Next was the Princess Consort, who placed a red gold longevity lock and a pair of exquisite gold bracelets inside.
When it was the time for the Grand Madam, she placed a gold-inlaid jade longevity lock and six pairs of gold ornaments inside.
Seeing the Crown Princess's grandmother's generosity, everyone understood that the child was going to be raised by the Crown Princess. This was understandable, given that the Crown Princess had been childless for many years after her marriage, and now that her concubine had given birth to a son, she would naturally want to take him in and raise him.
The guests all left a lot of gold and silver items, and the midwife said auspicious words one after another, which made everyone feel happy.
After the baby's third-day celebration, Yun Shen took the child to worship the ancestors, and then took the child out to show the male guests outside.
After a long day of fuss, the guests took their leave. The Dowager Lady and Lady Zhao, as the mother and grandmother of the Third Sister, naturally stayed a little longer. Strangely, the Grand Princess of Lin'an also did not leave.
The elders all stayed in the main courtyard of the Princess Consort to talk.
Anran and her sister followed Yunfang and Yunrui to the flower hall to talk, while Fourth Sister and Fifth Sister followed Third Sister to the same place.
Fourth Sister was quite beautiful, with fair skin and large eyes. But compared to Third Sister and Fifth Sister, she paled in comparison. In addition, Third Sister was always the more assertive one and had married the best, while Fourth Sister only married a concubine's son of the Marquis of Jinghai's family, making her feel inferior to her elder sister.
Her actions and movements inevitably gave off a somewhat timid and hesitant feeling, which only made Third Sister more annoyed and too lazy to pay attention to her.
Wu Niang tried to persuade her older sister.
"Third sister, stop arguing with your brother-in-law. Just apologize and bring the child over to raise." Fifth Sister whispered, "In time, are you afraid you won't be able to win over your brother-in-law's heart? Are you afraid that Li will not obediently submit to your commands?"
Third Sister's face still showed lingering anger.
"Do you know what nickname Yun Shen wanted to give that child yesterday?" Third Sister said angrily, "He actually wanted to call him Yuan-ge'er! What does he mean by that!"
The use of the character "元" (Yuan) to refer to a son born out of wedlock angered Third Sister once again. Although it was his first child, he was still a son born out of wedlock. What would the birth order be if Third Sister gave birth to more children in the future? Would they still be ranked below the son born out of wedlock?
Fifth Sister said helplessly, "Why are you getting angry with your brother-in-law over this?"
"I'm just angry—" Third Sister said, her face full of displeasure.
An Ran, who had left with Yun Fang and Yun Rui, was also very uneasy. She had a feeling that something was about to happen. Her stepmother's expression had been bad since before lunch, and Princess Lin'an's actions today would likely displease her even more.
However, she had no right to listen to what the elders were saying, so she could only force herself to keep a normal expression while talking to them. What did the young girls have to talk about? It was nothing more than what flower patterns were in fashion this year, which jewelry was pretty, and that summer was coming soon, so what colors of clothes should they make and how should they coordinate their outfits.
The Princess Consort was a tactful person and outwardly never mistreated her illegitimate daughter. She herself only had two sons, so she could be considered generous to her illegitimate daughter as well.
Yunfang and Yunrui lived a fairly good life. Although they were not as well off as the proper county princesses of other princely mansions, they were much better off than the illegitimate daughters of ordinary high-ranking families. Therefore, both of them were poised and graceful in their speech and manners.
The six girls were all around the same age, and with the deliberate flattery and compliments from Sixth Sister and Tenth Sister, they got along very well.
Sixth Sister and the others waited in the flower hall for a long time. It wasn't until the second round of refreshments was served that the Grand Madam and Madam Zhao finally emerged from the Princess Consort's courtyard, along with the Grand Princess of Lin'an. The Princess Consort hurriedly saw them all off.
Having received the news, the Six Sisters, who had been waiting in front of the Second Gate, had different expressions when they saw the four people.
