Since her mother-in-law had already spoken, San Niang had no choice but to say to An Ran, "Hurry up and thank the princess."
Under even more envious gazes than when she was at the Marquis of Nan'an's residence, An Ran stepped forward to accept the peace buckle and bowed to Princess Yunyang to express her gratitude.
Fortunately, the maids serving behind the princess had prepared many small pieces of jewelry as rewards, and all the noble ladies present received a gift from Princess Yunyang. This slightly reduced the "hostility" everyone had towards An Ran.
However, that wasn't enough. Princess Yunyang even invited Anran to visit her residence when she had free time, showing that she really liked Anran.
An Ran's wish to keep a low profile has now been shattered.
She also had to express her gratitude with a joyful expression.
However, she could understand Princess Yunyang's longing for her daughter. Perhaps seeing her would give Princess Yunyang a little more hope of finding her daughter.
When Shi Niang, who came after Jiu Niang, came to meet people again, she was not as conspicuous as An Ran.
Fortunately, Princess Yunyang's loss of composure was only temporary. Afterward, she chatted and laughed with the people around her, seemingly having forgotten about Anran.
An Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
******
Having first met Lady Ding and then received special attention from Princess Yunyang, An Ran's mind was in turmoil, and lunch afterwards tasted rather bland.
She originally thought she could return to the Marquis's mansion after having a meal, but after Third Sister saw off the distinguished guests, Zhao led the four of them back to Third Sister's courtyard.
Although Seventh Sister was already quite dissatisfied with An Ran because of the princess's reward, she didn't make a scene because they were outside. An Ran could tell what she wanted to say just by looking at her expression, and she felt a headache coming on. She decided that when she got back, she would put the jade clasp and the jade bracelet that Third Sister had given her together and put them away.
Zhao and San Niang chatted alone in the bedroom for a while.
As Liu Niang and the others were drinking tea in the banquet area, they could still faintly hear the sound of porcelain breaking, as if it were coming from the bedroom. But when they listened carefully, they could no longer hear it.
Before long, Zhao Shi and San Niang came out.
Not only did Zhao's face look bad, but Third Sister's eyes were also red and her expression was not good, completely unlike her bright and cheerful self in the morning.
What happened?
An Ran was still muttering to herself when Zhao told the four of them to hurry up and leave with her.
That's strange!
Chapter 17 Counterattack
After Zhao left, San Niang sat alone by the soft couch, gazing at the scattered porcelain shards in the corner, her eyes reddening once more.
All the maids serving in the main room, starting with the head maids Yinping and Huaping, waited silently outside the door, none of them daring to make the slightest noise.
This time, her mother not only persuaded her to take a concubine for Yun Shen, but also sent two beautiful maids over!
Upon hearing her mother's words, San Niang first stared wide-eyed in disbelief, but seeing her mother's serious expression, she knew that it was all true.
Third Sister was both angry and furious, and she slammed a set of famille rose teaware on the ground.
But her mother's words were like daggers to the heart.
"Third Sister, you have no children now. If you don't take any action to find a concubine for your son-in-law, I'm afraid the Princess Consort will make her move. At that time, even if you are the legal wife, you will have to be more polite to the people the Princess Consort bestows upon you!"
"The initiative is still in your hands; you can't hesitate any longer!"
Third Sister, consumed by rage, blurted out, "Mother, do you really have any sense in what you're saying? Who was it that prevented my father from taking a concubine in the first place? Fearing the birth of illegitimate children! And who was it that sent away all the concubines in the Marquis's mansion, and took the opportunity to exile the concubine who had given birth to an illegitimate child to the family temple!"
Ignoring her mother's shocked and angry gaze, Third Sister only wanted to vent her bitterness. "And now? Two concubine's daughters have returned, and Grandmother has told them their stories in great detail, but you've been kept in the dark for over a decade!"
Zhao, on the contrary, calmed down at this moment.
She said in a deep voice, "Third Sister, listen carefully, today I will explain things to you clearly."
"Back then, the Nan'an Marquis's mansion was implicated and was not as prosperous as before. I married into the Jingbei Marquis's mansion, which was a marriage of rank. Your maternal grandparents' family did a lot of work for your father's official position, so the Grand Madam naturally respected and indulged me on the surface! I had no children for many years after my marriage, and I not only sent away the concubines from before, but also forced your father not to take a concubine!"
“That’s right, I’ve been kept in the dark for over a decade.” Zhao’s voice grew even calmer, without a tremor, but Third Sister felt a sense of fear. “They, mother and son, deceived me. The child born to the woman your father kept outside was taken away by the Grand Madam’s trusted confidants and secretly raised.”
"I only learned about all this after Sixth Sister came back, but what's the use?" Zhao said coldly. "Your maternal family is not as prosperous as before, but your father has become even more successful in his official career because he supported the current emperor, Yun Shu, early on. Now that the Grand Madam sees that our Jingbei Marquis's mansion is no longer as glorious as before, she has started to promote concubines to your father so that they can give birth to illegitimate daughters and sons. Now she is even bringing back the illegitimate daughters that she sent away, one after another."
Zhao's expression grew increasingly indifferent.
After all, she was flesh and blood of Zhao's own flesh and blood, and San Niang sensed the deep pain hidden in Zhao's eyes.
"Third Sister, my life in the inner quarters has been a complete failure, and I've been muddle-headed for half my life. I don't want you to follow in my footsteps!"
"Mother, please stop talking, it was my fault!" Third Sister burst into tears, sobbing silently.
Zhao got up and stepped forward, pulling Third Sister into her arms, just as she had done when Third Sister was a child, gently patting her back to comfort her.
“You came from my womb, how could I not love you?” Zhao’s eyes reddened as she said to Third Sister with suppressed emotion, “It’s just that circumstances are beyond our control. If the son-in-law were only the second son of the Prince’s Mansion, I would never have forced you to put someone by his side! But now the son-in-law is the heir apparent, how can he not have any children?”
"Zhimo and Rulan are not only good-looking and have good personalities, but their parents' indentures are also in their mother's hands, so they can't cause any trouble! If they serve their son-in-law and have a son or daughter in the future, they will be just like your own children, and you will have given an explanation to the Prince's Mansion."
Third Sister sheathed her thorns and remained silent for a long time.
Seeing her proud daughter struggling in pain, Zhao was heartbroken, but she had to help her daughter make the right choice.
There was complete silence; you could hear a pin drop.
Third Sister closed her eyes and gave a bitter and helpless smile. "Even so, let the two of them stay for now."
Seeing her stubborn daughter finally breathe a sigh of relief, Zhao felt no joy, only more heartache.
Today, she was only at the Prince's mansion to attend the spring banquet. The matter of sending someone to her daughter's place could not be mentioned to outsiders. Zhao Shi could not stay long, so she had to leave with a thousand worries.