Therefore, Anran could only thank her and come down from the covered walkway with Pei-jie. After the Grand Princess spoke, servants swept the path and let the noble ladies go down.
"Ninth Sister, be careful not to fall." Seeing An Ran stumble and almost fall, Zhao Shi couldn't help but remind her.
Anran was admiring the flowers under the eaves when Zhao called out to her. She turned around with a smile and responded, her stunningly beautiful face was truly breathtaking.
"Lady Pingyuan is truly beautiful." Hearing someone say this, Lady Luo and Lady Zhu, who were following behind, couldn't help but turn their heads. No wonder the Marquis of Pingyuan wasn't tempted by his two beautiful nieces. With such pretty young girls by his side, who else could he possibly notice?
The purpose of inviting Lady Pingyuan to appreciate the plum blossoms today was to have her acknowledge her kinship with the family in front of everyone. However, although the Grand Princess of Lin'an readily agreed, she has not taken any action yet.
The two of them couldn't help but become a little anxious.
After enjoying the sights in the covered walkway, everyone was invited to the West Flower Hall.
Once she sat down, the Grand Princess of Lin'an's intentions became clear. Luo Shi and Zhu Shi actually sat at the same table as her, and the Grand Princess had already arranged for Pei Jie'er to pull An Ran to sit down as well.
He had been gentle and persuasive with her beforehand, hoping to lower her guard.
Anran sat down calmly and confidently, already having made up her mind.
"Is Ninth Sister enjoying this tea?" The Grand Princess asked as she saw An Ran take a sip of the hot tea in the teacup.
An Ran nodded and said, "The tea soup is bright orange-yellow and has a rich aroma. The tea here is naturally all of good quality."
"Since you like them, how about I give you some?" The Grand Princess was originally smiling at An Ran, but suddenly she turned her gaze to Luo Shi and Zhu Shi and said, "I forgot, these were originally given by your third aunt. Your aunt is here, and your family must have given them to her long ago. I'm just being nosy."
So that's where they were waiting for her.
An Ran understood, but pretended not to understand. She looked at Zhao Shi at the next table with pleading eyes, pretending to regard the aunt mentioned by the Grand Princess as a relative of the Marquis of Nan'an.
In An Yuanliang's generation, the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion only had one legitimate son, and no brothers born out of wedlock. So where did this aunt come from?
"Your Highness, please forgive me. My stay at the manor was short, and I didn't recognize some of my relatives." An Ran smiled apologetically, then looked at Zhao Shi with some embarrassment and said, "Mother, I didn't even know there was an aunt here. Could you please introduce me?"
Upon seeing this, Madam Luo and Madam Zhu were furious. An Ran clearly knew their identities, but she pretended not to know them, feigning ignorance while knowing the truth.
Madam Zhao frowned slightly. There were no relatives of the Marquis of Nan'an's family at An Ran's table—suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind: there were two relatives of the Marquis of Pingyuan's family. However, they had severed ties with the Marquis of Pingyuan's family more than ten years ago and had not inquired about the matter when the Marquis of Pingyuan's family was in trouble.
Now that Lu Ming has been restored to his noble title, he can't contain himself and rushes forward, wanting to reclaim this kinship. Perhaps seeing that he has kept his previous marriage agreement with the Marquis of Nan'an's family, he feels that there is hope.
But how can something be so cheap?
“You sisters do have two cousins, but neither of them is in the capital right now.” Zhao said, feigning surprise, “I didn’t expect they knew the Grand Princess. I’ve never heard of them before.”
When the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion was in its heyday, Zhao had met and interacted with Luo and Zhu. Now, Zhao has turned her back on them.
"When my two aunts come over, I would appreciate it if Mother could introduce me to them." An Ran smiled, her face slightly flushed. "If I don't recognize them when we meet, it would be my fault."
Zhao readily agreed.
The mother and daughter were working together in perfect harmony. Madam Luo and Madam Zhu were very anxious. If they were to be so easily fooled, wouldn't they have wasted their time asking the Grand Princess for help?
