They followed a group of people into the palace.
The entourage consisted of various ladies and young ladies from different families.
Upon entering the palace, the group was arranged to meet the Empress Dowager.
As there was still some time before the palace banquet, they went to see the Empress Dowager of the Western Xia kingdom.
Unlike the Empress Dowager of the Eastern Ning kingdom, the Empress Dowager of the Western Xia was aged and highly respected by her son, the Emperor. Within the inner court, the concubines showed great deference to the Empress Dowager; any who dared to be disrespectful due to their favor would lose their standing the very next day.
Thus, the assembled ladies and young ladies paid their respects before the Empress Dowager.
One by one, they carefully curtsied.
Yun Shu remained inconspicuous amongst them.
The Empress Dowager spoke a few words with some of the ladies and young ladies she found pleasing.
The others stood to the side.
There were many people but few chairs, which were allocated according to status. Only a handful were seated, while the rest stood.
Yun Shu was not interested in the Empress Dowager of Western Xia and merely lowered her head, passing the time out of boredom.
As she was lost in thought, she heard someone announce, "Your Majesty, Princess Ningde requests an audience."
Upon hearing it was Princess Ningde, everyone immediately turned their heads towards the entrance.
Yun Shu, standing amongst them, would appear peculiar if she did not also turn her head under such a gaze.
So, she followed the crowd's line of sight.
Princess Ningde appeared in resplendent robes, her demeanor composed, her beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.
She was indeed a beauty.
However, slightly less so than Princess Sheng Yue.
Yun Shu enjoyed looking at beautiful people, as it was a pleasant sight that improved one's mood.
Princess Ningde arrived as if surrounded by stars, all eyes focused on her.
Many women's eyes were filled with envy.
They thought to themselves how wonderful it would be if they were Princess Ningde, and why they had never thought of winning the hearts of the people through the method of benevolent healing.
If they had thought of such a method earlier, they might have been the ones chosen by the Emperor as the Crown Prince's consort now.
Alas, there were no "if"s in this world.
Princess Ningde, sensing everyone's gaze, smiled and, meeting their eyes, slowly walked to the front of the Empress Dowager. She bowed neither subserviently nor arrogantly, saying, "Ningde pays her respects to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well."
The Empress Dowager's eyes lit up the moment she saw Princess Ningde, her kind face beaming. "Ningde, you're here. Come, come, sit down. I haven't seen you in some time."
Seeing how favored Princess Ningde was by the Empress Dowager, everyone present was filled with intense jealousy.
It seemed the position of Crown Prince's consort was already within Princess Ningde's grasp.
It was truly enviable.
The Empress Dowager was very fond of Princess Ningde and held her hand, talking incessantly.
"Ningde, do come and visit me often when you have free time," the Empress Dowager treated Princess Ningde as her future granddaughter-in-law.
Princess Ningde smiled and agreed, "Yes, Ningde will certainly visit Your Majesty often from now on. But I hope Your Majesty will not find Ningde bothersome then."
At this moment, Princess Ningde was well aware of the Empress Dowager's affection for her.
She also knew that most of the gazes directed at her were filled with envy.
This was something she had achieved step by step, and others could not imitate.
After exchanging a few more words, the Empress Dowager noticed that the group had not been dismissed and said with a smile, "There is still some time before the palace banquet. Everyone should take a stroll in the Imperial Garden. The peonies this year are exceptionally beautiful."
As she spoke,
palace attendants arrived to lead the way.
The group then followed the attendants to see the Imperial Garden, while Princess Ningde remained behind to accompany the Empress Dowager.
The moment the door behind them closed, many hopes were also extinguished.
They clearly understood the distance between themselves and Princess Ningde.
After Yun Shu followed the others out, she stayed close to the Minister's wife and Qin Lingyue. Given Qin Linglong's discreet and taciturn nature, it was only natural for her to follow behind them.
Xiao Huan accompanied her.
Perhaps due to being in the palace, everyone spoke very little; no one engaged in lengthy conversations.
However, the Minister's wife chatted amiably with others.
After finishing her conversation, she glanced back at Yun Shu, noticing that Yun Shu's eyes were downcast. She frowned, finding that although Qin Linglong kept her eyes lowered today, she seemed less constrained than usual.
Was she no longer afraid of entering the palace?
However, the doubt vanished in an instant, and she immediately said to Qin Linglong, "Linglong, remember what Mother told you. You must act cautiously in the palace and never be careless, or you might invite disaster that neither your father nor I can protect you from. Also, remember what Mother instructed you at home: seize any opportunity to befriend Princess Ningde."
Qin Linglong had always listened to her mother and felt that her mother's words were correct.
However, she felt her mother had missed one crucial point and looked back at Yun Shu, saying, "Eldest Sister, did you hear what Mother said? This is the palace. You absolutely must not show any pettiness. Be generous and dignified, and do not cause trouble, do you understand? What is not yours will never be yours."
Upon hearing this, Yun Shu raised her eyes and glanced at Qin Lingyue indifferently.
Qin Lingyue felt a shiver run down her spine at that look. What kind of gaze was that? Yet, Qin Linglong still appeared demure; how could that glance suddenly make one's heart palpitate?
Despite her confusion, Qin Lingyue did not dwell on it and urged Qin Linglong, "Eldest Sister, did you hear what I said?"
Yun Shu responded with a faint "Mmm."
Qin Lingyue snorted, "Good that you understand."
The Minister's wife also found Qin Linglong an annoyance, but in front of others, she had to maintain the pretense of a good stepmother. She said gently to Qin Linglong, "After the palace banquet today, I will find you a good marriage. But here in the palace today, you absolutely must not embarrass us, do you understand?"
Yun Shu found the mother and daughter pair rather irritating, very much like Concubine Xiao and Yun Ying.
It seemed she would have to wait a while longer to see the Crown Prince.
Since that was the case, she could only patiently appease them, "I understand."
Seeing 'Qin Linglong' agree so readily, the Minister's wife was somewhat surprised. In the past, after being reprimanded by her, Qin Linglong would bite her lip stubbornly but would not dare to argue with her; she would never agree so obediently.
However...
Suddenly, she saw someone passing by in the distance.
It was the Heir Apparent of the Pingyang Manor, Zhen Shizi!
Zhen Shizi was accompanied by heirs apparent from other noble houses.
This group all came from distinguished families!
The Minister's wife immediately understood and sneered inwardly. So, that was it. Just when she thought Qin Linglong had suddenly learned to be sensible, understood that her words were not to be defied and that she should try to please her, it turned out she had other intentions.
She wanted to marry into a noble family?
Her ambitions were quite high!
But she would never give Qin Linglong that opportunity.
Yun Shu paid no heed to the Minister's wife's thoughts. She raised her eyes to look into the distance and froze when she saw Zhen Lin. If she remembered correctly, wasn't he the one she had saved that night?