The Dowager Lady remained calm as always, though a hint of worry flickered in her eyes; Zhao Shi's expression was even more pronounced. The Princess Consort's smile wasn't entirely joyful; it also appeared somewhat stiff. Only the Grand Princess of Lin'an seemed to be in a very good mood.
After the Grand Princess of Lin'an boarded the sedan chair, the Grand Madam bid farewell to the Princess Consort.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the sisters fell silent, not daring to say a word for fear of causing trouble.
After getting off the sedan chair, An Ran and the others waited for the Grand Madam and Madam Zhao to get into their respective carriages before they could board the ones behind them.
When Zhao got into the car, she suddenly paused, turned around and glanced at An Ran, her gaze complex, as if filled with both expectation and resentment...
An Ran was completely baffled by the stares.
The carriage soon began to travel smoothly on the road. The carriage carrying the Grand Madam and Madam Zhao was extremely quiet; you could hear a pin drop.
"With the Grand Princess's intervention, Third Sister is in a very passive position!" Zhao's voice suddenly rang out in the carriage. She said excitedly, "Our Marquis's Mansion should send another young lady in to be the young master's concubine, to help Third Sister!"
The old lady's eyes were sharp, and she looked at her with a half-smile.
"Who do you want to choose?" (JustL)
Chapter 35 Crisis
The news I heard from Prince Yi's residence today was all unfavorable to Third Sister.
She couldn't tolerate concubines or illegitimate sons... Although the Princess Consort didn't say it explicitly, the Dowager Lady and Madam Zhao understood that this was what she meant. When the Dowager Lady swallowed her pride and asked if the child's custody could be given to Third Sister, the Princess Consort politely declined.
It has only been a short ten days since Li entered the mansion, and even in this short time, San Niang has not been able to do anything to satisfy her husband and mother-in-law. It will only be more difficult in the future!
The princess consort only said that the child was still too young to be separated from his birth mother, and that they should talk about it when the child was older.
This is tantamount to a disguised rejection!
Madam Zhao immediately became somewhat impatient, but fortunately, the Dowager Lady remained composed. Some things are better left unsaid; understanding is enough. Therefore, the Dowager Lady continued to chat happily with the Princess Consort, her cheerful demeanor showing no sign of anxiety about the unresolved issue. She remained remarkably calm.
The Grand Madam's composure lasted until the Grand Princess of Lin'an summoned her, Zhao Shi, and the Princess Consort together and gave them her instructions.
It turns out that Lady Li was not only a distant relative of Consort Li, but also had a close relationship with the Grand Princess of Lin'an!
The Grand Princess only said that Li was the daughter of an old friend of hers, and that the old friend was very important to her. She asked the Princess Consort to take good care of Li, and also, in front of the Grand Madam and Zhao, asked the Prince Yi's Mansion to grant Li the status of a concubine of the heir apparent.
She mentioned that Li had rendered meritorious service by giving birth to a son, so it was not excessive to elevate her to the rank of concubine.
After the Grand Princess finished speaking, not only did Madam Zhao's face reveal an undisguised mixture of shock and anger, but even the Grand Madam frowned slightly.
Even the Grand Princess, how dare she interfere in other people's family affairs like this? For someone like that to enter the household, the principal wife needs to give her consent. If Li Shi were to climb into Yun Shen's bed and make such a request, not only would the Third Madam object, but the entire Nan'an Marquis's mansion would not agree.
But now, Lady Li has returned heavily pregnant, given birth to her eldest son by a concubine, and has the support of the Grand Princess...
The Dowager Lady was startled. Could it be that Li Shi had been plotting this from the very beginning? When she was being tortured by Third Sister, Li Shi did not resist at all. Even though she might have been pregnant at that time, she did not make it public. When Third Sister asked Yun Shen to send her away, she obediently left without mentioning her relationship with the Grand Princess.
She's so patient!