Just as the stalemate was reaching its conclusion, Princess Lin'an was about to say something when someone came to announce that Marquis Pingyuan had come to take his wife back.
If we want to invite Marquis Pingyuan in to ask about the reason, we must make all the noble ladies leave; otherwise, we can only let Anran go, and it will be too difficult to find such an opportunity again in the future.
"It just so happens that I haven't seen Xiu-ge'er in a long time, let him in," the Grand Princess finally spoke.
Before she finished speaking, someone invited the noble ladies to sit in the glass conservatory next door, leaving only the ladies of noble families.
"Greetings to Your Highness." Lu Mingxiu, dressed in a black cloak and still exuding a chill, strode in, his cold and stern face intimidating. He stepped forward to greet the Grand Princess, then went to Zhao Shi and bowed to her.
"I have met my mother-in-law."
Lu Mingxiu gave Zhao a lot of face, and Zhao immediately responded with a beaming smile.
An Ran also stood up, bent her knees, and called out, "Lord Marquis."
"Why is Xiu-ge'er in such a hurry to pick up your wife?" The Grand Princess put down her teacup as she looked at the couple standing together and said with a smile, "With your mother-in-law and aunt here, aren't you at ease?"
It seems the Grand Princess wants Lu Mingxiu to acknowledge them as well? That's just wishful thinking.
"Your Highness's words have left me somewhat confused." Lu Mingxiu was very direct, not beating around the bush. "My mother-in-law is here, but I don't know who my aunt is?"
Luo and Zhu blushed with embarrassment, never expecting that Lu Mingxiu would show them no mercy whatsoever.
"You child, why are you still holding a grudge?" The Grand Princess laughed. "Your third and fourth aunts are here, they are your elders after all. Look at Ninth Sister, she is a new bride, and she doesn't even recognize her elders. I think it's your fault."
Lu Mingxiu's gaze swept coldly over Zhu Shi and Luo Shi.
“I think Your Highness is mistaken.” Lu Mingxiu’s tone was somewhat cold. “Does Your Highness not know that when the Pingyuan Marquis’s family was stripped of its title and its property confiscated, I didn’t have any uncles or aunts? If Your Highness wants to speak up for them, I think there’s no need for that.”
When the two illegitimate sons of the Marquis of Pingyuan said they were severing ties and leaving the mansion, everyone wondered if the Marquis of Pingyuan couldn't tolerate his illegitimate brothers. But after the Marquis of Pingyuan was persecuted to death, the two illegitimate brothers were not implicated at all; on the contrary, they were promoted and ennobled.
It's crystal clear who is right and who is wrong.
Princess Lin'an was also somewhat embarrassed, as she hadn't expected Lu Mingxiu to be so straightforward.
"Xiu-ge'er, I am your elder, how dare you be so disrespectful?" The Grand Princess of Lin'an was somewhat embarrassed and angry. She slammed her hand heavily on the round table and said sternly, "I am the Emperor's aunt. Your disrespect for me is disrespect for the Emperor. You are a high-ranking official in the court, do you know the crime of disrespecting the Emperor?"
An Ran felt sorry for her hand when she saw it.
Seeing that the two were speaking in a bad mood, everyone tactfully made excuses to leave, leaving only An Ran, Lu Mingxiu, the Grand Princess of Lin'an, and their attendants. Luo Shi and Zhu Shi also wanted to leave, but considering that their efforts had come to this, they dared not move.
“If the Grand Princess thinks I’m wrong, she can go and impeach me before the Emperor.” Lu Mingxiu didn’t buy her argument. He said indifferently, “I’d like to see if you can impeach me.”
Hearing this from the side, Luo and Zhu felt a pang of unease, realizing they had made a wrong decision.
"And two more." Lu Mingxiu's gaze swept over them, sharp as a knife, as if he wanted to tear them to pieces. "What happened back then, do you two perhaps wish to discuss it in detail?"