang nodded vigorously. "I like it!"
Sure enough, as the little heir of the Prince Ning's Mansion, he adapted to the capital so quickly. It seemed that he was destined to return to this place after all.
The carriage drove through the streets of the capital, followed by several carriages of luggage. It headed in a certain direction and finally stopped outside the former Marquis Ding'an's Mansion, now the Yong'an Earl's Mansion.
The Yong'an Earl's Mansion, which had been empty for a long time, finally welcomed its new master. They had sent a messenger back to the city in advance. When they arrived at the mansion, there were already servants waiting outside.
Song Yihuan and the others got off the carriage, and the servants waiting outside immediately stepped forward.
The leading man was over forty years old, with a kind and steady face. Presumably, he was the steward of the earl's mansion.
His eyes fell on Qi Lei. He bowed to Qi Lei and said, "My lord, you've finally returned. This old servant is the steward of the earl's mansion. My name is Zuo Jian. I've come to pay my respects to you, my lord."
Qi Lei used to be a commoner. He had never had servants to serve him, nor had he ever been treated as an upper - class person.
The steward's actions made him feel quite uncomfortable. But thinking of Song Yihuan and Song Yixuan behind him, he knew that he couldn't show any weakness at this moment. He took a deep breath secretly, nodded to Steward Zuo, and said in a deep voice,
"Well, you've worked hard to manage the earl's mansion these days. Alright, it's windy outside. We can talk about everything after we go inside."
He handled the situation properly without losing the dignity of an earl. The smile on Steward Zuo's face deepened. He quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes. My lord, young master, miss, please come in with this old servant to warm up. I've prepared a stove and hot tea for the masters."
The steward led everyone towards the main hall, introducing every part of the mansion as they walked.
Stepping into this familiar gate again, Song Yihuan looked up at the familiar porch and columns. She felt that everything had changed.
In just a short time, this large mansion had a new owner. Qi Lei had suddenly become Lord Yong'an, and she and Song Yixuan had returned here in different identities.
Although it was still the mansion of the former Marquis Ding'an's Mansion, after four years of being unoccupied, not only was it overgrown with weeds, but the houses had also been damaged by the wind and rain. When the emperor bestowed it on Qi Lei as his mansion, he had already sent the best craftsmen in the capital to repair it.
Although it was still at the same address, at a glance, everything, whether it was the buildings, the pavilions, or the scenery outside the corridors, had completely changed. The plaques in the courtyard had also all been replaced.
Seeing this, Song Yihuan secretly let out a sigh of relief.
She had been worried that if it was still the same as before, she would feel a bit uncomfortable.
Steward Zuo led everyone into the main hall. After serving hot tea and warmers, he began to talk to Qi Lei about the affairs of the mansion.
Qi Lei listened carefully. He got to know about the Yong'an Earl's Mansion and also noticed that Steward Zuo was extremely capable. Knowing that Steward Zuo was arranged by Ji Lingchuan, he was sure there would be no problem. So Qi Lei gave his instructions without hesitation.
"You should also know that I'm already married, but my wife passed away early, leaving only these two children with me. Now that I've moved into the earl's mansion, the top priority is to solemnly welcome my wife's memorial tablet into the ancestral hall. You should arrange this properly and don't be the least bit slack."
Qi Lei said seriously, and Steward Zuo replied with a solemn face, "Yes, this old servant understands."
"After you've finished this, go to the slave market and carefully select some servants with clean backgrounds, nimble hands, and honest faces. Assign them to the yards of the young master and the miss. For my room, just arrange a young servant. There's no need for maids to serve me."
Steward Zuo replied, "Yes."
"The young master needs to study, but he hasn't started yet. You still need to select a teacher for him. Make a list of all the famous scholars in the capital and send it to me."
"The miss will get married soon. After she gets married, her yard still needs to be cleaned regularly so that she can come back to stay for a while. Also, I like peace and quiet and don't like excitement. In the future, if anyone sends an invitation card to make friends, unless it's necessary, you can just decline them all..."
Mentioning this, Steward Zuo suddenly remembered something. He took out a red invitation card from his sleeve and handed it forward,
"My lord, this is the wedding invitation sent by the Prince Ning's Mansion. They invite you to bring your family to the Prince Ning's Mansion to attend the wedding banquet on the day of the wedding of Heir Apparent Ji and the princess of Yanyun."